PITTSBURGH — With one minute to play in the second period, Quaker Valley was controlling the pace of the PIHL Class A Penguins Cup title game against three-time defending champion Mars.

When the teams skated off the ice for intermission, the Quakers had control of the scoreboard, too.

Ryan Dickson scored two goals in the final 54 seconds of the second period — the latter coming with 2.7 seconds remaining — to give Quaker Valley a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame and paved the way for a 4-2 victory over Mars on Saturday afternoon at the Consol Energy Center.

“It's a special win for our program,” said Quaker Valley coach Kevin Quinn. “It's our third (Penguins Cup title), but most importantly, it's the first one for these kids.

“The best part about it is that they have a win for themselves. I'm really proud of them.”

Quaker Valley padded its advantage to 4-0 just 32 seconds into the third period on a goal from James Perkins off a centering pass from Kevin Kenny, his third assist of the game.

Despite the daunting deficit, the Planets continued to skate with authority and eventually broke through when Robert Foley banged home a rebound with 4:21 to play in regulation. Foley cut it to 4-2 on a power-play goal with 1:25 to go, but it was too little, too late for the Planets (19-3).

“I couldn't be more proud of the way they battled back,” said Mars coach Steve Meyers. “Those two goals at the end of the second period are what really killed us.”

The Quakers (21-1-1) — who claimed the state championship with a 4-1 win over Bayard Rustin the following day — clamped down on the Planets in the second stanza after a back-and-forth scoreless first period.

Mars outshot the Quakers 8-7 in the first, but Quaker Valley turned the tables in the second with a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal.

“As long as we're working hard and we have the puck, they're not going to get a lot of shots,” said Quinn.

“They clog up the middle of the ice real nice,” said Meyers of Quaker Valley.

Clayton Bouchard provided the game's first goal on a power-play opportunity with 8:52 to play in the second.

Penalties plagued the Planets in the second period. Foley was sent to the penalty box for interference and Austin Heakins received a 10-minute unsportsmanlike penalty in the same sequence.

Mars was already playing without team captain Joe Bender, who was serving a two-game suspension for contact to the head and five penalties in one game during the Planets' quarterfinal win over Freeport.

Meyers believed Bender's absence “didn't have too much effect” on the game because the Planets had experience playing without him, but couldn't deny Bender's imperative role.

“Joe does everything,” Meyers explained. “He's the quarterback of the power play, he kills penalties and makes us have three real deep lines. When you don't have Joe, everything gets messed up.

“Losing him really hurt and then when you lose Heakins for 10 minutes, it hurts even more,” Meyers added. “That's when we fell apart right there in the second, so that is kind of where we lost it.”

Dickson made it 2-0 with 53.4 seconds remaining in the second, before his deflection off a Ryan Lottes blast provided the all-important three-goal cushion.

“The one with two seconds left hurt bad,” admitted Meyers. “Fluky kind of goal. ... The last few years, we've been the ones who are getting those.”

Quinn knew the impact of Dickson's crucial scores.

“Enormous,” he said with a smile across his face. “Anytime you score late in the period, it carries the momentum. We came out and dominated the start of the third and got that fourth one.”

Quaker Valley nearly added an empty-netter in the final minute, but Mars wasn't ready to concede defeat. Freshman defenseman Ian Houck-Graves laid out across the ice, poking away an otherwise sure goal with just under 30 seconds to play.

Houck-Graves is just one reason Mars can remain optimistic.

“The program should be set up for another run next year, hopefully,” said Meyers. “It was a good season, a lot of growth.”

The future outlook didn't soften the blow for the seniors, though.

“We've had a nice run here,” said Meyers. “A lot of those guys have won a lot of championships, but it doesn't make this any easier.”

Notes: Mars goalie Christian Knapp made 20 saves and Quaker Valley goalie Doug Revak stopped 12 shots. ... Craig Mazzotta had two assists for Mars while Nick Blaney and Max Master each had one.