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 vs 4. West Chester East 6:00 at PNY
Downingtown West vs 3. Lower Merion 7:45 at PNY

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

APAC Championship Preview

Wednesday, February 25

APAC Founders Cup Championship Game

Holy Ghost Prep vs 3. St. Joseph’s Prep

4:00 at Grundy Arena

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 17-4

Key Players: Chase Logue 25 goals, 6 assists, 31 points in all competitions; Lucas Gonzalez 11-11-22; Antony Valeriote 7-15-22; Chris Marshall 7-12-19; Matt Salita .956 save % 1.00 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: Charlie Van Kula

Record: 16-6

Key players: Cole Gargon 14 goals, 26 assists, 42 points in all competitions; Bradan Fisher 10-13-23; Michael Waslick 9-9-18; Adam Charrafi 7-10-17; Declan Geary .930 save %, 1.61 GAA

This season:

12-17 Holy Ghost Prep 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

2-4 Holy Ghost Prep 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Ice chips: This game marks the conclusion of the APAC’s eighth season … The Firebirds, who are the defending conference champions, also reached the finals in 2019, ’20, and ’23, losing to La Salle each time …The Hawks’ only previous trip to the Founders Cup final came in 2020 when they lost to La Salle.

The Firebirds are seeded first for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup and the Hawks are seeded second. Those seedings will not be impacted by the results of this game.

Flyers Cup Seedings 2026

Forty-two teams have been selected for the 47^th edition of the Flyers Cup tournament. Action will begin on Monday, March 2.

The Class AAA and girls’ brackets will be comprised of seven teams each. There will be 16 teams in Class AA and 12 in Class A.

Here are the matchups and seedings. Game sites and times will be added when available.

Class AAA 7 teams

1 Holy Ghost Prep bye

4 Malvern Prep vs 5 Devon Prep

3 La Salle vs 6 Father Judge

2 St. Joseph’s Prep vs 7 Salesianum

Class AA 16 teams

1 North Penn vs 16 Shawnee

8 Owen J. Roberts vs 9 Avon Grove

4 Conestoga vs 13 Central Bucks East

5 Downingtown West vs 12 Pennridge

2 Boyertown vs 15 Souderton

7 Haverford vs 10 Pennsbury

3 Council Rock South vs 14 Spring-Ford

6 Central Bucks South vs 11 Downingtown East

Class A 12 teams

1 Hershey bye

8 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 9 West Chester Henderson

4 West Chester East bye

5 Marple Newtown vs 12 West Chester Rustin

2 Penncrest bye

7 Garnett Valley vs. 10 Palmyra

3 Kennett bye

6 Hatboro-Horsham vs 11 Radnor

Girls 7 Teams

1 Avon Grove bye

4 Conestoga vs 5 West Chester East

2 Downingtown West vs 7 Pennridge

3 Lower Merion Maroon vs 6 Radnor

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Malvern Prep 0

For most of the evening, it was a goaltending dual. But eventually, Holy Ghost Prep found the answers it was looking for. The Firebirds scored three times in the third period to post a 3-0 shutout over Malvern Prep at Ice Line.

Top-seeded and defending APAC champion Holy Ghost Prep (16-4) will host Sr. Joseph’s Prep next Wednesday afternoon at Grundy Arena at 4 p.m. with the Founders Cup at stake. Fifth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-11-2) will find out where it will be seeded for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

For most of the evening, Firebird netminder Matt Salita and Ike Matoney, his Malvern Prep counterpart, occupied center stage. Both were tested and for 34 minutes, both were perfect.

“It’s a lot of fun to go back and forth with another good goalie,” Salita said. “I thought he played pretty well.”

After the post-second period ice cut, the Firebirds returned for the third period energized.

