There wasn’t a lot of sizzle and finesse on display during Thursday night’s SHSHL National Division final. Instead, Central Bucks South and Council Rock South offered the near-capacity crowd at Grundy Arena a display of grind-it-out, blue-collar hockey.
It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed.
Jake Weiner’s goal with 4:31 left in regulation gave Council Rock South a 4-3 win. It marks the third consecutive SHSHL title for the top-seeded Hawks (20-2) and the fifth in school history.
“I don’t really think back about that kind of stuff,” said longtime South coach Joe Houk. “Because you always have a different group of kids.
“I was happy for these guys. We fought all year didn’t play our best hockey all year. We played our best hockey {in the semifinals against Pennridge}. We didn’t play our best tonight but we hung in there.”
The Hawks had to come from behind two to claim their championship laurels. The third-seeded Titans (17-6) took a 1-0 lead when Sean Cutter scored off an offensive right-circle faceoff 6:27 into the first period.
But when C.B. South was accessed three consecutive penalties, Jordan Sarne stepped up for the Hawks, first by redirecting Dan Fillipov’s shot from the left point to tie the game with 4:40 left in the period and then connecting on a shot from between the circles a little over three minutes later.
Sarne cited the strength of his team’s power-play unit.
“In practice we really work on it,” he said. “All the boys have come together, we work on our passing, shooting, we just work on everything. So, it works out.”
Keith Waldron tied the game for the Titans with 3:46 left in the middle period and Joey Slobodian who put Central Bucks South in front for the second time when he took advantage of a Central Bucks South turnover near the Hawks’ net.
But momentum shifted dramatically in the Hawks’ favor when, with exactly six minutes remaining in regulation during a protracted tussle along the wall behind his own net, the Titans’ Jeff Kvecher was flagged for delay of game.
Forty-nine seconds later, Jeremy Rayer’s goal tied the game and 40 seconds after that, Weiner delivered the game winner. He said he and his teammates felt they had something to prove.
“We’re not the {number one seed} for no reason,” he said. “They outworked us a little bit in the beginning and we came out stronger and we showed why we’re the better team.”
Weiner said he found the physical tone of the game appealing.
“That’s fun,” he said. “I love the blue-collar game. It makes it more fun, Big hits, working in the corners, I like that part of the game.
Central Bucks South coach Shaun McGinty came up short in bid for his team’s eighth SHSHL title.
“The right two teams were here,” he said. “Shots 28-25 (in the Hawks’ favor, 4-3 back and forth. It’s great for high-school hockey … I give my kids a ton of credit for losing with respect. Nothing at the end to interfere with our moving forward or their moving forward.”
Council Rock South is the top seed in the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face either Conestoga or Boyertown in a quarterfinal game on Thursday, The Titan, the fifth seed, will face Spring-Ford on Tuesday.
C.B. South 1 1 1—3
C.R. South 2 0 2—4
First-period goals: Sean Cutter (CBS) from Jake Stepp and Joey Slobodrian, 6:27; Jordan Sarne (CBS) from Dan Filippov and Jackson Mosley, 12:20 (pp); Sarne (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Mosley, 15:39 (pp)
Second-period goal: Keith Waldron (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher, 13:14
Third-period goals: Slobodian (CBS) from Ryan Frey and Cutter, 10:01; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Sarne, 11:49; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jagger Smth, 12:29
Shots: C.B. South 25, C.R. South 28; Saves: Nate Neapolitano (CBS) 24, Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 22