St. Josephs Prep 6 Hun School 5

When the final buzzer sounded at the Skatium Friday night, a full range of emotions was on display. Satisfaction, albeit mixed with a healthy dose of concern behind one bench, disappointment and frustration at the other.

John Lynch’ goal just before the buzzer gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 6-5 APAC win over The Hun School.

Lynch’s game winner came amidst a flurry in front of the Hun School net. The referee on the goal line signaled a goal a split second before the buzzer sounded although Raider coach Eric Szeker and his players vigorously disagreed with the call.

The winning goal capped a third period that saw the teams combine for five goals, four of them in a span of 5 minutes, 37 seconds that left the teams deadlocked at 5-5 with 10:56 left in regulation.

The win allowed the Hawks (14-4, 4-3 in the APAC) to leapfrog past Holy Ghost Prep into third place in the conference standings. The Hawks will take second place with a win over La Salle in their APAC finale on Wednesday.

The Friars dropped to 4-10 and concluded conference play at 1-7 but Lynch, one of four St. Joseph’s Prep seniors who was recognized on Senior Night, insisted he and his teammates weren’t overlooking their foe.

“We didn’t take them lightly at all,” he said. “We beat them pretty good the first time (7-2) [but] we knew they’re a good team.

“We could have played better today. We weren’t expecting the game to turn out like this. But we did what we could and we didn’t fall back.

“It was a back-and-forth game the whole time and were came out with the victory.”

Neither team ever led by more than a single goal. Offensive opportunities were abundant. Jake Beck delivered a hat trick for the Raiders. Cole Gargon found the back of the net twice for the Hawks.

There were more offensive opportunities than St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin would have preferred.

“You give up five goals in a hockey game, that’s not going to win anything,” he said. “We were lucky to get a bounce and a couple things went our way and we were able to pull it out. A win is a win, I guess. [But] we’ve got some stuff to clean up.”

The result was a bitter-tasting medicine for Szeker and his players to swallow. A young and injury-riddled Raider squad has played its best hockey of the season this week; it came into Friday’s game off an overtime win over Malvern Prep on Wednesday, Hun School’s first APAC win of the season.

But Szeker is pleased with how his troops have continued to battle despite the loss of several veterans, including captain Ryan Levesque,

“When you’re missing four or five guys that play a lot of hockey, it’s tough,” he said. “But, our guys have stepped up, everyone’s giving us everything, and it’s showing out there.”

Ice chips: The result means the APAC playoff pairings are finalized. Holy Ghost Prep will finish fourth and host Hun School in a play-in game. The winner will face La Salle in one semifinal game on February 21. St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep will meet in the other.

Hun School 1 1 3—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 3—6

First period goals: Michael Castelli (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney and Thomas Ely, 11:54; Jake Beck (HS) from Justin Laplante, 15:05

Second-period goals: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Calum Hartnell, 1:54 (pp); Beck (HS) from Luke Rassier and Charles-Etienne Jett, 5:38 (pp); Beck (HS) from Brendan Marino, 15:18

Third-period goals: Jake Schultz (SJP) from Ben Kersun, :27 (sh); Joachim Neverdahl (HS) from Aidan Shine, 3:26 (pp); Gargon (SJP) from Garett McDonald and John Lynch, 4:49; Caden Kelly (SJP) from Castelli, 5:26; Jack Neckritz (HS) unassisted, 6:04; Lynch (SJP) from Hartnell and Caden Kelly, 0:00 Shots: Hun School 27, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: P.J. Angotti (HS) 19, Jacob Aranda (SJP) 2

Holy Ghost Prep 6 Haverford School 0

Anthony Prete scored two goals and four other players scored one goal each as the Firebirds bested the Fords to win their Senior Night game at Grundy Arena Friday night.

Colin Bara, Patrick Slook, Brendan Schultz, and Joseph Kaufmann all scored for Holy Ghost Prep (9-12), which broke the game open with three goals in the second period.

Dillon Gallagher earned the shutout in goal.

Haverford School 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 1 3 2—6

Hun School 4 Malvern Prep 3 OT

Andrew Darst scored with 1:35 remaining in overtime to give host Hun School a 4-3 win over Malvern Prep Wednesday afternoon in an APAC game at Ice Land.

The win was the first for the Raiders in seven conference starts and lifted them to 4-9 overall.

Brendan Marino tied the game for Hun School with 3:46 left in regulation; the Raiders scored all three of their regulation goals in the third period. Charles-Etienne Jette and Justin Laplante also scored goals for the hosts. Jette added assists on the game tying and game winning goals.

“It was a full team effort,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker. “Every single player who dressed played a role in the victory.

“It was great to see Julien get a win in net as he has been nothing but fantastic for us this season.

