Cup champs!
CRANBERRY TWP — Excellent goaltending and a very good defense led Seneca Valley's hockey team for much of this season.
Tuesday night, the offense used a double-strike to help the Raiders make history.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the second period, Tyler Draper and Michael Spokane scored 13 seconds apart, giving SV a lead it would not surrender in a 4-2 win over Peters Township in the PIHL Class AAA Penguins Cup final at the Lemieux Sports Complex.
“I knew when we got that 3-1 lead, this game was over,” said SV goalie Logan Johnson. “The defense played unbelievably tonight. They blocked so many shots.”
It is the first Penguins Cup title in program history for the Raiders (15-6).
“I've been here forever,” said SV coach Anthony Raco. “The kids give everything they have. To see it pay off like this, it's everything I thought it would be.”
The Indians (16-5), who won a Penguins Cup and state title last season, had tied the game at 1-1 with 13:27 left in the second period with Cal Raymore's power-play goal.
Four minutes later, the Raiders managed their combination against goalie Alex Wilbert that staggered Peters Township.
“We talked about not letting them get the momentum,” said Raco. “We score two quick ones like that, I think it took them off their game and that's what we wanted to do.”
Jack Underwood pulled the Indians to within 3-2 with a goal with 5:53 left in the second period, but Johnson allowed no more. He stopped the final 11 shots he faced, finishing with 26 saves.
“Logan gives us a chance to win every time,” said Raco. “We're blessed to have a goalie like him.”
The Indians pulled Wilbert with a little more than one minute left in the game. SV's Giovanni Sarachine scored an empty-net goal soon after and Raiders' players and fans began to celebrate.
“To be the first team in school history to win (Penguins Cup), we'll never forget this,” said Johnson. “I'm at a loss for words.”The Raiders broke the ice with defenseman Jackson Blucher's tally with 8:03 left in the first period. It was a slap shot just inside the blue line.“It hit off an opponent's shin guard,” Blucher said. “It may have gone in anyhow, but that's a great time to score my first goal of the year.“At the beginning of the year, we looked extremely strong,” added Blucher. “And entering the playoffs, I knew we had the intensity to win this thing.”Wilbert finished with 27 saves. SV defenseman Bryce Korner assisted on the Raiders' first two goals. Noah Watkiss and Andrew Dimond also had one helper apiece.SV's hockey program began in the early 1990s. Current and future players now have a standard to strive for.“Alumni have been contacting me, texting me all day,” said Raco. “This is for them, too. It was a long time coming.”In Saturday's Pennsylvania Cup title game in West Chester, Seneca Valley will face the winner of Wednesday's Flyer's Cup showdown between Holy Ghost Prep and St. Joseph's Prep.
