Dunn Has Been Through it All at North Penn

Somewhere a bell is tolling, signaling the end of Gabe Dunn’s high-school hockey career is close at hand. But that moment hasn’t arrived just yet.

Dunn and his North Penn teammates will take on Boyertown Tuesday night in the Class AA Flyers Cup final (8:45 at Hatfield Ice). The winner will face Penguins Cup champion Penn Trafford on Saturday in the state-title game.

The top-seeded Knights, the defending Cup and state champions, have enjoyed a remarkable run the past two seasons, compiling a 46-4 record, including 25-1 this season.

It’s quite a turnaround from Dunn’s freshman season when the Knights won just one SHSHL game. As a four-year varsity player, he’s seen a lot.

“Hockey and life have interchangeable skills,” Dunn said. “As a four-year varsity player, I have been exposed to many different situations and levels of success. I have had to mature through that experience and make the most of the situations as they happen.

“My freshman year we went 1-8-1 in league play That’s not because we weren’t working. That’s not because we weren’t doing the right things. We just had to battle through that. To learn from it and use it to get better.

“As my role as a hockey player changed over that time I had to learn to communicate better, to manage feedback effectively, and to thrive in a high-stress, competitive environment.

I have had to explore my role on the ice over the years and I have also explored my role as a teammate and. Through all these things, we just kept going. As we push through, the outcomes change. we as individuals got better. We as a team got better.”

Dunn says a key reason for North Penn’s run of success has been the players’ willingness to accept their assigned roles.

“I believe the reason our team is great at accepting our roles and the reason we have had success is because we all know our end goal.” he said.

“With that goal always in mind, both as teammates and friends we know who is best suited for every situation.  If we need a big hit to change the pace, we have a guy. If we need net front pressure, we have a guy. If we need someone to pick corners, well, we have a guy for that too. It’s our diversity and varying skill sets that set us apart and allows us to be successful.”

Dunn’s own role has evolved over the course of the season, out of necessity.

“At the start of the season I was a “defensive defensemen”,” he said. “That was my role. With a couple early season injuries on the team, the coaches needed to move a few people around to re-balance the lines and I was asked to play forward.  Come to find out I’m pretty versatile and I can be multi-dimensional.  Changing from being that last line of defense to a hard forechecker felt like a natural switch.  It has been a lot of fun and I’m glad I have been able to make meaningful contributions. 

“I think it has really helped me to see myself differently not just in hockey, but in all things. Today isn’t yesterday. You don’t have to be the guy you were yesterday.”

La Salle-HGP Rivalry Renews in Class AAA Cup Final

When La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep meet on the ice there is generally something at stake, from an APAC or Flyers Cup title to local bragging rights.

The latest chapter in the rivalry will play out Tuesday night when the fourth-seeded Explorers and the top-seeded Firebirds collide in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final at Hatfield Ice (6:00 start).

Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) is the defending champion while La Salle (8-13) has won 13 Cup titles in its history, more than any other school.

This marks the 10th time the two schools have met in a Flyers Cup final since 1999; La Salle holds a 6-3 advantage in those games.

As intense as the rivalry is, it is characterized by mutual respect.

La Salle senior forward Luke Baumann is very familiar with the Firebirds.

“Holy Ghost is a great team from top to bottom,” he said. “I have played with or against a lot of their guys in club hockey over the years so I know how talented and competitive they are. They are number two in the state and the number one seed in the Flyers Cup for a reason, and we have a lot of respect for them.

“We also have not forgotten last year’s championship which was a tough loss for the guys who were there.

“At the same time, we have a lot of younger players who are experiencing this for the first time so it is about balancing that motivation with staying focused on the moment.”

Holy Ghost Prep senior forward Jack Gavaghan is anticipating an intense atmosphere at Hatfield Ice.

“The game is going to have high intensity,” he said. “We know they’ve begun to heat up during February and into March. They’re never a team you can take lightly.

“They’ll grind and come out with a push and we have to match that. La Salle is a team you can’t count out but we know we have what it takes to beat them. We’ll set the tone by matching their intensity and then some. Us being familiar with them will work to our advantage as we know what’s coming. We’ll be ready to go.”

The two teams took different paths to reach the finals. As the defending Cup and now two-time APAC champion, Holy Ghost Prep has amassed 40 victories over the past two seasons.

“I think our depth and experience have helped us be successful the past two years,” Gavaghan said.

“Last year we had a senior heavy group who were a big reason we were able to succeed, but we had younger guys following right behind them in a deep playoff run. This year, a lot of us have experienced what it takes to win a Flyers Cup and how difficult it is to win a state championship. That experience has been a key factor in our success this year and helped lead us back to the Flyers Cup championship.”

