Neshaniny 11, Abington 1

WARWICK­—Neshaminy had things pretty much its own way Wednesday night. The ‘Skins scored four goals in just under six minutes and went on to an 11-1 win over Abington in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA game at Revolution Ice Gardens that was halted following the second period via the 10-goal mercy rule.

The result was not unexpected. Neshaminy (11-3, 9-2 in divisional play) is assured of a top-four seed at worst in next week’s SHSHL playoffs and is seemingly in line for a high seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament. The Galloping Ghosts, who have 15 underclassmen on their roster, slipped to 3-13 overall and 2-9 in the division; each team has one regular-season game remaining.

Thursday’s meeting was something of a bridge between two eras of SHSHL history. Neshaminy knew its share of sorrows before taking giant strides forward this season and last. And while Abington has struggled in recent seasons, the Galloping Ghosts have a rich historical legacy that is tied to the origins of the league. Abington won the championship in the SHSHL’s inaugural reason in 1974 and went on to win the first three league titles and four of the first five. There was no Flyers Cup tournament in those days but the Galloping Ghosts claimed two state titles as well.

All told, Abington has won six SHSHL titles of one sort or another, the last of them the second of back-to-back Class AA crowns in 2004. That trails only Germantown Academy (11), Central Bucks South (8) and possibly Council Rock (six documented titles and a possible seventh) on the all-time list.

That a history that Abington coach Ken Brzozowski wants his team to embrace. “I shared that with the tonight,” he said, “and hopefully that will mean something to them.

“For us, we’ve got little goals. Next year, to improve our record, compete for a playoff spot. And then from there, maybe try to restore some of that glory that Abington had in the past.

“We’ve got a few kids that have some talent, we mix in some hard work, and maybe we can get back to that point.”

Jacob Helms scored two goals for Neshaminy while nine other players scored one goal each.

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo urged his team to maintain its focus. “You start to get into a lack of team play,” he said, “where everybody wants to skate up and try and get on the scoresheet. That leads to bad habits, which (Thursday) night against Council Rock South could come back to hurt us.”

Griffin Carpenter scored the Abington goal with 1:12 left in the second period.

The ‘Skins outshot the Galloping Ghosts 35-3. Abington didn’t record its first shot on goal until 2:05 remained in what turned out to be the final period.

Neshaminy, which has won four straight and five of its last six, closes the regular season against Council Rock South on Thursday while Abington finishes against Quakertown on Friday.

Neshaminy 7 4 x—11

Abington 0 1 x—11

First-period goals: J.J. Hathaway (N) unassisted, 1:21; Joseph Hornung (N) from Joey DeMatteo, 2:25; Michael Knipple (N) from Nolan Geria, 5:14; Jacob Helms (N) from Hathaway, 5:59; DeMatteo (N) from Noah Seawagen, 8:23; Geria (N) from Hathaway, 12:32 (pp); Helms (N) from DeMatteo and Knipple, 14:15.

Second-period goals: Thomas Gallagher (N) from Ryan McColgan, 4:09; Matt Buchinski (N) from Gallagher, 4:50; Noah Seawagen (N unassisted, 7:38; Horning (N) unassisted, 7:38; Griffin Carpenter (A) from Joe Stelacio and Tom Rourke, 14:18.

Shots: Neshaminy 35, Abington 3; Saves; Brian Nelson (N) 0 and Andy Nau (N) 2; Sam Nemec (A) 24

By Rick Woelfel

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SHSHL Update for 2-17-20

Game results through 2-19

Standings

Class AA                                        W     L     T      OTL     Pts

C.B. South (13-0-0-1)                     12     0       0       0      24

North Penn (12-3-0-0)                 11    1       0       0       22

C.R. South (10-6-0-0)                      10       1       0       1       21

Neshaminy (11-4-0-0)                   9       3       0       0      18

C.B. East (9-4-1-1)                         6       4       1       1       14

Pennridge (10-6-0-0)                    7       5       0       0       14

Pennsbury (10-5-1-0)                    6      5       1       0       13

C.B. West (7-6-2-1))                       4       6      2       0       10

Souderton (3-11-1-1)                      3       7       1       1       8

William Tennent (5-10-0-1)              3       8       0       1       7

Abington (4-13-0-0)                           3       9       0       0       6

Quakertown (2-13-1-0)                      1       9       1       0      2

Council Rock North (1-15-0-0)          0       12     0       0       0

Class A                                                                 W    L      T     OTL  Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-1-0-0)                12     0       0       0       22

