Author: Rick Woelfel

Rick has worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 35 years. He's covered golf in one medium or another for more than 30. He is the co-author of the book So You Want to Play Golf with PGA professional Kim Verrecchio and the host of the Women's Golf Report podcast. Most recently, Rick served as an associate editor for The Mulligan Magazine. He also served as an associate editor for Philadelphia Golf Magazine and New Jersey State Golf from 2004-07. Rick covered his first LPGA Tour event in 1986 and continues to cover women's golf for various media outlets. High on his bucket list is having the opportunity to one day play in an LPGA Tour pro am. Rick is also a longtime correspondent for two suburban Philadelphia daily newspapers, the Intelligencer and the Bucks County Courier Times in Doylestown, PA. Over the course of his career he has coverzed a wide variety of sporting events. He is also a veteran play by play and public address announcer, and handles the PA mic for the nationally ranked Delaware Valley University football program. Rick is also a longtime contributor to Referee, a magazine devoted to sports officiating. He called his first baseball game at age 13 and continues to umpire softball and baseball today.

Landon School 2 La Salle 1

La Salle’s goal-scoring woes continued Wednesday afternoon. The Explorers found the back of the net just once in a 2-1 non-league loss to Landon School at Hatfield Ice.

Artin Tahmasebi ended matters 39 seconds into three-in-three overtime off a sprint down the left wing that finished when he beat La Salle goaltender Danny Trainer.

The loss dropped the Explorers to 2-8 on the season. But there were signs that the pieces are beginning to fit together as coach Wally Muehlbronner expected they would when the season began.

“We’re definitely starting to come together,” he said. “Guys are starting to play hard for one another.

“We had some really good zone times today. Unfortunately, it didn’t lead to any goals, but we had some good possession times in the {offensive} zone, and guys were hard on the puck. So, we’re getting there.”

Trainer, a sophomore, made his first varsity start in goal. He made some big saves at key moments; all told, he stopped 19 shots.

“He was solid, right from the beginning,” Muehlbronner said. He had really good focus. He’s a good-sized kid so he takes up a lot of the net. He was good. He was very square to the puck and made some key saves when we needed him to.”

The first two 15-minute periods were scoreless. The Bears (6-3), who hail from Bethesda, Md., took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Walker Kraemer 3:51 into the third period.

Patrick Lunsford responded for the Explorers three-and-a-half minutes later from midway between the two faceoff circles.

Tahmasebi’s game winner was an outstanding individual effort, Trainer could not be faulted on the play.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way we would have liked in the overtime,” Muehlbronner said, “But it wasn’t the result of {Trainor’s} play.”

• Following Christmas, the Explorers will spend the weekend in New England. They are scheduled to face Bishop Hendricken on Friday on Warwick, Rhode Island before spending Saturday competing in a tournament against St. John’s College (their Friday opponent), Christian Brothers Academy, and La Salle Academy. Those games will be played on Friday in Foxboro, Mass. and on Saturday in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Muehlbronner has traditionally utilized the trip as a team building experience

“It’s a very important trip for us this year,” he said, “just because of how many new guys we have.

“It’s the first time a lot of them are really going to get to know each other away from the rink and away from school, which is great. I know they’re all looking forward to it. So, hopefully we come out of it a better, stronger team.”

Landon School  0 0 1 1—2

La Salle 0 0 1 0—1

Third-period goals: Walker Kraemer (Lan) from Grant Kraemer, 3:51; Patrick Lunsford (La) from Quin Leonards and River Carnagi, 7:38

Overtime goal:   Artin Tahmasebi (Lan) from Owen Moore, :39

Shots Landon 21, La Salle 19: Saves: Aden Perry (Lan) 9 and Greg Saffell (Lan) 9, Danny Trainer (L) 19,

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St. Joseph’s Prep Set for Purple Puck Tournament

The National Capital Hockey Tournament, more familiarly known as the Purple Puck Tournament, is a longstanding holiday tradition.

