Central Buck South 13, Central Bucks West 3

HATFIELD—Central Bucks South had some high-performance fuel in their gas tanks Monday night. The Titans built a 5-0 first-period lead and went on to defeat Central Bucks West 13-3 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice that was terminated with 8:17 left in the third period. The top-seeded Titans (15-0-0-1) will advance to a Wednesday semifinal against Neshaminy in this same venue Wednesday night (6:30). Neshaminy, the fourth seed, bested fifth seed Central Bucks East 5-3 in another Monday quarterfinal.

Colin Abbonizio scored six goals and assisted on another for the Titans, who are seeking their ninth SHSHL title. Dominic Patrone and Connor Gaffney scored two goals each.

Jake Lang, who had been out of the lineup for several weeks for the eighth-seeded Bucks, was on the ice for the opening faceoff and wound up scoring two goals.

The Titans are already assured of the top seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament; the SHSHL playoffs do not impact the Flyers Cup seedings. But any notion that South might coast through the league tournament was immediately dispelled.

Abbonizio scored the game’s first goal at the 6:23 mark of the first period and Aidan Gaffney made it 2-0 just 10 seconds later. Abbonizio completed a hat trick before the first period ended.

“We were so fired up- to get playoffs going,” he said. “We really had everyone going. Everyone is just so excited that we put everything out there.”

Abbonizio, the Titans’ captain, emphasized that the SHSHL title matters a lot to he and his teammates. “We never look past this tournament,” he said. “Obviously, South has gad a lot of success in past years. These trophies (for winning the regular season and league titles) are an appetizer. We want to get those trophies and we want more.”

By the end of the second period South had built a 10-0 lead but they maintained their focus to the final buzzer. Their coach, Shaun McGinty, would have it no other way.
“We break it down season by season,” he said. “Tonight is the second season. Everybody is 0-0-0. What happened last week is over We all know each other in this second season.”

Both teams are locked into their Flyers Cup seeds. The top-seeded Titans will host number-16 Conestoga next Tuesday at Hatfield Ice (6:40 start). The 15th-seeded Bucks (7-7-2-1) will face second seed Haverford at the Skatium at 7:00 that same evening.

C.B. West 0 3 0—3
C.B. South 5 5 3—13
First-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 6:23 (pp); Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Ryan Gingras and Connor Gaffney, 6:36; Daniel Kvecher (CBS) from Abbonizio, 7:17; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 14:11; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 14:56.
Second-period goals: Keith Orlando (CBS) from Evan Hee and Chris Trefz, 1:13; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 1:18; Jake Lang (CBW) from Ben Morris and Sammy Poliak, 4:03; Dominic Patrone (CBS) from Nick Klein and Gingras, 5:44; Lang (CBW) from Trefz and Hee, 6:52; Patrone (CBS) from Matt Milanesi and Gingras, 11:31 (pp); Connor Gaffney (CBS) from Max Levitz, 12:09; Abbonizio (CBS) from Stephen McMillan, 13:37
Third-period goals: Gaffney (CBS) from Owen Mendham, 3:47 (pp) Abbonizio (CBS) from McMillan, 6:30; Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Connor Gaffney 7:43
Shots: C.B. West 25, C.B. South 54; Saves: Jake Coddington (CBW) 41, Mason Moyer (CBW) 22

Holy Ghost Prep 4, Malvern Prep 1

Holy Ghost Prep scored three times in a span of less than two minutes in the first period and went on to defeat Malvern Prep 4-1 on Monday in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Grundy Arena. The top-seeded Firebirds will face defending champion La Salle in the Founders Cup final on Wednesday in the same venue; GAME TIME WILL BE 4 PM.
The opening period was played on more or less even terms until the Firebirds erupted. Cole Stevens scored the first goal of the game at the 10:14 mark and Landon Stoudt made it a 2-0 game just 64 seconds later. Braedon Baehser competed the barrage at 11:56 to give the hosts a 3-0 lead. Daniel Behr assisted on two of the three goals.
The teams traded goals in the third period. Matt Harris got the Friars on the scoreboard with a power-play goal at 2:58. Byron Hartley extended the Firebirds’ lead when he found the back of the net with 3:39 left in the game.
Malvern Prep outshot Holy Ghost Prep 33-26. Sean Joyce got the win in goal, making 32 saves.

