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.

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Hun School 1

It was a first step for a team with lofty ambitions for the days to come. Brady Logue scored twice and three other players contributed one goal each as Holy Ghost Prep downed The Hun School 5-1 Friday night at Grundy Arena.

The win gave the Firebirds (13-4-2, 6-2 in the APAC) the APAC regular-season title, but far more importantly, the top seed for the Founders Cup playoffs next month. The result also solidifies Holy Ghost Prep’s position atop the latest Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings.

The Firebirds are 9-1-1 in their last 11 starts. Their captain, senior defenseman Ryan Lippy says cohesiveness has been at the foundation of that record.

“I think coming together as a team in the locker room {has been a factor},” he said. “We’ve been getting more involved as a team. We can bring it together and make it more of a team so everyone can work together better.”

The hosts were in control from the start. Logue scored the first goal of the game 4:10 into the opening period. Joe Spadaccino made a 2-0 with 4:02 left in the period when he stole the puck at center ice and went in alone on Raider goaltender Elliott Wong.

Logue made a big run of his own less during a power play than two minutes into the second frame when he rocketed down the right wing before dishing off to Anthony Valeriote who finished the play.

William Harmar made it a 4-0 affair with 6:33 left in the period before Jake O’ Connell got Hun School (3-10-2, 0-5) on the scoreboard by beating Firebird goaltender Matt Salita through the five-hole.

Logue’s second goal of the night was the only goal of the third period but the final session did not lack for fireworks. There were 12 penalties called in the period, five of them as the result of a scuffle with 9:11 left in regulation that sent three players to the penalty box.

With 2:44 remaining, Hun School’s Justin Bibeau, who assisted on his team’s goal, was called for spearing and was accessed a major penalty plus a game misconduct.

Senior defenseman Joe Kaufmann, the Firebirds’ alternate captain, stressed the importance of he and his teammates maintaining their poise.

“We kept our composure,” he said. “We tried not to get any guys not able to play in the APAC playoffs.”

Hun School coach Eric Szeker was missing half a dozen players from his lineup due to illness but was pleased with the effort he got from the players who were available.

“You can either show up or decide not to,” he said. “We showed up and tried to play our best.

The Firebirds celebrated the win but Kaufmann was quick to point out there’s a long way to go.

“The job’s not done yet,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of games ahead of us. We’ve got to take it one day at a time.”

• Holy Ghost Prep will host the Founders Cup semifinals on February 19. The semifinal results will factor into the Flyers Cup selection/seeding process.

Hun School 0 1 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Brady Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Joe Spadaccino, 4:10; Spadaccino (HGP) unassisted, 15:20 (sh)

Second-period goals: Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from Logue, 1:51 (pp); William Harmar (HGP) from Nathan Romer, 10:27; Jake O’ Connell (HS) from Justin Bibeau, 15:07

Third-period goal: Logue (HGP) unassisted, 13:31 (sh)

Shots: Hun School 10, Holy Ghost Prep 44; Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 39, Matt Salita (HGP) 9

For more information about The Hun School CLICK HERE

For more information aout Holy Ghost Prep CLICK HERE

APAC Standings 1-24-25

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 (3-9-2) 0 4 0 0 0

C.B. South 4 Pennridge 3

In some aspects, mid-January is the most difficult part of the high-school hockey season. The postseason is still a month away and the players are feeling the grind of the long campaign, particularly if they also play club hockey.

Amidst this atmosphere, Pennridge and Central Bucks South squared off Thursday night at Hatfield Ice in a SHSHL National matchup with potentially long-range implications.

It was the Titans who ground out 4-3 win. Ryan Frey and Jeff Kvecher scored goals 40 seconds apart early in the third period to give South its 11^th victory of the season against five setbacks (11-2 in divisional play).

The Rams, who are listed fifth in the newest Class AA Flyers Cup rankings, slipped to 10-4 overall and 9-4 in the division.

It marked the second time the Titans have bested the Rams; the first was a 5-4 overtime win on November 7. In Kvecher’s view, the caliber of the opponent made Thursday’s win particularly satisfying.

