Central Bucks West 10, Abington 2

HATFIELD—Central Bucks West got of to a slow start Friday night. But once the Bucks got rolling, they kaput on going, all the way to a 10-2 win over Abington in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA league opener for both schools.

Griffin Carpenter gave the Galloping Ghosts (1-3, 0-1) the lead with a goal just 32 seconds after the opening faceoff. It took West (3-0, 1-0) some time to respond but Cooper Guerin’s goal at the 10:09 mark triggered a sequence that saw the Bucks score four goals in a span of just 4:29 to take a 4-1 lead and they went on from there.

West’s number-one line put up some big numbers. Jake Lang on left wing had a had trick and added three assists. Chris Trefz, the Bucks’ captain, had an eight-point night with two goals and six assists while Keith Orlando on right wing contributed two goals and two assists.

Lang said it was important for his team to respond after falling behind before a lot of fans at Hatfield Ice had settled in their seats. “That was super important,” he said. “If we didn’t get that next goal I think it would have went downhill from there for sure.”

West coach Dave Baun says his top line benefits from having played a lot of shifts together. “They work the puck really well,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re scoring some goals, but a lot of it is on individual stuff and it’s not the kind of team play that we look for. But they did move the puck well in the cycle and they were breaking of their passes. It looked like we were starting to get it.”

For the most of the way, the game wasn’t as one sided as the final score made it appear. Orlando and Abington’s Tom Rourke traded second-period goals and West led 5-2 before adding two goals later in the period. The Bucks padded their lead with three goals in the final 2:32 of the third frame but that did not diminish the work of Abington netminder Ben Panella; the sophomore finished with 43 saves.

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski praise the work of his young goaltender. “He did a great job,” he said. “Actually this night and the game we had last week the did really good. We had a nice victory last week and huge played well tonight.”

The Galloping Ghosts are one of the youngest teams in the SHSHL, there are 15 underclassmen on the roster. Brzozowski is taking things one shift at a time.

“We’re just looking to take little steps every game,” he said. “Composure on the puck, seeing the ice. Taking what we’re doing in practice and executing that in the game. If we can continue to do that, then I think we’re going to be in a good spot by the end of the year.”
Abington 1 10—2
C.B. West 4 3 3—10
First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Tom Rourke, :32; Cooper Guerin (CBW) from Reese Dalzell, 10:09; Chris Trefz (CBW) from Keith Orlando and Jake Lang, 10:57; Orlando (CBW) from Sammy Poliak and Trefz, 12:24; Lang (CBW) from Trefz and Orlando, 14:38 (pp)
Second-period goals: Orlando (CBW) from Lang and Trefz, 3:30; Rourke (A) from Joe Stelacio and Carpenter, 6:04; Guerin (CBW) unassisted, 9:27; Lang (CBW) from Trefz, 15:09
Third-period goals: Lang (CBW) from Billy Loughnane and Trefz, 13:28; Loughnane (CBW) from Trefz, 14:08; Trefz (CBW) from Lang, 15:41
Shots: Abington 21, C.B. West 53; Saves: Ben Panella (A) 43, Jake Coddington (CBW) 19

By Rick Woelfel

APAC Update 11-14-19

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

W L OTW OTL Pts GF GA

St. Joseph’s Prep (2-0) 2 0 0 0 6 10 6

Holy Ghost Prep (2-1) 1 0 0 1 4 8 6

Malvern Prep (1-2) 0 2 1 0 2 11 14

LaSalle (2-1) 0 1 0 0 0 1 4

Game of Wednesday, 11-13

St. Joseph’s Prep 6, Malvern Prep 3

Games of 11-11

Malvern Prep 5, Holy Ghost Prep 4 OT

Games of Wednesday 11-7

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Malvern Prep 3

Holy Ghost Prep 9, North Penn 1

Promote your product, service, or event in this space. Contact Hockey Happenings HERE for details

St. Joseph’s Prep 6, Malvern Prep 3

Jeff Hammond scored three goals to lead St. Joseph’s Prep to a 6-3 win over Malvern Prep on Wednesday in an APAC game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

Ben Briskin, Dominic Fantozzi, and Matt Moresco also scored for the Hawks (2-0 in the APAC) who scored three times in the third period

Matt Harris scored two for the Friars (1-2) who also got a goal from Andrew Harder.

