Pennsylvania Class AAA Finals. Sat. 3-21

Holy Ghost Prep vs. Seneca Valley 5:00 at Ice Line

Holy Ghost Prep (20-4)

Coach: John Ritchie

Key players: Chase Logue 29 goals, 7 assists, 36 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-16—27, Anthony Valeriote 8-16-24; Matt Salita .950 save %

Seneca Valley (22-0-1)

Coach: Tyler Mesisca

Key players: Braden Morin 17 goals, 12 assists, 29 points: Jacob Gilbert 10-17-27; John Sroka III 11-15-26; Cooper Hoehn 15-10-25; Chris Nichols .947 save %

Ice chips: This game is a rematch of the Raiders’ 7-2 win a year ago which gave them their first state championship.

The Firebirds, who are 41-9 over the last two seasons, will be seeking the second state title in school history; their first came in 2015.

Since the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference was launched in the 2018-19, three of its teams have won state titles: La Salle in 2019 and ’23, and Malvern Prep in 2021.

La Salle is also the last Class AAA team to successfully defend, in 2009.

La Salle-HGP Rivalry Renews in Class AAA Cup Final

When La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep meet on the ice there is generally something at stake, from an APAC or Flyers Cup title to local bragging rights.

The latest chapter in the rivalry will play out Tuesday night when the fourth-seeded Explorers and the top-seeded Firebirds collide in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final at Hatfield Ice (6:00 start).

Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) is the defending champion while La Salle (8-13) has won 13 Cup titles in its history, more than any other school.

This marks the 10^th time the two schools have met in a Flyers Cup final since 1999; La Salle holds a 6-3 advantage in those games.

As intense as the rivalry is, it is characterized by mutual respect.

La Salle senior forward Luke Baumann is very familiar with the Firebirds.

“Holy Ghost is a great team from top to bottom,” he said. “I have played with or against a lot of their guys in club hockey over the years so I know how talented and competitive they are. They are number two in the state and the number one seed in the Flyers Cup for a reason, and we have a lot of respect for them.

“We also have not forgotten last year’s championship which was a tough loss for the guys who were there.

“At the same time, we have a lot of younger players who are experiencing this for the first time so it is about balancing that motivation with staying focused on the moment.”

Holy Ghost Prep senior forward Jack Gavaghan is anticipating an intense atmosphere at Hatfield Ice.

“The game is going to have high intensity,” he said. “We know they’ve begun to heat up during February and into March. They’re never a team you can take lightly.

“They’ll grind and come out with a push and we have to match that. La Salle is a team you can’t count out but we know we have what it takes to beat them. We’ll set the tone by matching their intensity and then some. Us being familiar with them will work to our advantage as we know what’s coming. We’ll be ready to go.”

The two teams took different paths to reach the finals. As the defending Cup and now two-time APAC champion, Holy Ghost Prep has amassed 40 victories over the past two seasons.

“I think our depth and experience have helped us be successful the past two years,” Gavaghan said.

“Last year we had a senior heavy group who were a big reason we were able to succeed, but we had younger guys following right behind them in a deep playoff run. This year, a lot of us have experienced what it takes to win a Flyers Cup and how difficult it is to win a state championship. That experience has been a key factor in our success this year and helped lead us back to the Flyers Cup championship.”

The Explorers meanwhile, had an up and down campaign but have played much better hockey since the start of 2026; they’ve won five of their last seven games

“I think our turnaround really comes from everything we went through earlier in the season,” Baumann said. “After losing last year’s Flyers Cup championship and graduating a big senior class, we had a young group that needed time to adjust to varsity hockey, the speed, the physicality, and our system. Early on we took some tough losses, but our coaches never let us get discouraged. They have done an unbelievable job keeping us focused, holding us accountable and putting us in the best position to succeed every day. “

The Explorers tend to pick up their level of play after their annual holiday trip and this season was no exception.