La Salle’s Francis Ford carries the puck against St. Joseph’s Prep on Monday. The Explorers won the Founders Cup semifinal 5-2 (photo by Kathy Leister Photography)

Malvern Prep, the fourth seed in the APAC playoffs, has also been seeded fourth for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament and will face fifth seed Father Judge in an 8:15 quarterfinal game at Ice Line on Thursday, March 5.
Holy Ghost Prep is assured of the top seed in the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament regardless of the result of Wednesday’s Flyers Cup finale. The Firebirds will face eighth-seeded Bishop Shanahan in a 6:45 quarterfinal game March 5 at Grundy Arena.

Malvern Prep 0 0 1—3

Holy Ghost Prep 3 0 1—4

First-period goals: Cole Stevens (HGP) from Daniel Behr, 10:14; Landon Stoudt (HGP) from Byron Hartley, 11:18; Braedon Baehser (HGP) from Behr, 11:56.
Third-period goals: Matt Harris (MP) from Chris Blango, 2:58 (pp); Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 12:21.
Shots: Malvern Prep 33, Holy Ghost Prep 26; Saves: Anthony Perti 23, Sean Joyce (HGP) 32

La Salle 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 2

HATFIELD— Having just played each other 72 hours previously, La Salle and St, Joseph’s Prep picked up where they left off Monday afternoon. The result was an intense, grind-it-out Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal that saw the Explorers prevail 5-2 at Hatfield Ice.

Second-seeded La Salle (14-13) which has now won five of its last six games, will face top seed Holy Ghost Prep for the Founders Cup Wednesday afternoon at Grundy Arena (time TBA).

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner was not surprised by the tone of the afternoon. “Honestly, I thought that was the way it was going to be,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a tight game. That’s what i would expect. That’s the way it’s going to be down the stretch.”

Nate Benner scorers twice for the Explorers to send them into Wednesday’s final. “There were no skill goals today,” he said. “It was just rebounds and deflections, get it to the net, second and third opportunities. That’s what comes with Therese kinds of games.”

The Hawks got things started at 5:46 of the first period when Michael Urbani scored a power-play goal on a shot from midway between the top of the two circled that stayed along the ice and beat La Salle netminder Aidan McCabe on his stick (right) side. The Explorers’ response came just 23 seconds later when Chris Wnek beat Andrew Custer from after a dash down the left wing. Benner put La Salle in front with 35 seconds left in the opening period.

The second period was scoreless. Benner scored his second goal of the game 4:22 into the third frame to restore La Sale’s two-goal lead but Paulo Colavita’s goal with 6:11 left in regulation got the Hawks (11-13) back into the game.

It took LaSalle just 61 seconds to respond. Nick Astolfi restored the Explorers’ two-goal lead before Nolan Woundenberg added an empty net goal with 1:14 remaining.

“We’ve got to bring a solid (48) minutes,” said St. Joseph’s Prep assistant coach Rich Black. “We played a great seven minutes. We came out hard, we were moving … We just need to put together a full game giants these guys.”

