Tigers Vanquish Vikings In Regular Season Finale, 4-3
The North Allegheny ice hockey team wrapped up the regular season with a 4-3 victory over Central Catholic on Thursday night at the Baierl Ice Complex. The Tigers head to the postseason on a four-game winning streak and as the No. 1 seed in the Class AAA playoffs.
After a scoreless first period, the Tigers and Vikings traded goals in the second period to a 2-2 deadlock. NA struck first at the 2:25 mark on a goal by Lorenzo Colaizzi for a 1-0 lead. Central Catholic evened the score at 1-1 when Sam Gaffney scored on the power play at the 11:05 mark of the period. Just 16 seconds later, the Tigers grabbed the lead back on a tally by Connor Chi for a 2-1 lead. With 3:30 remaining in the period, the Vikings again knotted the score at 2-2 on a goal by Dante Scalise.
In third period, North Allegheny regained the lead just 1:34 into the stanza on a marker by Patrick Buttignol for a 3-2 advantage. The Tigers gained an important two-goal lead at the 11:54 mark of the third courtesy of a goal by Matt Irvin bringing the score to 4-2, NA. Irvin’s goal proved to be the game-winner as Central Catholic closed the gap at 4-3 when George Acklin scored with just 1:04 remaining in the game. The Tigers staved off the Vikings in the final minute of the game to claim the one-goal victory.
Goalie Andrew Long got the start in net and made 15 saves to earn the victory. Central Catholic’s Jake Dold made 20 saves in a losing effort.
North Allegheny improves to 17-2-1 on the season, while Central Catholic falls to 9-10-0 with one more game remaining for the Vikings. The Tigers will look to return to the Penguins Cup Finals in March when the PIAA Class AAA playoffs begin.
Ice Hockey Summary vs. Central Catholic, 2-24-22
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY PERIODS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| Central Catholic | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| North Allegheny | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |