Franklin Regional celebrated senior night with a home victory against North Hills on Tuesday, as senior Max Rutkowski led the way. The Panthers’ captain tallied a goal and two assists in leading FR to a 6-2 win at the Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont.

Rutkowski opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally, his team-leading 13th goal of the season, near the midway mark of the first period. Less than a minute later, however, the Indians responded by scoring on a 5-on-3 power play, courtesy of Chris Muschar. Late in the period, Carter Yohe found the back of the net to put Franklin Regional back in front, but North Hills once again tallied with a 5-on-3 advantage, with Jonathan Trosky scoring the equalizer with less than five seconds left in the frame.

The Panthers scored four unanswered goals over the next two periods, however, beginning with a long shot by Marc Gray just past two minutes into the second period. Later in the stanza, Brendan Yohe scored on the man advantage for FR, extending to a 4-2 edge.

In the third, Liam Copeland and Joey Casella added insurance markers for the host Panthers.

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While Rutkowski contributed a game-high three points, Copeland posted two points for FR. Meanwhile, seniors Val Grabowski and Derek German each contributed an assist, while senior goaltender David Valentino made 13 saves in notching the victory in net.

Andrew Nazak paced North Hills with two assists, while Dom Rennebeck and Blake Kunkel also chipped in with an assist each. AJ Urbanek made 33 stops between the pipes for the Indians.

With the win, FR improves to 3-2-1-1, and with eight points, moves into a tie for fifth place in Class AA. The Indians, meanwhile, drop to 0-9-0, remaining in last place in the classification.

The Panthers return to the ice as the road team against Penn-Trafford at the Palmer Imaging Arena next Tuesday.