Top seed Holy Ghost Prep defeated Malvern Prep 4-1 in the other semifinal. La Salle will be seeded second in the Class AAA Flyers Cup and will face seventh-seeded Roman Catholic on March 5 at 7:30 at Hatfield Ice in a quarterfinal game. The Hawks, who are seeded third, will face sixth-seeded Cardinal O’Hara in a quarterfinal game the same night at the Skatium. Game time will be 8:45. The Explorers have won all four meetings over the Hawks this season but two of the four required overtime.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 1—2
La Salle 2 0 3—5
First-period goals: Michael Urbani (SJP) from Austin Amato, 5:46 (pp); Chris Wnek (L) from Francis Ford, 6:09; Nathan Benner (L) from Jake Armstrong and Ryan Ferry, 15:25;
Third-period goals; Benner (L) from Armstrong and Colin Keiser. 4:22; Nolan Woudenberg L) from Andrew Budzynski and Aidan McCabe, 14:46 (en).
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 27, La Salle 31: Saves; Andrew Custer (SJP) 26; Aidan McCabe (L) 25

2020 Flyers Cup Seedings

A total of 53 high-school hockey teams have been named to the field for the 41st annual Flyers Cup tournament. The field, seedings, and first-round pairings were announced Sunday night.

The Class AAA field will consist of eight teams, the Class AA and Class AA field will include 16 teams each. Eight additional teams will compete for the second South Jersey/Delaware title while five more will battle for the 12^thannual girls’ championship.

First-round games in the Class A bracket will be played on Monday, March 2 while the opening round of the Class AA bracket will be played the following night. Quarterfinal games in all three Pennsylvania boys’ divisions are set for Wednesday and Thursday, March 4 and 5.

The tournament will conclude with championship games March 17-20. The three Pennsylvania boys’ champions will advance to state championship games on Saturday, March 21 at Ice Line.

Note: All game sites and tines are subject to change.

Class AAA

First Round Thursday, March 5

1 Holy Ghost Prep vs. 8 Bishop Shanahan 6:45 at Grundy Arena

4 Malvern Prep vs. 5 Father Judge 8:15 at Ice Line

3 St. Joseph’s Prep vs 6 Cardinal O’ Hara 8:45 at Skatium

2 La Salle vs 7 Roman Catholic 7:30 at Hatfield Ice

Semifinals Thursday, March 12

Top half of bracket at 6:30 at Hatfield or 8:15 at Ice Line

Bottom half of bracket at 8:45 at Skatium or Hatfield

Wednesday, March 18. Championship Game

7:30 at Hatfield Ice or 8:15 at Ice Line

Class AA

Tuesday, March 3

1 Central Bucks South vs 16 Conestoga 6:40 at Hatfield Ice

8 Boyertown vs 9 Central Bucks East 6:15 at Ice Line

4 North Penn vs 13 Ridley 8:50 at Hatfield Ice

5 Downingtown West vs 12 Pennsbury 8:15 at Ice Line

3 Perkiomen Valley vs 14 Downingtown East 8:45 at Skatium

6 Council Rock South vs 11 Parkland 8:45 at Grundy

7 Neshaminy vs 10 Pennridge 6:30 at Grundy

2 Haverford High vs 15 Central Bucks West 7:00 at Skatium

Thursday, March 5 Quarterfinals

C.B. South/Conestoga vs Boyertown/C.B. East 6:20 at Hatfield

North Penn/Ridley vs. D-town West/Pennsbury 8:30 at Hatfield

Perk Valley/D-town East vs. C.R. South/Parkland 6:15 at Ice Line

Neshaminy/Pennridge vs. Haverford/C.B. West 7:00 at Skatium

Thursday March 12 Semifinals

Top half of bracket at Ice Line at 6:15 or Hatfield Ice at 6:30

Bottom half of bracket at Ice Line at 8:15, Hatfield at 8:45 or Skatium at 7:00

Tuesday March 17 or Wednesday March 18

Finals at Ice Line at 8:15 or Hatfield 6:30

Class A

Monday March 2 First Round

1 West Chester East vs 16 Lower Merion 6:15 at Ice Line

8 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 9 Lower Dauphin 8:45 at Ice Line