“During intermission, Coach {John Ritchie} kind of gave us a wakeup call,” Salita said. ‘We kind of listened and we kind of simplified what we were going to do,

The retooling paid off. Lucas Gonzalez finally solved Matoney with a shot from long range, 3:01 into the final period. Nathan Romer followed at 8:53 and Billy Harmar finished the scoring with a power-play effort at 14:23.

“I thought we started off a little flat,” Salita said, “but we did our jobs in the third and got the job done.”

Ritchie made it clear to his team that despite an unblemished APAC record (9-0 including Wednesdays game) the road will only get tougher for the reigning APAC and Flyers Cup champions and that this is a new year.

“Last year, we took a couple losses at the beginning of the year,” he said, “and I think that helped fuel us.

“We’ve been in tight games, but we’ve come out on top all year {In conference play}. We’re seeing teams for the third and fourth time (Wednesday’s game was the fourth between the Firebirds and the Friars}. Every game is going to be tighter. There are no secrets. Everybody knows what everybody has.

Malvern came out with a games plan and I thought they did really, really well for most of the game.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan echoed those sentiments.

“I thought we came out strong,” he said. “Our message was to match their intensity and match their physicality. I thought we did that for two periods.

The first two periods were tight, they were close. It went back and forth, there was pressure each way. In the third period, they just outmatched us a little bit. They got a goal quick and we couldn’t recover.”

Malvern Prep 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 3—3

Third-period goals: Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 3:01; Nathan Romer (HGP) from John Gavaghan and Brady Flynn, 8:53; Billy Harmar (HGP) from Chris Marshall and Chase Logue. 14:23 (pp) Sots; Saves: Malvern Prep 18, Hoy Ghost Prep 32; Saves: Ike Matoney (MP) 29, Matt Salita (HGP) 18

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Hun School 2

There was an abundance of emotion on display at Ice Line Wednesday evening following the APAC semifinal between St. Joseph’s Prep and The Hun School. The Hawks earned the right to play for a conference title while the Raiders were a study in frustration, wondering what might have been.

Four different Prep players scored goals as the third-seeded Hawks (16-6) prevailed 4-2 to advance to next Wednesday’s Founders Cup championship game against top-seeded defending champion Holy Ghost Prep at Grundy Arena (game time 4 p.m.). They will learn Sunday where they are seeded for next month’s Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

Second-seeded Hun School closes the season at 13-13. The Raiders will not compete in the Flyers Cup due to s School policy that dictates when their season must end.

The most prominent numbers on the scoresheet Wednesday afternoon revolved around penalties. The officials called 25 minor penalties, 15 of them against the Raiders, who spent much of the afternoon skating uphill.

Hun School coach N.G. Welsh noted the impact of the numerous penalties.

“It was trying different line combination,” he said. “Trying different things. A guy is in the box, so this line can’t go. This guy is in the box so this guy can’t go.

“You’re putting out every single option you have at your disposal hoping something works. Today, it didn’t.”

Three of the four Prep goals came on power plays.

One Raider goal came when they were enjoying a two-man advantage the other while they were shorthanded.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula noted the impact of special teams, both pro and con.

“I don’t think our power play was quite as crisp as it has been,” he said. “It worked out enough times to make it successful.

“Our PK has been a staple all year. One kind of broke down from being five-on-three for so long. Otherwise, I thought they really stuck to what we do well.

Cole Gargon scored the Hawks’ first goal with 1:07 left in the first period. Vince Burnett made it 2-0 with 2:42 left in the second frame.

Zachary Vallee made it a 2-1 game when he scored for the Raiders on a shorthanded breakaway with 1:23 left in the period but Michael Castelli made it a two-goal game once more before the period ended.

