CASTLE SHANNON - The Conemaugh Valley junior varsity hockey team was given the No. 1 seed at the beginning of postseason play.

On Monday night, the Blue Jays were as good as advertised.

Conemaugh Valley (17-1-2) scored three goals in a span on 9 minutes, 41 seconds in the second and third periods to spark a 5-1 win over Mars in the PIHL Less Competitive championship game at the Ice Castle in Castle Shannon.

"It feels great, being the No. 1 seed and winning it all," said Blue Jays coach Matt Yingling. "We were confident that, as long as we played our game, we could get the job done."

With the score knotted at 1 in the second period, Conemaugh Valley's John Poloyac gave his team the lead with a power-play goal, beating Mars goalie Andy Whiteford with 3:37 remaining before the second intermission.

But it was the Blue Jays' third goal that made the difference, Mars coach J.P. Martha said.

With 8:35 remaining in the game, a slap shot by the Blue Jays' Nick Freidhoff was deflected into the net by Corey Monko's stick, which appeared to be above his waist, but the goal was allowed.

"That was a back-breaker," said Martha. "We just couldn't get ourselves back in the game after that."

The Blue Jays received late goals from Breny Rykala and Poloyac to turn a once-tight game into a lopsided win.

"Mars is a good team and they're well coached," said Yingling. "But our offense is such a powerhouse. We felt we could skate around them because we had an advantage in speed."

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead on Freidhoff's goal with 8:14 left in the second period.

Mars (11-5-3) responded when its leading scorer, freshman forward Ian Finney scored on an unassisted breakaway just over 2½ minutes later.

"Our kids never get shaken up," said Yingling. "If a team scores on us, we know we have what it takes to come back."

Whiteford was credited with 19 stops while Blue Jays goalie Brian Gates had 18.

"(Gates) had another great performance for us," said Yingling. "He excelled, as usual. I know he's had more shutouts than any other goaltender in the league this year."

For the Planets, the loss doesn't spoil a memorable season.

"As far as I know, no junior varsity team has ever made it this far at Mars," said Martha. "It was a great performance by the kids, but the puck just didn't bounce our way tonight."