Hatboro-Horsham (11-5-0-1)                       6       5      0       1       13

Wissahickon (9-8-0-0)                                     6       6       0       0       12

Truman (3-13-0-0)                                        3       9       0       0        6

Lower Moreland (3-14-0-0)                         3        9       0       0       6

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

The shootout will not be used

Scoring Through 2-17

Class AA                                      G      A     Pts

Michael Roby (CRS)                 26      15    41

Jake Lang (CBW)                     24      17     41

Chris Trefz (CBW)                  12      29     41

Tyler Greenstein (NP)          18     22      40

Antii Autere (CRS)                14      22     36

Josh Kaufhold (NP)               17     19     36

Robert Seewagen(Nesh)      21     14     35

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 13      20     33

Dominic Patrone (CBS)           14  18     32

Sean Gorman (CBE)               26     4       30

Colin Abbonizio (CBS)            15     14     29

Justin Carrelli (WT)                 21     7       28

Class A                                           G     A    Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW)                       23  31     54

Jake Weikel (PW)                         33   20     53

Dean Keller (PW)                          20   22     42

Alex Howieson (HH)                   20     18     38

Luke Weikel (PW)                         17     20     37

Bryan Gary (W)                              21     15     36

Nicholas Hussa (W)                         26     8       34

Seth Lerner (HH)                                19    12     31

Robert DiCostra (Tr)                          16     14     30

Colin Franzoni (PW)                          14     13     27

Aidan Esack (HH)                                11   15     26

Goals Against                           MP        GA     GAA

Mason Moyer (CBS)                 608       17     1.34

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)             554       21     1.82

Brian Nelson (Nesh)                524        28     2.56

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP)             628        34     2.60

Ryan Pico (Pr)                            720        40     2.67

Chris McIntyre (CBE)                726         41     2.71

 

Save Percentage                MP   Sh     Svs       Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS)         608   259   242        .934

Chris McIntyre (CBE)  726   448   407           .908

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)554    216   195            .903

Ryan Pico (Pr)                 720   400      360        .900

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP)  628   302   268           .887

Topher Seiler (Pb)           519   359   318         .886

SHSHL Playoff Ponderings

The Suburban High School Hockey League has officially confirmed its playoff schedule. Four Class AA quarterfinal games will be played on Monday, February 24 with the top four seeds hosting games at their traditional home rinks.

The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, February 26 long with two Class A semifinal games.

The championship games in both classes will be played on Thursday, February 27.

Pennridge (Class AA) and Wissahickon (Class A) are the defending league champions. The SHSHL crowned its first champion, Abington, in 1973-74. Germantown Academy has the all-time record of 11 league titles, all of which occurred before the league began crowning separate Class AA and Class A champions c. 2002-03. Since then, Wisshkckon has won a confirmed five Class A titles.

 

Note: The SHSHL is still looking to fill in some blanks in its Roll Call of Champions. The league is still working to confirm who won the Class AA title during the 2006-07 season and the Class A title in 2003-04 and possibly 2002-03. Anyone with information about those two seasons is encouraged to contact Hockey Happenings here.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 14, Wissahickon 12

HATFIELD—An abundance of fireworks were discharged at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Wissahickon and Plymouth Whitemarsh celebrated a joint senior night by combining to score 26 goals in the scheduled 48-minute game with the Colonials prevailing 14-12.

The win kept Plymouth Whitemarsh unbeaten in SHSHL American Division play at 11-0 (15-1 overall). It was also the Colonials’ 12th straight win. The Trojans slipped to 8-7 overall and 6-5 in the division.

