North Xtra: North Allegheny braces for Mt. Lebanon shootout
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North Allegheny High School goalie Matthew Goda stops a shot by Canon-McMillan in a game earlier this season at Iceoplex Arena at Southpointe.
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North Allegheny, as so often has been the case in recent years, has one of the stingiest defenses in PIHL Class AAA.
This season, the Tigers have been adding an elite offense to complement it.
North Allegheny has won nine of its past 11 games heading into a big game with Section 2 title implications against Mt. Lebanon at 9:10 p.m. today at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center.
The Tigers have allowed more than three goals in a game only three times this season -- they've allowed one or fewer four times. That kind of stingy defense has become standard operating procedure for the team in recent seasons.
But what hasn't been the case is an offense that is averaging more than four goals per game, as North Allegheny is doing now. It hasn't done that over a full season since 2006-07.
"We've been putting the puck in the net, doing a much better job of finishing and scoring goals, for the most part," Tigers coach Jim Black said.
The Tigers rank sixth in 16-team Class AAA in goals with 65 in 16 games. They have scored as many as five seven times, including against quality teams such as Penn-Trafford, State College and Upper St. Clair.
Still, North Allegheny doesn't want to get into an up-and-down, firewagon-style hockey game against Mt. Lebanon.
"They're one of the few high school teams that is a legitimate three lines deep," Black said. "Mt. Lebanon can be pretty dangerous if you play a wide-open game against them."
Don't expect a wide-open game tonight -- North Allegheny (2.44) and Mt. Lebanon (2.63) rank tied for third and fifth, respectively, in Class AAA team goals-against average.
The Tigers won the first meeting, 4-2, Jan. 2, coming back from an early deficit on the strength of three third-period goals.
"I think they were missing a couple key players, though," Black cautioned. "Looking at their team, they are a lot like our team. They're kind of built the same way. They have a couple pure goal-scorers that you've really got to be careful of."
First Published February 2, 2012 12:00 am