A shorthanded goal from Briskin gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead after the first period. Hammond and Harris traded goals in the second stanza before Fantozzi gave his team a two-goal lead at the 10:55 mark.

The third period saw the two team combine for five goals in span of 10:21. Two of St. Joseph Prep’s three goals came on power plays.

Malvern Prep 0 1 2—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 3—6

First-period goals: Ben Briskin (HGP) from Jimmy Craig, 13:16 (sh)

Second-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Connor Burman, :46; Matt Harris (HP) from Ryan Sambuco and Jack Constabile, 9:00; Dominic Fantozzi (SJP) from Andrew Centrella, 10:55

Third-period goals: Hammond (SJP) from Centrella and Craig, 5:00 (pp); Andrew Harder (MP) from Sambuco and Harris, 5:46; Matt Moresco (SJP) from Fantozzi and Michael Urbani, 8:18 (pp); Hattis (MP) from Constabile, 12:45; Hammond (SJP) from Centrella, 15:21 (en)

Shots: Malvern Prep 21, St. Joseph’s Prep 23; Saves: Jack Davis (MP) 17, Andrew Custer (SJP) 18

North Penn 4, Central Bucks East 3 OT

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK—North Penn and Central Bucks East made a bit of hockey history Wednesday night. The Knights and the Patriots engaged in the first regular-season overtime game in Suburban High School Hockey League history.

Ryan Cunningham scored with a slapshot from just off the left circle 2:08 into the five-minute overtime to give the Knights a 4-3 win. The goal came off a right-circle faceoff. Tyler Greenstein sent the puck across the ice to Cunningham, who rocketed the puck past Patriot goaltender Chris McIntyre.

Prior to Wednesday night the Knights (1-1, 1-0 in league play) had a bit of experience with three-on-three overtime.

“We did a scrimmage game with C.B. West,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, “and we played the last five minutes of that with the three-on-three. We got to get a little exposure to it. A lot of the kids have played travel hockey and they do it in travel hockey now.”

Cunningham’s goal came on a play that was executed as designed. “We work on specific plays like that,” the junior defenseman said. “For specific moments in overtime and on the power play and it happened to work out pretty well.”

Goals came fast and furious early on. Greenstein and Josh Kaufhold scored first-period goals for North Penn and East’s Sean Gorman scored in between. The three goals came in a span of just 48 seconds. Phil McIntyre tied the game for the Patriots just 23 seconds into the second stanza.

After that, the game turned into a goaltending dual between McIntyre and North Penn’s Nick Ebbbinghaus, both of whom were first rate. McIntyre finished with 45 saves.

Mike Capps filled in behind the Patriot bench for Ken Latchum, who was absent.

“(McIntyre) could be the best in in the league,” Capps said. He’s a young guy, only a junior. A very good player. We’re lucky to have him.”

With seven minutes left in the middle period the Patriots just missed taking the lead when Matt Cipriano’s blast from the top of the slot eluded Ebbinghaus but the referee on the play ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

Luke Van Why gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal 4:33 into the final period before the Patriots with his second goal of the game at the 9:36 mark.

After a one-sided loss to Holy Ghost Prep in their season opener, Vaitis said Wednesday’s win was a big step forward for the Knights. “It was very important for us,” he said. It was our first league game of the season. We only get to play these guys once. We played them last year to a real close game and we knew with a bunch of the guys coming back they were going to be a tough team.”

There would not have been a shootout had the teams played a full five minutes of overtime. The game would have been considered a tie.

North Penn 2 0 1 1—4

C.B. East 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goals: Tyler Greenstein (NP) from Josh Kaufhold, 8:50 (pp); Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 9:27; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein, 9:38.

Second-period goal: Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Bogden Borodenko, :23.

Third-period goals: Luke Van Why (NP) from Thomas Boyle, 4:33; Gorman (CBE) from Jasen Cluckey, 9:36 (sh).