“Even though I was hurt at the time, I noticed a big shift in our team after the Rhode Island tournament at the end of December,” Baumann said. “I was only able to watch the games back at our home rink, but you could clearly see the difference in how we were playing before and after. We were more connected, more confident and playing with a lot more structure and energy. As one of only two seniors, I have seen how much this group has matured. The guys who were part of last year’s loss have helped motivate the younger players and over the last two months we have really come together. From January on we have played much more confident and disciplined hockey and that has shown in our results.”

Class AAA Flyers Cup Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3 La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 19-4

Key players: Matt Salita .914 save %; Chase Logue 29 goals, 6 assists, 35 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-15-26; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23

In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals; def. Malvern Prep 3-2 in overtime in semifinals.

3. La Salle

Record 8-13

Key players: Anthony Foster .923 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 7-1-16; Andrew Frantz 4-9-13

In this tournament: Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals; def. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in semifinals

Ice chips: This marks the 10th time Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle have met in a Flyers Cup final, the third time in the last four years. La Salle has a 6-3 edge in those meetings. The Explorers have won 13 Cups in all, including one in Class AA. The Firebirds have won five, including one in Class AA.

APAC Concluding 8th Season This Week

When the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference was launched in the fall of 2018 it was unique in the realm of Philadelphia-area interscholastic hockey; a hockey-only conference comprised of schools where hockey was a full-fledged varsity sport, overseen and supervised by administrators at each member institution; Holy Ghost Prep, Hun School, La Salle, Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep.

Hun School joined the APAC following its second season, the other four institutions have been part of the conference since it was founded.

As the APAC concludes its eighth season this week, with the Class AAA Flyers Cup final on Tuesday between Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle, with the state title hame to follow on Saturday, what was something of an experiment has proven to be an unqualified success, a successful melding of academic, athletic, and spiritual components.

Steve Mackell is in his second season as the Commissioner of the APAC, having succeeded Jim Britt, who had served in the commissioner’s post from the time the alliance was founded.

Mackell, who has had a long career in amateur hockey as a coach and administrator, cited the keys to the APAC’s success.

“I’m honored to be in the shoes of Jim Britt,” he said. “I think that the level of people we’re dealing with, the coaches, understand the game, they understand what they want to do with the kids, to make them men.

“I think it’s a combination of the academic environment and the athletic environment, which puts the APAC at really the echelon of hockey in this area.”

Mackell stresses the importance of the hockey programs at each conference school being a full-fledged varsity under direct institutional supervision.

“I think it’s the key to our conference,” he said, “that this is a varsity sport. The schools all fully back the sport. The student bodies there, the athletic directors there. The principals have been to many of the games and we’re very fortunate to have the support of the schools in our league.

”I think that’s what makes it real easy to deal with them because they can deal with a lot of stuff from an expectation standpoint before they even come into the rink.

{The players and coaches} know what they’re dealing with because they have to answer to people at school as well.”

Mackell is proud of the APAC’s success in helping its student athletes strike a balance among the various components of their lives and achieve success on and off the ice.

“All hockey players have a lot going on.” he said. I think the level of academics, what they need to do to stay in good standing at their schools from an academic standpoint, the spiritual world, and also the athletic side, to play at that level of hockey.

“There’s a lot of juggling that goes on between their club teams, their high-school teams, between their academic lives and their spiritual lives. I think that you see motivated young men that are all looking to move on to the next level, whether it’s in college, whether it’s in {junior hockey}, whether it’s in a different sport, whether it’s no sport, or academics, they understand their high schools are very important to where they are and I think they’re all striving for that.”

