Month: November 2018

Holiday Tidings on Ice

In an era when Thanksgiving football rivalries are fading into the mists of time, Thanksgiving hockey rivalries remain vibrant.

The Suburban High School Hockey League has scheduled a full slate of games for Thanksgiving Eve, all of them featuring traditional rivalries.

A doubleheader at Hatfield Ice will commence at 6:45 when Souderton faces off against Pennridge. Central Bucks East and Central Bucks West will follow at 8:45 in another non-league encounter.

Revolution Ice Gardens will also host a doubleheader Wednesday night with North Penn taking on Central Bucks South in the 7 p.m. opener followed by Council Rock North and Council Rock South playing for the Rock Cup at 9:00.

The Bucks County Ice SportsCenter will feature a unique doubleheader, one that includes Archbishop Woodand Upper Moreland, which have combined into one team this season. On Wednesdaynight, with a nod to tradition, they are expected to skate against separateopponents, with the Vikings going against William Tennnent at 7:00 followed bythe Golden Bears facing Hatboro-Horsham at 9:00.Elsewhere,Upper Dublin and Wissahickon will play at 7:30 Wednesday at Old York Road whileNeshaminy and Pennsbury are set for a 7:30 get together at Grundy Arena,

Two Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference teams will also see action Wednesdaynight. Holy Ghost Prep and Father Judge will play their traditionalThanksgiving Eve game at Grundy at 7:00 while Malvern Prep will go againstCardinal O’Hara in a 7 p.m. game at the Skatium.

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Central Bucks South Beats Central Bucks West in SHSHL Matchup

The final score did not reflect what transpired at Revolution Ice Gardens Wednesday night.

Central Bucks South bested Central Bucks West 5-1 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA matchup while outshooting their opponents 51-12. But the win didn’t come easily to the Titans (1-2, 1-0 SHSHL), who broke the game open with four goals in the third period but had their hands full until then.

That was due primarily to the work Jake Coddington in the Bucks’ net. The junior turned aside 46 of 51 shots.

“Jake Coddington was spectacular,” said West coach Dave Baun. “I wanted to keep it close at the end just for Jake Coddington because I thought that 5-1 didn’t do him justice.”

The Bucks (1-1, 0-1) kept the game close for two periods. The Titans dominated the first frame, outshooting West 19-1, but wound up with just one goal for their efforts. That goal came from Reis Braccio at the 11:23 mark.

The Bucks tied the game just 72 seconds into the second period. The Titans’ D.J. Loverdi was in the box for high sticking when Pavel Serhiayenka scored on a wrister from the left point.

South continued to dominate the game but couldn’t get the puck past Coddington. At period’s end, the shot margin was 34-8 in South’s favor but the score remained 1-1, a circumstance South coach Shaun McGinty found perplexing.

“All the credit to West,” he said, but my guys, I don’t feel as though they came ready, they weren’t prepared.”

Between the second and third period, McGinty encouraged his troops to pick up their intensity level. The result was four goals in a span of 13:49. Ryan Gingras started the flurry at the 1:11 mark. Daniel Kvecher followed up at 5:49, Matt Milanesi on a power play at 8:01 and finally Colin Abbonizio with exactly one minute left in the game.

Braccio, who was stymied by Coddington on at least four occasions after the first period, assisted on the last two goals.

“My approach to the third was ‘No one cares what happened in the past,’” McGinty said. “’No one owes you anything, you earn respect.’

They have to find the culture of their team, they have to develop their unity.

“To struggle in the first two periods the way they did, it can’t happen. The shot totals were there, but they weren’t productive, they weren’t playing hard.”

Notes—Oscar Levin was in goal for South … Wednesday’s game was the only scheduled regular-season meeting between the Bucks and the Titans

C.B. West 0 1 0—1

C.B. South 1 0 4—5

First-period goal: Reis Braccio (CBS) from Dominick Liberta, 11:23.

Second-period goal: Pavel Serhiayenka (CBW) from Christopher Trefz, 1:12 (pp).

Third-period goals: Ryan Gingras (CBS) from Harry McLaughlin and James Schuler, 1:11; Daniel Kvecher (CBS) from Alex Glushek, 5:49; Matt Milansei (CBS) from Braccio and Schuler, 8:01 (pp); Colin Abbonizio (CBS) from Liberta and Braccio, 15:00.

Shots: C.B. West 12, C.B. South 51; Saves: Jake Coddington (CBW) 46, Oscar Levin (CBS) 11.

Brandon Leer Savoring His Experiences at LaSalle

Brandon Leer’s time at LaSalle College High School has been a period of growth, both on and off the ice.

A senior from Schwenksville. Pa. Leer is in his second varsity season with the Explorers. He’s scored two goal and added an assist in his team’s first two Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference games while working primarily at right wing.

LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner says Leer has worked hard to earn his place on the roster. “He’s worked very hard to get a regular shift,” he said and when gets out there think he does a good job keeping it simple.”
Leer says he’s learned a lot about hokey during his time at LaSalle. “It’s definitely been something I’ve never experienced before,” he said. “The coaches here teach you in a way like most kids can never experience. It’s truly awesome, the skill level at any practice.

“We only have one practice a week and how these coaches are able to bring us together and develop our skills is incredible. It’s really a great experience.”

Leer makes the commute to LaSalle each day from his home in Schwenksville. He says the logistics aren’t as challenging as might be expected. “The driving really isn’t that bad. It’s like 30 minutes in the morning, taking the turnpike, and there are three kids that live within like five minutes of me so we carpool.”
Leer has enjoyed the experiences LaSalle has to offer. He chose the school in large measure because of its high academic and athletic standards “The academics, the extracurriculars like hockey it’s all top level,” he said. You’re going to be getting the best out of each thing you’re involved in so there’s really nothing that can match that around me.”

Leer says that meeting the academic demands of the school while also playing a sport necessitates developing time-management skills.

“You definitely can’t be lax,” he said You always have to be sure you’re getting your homework done in free periods and stuff like that; make sure you’re not procrastinating or falling behind, just staying on top of all your schoolwork. Just to make sure you’re doing well in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom.

Freshman year, it was a bit rough but then sophomore year it was a lot easier and it’s been a lot easier ever since.”

 

SHSHL Scoring Leaders

Here are the leading scorers in the Suburban High School Hockey League through Saturday, November 10

 

Player                                    Games Played     Goals   Assists    Points

 

 

Brian Garry  Wissahickon           2                        4        5            9

Dean Keller    PW                          3                        2        7             9

Louis Gamburg UD                     2                        5       4              9

Colin Franzoni   PW                    3                        4       4              8

Jake Weikel      PW                       3                        5      3              8

Tyler Greenstein   NP                  2                      5        2              7

Colin Peppelman   LM                2                       6        1              7

Sean Garry             Wiss            2                       5        2              7

Michael Janora      CRN             1                       6         1             7

Brayden Gyza       UM/AW        2                       4        3             7

Note: Janora and Gyza  play for teams that are not playoff eligible

 

 

 

LaSalle Beats St. Joseph’s Prep 5-0

By Rick Woelfel

The pieces fit together quite nicely for LaSalle Wednesday afternoon. Five different players scored goals as the Explorers downed defending Class 3A Flyers Cup champion St. Joseph’s Prep 5-0 in an APAC game at Hatfield Ice.
The win was LaSalle’s fourth without defeat this season and its second straight in the APAC.
“All four lines played pretty well,” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner. The ‘D’ played pretty well. We overcommitted at times, but we were definitely happy with the result.”
LaSalle took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from Michael Casey at 9:32 and Dan Sambuco at 14:52.
The pair joined Sam Lipkin on a line that collected nine points against Holy Ghost Prep last Friday night in the Explorers’ league opener. The trio collected five points on Wednesday
“They were all together last year,” said Explorer senior Brandon Leer. “They play club together so they’re on the ice together all the time. Their chemistry has been building up since last year. This year, everything has worked out.”
Despite the score, the teams battled on even terms through most of the opening frame. The second period was scoreless but by the time it concluded the Explorers were definitely in command.
In the third frame, St. Joseph’s coach David Giacomin, in search of an offensive spark, shuffled his lines and moved some defensemen up front.
The Explorers responded by scoring three times with the goals coming from Ryan Ferry, Nathan Benner, and Leer.
For the Hawks, who were opening their season on Wednesday, it was an opportunity to find out about themselves.
“They’re well-disciplined,” Giacomin said of the Explorers. “They play fast, It gives us the experience to be able to go back and say ‘If we want to compete, this is what we have to do in order to get better. I always like playing better teams in the beginning of the year rather than playing weak opponents”
LaSalle outshot the Hawks 41-21 but Giacomin was pleased that his troops battled to the final buzzer. “They didn’t quit and they hustled,” he said. “For me, there are some skill things we have to work on and can certainly do better, puck movement and other stuff, but the hustle across our three lines … those kids didn’t quite and they kept hustling their butts off.”
Aidan McCabe earned the shutout in goal for the Explorers.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0
LaSalle 2 0 3—5
First-period goals: Michael Casey (L) from Sam Lipkin and Dan Sambuco, 9:32; Sambuco (L) from Lipkin, 14:52.
Second-period goals: None
Third-period goals: Ryan Ferry (L) from Brandon Leer and Andrew Budzynski, 4:40; Nathan Benner (L) from Collin Kreisler and Zach Baker, 7:16; Leer (L) from Sean Keaveney, 9:00.
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 21, LaSalle 41 Saves: Dan McGill (SJP) 36, Aidan McCabe (L) 21.

