BRISTOL—There wasn’t a lot of finesse on display at Grundy Arena Wednesday afternoon. Just a lot of blue-collar, grind-it-out hockey.
Holy Ghost Prep thrived in that environment. Lucas Gonzalez delivered two goals and an assist as the Firebirds bested La Salle 4-1 as the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference launched its eighth season.
For a team whose players are still working to find their roles, it was a step forward.
“There was obviously a big conversation between last week’s game (a season-opening loss to Devon Prep) and tonight,” said Holy Ghost Prep John Ritchie. “Last week, I thought we did a much better job possessing and creating but sometimes we just have to manufacture goals by working hard to get to the net.”
And that formula paid off for Holy Ghost Prep Wednesday afternoon. Gonzalez opened the scoring, beating Anthony Foster in the La Salle net 4:19 into the opening period off a feed from freshman Mason Thomas. Chase Logue made it a 2-0 game via a Chris Marshall setup into the second frame but the Explorers (1-2 overall) answered with a goal from River Carangi with 51 seconds left in the period when her put the puck past Firebird netminder Matt Salita to make it a 2-1 game.
Following the post-second period ice cut however, it was Thomas the freshman who stepped up. His goal 2:28 into the third frame restored his side’s two-goal advantage.
Gonzalez added his second goal of the game with 4:03 remaining.
Ritchie celebrated Thomas’s effort; he was one of four underclassmen in the Firebirds’ lineup.
“He’s a really smart player away from the puck,” Ritchie said. “He can put the puck in the net. He kind of brings a lot of little intangibles to the game so we have full confidence in him.
“I don’t put a lot of freshmen in our lineup. But he has a good complete game and tonight we were obviously thrilled that he got his first goal.”
Marshall, a senior and the Firebirds’ captain, spoke to the importance of the veterans on the roster making younger teammates feel comfortable.
“It’s everything” he said. “The seniors and the juniors, the upperclassmen, need to be there for the underclassmen. If you have a bad shift or a bad play, shake it off, go get the next one.”
For a young Explorer squad that had just two seniors in the lineup, the APAC opener was trial by fire.
“I think it was definitely an eye-opener for a lot of the guys,” he said. “We had our moments where I thought we were making progress at getting better, but then we made some young mistakes, turning pucks over in our own zone and not having men in our coverages. And that directly led to opportunities and goals for them.”
Muehlbronner said his players got a crash course in what APAC hockey is about.”
“A lot of these guys were playing in their first APAC game,” he said. “We’re going to get better.”
•Muehlbronner is the last remaining head coach remaining from 2018-19, the APAC’s first season.
La Salle 0 1 0—1
Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2—4
First-period goal: Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Mason Thomas, 4:19
Second-period goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Chris Marshall, 2:21; River Carangi (L) from Darrian Brown and Patrick Lunsford, 16:09
Third-period goals: Thomas (HGP) from Gonzalez, 2:28; Gonzalez (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Lucas Helms, 12:57
Shots: La Salle 18, Holy Ghost Prep 24; Saves: Anthony Foster (L) 20, Matt Salita (HGP) 17
Hockey Happenings 