HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—There was little to choose between Council Rock South and Pennridge Wednesday night. The contest was not decided until its final seconds.
Jeremy Rayher’s shortanded goal with three seconds left in overtime gave South a 6-5 win at Hatfield Ice Arena.
Rayher’s goal, his 16th of the season, concluded the first meeting of the year between the Golden Hawks and the Rams. The two teams split four games a year ago with South prevailing in the SHSHL National Division championship game before falling to the Rams in the Class AA Flyers Cup finale.
Ironically, Rayher and Pennridge goaltender Jacob Winton are club hockey teammates.
“I was chirping at him during [club team] practice all week,” Rayher said. “I missed him [Tuesday].
“He made a couple saves but there was no pressure. I played it like he was a regular goalie and made a move and tucked it in.”
Both teams had moments of brilliance and moments that were something less. The Hawks (11-1 overall, 10-0 in the division) used goals from Daniel Filippov and Jake Weiner to build a 2-0 lead 83 seconds into the second period but squandered their advantage by surrendering a pair of shorthanded goals to Shane Dachowski that tied the game with 9:58 remaining in the second frame.
“The two shorties really killed us,” said South coach Joe Houk. “Nobody ever scores shorthanded goals against us and they got two of them. It was mental breakdowns there.”
The goals came fast and furious for the reminder of the period. Jordan Sarne have the Hawks a 3-2 lead for a time but Dachowski and James Rush scored goals one minute, 14 seconds apart to give Pennridge (9-3, 8-3) its first and only lead of the night at 4-3 with 4:54 left in the period.
Weiner’s second goal of the night tied the game with 2:20 left in the second session before Jonah Weston put South in front once more 5:01 into the third. Nick Young tied the game for the Rams off a turnover with 4:45 left in regulation.
Winton and Trey Prozzillo, his South counterpart, had some difficult moments during the course of the evening but both stepped up in overtime. The Rams got a power-play chance when the Hawks’ Jagger Smith was flagged for hooking with 1:52 left in the extra session, giving the Rams a four-skaters-to-three advantage. Rayher’s game-deciding goal came an offensive right-wing faceoff and an ensuing scramble in front of the net. Houk told his team to be aggressive even though it was shorthanded.
“I told them ‘Don’t sit back,’” he said. “Because if the puck goes out of the [South defensive zone] it’s a one-on-one or two-on-two. It’s not a four-on-three. We looked like the ones who were on the power play.”
Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna celebrated his team’s effort, and the way it has rebounded from a shutout loss to north Penn si days before Christimas.
“I’m proud of the way we played tonight, he said. “All I asked of these guys before the game was to compete.
“We were outclassed [against North Penn.] I didn’t think we showed up. And to come out against our biggest rival tonight, come back from 2-0 down and play as well as we did and have opportunities to win the game, that’s all I can ask for.
• South had a 47-38 advantage in shots … The Rams’ three losses have come against Central Bucks South, North Penn and Council Rock South. Two of the three have come in overtime.
C.R. South 1 3 1 1—6
Pennridge 0 4 1 0—5
First-period goal: Daniel Fillipov (CRS) from Peter Pereborow and Jake Weiner, 13:50 (pp)
Second-period goals: Weiner (CRS) from Pereborow, 1:23; Shane Dachowski (P) unassisted, 3:10; Dachowski (P) from Jared Garber and Nick Young, 7:02 (sh); Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Peterborow, 8:37 (pp); Dachowksi (P) from Josh Kelly and Landon Bishop, 10:52; James Rush (P) from Kelly, 12:06; Weiner (CRS) from Wesley Mallon, 14:40 (pp)
Third-period goals: Jonah Weston (CRS) from Sarne, 5:01; Young (P), unassisted, 12:15
Overtime goal Rayher (P) from Filippov, 4:57
Shots: C.R. South 47, Pennridge 38; Saves: Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 33, Jacob Winton (P) 41
Hockey Happenings 