Category: Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

Holy Ghost Prep 2 Hun School 0

Joe Spadaccino and Jake McCaw scored third-period goals as Holy Ghost Prep bested The Hun School 2-0 Friday night in an APAC matchup at Grundy Arena.

With the win, the Firebirds improved to 3-3 in APAC play and 7-10 overall; they’ve won three of their last four starts. Hun School slipped to 0-5 in conference play and 4-7 overall.

The two goals were the difference in a battle between the goaltenders. The Firebirds’ Jack Unger turned aside 19 shots while the Raiders’ Julian Arsenault finished with 29 saves.

Spadaccino’s goal came with 4:57 left in regulation off a feed from McCaw, who added an insurance goal during a power play with 41 seconds left.

“Today was a total team effort,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie, “with a lot of guys stepping up. I think again we did a really good job of controlling possession, getting shots to the net and ultimately we were able to wear them down, but their goaltender again, played really really strong.

“It’s very difficult to beat a team twice in one week period. So I’m proud that my guys are starting to figure out ways to get some wins. As always we need to get better in a couple other areas, but for tonight I’m very happy with the effort and I’m very proud of the win.”

Hun School 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 0—2

Third-period goals: Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Jake McCaw, 12:03; McCaw (HGP) unassisted, 16:19 (pp)

Shots: Hun School 19, Holy Ghost Prep 31; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 29, Jack Unger (HGP) 19

La Salle 3 Malern Prep 0

Alistaire St. Hilaire, Charlie Kennedy, and Patrick Brace scored goals as La Salle bested Malvern Prep 3-0 Wednesday afternoon in an APAC matchup at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the sixth for the Explorers in conference play without defeat and assured them of the regular-season title and the top seed for the Founders Cup playoffs next month.

Alistaire St. Hilaire got things started for the Explorers (15-2 overall) when he beat Matt Crawford in the Malvern Prep net with 41 seconds left in the opening period with help from Dean Carvalho and Logan Dicus.

Charlie Kennedy made it a 2-0 game 7:16 into the second session with assists from Ryan Wiley and Thomas Doucet.

Wiley went on to assist Brace on the final goal of the afternoon which came with eight seconds left on regulation.

At the other end of the ice, Jake Rossi was impregnable; he turned aside 23 shots without a blemish.

The Explorers have allowed just five goals on six conference games,

Matt Crawford, his counterpart with the Friars (7-5, 2-3 in conference) was also stellar; he finished with 40 saves.

Malvern Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 1 1 1—3

First-period goal: Alistaire St. Hilaire (L) from Dean Carvalho and Logan Dicus, 16:19

Second-period goal: Charlie Kennedy (L) from Ryan Wiley and Thomas Doucet, 7:16 (pp)

Third-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Wiley, 16:52

Shots: La Salle 43, Malvern Prep 23; Saves: Matt Crawford (MP) 40, Jake Rossi (L) 23

APAC Update for 1-16

                                           W    L OTW  OTL    Pts    GF    GA

La Salle (14-2)                   5    0    0      0         15     21      5

Malvern Prep (7-4)          2    2    1      1         6        9       11

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-2)   2   2    1      0         5        14   11

Holy Ghost Prep (5-10)   1   3     0     0         3        7       12

Hun School (3-6)             0   3    0     1         1         4        16

* Scoring                     GP    G   A    Pts    PPG

Jeremy Jacobs (MP)   4      4    2     6      1.50

Tristan Winata (SJP   4      5    0     5       1.25

Will Carpenter (Ls)     5      1    5     6      1.20

Declan Kelly (Ls)         5       1    5    6       1.20

Dean Carvalho (Ls)     5      3    3     6     1.20

Will Gregorio (Ls)       5      1    3     4      0.80

Julian Tarsi (Ls)           5       3    1    4       0.80

Patrick Brace              5       2     2    4      .080

conference games only

Flyers Cup Rankings

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its second set of rankings for the 2023-24 season. Rankings are based on a team’s on-ice performance and observations of committee members.

The Flyers Cup is an invitational tournament. There are no automatic qualifiers.


