They sent up camp in the offensive zone early on and never really left. West Chester Henderson applied pressure from the opening faceoff and kept it up for a full 51 minutes. The result was a 6-2 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh Monday night in the opening round of the Class A Flyers Cup at Hatfield Ice.
The ninth-seeded Warriors (6-12-1) will face top-seeded Hershey in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Colonials closed the season at 14-4.
Henderson set the tone from the start. Harrison Eller got the Warriors in on the scoreboard 2:34 into the opening period when he beat Lucas Bennett from close range. That goal established a pattern for the balance of the period. Cooper Kanze tied the game for the Colonials with 2:55 left in the period on a shot that Warrior goaltender Ian Stefanovski probably wished he could have another look at, but Aller put his team back in front just eight seconds later.
By the time the period ended, the Warriors had launched 16 shots. It was Bennett’s work in goal that kept the Colonials close.
“Breakout is something we talk about a lot,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti. “Obviously, we struggled a little bit. Getting the puck out of the zones quick is a priority for the defense. You don’t want to give good teams extra zone time. It leads to extra chances and that’s how goals go in.”
Forti acknowledged that Henderson scoring first put his team in a hole they never could escape.
“There was some stat that said s scoring the first goal gives you a 70 percent chance of winning,” he said. “We usually want to get the first one. Unfortunately, they did. And we were just kind of chasing the game ever since then.”
Anthony Barthol extended Henderson’s lead 2:46 into the second period. Kanze scored his second goal of the night exactly 10 minutes later to send the teams into the post-second period ice cut just one goal apart on the scoreboard.
But Henderson separated itself once more when Declan Herr scored from the left wing that found space inside the near post, a shot Bennett appeared not to see. Miles Donnelly essentially shut the door with a power-play goal with 2:47 remaining.
Barthol added an empty net goal with 1:17 left.
The Warriors finished with a 49-20 advantage in shots.
It was a disappointing end to an impressive season.
“I think the guys played well all season,” Forti said. “It’s tough way to end a good season, so it doesn’t feel like it in the moment but overall, I think they did a lot of good things.”
West Chester Henderson 2 1 3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 1 0—6
First-period goals: Harrison Aller (WCH) from Miles Donnelly, 2:36; Cooper Kanze (PW) from Dan Moloney, 14:05; Aller (WCH) from Anthony Barthol and Decal Dowd, 14:13
Second-period goals: Barthol (WCH) from Dowd and Aller, 2:46; Kanze (PW) from Dan Guller and Brandon Wooldridge, 12:46 (sh)
Third-period goals: Declan Herr (WCH) from Donnelly and Dowd, :49; Donnelly (WCH) from Dowd, 13:13 (pp); Barthol (WCH) unassisted, 15:43 (en):
Shots: West Chester Henderson 49, Plymouth Whitemarsh 20 Saves: Ian Stefanovski (WCH) 18, Lucas Bennett (PW) 43
Hockey Happenings 