WARRENDALE — So close, yet so far.

Pine-Richland's Matthew Cole missed out on a game-tying goal barely a minute into the third period, snapping a wrist shot solidly off the crossbar Monday night at the Baierl Ice Complex.

Only 11 seconds later, Seneca Valley's Robert Sheils came streaking down the left wing and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Rams goaltender Ben Stauffer. That shot gave the Raiders a 5-3 lead and the team held on for a 5-4 PIHL Class AAA hockey victory.

“It really is a game of inches,” Seneca Valley coach Anthony Raco said. “If that (Cole) shot is two inches lower, it's a tie game and they have all the momentum in the world.”

Instead, the Raiders (7-6) ended a two-game losing streak and avoided slipping below .500. Pine-Richland fell to 2-11 in what has been a frustrating season.

“We've been playing well. We just haven't been getting the bounces,” Pine-Richland coach Jordan Yoklic said.

The Rams won the preseason St. Barnabas Tournament and handed Peters Township its first loss of the season the last time they took the ice.

Seneca Valley defeated Pine-Richland, 3-0, in their previous meeting Oct. 19 of this season.

“That's a much better team than their record shows,” Raco said.

Of course, the Raiders aren't bad, either.

Alex Crilley, the team's leading goal scorer, did not find the net Monday. He did have two assists and plenty of his teammates put the puck in the net.

Chris Lipnicky scored a pair of goals for SV, one on the power play. Tyler Murphy also scored on the power play, his tally wiping out a 1-0 Pine-Richland lead late in the first period.

Shane Galis gave the Raiders a 3-2 lead late in the opening frame, scoring just 11 seconds after Lipnicky had tied the game with 4:40 left in the period.

“It was great to see the balanced scoring tonight,” Crilley said. “We have a lot of talent spread out on this team.”

Raco agreed.

“We want to run more than two productive lines out there,” the coach said. “That's what it takes to win at the Triple-A level in this league.”

It takes quality goaltending as well and backup netminder Dylan Sloat provided that for the Raiders. He stopped Antonio Binotto on a breakaway shorthanded in the final seconds of the first period.

Sloat stoned Cole twice while the Rams' forward was alone in front of the net late in the second period. He then withstood a furious Pine-Richland rally late in the game after Nate Carnovale's second goal of the contest pulled the Rams within a goal with 6:20 still to play.

“Dylan is making the most of his opportunities to play,” Raco said. “He definitely came up big tonight. Performances like this will get him more playing time.”

Murphy and Nicholas Raible had two assists each to aid SV offensively. The Raiders had a slight 27-26 edge in shots on goal. Pine-Richland scored three power play goals in four opportunities.

“Our power play was a major positive for us,” Yoklic said. “We moved the puck and were aggressive. We played well enough to win tonight. It just didn't happen.”

Raco admitted the Raiders have been struggling to kill penalties.

“Forty percent of the goals we've allowed this year have been while we've been shorthanded,” he said. “If we can improve in that area, we'll be a lot more consistent.”

The Raiders return to action Jan. 12, taking on Shaler in a road game.