WARRENDALE — Luke Reed skated into the open ice, deked a Peters Township defender and sent the puck spinning into the right side of the net past the Indians’ sprawled goaltender.

The Seneca Valley hockey team had scored first — again.

However, as has been the fate of the Raiders this season, scoring first Tuesday night didn’t mean much in a 7-4 loss to Peters Township at Bladerunners.

As spectacular as Reed’s goal was, the Raiders were unable to keep the Indians’ offense in check as Peters Township scored four goals in the third period to pull away.

“(Reed’s goal) was amazing,” said Seneca Valley coach Denis Kirstein. “It was fabulous.

“This is the third or fourth straight game where we scored first, but ended up losing,” Kirstein added. “That’s absolutely a killer, especially when you are trying to find wins.”

The loss was the 10th in a row for the Raiders (1-10), who were 4-0 in the preseason and won their opener against Bethel Park.

Most of the losses have come by one or two goals, including a 3-2 setback in a previous meeting with the Indians.

This game was a shootout.

Reed’s goal was a short-handed one, but Peters Township (8-2-2) answered with a goal off the stick of Brad Tylenda just 24 seconds later.

Christopher Marziotto put the Raiders up 2-1 midway through the first period, but Trevor Recktenwald scored the first of his three goals a minute later.

The Indians had a knack of responding quickly to Seneca Valley scores.

Peters Township coach Rick Tingle was unhappy his team had to respond so much.

“Our goal is to give up two or less goals each game,” Tingle said. “Come practice there will be a little bit of, um, punishment shall we say. I’m just glad we got out of here with a win.”

Peters Township scored two short-handed goals in the final period.

Defense, which has been Seneca Valley’s strength this season, eluded the Raiders Tuesday.

“I counted 15 two-on-ones for them,” Kirstein said. “This game could have been 15-4.”

It could have been if not for Seneca Valley sophomore goalie Ethan Helbig, who had 26 saves.

He was particularly strong in the second period, stopping 12 shots to keep the Raiders in a 3-3 deadlock heading into the final period.

Christopher Marziotto had a goal and an assist for the Raiders, who were outshot 33-19 on the night.

For Seneca Valley, a young team desperate for a win, Kirstein said his message has been to keep plugging away.

“We’re going to get one here,” Kirstein said. “It’s tough on the kids. The attitude is good right now. We just have to stay focused.”