The Explorers meanwhile, had an up and down campaign but have played much better hockey since the start of 2026; they’ve won five of their last seven games

“I think our turnaround really comes from everything we went through earlier in the season,” Baumann said. “After losing last year’s Flyers Cup championship and graduating a big senior class, we had a young group that needed time to adjust to varsity hockey, the speed, the physicality, and our system. Early on we took some tough losses, but our coaches never let us get discouraged. They have done an unbelievable job keeping us focused, holding us accountable and putting us in the best position to succeed every day. “

The Explorers tend to pick up their level of play after their annual holiday trip and this season was no exception.

“Even though I was hurt at the time, I noticed a big shift in our team after the Rhode Island tournament at the end of December,” Baumann said. “I was only able to watch the games back at our home rink, but you could clearly see the difference in how we were playing before and after. We were more connected, more confident and playing with a lot more structure and energy. As one of only two seniors, I have seen how much this group has matured. The guys who were part of last year’s loss have helped motivate the younger players and over the last two months we have really come together. From January on we have played much more confident and disciplined hockey and that has shown in our results.”

Flyers Cup Class AA Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

  1. North Penn vs. 2 Boyertown 8:45 at Hatfield Ice
  1. North Penn

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Record: 25-1

Key players: Sr. James Boyle 17 goals, 11 assists, 28 points; Jr. Samuel Norton 22-23-55; So. Andy Norton .924 save %

    In this tournament: Def. Shawnee 9-2 in first round; def. Owen J. Roberts 6-3 in quarterfinals; def. Downingtown West 4-1 in semifinals.

2. Boyertown

Coach: Joe Slowik

Record: 17-5

Key players: So. Brayden Kotzen 17 goals, 23 assists, 40 points; Sr. Logan Brown 22-14-36; Sr. Zach Rosen 22-10-32; So, Lucas Yancey .907 save %

     In this tournament: Def. Souderton 12-2 in first round: def. Pennsbury 5-3 in quarterfinals; def. Council Rock South 4-3 in semifinals.

Ice chips: North Penn is trying to become the first Class AA team to successfully defend a Flyers Cup title since Downingtown East won its third straight championship in 2019 … SHSHL teams have won the last four Class AA Cup titles. Three of the four went on to win the state championship including North Penn last year … The last SHSHL team to successfully defend a Class AA Cup title was Council Rock South in 2012.

Class AAA Flyers Cup Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

  1. Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3 La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice
  1. Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 19-4

Key players: Matt Salita .914 save %; Chase Logue 29 goals, 6 assists, 35 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-15-26; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23

In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals; def. Malvern Prep 3-2 in overtime in semifinals.

3. La Salle

Record 8-13

Key players:   Anthony Foster .923 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 7-1-16; Andrew Frantz 4-9-13

In this tournament: Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals; def. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in semifinals

Ice chips: This marks the 10th time Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle have met in a Flyers Cup final, the third time in the last four years. La Salle has a 6-3 edge in those meetings. The Explorers have won 13 Cups in all, including one in Class AA. The Firebirds have won five, including one in Class AA.

APAC Concluding 8th Season This Week

 When the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference was launched in the fall of 2018 it was unique in the realm of Philadelphia-area interscholastic hockey; a hockey-only conference comprised of schools where hockey was a full-fledged varsity sport, overseen and supervised by administrators at each member institution; Holy Ghost Prep, Hun School, La Salle, Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep.

Hun School joined the APAC following its second season, the other four institutions have been part of the conference since it was founded.

As the APAC concludes its eighth season this week, with the Class AAA Flyers Cup final on Tuesday between Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle, with the state title hame to follow on Saturday, what was something of an experiment has proven to be an unqualified success, a successful melding of academic, athletic, and spiritual components.

Steve Mackell is in his second season as the Commissioner of the APAC, having succeeded Jim Britt, who had served in the commissioner’s post from the time the alliance was founded.

Mackell, who has had a long career in amateur hockey as a coach and administrator, cited the keys to the APAC’s success.

“I’m honored to be in the shoes of Jim Britt,” he said. “I think that the level of people we’re dealing with, the coaches, understand the game, they understand what they want to do with the kids, to make them men.

“I think it’s a combination of the academic environment and the athletic environment, which puts the APAC at really the echelon of hockey in this area.”

Mackell stresses the importance of the hockey programs at each conference school being a full-fledged varsity under direct institutional supervision.

“I think it’s the key to our conference,” he said, “that this is a varsity sport. The schools all fully back the sport. The student bodies there, the athletic directors there. The principals have been to many of the games and we’re very fortunate to have the support of the schools in our league.

”I think that’s what makes it real easy to deal with them because they can deal with a lot of stuff from an expectation standpoint before they even come into the rink.

{The players and coaches} know what they’re dealing with because they have to answer to people at school as well.”

Mackell is proud of the APAC’s success in helping its student athletes strike a balance among the various components of their lives and achieve success on and off the ice.

