Council Rock North 7 Penncrest 3
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A fast start is advantageous for any hockey team, particularly in the crucible that is the Flyers Cup tournament.
Council Rock North got off to as fast start Monday night and never looked back. The Indians scored three times in the first period and went on to a 7-3 win over Penncrest in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.
Eighth-seeded North (10-7) will face fourth-seeded Hershey Thursday at Ice Line in a quarterfinal game. The 12th-seeeded Lions closed at 5-10.
The Indians have been a potent offensive force all season and that didn’t change on Wednesday.
Karson Grainey gave his team a 1-0 lead with 4:08 left in the opening period. Wilton Pasch, the only senior in the North lineup, made it a 2-0 game at the 2:54 mark and Noah Epstein added a power play goal with 2.9 seconds left in the first frame.
North coach Greg McDonald spoke to the importance of the fast start.
“You don’t know who is on the other side,” he pointed out. “If the boys are excited, and they’re jumping, and they get some goals, it kind of lets you settle some things down early.”
Kain Walker scored a power-play goal for Penncrest 7:22 onto the second session but Lucas Siomos answered for the Indians with exactly five minutes left in the period.
There were five goals scored in the third period, among them Pasch’s second of the night. North was never in jeopardy of losing the lead.
Goaltender Ian Goldberg saw to that, making 33 saves. The freshman credited the defense in front of him.
“We moved the puck good out of the one,” he said, “and covered the net good.”
McDonald was please that his troops maintained their composure to the final horn. “What (the coaching staff) keeps talking about is it’s not about this game,” he said. It’s not about Game One, it’s not about Penncrest. It’s part of the ride and I think when you can bring that concept to the guys on the bench, it doesn’t make it feel like it’s so urgent. It’s not all here and I think it allows them to get a little bit more perspective and get back to just playing hockey.”
Penncrest 0 1 2—3
C.R. North 3 1 3—7
First-period goals: Karson Grainey (CRN) unassisted, 12:52; Wilton Pasch (CRN) from Jackson Mosley, 14:06; Noah Epstein (CRN) from Ryan Keil and Nick Hahn, 16:59 (pp).
Second-period goals: Kain Walker (P) from Tyler Conn and Quentin Baker, 7:22 (pp); Lucas Siomos (CRN) from Hahn, 12:00.
Third-period goals: Van Evans (P) from Walker, 3:10; Pasch (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey (pp), 5:25; Jackson Accardi (CRN) from Jesse Schaff, 6:00; Eddie Morroni (P) from Colin Curran, 15:17; Hahn (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey,16:59.
Shots: Penncrest 36, C.R. North 45; Saved: Fiona Walker (P) 38, Ian Goldberg (CRN) 33
Jeff Mauro has written a book on the history of the Pennsylvania state high school hockey championship. To find out more and order a copy CLICK HERE
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