The contest was terminated with 6.9 seconds remaining in the third period after an altercation near the Plymouth Whitemarsh net that resulted in a total of 13 penalties being accessed to six players. Wissahickon’s Daniel Glazier was accessed a double game misconduct while his teammate Nicholas Hussa received a single game misconduct. Three Colonials, Devin Reilly, Thomas Corcoran, and Logan Westerfer received game misconducts.

Prior to the truncated finish, the evening featured an abundance of racehorse hockey. Plymouth Whitemarsh jumped to a 3-0 lead by the 4:35 mark of the first period before Wissahickon scored four straight goals to take the lead with 6:33 left in the period; it would turn out to be the Trojans’ only lead of the night and at period’s end the teams were deadlocked at 5-5.

The Colonials pulled away from their foes by scoring the first five goals of the second period before the Trojans scored the last two before adding two more at the start of the third frame to move within a goal at 10-9 with 12;54 still left in regulation. Jack Mishkin and Colin Franzoni added goals for the Colonials at that point and the lead was never less than two the rest of the way.

“Both teams came out with a lot of energy,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello. Both teams have offensive power and I think people were on the edge of their seats, it being Senior Night and really trying t get going offensively.”

Jake Weikel scored five goals for the Colonials and added an assist. Luke Weikel added three goals. Brian Gary paced Wissahickon with four goals and five assists, A.J. Pounds scored three goals for the Trojans and added four assists.

“It was kind of a run-and-gun game,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “Some games, they kick off like that and they remain that way the whole game and defense sort of goes to the side sometimes a little bit.”

Ice Chips—The two teams combined for 84 shots.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 5 5 4—14
Wissahickon 5 2 5—12
First-period goals: Jake Weikel (PW) from Dean Keller and Luke Weikel, 3:25; Aidan Keogh (PW) from Luke Weikel, 3:53; Jake Weikel (PW) from Luke Weikel, 4:35; Bryan Gary (W) from A.J. Pounds, 5:30 (pp); Gary (W) from Nicholas Hussa, 8:56 (pp); Alex Carrozza (W) unassisted, 9:08; Pounds (W) from Gary, 9:27; Jake Weikel (PW) from Colin Franzoni, 11:05; Ben Lukas (PW) from Keller, 13:45; Pounds (W) from Gary, 14:40.
Second-period goals: Luke Weikel (PW) from Keogh and Jack Mishkin, 1:39 (sh); Luke Weikel (PW) from Jake Weikel, 4:55 (pp): Mishkin (PW) from Logan Westerfer, 5:49; Jake Weikel (PW) from Lucas, 7:55; Luke Weikel (PW) from THomas Corcoran and Keogh; Gary (W) unassisted, 12:13; Pounds (W) from Gary, 12:55.
Third-period goals: Hussa (W) from Matt Winkowski and Pounds, 1:09; Gary (W) from Pounds, 3:06; Mishkin (PW) from Franzoni, 4:17; Franzoni (PW) from Spencer Reilly, 6:41; Hussa (W) from Pounds and Gary, 7:04; Jake Weikel (PW) from Keller, 9:06; Keller (PW) unassisted, 9:41; Daniel Glazer (W) from Carrozza, 13:14; Carrozza (W) from Hussa and Gary, 14:00.
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 41, Wissahickon 43; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 31, Chris Shea (W) 27.

Pennsbury 5, C.B. East 2

HATFIELD—There was no better time than Wednesday night for Pennsbury to get out of a funk. Having lost their last three SHSHL Class AA divisional games games, the Falcons needed to make a statement.

Which they did. Three first-period goals propelled Pennsbury to a 5-2 win over Central Bucks East in a game the Falcons (9-5-1, 5-5-1 in the division) needed badly to stake a claim on a berth in both the SHSHL playoffs and the Flyers Cup tournament. Simply put, there was no margin for error.

Ben Dous, Pennsbury’s captain, had no difficulty articulating the significance of the win. “It’s big,” he said. “We hit a rough patch and it was great. We came out here and I thought we played really well.”

