HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A hockey game encompasses three periods. But Monday’s APAC game between host La Salle and Malvern Prep was settled seemingly in the blink of an eye.
The Explorers built a three-goal lead in just over five minutes and rolled on to a 7-2 win over the Friars at Hatfield Ice. The win squared La Salle’s overall record at 3-3-1 and (2-1 in the APAC)).
It didn’t take long for the offensive surge to get started. Ryan Warner found the back of the net just 49 seconds after the opening faceoff and the Explorers were off and running.
Chase Hannon and Dean Carvalho followed with goals in quick succession and just 5:03 into the game La Salle had a 3-0 lead.
Warner spoke to the significance of his team’s fast start. “That was really important for us,” the senior said. “We kind of built our momentum off that. The team was really buzzing. We were getting pucks in deep, working hard, and we really built off that.”
Following Carvalho’s goal, Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan made a goaltender switch, lifting starter Brandon Novabilsky for Matt Crawford.
Caiden Canale got the Friars on the scoreboard with seven minutes left in the opening session but Hannon answered back for La Salle with 3:31 left and for most of the rest of the game the Friars (5-2, 1-2 in conference) seemingly were skating uphill.
“The last time we played La Salle (a 4-3 Explorer win on Thanksgiving Eve) they jumped on us early,” Friar coach Bill Kenan pointed out. “Today, they jumped on us early. It’s hard to battle back when you’re down 3-0 in the first five minutes.
“We had a good second period, we outshot them, but it’s really hard to get those guys’ mentality back once you go down.”
Malvern Prep’s Jeremy Jacobs and La Salle’s Charlie Kennedy traded goals in the second frame before Carvalho and James Carpenter added goals for La Salle in the third.
Jake Rossi got the win in goal. The sophomore made 34 saves despite leaving the game for a four-minute stretch in the second period because of an equipment issue.
The Explorers are playing their best hockey of the season of late; over the course of their last three starts they’ve compiled a 2-0-1 record while scoring 15 goals.
“We’ve been playing hard,” Warner said. “The team’s been finding our way, and how to work together. I think we’ve really been doing good.”
La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner spoke to his team’s depth and balance. “If we keep the shifts short, we’re a tough team to play against,” he said. “There’s four lines that can move.
“We did I think a really good job of that in the first period.”
For Keenan, Monday’s game was another step his team’s maturation. “The past two years we’ve graduated a lot of seniors,” he said. “We have six freshmen on this team. They’re still finding their way with high-school hockey in a tough division like the APAC. So, for the guys that are experienced, they’ve got to step up, they’ve got to fill in the gaps that graduated and for the younger guys, they’ve just got to find their footing.
“I have faith in this team, I think they’ll bounce back.
Malvern Prep 1 1 0—2
La Salle 4 1 2—7
First-period goals: Ryan Warner (L) from Dean Carvalho. :49; Chase Hannon (L) from Will Gregorio, 3:38; Carvalho (L) from James Carpenter, 5:03; Caiden Canale (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 10:00; Hannon (L) unassisted, 13:29 (pp)
Second-period goals: Jacobs (MP) from Teague Murray, 9:57; Charlie Kennedy (L) from Liam Donahue, 11:36
Third-period goals: Carvalho (L) from Carpenter and Gregorio, 12:59; Carpenter (L) from Carvalho and Patrick Brace, 16:11
Shots: Malvern Prep 40, La Salle 36; Saves: Brandon Novabilsky (MP) 4 and Matt Crawford (MP) 25; Jake Rossi (L) 34 and Aries Carangi (L) 4
CLICK HERE to learn more about La Salle College High School
Monday’s APAC game between Malvern Prep and La Salle will be streamed live from Hatfield Ice Arena on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel.
Monday’s game is the first of a 10-game Game of the Week package that will air between now and mid-February and feature games from each scholastic league in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The YouTube package provides a vehicle for exposing high-school hockey to a wider audience, potentially including those who have not witnessed hockey at the high-school level before. It’s not the first time that TV has been used as a medium to draw new fans to the sport.
In 1967, the National Hockey League expanded from six teams to 12. That’s when the Philadelphia Flyers came into existence, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the Los Angeles Kings, and the California Seals (now defunct).
That same year, CBS launched a Game of the Week telecast which gave many American sports fans their first exposure to the National Hockey League.
The upcoming series of high-school games on YouTube will serve the same function.
Thursday, January 5 7:10 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Abington
Friday, January 13 6:30 Radnor vs. Owen J. Roberts
Friday, January 20 9:00 Eastern vs. Washington Township
Friday, January 27 6:30 Father Judge vs. Salesianum
Wednesday, February 1 7:20 Pennridge vs. Council Rock South
Friday, February 10 6:30 West Chester East vs. Avon Grove
Monday, February 13 9:00 West Chester Rustin vs. Conestoga Girls
Hockey Happenings is looking for interested individuals to shoot video of Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference games. We’re seeking students, parents, and hockey enthusiasts who have experience shooting/editing video.
