Title Time
Seneca Valley's hockey team has kept its season alive by settling scores.
If the Raiders can succeed in doing so once more, they will be crowned Penguins Cup champions.
For the third time this season, SV will face Peters Township, this time in the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township.
The Indians defeated the Raiders twice in the regular season, though SV has already taken down Mt. Lebanon (4-1) and top-seeded North Allegheny (2-1) after getting swept by those teams prior to the playoffs.
Ironically, it was his team's 2-1 loss to NA in the regular season finale that made Raiders' coach Anthony Raco believe his team could make a run.
"We evaluated that game and ... take away the final score and I thought we played the style that we wanted to carry into the playoffs," said Raco. "We've been good on the penalty kill and are getting strong play from our goalie (Jonathan Nichols). He's allowed just two goals in two playoff games. When your goalie is playing like that, he's giving you a chance to win every night."
Third-seeded Peters Township (16-6) is averaging exactly five goals per game, including a 9-4 victory over Seneca Nov. 23.
"That game was an anomaly," said Peters coach Rick Tingle, in his 17th year of leading the Indians. "We scored two short-handed goals on the same shift, which never happens.
"When we play Seneca (13-9), it's always a good game."
Raco saw improved play from his team in the Dec. 16 rematch between the teams, won by Peters 4-2.
"We still made mistakes, but they are preventable," he said. "We've been working on things in practice and hopefully, we can transition that to Monday."
Since last winning the Penguins Cup title in 2017, Peters has been the No. 1 seed three times and failed to bring home the hardware. It fell in the final in 2018 and 2019 to Seneca and North Allegheny, respectively, and was beaten by NA in the semifinals last year.
"I'm sure for our players who returned from last year's team that it's a motivating factor," Tingle said, "but a lot of our guys are new to the varsity team. We're coming together at the right time and we have a core that is dedicated."
Two of the newcomers are goalies Nolan Hilbert, a junior, and Kyle Thomas, a sophomore. They've combined to allow 2.5 goals per game.
"We've played them both all season and are still not sure who will be starting Monday," said Tingle. "They're rookies, but have really matured and continue to get better."
The Indians have relied a lot on their defense, led by senior captain Carson Alexander, and of course, that offense. Peters outscored its two playoff opponents — Baldwin and Pine-Richland — by a combined score of 11-2.
Freshman forward William Tomko leads the team with 21 goals and has added 16 assists. Cooper Slavin has 18 goals and 14 assists and Ben Kovac 15 goals and 17 assists.
Junior Mertens has been great at distributing the puck with a team-leading 18 assists.
"We're more balanced now than we were at the beginning of the season," Tingle said. "A lot of that has to do with the maturity of our younger players."
The Indians will be a tough out, but the fifth-seeded Raiders seem to be hitting their stride at the right time. Usual play-makers have made their presence felt in the playoffs. Shane Kozlina has scored twice and added an assist, giving him 14 and 15, respectively, this season. Andrew Davis' 13th goal of the season, with just over six minutes left in the third period, proved to be the game-winner in the 2-1 semifinal against NA last Monday.
Jaxson Read leads SV with 17 goals on the season, but Zach Regalski and Jonathan Leishman, who combined for five goals in the regular season, have also scored in the postseason. Patrick Dolan had just one assist prior to the playoffs, but has dished out two in the last two games.
"Shane is the most gifted player we have on the ice," said Raco, "but he also plays the game the right way. If he has the puck and sees a teammate with a better opportunity, he passes it off. Other guys see that and it rubs off."
Senior Adam Hoffman captains the Raiders' defense in front of Nichols, who carries a 9-3-1 record into the title game while allowing just 1.5 goals per game.
"All six guys on the ice need to do their job," said Raco. "One guy can't do it all, (Class 3A) is too good for that."
