Noah Breton

JOHNSTOWN — If you have goaltending during the hockey playoffs, you can overcome a lot as a game unfolds.

Tuesday night during its Laurel Mountain Hockey League semifinal with top seed State College, No. 4 Hollidaysburg had its own brick wall tending the goal.

Noah Breton stopped 46 out of 49 Little Lion shots to help the Golden Tigers secure an upset, 5-3, at 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial.

“Goaltender has to be huge, and he was perfect today,” Hollidaysburg coach Joe Duey said. “He did everything we needed him to do. He was on top of it. Defense helped him; forwards helped the defense. It was five guys on the ice and a goaltender, and they did exactly what they needed to do.”

And it turns out that Duey had a prediction about where his team might be Thursday night after his squad was doubled up 10-4 by State College on opening night back in October.

“I told these guys in the beginning of the season after being absolutely smoked by these guys all that you have to do is get in the playoffs, and I think you guys have a chance of winning the championship,” he said. “Sure enough, we’re in the dance.”

The Golden Tigers will face Westmont Hilltop in the final at 6 p.m. Thursday at 1st Summit Arena.

Westmont Hilltop outlasted defending champion Central Cambria, 2-1, in double overtime in a game that lasted until after 11 p.m. Tuesday night.

In the opener Tuesday, it was the Golden Tigers who opened the scoring in the first period as Cole Hartman went top shelf for the first goal of the game and a 1-0 lead after the opening stanza.

Breton’s first big sequence came in the first period as he deflected three shots in about 1½ minutes from Henry Jacobs, Derek Peltzer and Ryan Masura.

“Definitely got goalied in a lot of ways,” State College coach David Lee said. “Sometimes the playoffs are more intense. Sometimes you get a bounce that changes the flow a little bit. Earlier in the season the flow went to our way, and in this game, it didn’t.”

Both offenses were on display in the second as the Little Lions’ Shane Bader, off a rebound, tied the game at 1-1, but that was the beginning of a back-and-forth period.

Jayden Mentzer later took a Cole Hartman feed to give the Tigers the lead back at 2-1 with about four minutes to play in the frame.

But back came State High as Ryan Marusa tucked one in between the pipe and the goalie’s arm to level the game back up at two.

Tiger captain Cole Hartman, though, snatched the momentum right back as he tucked one in under the cross bar to give Hollidaysburg a 3-2 advantage at the second intermission.

“Cole’s showing why he wears the C,” Duey said. “He’s been a captain all season long. He’s been a leader. In this locker room. A lot of these guys stood up. Even if they didn’t have a letter, they were making noise, they were pushing their teammates.”

The Golden Tigers put their foot down midway through the second as Ty Fitzgerald, off a breakaway, deposited one in the back of the net to make it 4-2 with about 9 minutes to play.

Duane Doty put the icing on the cake a little more than 5 minutes later as he took a feed from Clark Monahan to make it 5-2.

Marusa added a second tally with just less than two minutes to play to end the scoring.

“This was an entire team effort,” Duey said. “These guys had to play a perfect game to beat State College. State College is one of the top teams in our division. We got the one that absolutely mattered. We had to frustrate them and get them off their game.”

Wyatt Trexler went five-hole for the game-tying goal in the third period.

In the nightcap Tuesday, Central Cambria goaltender Damian Steffy stopped 40 out of 42 shots.

SCORE BY PERIOD

Hollidaysburg 1 2 2 – 5

State College 0 2 1 – 3

First Period: 1, H–Hartman (unassisted), 8:36.

Second Period: 2, SC–Bader (86, 77), 3:08; 3, H–Mentzer (Co. Hartman, Petrunak), 12:54; 4, SC–Marusa (Chobody), 15:01; 5, H–Co. Hartman (unassisted), 15:18.

Third Period: 6, H–Fitzgerald (unassisted), 7:59; 7, H–Doty (Monahan), 13:38; 8, SC–Marusa (Brumberg, Dolphin), 15:02.

Goalies: Breton, H, 46-49; Bucher, SC, 23-28

Power Play: Hollidaysburg 0-2; State College 0-1

Records: Hollidaysburg (10-8), State College (14-4)