Penn Manor overcame off-the-ice hardships to make it back to the Central Pennsylvania Ice Hockey League (CPIHL) Viola Cup championship game but could not quite win two titles in a row.

Warwick's Koby Zimmerman scored his second breakaway goal of the game with 37 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Warriors a 3-2 triumph Feb. 26 at Hersheypark Arena.

The Comets lost to Warwick by the same 3-2 score in the second round of the tournament on Feb. 7 before winning three straight games to emerge from the losers' bracket.

"The team faced some adversity this year," Penn Manor coach Raul Batista said. "We definitely played hard and fought to get to that final game. It was good to see Penn Manor go back to the finals, but it was one of those nights. We just came up short."

Warwick went undefeated in the playoffs to finish with a record of 14-5-1 while Penn Manor ended with a 14-8 mark.

"It was very nice getting to the championship game two years in a row," said Penn Manor defenseman Sebastian Elias. "This year was definitely unexpected. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the year, and it turned out to be great. ... I think we all played great. We all did our best, and then we had an unlucky bounce that just didn't go our way. That's how things happen sometimes, and I just think it was amazing that we were able to even make the championship game."

In the title game, Penn Manor had two one-goal leads thanks to a pair of power play goals.

Noah Westermann put the Comets on the board 3:43 into the game by firing in a shot from the faceoff dot to the right of the cage.

Warwick answered eight and a half minutes later when Cole Breckenmaker scored from the right side of the net. Zimmerman picked up the primary assist, and Gavin Tipping was credited with the secondary assist.

"We had to regroup after the first period," said Batista. "The first period was a little slow for us. At intermission, I had to remind them they had to get back to what they did to get here, sustaining the offensive zone pressure and working the puck down low. We got back to that in the second period."

The Comets reclaimed the lead at the 7:06 mark of the second period as Jonathon Boozer scored off a rebound from a shot by Elias.

The game's turning point came with 2:05 left in the stanza. A Warwick penalty gave the Comets a chance to score a third power play goal and go up by two scores, but it was the Warriors that seized the momentum. A pass from Hunter Popolis sent Zimmerman in on a shorthanded breakaway, and he tied the game.

"We went 2 for 3 on the power play, so we were clicking pretty well," said Batista. "There was some miscommunication on the blueline, and that led to a turnover and a breakaway, and it went into our net. It's a little deflating, for sure."

Seeking the go-ahead goal, Penn Manor dominated stretches of the third period, but it appeared the game would be decided in overtime. That's when Zimmerman broke free, skated in alone on goal, deked the goalie, and slid a backhand shot into the net.

Penn Manor outshot Warwick 42-20. "Their goalie, Ryan Trunfio, played amazing and kept them in the game," said Penn Manor's Nick Michener. "It was a back-and-forth game, and either team could have come out victorious."

Kane Leaman played his first high school hockey season after being convinced by his classmate Boozer. "This year was amazing," Leaman said. "It was just so much fun. I am grateful to my coaches. It stinks the way the season ended, but I'm proud that we got to the (championship game)."

The Comets' coach was pleased with his team's effort. "It shows the fight in the kids," Batista said. "They really wanted to be there. We had some first-year guys come to Penn Manor because they saw we had success from last season, and they wanted to be a part of it."

Michener added, "The Viola Division was much tougher this year, and it made the regular season and playoffs more exciting. CPIHL championship night at Hersheypark Arena is always a great night. It's fun to play in a building with so much hockey history. We knew it was going to be a tight matchup. Every game against Warwick was close. They are a good team, and they match up well against us."

Penn Manor's roster with high school of player in parentheses: Isaac Kerr (Lancaster Catholic), Nicholas Michener (Penn Manor), Luke Arms (Penn Manor), Jonah Kerr (Lancaster Catholic), Dylan Conroy (Penn Manor), Jonathon Boozer (Garden Spot), Jack Stauffer (Penn Manor), Oscar Kerr (Lancaster Catholic), Jaiden Batista (Lancaster Catholic), Dominic Morrell (Penn Manor), Noah Westermann (Lancaster Catholic), Sebastian Elias (Penn Manor), Kane Leaman (Garden Spot), Lucas McDevitt (Lancaster Country Day School), Chad Barton (Penn Manor), and Justin Batista (Lancaster Catholic).