“All hockey players have a lot going on.” he said. I think the level of academics, what they need to do to stay in good standing at their schools from an academic standpoint, the spiritual world, and also the athletic side, to play at that level of hockey.

“There’s a lot of juggling that goes on between their club teams, their high-school teams, between their academic lives and their spiritual lives. I think that you see motivated young men that are all looking to move on to the next level, whether it’s in college, whether it’s in {junior hockey}, whether it’s in a different sport, whether it’s no sport, or academics, they understand their high schools are very important to where they are and I think they’re all striving for that.”

Flyers Cup Finals Game Times

Monday, March 16

Class A Final

  1. Hershey vs 2. Penncrest 7:00 at Ice Line PPD to 3-18 7:30 at Ice Line

Tuesday, March 17

Class AAA Final

  1. Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3. La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

Class AA Final

  1. North Penn vs. 2. Boyertown 8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Thursday, March 19

Girls Final

  1. Avon Grove vs. 3. Lower Merion 7:00 at PNY Arena

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Malvern Prep 2 OT

It was an ending fit for a classic.  Chase Logue’s goal 6:58 into overtime gave Holy Ghost Prep a 3-2 win over Malvern Prep Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded and defending champion Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) will move on to face La Salle in Tuesday’s championship game at this same venue. La Salle was a 4-1 winner over St. Joseph’s Prep in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The game-winning goal exemplified excellence. The Firebirds’ Lucas Gonzalez made a dash down the left wing and beat a Friar player to a loose puck along the wall at the Malvern Prep blue line. Gonzalez sent a backhand pass cross the ice and found Logue midway between the two circles. Logue unleashed a forehander that beat Malvern Prep goaltender Ryan Caterino.

{Gonzalez} made a great pass,” Logue said. “I saw a chance to go to the net, just took my chance and shot it, and it went in”

For the Firebirds, it was a narrow escape.

The fourth-seeded Friars, who closed their season at 6-12-2, struck first when Andrew Starck beat Holy Ghost Prep netminder Matt Salita 2:20 into the first period.

That opening goal set the tone for the evening.

“I think they were prepared,” Holy Ghost Prep defenseman and captain Chris Marshall said of the Friars. “They were ready to go. Their guys were fired up. They gave us a hell of a game.”

Jake Smaron tied the game for the Firebirds 12:32 into the first frame, but James Young’s solo effort put the Friars up 2-1 2:34 into the middle period.

Logue scored the last goal of regulation with 1:35 left in the second period.

The fact the Firebirds never led in the game until Logue’s game winner was not due to a lack of effort. The victors held a 25-14 advantage in shots over the last two periods of regulation plus overtime. That regulation ended in a deadlock was due in large measure to Caterino’s work in the Friar net; the senior logged 35 saves in his final high-school game,

Sudden-death overtime began with the teams changing ends (thus dealing with long changes) and a regulation-period length 17 minutes on the clock.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie had some instructions for his troops prior to the start of overtime.

“We needed to adjust offensive zone possession,” he said. “They were releasing a guy and taking a cycle off every time.

“We were trying to create some low-to-high chances, with our {defense} because they were just clogging the middle.

“So the biggest thing was keeping our guys steady and controlling our emotions. I think the experience of last year helped us.”

In the end the Firebirds moved on.  But the Friars’ effort resonated with everyone in the building.

“This was a resilient group of seniors that held this team together,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “It makes a difference when you have a good senior group, and they were the glue of this team.

“I thought we brought our best effort tonight. Taking Ghost to overtime in a Flyers Cup game; you couldn’t ask more from the boys. I’m proud of where we were tonight.”

Malvern Prep 1 1 0 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 0 1—3

First-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Jake Weingartner and Pax Hoishik, 2:29; Jake Smaron (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 12:32                      

Second-period goals: James Young (MP) unassisted, 2:34; Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez, 15:25

Overtime goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez 6:58

Shots: Malvern Prep 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38 Saves: Ryan Caterino (MP) 35; Matt Salita (HGP) 25                                                                 

North Penn 4 Downingtown West 1

Special teams matter more than ever come the postseason. Special-team situations worked to North Penn’s advantage Thursday night. The Knights overcame an early 1-0 deficit and scored twice on second-period power plays to separate themselves from Downingtown West en route to a 4-1 win in a Flyers Cup Class AA a semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The top-seeded Knights (25-1) will attempt to complete a successful title defense Tuesday night against Boyertown, a 4-3 winner over Council Rock South in Thursday’s other semifinal.

From North Penn’s perspective, it was a performance that was more workmanlike than flamboyant.

“{Downingtown West} is a very good hockey team,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “Their goalie (Justin Adams) is outstanding. We knew going in that it was going to be a tough game and it was.

