Longtime followers of the Suburban High School Hockey League may have noticed the scheduling format for the league’s two Class 2A Division, the Continental, has changed this season. In years past, teams played divisional opponents twice and crossover opponents once, for a 16-game league schedule.
This year, teams will play every league opponent once (11 games) and fill out their schedules with five games against what be described as ‘mutually agreeable opponents.’
In some cases, teams have elected to play one another twice; Central Bucks South and Council Rock South for instance. In that scenario, the second meeting will be the one that counts in the division standings.
Council Rock South (National) and Central Bucks South (Continental) are leading their respective divisions. The Golden Hawks are 4-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the division heading in to this week, despite being without big guns Matt Owens and Dylan Feoli because of injuries. Sophomore Matt Meli has picked up much of the scoring load, with 14 goals and three assists for 17 points. Jared Wagenmann, a senior, has contributed five goals and seven assists.
The Titans are carrying a 5-1 mark (3-0 in the division) that includes a 1-0 win over defending Class 2A Flyers Cup and state champion Downingtown East. Senior Joe DeLaurentis has scored 13 goals while Matt Stoll has collected six goals and added five assists.
The Titans and the Golden Hawks have already met once; the Titans prevailed 3-1 on November 29. They’ll meet again on January 25th.
Former Holy Ghost Prep goaltender Peyton Jones is continuing to shine at Penn State. Jones, a sophomore, is carrying a 3.08 goals-against average and a save percentage of .895 in 17 starts.
The Nittany Lions are 11-7-2 and unbeaten in their last seven games after sweeping a two-game series from Robert Morris this weekend. They’re 4-4-2 in the Big Ten, which has expanded to seven hockey-playing schools this season with the addition of Notre Dame. They’re off now until after the New Year.
Unfortunately, Jones and his teammates will not be appearing in Philadelphia this year; there is no Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff on the schedule this season.
The Flyers Cup brawl involving Ridley and Central Bucks West during their Flyers Cup quarterfinal last March is back in the news.
Five former Ridley players face misdemeanor assault charges stemming from the incident. Jake Tyler Cross, 19, of Secane; Ryan Anthony Gricco, 18, of Swarthmore; Thomas Joseph Plotts, 19, of Woodlyn; and Anderson Brock, 18, of Morton saw their charges held for court following a preliminary hearing on November 28 in Montgomery County Court. Nathan Dunning, 19, of Morton waived his hearing. The next step in the process is arraignment on January 17.
This information was reported in the Intelligencer newspaper on November 28-29. Kudos to reporter James O’Malley for his efforts.
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Hockey Happenings 