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.

C.R. South 5 Pennridge 2

Jake Weiner changed the course of a hockey game Thursday night. With he and his Council Rock South teammates trailing Pennridge 2-0 almost in the blink of an eye, Weiner stepped up and grabbed hold of the affair.

The junior set up Jordan Sarne for his team’s first goal and scored two others before the first period ended. He capped off his night’s work with an empty-net goal as the Golden left Grundy Arena with a 5-2 win that puts South back in first place the SHSHL National Division race, one point in front of North Penn and in control of its destiny in the division title chase.

If South (17-2, 16-1 in the division) scores a regulation win in its regular-season finale against Neshaminy next Wednesday it will be the top seed for the divisional playoffs regardless of how North Penn fares against Council Rock North the same evening.

Weiner, who now has 39 goals and 16 goals for 55 points this season, reached the 100-goal plateau for his South career Thursday night and his contributions were sorely needed.

Nathan McKean gave Pennridge (12-6, 11-6 in the division) a 1-0 lead with a rocket directly off an offensive right-circle faceoff just 47 seconds into the game. Landon Bishop made it a 2-0 game at the 1:21 mark off a spurt down the left wing.

The Hawks took some big punches early on but got off the canvas.

“We just had the mindset we had to come back,” Weiner said. “We got kicked in the teeth early but just came back and worked.”

Sarne’s goal came off a shot from the top of the left circle to make it a 2-1 game just 2:41 into the period.  Weiner tied the game with five minutes left in the opening session scored what was officially the game-winning goal when Jacob Winton in the Pennridge net lost control a rebound with 2:12 remaining the period.

The pace of the game slowed somewhat from there. Both teams had some holes in the lineup for an assortment of reasons but Rams in particular were hurt by the absence of leading scorer Shane Dachowski who was serving a suspension. They also lost James Rush to injury in the second period

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna found himself working with just two lines and the situation took its toll on his players, who exhausted their energy reserves.

“We played without our top three scorers,” he said. “We tolled two lines to the end of the game and they played their [tails] off.

“They did exactly what I sked and they scratched and clawed for every inch of ice out there.”

Jagger Smith extended South’s led to two goals when he scored in the midst of a goal-mouth scramble with one second left in the second period. Weiner completed his hat trick with 31 seconds left in the game.

Senior defenseman Peter Pereborow said the Hawks’ comeback was due to the player embracing a team-first mentality.

“We turned it around it around with a ‘We’ mentality,” he said. “Like {Coach Joe Houk} said in the locker room like the Eagles’ offensive line, our job is just play as a team. Not ‘I.’ Work, just keep grinding.”

Ice chips—The Golden Hawks drew 14 penalties so Houk will sit out the regular-season finale.SSF

Pennridge 2 0 0

C. R. South 3 1 1—5

First-period goals: Nathan McKean (P) from Ryan Burke, :47; Landon Bishop (P) from Burke and Dean Venner, 1:21; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jake Weiner, 2:41; Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rahyer and Jackson Mosley, 12:00; Weiner (CRS) from Mosley and Jagger Smith, 14:48;

Second-period goal: Smith (CRS) from Jacob Cohen, 16:59;

Third-period goal: Weiner (CRS) unassisted, 16:29

Shots: Pennridge 30m C.R. South 39; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 34. Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 28

