With the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference playoff at hand, La Salle is where it accustomed to being; at the top of the standings. The Explorers win two of the APAC’s first four titles and were in position to play for a third before the 2021 championship game was cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic.
The 2023 playoff semifinals are set for Wednesday and the Explorers will face The Hun School to open the doubleheader at Hatfield Ice (4:00 start). The second game, scheduled for. 6:15 start, will match second seed Holy Ghost Prep and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep.
The Explorers claimed the APAC regular-season title with a 6-5 win over Holy Ghost Prep. Senior defenseman and captain Chase Hannon missed that game with a knee injury, but celebrated along with his teammates.
“We got the job done,” he said. “Everyone was ready to go, there was excitement in the locker room, I kind of new from the start get it done
La Salle, as usual, started the season slowly, winning just one of its first five games but picked up the pace from there. The Explorers will take an 11-9-2 record into Wednesday’s semifinal. They’ve won four of their last five starts and six of their last eight.
Hannon is elated with how he and his teammates have responded after a slow start to the campaign.
“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “In the beginning, we weren’t too hot but we came together as a team, we all bought it for one goal. It’s been showing We’ve been doing well.”
Hannon said some juggling of the lineup contributed to the Explorers’ turnaround.
”We found guys that are going to get the job done, doing what coach wants,” he said, “and we just kind of bought in, listening to Coach (Wally Muehlbronner). We found our success doing that.”
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