“That’s a tough team,” he said of Pennridge. “They put a lot of pressure on us. They have some great guys that can wheel and we did a great job of shutting them down.

“We also sent a message to the league, and the Flyers Cup, that we’re a top team.”

Thursday game came 72 hours after many of the participants completed a full weekend of club tournament play, a circumstance that required an enhanced level of focus.

“Everyone had to dig deep,” Kvecher said. “Everyone was tired, everyone’s legs were tired. We dug deep and we were able to get the win.”

The Titans once more had to come from behind. Pennridge’s Nolan Shaw delivered the only goal of the first period, a power-play effort 3:51 after the opening faceoff that came while South’s Joe Slobodrian was serving a two-minute sentence.

Kvecher and Slobodrian scored power-play goal two-and-a-half minutes apart to give South the lead 5:09 onto the second period before Ryan Burke tied the game for the Ram three-and-a-half minutes later.

Ryan Frey put the Titans in front for good 49 seconds into the final period. Kvecher extended his team’s lead just 40 seconds later and the insurance proved valuable and necessary; Josh Kelly scored for Pennridge with 8:14 remaining. But Jake Matkowski in the South net and his mates in front of him stood tall the rest of the way.

Josh Sklar was in charge behind the Titan bench Thursday night, replacing the absent Shaun McGinty. He said his team had the energy it needed in the third period.

“They definitely had a little more spring in their step, a little more energy,” he said. “They brought the energy all game long but toward the end [two third-period goals] pushes the boys to finish the game out.”

The Titan had a 47-25 edge in shots. Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna says the Titans’ up-tempo style regularly gives his team problems.

“C.B. South is a bad matchup for us,” he said. “They’ve always been a bad matchup for us. They’re deep, they’re good defensively.

“I say this every time we play them; they’re going to get a lot of shots on us by design … We changed defensively how we were going to do things. I thought we did a really good job defensively keeping pucks out of dangerous area. But, they’re a tough team to play.”

Pennridge 1 1 1—3

C.B. South 0 2 2—4

First-period goal: Nolan Shaw (P) from Nick Young and Landon Bishop, 3:51 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jeff Kvecher (CBS) from Ryan Frey and Joe Slobodrian, 2:34 (pp); Slobodrian (CBS) from Frey, 5:09; Ryan Burke (P) from Shane Dachowki and Jared Garber, 8:42.

Third-period goals: Frey (CBS) from Dominic Gibson and Jamison Crouch, :49; Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring and Ryan Montagna, 1:29 (); Josh Kelly (P) from James Rush and Dachowski, 8:46

Shots: Pennridge 25, C.B. South 47; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 43, Jake Matkowski (CBS) 22

La Salle 3 St. Joseph’s Prep 2 OT

Every second counts in a close game. That was borne out Wednesday afternoon when La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep squared off. Grant LaGreca’s goal with nine tenths of a second remaining in overtime gave the Explorers a 3-2 win at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

With time winding down in the three-on-three overtime LaGreca, stationed just inside the St. Josephs Prep blue line, turned his body sideways and flipped the puck toward the net and past Hawk goalkeeper Declan Geary. His post-goal celebration brought him a minor penalty but the goal and the victory stood.

“It was coming down to the wire,” LaGreca said, and {one of his teammates} was saying ‘Shoot it.’ I just threw it at the net and it found its way through.”

The result kept the Explorers (11-6, 5-2 in the APAC) in the running for the conference regular-season title although their ray of hope is growing dim. La Salle trails Holy Ghost Prep by one point in the APAC standings with one conference game remaining. The Firebirds have the tiebreaker if the teams finish deadlocked.

Michael Zaezycki gave La Salle a 1-0 lead off a setup from Noel Donohue with 1:20 left in the first period. Donohue made it a 2-0 game with 9:13 left in the second stanza.

At that point the Hawks (8-7, 3-3) who had just 14 skaters and a goaltender on hand, seemed to be at a disadvantage. But they took the ice in the third period with what seemed to be a renewed sense of energy.

It took just 73 seconds for Patrick Sweeney to make it a one-goal game. Noah Stuhl followed up with 11:42 remaining in regulation.

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner felt the second period was his team’ best. But momentum shifted after the intermission and ice cut.