 

 

 

Check back for a recap

APAC Celebrates Opening Night

The prevailing mindset at Grundy Arena Friday night, both before and after LaSalle’s 5-1 win over Holy Ghost Prep, was one of satisfaction.

The result of the game mattered of course, but there was a lot more to the evening than that result

A lot of people but in a lot of effort to make the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference a reality and seeing that vision become a reality on the ice was obviously satisfying to the responsible parties.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for years,” said LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner, “and to finally pull it together, I think it’s going to be a great thing for all the schools involved.”

Friday’s game drew a large and enthusiastic audience to Grundy Arena. Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside enjoyed the evening despite his team taking the loss.

“This is great,” he said. “The environment we had here tonight, both teams competing really hard, “LaSalle worked hard. I thought we worked hard, this was just a great atmosphere. This is what high-school hockey in the Delaware Valley is all about. Two great teams, two great schools, and I wish we could play like this every night.”

Holy Ghost Prep captain Tom McNulty enjoyed the atmosphere as well. “It was a great atmosphere tonight,” the senior defenseman said. “We had a big (turnout), the whiteout (from Holy Ghost Prep supporters) was awesome. Our fans were really into it.”

McNulty pointed out that the four APAC schools (Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, Malvern Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep) will benefit from going against each other on a regular basis. “I think it will be really good,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of time for improvement. Playing these better teams, we’re going to become better; we’re going to just keep picking it up from there.”

APAC Commissioner Jim Britt was on hand for Friday’s opener. Britt coached at Holy Ghost Prep and later helped launch the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. He was approached last spring about heading up the APAC.

“(The four league schools) had come together and reached a great discussion point,” he said, “to try to organize, celebrate, to help grow the game of high-school hockey in the Philadelphia area.

Britt was elated at the atmosphere of Friday’s game and the enthusiasm of both the participants and fans.

“The turnout tonight is indicative of the kind of enthusiasm that is possible, that is out there,” he said. Someone said earlier that it’s like a Flyers Cup playoff game already and this is only the first game of the conference. So, it’s really neat to see.”

 

 

 

LaSalle Beats Holy Ghost Prep

Friday night marked the beginning of a new era in scholastic hockey in the Delaware Valley. At 7:38 p.m. the referee dropped the puck to begin the matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep, the inaugural game of the new Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.
A large, emotionally engaged crowd was on hand at Grundy Arena for the event.

The players on both sides rose to the occasion, particularly the Explorers, who got two goals from sophomore Sam Lipkin on the way to a 5-1 win.

Lipkin scored the first goal in APAC history at the 9:15 mark of the first period, beating Firebird netminder Sean Joyce. Brandon Leer made it a 2-0 game on a power-play goal at 13:19.

Lipkin said the Explorers (3-0 overall) were buoyed by their quick start. “Any game in this league can be important,” he said. “I think we just played really good overall.”

The Firebirds (0-1) hurt themselves in the first period by taking four minor penalties; Leer’ goal came while they were two men short.

“You don’t want to work on your penalty kill all that much in the first period,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “But we battled through, we got a couple scrapes and a couple bruises from it, but it’s a learning experience.”

It took the Firebirds just 10 seconds to respond to Leer’s goal. Byron Hartley scored to make it a one-goal game.

Michael Casey extended LaSalle’s lead when he scored at 9:54 of the middle period before Lipkin and Daniel Sumbuco scored goals in the third. The line featuring Lipkin, Casey, and Sambuco combined for nine points.

“We’re missing some key guys tonight (because of club commitments),” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner, “so we needed a good push out of that top line that we had and then I think the other two lines did a great job. The fast start helped us and helped us settle in a little bit too.”

Whiteside looked at Friday’s game as a learning experience for his young team, which also had some players away on club duty.

“I was really happy with our group,” he said. “If you lose 10 seniors, it’s tough, but I love the makeup of our team. We’re going to be a good team.”

Notes: LaSalle had a 33-19 edge in shots. All APAC games will have a winner. If a game is tied after 48 minutes of regulation, a five-minute overtime will be played followed by a shootout if needed. The game was officiated by one referee and two linesmen.

 

LaSalle 2 1 2—5

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: Sam Lipkin (L) from Daniel Sambuco and Michael Casey, 9:15; Brandon Leer (L) from Ryan Ferry and Andrew Budzynski, 13:19 (pp); Byron Hartley (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 13;29 (sh).

Second-period goal: Michael Casey (L) from Sambuco and Lipkin, 9:54.

Third-period goals: Lipkin (L) from Sambuco and Casey, 6:23; Sambuco L) unassisted, 14:58.

Shots: LaSalle 33, Holy Ghost Prep 19; saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 18; Sean Joyce (HGP) 28.