BRISTOL—Plymouth Whitemarsh and Bensalem dressed to impress Thursday night. The Colonials and the Owls took the ice at Grundy Arena looking to impress each other and future opponents well as members of the Flyers Cup Committee charged with constructing that tournament field.
In that sense, the evening was an all-around success.
Blake Ambler’s goal 3:59 into the third period gave Plymouth Whitemarsh a 3-2 win and, for the time being, first place in the SHSHL’s American Division.
The Colonials and the Owls have split two meetings this season; Bensalem prevailed 4-3 in overtime on December 7, and Thursday’s matchup was just as crisply played; each team had an abundance of opportunities and the flow of the game was interrupted by two just penalties, one of which was not enforced because it occurred as a goal was being scored.
The goaltenders were the stars of the evening. Winning netmimder Julian Lucks made 22 stops, a number of them requiring extraordinary effort. His counterpart at the other end of the ice, Rick Gonzalez was even busier, making 38 saves and standing firm against near constant incoming fire, notably in the third period when the Owls, who had only 11 skaters dressed, were running on fumes.
Bensalem (9-2, 7-2 in divisional play) got off to a hot start when Alex Hood beat Lucks from left wing just 13 seconds after the opening faceoff. Hood made it 2-0 with 1:40 left in the period before David Branigan went top shelf for the Colonials with 13 seconds remaining to make it a one goal game.
Chris London scored for Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-3, 8-1 in the division) with 19 seconds left in the second session, setting up what figured to be a scintillating final chapter.
Lucks described himself as ready for whatever came his way.
“I talked to my team,” he said. “They helped me cool down and just stay rested.”
Rest was a luxury the Owls could not afford.
“I liked our start,” said Bensalem coach Bill Hood. “We jumped out on them pretty well at the beginning of the game.”
Eventually however the Owls were hurt by a lack of numbers.
“We had a short bench,” Hood said. “I think the second period we kind of took a step back. They made their push then.”
That trend continued in the third period when Plymouth Whitemarsh outshot Bensalem 13-4.
Colonial coach Dave Cox celebrated the win.
“This is a true team victory,” he said. “We love it. We’ve been waiting for this rematch since we lost to them the first time.
We know in order to be the team we want to be we have to go through tough teams like this. Hats off to Bensalem. They may have tired bodies but they’re always there.”
Ice chips—The Colonials and the Owls will face each other a third time next Thursday night at Grundy. Both teams are assured of being part of the three-team SHSHL American Division playoffs; as of now the Colonials would be seeded first, the Owls second.
The Colonials are eligible for the Class A Flyers Cup tournament, the Owls are classified Class AA
P-W 1 1 1—3
Bensalem 2 0 0 —2
First-period goals: Alex Hood (B) from Alex Bazylevich, :13; Good (B) from Bazylevich and Nick Gambino. 15:20; David Branigan (PW) from Daniel Guller, 16:47
Second-period goal: Chris London (PW) from Blake Ambler and Luke Smith, 16:41
Third-period goal: Ambler (PW) from London, 3:59
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 41, Bensalem 24; Saves; Julian Lucks (PW) 22, Ricky Gonzalez (B) 38
Hockey Happenings 