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Jummy Jacobs scored the only goal as The Friars scored a 1-0 non-league win over Salesiaum Monday night at the University of Delaware in a tuneup for next week’s Flyers Cup.
Malvern Prep (9-7) will face Father Judge Monday night at Ice Line in a Class AAA quarterfinal.
Salesianum will face Washington Township, N.J. in a NJ/Delaware semifinal on March 16
A total of 50 teams have been selected to compete in the 44th annual Flyers Cup tournament. Competition is scheduled to get underway on Monday and Tuesday, March 6 and 7. Over the course of 16 days champions will be crowned in five different brackets.
The teams in each bracket, 16 in Class AA. 15 in Class A, 7 in Class AAA, 4 in the South Jersey/Delaware bracket and 8 in the Girls division were selected and seeded by the Flyers Cup Competition Committee based on regular-season results and observations by members of the committee.
Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye emphasized that the seeding were based exclusively on regular-season performances.
“No playoff games were taken into account,” he said. “ At any level, any league, anything. Once your regular season is done, that’s what the competition committee looks at.
“The playoff games happened between the end of the regular season and the selection show. That’s not fair for teams that maybe didn’t make their league playoffs and didn’t get another chance to play another game.
Tye noted the final score of a game was irrelevant to the seeding process. “If a team wins 7-1 or a team wins 2-1 it doesn’t matter in the competition committee’s eyes,” he said.”
Here are the first-round matchups
Class A Monday, March 6
8 Penncrest vs. 9 Plymouth Whitemarsh 7:00 at Skatium
5 Lower Dauphin vs. 12 Unionville 6:30 at Klick Lewis
4 Marple Newtown vs. 13 Henderson 6:30 at PNY
3 Hershey vs. 14 Strath Haven 8:30 at Klick Lewis
6 Radnor vs. 11 Council Rock North 6:30 at Ice Line
10 Garnet Valley vs. 10 Springfield-Delco 9:00 at Skatium
2 WC Rustin vs. 15 Wissahickon 8:30 at Ice Line
Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9
Semifinals Monday, Match 13
Championship Monday, March 20
Class AA Monday-Tuesday March 6-7
8 Boyertown vs. 9 Downingttown East 6:15 at Hatfield
4 Connestoga vs. 13 Downingtown West 6:45 at Ice Line on 3-6
7 Haverford vs. 10 Neshaminy 7:00 at Skatium
Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9
Semifinals Tuesday, Match 14
Championship Tuesday, March 21
Class AAA Monday-Tuesday Match 6 and 7
3 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 6 Perk. Valley 9:00 at Skatium on 3-7
Semifinals Tuesday, March 14
Championship Tuesday March 21
South Jersey/Delaware Thursday, March 16
1 Salesianum vs. 4 Washington Township 8:00 at Vorhees
2 Cherokee vs. 3 Eastern 6:00 at Vorhees
Championship Game Monday, March 20
Girls Tuesday and Thursday March 7 and 9
4 Rustin vs. 5 Kingsway 9:30 at PNY on 3-7
Championship Game Wednesday 3-22
Game dates, times, and sites are subject to change
Class A, AA, and AAA champions advance to state championship games on 3-26
Wednesday, March 1
National Division Semifinals
Council Rock South vs. Neshaminy
7:20 at Grundy Arena
Council Rock South (15-1-0-1)
Coach: Joe Houk
How the Hawks got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. Blaize Pepe and Jake Weiner lead the team in scoring, each with 30 points. Pepe has produced 13 goals and 17 assists for while Weiner has scored 21 goals and provided 9 assists. Kevin Koles is next with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points. Goaltender Carson Lopez is one of the area’s best.
Neshaminy (12-5-1)
Coach: Matt DeMatteo
How the ‘Skins got here: Defeated Central Bucks South 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Max Gallagher scored three goals and assisted on another. Nolan Geria provided two goals and two assists. Gallagher has 26 goals and 12 assists for 38 points. Geria has contributed 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points.
This season:
Pennridge vs. Pennsbury
8:30 at Hatfield Ice
Pennridge (13-4)
Coach: Jeff Montagna
How the Rams got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. The defending National Division, Class AA Flyers Cup and state champions are paced by Kevin Pico who has collected 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points. Andrew Savona has added 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points while Shane Dachowski has contributed 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points.
Pennsbury (13-5)
Coach Ryan Daley
How the Falcons got here: Defeated Central Bucks East 6-4 in the quarterfinals., Brendan Macainsh delivered a pure hat trick and added two assists; he has 34 goals and 19 assists for 53 points this season, including the quarterfinal. Andrew Falkenstein has provided 6 goals and 26 assists for 32 points while Justin Marlin has contributed 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points. Falkenstein (4) and Marlin (3) had seven assists between them in the quarterfinal.
This season:
11-3 Pennsbury 6 Pennridge 3
1-12 Pennridge 11 Pennsbury 4
What comes next: Wednesday’s winners play for the National Division title on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host. All four semifinalists will compete in the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament.
American Division Championship Game
Abington vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh
7:20 at Hatfield Ice
Abington (15-0-1-1)
Coach: Ken Brzozowski
How the Galloping Ghosts got here: Earned a place in the final as the regular-season division champion. Matt Kramer leads the team in scoring with 26 goals and 19 assists for 45 points, Ian Heydt has added 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points. Sam Abramson has contributed 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points while Sam Paulik has provided 18 goals and 14 points for 32 points. Sam Nemec will start in goal.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-6)
Coach: Dave Cox
How the Colonials got here: Defeated Quakertown 7-2 in the semifinal. Matt Flynn and Dylan Novitski each scored two goals in the win. Flynn added two assists. Flynn has scored 28 goals this season and added 22 assists for 50 points, David Branigan has added 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points. Chris Maslij will start in goal.
This season:
11-3 Abington 8 Plymouth Whitemarsh 5
1-5 Abington 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
1-26 Abington 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3
What come next: Both finalists will compete in the Flyers Cup tournament, Abington in Class AA, Plymouth Whitemarsh in Clsss A
Founders Cup Championship Game
Wednesday, March 1
La Salle vs. Holy Ghost Prep
4:00 at Hatfield Ice
La Salle (12-9-2) Seed 1
Coach: Wally Muehlbronner
How the Explorers got here: Defeated The Hun School 5-1 in the semifinals. Dean Carvalho scored two goals and assisted on two others. James Carpenter scored a goal and added two assists. Matt Giordano and Michael Zarzycki, also scored goals.
Carpenter has scored seven goals for the Explorers in conference play, including the semifinal, and added six assists for 13 points. Carvalho has scored six goals and added six assists for 12 points. Evan Golato has contributed 7 goals and two assists for nine points.
Holy Ghost Prep (16-6) Seed 2
Coach: Gump Whiteside
How the Firebirds got here: Defeated St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in the semifinals. Brady Baehser scored two goals in the win. Kieran Mulholland and Zach Pers also scored goals.
Baehser, the APAC scoring champion, has 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points in conference games, including the semifinal. Mulholland has 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points in conference play. John Servalli has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points.
This season
11-9 Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 2
2-13 La Salle 6 Holy Ghost Prep 5
Past History
La Salle won the first two APAC titles in 2019 and ’20 and was declared a co-champion along with Malvern Prep in 2021 when the championship game was cancelled because of the pandemic. Holy Ghost Prep is seeking its first APAC title.
What Comes Next
The seedings for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament will be announced Sunday evening, February on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel. The result of the Founders Cup final will not affect those seedings.
