Tigers Claw Past Panthers In First Place Showdown
In a first-place showdown atop the PIHL Class AAA standings, the North Allegheny ice hockey team skated past the Upper St. Clair Panthers on Thursday night, 5-1, at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale.
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead by end the of the second period and cruised to the win in the third period. Sophomore Brendan White opened the scoring at the 13:59 mark of the first period to give NA a 1-0 lead. The goal by White was the first of his career, earning him Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.
North Allegheny gained a strangle hold of the game in the second period with a three-goal outburst. Junior Marc Joyson, senior Owen Logan and senior Evan Kerber netted three consecutive goals to grow the NA lead to 4-0 heading into intermission. The goals by Logan and Kerber both came on the power play as the Tigers converted 2 of 4 opportunities on the man-advantage.
Upper St. Clair broke the shutout at the 4:59 mark of the third period thanks to a power play goal by Ryan Buonomo. Senior Logan Cerqua capped the scoring at the 6:23 mark of the final stanza to close out a 5-1 win and vaulting North Allegheny into sole possession of first place in the Class AAA standings.
In net, Camden Junker got the start and earned the victory.
North Allegheny improves to 5-1 on the season, while Upper St. Clair dips to 4-2 and falls into a three-way tie for second place. The Tigers will look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday at Canon-McMillan.
Ice Hockey Summary vs. Upper St. Clair, 11-9-23
| GAME SUMMARY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY PERIODS | 1 | 2 | 3 | FINAL |
| Upper St. Clair | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Allegheny | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |