HATFIELD—It was a performance lacking in artistic excellence perhaps. But by evening’s end, Central Bucks South had what it came for; a win. Three different players scored goals as the sixth-seeded Titans downed Owen J. Roberts 3-1 Tuesday night in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.
Dan Kvecher, Owen Mendham, and Aydin Thierolf all scored to send the Titans (8-5-1-1) to Thursday’s quarterfinals against third-seeded Haverford (8:15 at Ice Line).
Goals weren’t easy to come by Tueday night. The 11th-seeded Wildcats (5-5-3) enjoyed a 36-24 edge in shots They also had the better of procession time over the first two periods but couldn’t solve South goaltender Mason Moyer despite having three-power-play opportunities over the first 32 minutes of playing time.
The Titans scored the only goal of that span in a unique fashion. Kvecher made a move on left wing before encountering traffic in the offensive zone. He launched a shot that caromed off of Wildcat goaltender Shane Towler and into the net. The goal came with 3:58 remaining in the period.
Kevecher anticipated a tough battle from the Lions. “Every game is a battle,” he said, “no matter what opponent we play. We just come out here and do what we do.
“(O.J Roberts) is a great team. We have to battle the whole game.”
Kvecher’s teammate, Owen Mendham made it a 2-0 game on a power-play goal 7:04 into the third period.
South spent a big chunk of the third period killing penalties, three in the last 8:25 of regulation. But the only goal the Lions managed came on the last one when Cale Primanti put in a rebound with 1:59 remaining.
“Early on we had a lot of possession time,” said Owen J. Roberts coach Chuck Gorman. ”We just couldn’t penetrate between the dots on them and get second shots..”
The last goal of the game came with 1:06 left in regulation when the Lions, who had pulled Towler for an extra attacker, turned the puck over just to their defensive side of the red line. Thierolf controlled the loose puck for the Titans and was poised for a breakaway when the Lions’ Ava Rinker pulled him down. With the net empty, Thierolf was awarded a goal. And the Titans lived to play another day.
“In this kind of tournament you take the win, you move on,” said South coach Shaun McGinty.”They came, they did their job, they got their shot total up.
“We wre struggling a bit finding the net, but the first two periods they were pretty much winning the one-on-one battles.”
Owen J. Roberts 0 0 1
Central Bucks South 0 1 2
Second-period goals: Dan Kvecher (CBS) unassisted, 12:02
Third-period goals: Owen Mendham (CBS) from Adam Cusick and Aydin Thierolf, 7:04 (pp); Cael Primanti (OJR) from Chatles Davis, 14:01 (pp); Thierolf (CBS) unassisted, 14:54 (awarded goal), (en)
Shots: O.J. Roberts 36, C.B. South 24 Saves: Shane Towler (OJR) 21, Mason Moyer (CBS) 35
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