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Seneca Valley 7 Holy Ghost Prep 2

WEST GOSHEN—For two seasons now, Seneca Valley has set the standard when it comes to Class AAA scholastic hockey. On Saturday evening, the Raiders demonstrated why.

The defending state champions scored four straight goals in the third period and pulled away from Holy Ghost Prep to post a 7-2 win at Ice Line to claim their second consecutive Pennsylvania Cup title.

The result was identical to last year’s Class AAA state final that featured the same two teams but rematch was much more competitive until the third period when Seneca Valley (23-0-1) found another gear.

“They’re a phenomenal team,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “I think they have {12} seniors. Nothing that happened during the game wasn’t something that we didn’t expect.

“I thought our game plan was pretty spot on. I thought we played a pretty good game for two periods.”

Cooper Hoehn gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at the midway point of the first period when he scored from close range from directly in front of the Firebirds’ net after collecting a backhand pass from Carson Lindberg, who was stationed behind the goal.
Mason Thomas answered with a power-play goal for Holy Ghost Prep (20-5) when he put in a rebound of Jack Gavaghan’s shot from the low slot with 3:36 left in the period. The goal came while the Firebirds were holding a two-man advantage.

Seneca Valley extended its lead in the second period when Braden Morin and Hoehn scored goals no quite four minutes apart.

The Firebirds trailed 3-1 going into the third period, but the door was still open. The Raiders promptly slammed it shut. John Sroka III, Hoehn, and Morin all scored in a span of 4:08 to make it a 6-1 game 7:41 into the period. Hoehn’ goal was his third of the evening.

Morin completed a hat trick of his own at the 11:24 mark from the deep right wing before Chase Logue added the Firebirds’ second goal on a power-play effort with 90 seconds remaining.

Ritchie noted his players have everything they had against an elite opponent.

“I don’t think last year maybe I had our group as prepared as we should have been,” he said. “I thought our game plan this year was spot on.

‘I said to our coaches ‘I don’t know how we play a better game but yield the same result.’ It just goes to show you how good that team is.”

Ritchie, who played for Holy Ghost himself for Gump Whiteside, has now completed three seasons as his alma mater’s head coach.

“The legacy of Holy Ghost is the most important thing to me,” he said. “And it’s that every group that graduates leaves that jersey in a bit of a better spot every time. And, if you start stacking those types of years you’ve got a standard that’s set and an expectation that’s set.

“From where we were three years ago with 11 wins, to have 41 wins in two years, you can’t ask for more from a group. And, it’s because of the core guys that we have.”

• In Saturday’s other two state championship games, Quaker Valley defeated Hershey 6-2 for the Class A title while Penn-Trafford was victorious over North Penn 3-1 in the Class AA final.

Seneca. Valley 1 2 4—7

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Cooper Hoehn (SV) from Carson Lindberg and Jason Gilbert, 8:30; Mason Thomas (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan 12:24 (pp)

Second-period goals: Braden Morin (SV) unassisted, 1:19; Hohen (SV) from Morin and Ethan Rife, 5:13

Third-period goals: John Sroka III (SV) from Hoehn, 3:33 (pp); Hoehn (SV) from Lindberg and Gilbert, 4:46; Morin (SV) from Sroka III, 7:41 (sh); Morin (SV) from Hoehn and Layton Moreau, 11:24; Chase Logue (HGP) from Nate Romer and Ryan Carey, 15:30 (pp)

Shots: Seneca Valley 32, Holy Ghost Prep 29; Saves: Chris Nichols (SV) 27, Matt Salita (HGP) 25

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Penn-Trafford 3 North Penn 1

WEST GOSHEN— For the first time in a long time, North Penn was presented with a puzzle it could not solve. The Knights’ bid for a second consecutive Class AA state title fell short Saturday afternoon at the hands of Penn-Trafford by a margin of 3-1 at Ice Line.

A capacity crowd witnessed a final contested at an elite level.

“Hats off to them,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. They’re a good hockey team. Their goalie played outstanding. I’m proud of our guys.”

The Knights took the ice minus leading scorer Samuel Norton who was serving a suspension.

“It obviously hurt some things not having Sam out there,” Vaitis said. “He’s such a huge part of our team.

“We can all play the ‘What if’ scenarios with things like that, but I’m proud of the guys and how hard we worked.”

Hockey coaches talk a lot about games between evenly matched teams being decided a freak bounce here or there. The Warriors (20-7) scored the first goal of the game with the help of a bounce that was to say the least, out of the realm of the ordinary.