Here’s a look at the remaining SHSHL and APAC playoff schedule
Wednesday, March 1
APAC-Founders Cup Championship Game
La Salle vs. Holy Ghost Prep 4 pm at Hatfield Ice
SHSHL American Division Championship Game
Abington vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh 7:20 Hatfield Ice
SHSHL National Division Semifinals
Council Rick South vs. Neshaminy 7:20 at Grundy
Pennridge vs. Pennsbury 8:30 at Hatfield Ice
Thursday, March 2
SHSHL National Division Championship Game 7:20
Highest seeded finalist will host
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The moment came with dramatic suddenness, like a bolt of lightning across a clear sky. Isaac Mishkin’ s goal was just the first of the night. But it proved to be a jumping off point as Mishkin and his Plymouth Whitemarsh teammates went on to a 7-2 win over Quakertown Wednesday night in the SHSHL American Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
The result puts the second-seeded Colonials (12-6) into next Wednesday’s division final against Abington (7:10 at Hatfield Ice). The Colonials will learn Sunday of they have been selected for the Class A Flyers Cup tournament, which begins the week of March 6.
Quakertown (10-5-1-1) remains eligible for the Class AA Flyers Cup.
Mishkin’s goal came on a shot from center ice that eluded Quakertown goaltender Matt Krem just before the buzzer that ended the first period.
From that moment on, the Colonials had the upper hand.
“Playoffs, you just throw the puck at the net,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox. “You never know what can happen.
“I couldn’t be prouder of everyone on that team. They’re resilient. We’ve struggled in practices and at other games. But this is a special group of boys.”
Dylan Novitsky and Matt Flynn scored goals to give the Colonials a 3-0 with 6:44 left in the middle period. Will Shaw got the Panthers on the board seven seconds before the period ended but the Colonials broke the game open in the third frame with goals from their big guns.
Flynn (26 goals 46 points coming into Wednesday), David Branigan (12 goals, 37 points, and Dylan Novitsky (15 goals, 27 points) all found the back of the net before Will Shaw beat Chris Maslij in the Quakertown net.
Maslij stopped 35 of the 37 shots he saw.
“We just wanted to go in and work hard and play our game,” he said. “We really just wanted to get to the net, get as many shots as possible, and just really outwork them if we could.”
Quakertown 0 1 1—2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 2 4—7
First-period goal: Isaac Mishkin (PW) unassisted, 16:59
Second-period goals: Dylan Novitski (PW) from David Branigan and Charlie Spause, 6:43; Matt Flynn (PW) from Timothy Murphy, 10:16 (sh); Will Shaw (Q) from Keira Shaw and Jack Dilliberto, 16:53
Third-period goals: Flynn (PW) unassisted, :50; Branigan (PW) from Flynn and Sprouse, 8:41; Novitsky (PW) from Flynn, 10:38 (pp); Will Shaw (Q) unassisted, 11:33; Conlan Carpenter (PW) from Branigan, 15:32
Shots: Quakertown 37, Plymouth Whitemarsh 41; Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 34, Chris Maslij (PW) 35
Pennsbury 6, Central Bucks East 4—Brendan Macainsh scored three goals in a span of 3 minutes, 51 seconds later in the first period and the third-seeded Falcons went on to the win over the sixth-seeded Patriots Wednesday night at Grundy Arena.
Justin Marlin, Shane Gleisner, and Chris Sarver also scored for the Falcons, who will face second-seeded Pennridge in next Wednesday’s semifinals.
Corey Kosick, Carter Keiser, Stephen DiRugeris, and Patrick O’Brien scored goals for the Patriots.
Both teams will learn their Flyers Cup fate on Sunday when the field for the Class AA bracket is announced.
Neshaminy 6, Central Bucks South 3—Max Gallagher delivered a hat trick and assisted on another goal as the fourth-seeded ‘Skins bested the fifth-seeded Titans Wednesday night at Grundy Arena. Nolan Geria had a four-point night for Neshaminy, contributing two goals and two assists, while Jacob Adami also scored a goal for Neshaminy, which at one point in the third period had a 5-0 lead.
Cory Hemberger got the win in goal.
