JACKSON TWP — Absorbing the pain that comes with blocking a hockey puck isn’t a sensation Seneca Valley defenseman Nic Raible would describe as pleasant.

But when the Raiders’ hockey team wants to win big games, like Tuesday’s 3-1 win over second-place Peters Township, Seneca Valley defensemen grit and bear it.

“We have to sacrifice the body if we want to get far in the playoffs, especially against the good teams,” Raible said.

The Raiders’ defense and goaltending have helped carry a team that has shown glimpses of being one of the top teams in Class AAA and stumbled in other spots.

Seneca Valley is 9-8, including four wins against teams — Peters Township (13-3-1), Canon-McMillan (10-6-1) and a sweep of Bethel Park (10-5-2) — that are above them in the standings.

Before beating Peters Township, Seneca Valley put 28 more shots on net than Penn-Trafford — which is 2-13-1 and in 11th place out of 12 teams — and lost 1-0.

The Raiders also have losses against sub-.500 Pine-Richland (6-10-1) and Central Catholic (6-10-2).

“It’s definitely frustrating sometimes against the lower teams, not being able to beat them,” senior defenseman Austin Herrmann said. “When we play high-end teams, there’s a different aspect to the game and we have something to prove. We come out with a different mindset.”

Finding consistency is something everyone on the team is in search of.

How Seneca Valley’s season has flowed is something coach Anthony Raco can’t put his finger on.

“If I had an answer for that, I would like to implement it every game,” Raco said. “It seems when we were play bigger teams, the energy is higher. We don’t coach that way, we give Penn-Trafford the same respect we give Peters.”

Part of Seneca Valley’s issue is the Raiders’ offense has cooled down. Seneca Valley set a blistering pace, scoring 19 goals in the first four games.

In the last 13 games, the Raiders have scored 28.

Seneca Valley has an even goal differential, allowing and scoring 47 goals.

The Raiders are now grinding out close wins behind goaltender Alyssa Peterson, who is 6-8 with a .911 save percentage.

She’s stopped 70 of 73 shots in the past three games and was rewarded with a spot in the PIHL All-Star game.

Seneca Valley defenseman are blocking shots and trying to make Peterson’s life as easy as possible.

It’s not a style of play that Herrmann feels the team is comfortable with.

“Earlier in the season we were winning games 6-2 and had high-scoring games,” Herrmann said. “We need to play like we’re on the power play. We need to stay in the zone, settle down the puck and get more chances.”

Raco has been pleased with how the defensemen have progressed as a group, including Shane Hepner.

“They do a good job of eliminating second-chance opportunities,” Raco said. “As the year has progressed, their first pass outside the zone has been better.”

Seneca Valley is in sixth place and in a good spot to make the playoffs. Raible thinks the offense will pick up before the season is done.

The defense just needs to keep doing their thing.

“We’ve played defensively,” Raible said. “Besides that Penn-Trafford game, our offense has been playing well.”