HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Pennsbury Falcons typically don’t wait for things to happen. Their up-tempo style on ice is one of the keys to their success; they are capable of putting a string of goals together in a hurry.
That trend continued Tuesday night. The Falcons scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-3 win over Owen J. Roberts in a Class A first-round Flyers Cup encounter at Hatfield Ice.
Senior defenseman Reece Millman says the Falcons’ fast-paced stole is a good fit. “Hockey is all about momentum,” he said. “If you can score goals and build upon it, then you’re just going to score more goals. So, it’s nice to know that we have the ability to do it. It’s not something that happens out of the blue.
So, when we are down, it’s nice to know. Everybody knows that we can bury goals quickly.”
The 14th-seeded Wildcats (10-10-0-1) took a 2-1 lead in a goal from Brady Callahan 3:32 into the second period but the third-seeded Falcons (12-4-1) responded in a big way. Logan Doyle, Brendan Macainsh, Reece Picker and Andrew Falkenstein scored goals in a span of 4 minutes, 16 seconds to give Pennsbury a 5-2 lead.
Riley Vitullo scored for the Wildcats with 1:46 left in the middle period but Macainsh answered for Pennsbury just 16 seconds later. The teams traded goals in the third period.
“I’m never too worried about our offense,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “Which is nice right? You’re not too worried about half of your game.
“I’m always a little worried about our defense, but I’m veery happy with out offensive ability.”
Whatever concerns Daley might have had about his team’s play inside its own blue line were alleviated by the work of Aaron McDaniel in goal. The sophomore has done some of his best late in the season. On Tuesday night he stopped 17 of the 20 shots he saw.
“This is his first year starting,” Daley said. “He got to be the backup last year (on a SHSHL championship team). I think he learned a lot from our senior goaltender last year; how to put together a playoff run. This second half of the season, he’s been stellar.”
Pennsbury will face fifth-seeded Avon Grove in a Thursday quarterfinal. The site and time of that game will be announced on Wednesday.
O.J. Roberts 1 2 0—3
Pennsbury 1 5 1—7
First-period goals: Shane Siegmund (P) from Reece Millman, 14:29; Sean Kavanagh (OJR) from Charlie Davis and Ethan Bochanski, 16:18
Second-period goals: Brady Callahan (OJR) from Davis and Andrew Watson, 3:32; Logan Doyle (pp) from Siegmund and Brendan Macainsh, 8:14; Macainsh (P) from Doyle and Justin Marlin, 10:53; Reece Picker (P) from Macainsh, 11:59; Andrew Falkenstein (P) from Millman,14:59; Riley Vitullo (OJR) unassisted, 15:14; Macainsh (P) from Evan Eissler and Millman, 15:30;
Third-period goals: Millman (P) from Eissler, 4:25
Shots: O.J. Roberts 20, Pennsbury 40; Saves: Shane Towler (OJR) 33, Aaron McDaniel (P) 17
Hockey Happenings 