Dous got things started during a power play at the 6:45 mark of the first period when he launched a shot from the high slot that Shane Siegmond tipped past East goaltender Chris McIntyre. Erik Eisler made it a 2-0 game on another power-play effort at 11:39 and Beau Brusulis-Edman added an even-strength goal at 13:55 to put the Patriots (9-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in the division) further back on their heels

“We dug ourselves a hole,” said East assistant coach Mike Capps. “Credit Pennsbury, they played their butts off. They played us right, They chipped it by us and went on odd-man breaks. They had a man coming in late because our center wasn’t picking up. They played well, they were well-coached tonight, they deserved to win.”

Joe Machlovitz scored the only goal of the second frame at the 7:37 mark and he and his mates appeared to have things well in hand.

In the third period however, the Patriots’ Sean Gorman made things interesting by scoring his 25th goal of the season off a turnover at the 5:18 mark, He added a second goal with 4:12 left in regulation that forced the Falcons to pay attention down the stretch but Dous added an insurance goal into an empty net with 22 seconds to go.

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley feels his team is back on the right track. We definitely went through a lull there,” he said, “and I think we got some momentum. I think it started with our game against Truman (last Friday’s Pink Out game, a 7-3 win) and it definitely carried over to tonight.”

Ice Chips—Pennsbury had a 37-28 edge in shots but the Patriots outshot the Falcons 25-18 over the last two periods …The SHSHL playoffs will be held the week of February 24, the week before the Flyers Cup. Class AA quarterfinal games will be played on Monday the 24th with semifinals in both classes set for Wednesday the 26th. The championship games in both classes will be played the following night.

Pennsbury 3 1 1—5
C.B. East 0 0 2—2
First-period goals: Shane Siegmond (P) from Ben Dous and Beau Bruslius-Yedman, 6:45 (pp); Eric Eisler (P) from Joe Machlovitz and Dous, 11:39 (pp); Bruslius-Edman (P) from Eisler, 13:55.
Second-period goals: Machlovitz (P) from Siegmond, 7:37.
Third-period goals: Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 5:18; Gorman (CBE) from Aiden Schmidt, 11:48; Dous (P) from Bruslius-Yedman, 15:38 (en);
Shots: Pennsbury 37, CBE 28; Saves: Topher Seiler (P) 30; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 32

Elsewhere: Neshaminy 8, C.B. West 6

 

APAC Update for 2-12-20

Standings through 2-12                    W        L       OW      OL        Pts               GF       GA

Holy Ghost Prep (14-4-1)                       5         3        1      0               17               32         24

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-11)                       3          1       0       4               13                 25       24

LaSalle (12-13)                                      2          3     2           1                11                 29        29

Malvern Prep (7-8)                              2         5         2        0             10                   44           45

Teams receive:

3 points for a regulation win

2 points  for an overtime or shootout win

1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

0 points for a regulation loss

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Scoring Leaders                        Games     G      A       Pts

Byron Hartley (HGP)                  18         21     13      34

Matt Harris (MP)                        15          19    11        30

Jack Constabile (MP)                  15            6     20      26

Ryan Sambuco (MP)                   15          9     15     24

Evan Mudrick (HGP)                   16        11     9       20

Anthony Sparo (HGP)                 17        8  11     19

Dave Kimmel (La)                       20       10   7      17

Jimmy Craig (SJP)                         16         6    11     17

Nolan Woudenberg (La)             19         10     5       15

Keenan Schneider (La)                20        4     11     15

Andrew Centrella (SJP)               16          2     13    15

Nathan Benner (La)                     20        9     6     15

Jeffrey Hammond (SJP)               14        8      6       14

Braedon Barsher (HGP)              19        12    2      14

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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. Stop in an check us out  or please visit our Facebook page  

