CECIL TWP — Seneca Valley thought it was back in the game. It was, just not for long.

Raiders' forward Andrew Gagnon scored on a breakaway, cutting SV's deficit to 2-1 with just 2:11 remaining in the second period of Thursday's PIHL Class AAA playoff game against Peters Township.

But the Indians (17-4) answered with a pair of goals by the end of the period, the second coming with just 6.7 seconds left on the clock in a 4-1 victory at the Iceoplex.

“Those two goals took a lot of wind out of our sails,” said Seneca Valley coach Anthony Raco. “Going from being down one goal entering the third period to being down three, it's a mental thing.”

Adam Alavi scored his second goal of the night for a 3-1 lead with 1:12 left in the second. SV was allowed little time to lick its wounds as Jake Dachille scored what turned out to be the game's final goal 65 seconds later.

“That was it,” said Peters Township coach Rick Tingle of the two quick scores. “That was a momentum killer for them (Raiders).”

The Raiders had chances to make things interesting, being awarded three power plays in the third period. They managed six combined shots with their man-advantage, but all were stopped by Indians' goalie Brian Baker.

“Our penalty killing was effective, but it wasn't pretty,” Tingle said. “We still have improvements to make, but we got the job done tonight.”

Both goalies were pelted with shots in the opening period as Baker was forced to make 10 saves and Seneca's Tanner Pfeffer stopped 12 shots. His play helped keep the game scoreless until Jon Dagnal took a pass from Evan Opeka and beat Pfeffer with 7:54 left in the period. With under a minute to go, Alavi tallied his first score of the night for a 2-0 lead.

“He's been an offensive threat since he joined the team last year,” Tingle said of Alavi, a junior who led the Indians with 20 goals during the regular season. “And he can still take his game to another level.”

The Indians killed a 5-on-3 penalty that lasted 1:15 of the second period, but moments later, SV's Chris Marziotto let go on a clearing pass that found Gagnon near the center line. The sequence led to SV's lone score.

Baker ended the game with 25 saves.

“He played well tonight,” said Tingle. “He stopped the shots we needed him to stop. The only goal he allowed was on a breakaway and you can't hold that against a goalie. Players are supposed to score on breakaways.”

The Raiders had split with the Indians during the regular season, including a 3-1 win Jan. 7.

“We had opportunities, but we just couldn't finish tonight,” said Raco. “Against a goalie as skilled as he (Baker) is, it's tough to get the puck behind him.”

Pfeffer tallied 35 saves for the Raiders.

Seneca Valley finished the season with a 12-10 record.

“I was very pleased with how our guys played this year,” added Raco. “They stuck together and worked hard. That's all you can ask for.”