Overtime goal: Ryan Cunningham (NP) from Greenstein and Van Why, 2:08.
Shots: North Penn 46, C.B. East 22; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 19, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 42

Malvern Prep 5, Holy Ghost Prep 4

By Rick Woelfel

WEST GOSHEN—The momentum of a hockey game can change in the blink of an eye. So it was Monday night as Malvern Prep overcame a two-goal deficit with a four-goal third period to stun Holy Ghost Prep 5-4 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

Matt Harris scored a natural hat trick for the Friars (1-1 overall and in the APAC). All three of his goals came during the third period when Malvern Prep found itself trailing by two goals on two occasions. The sophomore’s third goal, which came with 1:35 remaining in regulation, saw him beat Firebird goaltender Sean Joyce for the game winner.

Harris said the Friars took the ice for the final period with a determined mindset. “Just play hard and get pucks in on net,” he said.

The Firebirds (2-1, 1-1 in the APAC) had the upper hand for much of the first two periods and took a 3-1 lead 91 seconds into the third when Byron Hartley scored his second goal of the game on a feed from Evan Mudrick.

But momentum shifted in the Friars’ direction 4:08 into the third period when their goaltender Anthony Perti denied Mudrick on a penalty shot in the wake of a cross checking penalty.

Jack Constabile scored for Malvern Prep just 41 seconds later to make it a one-goal game. Sean Marshall scored for the Firebirds at the 7:26 mark to put his team up by two goals once more but Harris scored a shorthanded goal at 9:15 and tied the game with 3:51 remaining to set the stage for the finish.

Ironically, Perti, who made the game-changing save on Mudrick’s penalty shot, wasn’t around at the finish. He left with an apparent injury with 8:24 left in the game after making 18 saves. Jack Davis took his place and made four more.

Harris said he and teammates took considerable satisfaction rom rebounding from a one-goal los to St. Joseph’s Prep last Thursday. “It felt really good,” he said. “We knew what we had to do, come out hard and play Holy Ghost, who is good. We did what we had to do.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan credited his players for their resiliency. “The guys were down early again like our first game,” he said, “but it was nice to come back and really take that next step with the guys coming together and finding a way to pull out a win here.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside described the failed penalty shot attempt as huge. “It is what it is,” he said. It’’s frustrating. I’m happy for Bill, he got his first win as the Malvern coach. He’s a good guy. But it’s just frustrating tonight.”

Whiteside feels the devastating loss will be a lesson for his players. “We’re young,” he said. “The season’s early. and we’ll be a better team because of this, I can assure you.”

Holy Ghost Prep opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal from Hartley 9:59 into the first period. Mudrick made it 2-0 just 73 seconds into the second session. Ryan Sambuco scored for the Friars at the 6:29 mark to cut the deficit in half and the score remained unchanged through the period’s end.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2—4
Malvern Prep 0 1 4—5
First-period goal: Byron Hartley (HGP) from Sean Marshall, 9:59 (sh)
Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley, 1:13; Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Andrew Harder, 6:29
Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Mudrick, 1:31; Jack Constabile (MP) from Ryan Sambuco, 4:49; Marshall (HGP) from Hartley and Mudrick, 7:26; Matt Harris (MP) from Chris Blango, 9:15 (sh); Harris (MP) from Jack Davis 13:09; Harris (MP) from Constabile and Blango, 15:35.
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, Malvern Prep 32; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 22, Anthony Perti (MP) 18 and Jack Davis (MP) 4

SHSHL Update 11-10-19

Suburban High School Hockey League Standings Through Friday 11-9

Class AA W L OTW OTL/T Pts

Neshaminy (2-0-0-0) 1 0 0 0 2

C.B. South (1-0-0-1) 1 0 0 0 2

Pennsbury (1-0-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

C.R. South (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

William Tennent (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Abington (1-2-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

C.B. East (2-0-0-0)) 0 0 0 0 0

C.B. West (1-0-0-0)) 0 0 0 0 0

North Penn (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Souderton (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Quakertown (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Pennridge (0-2-0-0) 0 1 0 0 0

Council Rock North (0-1-0-0) 0 1 0 0 0

Would you like to see your product, service, or event promoted in this space?

Contact us HERE at Hockey Happenings

Class A W L OTW OTL/T Pts

Wissahickon (1-1-0-0) 1 0 0 0 2

Hatboro-Horsham (2-0-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Truman (0-1-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Plymouth Whitemarsh (3-0-0-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Lower Moreland (0-2-0-0) 0 1 0 0 0

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime, similar to the NHL.

If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game.

