Mark Gall Says Sports Should Be Fun

Mark Gall thinks sports should be fun. That may seem like an obvious statement but many young athletes lose their love of sports for one reason or another.

Gall didn’t want that to happen to his 7-year old brother Robert. So, he’s spending part of his spring helping coach his brother’s travel baseball team.

A native of Summit, N.J. and a junior at The Hun School, where he’s a forward on the hockey team, Gall seized on the opportunity to have an impact on his brother’s life.

“I understand the importance that a coach can play in an athlete’s life,” he said. “So, when I was presented with the opportunity, I felt like I could make a positive impact on these kids because they’re so young.

“My dad came with the idea and I thought it would be great because I want to interact with my little brother, especially now since I’m going to college. I thought like I could have an impact on the team as a whole and my little brother.”

Gall played baseball growing up, but the former shortstop put away his bat and glove at age 13 to concentrate on hockey. He speaks to the importance of young athletes having fun.

“The most important part is that you have fun,” he said. “You don’t want any kid to feel like they’re being forced to play. You want them to feel like you want to play, so I feel like can make things more fun, because the head coach of the baseball team is pretty serous. So, I like to come in and kind of relax everybody and make it more of and fun experience.”

Gall says Ian McNally his coach at Hun School, is committed to giving his players a positive experience.

“I started playing for Ian after I quit baseball,” Gall said, “but he definitely teaches about what it’s like to have a great team environment and overall how to be a better man.

“He gives everybody a shot. There’s not only one team that he lets sit on the bench and rot away their potential. He gives everybody a shot and if he sees somebody that’s disengaged, he makes sure that they’re (involved).”

Gall says he wasn’t so fortunate earlier in his hockey career when he played for a coach who wasn’t as focused on his players having fun.

“It was more kike just a business,” he recalls. “It was just all around a tough experience, he’s a tough coach. It was to the point where you would be afraid to make a mistake or mess up a drill.

“That circles back to Ian McNally and his caching style. He has his players not afraid to do something wrong.”

Gall says committed to seeing that his brother and his teammates enjoy their foray into team sports.

“I want them to experience the fun part of it,” he said, “and I want them to realize that if they are ever presented with a coach that is going to basically scold them and talk bad about them, that that’s not really what the game is all about. It’s about having fun and getting better and learning to be a better man.”

Quinn Egan’s Remarkable Journey

The importance of giving back through community service is emphasized to every student at St. Joseph’s Prep and, indeed, to students at each of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference institutions. Serving overseas however, in a part of the world impacted by war, requires a different level of commitment.

Quinn Egan chose to take that step. A senior at St. Joseph’s Prep and a forward on the hockey team, Egan, a Blue Bell resident, spent his spring break in Poland last month assisting Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war that continues to decimate their homeland.

His father, Tom Egan, accompanied him. In fact, the trip was Tom Egan’s idea.

“(His father) has always been really interested in world events,” Quinn Egan said. “So, he had been reading up on this for six or seven months, just watching the tension build. He used to tell me about it every day and started giving me daily updates and I realized how big of a deal it truly was.

“He thought it was something that we could go over and get involved in and it would good to help people.”

The trip was arranged through Caritas, a Catholic service organization. Father and son flew from Newark to Warsaw, Poland and drove from there to Lublin, a city located roughly an hour west of the Ukraine border. They spent the first two days of their trip there packing clothing.

“There were shipments coming from throughout the world,” Egan said. “They had tons and tons of clothes.

“We packed them into boxes and put them on a bunch of pallets, then onto a huge truck that every night was driven into the Ukraine somewhere.

Egan and his father also spent much of two days at the border assisting incoming refugees.

“We pretty much greeted and welcomed refugees,” Egan said. “We gave them food, basically any necessities that we had Anything they needed, we would try and give them if we had it.

“There was also a shelter where refugees could be registered and eventually, after one or two days, sent off to somebody’s house to live in to give them a more permanent home.”

That new home would likely be in Poland but theoretically could be anywhere in the EU.

Egan that the refugees he encountered were optimistic despite their circumstances. “They truly believed they will win the war,” he said. “They do have a positive mindset when it comes to that.”

Egan says there was one instance that gave him pause.

“There was one moment when I felt nervous and did not know what was happening,” he said. “One morning I woke before my dad. I went out to go to a bakery and just grab a donut or a piece of bread or whatever.

“There was a plane that flew overhead really low. And where we are (in Lublin), there’s no major airport so no flights are coming in. Ukraine is only a quick drive away.