SHSHL Standings as of 2-13-25

National Division      W    L    T    PTS  OTW    OTL

X North Penn (16-2)     15    2   0   60      1       1

X C.R. South (16-2)      15    1    0   57      3        0

X C.B. South (13-5)       13    3    0  49        3      0

X Pennridge (12-5)       11   5    0   47       0       3         

X C.B. East (8-8-1)             8    7   1    34        0      0

Pennsbury (6-12)          6    11    0  26       0    2

Neshaminy (6-11-1)     5    11   1   23       0     1

Souderton (5-12)        5    11    0   21       0     0

C.R. North (3-12)        3  14      0     12       0     0

C.B. West (0-14)          0  16    0   0         0    0

American Division              W    L    T   PTS    OTW    OTL

X@ P-W (14-0)    13  0   0  56   0   0

Hatboro-Horsham  (6-7)     7   6    0   29              1     2

Springfield (5-8)                   7    8    0    28           1      1

Wissahickon (7-8)                7    7    0    27            1       0

Abington (0-13)                    0   13      0     0          0     0

X—assured playoff berth

@—assured regular-season title

SHSHL National Division Recap 2-12-25

Four National Division games had playoff implications on Wednesday night

Council Rock South 8 Souderton 5

Jake Weiner scored five goals as the Golden Hawks stayed in the hunt for the SHSHL’s National Division title Wednesday night at Grundy Arena. Jeremy Rayher scored twice for South, which improved to 15-1 on the season and 16-2 overall.

Jagger Smith added three assists.

Souderton dropped to 5-12 overall and 5-11 in the division.  Nick Smith scored all five goals for the Big Red which remains alive in the hunt for the division’s sixth and final playoff spot.

Pennridge 3 Neshaminy 1

The Rams scored twice in the third period to beat the ‘Skins Wednesday night. Shane Dachowski, Nolan Shaw, and James Rush scored for Pennridge which improved to 11-5 in divisional play, 12-5 overall.

Tyler Hathaway scored for Neshaminy (6-11-1, 5-11-1 in the division).

Central Bucks South 16 Council Rock North 3

Joey Slobodrian scored for goals for the Titans Wednesday night in a game that was halted after the second period.

Ten different players scored goals for South which improved to 13-5 overall and 13-3 in the division.

Dominic Gibson, Logan Hood, and Brennan Thierolf each scored twice while eight other players scored one goal each.

The Indians fell to 3-14 overall and in the division.

North Penn 9 Pennsbury 2

Samuel Norton scored three goals and added four assists as the Knights downed the Falcons Wednesday night at Grundy Arena. Cole Pluck added two goals and three assists.

 North Penn broke the game open with six goals in the second period.

The win kept North Penn (16-2, 15-2 in divisional play) one point in front of Council Rock South in the battle for the National Division title. The Golden Hawks however have a game in hand.

North Penn will close its regular season against Council Rock North next Wednesday.

Pennsbury (6-12, 6-11) has a three-point lead in the battle for the final division playoff spot heading into a matchup with Souderton next Thursday.

W.C. East 5 Avon Grove 2

West Chester East is playing some of the best hockey in the area and the timing couldn’t be better. The Vikings scored three times in the third period Wednesday afternoon en route to a 5-2 Ches-Mont League win over Avon Grove at Ice Line.

With just 12 days remaining until the start of the ICSHL playoffs and just 11 until the field for the Flyers Cup tournament is announced, the Vikings have won three straight games and five of their last six to conclude their league schedule. With one crossover game remaining (against Springfield-Delco on February 21) East now stands at 9-8 overall and 5-7 in the Ches-Mont and is listed fifth in the Class A Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.

Avon Grove, which had won three of its last four prior to Wednesday and is hoping to earn a place in the Class AA Flyers Cup, dropped to 8-9-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the Ches-Mont.

Tyler Stutzman opened the scoring for the Vikings 2:23 into the first period. Evan Finnicum responded for the Devils with a power-play goal at 12:19.               

Jackson Zwirzina’s goal with 1:45 left in the middle period gave the Vikings the lead for good. James                Hayes extended that lead 2:48 into the final period.

Mason Hitt’s power-play goal a minute later made it a one-goal game once more but first Finn and then Hayes added additional goals to solidify the Vikings’ grip.

West Chester East coach Eric Wolf said the Vikings, who have won three Flyers Cup titles in the past four years, has been playing with a sense of urgency of late.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” he said. “I was really stressing to the guys back in December ‘Hey, look at your record. You’re trending toward not getting in the Flyers Cup right now.

“That’s where we were trending. We had one win in the Ches-Mont at the turn of the calendar. That’s not satisfactory for our program. “We’re still very strong team and we were not playing up to our capabilities.”

The Devils were missing four regulars from their lineup.

“We were shorthanded,” said Avon Grove coach Sean Cannon, ‘But I liked our work effort and our energy.”

Avon Grove 1 0 1—2

West Chester East 1 1 3—5

First-period goals: Tyler Stutzman (WCE) from Konrad Finnin, 2:23; Evan Finnicum (AG) from Parker Thompson, 12:43 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jackson Zwirzina (WCE) from Noah Rosenthal, 15:15

Third-period goals: James Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 2:48; Mason Hitt (AG) from Finnicum, 3:48 (pp); Finn (WCE) unassisted, 4:31; Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 11:19 (sh)

Shots: Avon Grove 26, W.C. East 22; Saves: Jacob Calabretta (AG), 17 Cameron Chandler (WCE) 24

Malvern Prep 4 Hun School 0

The postseason is a time for a fresh start. Malvern Prep took advantage of the opportunity Monday afternoon. House Young scored two goals and Matt Crawford delivered a shutout in goal as the Friars bested The Hun School 4-0 in the APAC’s Founders Cup play-in game at Ice Line.

Fourth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-9) will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep in one half of a semifinal doubleheader on February 19 and will be part of the Flyers Cup tournament after that. Fifth-seeded Hun School (5-16-2) will conclude its schedule with two non-league games; the Raiders are bypassing the Flyers Cup.

For the Friars, who have beaten Hun School three times in 20 days, it’s been something of a new beginning.

“We’re starting to hit our stride,” said Malvern Prep Bill Keenan. “Finishing out the [APAC schedule], going into the APAC playoff and the Flyers Cup. We want to find out stride and we’re just continuing to build right now.”

The Friars had the upper hand from the outset; they outshot the Raiders 14-6 in the opening period but it took time to find the back of the net. It was 5:32 into the second frame before Andrew Starck put his team in front by going top shelf against Hun School goaltender Elliot Wong. Gabe Bedwell made it 2-0 at the 7:24 mark when he put a bullet inside the left post.

“We definitely got off to a quick start,” Bedwell said. “That’s what we need every game, a quick start, we need everybody firing, everybody going.’


“That will bring us to the Flyers Cup. I think we all just need to work together and jut get on it from the jump.”

Young scored his first goal with 4:01 left in the period. His second effort of the night came with 4:37 left in the third period. By that point the Raiders, who had just 13 skaters available, were using up their energy reserves.

“It’s been one thing or the other this year,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker. “I give a lot of credit to our guys. They worked hard, they battled.

“Malvern played a great game too so you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the other side.”

The Friars outshot the Raiders 50-16. Matt Crawford earned the shutout in goal for Malvern Prep. His best save came when he denied Matt Trawinski from point-blank range just past the midway point of the second period. Wong made 46 saves at the other end of the ice.

“An unbelievable performance,” Szeker said. “He’s been light’s out the whole season. He’s been one of our best players so to see him have another performance like that is not too surprising.”

Hun School 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 0 3 1—4

Second-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Peter Narog, 5:39; Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Pax Hoishik and Cole Scarbinsky, 7:24; House Young (MP) from Jake Winegartner and Hoishik, 12:59

Third-period goal: Young (MP) from Winegartner and Matt Barbacane, 11:23 (pp)

Shots: Hun School 16, Malvern Prep 50 Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 46, Matt Crawford (MP) 16

Flyers Cup Rankings 2-10-25

Class AAA

  1. Holy Ghost Prep
  2. La Salle
  3. St. Joseph’s Prep
  4. Malvern Prep
  5. Salesianum

     Class AA

  1. Council Rock South
  2. North Penn
  3. Downingtown East
  4. Haverford High
  5. Central Bucks South

      Class A

  1. Garnet Valley
  2. Kennett
  3. West Chester Henderson
  4. Penncrest
  5. West Chester East

Girls

  1. Avon Grove
  2. Downingtown West
  3. Conestoga
  4. West Chester Henderson
  5. Radnor

This marks the final set of Flyers Cup rankings prior to the Flyers Cup Selection Show on Sunday, February 23. The show will air at 8 PM that evening on the Flyers Cup You Tube Channel.