Flyers Cup Finals Game Times

Monday, March 16

Class A Final

Hershey vs 2. Penncrest 7:00 at Ice Line PPD to 3-18 7:30 at Ice Line

Tuesday, March 17

Class AAA Final

Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3. La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

Class AA Final

North Penn vs. 2. Boyertown 8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Thursday, March 19

Girls Final

Avon Grove vs. 3. Lower Merion 7:00 at PNY Arena

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Malvern Prep 2 OT

It was an ending fit for a classic. Chase Logue’s goal 6:58 into overtime gave Holy Ghost Prep a 3-2 win over Malvern Prep Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded and defending champion Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) will move on to face La Salle in Tuesday’s championship game at this same venue. La Salle was a 4-1 winner over St. Joseph’s Prep in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The game-winning goal exemplified excellence. The Firebirds’ Lucas Gonzalez made a dash down the left wing and beat a Friar player to a loose puck along the wall at the Malvern Prep blue line. Gonzalez sent a backhand pass cross the ice and found Logue midway between the two circles. Logue unleashed a forehander that beat Malvern Prep goaltender Ryan Caterino.

{Gonzalez} made a great pass,” Logue said. “I saw a chance to go to the net, just took my chance and shot it, and it went in”

For the Firebirds, it was a narrow escape.

The fourth-seeded Friars, who closed their season at 6-12-2, struck first when Andrew Starck beat Holy Ghost Prep netminder Matt Salita 2:20 into the first period.

That opening goal set the tone for the evening.

“I think they were prepared,” Holy Ghost Prep defenseman and captain Chris Marshall said of the Friars. “They were ready to go. Their guys were fired up. They gave us a hell of a game.”

Jake Smaron tied the game for the Firebirds 12:32 into the first frame, but James Young’s solo effort put the Friars up 2-1 2:34 into the middle period.

Logue scored the last goal of regulation with 1:35 left in the second period.

The fact the Firebirds never led in the game until Logue’s game winner was not due to a lack of effort. The victors held a 25-14 advantage in shots over the last two periods of regulation plus overtime. That regulation ended in a deadlock was due in large measure to Caterino’s work in the Friar net; the senior logged 35 saves in his final high-school game,

Sudden-death overtime began with the teams changing ends (thus dealing with long changes) and a regulation-period length 17 minutes on the clock.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie had some instructions for his troops prior to the start of overtime.

“We needed to adjust offensive zone possession,” he said. “They were releasing a guy and taking a cycle off every time.

“We were trying to create some low-to-high chances, with our {defense} because they were just clogging the middle.

“So the biggest thing was keeping our guys steady and controlling our emotions. I think the experience of last year helped us.”

In the end the Firebirds moved on. But the Friars’ effort resonated with everyone in the building.

“This was a resilient group of seniors that held this team together,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “It makes a difference when you have a good senior group, and they were the glue of this team.

“I thought we brought our best effort tonight. Taking Ghost to overtime in a Flyers Cup game; you couldn’t ask more from the boys. I’m proud of where we were tonight.”

Malvern Prep 1 1 0 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 0 1—3

First-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Jake Weingartner and Pax Hoishik, 2:29; Jake Smaron (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 12:32

Second-period goals: James Young (MP) unassisted, 2:34; Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez, 15:25

Overtime goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez 6:58

Shots: Malvern Prep 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38 Saves: Ryan Caterino (MP) 35; Matt Salita (HGP) 25

Flyers Cup Class AAA Semifinals Preview

Thursday, March 12

Holy Ghost Prep vs. 4 Malvern Prep 8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 18-4

Key players: Matt Salita .956 save %; Chase Logue 27 goals, 6 assists, 33 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-12-23; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23

In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals

4. Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 6-11-2

Key players: Ryan Corrado .908 save % Jake Weingartner 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points, Pax Hoishik 7-10-17; Logan Love 4-3-7

In this tournament: Def. Devon Prep 6-4 in quarterfinals

2. St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 3. La Salle 6:30 at Ice Line

2. St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: Charlie Van Kula

Record:17-7

Key players: Declan Geary .929 save %; Cole Gargon 16oals, 13 assists, 29 points; Bradan Fisher 11-14-25; Michael Washlick 9-11-20

In this tournament: Def. Salesianum 8-0 in quarterfinals

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Record: 7-13

Key players: Anthony Foster .918 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 6-8-14; Andrew Frantz 4-8-12

In this tournament; Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals

Ice chips: The four APAC schools in this year’s semifinals have won 14 consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup titles and 17 of the last 18. All told, La Salle has win 13 Flyers Cups (including one in Class AA), Malvern Prep 10, Holy Ghost Prep 5 (one in Class AA) and St. Joseph’s Prep 1.