“Our seniors led the way, Jette, Marino and Laplante played incredible and it was great seeing Andrew Darst bury the game winner in front of the student section. A well-deserved win for this group, couldn’t be more proud as a coach!

Jonathan Holt scored twice for Malvern Prep, which dropped to 8-7 overall and completed conference play with a 4-4 mark. Teague Murray also scored for the Friars.

Malvern Prep 0 1 2 0—3

Hun School 0 0 3 1—4

Second-period goal: Jonathan Holt (MP) from Henry Tesoriero, 12:36

Third-period goals: Charles-Etienne Jette (HS) from Brendan Marino and Jake O’ Connell, 5:50; Justin Laplante (HS) unassisted, 10:43; Teague Murry (MP) from Aidan Kelly, 11:00; Holt (MP) from Matt Barbacane, 12:13; Marino (HS) from Joachim Neverdal and Jette, 13:14;

Overtime goal: Andrew Darst (HS) from Jette, 3:25

Shots: Malvern Prep 27, Hun School 41; Saves: Matt Crawford (MP) 37, Julian Arsenault (HS) 24

Flyers Cup Rankings

Below are the newest Flyers Cup rankings as of 2-5-24. This is the last set of rankings before the tournament field is announced on Sunday, February 25

Class AAA

La Salle
Malvern Prep
St. Joseph’s Prep
Holy Ghost Prep
Father Judge

Class AA

Pennridge
Council Rock South
Boyertown
Downingtown West
Haverford

Class A
1. Garnet Valley

2. West Chester East

3. Hershey

4. Marple Newrown

5. Lower Dauphin

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
West Chester Henderson
Kingsway

Malvern Prep 2 Holy Ghost Prep 1

WEST GOSHEN—In one sense, it was an unfortunate way for a hockey game to end.

James Young scored in the second round of a shootout to give Malvern Prep a 2-1 win over Holy Ghost Prep Thursday evening at Ice Line. Young’s goal, the only one of the shootout, brought down the curtain on a splendid display of high-school hockey between two teams looking to bolster their positions for the upcoming APAC playoffs and the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

Young, a freshman, noted the importance of a stuck-to-basics approach.

“We’ve got to focus on the goal,” he said. “You’ve got to keep playing and pursue what you want to do.”

The Friars (8-6, 4-3 in the APAC) did just that for 56 minutes and beyond, none more so than their goaltender Matt Crawford, who faced 43 shots and stopped 42 of them; Malvern Prep was outshot 43-27.

“Facing a lot of shots like that isn’t much to me,’ Crawford said. “It’s just a game. It’s keeping me active, it’s keeping my focus on the game.”

Crawford feels he’s more effective when he’s busy.

“As a goalie, getting a lot of shots, you’re always focusing on the next shot,” he said. “So, I feel like when there’s no pressure in the zone it’s a mental struggle.”

Jeremy Jacobs gave Malvern Prep a 1-0 lead with 2:32 left in the second period when he launched a rocket from the top of the slot that beat Holy Ghost Prep netminder Jack Unger. The goal came while the Firebirds’ Matt Cholaj was in the box serving an interference penalty.

Caiden Canale and Brady Doyle assisted on the goal.

Canale, one of six Malvern Prep seniors who were recognized Thursday night, noted that he and his teammates are comfortable in close games.

“It definitely matters,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of games like this this season and we know what it takes. So, we just went out and did everything we could to win.”

Doyle said the goal gave he and his teammates a lift they needed.

“It gave us a huge advantage the rest of the game,” he said. “Our energy was kind of bad to start the game and once we [scored] t was a lot better.”

Unger came up big for his team with 8:29 left in the third frame when he denied Jacobs on a breakaway. That set the stage for A.J. Prete’s game-tying goal with 3:26 remaining.

The Firebirds (7-12, 3-5 in conference) had additional opportunities, but couldn’t solve Crawford a second time. But their coach, John Ritchie, took a lot of positives away from the encounter.

“I thought it was the most complete game we’ve played all year,” he said. “I think after a huge letdown in terms of our effort against St.Joe’s Prep [Wednesday night] I couldn’t have asked for any better response from our guys tonight.

“Unfortunately a couple of the bounces didn’t go our way but Malvern played just as well and kept it close.”

With one APAC game remaining and the postseason to come, Doyle says Thursday’s win will give the Friars an energy boost.

“We’ve got to get the win and carry that momentum with us,” he said.

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 1 0 (0)—1

Malvern Prep 0 1 0 0 (1)—2

Second-period goal: Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Caiden Canale and Brady Doyle, 14:28

Third-period goal: A.J. Prete (HGP) from Chris Marshall and Andrew Morgan, 13:34

Shootout goal: James Young

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 43, Malvern Prep 27; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 26, Matt Crawford (MP) 42

La Salle 7 Hun School 1

Ryan Wiley and Ben Falicki each scored twice as La Salle downed the host Raiders 7-1 Wednesday afternoon in an APAC matchup at Ice Land.