Jason Kelly-LePage kept Hun School in the game with a power-play goal 7:10 into the final period but Michael Washlick shut the door at the 11:28 mark.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 1—4

The Hun School 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely and Adam Charrafi, 15:53 (pp)

Second-period goals: Vince Burnett (SJP) from Jake Ely and Charrafi, 14:18; Zachary Vallee (HS) unassisted, 15:37 (sh); Michael Castelli (SJP) from Ben Kurson, 16:08 (pp);

Third-period goals: Jason Kelly-LePage (HS) from Conor Mulligan, 7:10 (pp); Michael Washlick (SJP) from Charaffi and J. Ely, 11:28 (pp)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 40, Hun School 12: Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 10, Blake Echternacht (HS) 10

APAC Founders Cup Playoff Preview

The APAC’s Founders Cup semifinals are set for Wednesday at Ice Line. Second seed Hun School will face third seed St. Joseph’s Prep in the 3:30 opener. Top seed and defending champion Holy Ghost Prep will go against fifth seed Malvern Prep at approximately 5:45.

The Founders Cup championship game is set for next Wednesday, February 25 and will be hosted by the highest-seeded finalist.

Here’s how the teams match up. The statistics listed below are for APAC games only.

Hun School (2)

Coach: N.G. Welsh

Record: 13-12, 4-4 in APAC

Key Players: Jr. Zachary Vallee 8 goals, 2 assists, 10 points; Sr. Luca Jean 3-3-6; Elliot Trottier .917 save %, 2.45 GAA; Blake Echternacht .915 save &, 2.71 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep (3)

Coach: Charlie Van Kuna

Record: 15-6, 4-4 in APAC

Key Players: Jake Ely 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points; Jr. Cole Gargon 4-1-5; Sr. Bradan Fisher 1-4-5;. Jr. Declan Geary .908 save &, 2.31 GAA

This season:

12-10 Hun School 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

12-29 St. Joseph’s Prep 3 Hun School 2 (Purple Puck final)

1-13 Hun School 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 3

Holy Ghost Prep (1)

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 16-4, 8-0 in APAC

Key Players: Sr. Lucas Gonalez 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points; Jr. Chase Logue 9-1-10; Sr. Anthony Valeriote 1-7-8; Jr. Matt Salita .971 save &, 0.67 GAA

Malvern Prep (5)

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 5-10-2, 2-6 in APAC

Key Players: Sr. Pax Hoishik 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points: So. Jake Weingartner 4-7-11; Sr. Ryan Caterino .921 Save %, 2.34 GAA

This season

11-19 Holy Ghost Prep 4 Malvern Prep 1

12-3 Holy Ghost Prep 2 Malvern Prep 0

Past APAC Champions

2025 Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 4

2024 La Salle 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

2023 La Salle 7 Holy Ghost Prep 3

2022 Malvern Prep 4 La Salle 1

2021 La Salle and Malvern Prep declared co-champions

2020 La Salle 4 HGP 1

2019 La Salle 6 Holy Ghost Prep 3

Vallee Making a Big Impact at The Hun School

Zachary Vallee has experienced some changes in his life of late. Vallee enrolled at The Hun School as a junior this past fall and is making a big impact for the Raiders on the ice.

In eight APAC games, he’s scored eight goals and added two assists; his 10 points tied him for the conference lead in scoring. His contributions have helped his team to a 13-12 overall record; its best since Hun School joined the APAC for the 2021-22 season.

The Raiders will face St. Joseph’s Prep in a Founders Cup playoff semifinal Wednesday afternoon at Ice Line (3:30 start).

Hun School coach N.G. Welsh has rotated Vallee through the lineup.

“I think he’s adaptable,” Welsh said. We’ve had him on lines with probably six or seven guys this year. We haven’t had him out there with the same two all year.

“He’s very adaptable to whoever he plays with. He picks up off those guys and he works with them well and then I think he’s just been a good fit for the team. He’s got a great work ethic and He wants to win just as bad as anybody else, which are two things we always look for.

Vallee says the formula to this season’s success has revolved around he and his teammates doing the little things well.

“We’re doing the little things that we work in practice,” he said. “Working the little things out makes the team win.”

A native of Pont-Rouge, Quebec, a town of roughly 10,000 located some 25 miles southwest of Quebec City, Vallee learned about Hun School via a hockey showcase.