For more information contact us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com
Brady Baehser scored four goals as Holy Ghost Prep overcame an early 3-1 deficit to defeat The Hun School 7-3 Friday evening in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Land.
The Firebirds now stand at 7-2 overall and 2-0-0-1 in the APAC while the Raiders dropped to 4-4 and 1-1.
Baehser gave Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead exactly halfway through the first period but Scott Richmond and Justin Laplante scored goals 51 seconds apart to put Hun School in front with 30 seconds left in the period.
Laplante scored his second goal of the game 3:29 into the second frame but Holy Ghost Prep took over from there. Baehser tied the game at the 8:37 before the Firebirds scored three times in a span of 100 seconds to race out to a 5-3 lead with 1:12 left in the second frame. Kieran Mulholand scored twice in the flurry before Baehser completed a hat trick.
Baehser and Zach Pers scored in the third period.
Holy Ghost Prep 1 4 2—7
Hun School 2 1 0—3
First-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) unassisted, 8:30; Scott Richmond (HS) from Ryan Levesque and Justin Laplante, 15:39; Laplante (HS) from Elian Estulin and Levesque, 16:30.
Second-period goals: Laplante (HS) from Estulin and Levesque, 3:29; Baehser (HGP unassisted, 8:37; Kieran Mulholland (HGP) from Shaun Moore and John Seravalli, 14:09; Mulholland (HGP) from Seravalli, 14:48; Baehser (HGP unassisted, 15:48.
BRISTOL—It was all systems go for Pennsbury Thursday night. The Falcons lit up the scoreboard at Grundy Arena as if it were a holiday light display in an 8-2 win over Central Bucks South in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter.
Brendan Macainsh scored four goals and assisted on two others to help Pennsbury to its third straight win and fourth win overall in six starts. Justin Marlin added two goals and two assists. Shane Gleisner and Chris Sarver also scored goals. The Falcons are averaging five goals a game and have scored 21 times over the course of their last three outings, Macainsh, a senior and Pennsbury’s captain, says the team’s recent offensive surge stems from aggressive forechecking.
“We weren’t forechecking as much,” he said. “We were just kind of lagging around. We had to pick up our tempo, we had to play the full game, all three periods.”
Justin Marlin put Pennsbury in front just 28 seconds into the first period on a shot from the left point that eluded South netminder Dom Varacallo. Aidan Linso answered for the Titans when he beat Aaron McDaniel with 7:21 left in the opening session, but the Falcons broke the game open in the second frame.
Macainsh, Marlin, Gleisner (with the most picturesque goal of the night off a two-on-one situation), and Macainsh again scored goals in a span of just over six minutes to give Pennsbury a 5-1 lead.
Sean Cutter ended the streak when he scored for the Titans (3-4 overall during a four-on-four situation but Macainsh completed his hat trick with one minute left in the period.
At period’s end the Falcons led 6-2 although their shot advantage was just 23-21. At that point, South coach Shaun McGinty replaced Varacallo in goal with Jason Magaruth before Sarver and Macainsh added goals for Pennsbury in the final period.
McGinty made it clear afterward that Varacallo did not get the defensive support he deserved.
“They were getting two-on-ones, three-on-ones, they were getting odd-man breaks,” he said. “Our defense struggled, they were subpar, and they were outworked.
“I only pulled Dom because it wasn’t fair to him. He gave up (six goals on 23 shots) but on the two-on-ones and the second chances, I’m not putting that on him. Our defense was subpar, we were losing battles, they outworked us.”
Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.
“We’ve had some good games this year,” he said, “but I think that was the first time we put three full periods together. It seems like the chemistry is finally kind of getting there.”
C.B. South 1 1 0—2
Pennsbury 1 5 2—8
First-period goals: Justin Marlin (P) unassisted, :28; Aidan Linso (CBS) from Brad Cannon and Justin Montagna, 9:39.
Second-period goals: Brendan Macainsh (P) unassisted, :12 (sh); Marlin (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 2:02; Shane Gleisner (P) from Logan Doyle, 5:04; Macainsh from Chris Sarver and Connor Kane, 6:14; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Linso, 11:10; Macainsh (P) from Marlin, 16:00 (pp).
Third-period goals: Sarver (P) from Jake McCaw and Macainsh, 6:55; Macainsh (P) from Jake Seiler, 13:20 (pp).
Shots: C.B. South 28, Pennsbury 34; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 17 and Jason Magaruh (CBS) 9, Aaron McDaniel (P) 26
Jimmy Jacobs scored two goals and Pax Hoishik scored the first varsity goal of his career as Malvern Prep shut out Archbishop Spalding 3-0 on Thursday in a non-league encounter at Ice Line. Matt Crawford got the shutout in goal, making 29 saves.
The win lifted the Friars to 5-1 on the season.
Archbishop Spalding 0 0 0
Malvern Prep 0 2 1—3
Second-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs and Jonathan Holt, :55; Jacobs (MP) from Pax Hoishik, 5:14
Third-period goal: Hoishik (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs and Jack Sharer, 4:33.
