It wasn’t a stylish effort. But La Salle got the job done, nonetheless.
Five different players scored goals as the Explorers recorded a 5-2 decision over Holy Ghost Prep Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
Top-seeded La Salle (22-3) will attempt to successfully defend its title next Wednesday when it faces second-seeded Malvern Prep at this same venue (6:00 start).
Fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep closed its season at 12-14.
It was not a smooth trip for the Explorers, who spent a good amount of time killing penalties, they were whistled for 10.
Ryan Wiley put La Salle in front with a goal at the 12:18 mark of the opening period. He spoke to the importance of avoiding penalties.
“We’ve got to keep our minds mentally and stay out of the box,” he said. “We’ve got to stay away from the stupid stuff and just work our tails off to get to this point.”
James Carpenter extended La Salle’s lead with a shorthanded goal 1:36 into the second frame. A.J. Prete answered for the Firebirds three minutes after that, but Patrick Brace and Will Gregorio scored goals before the period ended to seemingly put the Explorer in command.
Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie blamed himself for his team’s sluggish start.
“Ultimately it falls on me,” he said. “I’m the head coach and I felt they were not prepared and the other team was. That’s on my shoulders.
At this point in the season, we’ve played then four times (La Salle has won all four meetings). I know what I’ve got in that locker room and we know what they’ve got in their locker room.
“It’s on me. I’m the one that’s got to stand up and shoulder the blame.
With seven minutes left in regulation, the Firebirds made their last stand when Caine Bickel tucked a shot inside the right post behind La Salle netminder Jake Rossi.
Holy Ghost Prep had one more opportunity with two-and-a-half minutes left and its own net empty when Jake McCaw caught iron with shot from the left wing.
Carpenter added an empty-netter for the Explorers with 55 seconds left.
“We did a lot of little things right,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, “We did a great job killing a lot of penalties.”
Muehlbronner praised the work his team did while shorthanded.
“Our penalty kills have been strong,” he said. “We did a good job with that. And I think we did a good job getting back to our game plan when we weren’t in the box. Keeping it simple, and we had some good opportunities that we scored on.
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2
La Salle 1 3 1—5
First-period goal: Ryan Wiley (L) unassisted, 12:18
Second-period goals: James Carpenter (L) from Grant LaGreca, 1:36 (sh); A.J. Prete (HGP) from Art Myers and Caine Bickel, 4:39; Patrick Brace (L) from Thomas Doucet and Cameron Ross, 8:54; Will Gregorio (L) unassisted, 14:08
Third-period goals: Bickel (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 9:56; Carpenter (L) unassisted, 15:05
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 19, La Salle 37; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 32, Jake Rossi (L) 17
Hockey Happenings 