“They got goal early, but we kept playing and kept working.”

The fifth-seeded Whippets (13-9-1) drew first blood when Brady Cusa opened the scoring 5:35 into the opening period. Joey Risa took a shot from the left wing. North Penn goaltender Andrew Norton made the save but lost track of the rebound and Cusa tucked the puck inside the left post.

Nolan Shingle responded for North Penn at the 9:52 mark however to send the teams into the second period on even terms.

The Whippets undermined themselves with penalties in the second frame. Colin Gordon was whistled for interference just 19 seconds into the period. It took Chris Silvotti just 44 additional seconds to respond with a power-play goal. Shingle’s second goal of the night, which came with 5:26 remaining in the period, was also a power-plays effort. James Boyle assisted on the goal to pick up the 100th point of his career.

“We always try to work on the power play,” Shingle said. “When you’re given a chance like that, you kind of have to capitalize, it can be a big momentum swinger.

“This whole season, we kind of have been on the other side of calls a lot, so I feel like every power play we get, we’ve got to make the most of it.”

Declan Leahy added the Knights’ fourth goal, with Boyle’s help, 4:56 into the third period.

 Now, it’s on to the finals where the Knights will try to become the first Class AA team in seven years to defend a Cup title. Shingle says the Knights are taking it a step at a time.

“That’s been a big thing this whole season,” Shingle said. “Don’t get too ahead of ourselves and just keep focused. “We’ve got to go into every game with the mentality that this team can beat us if we don’t come to play.”                                                                                                     

• Downingtown East in 2019 was the last Class AA team to mount a successful Flyers Cup defense. The Cougars won three straight titles from 2017-’19.

Downingtown West 1 0 0—1

North Penn 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Brady Cusa (DW) from Joey Risa, 5:35; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Samuel Norton, 9:52

Second-period goals: Chris Silvotti (NP) from Ismael Cabrales, 1:03 (pp) Shingle (NP) from Norton and James Boyle, 11:34 (pp)

Third-period goals: Declan Leahy (NP) from Boyle, 4:56

Shots: Downingtown West 14, North Penn 40; Saves: Justin Adams (DW) 36, Andrew Norton (NP) 13

Flyers Cup Results Thursday, March 12

Class AA Semifinals

North Penn 4 Downingtown West 1—(see story)

Boyertown 4 Council Rock South 3—Brayden Kotzen scored  with 38 seconds left in regulation to give second-seeded Boyertown the come-from-behind win over the third-seeded Golden Hawks Thursday night at Ice Line.

The Bears (17-5), who will face North Penn in Tuesday’s final, never led until Kotzen’s game winner; the teams traded goals all evening.

Dylan Remick tied the game for Boyertown with 1:26 remaining in regulation; he also assisted on the game winner.

Jake Weiner scored the Golden Hawks’ first two goals, one in each of the first two periods. Allen Pronin also scored for South, which closed the season at 17-6.

Council Rock South 1 1 1—3

Boyertown 1 1 2—4

First-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 7:55 (sh); Zach Rosen from Brayden Havrilla and Joseph Bilotta,  12:57

Second-period goals: Weiner (CRS) from Wesley Mallon, 9:55 (pp) Nate Ochranek (B) from Brayden Kotzen and Logan Brown, 11:04

Third-period goals: Allen Pronin (CRS) from Weiner and Trey Prozzillo, 4:54; Dylan Remick (B) from Jax Drost and Kotzen, 15:34; Kotzen (B) from Brown and Remick, 16:22

Shots: Council Rock South 20, Boyertown 27; Saves: Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 23, Lucas Yancey (B) 17

Class AAA Semifinals

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Malvern Prep 2 OT— (see story)

La Salle 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 1—Luke Bauman scored two goals and William Padulka and Patrick Lunsford also scored goals as the third-seeded Explorers (8-13) topped the second-seeded Hawks Thursday night at Ice Line.

John Greenwalt assisted on three goals for La Salle, which will face top-seeded defending champion Holy Ghost Prep in Tuesday’ final.

Cole Gargon scored for the second-seeded Hawks, who finished the season at 17-8.

The game was tied at 1-1 early in the second period when Baumann and Lunsford scored goals five minutes apart to give La Salle a 3-1 lead with 6:21 left in the period.

Baumann added his second goal 5:16 into the third period.

La Salle 1 2 1—4

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: William Padulka (L) unassisted, 9:47; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Michael Castelli, 14:07 (pp)

Second-period goals: Luke Baumann (L) from John Greenwalt, 5:33; Patrick Lunsford (L) from Greenwalt and Andrew Frantz, 10:39 (pp)

Third-period goal: Baumann (L) from Greenwalt and Lunsford, 5:16 (pp)

Shots; St. Joseph’s Prep 41, La Salle 23; saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 19, Anthony Foster (L) 40