The win lifted the Explorers to 16-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the APAC.

Wiley’s goal just 39 seconds into the first period gave La Salle the early lead; the Explorers broke the game open in the second period when Falicki (twice), Wiley, and Alistair St. Hilaire all scored goals.

Liam Donahue added a goal in the third period.

Justin Laplante scored a third-period goal for Hun School (3-9, 0-6)

La Salle 1 4 2—7

Hun School 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Ryan Wiley (L) unassisted, 0:39

Second-period goals: Ben Falicki (L) from Dean Carvalho, 1:09; Wiley (L) from Charlie Kennedy and Patrick Brace, 1:54 (pp); Falicki (L) from Cameron Ross and Will Gregorio, 4:07 (sh); Alistair St. Hilaire (L) from Julian Tarsi and Gregorio, 16:08

Third-period goals: Liam Donahue (L) from Alex Fusaro and Falicki, :28; Justin Laplante (HS) from Anders Van Raalte, 2:33; Carvalho (L) unassisted, 5:17

Shots: La Salle 43, Hun School 19; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 18, P.J. Angotti (HS) 36

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Holy Ghost Prep 0

Brayden Collins scored two goals to lead the Hawks to the shutout win over the Firebirds on Wednesday in an APAC matchup at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.
The win lifted the Hawks to 12-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Firebirds dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-4 in conference play.

Collins’ two goals gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 2-0 lead 6:14 into the second period. Parker Tumelty and Jake Schultz added goals in the third frame.

Jacob Aranda earned the shutout in goal with a 19-save effort. His teammates supported him by denying the Firebirds on three power-play chances.

“We played a lot better on the penalty kill tonight,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. [Aranda] was sharp tonight. We really played hard in all three zones especially with our offensive forecheck.”

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 0 —0

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 1 2—4

First-period goal: Brayden Collins (SJP) from Cole Gargon and Jake Schultz, 6:51

Second-period goal: Collins (SJP) from Schultz, 6:14

Third-period goals: Parker Tumelty (SJP) from Calum Hartnell, 9:03; Schultz (SJP) from Noah Stuhl, 15:14

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 19, St. Joseph’s Prep 23; Saves: John Botthof (HGP) 19, Jacob Aranda (SJP) 19

APAC Update for 1-30-24

W L OTW OTL Pts GF GA

La Salle (15-2) 6 0 0 0 18 24 5

Malvern Prep (7-6) 3 3 1 1 9 13 15

Holy Ghost Prep (7-10) 3 3 0 0 9 12 14

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-4) 2 3 1 0 5 15 15

Hun School (3-8) 0 3 0 1 1 6 21

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts. PPG

Jeremy Jacobs (MP) 6 4 6 10 1.67

Dan Carvalho (L) 6 3 4 7 1.17

Jake McCaw (HGP) 6 3 3 6 1.00

William Carpenter (L) 6 1 5 6 1.00

Declan Kelly (L) 6 1 5 6 1.00

Ryan Levesque (HS) 5 1 4 5 1.00

Tristan Winata (SJP) 5 5 0 5 1.00

Patrick Brace (L) 6 3 2 5 0.83

Scoring (All Games) GP G A Pts. PPG

Jeremy Jacobs (MP) 13 16 15 31 2.38

Dan Carvalho (L) 17 9 8 17 1.00

Cole Gargon (SJP) 14 9 5 14 1.00

Caiden Canle (MP) 13 6 6 12 0.92

Brayden Collins (SJP) 15 4 9 13 0.87

Tristan Winata (SJP) 14 8 4 12 0.86

Patrick Brace (L) 17 6 8 14 0.82

Jake McCaw (HGP) 16 9 4 13 0.81

Seton Hall Prep 4 Malvern Prep 2

Three first-period goals propelled Seton Hall Prep to a 4-2 won over visiting Malvern Prep in a non-league encounter on Monday.

Christopher McIntyre scored twice in the opening period for the winners while Andrew Tralongo also scored. Matthew Smith added a goal in the third period.

Jeremy Jacobs and Brady Doyle scored for the Friars who stand 7-6 on the season.

APAC Annouces Playoff Dates

The historic Class of 1923 Rink on the University of Pennsylvania campus will be the venue for the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinals on Wednesday, February 21st.

The semifinals will be preceded by a play-in game on a date to be determined, between the teams that finish fourth and fifth in the regular-season standings.

The Founders Cup championship game is tentatively set for Wednesday, February 28^th at the home rink of the highest seeded finalist.