With just under seven minutes left in the opening period, the Warriors’ Zach Grkman launched a shot on goal from the center of the ice, just as he crossed the red line. The puck slid along the ice until it reached a point roughly midway between the faceoff circle hash marks when it abruptly sailed high in the air and over the shoulder of North Penn goaltender Andy Norton.

With 6:32 left in the opening session, Penn-Trafford had a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors extended their lead 7:51 into the third period. Liam Lehneke launched a shot from the right point that caromed off the end wall to Norton’s left, Norton however lost track of the puck which was lying behind his left pad when Brock Bienemann tucked it inside the post.

North Penn (25-2) kept battling and with 61 seconds left in regulation, North on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, Nolan Shingle was able to get the best of Penn-Trafford netminder Tyler Funk.

But Ben Zierski brought the curtain down on the affair with an empty net goal with six seconds remaining, a goal that coincidentally brought down the curtain on one of the most remarkable seasons and certainly the most remarkable two-year stretch in the 50-year history of the North Penn hockey program.

“When you look at North Penn and the history we’ve had, nobody can attest to what these guys have accomplished,” Vaitis said. “I’m proud of them.

“The loss} hurts, it stings but time will allow us to heal together and we won’t forget the ride we had the last two years. We had a remarkable ride and for the guys coming back, we’re going to have a really good hockey team next year.

“We’ll take some time to heal and get over this, and start to get ready for next year.”

• In Saturday’s other two state championship games, Quaker Valley defeated Hershey 6-2 for the Class A title, while Seneca Valley bested Holy Ghost Prep 7-2 in Class AAA.

Penn-Trafford 1 0 2—3

North Penn 0 0 1—1

First-period goal; Zach Grkman (PT) from Nico Castelli, 10:28

Third-period goals: Brock Bienemann (PT) from Liam Lehneke, 7:51; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Gabe Dunn and Chris Silvotti, 15:59; Ben Zierski (PT) unassited,16:54 (en)

Shots: Penn-Trafford 39, Holy Ghost Prep 33; Saves: Tyler Funk (PT) 32, Andy Norton (NP) 36

Penn-Trafford 1 0 2—3

North Penn 0 0 1—1

First-period goal; Zach Grkman (PT) from Nico Castelli, 10:28

Third-period goals: Brock Bienemann (PT) from Liam Lehneke, 7:51; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Gabe Dunn and Chris Silvotti, 15:59; Ben Zierski (PT) unassited,16:54 (en)

Shots: Penn-Trafford 39, North Penn 33; Saves: Tyler Funk (PT) 32, Andy Norton (NP) 36

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Pennsylvania Class AAA Finals. Sat. 3-21

Holy Ghost Prep vs. Seneca Valley 5:00 at Ice Line

Holy Ghost Prep (20-4)

Coach: John Ritchie

Key players: Chase Logue 29 goals, 7 assists, 36 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-16—27, Anthony Valeriote 8-16-24; Matt Salita .950 save %

Seneca Valley (22-0-1)

Coach: Tyler Mesisca

Key players: Braden Morin 17 goals, 12 assists, 29 points: Jacob Gilbert 10-17-27; John Sroka III 11-15-26; Cooper Hoehn 15-10-25; Chris Nichols .947 save %

Ice chips: This game is a rematch of the Raiders’ 7-2 win a year ago which gave them their first state championship.

The Firebirds, who are 41-9 over the last two seasons, will be seeking the second state title in school history; their first came in 2015.

Since the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference was launched in the 2018-19, three of its teams have won state titles: La Salle in 2019 and ’23, and Malvern Prep in 2021.

La Salle is also the last Class AAA team to successfully defend, in 2009.

State Class AA Championship Sat. 3-21

North Penn vs. Penn-Trafford 2:00 at Ice Line

North Penn (25-1)

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Key players: Nolan Shingle 28 goals, 21 assists, 49 points; Chris Silvotti 24-20-44; James Boyle 13-17-30 Andy Norton .950 save %

Penn-Trafford (18-5)

Coach: BJ. Zagorec

Key players: Sean Goodman 27 goals, 18 assists, 45 points: Ben Zierski 10 goals, 27 assists, 37 points; Brock Bienemann 16-14-30; Zack Grkman 10-12-22; Tyler Funk .916 save %

Ice chips: North Penn is trying to become the fourth SHSHL team in five years to win a Class AA state title. They will however be shorthanded; leading scorer Samuel Norton is under suspension and will not dress.

The Knights are an experienced group. Eighteen of the 23 players on this year’s Flyers Cup roster on part of last year’s state-title team.