“I got recruited through a showcase in Montreal,” he said. “I already had some interest in going to a prep school. {Hun School} reached out to me and I just decided to go there.”

Once he arrived on the Hun School campus, Vallee adapted to the English-speaking/American culture with little difficulty.

“It took me about two weeks to really switch up in English and everything,” he said. That was my only concern. Making friends has always been easy for me so it was just language-wise.”

This year’s Hun School roster includes five players from Quebec. Welsh says the school provides support to help them with their transition.

“We’ve got two or three kids every year that come down,” he said, “and it’s a lot on them that first semester. We try to help them out as much as we can that first semester even though we’re not in hockey season to get them set up for success, learn how the school works.”

Welsh points out that Vallee had to adjust to doing his academic work in English.

“He’s got to put extra time into it, just because English is not his first language,” he said, “and its challenging to do homework in your second language.

“And so, time management is important for all of those {players from Quebec}, it takes them a little bit longer to do the work than the standard player here.”

Vallee makes it a point to hit the books whenever time allows.

“When we go to away, games, I usually study on the bus back and forth,” he said. “Trying to find time to study when you go away, after practices. During free blocks, we go to the library and study.”

Malvern Prep 2 La Salle 0

The pieces all fit for Malvern Prep Wednesday afternoon. And once connected, they formed a route to a very big win.

House Young scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and Andrew Starck added an empty-netter in the final minute as the Friars bested La Salle 2-0 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference play-in game at Hatfield Ice.

Fifth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-10-2), which had lost eight straight games, will advance to next Wednesday’ APAC semifinals where it will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (5:30 at Ice Line). Fourth seed La Salle (6-13) will now sit until the Class AAA Flyers Cup Tournament begins in approximately three weeks.

Senior defenseman Logan Love said he and his Friar teammates came into Wednesday’s game in need of a lift.

“We’ve been really down in the dumps the past couple games,” he said. “We had a good practice Monday and that really helped going into this game.”

Senior forward Pax Hoishik, who assisted on Starck’s goal, said the key to the win was he and his teammates working hard for a full 51 minutes.

“Especially in the games we lost, we always played on or two periods,” he said, “and obviously, it showed that that’s not enough.

“We came out tonight and everyone was ready before the game which was another thing we needed to work on; we got it done and played a full three.

Young’s goal came off large scrum in front of La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster. Young delivered his shot from the inside edge of the left circle and put the puck in the left side of the net. Foster was hampered by the traffic in front and had little if any chance to deny him.

“A big thing for our team is getting one,’ Hoishik said, “and then hemming them in. Obviously, that’s what we did. We were able to keep them in their zone for a majority of the game.”

At the other end of the ice, Ike Matoney was perfect, making 26 saves in the Friar net. The sophomore has played sparingly this but came up big on this occasion.

“He hasn’t had many games this year,” Hoishik said, “but we wanted to give him a test and he performed the way we were hoping. It was good to see that.”

For La Salle, it was another blow in what has been a disappointing season.

“We were outplayed for the first two periods,” said Explorer head coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We didn’t have a whole lot of jump. It certainly wasn’t the way we’ve been playing of late. We’ve been playing a lot better with a lot more tempo and a lot more consistency throughout the lineup.

“We just didn’t have any sustained pressure, not a lot of great opportunities.”

• The win was Malvern Prep’s first since December 17…Next Wednesday’s other semifinal will match second seed Hun School and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep at 3:30 at Ice Line.

Malvern Prep. 0 1 1—2

La Salle 0 0 0—0

Second-period goal: House Young (MP) from Jake Weingartner, 9:38 (pp)

Third period goal: Andrew Starck (MP) from Pax Hoishik, 16:11

Shots; Malvern Prep 30, La Salle 26; Saves: Ike Matoney (MP) 26, Anthony Foster (L) 28