“When they got that first one it gave them the momentum that they needed,” Muehlbronner said. “I think we were kind of on our heels a little bit but we managed to come out on top which is what matters the most.”

Ironically in this matchup of rivals, there were no penalties called until La Salle’s Will Gregorio was sent off for slashing with 7:20 left in regulation. The next came 1:08 into overtime when the Hawks’ Frankie Ely was flagged for tripping, giving the Explorers a four-skaters-to-three advantage.

Just s Ely’s penalty expired, Donohue seemingly gave La Salle the win when he launched a rocket from the right wing that beat Geary. But goal was immediately disallowed on the grounds the net had become dislodged.

The countdown to the dramatic finish ensued from there.

Although the Hawks came up short on the scoreboard, St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin was impressed with the effort his team have him.

“I was very proud of the effort our boys put out,” he said. They really paid attention to detail and fought back. It was a tough way to lose but being so shorthanded it was nice to see us compete.”

Jake Rossi got the win in goal, making 27 saves along the way.

“I think {Rossi} was very calm in goal,” Muehlbronner said. “I think that helped keep the guys focused on just trying to get our game back. I do think the seniors did a good job.”

La Salle 1 1 0 1—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Michael Zarycki (L) from Nole Donohue, 15:40

Second-period goal: Donohue (L) Julian Tarsi and Michael Esmond, 7:47

Third-period goals: Patrick Sweeney (SJP) unassisted, 1:13; Noah Stuhl (SJP) from Adam Charrafi, 5:18

Overtime goal: Grant LaGreca (L) from Julian Tarsi, 4:59

Shots: La Salle 38, St. Joseph’s Prep 29; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 27, Declan Geary (SJP) 35

For more information about La Salle College High School CLICK HERE

For more information about St. Joseph’s Prep CLICK HERE

Malvern Prep 4 Hun School 0

Four different player scored goal as Malvern Prep shut out Hun School 4-0 Wednesday afternoon in an APAC game at Ice Line.

The win broke the Friars’ seven-game losing streak and lifted them to 3-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play. The Raiders fell to 3-9-2 and 0-4 in the APAC.

Gabe Bdwell gave his team the lead with a shorthanded goal 8:19 into the first period.

The hosts broke the game open in the third period when Jake Weingartner, Teague Murray, and Finn Gatta scored goals in a span of 7 minutes, 26 seconds.

Matt Crawford earned the shutout in goal with 28 saves.

Hun School 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 1 0 3—4

First-period goal: Gabe Bedwell (MP) unassisted, 8:19 (sh) Teague Murray (MP) from Matt Barbacanem 7:41 (pp); Finn Gatta (MP) from James Young, 11:29

Third-period goals: Jake Weingartner (MP) unassisted, 4:03;

Shots: Hun School 28, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 36, Matt Crawford (MP) 28

Holy Ghost Prep 3 The Hill School 3

The Firebirds and the Blues skated to a draw Wednesday afternoon at the Eccleston Rink on the Hill School campus in Pottstown.