4 Strath Haven vs 13 Sun Valley 7:00 at Ice Works

5 Hershey vs 12 West Chester Henderson 6:15 at Klick- Lewis

3 Bayard Rustin vs 14 Garnet Valley 8:15 at Ice Line

6 Unionville vs 11 Wissahickon 6:45 at Ice Line

7 Springfield Delco vs 10 Hatboro-Horsham 8:45 at Ice Works

2 Palmyra vs 15 Radnor 8:30 at Klick-Lewis

Wednesday March 4 Quarterfinals

WC East/Lower Merion vs PW/Lower Dauphin 6:15 at Ice Line

Strath Haven/Sun Valley vs. Hershey/WC Henderson 8:15 at Ice Line

WC Rustin/Garnet Valley vs Unionville/Wissahickon 6:30 at Ice Line

Springfield/HH vs Palmyra/Radnor 8:30 at Ice Line

Monday March 9 Semifinals

Upper half of bracket 6:15 at Ice Line

Bottom half of bracket 8:30 at Ice Line

Tuesday March 17 Finals

Semifinal winners 6:15 at Ice Line

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Rick Woelfel and Eric Tye will discuss the Flyers Cup in a. special edition of the Hockey Happenings podcast. It will be available HERE at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, February 25.

Would you like to promote your product, service, or event on the Hockey Happenings web site during the Flyers Cup tournament? Contact us HERE to find out how to do that.

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

New Jersey/Delaware

All games at Flyers Skate Zone in Vorhees

Tuesday March 10 Quarterfiinals

1 Eastern vs 8 Washington Township 6:00

4 Cherokee vs 5 Moorsetown 6:15

3 Appoquinimink vs 6 Shawnee 8:15

2 Salesianum vs 7 Egg Harbor 8:30

Monday March 16 Semifinals

Upper Bracket 6:00

Lower Bracket 8:15

Thursday, March 19 Finals

Semifinal winners 7:00

Girls

All games at Ice Line

Sunday March 8 Play In

4 Bux-Mont vs 5 Avon Grove 8:15

Monday March 16 Semifinals

1 Unionville vs Bux-Mont or Avon Grove 6:45

2 West Chester East vs 3 West Chester Henderson 8:30

Friday March 20

Semifinal winners 7:00

Playoff Updates

Here is the updated playoff schedule for the week of February 24 and beyond

Monday, February 24

APAC Founders Cup Semifinals

4:00 (1) Holy Ghost Prep vs. (4) Malvern Prep at Grundy Arena

4:00 (2) La Salle vs. (3) St. Joseph’s Prep 4:00 at Hatfield Ice

SHSHL Class AA Quarterfinals

Game 1 (1) Central Bucks South vs. (8) Central Bucks West 7:20 at Hatfield ice

Game 2 (4) Neshaminy vs. (5) Central Bucks East 7:20 at Grundy Arena

Game 3 (3) Council Rock South vs. (6) Pennridge 7:20 at Revolution Ice Gardens

Game 4 (2) North Penn vs. (7) Pennsbury 9:00 at Hatfield ice

Wednesday, February 26

APAC Founders Cup Championship Game

Time TBD at home rink of highest-seeded finalist

SHSHL Class AA Semifinals

Semifinals Wednesday, February 26

Winners of Games 1 and 2 6:30 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 3 and 4 8:30 at Hatfield

SHSHL Class A Semifinals

Game 1 (1) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. (4) Truman 7:20 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Game 2 (2) Hatboro-Horsham vs. 3. Wissahickon 9:00 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Thursday, February 27

SHSHL Championship Games

6:30 Class AA Final at Hatfield Ice

8:30 Class A at Hatfield Ice

The 2020 Flyers Cup selection show will air Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on You Tube

Flyers Cup Schedule

Monday, March 2 Class A First round

Tuesday, March 3 Class AA First round

Wednesday, March 4 Class A Quarterfinals; possible NJ/Del QF

Thursday, March 5 Class AA and Class AAA Quarerfinals

Monday, March 9 Class A Semifinals and Girls Play-in

Tuesday, March 10 Possible NJ/Del Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 11 Class AA and Class AAA Semifinals

