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.

H-H 9 Wissahickon 6

It all came together for Hatboro-Horsham Friday night at a most opportune moment. Nate Nemchinov scored three goals and added an assist while three other players delivered to goals each. The result was a 9-6 win over Wissahickon in a SHSHL American Division matchup at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

The result leaves the Hatters two points clear of the Trojans in the battle for second and third places in the division standings, the last two playoff positions (Plymouth Whitemarsh has already clinched first place).

The two teams both have 7-6 divisional records (both are 7-7 overall) but Hatboro-Horsham has the edge because two of its divisional losses came in overtime.

Nemchinov noted it was a night when all the pieces fit from the Hatters’ point of view.

“We were just playing a team game,” he said, “getting pucks deep and winning board battles. Just doing the little things right and those little things created goals.

The goals came fat and furious early on. The Hatters’ Will Moffa and the Trojans’ Aiden Brooks took turns finding the back of the net before Nemchinov won a pair of battles for loose picks saw him score twice himself and put his team up 3-1 after 17 minutes.

Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith cited his team’s cohesiveness.

“We’ve had several talks with the team about what it takes to be a championship team and win,” he said. ‘I think they realized that some of the one-on-one type play wasn’t effective. Everyone made a strong commitment to come out and play a team game.”

The Hatters’ Vince Graziani and Wissahickon’ Logan Honeycutt traded goals to start the middle period before Victor Wilkins scored and Graziani added a second goal of his own to make it a 7-2 game after 34 minutes.

Joe Gambino offered a response for Wissahickon 79 seconds into the third period but Nemchinov and Moffa continued the Hatters’ goal-scoring barrage. It was 9-3 with 10:51 left in regulation before the Trojans finished the evening with three straight goals.

The final score made the game seem closer than it actually was.

“We showed up to the party much too late,” said Wissahickon coach James Rumsey. “Hatboro-Horsham wanted it more than we did tonight.”

Nemchinov say the Hatters will approach their three remaining games with a playoff mindset.

“They’re all must-win games,” he said. “We’ve got to play these games like they’re playoff games and keep doing the little thing right hopefully clinch the second seed.”

• The Hatters and Trojans will close the regular season against each other on February 19th,

Hatboro-Horsham 3 4 2—9

Wissahickon 1 1 4—6

First-period goals: Will Moffa (HH) from Aiden North, 4:04; Aiden Brooks (W) from Link Matozzo, 8:09; Nate Nemchinov (HH) unassisted, 11:52; Nemchinov (HH) from Reid Rochestie, 14:55

Second-period goals Vince Graziani (HH) from Connor Smith 1:42; Logan Honeycutt (HH) from Ben Raebiger, 2:56; Victor Wilkins (HH) from Brady Gurt, 3:22; Wilkins (HH) from Nemchinov, 6:36; Vince Graziani from North, 8:55

Third-period goals: Joe Gambino (W) from Raebiger, 1:19: Nemchinov (HH) from Darius Graziani, 2:35 (pp); Moffa (HH) from Wilkins, 6:09; Gambino (W) unassisted, 7:59, Gambino (W) from Logan Dicus, 8:39; Brooks (W) unassisted, 9:45

Shots: Hatboro-Horsham 39, Wissahickon 38 Saves: Eric Miller (HH) 32, Fletcher Lynch (W) 30

St. Joseph’s Prep 7 Hun School 2

St. Joseph’s Prep exploded for five goals in a 10-minute span of the third period to pull away from The Hun School and go on to a 7-2 win Friday night at The Skatium to bring down the curtain on the APAC regular-season.

Noah Stuhl scored two goal and delivered two assists for the Hawks who closed their regular season at 10-8 an 5-3 in the APAC.

Bradan Fisher provided a goal and two assists for the Hawks. Frank Ely, Jai Perry-Pereira, Cole Gargon, and Patrick Sweeney also scored goals.      

Nate Trawinski and Jake Beck scored for the Raiders (5-15-2, 0-8).
Perry-Pereira’s goal, which came 90 second into the second period, was the only goal in the game’s first 34 minutes. But the hosts found another gear at the start of the third frame.

Fisher scored just 51 seconds into the period and Sweeney made it a 3-0 game at the 2:52 mark. Ely, Gargon, and Stuhl followed; Stuhl’s goal, which came during a power play, put the Hawks up 6-0 with 6:13 remaining in regulation.