Malvern Prep won a record five straight Cups from 2001-05.

What Lies Ahead/Flyers Cup Schedule

Here is the schedule for the remainder of the 47th Flyers Cup

Fifteen of the top 16 seeds (four in each classification) have reached the semifinals.

Tuesday March 10

Class A Semifinals

Hershey 7 West Chester East 1

Penncrest 5 Kennett 2

Wednesday, March 11

Girls Semifinals

Avon Grove 9 West Chester East 1

Lower Merion 3 Downingtown West 2

Thursday, March 12

Class AAA Semifinals

Holy Ghost Prep vs 4. Malvern Prep 8:45 at Hatfield Ice
St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 3. La Salle 6:30 at Ice Line

Class AA Semifinals

North Penn vs 5. Downingtown West 6:30 at Hatfield Ice
Boyertown vs 3. Council Rock South 8:30 at Ice Line

Monday, Match 16

Class A Final 6:30 at Ice Line

Tuesday, March 17

Class AA Final TBD at Hatfield

Class AAA Final TBD at Hatfield

Thursday, March 19

Girls Final 7:00 at PNY

La Salle 6 Father Judge 2

The idea that {insert a postseason tournament here} is a new season is, in most instances, an overused cliché. But it’s a concept that the La Salle Explorers can embrace, particularly after Tuesday night. After a season that featured an abundance of frustration and disappointment, the Explorers put all the pieces together on the biggest stage in local scholastic hockey.

The result was a 6-3 win over Father Judge in the opening round of the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice. The win sends the third-seeded Explorers (7-13) into the semifinals next Thursday, March 12 against St. Joseph’s Prep. Sixth-seeded Father Judge ends its season at 13-10-1.

Junior forward Patrick Lunsford scored two of La Salle’s goals. He noted that the underclassmen in the lineup needed some time to adjust to the Flyers Cup environment.

“I think some of the guys at the beginning had a little bit of the jitters,” he said. “But as the game went on I think we really adapted and it worked out well for us.”

It was the Crusaders who scored first. Nolan Rauch launched a shot from the left point that found its way through a sea of legs all the way to the back of the net, giving Judge the lead with 1:34 remaining in the first period.

It took Lunsford just 13 seconds to answer and the opening period ended deadlocked, in no small measure because of the work La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster who made some quality saves in the opening session.

Thomas Leonards and John Greenwalt added goals in the second period to extends La Salle’s lead. The Explorers seemed to grow more comfortable with each shift.

“I think they definitely settled in a little bit,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “They started to make some better decisions with the puck and we started to get a little rhythm going.

Mathew Jones and Luke Bauman extended. the Explorers’ lead with goals early in the third period. Jake Proud added a power-play goal for Judge with 4:42 left to remind the Explorers they had to keep concentrating, but Nolan Hirska answered with a power-play goal of his own to complete the scoring.

The only negative on the La Salle side of the scoresheet was the eight minor penalties the Explorers took.

“We were in the box way too much,” Muehlbronner said.

But there will be another game to play, and the Flyers Cup title is still within reach.

Lunsford, despite whatever doubts he may have had, has always had faith in his teammates and coaches.

“I had belief in the team,” that we would get here,” he said, “and we’ve gotten to this point. We’ve just got to keep going.”

