WEST GOSHEN— Coaches talk a lot as out staying out of the penalty box. Malvern Prep was unable to do that Monday afternoon and that proved to be its undoing.
John Oliver’s power-play goal with 2:16 left in the third period gave Princeton Day school a 3-2 win over the Friars in a non-league matchup Ice Line.
Oliver’s game winner was the second power play goal of the game for the Panthers (6-6) who compete in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League. Malvern Prep (6-7) was accessed all five penalties that were called in the game, all of them minors. Two of them came back-to-back late in the third period. As a result, the Friars’ Jack Constabile found himself in the box for four minutes over the final 5:29 of the game.
Princeton Day School’s Drew McConaughy (in gray) and Malvern Prep’s Caimin Hayes battle for the puck. (Photo by Gracie Cleveland)
Constabile opened the scoring when he got the Friars on the board 12:02 into the first period of a setup from Ryan Sambuco. Malvern Prep extended its lead 57 seconds into the second frame when Sambuco beat Panther goaltender Timothy Miller on a shot from the left circle.
The Panthers responded at the 5::03 mark when Luke Austinacci scored a power-play goal and tied the game at the 13:13 mark when Drew McConaughy found the back of the net.
Both teams had opportunities in the third period but Miller and the Friars’ Anthony Perti were up to the task of protecting their nets. Constabile was sent to the box for a check from behind with 5:29 left in the third period. Just 10 seconds after stepping back on the ice he was boxed again, this time for tripping; the second infraction led to Oliver’s game-winning goal.
“Anytime you go down and take penalties, it’s hard to get a rhythm going,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We started to click well there at the beginning of the third period, but two late penalties hurt us.”
With an eye toward the end of the season, the Friars will now regroup and refocus, Three regular season games remain, including the APAC finale against La Salle next Monday night.
“The couple games we’ve taken some shifts off,” Keenan said, “but I think we’re headed in the right direction,”
Keenan points out that the conference race has been a wide open one so far this season; he does not expect that to change. “(The league) had four strong teams and we know we very time we go up against one of those teams it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “We’re just hoping that e can start clicking at the right time and hopefully go far.”
Princeton Day School 0 2 1—3
Malvern Prep 1 1 0—2
First-period goals: Jack Constabile (MP) from Ryan Sambuco, 12:02
Second-period goals: Sambuco (MP) from Chris Blango, :57; Luke Austinacci (PDS) from David Sherman, 5:03 (pp); Drew McConaughy (PDS) from Stephan Gorelenkov and Oliver Hall, 13:13
Third-period goals: John Oliver (PS) from Gibson Linnehan and Birch Gorman, 13:44 (pp).
Shots; Princeton Day School 32, Malvern Prep 22; Saves: Timothy Miller (PDS) 20, Anthony Perti (MP) 29
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