AAA

  1. La Salle (APAC)
  2. Malvern Prep (APAC)
  3. St. Joes Prep (APAC)
  4. Salesianum (ICSHL)
  5. Father Judge (ICSHL)

AA

  1. Pennridge (SHSHL)
  2. Council Rock South (SHSHL)
  3. Boyertown (ICSHL)
  4. Central Bucks South (SHSHL)
  5. Downingtown West (ICSHL)

A

  1. West Chester East (ICSHL)
  2. Garnet Valley (ICSHL)
  3. Marple Newtown (ICSHL)
  4. Lower Dauphin (CPIHL)
  5. Penncrest (ICSHL)

Girls

  1. Avon Grove (ICSHL)
  2. Downingtown West (ICSHL)
  3. West Chester Henderson (ICSHL)
  4. Kingsway (ICSHL)
  5. Conestoga (ICSHL)

La Salle 5 Holy Ghost Prep 2

SCHWENKSVILLE—LaSalle tightened its hold on the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference lead Wednesday night. The Explorers scored twice before the game was two-and-a-half minutes old and went on post a 5-2 in over Holy Ghost Prep in the APAC Winter Classic before an engaged but subdued audience at the Spring Mountain resort.

The win kept La Salle perfect in APAC play at 5-0 and improved its overall mark to 14-2; the Explorers have won seven of their last eight starts,

The Firebirds dropped to 5-10 overall an 1-3 in the APAC.

The Explorers took command early on. Ryan Wiley beat Firebird goaltender John Botthof just 81 seconds after the opening faceoff. Ben Fralicki made it a 2-0 game 59 seconds after that on what appeared to be a harmless flick from the right faceoff circle that Botthof appeared to lose sight of.

For the remainder of the first period and all of the second the Explorers never looked back. Grant LaGrecca and Julian Tarsi added second-period goals to send Bottoff to the bench while La Salle netminder Jake Rossi and his defense corps kept the Firebirds at bay, limiting then to just seven shots over two periods. One of them, from Patrick Slook, found the back of the net with 5:38 left in the second session.

Holy Ghost Prep started the final period with a 1minute, 28-second man advantage but couldn’t capitalize on it. the power-play chance did set the tone for the third period however Emotions boiled over, keeping the referees busy; they called nine penalties in the final 17 minutes six of them against La Salle.

Brian Kinniry drew the Firebirds closer when he scored with 7:40 remaining while his team was enjoying a two-man advantage. But Holy Ghost Prep couldn’t get any closer.

Liam Donahue finished the scoring for La Salle with an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining.

“I think we did a pretty good job killing penalties,” said Explorer head coach Wally Muehllbronner. “I’ll leave it at that.”

The Explorers have played seven games since December 21 leaving virtually no time for practice. With just two games scheduled the rest of January, Muehlbronner is looking forward to doing some fine tuning with his players.

“We’re going to get into a good stretch where we’re going to have quite a few more practices,” he said. “Honestly, we haven’t had a practice on probably a month.”

Holy Ghost Prep finished with just 17 shots on goal.

Firebird coach John Ritchie was straightforward when accessing his team’s performance.

“I was very disappointed in the effort and the attitude of our team today,” he said.

Ice chips—The first game of the scheduled doubleheader between St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep was postponed. That game has been rescheduled for February 5 at Spring Mountain.

La Salle 2 2 1—5

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2

First-period goals: Ryan Wiley (L) from Patrick Brace and Charles Budd, 1:21; Ben Falicki (L) from Liam Donahue and Declan Kelly, 2:20

Second-period goals: Grant LaGreca (L) from Cameron Ross and Will Carpenter, 3:12; Julian Tarsi (L) from Carpenter, 9:37 (pp); Patrick Slook (HGP) from Ryan Lippy and Anthony Valeriote 11:22

Third-period goals: Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Patryk Oszer and Joseph Kaufmann, 9:20 (pp); Liam Donahue (L) unassisted, 16:52 (en)

Shots: La Salle 27, Holy Ghost Prep 17; Saves; Jake Rossi (L) 15, John Botthof (HGP) 20 and Jack Unger (HGP) 3

Firebirds Using Hockey to Serve

The Holy Ghost Prep hockey team returned home from its post-New Year’s trip to Pittsburgh with a sense of accomplishment that went far beyond the two victories they achieved on the ice.

The Firebirds spent time with the students at the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, a school for speech and hearing impaired students in grades K-8. The institution focuses on teaching its students, among other things, how to use Cochlear implants.

The Firebirds made the trip as part of the Spiritan Immersion Program a community service initiative that is at the core of Holy Ghost Prep’s educational and spiritual mission.

The Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds

The hockey players spent time in the classroom and on the ice with the DePaul students. Senior Pat Slook talked about the experience.

“We got to walk around the school and meet some of the kids,” he said. “It’s a very small school, I believe there are less than 100 students.

“We were able to take them across street to the Hunt Armory where we played both our games and take them ice skating, which was a really cool experience for all the players.”

Slook embraces using his passion for hockey to give back.