Beck broke the streak with a power-play goal of his own with 5:21 remaining. Trawinski followed just over two minutes later before Stuhl finished the scoring with 34 seconds left.

Declan Geary got the win in goal, making 34 saves along the way.

Both teams will now look ahead to the Founders Cup playoffs. The Raiders, who reseeded fifth, will take on fourth-seeded Malvern Prep on Monday at Ice Line in a play-in game. The third-seeded Hawks will take on second-seeded La Salle in a semifinal game on Wednesday, February 19 at Grundy Arena as part of a doubleheader. The Malvern Prep-Hun School winner will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep in the other semifinal.

Hun School 0 0 2—2

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 6—7

Second-period goal: Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Tristan Winata and Ben Kersun, 1:30

Third-period goals: Bradan Fisher (SP) from Noah Stuhl and Thomas Ely, :51; Patrick Sweeney (SJP) from Michael Washlick, 2:52; Frank Ely (SJP) from Stuhl, 6:19; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Adam Charrafi 6:50; Stuhl (SP) from Fisher, 10:47 (pp); Jake Beck (HS) from Luca Jean, 11:39 (pp); Nathanial Trawinski (HS)  from Beck and Andrew Darst, 12:49;  Stuhl (SJP) from Fisher, 16:26

Shots: Hun School 36, St. Joseph’s Prep 40; Saves: Patrick Donoghue (HS) 33, Declan Geary (SJP) 34

C.B. South 9 Pennsbury 2

Shoot early and shoot often. That’s been a winning formula for Central Bucks South for some time now and that was the case once more on Thursday night. The Titans tallied 52 shots on goal and nine found their intended target in a 9-2 win over Pennsbury at Hatfield Ice Arena.

“That’s classic C.B. South hockey said assistant coach Josh Sklar. “Put pucks in deep. Go get them, put pucks on net. Go to work. Pressure them all game long.”

Joey Slobodrian found the back of the net twice and seven other players scored one goal each to enable the Titans (12-6, 12-3 in the division) to move into third place in the division standings. The result assures they will be seeded no lower than fourth for the upcoming National Division playoffs.

Senior Ryan Frey assisted on Slobodrian’s game-opening goal 6:23 into the first period before scoring a goal of his own just over five minutes later.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” Frey said, “because we might see {Pennsbury} in the playoffs so getting off to a fast start just shows them we’re the better team.”

Ryan Montagna extended South’s lead to 3-0 before the first period ended.

Shane Gleisner got the Falcons (6-11, 6-10 in the division) on the scoreboard five minutes into the second frame but Slobodrian and Dominic Gibson scored goals 52 seconds apart to assert the Titans’ hold on the proceedings. Jacob Sarver’s goal made it 5-2 with 5:43 still to go in the period but the Falcons’ hopes were dashed when Keith Waldron, Jake Stepp, Jeff Kvecher, and Logan Hood all scored for South.

Both teams lost a player when South’s Sean Cutter and            Pennsbury’s Chris Sarver got into a scrap with 10:41 remaining in regulation. Cutter drew a double minor for roughing plus a game misconduct for accumulating four penalties during the game. Sarver was accessed a major penalty for fighting plus am automatic game misconduct.

Both players will serve one-game suspensions but the loss of Sarver, one of the Falcons’ top scorers, will be particularly troublesome when Pennsbury, who is trying to hold on to the division’s final playoff spot, faces division leader North Penn on Wednesday.

“It was not our night,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We played a very poor game in our D-zone and got behind the ball too quick.

“The first three goals were ‘Third guy high’ unmarked That’s simple hockey, you really shouldn’t make the same mistake three times.

“It was not our best. It was a game we would have loved to win. But they executed their game plan and we didn’t.”

Ice chips—Five of the six division playoff qualifiers have been determined. North Penn, Council Rock South, Central Bucks South, Pennridge, and Central Bucks East have all qualified, although seedings have not been finalized. Pennsbury has a three-point edge over Neshaminy for the sixth and final spot. The Falcons and ‘Skins each have two games remaining.