The Warriors are seeking theit first state titie

Lower Merion Girls 3 Avon Grove 1

Thea Moore scored one goal and assisted on another as Lower Merion bested Avon Grove 3-1 Thursday night in the Flyers Cup girls’ championship game at PNY Arena.

Top-seeded Avon Grove took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Emmy Sullivan 1:18 into the 16-minute first period but Ellen Smith tied the game for the Aces just 25 seconds later off a setup from Moore.

Stella Stoode scored the Cup-winning goal with 7:22 left in the first frame and Moore added a goal of her own 3:34 into the second.

Lower Merion goaltender Ruby Leno came up big, making 41 saves. The Aces were outshot 42-26

Lower Merion 2 1 0—3

Avon Grove 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: Emmy Sullivan (AG) from Brianna Register and Blaire Stoltzfus, 1:18; Ellen Smith (LM) from Thea Moore, 1:43; Stella Strode (LM) unassisted, 8:38

Second-period goal: Moore (LM) unassisted, 3:34

Shots: Lower Merion 26, Avon Grove 42; Saves: Ruby Leno (LM) 41, Mckayla Mellon (AG) 23

Hershey 6 West Chester East 1

For the second time in three years, Hershey is the Class A Flyers Cup champion. Gabriel Placeres and Cole Umberger scored two goals as the top-seeded Trojans bested second-seeded Penncrest 6-1 Wednesday night at Ice Line.

Hershey, which won the Class A Flyers Cup and state titles in 2024 will face Penguins Cup champion Quaker Valley Saturday at 11:00 at this same venue in the state championship game.

The Trojans were outshot 39-24 but Alexander Placeres, who won the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player two years ago, claimed it for the second time. Wednesday night. He made 37 saves and pitched a shutout until he left the fame after surrendering a goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Placeres was at his best in the first period when he made 15 saves to keep the game scoreless.

Hershey got control of the game when Gabriel Placeres, Brady Cox, and Umberger scored goals in a span of 4:53. Placeres, Braden Boblick, and Umberger added goals in the third period.

Sebouth Flett scored for Penncrest.

• Placeres is the first Class A player to win consecutive Bobby Clarke Awards since Brian Christie from West Chester Rustin in 2009-10.

Hershey 0 3 3—6

Penncrest 0 0 1—1

Second-period goals: Gabriel Placeres (H) from Bennett Sheppard, 9:24; Brady Cox from Aaron Heisey, 11:51; Cole Umberger (H) from Blake Umberger and Braden Boblick, 14:17

Third-period goals: G. Placeres (H) from Heisey and Boblick, :48; Boblick (H) from Bryce Erwin and G. Placeres, 9:41 (pp); Umberger (H) from Boblick, 11:22 (pp); Sebouth Flett (P) from Christian Vernacchio and Andrew Hausch, 16:34

Shots: Penncrest 39, Hershey 24; Saves: Nathan Shahi (P) 18, Alexander Placeres (H) 37 and Zachary Imboden (H) 1

North Penn 3 Boyertown 1

North Penn was presented with an abundance of opportunities Tuesday night. Eventually, the Knights began cashing them in. it took some time but North Penn found a series of winning combination en route to a 3-1 win over Boyertown in the Class AA Flyers Cup final at Hatfield Ice.

Having successfully defended its Flyers Cup crown, North Penn (26-1) will attempt to defend its state title against Penguins Cup champion Penn-Trafford in Saturday’s Class AA state-title game (2:00 at Ice Line). The Knights will go into that game shorthand. Samuel Norton, one of the SHSHL’s most prolific point producers over the course of his career, drew a major penalty for boarding plus a game misconduct in the third period and will be serving a mandatory suspension.

It took the Knights until early in the second period to solve Boyertown goaltender Lucas Yancey. Daniel Cabrales broke the scoreless deadlock at the 3:59 mark with a blast from the right point during a power play.

Nolan Shingle made it a 2-0 game at the 11:07 mark off a perfectly timed feed from Ismael Cabrales.

“I think [Boyertown} is a great team,” said North Penn defenseman James Boyle. “I think we had a lot of opportunities, it was just about bearing down.

“I think we finally figured it out and we were able to net a couple there and the lead. I think it was just patience and not giving up must keep on working until we get one.”

Special teams played a role all evening; there were 10 minor penalties called in the first two periods. By the time the clock wound down to six minutes remaining in regulation, with, six more infractions had been whistled.

With 4:18 remaining Boyertown (17-6) lost the services of senior forward Jack Schreiber, who was called for interference and then received an additional penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, plus a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct.

Norton was banished with 3:39 remaining and when North Penn goaltender Andy Norton was called for delay of game for knocking his net off its pegs, the Knights were two men short.

