St Joseph's Prep Hawks

Courtesy of North Allegheny The Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils defeated the Tigers, 2-0, at Bladerunners in Warrendale on Friday night. The game was a rematch of last year's PIHL final won by Lebo, 3-1. NA outshot the Blue Devils, 27-18, but could not beat Lebo goalie Rob Behling. Mt. Lebanon scored two power plays for the difference in the contest. In the first period, Lebo took advantage of an early penalty to senior captain Dan Gaertner to take the lead. Mike Roman scored just 1:40 into the game to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage. The Tigers had a chance later in the period when Mt. Lebanon was called for too many men on the ice. Junior defenseman Corey Sheran came close to tying the game but his blast from the blue line went just wide. Lebo took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission despite being outshot, 12-6, by NA. In the second period, the Tigers took another early penalty, but good stops by NA senior goalie Adam Lutty and good defense by junior Josh Herbert kept Lebo off the board. The Tigers had several power play opportunities but could not beat Behling. Late in the period, senior Mike Peterson was sent off for interference. Lebo was able to take a 2-0 lead when top scorer Sean McDermott scored a second power play goal. The Blue Devils took a two-goal advantage into the second intermission. In the third period, it was NA with the early power play. The Tigers came close again when Gaertner tipped a shot by Peterson just wide of the goal. Later in the period, Lebo caught the Tigers in a line change and went in on a two-on-none break. Lutty was able to make the save and cover the rebound to keep the game at 2-0. The Tigers had a golden opportunity to get back in the game when they got a 5 on 3 advantage for a minute and a half but could not score. With just 1:44 remaining, the Tigers pressured the Lebo goal as senior defenseman Brad Schwartzmier made a great play to keep the puck in the Lebo zone. Even with Coach Jim Black pulling the goalie for the extra attacker, the Tigers could not score. Mt. Lebanon went home with a 2-0 victory.