Playoff Ponderings—APAC

Monday, February 10

APAC Founders Cup Play-in Game

(5) Hun School at (4) Malvern Prep

3:30 at Ice Line

Hun School 5-15-2, 0-8 in APAC

Coach: Erik Szeker

Players to watch—Jake Beck 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 point in APAC games; Elliot Wong 4.25 GAA, .882 save percentage; Patrick Donoghue 5.25 GAA, .883 save percentage

Malvern Prep 4-9, 3-5 in APAC

Coach: Bill Keenan

Players to watch—Teague Murray 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points; James Young 1 goal, 6 assists, 7 points Andrew Starck 4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points; Matt Crawford 2.47 GAA, .905 save percentage; Riley Doyle 3.24 GAA, .856 save percentage

What’s at Stake?—Winner faces Holy Ghost Prep in Founders Cup semifinals on February 19

APAC Update 2-9-25

 Regular Season Standings        W    L  Pts    OTW OTL    

Holy Ghost Prep (12-4-1)       5      2  15        0     0

La Salle (11-6)                         5      2   14       1     0

St. Joseph’s Prep (8-7)           3      3    10        0    1

Malvern Prep (3-8)                2      4     6        0    0

Hun School (5-15-2)                 0     4      0       0     0

Scoring (Conference Games)  GP   G   A   Pts   PPG

Brady Logue HGP                       8     10 11  21    2.63

Cole Gagron   SJP                       7     8    1    9     1.29

Noel Donohue La                       8     5    5     10  1.25

Grant LaGrrca La                        8    8      1    9    1.13

Michael Zarzycki La                   8     6    3     9     1.13

Frank Ely La                                 8    2    6     8    1.00

Chase Logue HGP                      7     3    4     7     1.00

Anthony Valeriote HGP            8     5    3     8     1.00

Joe Spadaccino HGP                 6     3    3      6    1.00

Save Percentage                     GP    Shots  GA     Save %

Jake Rossi La                             6       225   14      .938

John Botthof HGP                    2        64      5       .922

Declan Geary SJP                     7       190    15     .921

Matt Crawford MP                  6       176    14     .920

Jack Unger    HGP                    3         79     8       .899

Patrick Donoghue HS              2        109   10      .908

Goals Against                        MP     GA      GAA

Jake Rossi La                       394       14       1.81

Matt Salita HGP                 153        6         2.00

Declan Geary SJP              364         15        2.10

Matt Crawford MP            208      14         2.20

John Botthof HGP              102        5         2.50

Jack Unger HGP                 153        8          2.67

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It’s About More Than the Score

It’s been a difficult season at Malvern Prep if you go strictly by the numbers. The Friars are just 4-9 on the season and 3-5 in the APAC as they prepare to host The Hun School on Monday in the Founders Cup playoffs play-in game (3:30 at Ice Line). At one point, they lost seven consecutive games but they’ve won two of their last three heading into the postseason.

But there is much more to high-school hockey and high-school sports in general than wins and losses. There are life lessons to be learned and relationships to be nurtured.

 Bill Keenan understands that and in fact embraces that mindset. Now completing his sixth season as the Friars’ head coach, he reflects on what he wants the nine seniors on his roster to take away from their high-school hockey experience.

“The thing I want them to take away is that there’s more than just hockey, right?,” he said. “One of my philosophies is Malvern Prep is a great school, they have a great culture. My job is to yes, coach hockey but it’s to create better young people. I hope that they take that away from this game, this experience.

“It’s just a family and the brotherhoods that they make within the game, with their teammates, that’s what really carries them for the rest of their lives. They’ll look back and they’ll remember the guys they were playing with shoulder to shoulder. Guys they were out there practicing with. So, to me, that’s what I want them to take away.”

One lesson Keenan wants his players to learn is how do deal with adversity, on the ice and off; how to deal with the gut punches and occasional low blows that life hands out. He says hockey can be an effective teaching tool in that regard.

“Adversity comes in all facets of your life,” he said, “and with the game of hockey you’re going to have ups, you’re going to have downs, you’re going to have good games you’re going to have bad games.

“You can even break down the shifts, you’re going to have good shifts and bad shifts.

“You just have to be a resilient person and I think we have a resilient team. Yes, we’ve had a rough year. We had a good couple games where we fell short a goal or two but it’s good just to see the team start to rebound, hopefully through the end of the season and the Flyers Cup.”