The atmosphere of the Flyers Cup tournament is unique. A period of adjustment is often necessary. Therefore, it was not surprising that it took La Salle some time to get started against Devon Prep Tuesday night.
But, the Explorers eventually got rolling and the two-time defending Class AAA Flyers Cup champions rolled on to a 7-0 win over the Tide at Hatfield Ice Arena. The top-seeded Explorers (16-7) will move on to next Thursday’s semifinals against St. Joseph’s Prep or Father Judge. Devon Prep, the seventh seed, finished its third varsity season at 14-7.
While La Salle dominated on the scoreboard, it took some time for the Explorers’ offense to settle in. Cam Ross scored the only goal of the first period with just 56.4 seconds remaining.
Danny Burke extended the La Salle lead two minutes into the second frame.
“It was the first Flyers Cup game for easily half our team,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner in explaining his team’s start. “There were a lot of jitters I think they had to get out.
“We played a pretty good game. Their goaltender (Grant Gales) was strong early on.
Nole Donohue extended the Explorer lead to 3-0 when he scored with exactly one minute left in the second period before Alistair St. Hilaire, Will Gregorio, Donohue, and Grant LaGreca found the back of the net in the third.
Donohue said the Explorers; experience and cohesion is showing when it matters most. “We have a good bond,” he said. “We all work good together.
“We work hard as a team and pick each other up. That’s what gets us all going.”
One individual seemingly unfazed by the environment was La Salle goaltender Jake Rossi who pitched a shutout, making 14 saves along the way. He spoke to what the Flyers Cup experience is like for his less-experienced teammates.
“I think for them it’s realizing the intensity and importance of it,” he said. “It was a little bit of a slow start today but around the second period and into the third we really put our foot down.”
Devon Prep coach Matt Fabrizio was disappointed with the result but not with his team’s effort.
“The way my guys came out and battled, the fight was pretty even up through the last minute or so of the second period when it was 2-0,” he said. “We were happy with the opportunity to play La Salle. We regard La Salle and Holy Ghost, and all those teams as the cream of the crop, so any chance we get to play those guys is a huge opportunity.”
Devon Prep 0 0 0—0
La Salle 1 2 4—7
First-period goal: Cam Ross (L) from Alistair St. Hilaire, 16:04
Second-period goals: Danny Burke (L) from St. HiIaire and Liam Greenwalt, 2:00; Nole Donohue (L) from Tristan Mitchell 16:00
Third-period goals: St. Hilaire (L) from Donohue, 6:02; Will Gregorio (L) from St. Hilaire and Julian Tarsi, 8:03; Donohue (L) from Tarsi, 11:13; Grant LaGreca (L) from Declan Kelly and Michael Zarzycki, 15:11
Shots: Devon Prep 17, La Salle 57; Saves: Grant Gales (DP) 50; Jake Rossi (L) 17
Hockey Happenings 