HATFIELD— Much of the evening was filled with drama, but in the end, Pennsbury continued to reign supreme in the Suburban High School Hockey League. The Falcons scored four goals in the third period Thursday night to overcome stubborn Souderton 7-4 in a SHSHL National/Continental clash at Hatfield Ice.
Pennsbury won its sixth straight game and improved its record to a division-best 7-0-0-1 overall and 5-0 in divisional play. But the winless Big Red (0-7 overall, 0-5 in the division) gave their foes all they wanted and more.
Souderton scored the game’s first goal and led four times, including 4-3 after two periods, before running out of gas in the final stanza.
For Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley, Thursday’s result brought recollections of the teams’ first meeting, a 6-5 Pennsbury win on January 20 in a non-league encounter.
“Some teams just have your number,” Daley said, “and they have ours. “I don’t think their record really reflects how good a team they are.
“They’re young, their goalie (Noah Connor) had an outstanding night. They’ve got a bright future.”
For much of the evening, Souderton’s future was the present. The teams traded goals through the first two periods. Seth Grossman found the back of the net twice for the Big Red to give him 12 goals for the season in just five games. Liam O’ Neill and Tim Alexander also contributed Souderton goals, while Andrew Falkenstein, Logan Doyle, and Evan Eisler all scored for Pennsbury.
In the third period the Falcons stepped on the gas. Reece Millman tied the game at the 3:01 mark before Connor Coyne put his team in front for good at 5:50. Jake McCaw extended Pennsbury’s lead at 11:55 before Eric Eisler added an exclamation point with 30 seconds remaining in the game.
The Falcon outshot the Big Red 16-7 in the final period and 30-10 over the last two. Pennsbury finished with a 38-20 edge in shots.
Despite the loss Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat took away an abundance of positives. “That’s a good team there,” he said of the Falcons. “You look at their stats and everything. They’re balanced, they get scoring contributions from a lot of different players.”
The scoresheet confirmed Uchniat’s impressions; Pennsbury’s seven goals were scored by seven different players.
The Big Red went into the game without defensemen Jaden Garick and Ben Fadden and lost another blueliner during the game.
“Pennsbury wore is down,” Uchniat said.
The Falcons meanwhile have much to reflect on after Thursday’s win. “We didn’t get the start we wanted,” Daley said. “We pride ourselves on being a fast team, with a lot of offense, a lot of shots. That first period we had 10 shots and let up the first goal, just the complete opposite of what we were trying to do.”
Pennsbury 1 2 4—7
Souderton 2 2 0—4
First-period goals: Seth Grossman (S) from Rodney Reiff and Tim Alexander, 7:26; Andrew Falkenstein (P) unassisted, 9:41; Liam O’ Neill (S) from Matt Malagna, 12:10.
Second-period goals: Logan Doyle (P) from Justin Marlin, 1:20; Grossman (S) from Jamie Avaria O’ Keefe, 5:05 (sh); Evan Eisler (P) from Eddie Bossler, 6:33; Alexander (S) unassisted, 8:42.
Third-period goals: Reece Millman (P) from Shane Siegmund and Brendan MacAinsh, 3:01; Connor Coyne (P) unassisted, 5:50; Jake McCaw (P) from Reese Picker, second assist unavailable, 11:55; Eric Eisler (P) from Colin Michalak and Bossler, 15:30.
Shots; Pennsbury 38, Souderton 20; Saves: Marek Jorgenson (P) 16, Noah Connor (S) 31
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