CASTLE SHANNON, PA. — Mitchell Geizner scored the the go-ahead goal, an empty netter and added three assists as Upper St. Clair defeated North Allegheny 5-2 at Ice Castle Arena on Tuesday night.
The Panthers opened the scoring as Brady Buonomo found the back of the net behind starter Josh Bailey at 8:52 but the early lead was quickly erased by Tigers forward Austin Peterson just :31 later. Zach Fairfull restored the Upper St. Clair lead at 12:51 of the first stanza.
The teams skated to a stalemate in the second before a physical third period ensued.
Geinzer struck at 2:22 with a shot on the power-play, giving the Panthers their first two-goal lead of the contest. Trey Gallo found the back of the net at 6:52 to breathe life into the Tigers, but a Colin Ruffner goal at the 11:30 mark gave Upper St. Clair the insurance they needed to pull off the victory. Geinzer added an empty-net goal to take the scoring lead in Class-3A.
Jake Fisher started for the Panthers and stopped 30-of-32 in the victory while Josh Bailey was 28-of-32 on the day for the Tigers.
BRACKETEERING
With the top four seeds locked down in Class-3A the North Allegheny Tigers were fighting for position, finding themselves in a three-way tie with Peters Township and Pine-Richland for the No. 2 seed. The Indians pulled out a late victory over Cathedral Prep leaving Pine-Richland and North Allegheny two points behind Peters Township for the time being.
The Tigers play the Rams on Monday.
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UP NEXT
North Allegheny closes out their season next week with games against Pine-Richland (March 22, Baierl Galaxy at 9:00 p.m.) and Mt. Lebanon (Mt. Lebanon Rec, March 25, 9:10 p.m.). Upper St. Clair heads to the Robert Morris Island Sports Center for a showdown with Seneca Valley on the Olympic rink on March 25 at 6:30 p.m. before closing out their season against Peters Township on March 29 at 7:00 p.m. at Ice Castle.