SHSHL Update 2-9-20

SHSHL Standings as of 2-8-2020

Class AA                                       W     L     T      OTL     Pts

C.B. South 12-0-0-1)                  10     0       0       0       20

North Penn (11-2-0-0)              10    0       0       0       20

C.R. South (8-5-0-0)                  8       2       0       0       16

Neshaminy (9-3-0-0)                7       2       0       0       14

C.B. East (9-3-1-1)                    6       3       1       1       14

Pennridge (9-6-0-0)                 6       5       0       0       12

C.B. West (7-4-2-1))                4       4       2       0       10

Pennsbury (8-5-1-0)                 4       5       1       0       9

Souderton (3-10-1-1)                3       6       1       1       8

William Tennent (4-9-0-1)      2       7       0       1       5

Abington (3-11-0-0)                2       7       0       0       4

Quakertown (2-11-1-0)        1       8       1       0      2

Council Rock North (1-14-0-0)     0       11     0       0       0

Class A                                                              W    L      T     OTL  Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (14-1-0-0)            10     0       0       0       20

Wissahickon (8-6-0-0)                                 6       4       0       0       12

Hatboro-Horsham (10-4-0-1)                   5       4       0       1       11

Truman (2-12-0-0)                                          2       8       0       0       4

Lower Moreland (1-13-0-0)                        1       8       0       0       2

 

Scoring

Class AA                                                      G      A     Pts

Jake Lang (CBW)                                       24    17      41

Michael Roby (CRS)                                 25     15       38

Tyler Greenstein (NP)                             16     21       37

Robert Seewagen(Nesh)                         21     13       34

Antii Autere (CRS)                                   12       21     33

Josh Kaufhold (NP)                                 15        17     32

Dominic Patrone (CBS)                          14        18     32

Chris Trefz (CBW)                                   10       22      32

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb)                      12      17     29

Colin Abbonizio (CBS)                                15     14     29

Sean Gorman (CBE)                                      24     4       28

 

Class A                                                            G     A    Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW)                                      22     29   51

Jake Weikel (PW)                                        28    19     47

Alex Howieson (HH)                                  20     18   38

Dean Keller (PW)                                        19    19     38

Luke Weikel (PW)                                       17     20     37

Seth Lerner (HH)                                         19    12     31

Nicholas Hussa (W)                                    24     6       30

Robert DiCostra (Tr)                                   15     13     28

Bryan Gary (W)                                            17     10     27

Aidan Esack (HH)                                         11   15     26

 

 

 

Goals Against                                     MP        GA     GAA

Mason Moyer (CBS)                          608         17     1.34

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)                     506           20     1.90

Brian Nelson (Nesh)                         476            22     2.22

Chris McIntyre (CBE)                       678             37     2.62

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP)                     580             34     2.82

Ben Yuter (PW)                                 538             32     2.86

Ryan Pico (Pr)                                  672             40      2.86

 

Save Percentage

MP       Shots        Saves     Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS)                                         608      259             242         .934

Chris McIntyre (CBE)                                      678       444             407        .917

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)                                     506        212           192         .906

Ryan Pico (Pr)                                                   672         380            340       .895

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP)                                    580          298           264       . 886

Brian Nelson (Nesh)                                        476         191           169        .885

 

 

 

 

Pennridge 3, Pennsbury 2

HATFIELD— It took Pennsbury and Pennridge some time to hit their stride Thursday night. For two periods plus the Falcons and the Rams delivered a performance that seemed to offer little in the way of emotional energy.

The pace picked up down the stretch and it was Pennridge that came out on top. Aidan Boyle’s goal with 2:12 left in regulation gave the Rams a 3-2 win in a game that both teams needed strengthen their position the Suburban High School Hockey League’s Class AA standings and their credibility with the committee that will select sand seed the Flyers Cup field in a little over two week’s time.

“We just kept telling them ‘Get it to the third period with a chance to win,’” said Pernnridge coach Jeff Montagna,”

Just one goal was scored over the first two periods. It came off the stick of Pennsbury’s Brendan MacAinish 9:16 into the first frame. Ryan Schuler tied the game for the Rams (9-6, 6-5 in divisional play) 3:36 in to the finals period but Reece Millman’s shot from the edge of the right faceoff circle put the Falcons (8-5-1, 4-5-1) back in front at the 6:58 mark.

