Peters Township outlasts Plum

Conner Gielarowski has scored his share of clutch goals for Peters Township, but the one he came up with Tuesday in the opening round of the PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup playoffs put the Indians into the semifinals.

Gielarowski beat Plum netminder Sergio Benitez at 6:53 of the second period to give defending champion Peters Township a 2-1 comefrom-behind victory against eighth-seeded Plum at the Printscape Iceoplex. The Indians are trying to become the first team in the classification to repeat as champions since Bethel Park in 2001-02.

Plum took an early lead at 6:08 of the first period when Logan Schlegel scored with one second remaining on a power play.

Peters Township goaltender Adam Ulan stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced to get the win, while Benitez made 39 saves in the loss.

Other Class 3A

North Allegheny 8, Butler 3: The Tigers stormed the Golden Hurricanes net for five goals on nine shots in the first period and took a 6-0 lead on Christopher Hanlon’s second goal 2:12 into the second period. Aaron Miller also netted two goals and two assists for the Tigers, and Richard Karapandi stopped 33 shots to set up a semifinal rematch against Peters Township.

Class 1A

Indiana 5, Kiski Area 4: The Little Indians were a Class 1A Penguins Cup finalist a year ago, but they got all they could handle from the 12th-seeded Cavaliers. Zachary Eisenhower broke a 3-3 tie with a goal at 11:31 of the third period and Daniel Williams got what turned out to be the winning goal into an empty net at 15:54. James Ayres, who scored on a second period penalty shot, made it close with his second of the game with 34 seconds remaining.