Greater Latrobe jumped out to a lead less than two minutes into the contest, and the Wildcats maintained their advantage by killing off multiple crucial penalties, adding a pair of goals in each of the next two periods to defeat Hempfield Area 5-1 at the Kirk Nevin Arena in Greensburg on Thursday.

As a result, Greater Latrobe improved to 2-0-0 in Class AA play, while the Spartans fell to 0-1-0.

The turning points came in the latter stages of the first period, after Josh Coffee opened the scoring with a backhand goal. First, Peyton Myers was penalized for a cross checking, and Jack Beddick was assessed the same penalty just moments later, putting the Wildcats down two skaters for 1:35.

The Wildcats held the host Spartans without any dangerous chances during the 5-on-3. Just seconds after Greater Latrobe returned to full strength, though, Noah Guidos was called for boarding, resulting in a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Tasked with playing shorthanded for five more minutes, the Wildcats again held the Spartans scoreless.

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Early in the second period, JD Robinson extended the Wildcats lead, as he tapped in a rebound on a Coffee shot that squirted behind Hempfield Area goalie Chase Sankey.

Hempfield Area’s lone goal came on the man-advantage, as Nick Bruno unleashed a one-timer, and his shot was deflected in by teammate Ian Shaw in front of the net.

Greater Latrobe wasted little time in restoring its two-goal edge, however, as Coffee scored on a terrific individual effort, battling a pair of Hempfield defenders to get possession, and then depositing a backhand past Sankey to make it 3-1.

In the third, Jacob Hannah entered the offensive zone with JD Robison driving the net. As Hannah attempted a pass across, the puck deflected off of Sankey and into the net.

Later in the period, Robinson put the exclamation point on the impressive win, as he tapped in a cross-ice feed from Fletcher Harvey.

In the victory, Coffee led GL with two goals and two assists, while Robinson netted a pair of markers, and Hannah added a goal and two assists. GL goaltender Connor Keddie earned the win, making 17 saves.

Saddled with the loss, Sankey made 22 stops for the Spartans.

The Wildcats will host Armstrong next Thursday at 7:15 at the Kirk Nevin Arena. The Spartans, meanwhile, will play on the road against Penn-Trafford at the Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont on Oct. 24.