When Arek Lehrhaupt scored for the Rams at 10:06 it set the stage for a big finish. Boyle’s game winner came on a shot from the right circle that got past Falcon netminder Topher Seiler.

Seiler and Ryan Pico, his Pennridge counterpart, were both sharp, making 62 saves between them.

The Rams came into the game without Blake Stewart who was injured, and lost Richie Shanks in the second period. But they kept battling.

“They just kept fighting and scrapping,” Montagna said of his troops. “I’m just so proud of them, so proud of the way then did that down the stretch. We were down to seven forwards. It was a great win.”

The loss was the third straight for the Falcons. “Their goalie had an outstanding game,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. We could have had more goals, that’s for sure. I think that kind of got to us in the stretch there. You’re masking good plays and working hard and we weren’t getting rewarded for any of it.”

Daley was quick to point out the loss was no fault of Seiler’s who kept his team in the game in the third period. “It’s a shame our last three games have (losses) next to them,” he said. “He’s played outstanding in all three of them.”

Pennsbury 1 0 1—2
Pennridge 0 0 3—3
First-period goal: Brendan MacAinish (Pb) from Shane Siegmond and Beau
Third-period goal: Ryan Schuler (Pr) from Conrad Frisch, 3:36; Reece Millman (Pb) unassisted, 6:58; Arek Lehrhaupt (Pr) from Jeff Manto and Jack Lowery, 10:06; Aidan Boyle (Pr) from Cooper White, 13:48.
Shots: Pennsbury 35, Pennridge 32; Saves: Topher Seiler (Pb) 29, Ryan Pico (Pr) 33

 

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Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

BRISTOL—The prize was there for the taking and Holy Ghost Prep stepped up and took it Wednesday afternoon. The Firebirds jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period and went on to a 5-2 win over St. Joseph’s Prep in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Grundy Arena.

Byron Hartley delivered three goals for the Firebirds, who wrapped up the APAC regular-season title with the win. The senior, who also picked up an assist, leads all APAC players in scoring with 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 16 games.

“We were ready to battle for first place today,” Hartley said, “and we really wanted to come out and make a statement that this was a bounce-back year.”

 

joes_holyghost-2.jpg

St. Joseph’s Prep’s Andrew Centrella (in red) battles for the puck with Holy Ghost Prep’s Michael Connelly (in white). Holy Ghost Prep prevailed 5-2 to clinch the APC regular season title. Photo by Liz Diretto.

 

Hartley helped get the Firebirds (12-4-1-0 overall, 5-3-1-0 in the APAC) get started when he set up Evan Mudrick for the game’s first goal. Mudrick launched a shot from the high slot that beat Hawk netminder Rocco Bruno at 10:36 of the first period. Carlos Rodriquez made it 2-0 on a breakaway at 12:19 before Hartley made it a 3-0 just 29 seconds into the second frame.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin lamented his team’s ability to take advantage of some early opportunities. “The first five minutes we were awesome,” he said. “We were all over them. We made two mistakes and they put the puck in the net. and we’re down 2-0 and we’re chasing the game.”

The Hawks (11-11 overall, 3-1-0-4 in conference) got on the board thanks to Dominic Fantozzi with 1:14 left in the period.

The Firebirds reasserted themselves however when Hartley scored a shorthanded goal at 7:44 of the third period. Mudrick was serving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the time, the only penalty whistled by referee Eric MIchaels. Jimmy Craig scored for the Hawks with 3:37 remaining before Hartley completed his hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 29 seconds left.

“I know we had a really strong (first) period,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I know we struggled a bit in the second, a little bit of the third but we found a way to win.
“I wasn’t happy that we gave up that many shots. We haven’t given up that many shots in a long time.”

joes_holyghost-3.jpg

St. Joseph’s Prep’s Paulo Colavita (in red) charges the net as Holy Ghost Prep goaltender Sean Joyce makes the save. Number 88 in white is Holy Ghost Prep’s Brian Butler. Photo by Liz Diretto.