The shootout will not be used

APAC Update 11-8-19

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

Won Lost OTW OTL. Pts GF GA

Holy Ghost Prep (2-0) 1 0 0 0 3 4 1

St. Joseph’s Prep (1-0) 1 0 0 0 3 4 3

LaSalle (2-1) 0 1 0 0 0 1 4

Malvern Prep (0-1) 0 1 0 0 0 3 4

Games of Wednesday 11-7

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Malvern Prep 3

Holy Ghost Prep 9, North Penn 1

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Malvern Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

WEST GOSHEN—St Joseph’s Prep got its hockey season off to a fast start on Wednesday. The Hawks built a 3-0 second-period lead and went on to hold off Malvern Prep 4-3 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

Austin Amato, Jeffrey Hammond, Jimmy Craig, and Nick Storti all scored goals for the Hawks, who were Class AAA Flyers Cup finalists a year ago.

Stori scored what proved to be the game winner with 9:38 gone in the second period when he dumped a puck in from the left point that eluded Friar goaltender Anthony Perti.

The Hawks started building their lead when Amato scored off a turnover at the 8:09 mark of the first period, and continued when Hammond (on a power play) and Craig added goals 11 seconds apart to give The Prep a 3-0 lead.

Storti, who would be heard from later on, said the quick start was invaluable. “It was really important to get a jump on these guys,” he said. “They’re really good.”

Andrew Harder got Malvern Prep (0-1) on the scoreboard at the 6:29 mark of the period and it took just 11 seconds for his teammate Ryan Sambuco to make it a one-goal game after a burst up the center of the ice.

Storti’s effort gave his team a two-goal advantage. “I just wanted to dump it in and it kind of went in on him,” he said.”

Down by two goals heading into the third period Malvern Prep, which was playing its first game for new coach Bill Keenan, kept battling to the final buzzer.

Stori and his teammates did their part by keeping the pressure on their opponents. “It was important to get pucks deep and keep them out of our zone as much as possible,” he said. “Work the puck down low a lot.”

Harrison Campbell scored the the day’s last goal with 54 seconds remaining but in the end the his came up one goal short.

Keenan was officially named Malvern Prep’s head coach on Wednesday, replacing Dave Dorman who resigned at the end of last week.

“I thought we got off to a pretty slow start,” he said. “I think we collectively came together in the second period. When we got that first goal we started to gather it together and just came out in the third and worked hard.”

The Friars had a 29-19 edge in shots. Hawks’ netminder Rocco Bruno recorded 26 saves.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 3 0—4
Malvern Prep 0 2 1—3
First-period goal: Austin Amato (SJP) unassisted, 8:09
Second-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Nick Storti and Andrew Centrella, 2:11 (pp); Jimmy Craig (SJP) from Matthew Moresco, 2:22; Andrew Harder (MP) from Matthew Harris and Ryan Sambuco, 6:14; Sambuco (MP) unassisted, 6:29; Storti (SJP) unassisted, 9:38
Third-period goal: Harrison Campbell (MP) from Chris Blango, 15:06
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Malvern Prep 29; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 26, Anthony Perti (MP) 15
Records: St. Joseph’s Prep (1-0, 1-0 APAC); Malvern Prep (0-1, 0-1)