• St. Joseph’s Prep, the second seed in the tournament, bested seenth-seeded Salesianum 8-0 in another quarterfinal game on Tuesday

Father Judge 1 0 1—2

La Salle 1 2 3—6

First-period goals: Nolan Rauch (FJ) from Jake Proud. 15:26; Patrick Lunsford (L) from Bill Podulka, 15:39

Second-period goals: Thomas Leonards (L) from Andrew Frantz and John Greennwalt, 3:00; Greenwalt (L) unassisted, 14:27 (pp)

Third-period goals: Matthew Jones (L)from Luke Bauman and Matt Martin, 2:08; Lunsford (L) from Padilla, 9:11; Proud (FJ) from Rauch and Gavin Culver, 12:18 (pp); Nolan. Hirshka (L) from Thomas Leonards, 14:36 (pp)

Shots: Father Judge 34, La Salle 36; Saves: Jonathan Dilliplane (FJ) 30, Anthony Foster (L) 32

Holy Ghost Prep 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

It took longer to get to the finish line than expected. But the wait was worth it

Holy Ghost Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score a 4-1 over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday evening and successfully defend its Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Founders Cup championship.

The game was delayed 23 minutes early in the third period and the Firebirds leading 2-1 due to a hole in the ice that forced the contest to be moved from the B Rink at Grundy Arena, to the A Rink in the front half of the building.

The top-seeded Firebirds (18-4) adapted quickly to their new surroundings and extended their lead with two additional goals.

“It’s amazing,” said senior forward Anthony Valeriote. “This is what we’ve worked for all year. We went undefeated in the APAC and now that we’ve finally won it, it’s exciting, but it’s like a relief. We know we did it, but the bottom line is we’ve still got a Flyers Cup to win.”

The third-seeded Hawks (16-7) struck first, 5:22 into the opening period. Cole Gargon made a move down the right wing that led to Michael Castelli beating Firebird netminder Matt Salita from close range.

But that was all the Hawks could muster offensively.

“They have a good goalie,” said Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. “It’s a matter of making it hard on him.

“We probably played a solid game. it is hard to win championships, harder to beat teams like Ghost.”

The Firebirds picked up pace later in the opening period. Billy Harmar tied the game when he finished a play that started behind the Prep by converting a setup from Valeriote.

Chase Logue made it a 2-1 game 36 seconds later and it stayed that way into the early moments of the third period until, with 13:23 remaining in the third period, Proceedings came to a halt. One of the linesmen discovered a large hole in the ice along the wall near the blue line directly across the ice from the Firebirds’ bench.

A series of conversations followed that at various points included the coaches, Holy Ghost Prep Assistant Athletic Director Gump Whiteside, and APAC Commissioner Steve Mackell. There were also some unsuccessful efforts to patch the hole. After a 15-minute wait, the decision was made to continue the game in the A Rink.

The hosts responded with goals from Mason Thomas and Chase Logue in a span of 2:25.

Senior defenseman Chris Marshall, the Firebirds’ captain, said he and his teammates stayed focused during the stoppage.

“Our guys stayed locked in,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t get unfocused. We were ready to ho. We came out pumping in the third.”

The Hawks had some quality chances after play was resumed but Salita stood tall in goal; he finished with 24 saves.

“I thought we were really rolling certainly in the first two periods,” Van Kula said. “I thought the first few shifts in the third we kept up the pace and we were just kind of a step slower after that. Both teams had to deal with the delay so I don’t want to blame it on that but it did seem like we were a little more flat footed coming out of that.”

• Both teams will move on to the Class AAA Flyers Cup. Holy Ghost Prep, the top seed in the field of seven and defending champion, has a bye into the semifinals and will face either fourth seed Malvern Prep or fifth seed Devon Prep on Thursday, March 12. The Hawks, the second seed, will take on seventh-seeded Salesianum in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 3.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Michael Castelli (SJP) from Ben Judson ands Cole Garson, 5:22; Billy Harmar (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Chris Marshall, 10:38 (pp); Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Helms, 11:14;

Third-period goals: Mason Thomas (HGP) from Harmar and John Gavaghan, 10:27; Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez ands Josh Zdunkiewicz 12:52 (pp)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 25, Holy Ghost Prep 25 Saves: Declan Geary(HGP) 21, Matt Salita (HGP) 24