Now in its 31st year the tournament is hosted by Gonzaga Prep and brings some of the scholastic and prep school teams to the Washington, D.C. area each year. This year’s event begins on Saturday, December 27 and runs through Monday, December 29.

For St. Joseph’s Prep, the Purple Puck event is a regular fixture on the schedule. The Hawks have had considerable success there; they’ve won championships in two of the last three seasons. Senior Ben Kurson is the Hawks’ captain.

“The Purple Puck Tournament is very competitive. Teams come from all over the country and test our team every year. It is always a challenge, but I am very confident in our group this year. “

Kurson has fond memories from the Purple Puck Tournament; he played on championship-winning teams as a freshman and sophomore

“I remember really looking up to the upperclassmen,” he said, “seeing how they played for each other, and how they treated the younger players. I hope as a senior, in my last Purple Puck Tournament, I can similarly do this for our team.”
Kurson says the experience of being on the road as a group for a long weekend builds team cohesiveness.

“This tournament greatly helps to develop team chemistry. Eating meals together, traveling to the games together, and briefly living together all contribute to working well on the ice. Also, our team has a tradition of doing Secret Santa at this tournament. This has always been my favorite off ice activity, and is always very funny to see what people get for each other. 

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula says the weekend offers his team a lot of benefits, including testing it in a tournament setting.

“The round robin is only three game, but you do have to perform well to make it to the championship rounds,” he said. “Regardless of what’s on the line, it’s a unique situation, learning how to play {in a tournament setting}.

“That’s one aspect, but I think equally as important is the time together as a group.”

In addition to the Hawks’ varsity, one of their junior varsity teams will also be part of the tournament and several sub-varsity players will be on the trip even though they may not dress for games.

“I think it’s important for all of us to be together as a group,” Van Kula said. “Especially with the nature of our sport, it’s so rare to have even one individual team all together at once but certainly to draw the whole program together is a valuable eperience.

Kurson says the Hawks find out a lot about themselves over the course of the weekend. ”I think as a team we learn a lot. When we play so many games in such a short period of time, it gives us the ability to tweak something and directly implement it in the same day. In comparison, we usually play one game a week, so we have to wait a whole week to change what we learned. “

• The Hawks will not be the only APAC team in this year’s field. The Hun School will also be part of the event. The other three conference teams will also be involved in tournaments this weekend. La Salle will travel to Providence for a four-team event involving Christian Brothers-affiliated institutions while host Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will take part in the Friars Faceoff

Nemchinov Making a Big Impact at H-H

After a season of great success, one that included a division championship and a Flyers Cup victory, Hatboro-Horsham is picking up where it left off.

Heading into the Christmas break, The Hatters sit atop the SHSHL’s American Division with a 10-1 divisional record (11-1 overall).

Last year’s version of the Hatters won 12 games, captured the division tile, and won a Flyers Cup game for the first time in school history which only whetted their appetite for more.

Senior forward Nate Nemchinov summed up his team’s approach.

“We always play with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We play to win, we don’t take anything got granted, and we play every game like a playoff game.”

Nemchinov scored for goals Friday night as the Hatters overwhelmed Wissahickon 13-3 at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.  It’s the fifth time this season one of their game has been shortened due to the 10-goal rule.

Nemchinov spoke to the importance of the players staying focused in one-sided games.

“Our coach (Shane Smith) I great at rotating the lines, keeping us in the game and making sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.”

Nemchinov has 18 goals and 17 assists so far this season  for 35 points. He’s second in the division in scoring behind teammate Vincent Graziani (20-21—41). He speaks to the importance of the veterans on the roster helping the younger plyers feel at ease.

“We make them comfortable at practice,” he said. “We give them tips. We’re always letting them know how they can improve. We play a team game and give them ice time. They play as much as the veterans do.”

Nemchinov notes how the team has evolved since the start of the season.

“In the beginning of the year, we were playing a little bit selfish at times,” he said, “and we were getting ahead of ourselves in {one-sided games.} But, we’ve learned to move the puck and it’s going to help us a lot when we play more competitive games.”

Nemchinov himself has been on skates as long has he can remember.

“On my first birthday there was somebody who played hockey there,” he said, “and my dad started playing. He got me {into hockey} and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Last year marked the second time Hatboro-Horsham has won an SHSHL title, the first came in 2018.

The Hatters were one of the founding members of the SHSHL in 1973-74. The club played its games at the old Wintersport rink in Willow Grove, often late on Friday nights.

Nemchinov and his teammates respect those who came before them.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We carry on the legacy. We know how hard those guys worked and we want to work just as hard, if not harder.”

PW 4 Abington 1

It wasn’t a stylish performance. But Plymouth Whitemarsh did enough Thursday night to get across the finish line.

Cooper Kanze scored two goals as the Colonials bested a scrappy Abington team 4-1 in a SHSHL American Division test at Hatfield Ice. The Colonials improved to 7-1 overall and in the division. They trail first-place Hatboro-Horsham by eight points as of Thursday night but also have two games in hand; the two teams have split two meetings against each other.

But the Colonials looked sluggish throughout Thursday night’s affair and Kanze, who is his team’ leading goal scorer with 12, did not mince words.

“Two goals helped,” the sophomore said, “but overall, our whole team needs to play better. We know that. We expect more from each other. Everyone expects more from us.”

Kanze opened the scoring with 4:37 left in the opening period but the best player on the ice   was Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, who made 14 saves in the first frame.

That gave the Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-9) an opening to tie the game, which they did when Joseph Widmeier scored in a breakaway 1:54 into the second period.

Morgan Hulitt put the Colonials in front with 3:23 left in the middle period before Kanze and John Zawislak added goals in the third.

While the result will be listed in the records as a decisive, the opinions of some witnesses differed, notably that of Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti.

“Not our best game,” he said. “We know we can play better. I think it’s tough to go in {the locker room} and be upset after a win but I think every guy in this locker room know we can play much better than we showed today.”

Forti stressed the importance of his players staying focused.

“I think focus is the biggest thing,” he said. “We keep talking about it, but we can’t keep having the same conversations over and over, we need to a change.

“I thought our start was okay but we started losing focus throughout the game. we need to stay locked in for three full periods.”

At the other end of the building, Abington coach Ken Brzozowski got three periods worth of effort from the Galloping Ghosts.

“We talked about limiting our mistakes,” he said, “and things we wanted to do. To play three full periods of hockey and not worry about the score.

“We talked about playing as a unit offensively and defensively. Not two on defense, three on offense. We talked about ‘Five offense and five defense and it kind of translated a little it tonight.”

Abington has scored just nine goals all season and four of their nine games have been shortened due to the 10-goal rule. But Brzozowski says his team’s lack of success has not diminished its resolve.

“This team has not quit,” he said. “They have not put their heads down. Every single one of then (there are 21 players on the roster) comes to practice and works hard. Every single one of them comes to the games.

“I just need what we’re doing in practice to translate to the games.”

Abington 0 1 0—1

PW  1 1 2—4

First-period goal: Cooper Kanze (PW) unassisted, 12:23

Second-period goals: Joseph Widmeier (A) unassisted, 1:54; Morgan Hulitt (PW) from Liam Kelly, 13:37

Third-period goals: Kanze (PW) from Dan Guller, 2:20; John Zawislak (PW) fom Hulitt, 14:23

Shots: Abington 7, PW 41

Saves: Matt Evangelist (A) 34, Braydon Campbell (PW) 6

Malvern Prep to Host Friar Faceoff

Malvern Prep will be hosting a four-team holiday tournament at Ice Line the weekend after Christmas. The inaugural Friar Faceoff will involve host Calvert Hall from Towson, Md. Devon Prep, and Holy Ghost, which is stepping on place of DeMatha, which was scheduled to participate but had to step away.

The round-robin format will see each team play once on Saturday night. December 27 and twice the following day with the championship game set for Monday afternoon, December 29.

“We’ve been trying to get a tournament off the ground for a couple years now,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We were able to get four team this year, hopefully we’ll build on to to it, but it’s an opportunity for us to keep the boys on the ice.

“Devon, Holy Ghost, and Calvert Hall are quality schools, so it’s going to be good competition and we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s like.”

Saturday, December 27

Rink 1 – Back-to-Back Games

  • 4:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Malvern Prep vs. Devon Prep
  • 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM: Calvert Hall vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Sunday, December 28

  • 10:00 AM – 11:45 AM (Rink 1): Malvern Prep vs. Holy Ghost Prep
  • 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM (Rink 3): Devon Prep vs. Calvert Hall

Rink 1 – Back-to-Back Games

  • 4:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Malvern Prep vs. Calvert Hall
  • 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM: Devon Prep vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Monday, December 29

Malvern Prep 4 Hun School 3 OT

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—The drama ended amidst a frenzied atmosphere. House Young’s goal with 1:32 remaining in what turned into five-on-four overtime gave Malvern Prep a 5-4 win over The Hun School Wednesday afternoon at Ice Line.

Young’s shot was a blast from the right point that caught part of the left post on its way to the back of the net, passing Hun School goaltender Chase Kishler en route. Pax Hoishik set up the goal with a cross-ice pass.

“We had a time out {prior to the final sequence} and we talked about it,” Young said. “My friend Pax set me up. We work on it all the time in practice.”

The win lifted the Friars to 4-3-1 overall and 2-2 in the APAC.

Young called the win huge.

“It sends us {into the holiday break} on a good note,” he said. “And that’s what we need to go into the APAC playoffs and the Flyers Cup.”

The final stages of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference affair were anything but routine. Hun School (3-3, 1-1 in the APAC) rallied to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:16 left in regulation after Zachary Valle and Youhe Tong scored goals 66 seconds apart.

But the Raiders, who took four penalties in the third period, carried that habit into overtime.

Hun School started the session with a four-skaters-to-three advantage after the Friars’ Logan Love was whistled for his fourth penalty of the game with 15 seconds left in regulation.  But the advantage evaporated when Jacob Kelly-LePage was called for tripping 1:21 into the extra period, and when Andrew Darst was flagged for a trip at the 2:42 mark the Raiders found themselves shorthanded, leaving the door open for Young’s game winner.

“It was good to battle back in the third period,” said Hun School coach Nathaniel Welsh, “They gave up two breakaways; we scored on two breakaways, which is what we had to do. Then we went into overtime up by a guy and didn’t capitalize and went down by two guys.”

Vallee gave the Raiders an early lead 1:03 into the opening period. Jake Weingartner answered for Malvern Prep at 2:57.

Weingartner and Lyndon MacClay scored goals 72 seconds apart to put Malvern Prep up 3-1 with 14:44 left in the middle period. At that point, Welsh used his timeout and Kishler took over in the Raider net, replacing starter Blake Echternacht.  Kishler was impregnable through the balance of regulation and into overtime.

Hun School rallied when Vallee scored his second goal of the afternoon with 5:50 left in regulation. Tong picked off an errant pass in the neutral zone for his game tying goal with 4:44 remaining to set up a finish that will be long remembered.

Weingartner said Hun School’s physical style combined with its speed made it a difficult foe to deal with.

“I think Hun School’s physicality is what made their team good today,” he said. “I think we outplayed them, but I think they were a physical team and think they used that to their advantage today.”

Winning goaltender Ryan Caterino made 28 saves

Hun School 1 0 2 0—3

Malvern Prep 1 2 0 1—4

First-period goals: Zachary Vallee (HS) unassisted, 15:57; Jake Weingartner (MP) from Ryan Jacobs and Pax Hoishik, 2:57

Second-period goals: Weingartner (MP) from Hoishik and Jacobs, 1:04; Lyon MacClay (MP) from Luke Johnson and Andrew Starck, 2:16

Third-period goals: Vallee (HS) from Eli Broomer, 11:10; Yoube Tong (HS) unassited, 12:16

Overtime goal: House Young (MP) from Hoishik, 3:28

Shots: Hun School 31, Malvern Prep 39