Goals by the handful
PITTSBURGH — Brandon Platt had to think long and hard before coming up with the answer when the Seneca Valley hockey player was asked to name the last time he scored five goals in a game.
"Back in Squirts or Pee Wee," said Platt. "It's been a long time since I scored five in a game."
It probably will be easier for the senior forward to recall what he pulled off in the PIHL Class AAA semifinals Monday night.
Platt tallied all five of the game's goals in a 5-0 triumph over Upper St. Clair at Mellon Arena.
The win sends the Raiders to the Penguins Cup final for the second consecutive year. They will face the winner of today's Shaler-Canon-McMillan contest at 9 p.m. Saturday at Mellon Arena.
"The kids made plays to get the puck to Platt and he finished," said Seneca Valley coach Denis Kirstein.
Platt was fourth on the Raiders in goals with 12. He also had 15 assists during the regular season to give him 25 points.
"We decided to come out flying. The team played awesome," said Platt. "I got one goal ... then I got the second and it kept coming. I didn't expect to get five.
"The team needed to win this game. We needed the W," he added.
The Raiders dominated the first period, recording the game's first nine shots. On the eighth, Platt rifled a wrist shot past Panthers goalie Matt Wregget with 5:03 left in the first period.
When Platt took a Sean Sokolowski pass and scored with 40.7 seconds left in the first, the Raiders enjoyed a 2-0 lead.
Seneca Valley (17-5-1) outshot Upper St. Clair (16-5-1) 11-2 margin in the first period.
"Honestly, we did not do a good job defensively," said Panthers coach Larry Marks. "I told the kids we have to get back, the wings need to get back. I don't know if they got caught up in the moment."
Platt picked up a hat trick when he scored with an assist from Tyler Mesisca 1:14 into the second period.
Any chance the Panthers had of coming back was gone after Platt scored 1:03 into the third period on assists from Logan Pfeffer and Mesisca.
Then, with 4:01 to play, Platt took a crossing pass from Mesisca to close out the scoring.
Kirstein, "I told the kids before the game, 'Get yourself opportunities in front of the net,' and Platt had five opportunities," Kirstein
Raiders goalie Ryan Schutte got the shutout for turning away 22 shots after he and the SV defense clamped down on the Panthers' James Kline, Chris Murray and Justin Selep, who combined for 71 goals and 75 assists during the regular season.
"Zero goals against a phenomenal No. 2-ranked team." said Kirstein on Schutte. "To quote my wife, she never gets nervous with Schutte in net."
"We just couldn't get a bounce," said Marks. "(Seneca Valley) did a great job taking away our passing lanes."
Notes: The Panthers were 0-for-6 on the power play, the Raiders 0-for-5. ... Wregget, son of former Penguins goalie Ken Wregget, made 22 saves. ... Despite the big lead, Kirstein wasn't comfortable the entire game. Why? On Jan. 19, the Raiders had a 3-0 first-period lead against USC, but SV lost 7-4.
