When two teams play each other five times over the course of a season, there are no secrets. Familiarity breeds intensity. And Thursday’s SHSHL final played out that way.
Vince Graziani’s goal 28 seconds into Stanley Cup-style sudden-death overtime, gave Hatboro-Horsham a 4-3 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh at Hatfield Ice. His game winner, his second goal of the game, came on a shot from the deep right wing.
“It feels amazing,” Graziani said. “We’ve come so far to get to this point.
“P-W has a great team, they have a great program, and it was just a great battle.”
The teams split four regular-season meetings and Thursday’s result superseded them all. It gave the Hatters (17-3) their second consecutive division championship in a championship-caliber game.
“This was a fantastic game,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith, “with two evenly matched teams that played well and hard against each other. This was the kind of game we expected. If you looked up championship in the dictionary this game would have {defined it}.”
William Moffa got the scoring started for the Hatters 3:01 into the opening frame. Brandon Wooldridge tied the game for the Colonials (14-3) 77 seconds later. Graziani’s first goal of the night put the Hatters up 2-1 with 5:27 left in the period.
Cooper Kanzee, who assisted on the Colonials’ first goal, tied the game once more when he beat Patrick Murphy in the Hatter net with exactly three minutes left in the second period.
Special teams played into a third period that included four minor penalties. Joseph Mangin’s goal that put the Hatters up 3-2 came while Ryan Jagher was serving an interference penalty. Kanzee tied the game for the last time with 7:57 left in regulation came while the Hatters’ Luca Staffieri was in the box serving an interference penalty of his own.
It was as evenly matched an affair as could be imagined. But, a winner had to be determined,
“I think it just came down to one play at the end,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti. They’re a very good team and they capitalized.
“It was back and forth. I’m proud of our guys from battling until the end.”
Graziani spoke to the challenges that arose from playing the Colonials for a fifth time this season.
“It’s hard,” he said. You’ve just got to find your chances and find when to do things and put the puck in the net.”
Both teams open play in the Class A Flyers Cup on Monday. The sixth-seeded Hatters will face Number-11 Radnor while the eighth-seeded Colonials will take on ninth-seeded West Chester Henderson. Both games will be played at Hatfield Ice,
Hatboro-Horsham 2 0 1 1—4
P-W 1 1 1 0—3
First-period goals: Willlim Moffa (HH) from Nathan Nemchinov and Aiden North, 3:01; Brandon Wooldridge (PW) from Cooper Kanzee and Dan Guller, 4:18; Vincent Graziani (HH) from Luca Staffieri, 11:33
Second-period goals: Kanzee (PW) unassisted, 14:00
Third-period goals:[1] Joseph Mangin (HH) from Nemchinov and Graziani, 3:31; Kanzee (PW) from Guller and Ryan Jagher, 9:03
Overtime goal: Graziani (HH) from Nemchinov, :28
Shots: Hatboro-Horsham 43, Plymouth Whitemarsh 26; Saves: Patrick Murphy (HH) 23, Max Yoder (PW) 39
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