Thursday, March 12 Class AA and Class AAA Semifinals

Monday, March 16 NJ/Del and Girls Seemifinals

Tuesday, March 17 Class A Final and Possible Class AA Final

Wednesday, March 18 Class AAA Final and Possible Class AA Final

Thursday, March 19 NJ/Del Final

Friday, March 20. Girls Final

Saturday, March 21 Pa. State Finals at Ice Line

La Salle’s Nathan Benner Skates for His Brother

Nathan Benner’s days as a La Salle College High School hockey player are dwindling to a precious few. The APAC playoffs are ahead followed by the Flyers Cup tournament and perhaps a trip to the state championship. But, at most a month from now, the senior forward will take off his La Salle jersey for the last time.

Benner, who is one of the Explorers’ captains, says his time at La Salle has shaped him as person as well as a hockey player. “It really challenges you,” he said. “Mentally and physically with the hockey, mentally with school. Every week you have tests, you have homework when you get home from school, when you play club hockey (Bennner is skating for the Philadelphia Quakers this year after spending his club career with the Valley Forge Minutemen) you have hockey five days a week, every day on the weekend, balanced with La Sale hockey. Just the values that they stress here, the leadership, the hard work ethic, good character, all in all has definitely made me who I am today.”

Perhaps what Benner treasures most from skating for the Explorers is having his younger brother Jacob in the stands watching his every move.

Jacob Benner is 14 years old and deals with the challenges of Downs Syndrome and Hirschsprung Disease.

Since Nathan started playing hockey the year he turned six, Jacob has been a fixture in the stands whether at a club game or a high-school game.

“He’s been coming to every one of my games from the time I was five years old until now,” Nathan said, “and he memorized everybody’s’ name on the team, everyone’s number, even though we don’t have names on the back of our jerseys.

“When we’re about to leave for a game he’ll go ‘Who do we play today?’ as if he’s on the team, His happiest time is when he comes to watch me play and when he gets to be at the rink.”

sf benner.JPG

Jacob Benner flanked by brother Nathan (right) and father Walter. Photo furnished by La Salle College High School.

On more occasions than not, Jacob Benner is the most enthusiastic La Salle supporter in the building. “He’s the loudest one in the stands,” Nathan says. “He’s always yelling everyone’s name, yelling at the refs, yelling ‘Get into the game.’ Telling us to work harder; he’s always encouraging everyone. Everyone can hear him from the bench and everyone kind of smiles and builds off of what he does from the stands.”

Jacob’s support never wavers, regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard. “Just seeing him cheer me on and watching the games is one of the best things,” Nathan said. “Whether we win or lose, he’s always telling me ‘Good game.’ He loves watching me play no matter how I play and it’s always great to have that.”

Two years ago, Jacob decided he wanted to get on skates himself and began taking lessons at Hatfield Ice. Kati Link was his first instructor. He’s still at it and hopes to play hockey himself one day Nathan drives his brother to his skating lessons, swimming lessons, and other activities.

“At first it was very hard,” Nathan said of his brother’s first efforts on skates, “but he’s able to stand up now, he’s able to move around, and the smile on his face when he skates is one of the best thigs to look at. He always wears my hockey jersey when he goes on the ice and he loves it.”

Nathan Benner says spending time with his only sibling has altered his outlook on and off the ice. “For me, it’s kind of just helped me all around in life with maturing, leadership qualities, about being a good role model,” he said, “because I know my brother wants to model himself off of what I do. I have to be a good role model for him. Even if I do bad things, or say bad words, he models off that so I really have to be watching and be mindful of how I’m acting, because he’s always watching me and acting as if I would act.”

The 2020 Flyers Cup selection show will air Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on You Tube

La Salle 6, St. Joseph’s Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

PHILADELPHIA—La Salle took the ice Friday night as if it had something to prove. Namely, that despite an up-and-down season against a rugged schedule that it was still a dangerous hockey team. The message was delivered emphatically.