Hatboro-Horsham 5, Quakertown 2

Hatboro-Horsham 5, Quakertown 2
By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD—For some, the evening was an occasion to celebrate. For others, less so.
Seth Lerner’s hat trick propelled Hatboro-Horsham to a 5-2 win over Quakertown Wednesday night in a Suburban High School Hockey League interdivisional clash at Hatfield Ice. It was the Hatters’ second straight non-league win to open the season.
For Quakertown, the opening faceoff marked the start of a new era, the Panthers’ debut in the Suburban High School hockey and the stands were full of their supporters including some Quakertown Community School District administrators.
The Panthers, who will skate in the SHSHL’s Class AA Division, combined their speed with the work of goaltender Austin Stoudt (39 saves) and battled the Hatters on even terms most of the evening.
Things unraveled in the third period however as the result of several on-ice altercations. The final tally for the evening was 36 penalties between the two teams, including six game misconducts and a match penalty.
Quakertown coach Keith Krem brings with him an abundance of experience coaching various levels of youth hockey and currently oversees youth programs for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
“It was exciting to get out here, Krem said, “The hockey part of the game was actually pretty good. We were pretty competitive. We need to clean up the turnovers and the penalties for sure, but all in all it was a very nice little hockey game for two periods there.”
The Hatters came into the new season as a proven commodity defensively. But there were concerns over where the goals would come from.
“Defensively we did well last year,” said Hatter coach Gianni Lafratta. “We didn’t do too well putting the puck in the net. This year, we’re getting a solid, concerted effort. Everyone is working together. We’ve got five guys together supporting one another, moving the puck well. And definitely our passing has improved.”
Lerner started the scoring 7:12 into the first period. Anthony Pegliei answered for Quakertown with a shorthanded goal at 9:24 and the score stayed that way through the first period thanks to Stoudt’s efforts.
Lerner and Quakertown’s Brandon Minkoff treaded goals in the second frame before Lerner gave his team the lead for good with 3:28 left in the period.
“We’ve just got to work as a team and do the best we can,” Lerner said, to create the best offensive opportunities we can make.”
Tarik Elsabaugh and Nick Creneti scored for the Hatters early in the third period.

Hatboro-Horsham 1 2 2—5
Quakertown 1 1 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 4, LaSalle 1

Firebirds win to kick off APAC’s second season
By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD — It was the sort of opener a player dreams about. Byron Hartley scored his team’s first goal and assisted on its next three as Holy Ghost Prep opened its season on Wednesday with a 4-1 Atlantic Prep Conference win over LaSalle at Hatfield Ice.
The victory didn’t erase the pain of the Firebirds’ last-second loss to LaSalle in the Flyers Cup semifinals last March. But it was a promising start to the new season.
“We just wanted to forget about last year,” Hartley said. “What happens in the past stays in the past. We told the younger guys it’s a good thing you guys didn’t know what happened last year because that just helps us get in the (right) mindset.”
Besides centering his team’s number-one line, Hartley wears the captain’s C. “I’m so proud of all of our guys,” he said. “We have a relatively young team this year and I couldn’t be prouder to be the captain and the leader of this team.”
The Firebirds were sharp in the early going but LaSalle netminder Aidan McCabe was sharp as well and kept them at bay until Hartley found the back of the net 5:47 into the opening period.
E.J. Pohl made it a 2-0 game when he added a power-play goal 19 seconds into the second frame and the score was unchanged when the teams left the ice at period’s end
Skating on fresh ice at the start of the third period, the Explorers (0–2, 0-1 APAC) found another gear. With not quite three-and-a-half minutes gone in the period Francis Ford launched a shot from the center of the slot. Firebird goaltender Sean Joyce made the save but Nolan Woudenberg put in the rebound.
It was suddenly a one-goal game with plenty of time remaining but the Firebirds answered back with 5:21 left in the game. Hartley won an offensive right-circle faceoff and drew the puck back to Evan Mudrick who beat McCabe with a one-timer.
Anthony Sparo finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

LaSalle (white uniforms) and Holy Ghost Prep (blue) line up for Wednesday’s opening faceoff. Courtesy of Holy Ghost Prep

LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner saw some things he liked in the loss. “Of the three games we’ve played so far, obviously the score isn’t what we wanted, but I think it’s the best we’ve played so far,” he said. “ I definitely see some positives. It was a loss but there were definitely some positives. It clearly points out how far we’re going to have to go We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us as a team.”
Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside praised his players’ work ethic. “They’ve been working really hard,” he said. “In preseason ands getting ready for this game and getting ready for the season. We had all four lines going, all four lines contributing in one way or another. It was just fun to watch.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2—4
LaSalle 0 0 1—1
First-period goal; Byron Hartley (HGP) from Evan Mudrick and Anthony Sparo, 5:47
Second-period goal; Eric Pohl (HGP) from Hartley and Luke Panepresso, :19 (pp)
Third-period goals: Nolan Woudenberg (L) from Francis Ford, 3:26; Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley, 10:39; Sparo (HGP)) from Hartley and Collin Keiser, 14:29 (en)
Shots; Holy Ghost Prep 21, LaSalle 22; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 21, Aidan McCabe (L) 17
Records: Holy Ghost Prep (1-0, 1-0 APAC); LaSalle (2-1, 0-1)

Interested in promoting your products service, or event? Contact Hockey Happenings HERE