Pennsbury 0 2 0

C.B. South 3 2 4—9

First-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Sean Cutter and Ryan Frey, 6:23; Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian and Alex Cannon, 11:34; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher and Keith Waldron, 15:17

Second-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver, 5:00; Slobodrian (CBS) from Cutter, 7:54; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Logan Hood, 8:46; Jacob Sarver (P) from Logan Weed, 11:17

Third-period goals: Waldron (CBS) from Kvecher and Braxton Lord, 4:42; Jake Stepp (CBS) from Kvecher, 10:56 (pp); Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring, 14:27; Hood (CBS) from Stepp 15:39

Shots: Pennsbury 20, C.B. South 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 43, Ewan McMenemy (CBS) 18

North Penn 5 Council Rock South 3

Samuel Norton did it all for North Penn Wednesday night. The sophomore assisted on the first goal of the night, went on to score three goals himself and helped with a crucial four-minute penalty kill in the third period.

All those elements were part a winning formula as the Knights scored a 5-3 decision in a much-anticipated SHSHL National Division showdown with Council Rock South at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the 11th straight for the Knights (15-2, 14-2 in the division) and lifted then into first place in the division, three points clear of the Golden Hawks (15-2, 14-1) who have a game in hand and three conference games remaining to North Penn’s two.

North Penn also has the inside lane in the race for the top two seeds in the division playoffs, which provide byes into the semifinals.

“It was definitely on our minds, Norton said.

The teams split four goals in the first frame before Norton’s second goal of the night gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with 8:17 left in the middle period. Jordan Sarne responded for South with a power-play goal, his second goal of the night, to tie the game with 2:19 remaining but Norton put North Penn back in front and completed his hat trick when he scored with 6.7 seconds left in the period during a stretch when the Hawks were trying to kill three consecutive penalties.

The game’s most critical sequence commenced with 13:50 left in the third period. North Penn held a 4-3 lead at that point and Norton had already pocketed his three goals but the Knights’ James Boyle was called for two cross checking penalties, giving South a four-minute power play.

At that point, there were some anxious moments behind the North Penn bench.

“They’ve got probably the best power play in the league,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “With [Jake] Weiner and [Jeremy] Rayher and Sarne and [Daniel] Fillipov, and [Jonah] Weston they have a very talented power-play unit when they go out there.

“We did a great job killing that off.”

The threat did not end however when the extended power play expired. The Hawks outshot the Knights 20-8 in the third period but Aidan Quigley stopped everything headed his way.

Cole Pluck added an insurance goal with 3:31 remaining.

{North Penn} played well tonight,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We did not play our best game but that’s only an excuse. North Penn has got a good team.

“I kept telling everybody ‘Listen. We’re not a 14-0 team. We’ve had a couple wins. But we can’t come and play ‘C’ hockey and expect to win games at the end of the year.

“We knew coming into the game it was going to be a challenge,” Norton said. “I think the North Penn boys really performed. It was a solid team game.”

Ice chips—South won the first meeting between the two teams, 6-3 on November … South stands first in the present Class AA Flyers Cup listings. North Penn is ranked third … With two assists on addition to his goal, Pluck went over the 100-point mark for his high-school career.

Council Rock South 2 1 0—3

North Penn 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Declan Leahy (NP from Cole Pluck and Samuel Norton, :21; Jonah Weston (CRS) from Jake Weiner 8:37; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Weiner 9:01; Norton (NP unassisted, 14:32 (sh)

Second-period goals: Norton (NP) from Leahy and Pluck, 8:43; Sarne (CRS) from Weiner, 14:41 (pp); Norton (NP) from James Boyle and Danial Cabrales, 16:54 (pp)

Third-period goal: Pluck (MP) from Leahy, 13:29 (pp)

Shots: Council Rock South 41, North Penn 34; Saves: Ryan Ayala (CRS) 29 Aidan Quigley (NP) 38

Podcasts for a Purpose—A podcast can draw attention to your business, organization.

Contact us here for more information or e-mail us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

Malvern Prep 4 The Hun School 2

Malvern Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit by scoring three times in the first period and going on to a 4-2 APAC win over The Hun School Wednesday afternoon at Ice Land.

The Friars concluded APAC play at 3-5, they stand at 4-10 overall. Then Raiders, who are winless in seven conference starts, stand at 5-14-2 overall.

Luca Jean opened the scoring for Hun School 3:34 into the first period. Ryan Behrle, Gabe Bedwell, and Logan Love  responded for the Friars with the goals coming in a span of 7 minutes, 10 seconds to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage with 4:38 left in the opening session.

Connor Mulligan scored for the Riders to make it a one-goal game with 4:16 left in regulation but Cole Scarbinsky answered for Malvern Prep with 3:04 remaining.

