The Baldwin hockey team lost to North Allegheny on Thursday night, 4-1.

Sophomore Mack Dempsey thought that the main cause of the loss was on the defensive side.

“We can improve a lot of things but mainly the defensive zone coverage,” Dempsey said.

With the Highlanders’ defensive struggles, North Allegheny capitalized on offense.

“NA took shots from anywhere, no matter if they could score or not,” junior Gabe Herrle said.

Senior Tanner Plinta scored the first goal of the game to get the Highlanders off to a hot start.

“I think Tanner Plinta played a very physical game along with scoring our first goal,” Herrle said.

Another one of the bright spots for Baldwin was their ability to keep possession of the puck.

“We did a better job of maintaining zone time and getting shots on net,” Dempsey said.

But Dempsey thought the team energy dropped too early in the game.

“When NA scored their first goal, we really seemed to slow down,” Dempsey said.

The Highlanders will go on the road to take on Central Catholic on Thursday at 9 p.m.