Strong Third Period Fuels 5-2 Win Over Bethel Park
North Allegheny broke open a close game with a four-goal outburst in the third period enroute to an important 5-2 victory over Bethel Park at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Tigers and keeps them in fourth place in the Class AAA standings.
The Tigers started strong in the first period and scored the first maker of the night on a power play by senior forward Cole Bianchin at the 11:47 mark for a 1-0 lead. NA dictated the pace in the early going and outshot BP, 12-4, in the opening stanza.
Bethel Park, who entered the night tied with Baldwin for eighth place in the Class AAA standings, slowed down the game and capitalized on a power play of its own at the 9:30 mark of the second period. Junior William Alborg tallied the equalizer and the game was deadlocked at 1-1.
Following intermission, North Allegheny completed dominated the action and outshot Bethel Park, 19-3, over the final 17 minutes. Just 1:03 into the third period, senior Dylan Murray scored his third of the season to vault NA in front, 2-1. A little over three minutes later, junior Evan Kerber netted his fifth goal of the year to increase the Tigers lead to 3-1. The North Allegheny third-period avalanche continued with additional goals by Nate Spak at the 9:25 mark and Brett Baker at the 13:10 mark for a commanding 5-1 advantage. Bethel Park closed out the scoring with a power goal by Luke Henderson with 45 seconds remaining to bring the finals score to 5-2, Tigers.
With one goal and two assists, Bianchin was tabbed the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.
In net, senior goalie Rylan Murphy made 16 saves to earn his seventh victory of the season. Bethel Park’s Janson Sauer stopped 37 pucks in a fine effort despite taking the loss.
North Allegheny improves to 10-4-3 on the season, while Bethel Park dips to 5-9-1. The Tigers return to action when they visit Baldwin on Monday, Feb. 6 at 9:00 p.m.
Ice Hockey Summary vs. Bethel Park, 1-30-23
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY PERIODS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| Bethel Park | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| North Allegheny | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |