Category: Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

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

APAC Playoffs at Hand

The APAC Founders Cup playoffs begin Wednesday afternoon with a play-in game featuring fourth-seeded La Salle hosted fifth-seeded Malvern Prep. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Hatfield Ice.

Here’s a look at how the Friars and the Explorers got to this point.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 4-10-2, 2-6 in the APAC

Key players: Sr. Jake Weingartner 7 goals, 11 assists 18 points; Sr.   Pax Hoishik 6-9-15; Sr. Ryan Caterino 2.66 GAA, .912 save %

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Record: 6-12, 3-5 in APAC

Key players: Fr. Thomas Leonards 11 goals, 2 assists, 13 points: Patrick Lunsford 4-8-12; So. Andrew Frantz, 4-7-11; Jr. Anthony Foster 2.94 GAA, .913 save pct.; So. Danny Trainor 1.59, .920

This season:

11-26 Malvern Prep 2 La Salle 0

1-14 La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 2   

Wednesday’s winner will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep next Wednesday in one half of a semifinal doubleheader at Ice Line. The other half of that doubleheader will match second-seeded Hub School and third seed Joseph’s Prep.

Holy Ghost Prep 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Through the peaks and valleys of a long season, Holy Ghost Prep has stayed on an even keel. That was evident Wednesday afternoon as the Firebirds closed out their APAC campaign against St. Joseph’s Prep at Grundy Arena.

The hosts took a one-goal lead after 34 minutes before erupting for the three goals in the third period. The resultant 5-1 win gave Holy Ghost Prep a perfect 8-0 APAC record (16-4 overall), the top seed in the upcoming Founders Cup playoffs and presumably the top seed in next month’s Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament, which the Firebirds will enter as defending champions.

St. Joseph’s Prep closed the regular season 14-6 overall and 4-4 in the APAC, sharing second place with Hun School. The Raiders will be seeded second in playoffs on the basis of having beaten the Hawks twice this season.

After two periods, Wednesday’s game was up for grabs. Jackson Foster got things started for the Firebirds, off a scramble in front of the Hawks’ net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead with 4:58 left in the first period.

Cole Garson tied the game for the Hawks with 7:07 left in the middle period when he collected a feed from Bradan Fisher and tucked the puck inside the right post. Mason Thompson put Holy Ghost Prep in front for good with 3:47 left in the period and Lucas Gonzalez extended the lead 3:30 into the final stanza.

Junior defenseman Anthony Cerne had the primary assist on Gonzalez’s goal. He and his teammates knew what was at stake going into the final period.

“Coach {John Ritchie} said in the locker room that some guys were going to have to step up,” he said. “We went out there and we were like ‘We’ve got to win this game, it’s a big game,” he said.

Chase Logue made it a 4-1 game 3:38 remaining and Nate Romer completed the scoring with 2:19 left.

By that point, the game’s emotional temperature had risen several degrees. The Firebirds’ Jack Gavaghan drew a misconduct penalty in the wake of Romer’s goal and Garson was given a minor plus a misconduct for head contact a few moments later. The Hawks were accessed five penalties in the third period.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula voiced his frustrations.

“We fell apart in every way possible,” he said. “We’re not going win hockey games that way, especially against a team like that. They exploited us.

“We’ve been getting away with this stuff for a long time and still winning games. But {Holy Ghost Prep} played well, they’re a good team.”

Cerne notes that teamwork was at the heart of the Firebirds’ success, on this occasion and throughout the season.

“Everyone came together as a team,” he said. “We put in a lot of work after hours to match up the lines with the other teams.

“We really played as a team. Gonzalez had a great game. Chase had a great game. Everyone found a way to put the puck in the net today.”

  • The Founders Cup semifinals are set for Wednesday, February 18 at Ice Line. Top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep will face the winner of the February 11 play-in between fourth-seeded La Salle and fifth-seed Malvern Prep at 3:30. St. Joseph’s Prep and Hun School will meet in the other semifinal. at 5:45. The final on February 25 will be hosted by the highest seeded finalist.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 3—5

First-period goal: Jackson Foster (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Lucas Gonzalez, 12:02

Second-period goals: Cole Garson (SJP) from Bradan Fisher and Jake Ely, 9;53; Mason Thomas (HGP) from Chris Marshall and  Jack Gavaghan,  13:13

Third-period goals: Gonzalez (HGP) from Anthony Cerone and Valeriote, 3;30;   Chase Logue (HGP) from Valeriote and Foster, 13;22; Nate Romer (HGP) from Marshall, 2:19

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 25, Holy Ghost Prep 30; Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 25, Jack Botthof (HGP) 24

Hun School 5 Malvern Prep 2

There were signs an explosion was impending. When it occurred, it was an overwhelming force. The Hun School snapped a 2-2 tie with three goals in a 3 minute, 51 second span of the second period and shut the door afterward.

The result was a 5-2 win over Malvern Prep Tuesday afternoon at Ice Land that had ramifications throughout the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. The win assured the host Raiders (13-9 overall, 4-4 in the APAC) of facing St. Joseph’s Prep in the Founders Cup semifinals on February 18. The result of Wednesday’s game between St. Joseph’s Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will determine whether the Raiders are seeded second or third.

Malvern Prep (4-11-2, 2-6), which was missing several players due to injury, finishes the APC regular season in fifth place and will travel to fourth-place La Salle next Wednesday, February 11 to play for a slot in the semifinals. Game time will be 4:00 at Hatfield Ice.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Hun School, which went 5-17 a year ago.

“I think we had a lot of great things come together this year,” said Hun School coach N.G. Welsh. “We’ve got some great goaltending. We’ve got production all the way down to the third line, and there’s goals and assists across the board from nine forwards and three or four {defensemen,} which is awesome to see.”

Wednesday afternoon’s first period was a shootout. Andrew Starck gave the Friars a 1-0 just 44 seconds after the opening faceoff. Zachary Vallee tied the game at the 7:07 mark.

Cole Scarbinsky gave Malvern Prep the lead once more with a power-play goal when he beat Hun School netminder Blake Echternacht with 2:58 remaining in the opening session. The goal came while the Raiders’ Conor Mulligan was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

Echternacht would not yield again.

Jacob Kelly-LePage tied the game at 2-2 with 1:19 left in the period. Mulligan was out of the by that point and picked up the primary assist.

Anders Van Raalte gave Hun School the lead 4:21 into the second period.  The power-play goal game with the Friars’ Bennett Stanton in the box for tripping.

Vallee took over from there, scoring his second goal of the game 60 seconds later before completing his hat trick 18 seconds shy of the period’s halfway point.

Vallee, a junior who is in his first year at Hun School, says he and his teammates are focused on doing the little things well.

“First on the puck,” he said. “Shooting and going through the net. Just jamming the net. Little things that work.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan noted his team was unable to maintain its good start.

“I thought we came out well,” he said. “We put one in early in the game.

“Being down a couple with injuries kind of flip-flopped the lineup a little bit but we’ve got to play three periods of hockey.

“I thought we played well in the first period we played well in the third period. But, the second period got away from us.”

Malvern Prep 2 0 0—2

Hun School 2 3 0—5

First-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Paxton Hoishik, :44; Zachary Vallee (HS) unassisted, 7:07; Cole Scarbinsky (MP) from Jake Weingartner and James Young, 14:02 (pp); Jacob Kelly-LePage (HS) from Conor Mulligan and Luca Jean, 15:41

Second-period goals: Anders Van Raalte (HS) from Andrew Darst and Jean, 4:21 (pp); Vallee (HS) from Aiden Honan and Blake Echternacht, 5:21; Vallee (HS) from Van Raalte and James Dolan, 8:12

Shots: Malvern Prep 33, Hun School 26; Saves: Ryan Caterino (MP) 16 an Isaac Maloney (MP) 5, Blake Echternacht (HS) 31

APAC Standings 2-3-26

                                                Won    Lost    Otw    Otl       Shw  Shl    Pts

Holy Ghost Prep (15-4)          7          0           1            0        0         0     20

St. Joseph’s Prep (14-5)         4           3          0           1         1        0      12

Hun School (12-9)                   3          4          2            3        0         0       9

La Salle (5-12)                          2          5         0            1        0         0     7

Malvern Prep (4-10-2)            2       5             1             0        1         0     6

Remaining Conference Games

Tuesday: Malvern Prep at Hun School 4:00 at Ice Land

Wednesday: St. Joseph’s Prep at Holy Ghost Prep 4:00 at Grundy

St. Joseph’s Prep 3 La Salle 2

St. Joseph’s Prep used two third-period goals to post a 3-2 win over La Salle Wednesday evening in an APAC game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

The win lifted the hosts to 14-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference.

Two of the Hawks’ three goals came while they were shorthanded.

Cole Gargon scored what proved to be the winning goal with 6:16 remaining in the third period. It came in the aftermath of a skirmish that sent five players to the penalty box and left St. Joseph’s Prep shorthanded.

Matthew Jones opened the scoring when he gave the Explorers (5-12, 2-6) a 1-0 lead 8:22 into the second period. Adam Charaffi tied the game for the Hawks with 6:38 remaining in the period while his teammate Michael Castelli was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

James Fratantuono put the Hawks in front for the first time 9:25 into the third period. Gargon extended his team’s lead when he beat La Salle goaltender Dylan Brown 1 minute 19 seconds later.

William Paulka scored for La Salle with 4:19 left in regulation to complete the scoring.

Declan Geary made 23 saves in goal in his winning effort.

“We relied heavily on Declan to make some big saves for us,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. “”Hats off to La Salle, who battled hard all game.

“We have not been doing ourselves many favors lately with how we have shown up for games and its apparent. That’s on me. The road only gets harder from here with ther playoffs around the corner.”

St. Joseph’s Prep will conclude its conference schedule next Wednesday at Holy Ghost Prep in a game that was originally scheduled for this past Monday. La Salle, which has two non-conference games remaining on its schedule, will play in the APAC play-in game as either the fourth or fifth seed on a date to be determined.

 La Salle 0 1 1

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 2

Second-period goal: Matthew Jones (L) from Roman Tkach and Matthew Martin, 8:22; Adam Charrafi (SJP) from Frank Ely and Jake Ely, 10:22 (sh)

Third-period goals: James Fratantuono (SJP) from Noah Stuhl, 9:25; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Bradan Fisher, 10:44 (sh); William Podulka (L) from Owen Reinhart and Jones, 12:41;

Shots: La Salle 25, St. Joeph’s Prep 37; Saves: Dylan Brown (L) 34, Declan Geary (SJP) 23

Lunsford Maturing at La Salle

Patrick Lunsford is at home at La Salle, in the classroom and on the ice. The junior forward is in the midst of his first season of varsity hockey.

A Blue Bell resident, Lunsford was pointed toward La Salle at a young age.

“A lot of my family went to La Salle,” he said. “It was a very popular school at my grade school (St. Helena), and it was great for me so, that’s what made me go to La Salle.”
Like three of the other four schools in the APAC, La Salle’s student body is all male. Lunsford cites the upside to that environment.

“It really helps us focus,’ he said. “And, there’s the brotherhood. You just become so close with your classmates. It’s a really great opportunity. You just do a lot of things with your classmates; the classes. You make so many friends. It’s a great way to expand your friendships and just meet so many new people.”

Lunsford says he adjusted relatively quickly to La Salle’s academic demands.

“It was very different from grade school,” he said. “But, within the first couple weeks of my freshman year, I did very well. I did a great job adapting to the time management. You’ve just got to tackle your work early and if you get it in early, you’ll excel.

I think the kids at the schools around here, they get it and they understand so, everyone does a great job with schooling.

Like his peers, Lunsford has become adept at managing his time successfully.

“It’s hard,” he said. “But at the same time, La Salle does such a great job of giving you time throughout the day and time after school to get your work done. We don’t have the same classes every day. We have them every other day. So, we have two days to get our homework in, which is very huge with sports, and all the kids have outside activities.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone. Time management, it is a struggle sometimes, but if you can get your work in, you’ll be just fine. That’s worked out great for me.”

Lunsford says the curriculum at La Salle teaches students to make independent decisions.

“My grade school did a really great job of preparing me for things like that in high school,” he said, “and it funneled into La Salle very well for me.”

From a hockey perspective is part of a team that began the season young in terms of age and more importantly varsity experience. They found themselves navigating a steep learning curve early on but recorded their two first two APAC wins of the season heading into Wednesday’s scheduled game at St. Joseph’s Prep.

“{Varsity hockey} is very different from the jayvee level,” Lunsford said. “The first couple games took some really getting used to, but over time I think myself and all my teammates, we’ve done a great job.

“The passing, the hitting, everything. It’s just a different level but I think we’ve done a really great of adapting to that.”

Flyers Cup Rankings 1-26-26

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its second and last set of rankings for the 2025-26 regular season. The rankings are based on on-ice performance and the evaluations of members of the committee.

The field for the 47th Flyers Cup Tournament will be announced on the evening of Sunday, February 22.

Class AAA

  1. Holy Ghost Prep
  2. St. Joseph’s Prep
  3. Malvern Prep
  4. La Salle
  5. Father Judge

Class AA

  1. North Penn
  2. Council Rock South
  3. Boyertown
  4. Conestoga
  5. Owen J. Roberts

Class A

  1. Hershey
  2. Kennett
  3. Pernncrest
  4. Marple Newtown
  5. Hatboro-Horsham

Girls

  1. Avon Grove
  2. Downingtown West
  3. Lower Merion Maroon
  4. Conestoga
  5. West Chester East

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 Malvern Prep 0 (shootout)

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 Malvern Prep 0 (Shootout)

Bradan Fisher scored the only goal of a shootout and that was the difference between St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep Thursday night in an APAC game at Ice Line

The Hawks’ Declan Geary and the Friars’ Ryan Caterino were perfect in regulation, stopping 52 shots between them.

St. Joseph’s Prep improved to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in the APAC.

“It was a big win for us coming don the stretch of APAC play,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. I thought we played better than we did against Malvern a couple weeks ago but we still haven’t quite found our groove.”

Malvern Prep stands at 4-9-2 overall and 2-5 in conference.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0 0 (1)—1

Malvern Prep 0 0 0 0 (0)—0

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 28, Malvern Prep 24

Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 24, Ryan Caterino (MP) 28