“There’s a bunch of Spiritan programs that we do at Ghost but I think this is really cool one,” he said. “From the hockey aspect, as hockey players, we get to take them ice skating and we get to use the game as a connection because if you had been there you’d see how much fun the kids had going ice skating. It’s cool for everybody, it’s really fun for everybody and I really loved it.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie credited Ryan Abramson, the school’s director of admissions, for arranging the details of the trip.

“Our players really walked into a situation where they could kind of get the most out of it,” he said, “because all the other stuff has been taken care of for them.”

Ritchie marveled at how his student-athletes bonded with the DePaul students.

“Sometimes it can be uncomfortable, being around people that have disabilities,” he said, “and watching our guys interact with these young kids blew me away.

“These guys were skating with students at the school for 60 straight minutes and had smile on their faces. And the kids were getting to experience something that otherwise they might not get a chance to the fact that we kind of blend our sport while providing an opportunity for these students, and also a great learning opportunity for our guys. It was just overall a really, really great trip.”

For Ritchie, a special-education teacher himself, the trip hit close to home.”

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ve been working in special education for the last 15 years.

 “I’ve worked with special Olympics and the opportunity for Ghost to again blend these types of trips with the school mission is an opportunity that I’m glad these guys get a chance to do when their adolescents, where a lot of adults might not even have that opportunity. So, the fact they’re getting this experience now as high school students is super important for them as they continue to grow and develop as young men.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 10 Haverford School 3

Carter Short and Calum Hartnell each contributed two goals and an assist as St. Joseph’s Prep opened the post-holiday portion of its schedule with a 10-3 win over The Haverford School Friday night at  the Skatium.

Shane O’Neill, Michael Castelli, Patrick Sweeney, Robert McGinn, and Jake Schultz also scored goals for the Hawks (11-4) who broke the game open with five goals in the second period. Brayden Collins provided four assists.

Declan Geary got the win in goal.

Jack Torr scored twice for the Fords. Reece Childs also scored.

“After a sluggish start we played well in the second a third periods,” said Hawk coach David Giacomin. We moved the puck and created many chances. Noah Stuhl and Calum Hartnell both played very well.”

St. Joseph’s Prep returns to action Wednesday evening against Malvern Prep (5:00) at the Spring Mountain resort as part of the APAC’s outdoor doubleheader.

The other half of the twin bill will match La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep at 7:15.

Haverford School 1 0 2—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 5 4—10

First-period goals: Jack Torr (SJP) unassisted, :26; Robert McGinn (SJP) from Jake Schultz and Brayden Collins, 12:35 (pp)

Second-period goals: Michael Castelli (SP) from Caden Kelly and Calum Hartnell, 2:26; Patrick Sweeney (SJP) from Collins and Noah Stuhl, 3:57; Shane O’Neill (SJP) unassisted, 10:29; Schultz (SJP) from Carter Short and John Lynch, 12:49; Hartnell (SJP) from Thomas Ely, 14:05

Third-period goals: Jack Torr (HS) from Esref Erkmen, 3:19 (pp); Hartnell (SJP) from O’Neill and Declan Geary, 7:15; Short (SJP) from Collins and McGinn, 10:10; Stuhl (SJP) from Tyler DeGirolamo and Lynch, (pp); Short (SJP) from Collins and Geary, 13:12; Reese Childs (HS) from Connor Gillespie, 13:46

Shots: Haverford School 30, St. Joseph’s Prep 47; Saves: Andrew Bradley (HS) 37, Declan Geary (SJP) 27

Holy Ghost Prep 7 Kiski School 1

The Firebirds scored three first-period goals and went on to the win Wednesday night on the first leg of their trip to Pittsburgh.

Brian Kinniry scored two goals for the winners and assisted on two others. Patryk Oszer had a three-point night with a goal and two assists while Anthony Valerote collected three assists.

Dillon Gallagher made 17 saves in goal.

Holy Ghost Prep 3 3 1—7

Kiski School 0 1 0—1

First-period goals: Colin Bara (HGP) from Brian Kinniry, 2:17; Kinniry (HGP) from Patrick Oszer, 6:33; Santino Tiberio (HGP) from Oszer, 12:33

Second-period goals: Oszer (HGP) from Kinniry, 1:48 (pp); KInniry (HGP) from Anthony Valerote and Joseph Kauffman, 4:38; Chris Marshall (HGP) from Michael Holt and Valerote, 8:13; Jack Williams (K) unassisted, 14:26 (pp)

Third-period goal: Patrick Slook (HGP) from Matt Cholaj and Valerote, 14:26 (pp)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 30, Kiski 18; Saves: Dillon Gallagher (HGP) 17, Maxim Ingerman (K) 23