Seneca Valley jumped out to an early lead and held off Pine-Richland, 2-1, to advance to the PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup final, fueled by relentless pressure and timely saves.
Its opponent in the final will be Peters Township, a 4-3 overtime winner over Thomas Jefferson in the second semifinal Monday night at RMU Island Sports Center. Cole Neupaver came out of the penalty box and scored the game-winner.
The championship game is set for 6:15 p.m. March 17 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
In the first game Monday, the top-seeded Raiders (21-0-1) came out firing, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes, which gave an early and much needed lead that held up.
Seneca Valley’s Cooper Hoehn struck first as he scored the first goal of the game three minutes in.
Carson Lindberg carried the puck through the neutral zone on a two-on-one and passed to Hoehn. Hoehn’s shot was stopped by William Hanner, but the rebound fell in front. Hoehn quickly gathered it and slid it past Hanner.
“It was great,” Cooper Hoehn said. “I mean, the energy was there, kept us pushing through hard and started everything. It wasn’t just me. Everybody was working hard and eventually we got through.”
Three minutes later, Seneca Valley buried another goal when Jacob Gilbert scored on a rebound.
Matthew Bailey dished a pass to CJ Gworek, who fired a shot on net that didn’t leave the ice. The low shot bounced off the stick of Hanner and into the grasp of Gilbert, who buried it to go up 2-0.
The Raiders outshot the Rams 10-2 in the game’s opening 10 minutes until Pine-Richland shifted momentum, drawing a penalty and earning the first power play of the game.
Seneca Valley killed the penalty, but five minutes later, the Raiders committed back-to-back penalties that led to 1 minute, 40 seconds of five-on-three hockey that trickled over into the second period.
Unselfish shot-blocking by the Raiders and a goal-robbing save by Chris Nichols prevented the Rams from scoring.
“It was huge,” Carter Hoehn said. “I believe it was 2-0 at that point. If they got that next one, it’s right back in it. A few of us were grinding it out. It was absolutely unbelievable. Big Chris was blocking shots like he always does.”
Nichols stopped 18 of 19 Pine-Richland shots.
The Raiders killed the five-on-three, but the fourth-seeded Rams (12-6-4) turned up their game and made adjustments to build an offensive attack of their own.
Halfway through the second period, Mason Rudolph dished a pass to Colten Andrighetti, who got a step on a Seneca Valley defender and cut across the front of the net before going to his forehand and roofing it past Nichols.
Pine-Richland tightened up and instead of chasing a highly skilled Seneca Valley team, the Rams focused on clogging the house in between the faceoff circles.
The Rams played a hard second period.
“They were relentless,” Carter Hoehn said. “They came out hard on us, but that makes our team so special. We’re just nonstop. We just keep going and keep going. Even after they got that first goal, we just kept going. No one put their head down. No one complained. It’s absolutely unbelievable. That’s what makes this team special.”
The Raiders adjusted and were able to regularly gain the Pine-Richland zone with continuous pressure, which prevented any chance of the Rams tying the game.
“It was crucial,” Carter Hoehn said of their forecheck. “We absolutely needed it because if they get that next goal, we’re tied. That next goal was the biggest one. We shut them down in the end.”
Pine-Richland battled until the end. With the goalie pulled, the Rams defenders saved two scoring chances. Nevertheless, the Raiders held strong and hung on for the win.
Cooper Hoehn said his team’s drive to win was what led to victory.
“I think it was our work ethic,” he said. “We kept them in their zone the whole time and never stopped working. Like we talked about, the five on three, boys working hard, blocking shots, killing it off, we just kept rolling.”
Seneca Valley outshot Pine-Richland 34-19. Hanner kept the Rams alive with 32 saves.
However, it is defending champ Seneca Valley getting another crack at a Penguins Cup final.
“I’m lucky because even though I’m young, most people only get to do it once,” Cooper Hoehn said. “I’m back here, and it’s nice because I get to do it with my brother and my friends.”
Carter Hoehn is happy to play a leadership role, helping send the Raiders back to the Penguins Cup final.
“We’re super grateful,” Carter Hoehn said. “Playing with your brother for two years, back-to-back Pens Cups, it’s an unbelievable feeling. A lot of these kids are the same from last year, and even the new kids, it’s awesome to do it for them. It’s great to go back with the same kids again.”
In the second game, No. 3 Thomas Jefferson (13-8-1) built a two-goal lead and No. 2 Peters Township (16-4-2) staged a furious comeback.
After Carter Shoub gave Peters a 1-0 lead in the first period, Thomas Jefferson scored three unaswered in the second.
Jacob Simon tied it at 3:26, Ryan Ellis gave TJ the lead at 8:39 and Michael Burns made it 3-1 just 37 seconds before intermission.
The Peters Township comeback began late in the third period when Neupaver scored with 5:43 left to pull within a goal. Carter McNeely found the equalizer with 2:14 to play.
Neupaver was called for goaltender intereference in overtime, and when he left the box after a successful penalty kill for Peters Township, he scored off an assist from Daniel Kovac.