For more photos of this game, contact Liz Diretto HERE

Notes: It was the first APAC game of the season in which St. Joseph’s Prep failed to come away with at least one point. The Hawks will host La Salle to conclude the conference schedule on February 21, two days before the seedings for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament are announced. The APAC playoffs will take place on February 24 and 26.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 1—2
Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5
First-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Byron Hartley, 10:36; Carlos Rodriguez (HGP) unassisted, 12:19.
Second-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Anthony Spark and James Littley, :29; Dominic Fantozzi (SJP) from Connor Burman, 14:46.
Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Dan Behr, 7:44 (sh); Jimmy Craig (HGP) from Burman and Andrew Centrella, 12:23; Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 15:31.

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 32, Holy Ghost Prep 25; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 20, Sean Joyce (HGP) 30.

 

 

La Salle 6, Malvern Prep 3

WEST GOSHEN— Coming off an emotional loss, La Salle needed a good performance Monday night and got it. It wasn’t a. Perfect effort but the Explorers played well enough long enough to post as 6-3 win over Malvern Prep in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

Five different players scored goals as the Explorers (10-14) improved to 2-3-2-1 in the APAC to move into third place in the APAC with one conference game remaining. It was La Salle’s first time on ice since losing to Holy Ghost Prep last Friday.

Keenan Schneider, who scored a goal and added an assist, noted Monday’s result had far-reaching ramifications. “It was very important,” the sophomore said. “We needed these three points to clear our seeding in the Flyers Cup and right we can keep moving forward.”

The Friars (6-8 overall, 2-5-2-0 in conference) had the better of play early on, thanks in part to an early power play chance but the Explorers successfully killed off the penalty before Jake Armstrong scored the evening’s first goal at the 4:59 mark with help from Nathan Benner and Ryan Ferry. Schneider made it 2-0 with 52 seconds left in the period.

The Explorers extended their their lead at the 4:16 mark of the second stanza when the Friars coughed up the puck in front of their own net and Max Maddallo put the puck past Malvern Prep netminder Anthony Perti. It became a 4-0 game when Dan Dolan found the back of the net at 11:02.

The Friars cut into the deficit by scoring twice in the final minute of the period. Jimmy Kirk scored off a La Salle turnover with 55 seconds remaining before Ryan Sambuco added a shorthanded goal with nine seconds left. By period’s end, the Friars had a a 23-14 edge in shots but were still two goals down.

“When you have that many shots it’s tough when you don’t get your bounces,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “I thought we played a solid couple periods there, the bounces just didn’t go our way.”

It was still a game at the start of the final period and the Friars picked up where they left off when La Salle’s Chase Hannon drew a hooking penalty nine seconds in to create a four-on-four situation. Sambuco scored his second goal of the evening off the ensuing faceoff to make it a one-goal game.

By this point, La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner had some concerns. “I think we got a little complacent,” he said, “and got away from what we were doing well that got us to 4-0. I think we played a good simple game the way we want to play the first period-and-a-half and then you get up 4-0 and you think it’s going to be easy. It’s not.”

Muehlbronner’s concerns were eased when David Kimmel concluded a game of tic tac toe with Schneider and Jake Hannon with 9:10 left in regulation to make it a two-goal game once more. Andrew Budzynski scored into an empty net with 41 seconds remaining.

La Salle 2 2 2—6
Malvern Prep 0 2 1—3
First-period goals: Jake Armstrong (L) from Nathan Benner and Ryan Ferry, 4:59; Keenan Schneider (L) from David Kimmel and Nolan Woudenberg, 15:08
Second-period goals: Max Maddallo (L) from Tim Whitlock, 4:16; Dan Dolan (L) from Frank Ford and Chris Wnek, 11:02
Third-period goals: Sambuco (MP) unassisted, :24; Kimmel (L) from Schneider and Jake Hannon, 6:50; Andrew Budzynski (L) unassisted, 15:19.
Shots: LaSalle 25, Malvern Prep 32; Saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 29, Anthony Perti (MP) 19;