WARRENDALE — Eight bad minutes.

That's what ultimately stood between the Seneca Valley hockey team and an upset of No. 2 seed North Allegheny (15-4).

The Raiders coughed up three goals in an eight-minute span of the first period and couldn't dig out of that hole in a 3-2 setback to the Tigers in the first round of the Penguins Cup Class AAA playoffs Monday night at the Baierl Ice Complex.

“We were obviously ready to play,” said North Allegheny coach Mike Bagnato.

It was obvious to Seneca Valley coach Anthony Raco as well.

“You have to give them a lot of credit. They were skating hard and they were jumping on pucks,” Raco said. “They were really limiting our time and space and not giving us a lot of time to make plays or cycle plays.”

With North Allegheny controlling the game, the Raiders (6-13) were still able to dodge bullets early until Aaron Miller scored 12 minutes into the opening period.

Just two minutes later, Miller scored again to give the Tigers a 2-0 cushion.

The backbreaker came a few minutes later when Tyler Lamark scored on a one-timer on a North Allegheny power play to put Seneca Valley in a 3-0 hole.

After the first period, the Raiders were outshot 15-7.

“You don't want to say that deflates your team, but it does,” Raco said. “But there were 34 minutes after that to come back.”

Seneca Valley, however, waited too long to make things interesting.

The Raiders came out in the second period by peppering North Allegheny goalie Richard Karapandi, but he was up to the task and Seneca Valley had nothing to show for it.

“We think we have the best goalie in the PIHL,” Bagnato said. “Other coaches may think they have the best one, but we're pretty happy with ours.”

Karapandi stopped 27 shots on the night.

Seneca Valley finally broke through nine minutes into the third period on a power play when a slapshot off the stick of Will Hohman trickled behind Karapandi's right skate and over the goal line.

Another Raider power play opportunity yielded their second goal with just 26 seconds remaining.

Raco pulled his goalie, Aidan Campbell, for a two-man advantage and it paid off when Tyler Draper scored.

But it was too late.

“When you get the second one with 26 seconds left, then you're really crunched for time. You really have to get lucky there at the end,” Raco said.

After the poor first period, Seneca Valley outshot North Allegheny 23-13.

But not enough of those shots were “Grade A opportunities,” Raco said.

“We just needed a lucky bounce. We just couldn't get a lucky bounce,” he said. “We tried to shoot low to get one, but we shot too many at his logo.”

Seneca Valley closed the season losing 11 of 12.

The Raiders lost five of those games by one goal.

“I just liked our resolve tonight and how we played until the end,” Raco said. “I'm real happy with their effort and how they finished.

“When you look at our season, I don't think our record dictates what kind of team we are,” Raco added. “The thing for us, we lost a lot of one-goal games. Last year, when we (won the Penguins Cup), we won the one-goal games. We just didn't put the puck in the net enough during the course of the year. But they're a great group of guys. I don't think they have anything to be ashamed of.”