The Bears took advantage. Logan Brown converted the power-play chance with 2:09 to go and the Knights found themselves hanging on until Boyle scored into an empty net with 61 seconds remaining.

Boyle was the recipient of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“I think it’s just as special the second time around as it was the first time around,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis.

“Going back to back is tough and I’m just so proud of these guys for the work they put in all season.

“I’m so happy for all of them, The seniors especially. They were on this team three years ago when we won one. It’s a remarkable turnaround and I’m so happy for everybody.”

By the numbers: After Tuesday night, North Penn is 47-4 over the past two seasons … SHSHL teams have won five consecutive Class AA Flyers Cups.

Boyertown 0 0 1—1

North Penn 0 2 1—3

Second-period goals: Daniel Cabrales (NP) from James Boyle, 3:59 (pp); Nolan Shingle (NP) from Ismael Cabrales, 11:07

Third-period goals: Logan Brown (B) from Zach Rosen, 14:51 (pp); James Boyle (NP) unassisted, 15:59 (en)

Shots: Boyertown 28, North Penn 39 Saves: Lucas Yancey (B) 36, Andy Norton (NP) 27

Holy Ghost Prep 3 La Salle 2

The second time was just as sweet. Anthony Valeriote’s goal with 2:50 remaining in regulation gave Holy Ghost Prep a 3-2 win over La Salle Tuesday night at Hatfield Ice and it second straight Class AAA Flyers Cup title

The result sets up a state championship game rematch between the Firebirds (20-4) and defending state champion Seneca Valley, which defeated Peters Township 5-4 Tuesday night in the Penguins Cup Class AAA final.

The title game is set for a 5:00 start Saturday at Ice Line.

Valeriote’s winning goal came on a deflection. Working behind the La Salle net, the senior tried to play the puck in front. His pass was deflected and caromed into the net off the back of Explorer goaltender Anthony Foster.

“I took it literally on the boards behind the net,” Valeriote said. “I was looking for a pass in front and it got redirected and hit him. I was like ‘All right, I’ll take it.’”

Valeriote noted the Firebirds handled the pressure that accompanied being the top-Class AAA team all season long.

“All year we’ve been the guys on top,” he said. “Everyone has been looking up at us and to finish it off and show that we are really the top team, it’s so special.”

The Firebirds were in control of the game early on. Jake Smaron found the back of the La Salle net from close range just 1:18 into the opening period.

Holy Ghost Prep went on to control the flow of the first frame, outshooting the Explorers 12-2. At the other end of the ice, the Firebirds’ defense corps neutralized the Explorers’ offensive chances.

La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster kept his team in the game by making 10 saves in the opening 17 minutes, several them on quality chances.

Foster continued his high-quality work early in the second frame in the second frame by denying Valeriote on a partial breakaway not quite four minutes into the period after Valeriote left the penalty box after serving a holding penalty.

Momentum gradually shifted LaSalle’s way after that and the Explorers (8-14) eventually scored the second period’s only goal. River Carangi beat Firebird netminder Matt Salita with 7:15 left in the period. By period’s end the shot differential was just 17-14 in the Firebirds’ favor, and most of the capacity crowd on hand was expecting a dramatic finale.

They got one. Nate Romer gave the Firebirds the lead with 6:45 left in regulation but Patrick Lunsford tied the game for the second time 58 seconds letter to set up what became a memorable finish.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie saluted the effort of both teams.

“It wasn’t as clean as we would have liked it to be,” he said, “but we knew we were going to get a really good opponent a really good game plan.

“After that first period, they brought it to us.”

A La Salle team that dealt with a sizeable helping of adversity over the course of the season left everything it had on the ice.

“I’m very proud of them,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We worked our tails off this year to get to this point.

“When the APAC semifinals were going on, we were the only team practicing that day. We worked our butts off that day.

“We believed we could get here. We were probably the only ones that believed we could get here an I’m so proud of the effort that they gave. We grew tremendously as a team this year.”

• Chase Louge was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

He said the Firebirds got contributions from up and down the lineup.

“We have a lot of depth and we got it going today,” he said. We just managed to stay on then, we kept going.”

La Salle 0 1 1—2

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 2—3

First-period goals: Jake Smaron (HGP) from Chase Logue, 1:18

Second-period goals: River Carangi (L) from Nolan Hirshka, 9:45

Third-period goals: Nate Romer (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 10:15; Patrick Lunsford (L) unassisted, 13:22; Anthony Valeriote, 14:10 unassisted, (pp)

Shots: La Salle 20, Holy Ghost Prep 34 Saves: Anthony Foster (L) 31, Matt Salita (HGP) 18