CECIL TWP., Pa. — South Fayette moved one step closer to the Penguins Cup on Tuesday night, defeating North Hills 5-2 in the Class-AA quarterfinals at Printscape Arena.
The two teams played even hockey until South Fayette’s Alexander Keller opened up the scoring on a power-play goal at 12:30 of the first period, breaking open what was a battle of momentum for each squad.
The Lions added on early in the second as Matthew Swider fired a shot from the point that beat Indians starter Ethan Isaly and opened up a two-goal lead for the No. 1 seed. North Hills only needed less than a minute and a half to cut the lead back to one, as Tyler Bliss solved Lions starter Bruce Hardman at 1:53 of the stanza. William Bishop returned the South Fayette lead to two with a goal at 11:31, and the Lions headed into the intermission up 3-1.
John Trinkala all but shattered the dreams of the Indians at 10:07 of the third, as the defenseman snuck in low and fired a shot while falling that snuck past Isaly and gave South Fayette a 4-1 lead. Daniel Pollock would capitalize North Hills pulling their netminder, firing a shot down the ice from the circle directly to the right of Hardman that iced the win. A late goal by Indians forward Liam O’Neill capped off the contest.
South Fayette moves on to the semi-finals at the RMU Island Sports Center on Tuesday, Mar. 12, facing off against the West Allegheny Indians. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. at the Island.