Hun School will face St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night at the Skatium to close out the APAC regular season before squaring off with the Friars once more on Monday at Ice Line (3:30 start) in the Founders Cup playoffs play-in game.

Malvern Prep 3 0 1—4

Hun School 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Luca Jean (HS) from Jake Beck, 3:34; Ryan Behrle (MP) from Quinn Riley and Peter Narog, 5:12; Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Staton Johnson and Andrew Starck, 8:37; Logan Love (MP) from Starck and Johnson, 12:22

Third-period goals: Conor Mulligan (HS) from Evan Koserowski and Bailey Cook, 12:44; Cole Scarinsky (MP) unassisted, 13:56

Shots Malvern Prep 35, Hun School 26: Saves: Riley Doyle (MP) 24, Elliot Wong (HS) 31

SHSHL Update 1-4-25

National Division      W    L    T    PTS  OTW    OTL

X C.R. South (15-1)      14    0    0   53      3        0

X North Penn (14-2)     13    2   0   52       0       1

X C.B. South (11-4)       11    3    0  41        3      0

X Pennridge (10-5)        9   5    0     39       0     3        

C.B. East (8-8)             8    7   0     24        0      0

Pennsbury (5-10)       5    9    0     22       0       2

Neshaminy (5-10)     4    10   0     15       0     1

Souderton (4-10)        4    9    0    12       0     0

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

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

X-Clinched playoff spot

American Division               W    L    T   PTS    OTW    OTL

X@ Plymouth Whitemarsh (14-0)   13  0   0  52   0      0

Wissahickon (7-4)                 7    5    0  27        1     0

Hatboro-Horsham  (6-7)     6   6    0   25          1     2

Springfield (5-8)                   5    8    0    20            1      1

Abington (0-12)                    0   12      0     0          0     0

National Division Scoring        G     A    Pts

Shane Dachwski    Pr              29  23  52

Jeremy Rayher                        26    26  52

Cole Pluck NP                          19     26  45

Samuel Norton NP                  19   22    41

James Rush         Pr                  19   21  40

Jackson Accardi     CRN            23   15  38

Jake Weiner  CRS                     25    11    36

Nolan Shingle  NP                    19    14   33

Jordan Sarne CRS                     13     19   32

Matthew Cross Soud               19     11   30

American Division Scoring           G    A    Pts

Dan Guller      PW                           16  20   46 

Vincent Graziani HH                     15   19  34  

Nathan Nemchinov HH               19    13   32

Blake Ambler PW                         16    12   28

Cooper Kanze  PW                       14    14   28

Owen Quinn Spr.                          11   15   26

Ben Raebiger Wiss                       19   6     25

Victor Wilkins HH                         16    7    23

Darius Graziani   HH                    9    14     23

Logan Honeycutt Wiss.                13     7   20

Luke Smith   PW                           7    13   20

Podcasts for a Purpose—Utilize our podcasting services to promote your business, event, or organization. Contact us here or at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

SHSHL Sets Playoff Dates

The ‘second season’ in the Suburban High School Hockey League will commence on Monday, February 24. Six teams will qualify for the playoffs in the National Division (all are Class AA) and three more in the American Division (Class A).

Two National Division first-round games are set for Opening Night, with the third seed taking on the sixth seed and the fourth seed facing the fifth seed. The winners will advance to the semifinals on Wednesday,  February 26 to join the top two seeds who will receive first-round byes.

The American Division semifinal, matching the second and third seeds, is also set for Wednesday, February 26th; the finals in both classes are set for the following evening, Thursday, February 27th.

SHSHL Playoff results will not impact the seedings and selections for the Flyers Cup tournament, which will be announced on Sunday, February 23, eight days before the start of the tournament.

APAC Playoff Dates Announced

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has announced the schedule for the Founders Cup playoffs, which will commence with the play-in game on Monday, February 10 an continue with the semifinals on Wednesday, February 19 and the Founders Cup final on Wednesday, February 26.

La Salle is the two-time defending champion.

Monday, February 10 at Ice Line

(4) Malvern Prep vs. (5) Hun School 3:30

Wednesday, February 19 at Grundy Arena

(2) La Salle vs. (3) St. Josephs Prep   3:10

Play-in Winner vs, Holy Ghost Prep  5:20

Wednesday, February 26 Site and time TBD

Founders Cup Final hosted by highest seeded finalist