Pennridge 6 C.B. South 5

HATFIELD—A lot went on at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Much of it in the realm of the unexpected.

Pennridge rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 5-1 to post a 6-5 overtime win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban High School Hockey League National Division non-league matchup.

Kevin Pico delivered the game winner for the Rams 34 seconds into overtime after the last period was shortened to nine minutes from the usual 17 after a combination of 10 goals and an abundance of penalties consumed the bulk of the allocated ice slot.

Six different players scored for the Rams (1-1). Andrew Savona, Dane Fichte, James Rush, Shane Dachowski, and Josh Kelly found the back of the net before Kevin Pico pocketed the game winner. South netminder Dom Varacallo stopped Savona’s initial shot before Pico put in the rebound.

“We needed something to wake us up,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, who team squared its record at 1-1. “We needed to find that edge that we’ve been lacking in practice. Early in this season, we haven’t had it. And, I think getting down tonight against a rival with as much emotion as there was going in here, woke us up.”

The Titans (1-1) jumped to a 3-0 lead before the first period was seven minutes old. Aydin Thierolf scored twice with a goal from D.J. Lindenmuth in between.

Colin Mendham and Michael Nemec added goals to give South a 5-1 lead 5:46 into the second frame.

Dane Fitchett drew the Rams a bit closer with 5:55 left in the period. Pico had a chance to bring his team closer when the Rams were awarded a penalty shot with 15.8 seconds left in the second period but was denied by Varacallo.

Both teams saw there efforts hampered by repeated trips to the penalty box. The officials whistled a total of 19 infractions, 12 of them to the Titans.

The number of stoppages and altercations resulted in the final period being shortened to nine minutes at the direction of rink management. Faced with a three-goal deficit, the Rams wasted no time.

Rush made it a 5-3 game 1:20 into the final session. Dachowski followed at 5:54 and Kelly tied the game at 6:58.

The five-minute, three-on-three overtime was allowed to go forward and it took Pico and Savona just moments to end matters.

“Our guys let off the gas,” said South coach Shaun McGinty, “and they’re a good team. A good team is going to find a way to win. We allowed them a little bit of momentum and momentum is a big part of the game in a team sport.”

Ice chips—The decision to shorten the the third period was part of a joint effort between the SHSHL and area rinks to complete scheduled games within their allocated 90-minute ice slots. The C.B. South-Pennridge contest was followed by a game between North Penn and Central Bucks West which was succeeded by an adult league game.

C.B. South 3 2 0 0—5

Pennridge 1 1 3 1—6

First-period goals: Aydin Thierolf (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 3:06; D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Matt Crouch, 4:14; Thierolf (CBS) unassisted 6:57 (pp); Andrew Savona (P) unassisted, 16:34

Second-period goals: Colin Mendam (CBS) unassisted, :38; Michael Nemec (CBS) from Justin Keilman, 5:46; Dane Fitchett (P) from Trey Mikulich, 11:05

Third-period goals: James Rush (P) from Mitchell Mothersbaugh, 1:20; Shane Dachowski (P) from Savona, 5:54; Josh Kelly (P) from Andrew Lizak and Tyler Manto

Overtime goal: Kevin Peco (P) from Savona, :34

Shots: Pennridge 35, C.B. South 28; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 29, Jacob Winton (P) 23

Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Crisp and efficient. That phrase would best describe Holy Ghost Prep’s performance against La Salle Wednesday afternoon.

Landon Stout scored two goals and assisted on another and Kieran Mulholland found the back of the net twice as the Firebirds dominated in the course of a 6-2 win over La Salle at Hatfield Ice in the season and APAC opener for both schools.

The Firebirds had their foot on the gas from the opening faceoff. Stout and Mulholland scored goals 59 seconds apart to give their team a 2-0 advantage with 5:48 left in the first period. Stout’s goal came on a power play.

“It helped us out a lot,” Stout said of his team’s start. “That’s what we try to do, try to come out and get a quick start.”

Evan Golato got La Salle on the scoreboard 4:19 into the second frame but there weren’t many bright spots for the Explorers after that.

Stout scored his second goal of the game with 2:49 left in the period before assisting on a goal from Zach Pers 38 seconds into the third. Anthony Valeriote and Mulholland added additional goals before Charlie Kennedy scored for La Salle with 2.9 seconds remaining.

Colin Mudrick got the win in goal, making 25 saves

Stout spoke to the Firebirds’ depth and their senior leadership; there are 10 seniors on the roster.

”We had all four line rolling,” he said. “I think, when the older guys set an example, it kind of gets the younger guys going. I think we did a good job of that.”

Stout notes the importance of senior showing the way for their teammates.
“It’s a huge responsibility,” he said, “and I think our seniors did a good job of it.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside celebrated his team’s performance.

“We were really happy with the game today,” he said. They’ve been working hard in practice.

“We knew we had some good kids, we just didn’t know what type of team we were going to have and I though we responded really well, all four lines. We had good leadership out on the ice and I thought we did some really good things. But it’s only Game One. It’s a long season.”

For La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, Wednesday’s opener was an exercise in frustration

“We got outworked for a full game,” he said. “Guys didn’t step up. We got outworked the full game.

Muehlbronner pledged that his team would discover a work ethic. “We’re going to find it,” he said.