APAC Update 1-21-25

W L Pts OTW OTL

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

La Salle (10-6) 4 2 12 0 0

St. Joseph’s Prep (8-6) 3 2 9 0 0

Malvern Prep (2-7) 1 4 3 0 0

Hun School (3-8-2) 0 3 0 0 0

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts PPG

Brady Logue HGP 7 8 10 18 2.57

Grant LaGreca La 6 8 1 9 1.50

Cole Gagron SJP 5 6 1 7 1.40

Frank Ely La 5 1 5 6 1.20

Michael Zarzycki La 6 4 3 7 1.17

Chase Logue HGP 7 3 4 7 1.00

Anthony Valeriote HGP 7 4 3 7 1.00

Save Percentage GP Shots GA Save %

Jake Rossi La 6 170 12 .929

John Botthof HGP 2 64 5 .922

Patrick Donoghue HS 2 109 10 .908

Declan Geary SJP 4 93 9 .903

Matt Crawford MP 4 120 12 .900

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Jake Rossi La 304 12 2.01

Declan Geary SJP 204 9 2.25

John Botthof HGP 102 5 2.50

Matt Salita HGP 102 5 2.50

Jack Unger HGP 153 8 2.67

Matt Crawford MP 204 12 3.00

SHSHL Update 1-20-25

National Division W L T PTS OTW OTL

C.R. South (14-1) 12 0 0 45 3 0

North Penn (12-2) 11 2 0 45 0 1

Pennridge (10-3) 9 3 0 38 0 2

C.B. South (9-4) 9 2 0 33 3 0

Pennsbury (5-8) 5 7 0 22 0 2

C.B. East (4-8) 4 7 0 16 0 0

Neshaminy (4-7) 3 8 0 13 0 1

Souderton (3-9) 3 8 0 12 0 0

C.R. North (3-10) 3 10 0 12 0 0

C.B. West (0-12) 0 12 0 0 0 0

American Division W L T PTS OTW OTL

Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-0) 10 0 0 40 0 0

Hatboro-Horsham (6-5) 6 4 0 24 1 1

Wissahickon (6-4) 6 3 0 23 1 0

Springfield (2-8) 2 8 0 9 0 1

Abington (0-10) 0 9 0 0 0 0

National Division Scoring G A Pts

Shane Dachwski Pr 28 20 48

Jeremy Rayher 23 22 45

Cole Pluck NP 17 25 42

James Rush Pr 19 20 39

Jackson Accardi CRN 23 15 38

Samuel Norton NP 16 22 38

Jake Weiner CRS 25 11 36

Jordan Sarne CRS 11 19 30

Nolan Shingle NP 17 12 29

Ivan Bondra CRN 16 10 26

Matthew Cross Soud 17 8 25

Landon Bishop Pr 9 16 25

Chris Sarver Pb 10 14 24

American Division Scoring G A Pts

Vincent Graziani HH 14 17 31

Dan Guller PW 10 20 30

Nathan Nemchinov HH 15 12 27

Darius Graziani HH 9 13 22

Ben Raebiger Wiss 16 4 20

Victor Wilkins HH 15 5 20

Cooper Kanze PW 10 9 19

Luke Smith PW 6 12 18

Blake Ambler PW 9 7 16

Devon Prep 3 Malvern Prep 1

Braydon Russo scored three goals in a span of 5:08 in the first period as the Tide bested Malvern Prep 3-1 on Wednesday at Ice Line.

Teague Murray scored for the Friars in the third period.

North Penn 3 C.B. East 1

C.B. East-North Penn

Cole Pluck scored two goals, including the game winner with 7:27 left in the third period, as North Penn bested Central Bucks East 3-1 Wednesday night in a SHSHL National Division skirmish at Hatfield Ice.

The win lifted the Knights (12-2, 11-2 in the division) into a tie for first place in the National Division standings with Council Rock South; the Golden Hawks have a game in hand. North Penn was listed third in the latest set of Class AA Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.
Pluck scored the first goal of the night during a power play when he beat Cole Breen in the East net with 1:20 left in the second period.

The Patriots (4-8, 4-7 in the division) got the equalizer from Jaden Young 37 seconds into the final period.

Pluck’s winning goal came just seconds after the Patriots’ Charlie Keiser was accessed a double-minor penalty for slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct.

Nolan Shingle added the last goal of the night for North Penn with 49 seconds remaining.

“We did a lot of good things offensively and played much better defensively than we did last Friday (in an 8-7 win over Souderton) said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “Central Bucks East is very good defensive team and Breen in goal might be one of the best in the league. I was glad to see the boys continue to work hard offensively and cycle the puck and eventually led to some goals. We spent some time cleaning up our power play at practice and I think it showed with two goals tonight.

“Aidan Quigley stood strong in net for us when needed as well.”

North Penn 0 1 2—3

C.B. East 0 0 1—1

Second-period goal: Cole Pluck (NP) from Declan Leahy, 15:40

Third-period goal: Jaden Young (CBE) unassisted, :37; Pluck (NP) from Chase Kelly Del Ricci and Danial Cabrales; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Samuel Norton, 16:11

Shots: North Penn 36, C.B. East 13 Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 33. Aidan Quigley (NP) 12