APAC Previews 2023-24

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, Founders Cup, Hockey History, Hockey News, Scholastic Hockey News 3 Minutes

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is embarking on its sixth season. Here’s a look at what to expect.

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Richie (first season)

Last year: 18-8, 4-2-1-1 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Jack Unger (G); Sr. Mike Holt (D); Jr. Ryan Lippy (D); Sr. A.J. Prete (F); St. Matt Cholaj (Sr.); Sr. Jake McCaw (F)

Outlook: Richie, who once played for the Firebirds, takes over for the retired Gump Whiteside.

This year’s team will be a young group that will be lacking much of last season’s offensive firepower.

“The strength of this year’s team will be the returning defensive corps,” Richie said, “who have all played varsity before. We have great depth within the program and expect a lot of players to get opportunities at the varsity level this upcoming season as players look to establish their role and solidify their spots come playoff time.” 

Unger’s experience in goal will help.

Hun School 

Coach:  Eric Szeker (first season)

Last year: 11-13, 3-5 in APAC 

Key Players: Sr. Julien Arseneault (G); Sr. Charles-Étienne Jetté (D); Sr. Ryan Levesque (F); Sr. Justin Laplante (F); Sr. Brendan Marino (F); Sr. Jack Neckritz (F)

Outlook: Szeker, a Hun School alum, takes over for Ian McNally after serving as his assistant. Ten seniors are gone from last year’s team but some impressive talent returns and Szeker is enthused about the newcomers who will be stepping into the varsity lineup.

“We will be looking to our sophomore class to make a big jump this season,” he said, “with plenty of holes to fill.”

Arsenault heads up the goaltending corps, while Levesque, Laplante and Marino will be counted on to provide the majority of the scoring punch.

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (26th season)

Last year: 16-9-2, 6-2 in APAC; defending Founders Cup, and Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champions

Key players: Jr. Jake Rossi (G); Sr. Thomas Doucet (D); Sr. Charlie Budd (D); Jr. Cam Ross (D); Jr. Will Gregorio (D); Dean Carvalho (F); Sr. James Carpenter (F), Sr. Patrick Brace (F); Sr. Ryan Wiley (F); Sr. Charlie Kennedy (F); Sr. Liam Donahue (F) 

Outlook: The Explorers come into the season off their 11th Flyers Cup title and seventh state championship. They’ve also claimed three of the previous five Founders Cup titles and shared another.

This year’s roster features what Muehlbronner calls “A nice group of players,” one that is deep and offers scoring balance.

Rossi is being counted on in goal.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan (fifth season)
Last year: 10-8, 2-5-0-1 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Matt Crawford (G); Sr. Brady Doyle (D); Jr. Matt Barbacane (D); So. Cole Scrabinsky (D); Sr. Jeremy Jacobs (F); Sr. Caiden Canale (F); Sr. Aidan Kelly (F); Sr. Brayden Baum (F); Jr. Gabe Bedwell (F); Jr. Teague Murray (F); So. Pax Hoishik F

Outlook: The Friars struggled in the APAC last season but they return a core group of experienced upperclassmen, including Jacobs, who is the APAC’s top returning scorer.

 The mix will also include a group of promising newcomers.

“We are excited to see what this younger incoming class can do,” Keenan said. “The seniors in this group are probably one of the best groups of seniors that has come through our program since we won back in 2021. The boys are just having fun and are ready to compete day in and day out. The energy and work this group is putting in is great to see.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 

Coach: David Giacomin (11th season)

Last year: 16-7-2, 3-4-1-0 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Jacob Aranda (G); Sr. John Lynch (D); Sr. Gareth McDonald (D); Sr. Shane O’Neil (D); Sr. Tyler Degirolamo (D); Sr. Brayden Collins (F); Jr. Tristan Winata (F); Jr. Jake Schultz (F); Jr. Caden Kelly (F)

Outlook: The Hawks lost 10 seniors off last year’s team, one that was a formidable group when all the pieces were in place, and claimed a title at the prestigious Purple Puck tournament.

The returning corps of veterans will be bolstered by some promising newcomers, including Aranda in goal.

“We hope to be a speed driven team that will play hard in all three zones,” Giacomin said. “Depth will play a big role this year. With offensive returnees and the defense leading the way we hope to get off to a fast start and build from there.”

Hockey Happenings is looking for interested individuals to provide video clips of APAC conferences games. If you’re interested or would like further information contact us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

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Published by Rick Woelfel

Rick has worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 35 years. He's covered golf in one medium or another for more than 30. He is the co-author of the book So You Want to Play Golf with PGA professional Kim Verrecchio and the host of the Women's Golf Report podcast. Most recently, Rick served as an associate editor for The Mulligan Magazine. He also served as an associate editor for Philadelphia Golf Magazine and New Jersey State Golf from 2004-07. Rick covered his first LPGA Tour event in 1986 and continues to cover women's golf for various media outlets. High on his bucket list is having the opportunity to one day play in an LPGA Tour pro am. Rick is also a longtime correspondent for two suburban Philadelphia daily newspapers, the Intelligencer and the Bucks County Courier Times in Doylestown, PA. Over the course of his career he has coverzed a wide variety of sporting events. He is also a veteran play by play and public address announcer, and handles the PA mic for the nationally ranked Delaware Valley University football program. Rick is also a longtime contributor to Referee, a magazine devoted to sports officiating. He called his first baseball game at age 13 and continues to umpire softball and baseball today.

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