The SHSHL playoff field is complete. And Pennridge provided the final piece of the puzzle.
James Rush and Landon Bishop scored two goals each as the Rams bested Central Bucks East 6-0 Thursday night in a National Division matchup. that served as the finale for the SHSHL’s regular season.
The Pennridge win, combined with Central Buck South’s overtime win over Souderton Thursday night, filled the last two slots on the National Division playoff bracket. Pennridge (6-10-1, 6-10 in the division with two losses in OT)) will be seeded fifth and face fourth seed Pennsbury Monday night. Central Bucks East (6-10-1, 6-9-1 with one win in OT), the sixth seed, will face third-seeded Central Bucks South. North Penn and Council Rock South, the top two seeds, have byes into Wednesday’s semifinals.
For a Pennridge teams that had only nine skaters available at one point early in the season reaching the postseason is a remarkable achievement.
“It’s incredibly satisfying,” said Ram coach Jeff Montagna. “They deserve it, for the amount of close games they played and lost, and come in to basically a ‘You lose and your done’ scenario, with that kind of pressure and play a perfect hockey game? It says a lot about them.
“I feel really, really good for them tonight.”
Junior Ryan says Montagna is committed to winning but also understands that hockey is supposed to be fun.
“He’s definitely intense,” Burke said. “He’s very loud, he’s very expressive on how he coaches.
“But, he wants to have a good time. He’s always joking, in the locker room and on the bench.
“He’ll show {His competitive side. You’ll hear him on the bench. He’s very intense, but he’s a great coach.”
Burke says Montagna and his staff have worked to make this season a positive experience for the players, even when the losses added up.
“There’s a lot of joking around and trying to lift our spirits up before games and during games. Just trying to push through those {challenges} we’ve gone through.
Pennridge controlled the game from the start. Rush scored a power-play goal just 2:38 into the opening period and assisted on second-period goals by Landon Bishop and Kaden Gunning.
Andrew Engler made it a 4-0 game with 2:01 left in the middle period and sent Patriot goaltender Cameron Young to the bench; Logan Mitchell replaced him.
Rush and Bishop added third-period goals; Rush also contributed three assists.
• Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Wissahickon 11-1 Thursday night to claim the American Division title and arn a bye into Thursday’s championship game. Second seed Hatboro-Horsham and third-seed Springfield will meet in a Wednesday semifinal.
Pennridge 1 3 2—6
C.B. East 0 0 0—0
First-period goal: James Rush (P) unassisted, 2:38 (pp)
Second-period goals: Landon Bishop (P) from Rush, 5:03; Kaden Gunning (P) from Rush, 8:40; Andrew Engler (P) from Bishop, 14:59 (pp)
Third-period goals: Rush (P) from Morris Ostrobrook, 1:57; Bishop (P) from Rush and Engler, 6:14
Shots: Pennridge 47, C.B. East 23
Saves: Andrew Slutsky (P) 23, Cameron Young (CBE) 21 and Logan Mitchell (CBE) 20
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