State Championship Schedule

All games at Ice Line

Class A

West Chester East 10, Norwin 0

Class AA

Pennridge 4 Thomas Jefferson 3

5:00 Class AAA

Peters Township 5, Malvern Prep 4

Malvern Prep 6 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP— Malvern Prep put on a hockey clinic Monday night. The Friars came out storming right from the opening faceoff and rolled to a 6-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final at Ice Line.

With the win, the Friars (16-3) became the first team to successfully defend the Class AAA Flyers Cup since 2014. It’s the 10^th Cup title in school history.

“I think our mentality is just ‘We want it back,’” said senior Matt Harris. “That’s been the message all year. We knew that we had a mark on our back, but we knew, coming out here, we had to give our all and that for the seniors, it could be our last game out here.”

Harris shouldered his share of the load and then some. He scored three goals and assisted on another Monday night and finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with seven goals and two assists in two games while being named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s most valuable player.

Pierre Larocque, Jimmy Jacobs, and Jonathan Holt also scored goals for the Friars. Jacobs and Quinn Dougherty each contributed a pair of assists.

“We have the mentality on our team that anybody can step up and fill a role,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “I have guys that play club and I’ve got guys that don’t play club.

“For me, it’s just looking for the right fits in our lineup every day. When the guys come to practice, they compete, they work hard, and they fill in the roles. It’s a ‘Next guy up’ mentality in this locker room and I think that’s what keeps the guys going.”

It didn’t take the top-seeded Friars long to gain a firm hold on the proceedings. Jeremy Jacobs found Larocque in front of the Hawks’ net and Larocque put the puck behind Rocco Bruno just 1:39 into the opening period.

Harris made it a 2-0 game at the 13:08 mark with a shot from the deep right wing off a deflection. He scored his second goal of the night 3:25 into the middle period when he put in a rebound of Jacobs’ shot from the low slot.

Holt found the back of the net at the 4:56 mark, leaving the third-seeded Hawks (10-9-1) down 4-0, prompting their coach, David Giacomin, to use his timeout.

“Unfortunately we gave up that one early,” he said. “The momentum we had coming out of the locker room I thought would have been high. But any time that happens and you’ve got a bunch of young kids, their heads drop a little bit and it took a little while for us to get our legs moving.”

The Friars celebrate with their fellow students following their win over St. Joseph’s Prep Monday night.

St. Joseph’s Prep got a goal from Nick Storti 1:49 into the final frame but Jacobs and Harris scored two minutes apart late in the period to clinch the Cup and send the Hawks into the state championship game against Penguins Cup champion Peters Township Saturday at Ice Line (5:00 start).

No Class AAA team has successfully defended the state title since 2009.

Notes—The All-Tournament team selected by the Flyers Cup Committee, included Harris, Jacobs, and Jeffrey Hammond from St. Joseph’s Prep at forward, Larocque and Storti on defense, and Malvern Prep’s Anthony Perti in goal.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

Malvern Prep 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Pierre Larocque (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 1:39; Matt Harris (MP) from Caiden Canale and Jimmy Jacobs, 13:08

Second-period goals: Harris (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs and Steven Getsie, 3:25; Jonathan Holt (MP) from Gavin Wilson and Aidan Kelly, 4:56

Third-period goals: Nick Stori (SJP) from Christian Short, 1:49; Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Harris and Dougherty, 13:14 (pp); Harris (MP) from Dougherty, 15:12 (sh)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 31, Malvern Prep 35; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 29, Anthony Perti (MP) 30

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Class AAA Flyers Cup Preview

Defending champion Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep are set to square off Monday night in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final. Game time is 6:30 at Ice Line. The Friars are attempting to become the first Class AAA team to successfully defend the Flyers Cup title since La Salle in 2014. Here’s how the two teams match up.

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: David Giacomin

Record: 10-8-1

This tournament: Defeated Cardinal O’Hara 6-1 in the first round. Defeated La Salle 2-0 in the semifinals.

Key players: Jeffrey Hammond, 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in APAC play; 3 goals and 1 assist in the Flyers Cup tournament.

Joey Samango, 8 goals and 2 assists for 10 points in APAC competition; 2 assists in the Flyers Cup.

Dante Passio, 1 goal and 7 assists in the APAC.

Rocco Bruno. Has made 46 saves in 2 Flyers Cup starts

Flyers Cup history: Won Flyers Cup and state titles in 2018

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 15-3, Founders Cup champion

This tournament: defeated Holy Ghost Prep 6-2 in the semifinals

Key players: Matt Harris, 13 goals and 9 assists for 22 points during the APAC season. Scored four goals and added an assist in the Flyers Cup semifinals.

Jim Jacobs, 8 goals and 9 assists for 17 points during the APAC season.

Jeremy Jacobs, 7 goals, 7 assists for 14 points during the APAC season.

Anthony Perti, Made 35 saves in the semifinals

Flyers Cup history: Won 9 Flyers Cup titles in 1987, ’90, ’97, 2001-05, and 2021. Won state titles in 1990, 2004, and 2021.

Notes: The Hawks and the Friars met twice during the APAC season. Malvern Prep won the first meeting 6-5 on December 10. St. Joseph’s Prep won the rematch 4-2 on January 27. That was Malvern Prep’s only APAC loss.

The winner of this game advances to the Class AAA state championship game on Saturday, March 26 at 5 p.m. at Ice Line.

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Flyers Cup Championship Schedule

Monday, March 21

Class AAA

Malvern Prep vs. St. Joseph’s Prep, 6:30 at Ice Line

Class A

West Chester East vs. Springfield Delco 8:30 at Ice Line

Tuesday March 22

Class AA

Pennridge vs. Council Rock South 7:45 at Ice Line

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 La Salle 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— The evening’s festivities didn’t feature an abundance of artistry. The matchup between St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle was a gritty, grind-it-out hockey game between two foes intimately familiar with each other.

It was Hawks who emerged from the scrum victorious by a count of 2-0 in a Class AAA semifinal Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice.

Jeffrey Hammond scored both goals to propel the third-seed Hawks (10-8-1) into next week’s final against top-seeded Malvern Prep. The junior spoke to the level of familiarity between the Hawks and the Explorers, who are traditional rivals in every sport.

“All the videos of our games are on You Tube,” he said. “All the players and coaches watched a lot of our games, over and over again and we picked out what we needed to do to come out with a win today.”

Hammond said all the preparation paid off. “We definitely came prepared,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. Everyone expected it. Everyone played like they had to to get the job done.”

Hammond gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead 4:27 into the first period when he scored off a scramble in front of the La Salle net, beating Explorer netminder Will Braun. The early goal set the tone.

Jeffrey Hammond scores the game’s first goal.

“We knew going into it that they’ve got the speed,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin said of the Explorers. “They are strong, they like to bang the body.

“I told them as long as we keep them on the outside, don’t give up the little gritty goals, take away the behind the net, we would have a chance.

“We were lucky enough to get two good goals early, and they had to play catchup, which is hard to do.”

Hammond scored a statement goal for the Hawks 8:31 into the second session. With his teammate Nick Storti serving a two-minute sentence for a slashing infraction, Hammond found space on right wing and beat Braun with a wrister.

That was it as far as scoring was concerned, although the game’s emotional temperature remained at a fever pitch.

Jeffrey Hammond scores his second goal of the game.

But try as they might the second-seeded Explorers (8-9-1) couldn’t find a way to sustain momentum in their offensive zone or solve Hawks’ goaltender Rocco Bruno who finished with 26 saves.

“We just couldn’t seem to get any bounces or any momentum going,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “I think the shorthanded goal we gave up really hurt us.

“I think St. Joseph’s Prep played a great game. They were opportunistic. They played a really good game.”

Emotions boiled over in the late going. With 1:38 left in the third period La Salle’s Chase Hannon was called for elbowing before being accessed three additional penalties, resulting in his banishment.

A series of penalties with 36 seconds left resulted in the teams finishing the game with three skaters each on the ice although La Salle had already pulled Braun to add an extra skater.

St. Joseph’s 1 1 0—2

La Salle 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) fro Joey Samango and Christian Short, 4:27

Second-period goals: Hammond (SJP) unassisted, 8:31 (sh)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 20, La Salle 26; Saves Rocco Bruno (SJP) 26, Will Braun (L) 18

Video provided by Erin Schneider

Getsie and Malvern Prep Primed for Flyers Cup

Steve Getsie was drawn to Malvern Prep because of his passion for hockey and lacrosse. By all accounts, it’s been a good fit. The junior defenseman will be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Friars face off against Holy Ghost Prep in the Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinals at Ice Line (6:45 start).

Malvern Prep is the defending Flyers Cup and state champion and recently claimed the APAC title.

Getsie is in his third varsity season, a stay-at-home defenseman who does the little things well and processes a strong work ethic. Not that he didn’t have some adjustments to make at first. Like most newcomers to high school hockey, he had to become comfortable playing with and against players who were bigger, stronger, and older.

“I’m a January ‘05 birthday,” he said, “so I was usually older than most of the kids I played with. My eighth- grade year I was playing with ‘06s, so I was so I was a lot bigger than most of the guys I was playing against, so when I came into high school it was definitely a change to be playing on varsity against seniors that were a lot bigger and stronger than me.”

Getsie prides himself on being a physical player, but he had to tone down that side of his game when he first came to Malvern Prep because of the physical maturity of his teammates and opponents.

”Just because being a younger guy out there was a little bit different,” he said.

But the foundation of Getsie’s game remained unchanged.

“I definitely just played my game of hockey,” he said. “I didn’t come in and try to do something else. I feel like I’ve always been more of a defensive defenseman than an offensive defenseman. Coming to Malvern, I was definitely able to harp on those strengths.

“I would be a physical player, I would block a bunch of shots and a lot of the older guys, when I was a freshman and sophomore, they really respected me for putting my body on the line for the team. So, that was able to help me fit in on the team and that’s kind of my place still, being a defensive defenseman that puts his body on the line and plays for the team.”

The Friars have set a standard of excellence for two seasons now. Many of their players play together at the club level. Getsie says that familiarity breeds success.

“We’ve been together for the last three years, pretty much,” he said. “The star players that are the juniors and senior Jimmy (Jacobs) Pierre (Larocque), (Matt) Harris and Quinn Dougherty, they’ve all been playing on the same team since our freshman and sophomore years, so this has all been over the last three years.

“Just being able to play with each other on Malvern as well as most of those guys playing in the same organization or on the same team elsewhere. I think that has allowed everyone to develop good chemistry the last three years. And then it has helped Malvern develop into the kind of team we are.”

Getsie notes that the culture at Malvern Prep encourages unselfishness, and that mindset carries over onto the ice.

“I think it’s kind of the history of Malvern hockey,” he said, “whether we were a top team or not. The seniors, and the older guys before those guys, kind of set (the standard) to always be a leader for the team and not a self-centered guy.

“As well as at Malvern, we kind of have that theme of brotherhood and I’ve definitely seen that come out on the team as well the school in total just going through Covid. Everyone has come together and we’re all like a family so, I feel like in the environment we have on our team, nobody plays for themselves and they all want what’s best for the team.”

The Friars are focused on successfully defending the Class AAA Flyers Cup, something that hasn’t happened since 2014.

“The mindset is ‘Take advantage of what we have,’” Getsie said. “We have another really good team this year and all of us would love to win it again. We’ve been practicing and we’re making sure we’re staying primed, staying in the atmosphere and mindset of hockey. We’re going to hit the ice on Wednesday and play like we left off last game.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Cardinal O’Hara 1

Liam Mooney and Michael Ahearn each scored two goals as St, Joseph’s Prep downed Cardinal O’Hara 6-1 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup first-round game at the PNY rink.

The third-seeded Hawks will face second-seeded La Salle in a semifinal game ay 6:00 next Wednesday at Hatfield Ice.

Mooney and Luca Palachick scored goals 2 minutes, 3 seconds apart to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead with 7:02 left in the opening period. Hammond added a goal 3:37 into the second session.
Luke Melito’s power-play goal got the sixth-seeded Lions on the board at the 9:16 mark but Mooney (on a power play) and Ahearn scored for the Hawks before the period ended.

Ahearn added his second goal 4:04 into the third period.

Rocco Bruno and Ajay White split the game in goal for the Hawks.

Cardinal O’Hara 0 1 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 3 1—6

First-period goals: Liam Mooney (SJP) from Jeffrey Hammond, 7:55; Luca Palachick (SJP) from Cathal Dowd and Michael Ahearn, 9:58

Second-period goals: Hammond (SJP) from Joey Samango and Christian Short, 3:37; Luke Melito (COH) from Nate Fox, 9:16 (pp); Mooney (SJP) from Short, 10:32 (pp) Ahearn (SJP) from Palachick and Short, 15:59

Third-period goal: Ahearn (SJP) from Dowd and Palachick, 12:56

Shots: Cardinal O’Hara 10, St. Joseph’s Prep 46 Saves: Christian Green (COH) 39, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 3 and Ajay White (SJP) 6

Holy Ghost Prep 7 Father Judge 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Teams often look at a postseason tournament as an opportunity for a fresh start. Holy Ghost Prep embraced that mindset Thursday night. The Firebirds scored three times in a three-minute span in the first period and went on to a 7-2 win over Father Judge in Class AAA Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

The fourth-seeded Firebirds (11-11) will face top-seeded and defending champion Malvern Prep in a semifinal game at 6:45 next Wednesday at Ice Line.

The Firebirds’ eruption began 6:38 into the first frame when Shaun Moore scored off a scramble in front of the Crusader net. Michael Holt made it a 2-0 game at the 9:13 mark and John Seravalli followed right behind him at 9:37, the Firebirds’ third goal in a span of 2:59.

Senior Dominick Lombardo assisted Seravalli’s goal. “Going in, we knew we were coming off a couple hard losses,” he said. “We had a good win (In the APAC playoffs) against Hun and then we ended up taking a hard loss against (Malvern Prep).

“Going into this game, we just came in all as a team. We knew we could beat Judge, we beat them before (9-2 during the regular season).”

Lombardo noted the importance of the Firebirds’ fast start.

“For me, I knew it (could be) my last game,” he said. “If we lost, I would have been done. “So, I’m playing for me, I’m playing for the seniors, I’m playing for the kids that are hurt. Everything we do is for all the seniors.”

The fifth-seeded Crusaders made it a one-goal game for time in the second period when Anthony Casper and Matthew Moser scored goals 15 seconds apart to make it a 3-2 game with 6:21 still to go in the period. But Logan Barnes, Brendan Schultz, and Kieran Mulholland scored in a span of 3:37 to send Holy Ghost Prep into the third period with a four-goal advantage.

Moore scored the only goal of the third period.

It was the sort of performance Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside had been waiting for a while.

“I knew we had it in us,” he said. “I really liked our start. Those three goals in the first period really helped us get our game in gear.

“I thought we let up a little bit. But I liked the way we responded.”

Father Judge 0 2 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 3 3 1—7

First-period goals: Shaun Moore (HGP) from Landon Stout, 6:38; Michael Holt (HGP) from John Seavalli, 9:13; Seravalli (HGP) from Sean Marshall and Dominic Lombardo, 9:37

Second-period goals: Anthony Casper (FJ) from Michael Fontaine and Matthew Moser, 10:24; Moser (FJ) unassisted, 10:39; Logan Barnes (HGP) from Ryan Lippy, 11:25; Brendan Schutzenhofer (HGP) from Marshall, 13:02; Kieran Mulholland (HGP) from Zach Pers, 15:02

Third-period goal: Shaun Moore (HGP) from Mulholland and Pers, 14:37

Shots: Father Judge 21, Holy Ghost Prep 46; Saves: Coin McKee (FJ) 39, Jason Soule (HGP) 20

Malvern Prep 4 La Salle 1

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—Their opportunity was delayed 12 long months. Which made their accomplishment all the more satisfying.

Malvern Prep scored twice in the first period and went on to a 4-1 win over La Salle Wednesday night to claim the Founders Cup, symbolic of the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, at Ice Line.

An enthusiastic audience was on hand to see the Friars (14-3) claim the championship they did not have the opportunity to play for last season because of Covid issues; the scheduled conference final between the Friars and the Explorers was never contested.

Even after Malvern Prep went on to win the Class AAA Flyers Cup and state titles, there was something missing from a glittering resume. Wednesday’s result perhaps helped fill that void.

“It’s super satisfying,” said Friars captain Matt Harris. “We don’t have to share that trophy any more and we can bring it back to Warren Avenue and not have to split it between two teams.