The Explorers scored three times in the game’s first six minutes and went on to a 6-3 win over St. Joseph’s Pre in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference regular season finale at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.

The win lifted the Explorers (13-13 overall) into second place in the APAC standings with a 3-3-2-1 conference mark, giving them home-ice advantage for a playoff semifinal against the Hawks (11-12, 3-2-0-4) on Monday.

“We came out with good focus,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We jumped on them right away. Which is what we always try to do, but we did it tonight. We played well. We just needed to focus on playing a good game tonight and not on anything that’s going on the weeks ahead.”

Senior defenseman Collin Keiser got LaSalle started with a shot from the deep left wing 1:58 into the game before adding a second goal at the 3:21 mark. Chris Wnek made it 3-0 at 5:39.

Keiser spoke to the importance of the occasion. “We came in knowing what we were up against,” he said, “It was like a playoff game for us, to get home-ice advantage. We came out just like any other game. Probably a little harder, knowing what was on the other side of a win.”

David Kimmel ‘s shorthanded goal 9:18 into the middle period gave the Explorers a 4-0 lead. Jeffrey Hammond got the Hawks on the board at the 10:48 mark but Chase Hannon’s shot from the left point with 1:59 left in the period made it a 5-1 game.

Andrew Centrella scored for the Hawks 3:04 into the thirsted frame but Kimmel answered back with a power-play goal at 4:53 before Centrella finished the scoring.

“The start was a tough one,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin, “Giving up that goal on one shot from bad angle … When you lay a rivalry school and give up one like that it really tough to come back from. Bur we battled back. It wasn’t a bad effort.”

With Friday’s result, Monday’s APAC semifinals are now set in stone. The second-seeded Explorers and third-seeded Hawks will square of at 4:10 at Hatfield Ice. Top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep will face fourth seed Malvern Prep at 4:00. The Founders Cup championship game will be played Wednesday’s at the home rink of the highest seeded finalist.
La Salle 3 2 1—6
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 2—3
First-period goals: Collin Keiser (L) from Max Maddalo, 1:58; Keiser (L) from Jake Hannon and Keenan Schneider, 4:21; Chris Wnek (L) from Ryan Ferry, 5:39.
Second-period goals: David Kimmel (L) from Schneider, 9:18 (sh); Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Michael Urbani, 10:49; Chase Hannon (L) from Daniel Whitlock, 14:01
Third-period goals: Andrew Centrella (SJP) from Matthew Moresco, 3:04; David Kimmel (L) from Keenan Schneider, 4:53 (sh); Centrella (SJP) from Joseph Samango, 8:44.
Shots: La Salle 35, St. Joseph’s Prep 17; Saves; Aidan McCabe (L) 14, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 17 and Andrew Custer (SJP) 12

The 2020 Flyers Cup selection show will air Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on You Tube

SHSHL Playoff Pairings

The game sites and times for Monday’s Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA quarterfinals have been set.

Quarterfinals Monday, February 24

Game 1 (1) Central Bucks South vs. (8) Central Bucks West 7:20 at Hatfield

Game 2 (4) Neshaminy vs. (5) Central Bucks East 7:20 at Grundy

Game 3 (3) Council Rock South vs. (6) Pennridge 7:20 at Revolution Ice Gardens

Game 4 (2) North Penn vs. (7) Pennsbury 9:00 at Hatfield

Semifinals Wednesday, February 26

Winners of Games 1 and 2 6:30 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 3 and 4 8:30 at Hatfield

Finals Thursday, February 27

6:30 at Hatfield

The Class A semifinals will be played as a doubleheader at Revolution Ice Gardens on Wednesday, February 26

Game 1 (1) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. (4) Truman 6:30

Game 2 Wissahickon vs. Hatboro-Horsham 8:20

(This game matches the second and third seeds. As of Friday morning the deedings had not been finalized)

Finals Thursday, February 27

8:30 at Hatfield

Central Bucks South 3, North Penn 2 OT

HATFIELD—The evening was a fitting conclusion to the regular season. Daniel Kvecher scored 72 seconds into overtime to give Central Bucks South a 3-2 win over North Penn Thursday night in a SHSHL Class AA game at Hatfield Ice.

