It took North Penn most of two periods to solve the puzzle. But once the Knights did, the goals came in rapid-fire succession.
Three goals in the final three minute of the second period propelled North Penn to a 5-0 win over Pennridge Thursday night ay Hatfield Ice in a battle of SHSHL National Division heavyweights.
Daniel Cabrales scored two goals and Aidan Quigley was perfect between the pipes as the Knights improved to 8-2 overall and 7-2 in divisional play. The Rams boast an identical record at the season’s halfway mark.
The Rams were ranked third and the Knights fourth in the season’s first set of Class AA Flyers Cup rankings
“That probably was the best game we’ve played all year from a 51-minute perspective,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We knew [Pennridge] was a good hockey team. They weren’t going to give it to us, we had to come out and earn it.”
North Penn took control at the start, outshooting Pennridge 22-6 in the first period. That trend continued in the middle period as the Knights launched shots at James Winton from all angles.
It took them until the waning minutes of the period however to get the better of him.
Nolan Shingle scored the first goal of the night, a power-play effort with 2:51 left in the period. Cabrales made it a 2-0 game with 1:05 remaining when he poked in a rebound that Winton couldn’t control. Half a minute later Samuel Norton stole the puck and center ice and launched a shot from long range that beat Winton on his glove side. It was North Penn’s third goal in a span of 2:25.
Vaitis credited his troops for the way they moved the puck.
“The big thing we focus on is puck movement,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of skill players [and we tell them] don’t try to do anything on their own. When we move the puck well, good thigs happen for us.”
By this point, the Rams were operating on auxiliary power offensively, having lost catalyst Shane Dachowski in the second period to a shoulder injury. No one in the lineup was able to fill the gap created by his absence.
“These guys need to learn how to do things for themselves,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. ”Without waiting for someone else to do it. We’re not going to make excuses about it. We have a bunch of guys that have to learn how to go through this.”
Luke Haftel and Carbrales provided goals for North Penn in the third period. Meanwhile, Quigley was stopping all 17 shots he saw.
“I didn’t face a whole lot of shots,” he said. “It’s hard, trying to stay with it when you’re not getting a ton of shots. But, the team played strong and helped me out.”
Quigley credited his defense for minimalizing potential rebounds.
“My defense helped me out,” he said. “Any rebounds they got out. No bad turnovers.”
• With 13:02 remaining in the third period, Winton left the ice because of asthma issues. He returned after approximately. five minutes North Penn utilized its time out after the Rams had used theirs to allow Winton extra time to recover.
Pennridge 0 0 0—0
North Penn 0 3 2—5
Second-period goals: Nolan Shingle (NP) from James Boyle and Daniel Cabrales, 2:51 (pp); Cabrales (MP) from Samuel Norton and Cole Pluck, 1:05; Norton (NP) unassisted, :21
Third-period goals: Luke Haftel (NP) from Christopher Silvotti, 7:27, Cabrales (NP) from Norton, 1:36
Shots: Pennridge 17, North Penn 51; Saves: James Winton (P) 46, Aidan Quigley (NP) 17
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