The La Salle College High School Explorers skated away with a six to one victory over Morristown Beard Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Ice. La Salle entered the afternoon coming off a tie the night before against Del Barton and was looking to get back on track. Starting the season with a disappointing 1-3-1 record going into Wednesday’s matchup, the Explorers knew they had to make a statement.
From start to finish, La Salle was dominant. La Salle had a season high 48 shots on net compared to Beard’s 23. The commanding shot differential led to an end of gave score of 6-1 in the Explorers’ favor.
“It’s a sign that we are starting to play the right way” Explorers head coach Wally Muehlbronner said. They controlled every facet of the ice. Whether it was faceoffs, or keeping the puck in the offensive zone, Beard could not keep up.”
All players for the Explorers played well, but it was the seniors that shined brighter than the rest. Four of their six goals came off the sticks of seniors including two from Chase Hannon while also tallying an assist. The senior line of Evan Golato, Ryan Desmond and Chase Hannon rarely spent time in their own zone and constantly creating golden opportunities for the Explorers.
Even though they lost the game, Morristown Beard had plenty of scoring opportunities including nine minutes and 23 seconds with a man advantage. With all this time on the power play, Beard could not get the puck by senior goaltender Aries Carnagi who stood on his head the whole game. Carnagi recorded 22 saves on 23 shots. Another reason that Morristown struggled on the power play was La Salle’s demanding pressure and perseverance in their defensive zone. This pressure led to a shorthanded goal by senior forward Ryan Desmond with 4:52 left in the first period.
“We had a tough game yesterday against Del Barton as we tied, but we were in our d-zone a lot and we are playing much better in our defensive zone,” Muehlbronner said.
La Salle’s next tilt is against rival school Malvern Prep on Monday, December 12th at 5:15 P.M. at Hatfield Ice. Last time these teams played it was La Salle coming out on top with 4-3.
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.— Hun School waited a month to play its first Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game of the season. When the opportunity presented itself Wednesday evening, the Raiders were quick to take advantage.
Elian Estulin and Justin Laplante scored two goals each in a 7-0 rout of St. Joseph’s Prep at Ice Land.
The win lifted the Raiders’ record to 4-3 overall. The Hawks (6-2-1, 0-2-1-0 in the APAC) saw a four-game unbeaten streak come to an end.
“We just wanted to come out hard,” Estulin said. “We had a good warmup, we had all the guys going today, we brought a couple guys up (from the junior varsity). So, we just came out hard, there was no quit, we didn’t let them get anything.”
Brendan Marino scored the only goal of the first period at the 6:21 mark off a setup from Laplante and Estulin.
The Raiders broke the game open in the second frame as Charles-Etienne Jette, Laplante, and Estulin all scored goals.
St. Joseph’s Prep took the ice minus four regulars (Jeffrey Hammond, Dante Passio, Joey Samango, Gareth McDonald), for varying reasons and goaltender Ajay White found himself facing heavy incoming fire; the Raiders outshot the Hawks 34-13 over the first two periods.
St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin offered a straightforward assessment of his team’s performance.
“I don’t think we were ready to play from the very beginning,” he said. “I think the boys quite frankly saw who we were missing and thought we were out of the game. We really didn’t skate at all the first two periods.”
Laplante, Ryan Levesque, and Estulin all scored third-period goals for the Raiders. At the other end of the ice, Stephen Chen had a relatively sedate afternoon, stopping all 18 shots he saw.
The Raiders went 1-3 in the Shady Side tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend with two of the losses coming in shootouts. Coach Ian McNally feels that experience taught his team the importance of a fast start and it showed against the Hawks.
“I feel like we kind of learned a lesson from that,” he said. “We came out strong, the middle was strong, and we finished strong. We just played well the whole game, which is nice.”
The Raiders feature 18 upperclassmen on their varsity roster but some in that group have found themselves in new roles.
Estulin said the experience of playing in the Shady Side tournament against elite competition accelerated the team’s maturation process.
“The Shady Side was just to let our boys get the chemistry going,” he said. “We played pretty good teams.
“We’re a fresh team, we’ve got a lot of new players this year, so we just wanted to get the chemistry going and get the boys pumping.”
Elian Estulin is one of Hun School’s captains. He spoke to the importance of motivating and encouraging his teammates.
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0
Hun School 1 3 3—7
First-period goal: Brendan Marino (HS) from Justin Laplante and Elian Estulin, 6:21
Second-period goals: Charles-Etienne Jette (HS) from Josh Sosner, 2:55 Laplante (HS) from Marino and Estulin, 12:41; Estulin (HS) from Marino and Scott Richmond, 14:23
Third-period goals: Laplante (HS) from Estulin, 3:41; Ryan Levesque (HS) from Mark Gall and Richmond, 14:40; Estulin (HS) unassisted, 16:52 (pp)
Shots: St. Joseph’ Prep 18, Hun School 44; Saves: Ajay White (SJP) 37
For more information about St. Joseph’s Prep CLICK HERE
For more information about The Hun School CLICK HERE
Hockey Happenings joins with the rest of the APAC community in extending our sympathies to Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside whose father, William A. Whiteside Jr. passed away on December 4 at age 93.
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