News File Photo Alpena’s Anden Marceau, left, skates toward teammate Tanner Orban to celebrate Orban’s first period goal during a 2020 game against Traverse City West at Northern Lights Arena.

The Alpena High hockey team let one slip away on Friday.

Aidan Rapin scored with 6:27 left and Traverse City West turned up the offense in the third period to skate by the Wildcats 5-3 at North Lights Arena in a Big North Conference contest.

Alpena (9-12-1, 6-3 BNC) led three different times on Friday, but was ultimately undone by too many penalties that came at all the wrong times.

West took advantage in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals while outshooting the Wildcats 12-4 in the final frame.

West tied the game with 12:18 left when Josh Reece buried a pass across the slot from teammate Tyler Esman with the Titans on the power play.

Rapin put West ahead for good with 6:27 left. Alpena goaltender Collin Lightfoot appeared to stop Rapin’s shot, but the puck slowly slid past him over the goal line.

“They held us in our defensive zone and we were too soft on pucks,” Alpena coach Chris Limback said of the Titans. “They did a good job creating offense and forcing us into penalties and just things we didn’t want to do.”

Michael Schermerhorn added an empty-net, short-handed tally for the Titans with 36 seconds left.

Alpena hosted its eighth annual Purple Game on Friday, donning purple jerseys in support of all those affected by cancer and cancer survivors.

In a game that saw 29 first-period penalty minutes, including three five-minute major penalties, Alpena got the jump on West early with two goals.

Blaise Keller scored the game’s first goal with 6:59 left in the opening frame, sending a rebound past West goaltender Mason West into a wide open net on the glove side.

After West answered with a goal just 1:12 later from Gavin Hysell, Alpena took a 2-1 lead when Tanner Orban sent a shot over West’s glove from a sharp angle.

“I thought the game was ours–up (2-1)– and then I thought just self-destructed with penalties, just panicking and not playing smart hockey,” Limback said. “It was a great learning lesson for us tonight.”

West knotted the game 2-2 with 12:57 left in the middle from as Murphy Kehoe lit the lamp. Alpena took the lead one last time when Orban blasted a shot past West from the right circle with an assist from Anden Marceau to make it 3-2 with 6:53 left.

Alpena led 3-2 after two frames, but the third period belonged to West.

The Titans converted on the power-play early, but West kept Alpena’s defense on its toes the entire frame, continually challenging Lightfoot with shots from in close. Alpena’s junior net minder made some impressive stops, but West kept charging and eventually found ways to light the lamp.

West outshot Alpena 35-21 for the game.

“We have to learn we have to give more,” Limback said. “We have to think when we’re on the ice and we weren’t willing to give enough tonight to get the win; a lot better to have it tonight than in the playoffs.”

Alpena will be back in action Saturday at 5 p.m. in Midland.