Matt Crouch, Sean Cutter, and Ryan Frey scored for the Titans.
Neshaminy will face top-seeded Council Rock South in next Wednesday’s semifinals
Both teams will learn Sunday night where they will be seeded for the Class AA Flyers Cup.
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Three different players scored goals as Holy Ghost Prep downed St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 Wednesday evening at Hatfield Ice in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
The second-seeded Firebirds (16-6) will face La Salle in the Founders Cup final next Wednesday at 4 p.m., also at Hatfield Ice. The Hawks fell to 14-6-2. Both teams will learn on Sunday where they will be seeded for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament, which begins the week of March 6.
Brady Baehser paced Holy Ghost Prep with with two goals, giving him 12 in APAC play this season. Kieran Mulholland and Zach Pers also scored for the winning side.
It was also a day that saw Jack Unger turn in a stellar performance in goal. Given the starting nod because veteran Colin Mudrick was unavailable, Unger a sophomore, recorded 18 saves and was the epitome of poise.
Mulholland gave Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead when he beat St. Joseph’s Prep netminder Rocco Bruno on a deflection 8:41 into the opening period. Baehser made it a 2-0 game on a breakaway at the 10:59 mark of the second frame.
“I liked our start,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “We haven’t been starting off games very well of late but today I liked our jump. and we had four lines contributing, which is great.”
Playing with a lead allowed Unger to settle in.
“I think the biggest thing is being able to stay comfortable,” he said. “When we get off to a quick start like that, I’m really comfortable. I know I can trust the forwards, trust the defense. I know that they’ve got my back and I’ve got their backs.”
Unger’s effort earned effusive praise from his coach.
“It was nice to see that from Jack,” Whiteside said. “He’s worked all year and gotten some spots here and there throughout the season, but tonight was a total effort from Jack and our guys just fed off of him.”
Jeffrey Hammond got St. Joseph’s Prep on the scoreboard 6:44 into the third period but the Hawks were stymied much of the night; they managed just 19 shots.
“I think they wanted it more than us today for whatever reason,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “It’s hard to get in the minds of kids (but) they had a lot of jumps, especially in the beginning of the game,
“They wanted it a little bit more than us and they played a really good game.”
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1
Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 1—4
First-period goal: Kieran Mulholland (HGP) unassisted, 8:41
Second-period goal: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Ryan Lippy and Landon Stout, 10:59; Zach Pers (HGP) from Kieran Mulholland and John Seravalli, 14:16 (pp)
Third-period goal: Jeffrey Hammond (HGP) unassisted, 6:44; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli and Mulholland, 11:54;
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Holy Ghost Prep 33; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 29, Jack Unger (HGP) 18
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The La Salle Explorers were in postseason mode Wednesday afternoon. Dean Carvalho scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Explorers downed Hun School 5-1 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
The top-seeded Explorers (12-9-2) will host the Founders Cup championship game next Wednesday. They will learn Sunday if they earned the top seed for the Class AAA Flyers Cup. Fifth-seeded Hun School closed its season at 11-13.
For the Explorers, it was an occasion when all the pieces fit.
“It was just the simple things,” Carvalho said. “Like getting pucks in deep, forecheck, get the pucks on net. Those are the things that Coach Wally (Muehlbronner) has been preaching all year. It definitely paid off today.”
Matt Giordano opened the scoring for the Explorers 2:12 into the first frame with a shot from the right point that took an odd bounce and caromed past Raider goaltender Josh Arsenault, Michael Zarzycki made it a 2-0 game with 49.5 seconds left in the opening session.
James Carpenter contributed a goal and two assists to the win. He spoke to the importance of the fast start.
“Obviously, it’s very good to start with a quick 2-0 lead,” he said. “We just worked the puck deep in little areas and outworked them overall.”
Carvalho extended the La Salle lead 5:08 into the second period.
