NEVILLE Twp., Pa. — The seventh seeded Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils shocked the PIHL world once again, defeating the third seeded Pine-Richland Rams 3-2 Monday night at the RMU Island Sports Center. Marcus Simmonds snuck the go-ahead goal in between the legs of Rams goaltender James Saber at the 5:56 mark of the third to give Mt. Lebanon the lead for good.
As fast as the first semifinal of the night started, it was the opposite for the second game. Pine-Richland and Mt. Lebanon battled to a scoreless draw after one period, with the Blue Devils owning a 10-4 advantage in shots. The second period was where sparks flew.
Sam Perry gave Pine-Richland a 1-0 lead just over two minutes in, but Conner Ribstein got one back for Mt. Lebanon a few minutes later and tied it 1-1. Trevor Turkovich gave the Blue Devils their first lead if the game at 10:05, but Liam Varmecky tied it 2-2 for the Rams with just 32 seconds to play in the period.
My. Lebanon will face No. 4 North Allegheny for the Class-3A Penguins Cup on Monday, Apr. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the RMU Island Sports Center.
