JOHNSTOWN -- Pine-Richland hockey coach Bob Kennedy was standing outside his team's locker room minutes after the Rams were shocked -- if not by the result, at least by the final score -- by LaSalle in a 9-1 loss in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AAA hockey championship game.

He took a moment to reflect on what was the Rams' first loss in more than a year and first loss for the reigning two-time Class AA state champions in the postseason since 2005, before he was coach.

"It's tough to repeat," Kennedy said. "And it's tough to win three in a row. It gets tougher and tougher, especially when you play a team like LaSalle.

"They expected to be there last year at the [Class AAA] level but they lost in the Flyers Cup playoffs. They came out with a focus and vengeance this year. They just had a great year. We had a great year, too, but I think the bottom line was they just wanted it more than us."

Pine-Richland, which had dominated regular-season opponents -- outscoring them, 141-24 -- had trailed in two Penguins Cup playoff games, but eventually its explosive offense kicked in for victories each time.

There was no such switch to flip against powerful LaSalle (30-1-2).

"We felt at 2-0 we could maybe come back ... 3-0 even," Kennedy said.

"And then as it went on ... We still felt we could score the goals and come back. Then we got down by four or five goals midway through and by then, it was pretty much over. It seemed they capitalized on all their chances."

The defeat robbed Pine-Richland of the chance to make history on two fronts: Winning three consecutive Pennsylvania Cups and finishing a season undefeated.

Still, one loss wasn't going to mar what, to that point, had been a remarkable season for the Rams.

"It's hard to say I'm happy right now," senior captain Evan Goetz said after the game. "But, hey, I'm happy with the undefeated [regular] season. That means a lot.

"We obviously wanted another state championship, but we kept a good record all four years. Two state championships, three Penguins Cups ... that's a pretty good career."

Saturday's game was the final one in the career of six Pine-Richland seniors. In addition to Goetz, goalie Joe Mahoney, defenseman Geoff Bagnato and forwards Reed Loney, Tyler Deal and Jordan Shelleby will graduate.

"They're all character guys, and they'll be missed. That's for sure," Kennedy said.

They also contributed on the ice. Goetz had 12 goals and 13 assists during the regular season. Loney -- who had Pine-Richland's lone goal Saturday -- was fifth on the team in goals (11) and points (29) in 20 regular-season games.

Shelleby averaged almost a point per game (19 in 20 regular-season contests). Deal had 12 points in 19 games, Bagnato was known as a reliable defenseman, and Mahoney had two shutouts and posted a 1.35 goals-against average in six starts this season.

"You could say that the seniors are some of my best friends," said Goetz, a defenseman who will go to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., and play on its hockey team. "It meant a lot to be on a team with them, and it's going to be hard not seeing those guys everyday in practice."

The seniors aren't the only members of the team who played in the state title game Saturday but won't be back next season. There is a chance that any number of a handful of the Rams' better players might play travel hockey. And freshman Brandon Saad was invited to join the U.S. National Developmental team.

"I'm sure he's going to accept that opportunity," Kennedy said. "Its tough to lose him, but, hey, you've got to look out for No. 1, and he's got a great opportunity, and he's a great hockey player. It's a good chance for him to move on and continue his career.

"You lose a guy like him, you lose a lot of good hockey players, but we have a lot of good hockey players coming back, and we expect them to make a run again next year."