With the win the Titans (14-0-0-1 overall) completed a 12-0 run through the Class AA division, claimed the regular-season division title and the top seed for next week’s SHSHL playoffs, and enhanced their claim on the top seed for the Flyers Cup tournament next month. That’s a lot to accomplish in one evening of work.

The Titans controlled play in the overtime. The game-winning sequence started when Colin Abbonizio made a move down the left wing and the puck didn’t leave the North Penn defensive zone thereafter. Kvecher beat Knight goaltender Nick Ebbinghaus on a shot from the right circle.

“Something we stress as a team is just getting it in the zone,” Abbonizio said. “Get it on net and once you get it in the zone, keep it there.”

The Titans we’re playing their second game in 24 hours but Abbonizio, the Titans’ captain, said he and his teammates found the energy they needed late in the game. “We were exhausted,” he said, but you know in a game like that you’ve got to push through, you’ve got to give it your all. Something that I personally look at is you just go hard for those last couple minutes. You’ve got a couple days to rest and you’ve got to give it your all.”

North Penn had tied the game with 10:06 left in the third period when Tony Trozzi scored after corralling a lose puck in his offensive right-wing corner, darting in front of the net and putting in a rebound after South netminder Mason Moyer stopped his original shot.

Both teams worked hard at both ends of the ice and scoring chances were minimal. Ryan Gingras gave the Titans a 1-0 lead 2;53 into the first period off as turnover and a bounce. Abbonizio made it 2-0 40 seconds into the second frame when he put in a rebound off his own initial shot but Josh Kaufhold got North Penn (12-3, 11-1) on the scoreboard at the 4:59 mark on shot from the right faceoff circle.

Both teams gave the impression they’d like to play hockey for a while longer, say, another month.

“It’s a great way to end the season,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “Obviousy, going to (overtime) is a lot of fun for the kids. It’s great for high-school hockey as well and we. We’re fortunate to come out on top.”

The Knights aren’t planning on going away anytime soon either.”It was a great hockey game,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “A well-played game by both teams, coming down to the end of the season, first place on the line. It’s everything you want in a hickey game and I think everybody got to see that tonight.”

Ice Chips: The win was the Titans’ 14th straight. Their only loss has been to La Salle in overtime in their season opener. North Penn’s three losses include two to the Titans and one to Hioly Ghost Prep. The Titans won a no-league game from the Knights 5-1 on November 27.

North Penn 0 1 1 0—2
C.B. South 1 1 0 1—3
First-period goals: Ryan Gingras (CBS) unassisted, 2:53
Second-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, :40; Josh Kaufhold (NP) from Tyler Greenstein, 4:59 (pp)
Third-period goals: Tony Tuozzo (NP) unassisted, 5:54
Overtime goal: David Kvecher (CBS) from Abbonizio and Gingras, 1:12
Shots: North Penn 23, C.B. South 31; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP), Mason Moyer (CBS) 21

APAC Playoff Semifinals Set

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference playoffs will get underway on Monday with a pair of semifinal games.

Top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep will host fourth seed Malvern Prep in a 4:00 game at Grundy Arena. The other Monday semifinal will match St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle. The site and time of that game will depend on the result of Friday’s regular season finale between the Hawks and the Explorers. The winner will be the second seed and the loser third.

If La Salle wins, the semifinal will be played at Hatfield Ice with a 4:10 scheduled start. If the Hawks prevail, the semifinal will be played at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena with a 4 p.m. start (LATE UPDATE)

The Founders Cup championship game will be played Wednesday, February 26 with the site and time to be determined.

The results of the Founders Cup playoffs will not impact the seedings for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament, which will be announced Sunday night.