Hun School had a chance to get back in the game with 9:13 left in the middle period when it found itself with a 93-second two-man advantage after the Explorers’ Ryan Warner and Chase Hannon were sent to the box.
But Aries Carangi came up with two quality saves in the La Sale net and a penalty to Josh Sooner eliminated the Raiders’ advantage.
Hun School coach Ian McNally considered calling his timeout prior to the power play but decided against the move. “I said ‘Let’s just leave it, I think they’ll figure it out and score,” he said. “Not only did we not score, we took a penalty. That was a big turning point.”
Carpenter, La Salle’s leading scorer in APAC play, scored his seventh conference goal 1:16 into the final period.
Simon Gregoire got the Raiders on the scoreboard at the 2:43 mark.
A pileup in front of the La Salle net with 4:09 remaking precipitated a tag-team bout that saw all 10 skaters on the ice receive roughing penalties. Carvalho scored into an empty net with 2:30 remaining.
Hun School 0 0 1—1
La Salle 2 1 2—5
Firsts-period goals: Matt Giordano (L) from Grant LaGreca, 2:12; Michael Zarzycki (L) from Giordano and Dean Carvalho, 16:11
Second-period goals: Carvalho (L) from James Carpenter, 5:08
Third-portion goals: Carpenter (L) from Carvalho and Cam Ross, 1:16; Simon Gregoire (HS) from Ryan Levesque, 2:43 Carvalho (L) from Carpenter, 14:30
Shots: Hun School 35, La Salle 35; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 30, Aries Carangi (L) 34
Wednesday, February 22
National Division at Grundy Arena
Central Bucks East vs. Pennsbury 7:20
Pennsbury
Coach Ryan Daley
Record: 12-5, 8-2 in divisional play seed 3
Key players:
Brendan Macainsh 31 goals, 17 assists 48 points
Andrew Falkenstein 6 goals, 22 assists, 28 points
Justin Marlin 14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points
Central Bucks East
Coach: Jeff Mitchell
Record: 8-8-1-0, 4-5-1-0 in the division seed 6
Key players
Corey Kosick 18 goals, 10 assists, 28 points
Stephen DiRugueris 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points
Matt Mangiacapre .910 save percentage, 3.40 GAA
This season
12-1 Pennsbury 6 C.B. East 3
12-21 Pennsbury 6 C.B. East 1
Neshaminy vs. Central Bucks South 9:00
Neshaminy
Coach: Matt DeMatteo
Record: 11-5-1-0,6-3-1-0 in the division; seed 4
Key players:
Max Gallagher 23 goals, 11 assists, 34 points
Nolan Geria 9 goals, 15 assists, 24 points
J.J. Hathaway 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points
Central Bucks South
Coach: Shaun McGinty
Record: 9-7-0-1, 6-4 in the division; seed 5
Key players:
Aydin Thierolf 15 goals, 14 assists, 29 points
D.J.Lindenmuth 9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points
Colin Mendham 8 goals, 10 assists, 18 points
This season
12-1 Neshaminy 6 C.B. South 4
12-21 Neshaminy 2 C.B. South 1
Winners advance to semifinals on February 1 vs. # 1 Council Rock South and #2 Pennridge
American Division at Hatfield Ice
Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Quakertown 8:45
Plymouth Whitemarsh
Coach : Dave Cox
Record: 11-6, 7-5 in divisional play seed 2
Key players:
Matt Flynn 26 goals, 20 assists 46 points
David Branigan 12 goals, 25 assists, 37 points
Chris Maslij 2.86 GAA
Quakertown
Coach: Keith Krem
Record: 10-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in divisional play seed 3
Key players:
Branden McNally 17 goals, 15 assists, 32 points
Will Shaw 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points
Matt Krem 2.79 GAA
This season
12-7 PW 7 Quakertown 5
12-16 Quakertown 5 PW 2
1-25 PW 3 Quakertown 2
Winner advances to championship game on March 1 vs. #1 Abington
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