NEVILLE TWP., Pa. — Beau Tomczak scored his second game-winning goal in as many games and Philip Gagne continued his dominance in the crease as the Quaker Valley Quakers defeated the Pine-Richland Rams 3-1 at RMU Island Sports Center on Wednesday night.
Early in the first period, Beau Tomczak found a streaking Ben Kuzma with a shot pass on net that the forward re-directed through the pads of Daniel Stauffer. Stauffer and Philip Gagne spent the majority of the first two periods exchanging save after save, preserving the Quakers’ one-goal lead until Tomczak’s pressure on the Rams blueline caused a turnover that he turned into a short-handed marker with 6:38 to go in the second.
The Quakers carried the 2-0 lead into the third, where they stifled the Rams offensive effort through constant defensive zone pressure, keeping them to the perimeter and allowing Gagne to see the puck. Pine-Richland finally solved Gagne with 2:48 remaining in the third, ending a shutout streak of 105:43 for the netminder. Daniel Fagan scored a goal on a breakaway shortly thereafter and the Quakers were able to stave off the Rams.
Quaker Valley moves on to face Armstrong in the Penguins Cup final on Monday, Mar. 20 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. Faceoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
MAJOR FOCUS