“It’s good to have a full season and get what we deserve. We put in the work on Mondays in practice and brought it back to Warren Ave.

The Friars jumped in front 2:47 into the first period. Brady Doyle launched a knuckleball from just inside the blue line that caught the top right corner of the net. According to LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner, goaltender Aries Carangi was screened on the play and never saw the puck.

Teague Murray hit the same corner of the net on Carangi’s glove side to make it a 2-0 game at the 13:47.From that moment on, La Salle (8-8-1) was trying to climb a very steep hill.

“They had a lot of jump,” Muehlbronner said of the Friars. “They scored some really nice goals on some really good shots. We did not have a whole lot of jump tonight. We did not give them the game that I was hoping we were going to.”

Muehlbronner said his team needed to respond of Larocque’s early goal, but didn’t. “We needed a spark after we went down 1-zip,” said,. We didn’t get it.We had a couple opportunities around the net, but nothing that was really a strong opportunity.”

At period’s end, Muehlbronner made a goaltender change, with Will Braun replacing Carangi.

Harris, the APAC’s scoring champion, extended the Friars’ lead 12:10 into the second period on what was most certainly one of the most picturesque goals of the season. The senior made a move down the right wing, cut to his left and split two defenders before beating Braun.

La Salle got on the scoreboard on a goal from Patrick Brace 9:12 into the final period before Harris scored into an imply net with 1:47 remaining.

Brace’s goal was the only blemish on Anthony Perti’s record, the Malvern Prep netminder stopped 37 shots.

“We wanted to come in and win (the Founders Cup) for ourselves,” he said. “Keep it for ourselves and ourselves only.”

Perti said Wednesday’s game was reminiscent of last year’s Flyers Cup final, which saw the Friars top the Explorers. “Same type of game, same type of atmosphere,” he said. “Honestly I was pretty calm, didn’t think too much of it. Just another game.”

La Salle 0 0 1—1

Malvern Prep 2 1 1—4

First-period goals: Brady Doyle (MP) unassisted, 2:47; Teague Murray (MP) from Gavin Wilson, 13:47

Second-period goal: Matt Harris (MP) from Jack Shaver, 12:10

Third-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Ryan Desmond, 9:12; Harris (MP) from Quinn Dougherty, 15:13 (en)

Shots: La Salle 38, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Aries Carangi (L) 12 and Will Braun (L) 24; Anthony Perti (MP) 37

The game’s first goal

Matt Harris extended Malvern Prep’s lead in the second period.

Patrick Brace scores for La Salle

Video courtesy of Erin Schneider

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Explorers, Friars Set to Play for Founders Cup

Last year’s championship matchup never happened because of Covid issues. But La Salle and Malvern Prep are letting nothing stand in their way this season. The Explorers and the Friars will meet Wednesday night at Ice Line for the Founders Cup and the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. Game time will be 8:00.

The two teams were scheduled to meet for the Cup last season but that game was cancelled and the APAC title declared vacant. due to Covid Malvern Prep went on to defeat La Salle in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final and later won the state championship.

La Salle won the first two Founder Cup titles in 2019 and ‘20

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Record: 8-7-1/4-3-0-1 in the APAC seed 2

Semifinals: def. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1

Top scorers (APAC games only)

Keenan Schneider 5 goals, 2 assists 7 points

Max Maddalo 3 goals 3 assists 6 points

Chris Wnek 2 goals 4 assists 6 points

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 13-3/5-1-2-0 in APAC seeed 1

Semifinals: def. Holy Ghost Prep 4-1

Top scorers (APAC games only)

Matt Harris 11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points

Jim Jacobs 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points

Jeremy Jacobs 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points

Pierre Larocque 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points

Earlier this season:

November 5

Malvern Prep 2 La Salle 0—Pierre Larocque scored the winning goal with 5:55 remaining in regulation in the APAC season opener at Hatfield Ice. Matt Harris added an empty net goal.

January 24

Malvern Prep 5 La Salle 4 OT—Matt Harris scored with 1:08 remaining in overtime to give the Friars the win at Ice Line. LaSalle forced overtime. Harris and Jimmy Jacobs scored two goals each.

La Sale forced overtime with goals from Keenan Schneider and Chris Wnek in the final 87 seconds of regulation.