NEVILLE TWP., Pa. — The Peters Township Indians continued the defense of their 2017 Pennsylvania State championship on Thursday night, defeating the North Allegheny Tigers, 2-1 at RMU Island Sports Center.
The Indians jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Connor Gielarowski fired a puck past Tigers starter Richard Karapandi at 7:23 of the first, and added a goal by Mark Lehman only 69 seconds later. The period would get exponentially more physical, as the hitting picked up significantly throughout the frame.
The second period remained just as physical as the first, and the teams remained off of the scoreboard for the majority of the frame. Tyler Lamark gave the Tigers their first goal of the game at 14:08, and the physicality continued to rise until the intermission.
The Indians staved off an intense Tigers forecheck throughout the third, and as time trickled down to zero, completed the penultimate step in the defense of their title.
Peters Township moves on to face the winner of the late game between Cathedral Prep and Seneca Valley for the AAA Penguins Cup at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20. The game will be contested at the UPMC Lemieux 66 Sports Complex in Cranberry.
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