“When the plane flew overhead in the Old Town, the pedestrian-only area, everybody went inside, into a building. Hundreds of people just ran into a building. It was completely uncertain. Nobody knew if it was a Russian plane an American plane, a Finnish or a Polish plane. Nobody knew. So, that was the only time I felt even a little bit unsafe. But, besides that, I felt completely safe the whole time. And the Polish people, I’ll say, are very confident nothing will happen to them.”

Egan returned to St. Joseph’s Prep following the Easter holiday with a fresh perspective on the war.

“I think experiencing something in general makes the news way whatever it is more powerful,” he said. “So, actually going over there and meeting the people that are being forced out of their homes or having their homes destroyed while maybe having a family member also being killed, makes it really powerful to see what’s happening.

Egan reflected on how his trip tied into his school’s concept of community service.

“When I was in eighth grade I remember a Prep presentation given by a few students and the admissions director Howie Brown,” he said. “And I remember them really emphasizing the importance of service, of helping others no matter how big or small I know that’s been a major emphasis from Day One at the Prep and even before the Prep that you should always try to be involved I whatever you can.”

For Malvern Prep’s Novabilski, Arizona Trip Offered Life Lessons

The concept of community service is central to the mission at Malvern Prep. Brandon Novabilski, the Friars’ backup goaltender chose to give back by joining a dozen or so of his fellow students on a week-long trip to Flagstaff, Arizona this past February to assist at a food bank. They spent the better part of a week preparing meals, and packing and distributing food.

Novabilski, a junior at Malvern Prep, is in his first year at the school. The Collegeville resident transferred from Perkiomen Valley.

He learned about the trip via a weekly e-mail that is distributed to the entire student body informing them about community service projects in the Greater Philadelphia area and elsewhere. Endeavors like the Arizona trip are not mandatory but they allow students to work toward completing their community service hours requirements each academic year.

“I talked to my parents about it,” Novabilski said, “and they though it was a great idea and a good experience, so I signed up along with the other students.”

The first day of the trip saw the students preparing, packing, and handing out bagged lunches.

“We’d make small lunches basically,” Novabilski said, “so we’d have people making sandwiches we were just making simple jelly/peanut butter sandwiches, ham with mayo or mustards. When that was done, they would add cookies and pack it in a bag.

“People would come up to the window that come to get food one of my friends would deliver.

We were there for roughly almost a whole day and it was really a good experience seeing the people because every time they would come up to the window they’d expected a normal worker but then they’d see the Malvern Prep boys and it kind of lightened the mood, that kids around the world are helping.

The following day Novabilski and the Malvern contingent spent time packing boxes of fruit at a warehouse packing boxes of fruit.

“We would pack boxes of apples, cucumbers, avocados, and pineapples,” Novabilski said. “Some of the fruit was set aside for area farmers to feed to their livestock. Some was donated to area residents who utilized the food bank for their groceries each week.

The students would aid the residents as needed. Novabilski’s most vivid memory of the trip is of assisting one middle-aged woman whose mobility was limited due to a leg injury.

“She was so thankful,” he recalled. “It really humbled me, how thankful she was. That was definitely an awesome experience. I think that was my favorite experience, helping that woman, because it made me realize how lucky I am.”

Novabilski took some valuable life lessons away from the trip.

“What got to learn more about what’s going on in the world,” he said, “and why people can’t really afford food at the grocery stores and why it’s so helpful to be involved at your local food bank and help out.

The trip resulted in Novabilski missing one of Malvern Prep’s games and one practice session, but had the full support of his teammates and his coach Bill Keenan.

“They did handle it well,” Novabilski said “Coach Keenan was not upset. He understood, all the players understood.

“(Keenan) understood that at Malvern Prep we want to help people around the world. We definitely want to make the world a better place. He really understood that.”

APAC Names All-Conference Team

Founders Cup champion Malvern Prep has three players named to the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference All-Conference first team.

Forward Matt Harris, defenseman Quinn Dougherty, and goaltender Anthony Perti were named to the team by the conference’s head coaches.

Harris and Dougherty were unanimous selections.

Harris, Perti, and Brady Baehser of Holy Ghost Prep were first-team selections a year ago.

First Team

Matt Harris F Sr. Malvern Prep

Brady Baehser F Jr. Holy Ghost Prep

Jeff Hammond F Jr. St. Joseph’s Prep

Quinn Dougherty D Sr. Malvern Prep

Nick Storti D Sr. St. Joseph’s Prep

Anthony Perti G Sr. Malvern Prep

Second Team

Jimmy Jacobs F Jr. Malvern Prep

Keenan Schneider F Sr. La Salle

Pierre Larocque F Sr. Malvern Prep

Gavin O’ Connell D Sr. La Salle

Brian Butler D Sr. Holy Ghost Prep

Rocco Bruno G Jr. St. Joseph’s Prep

Honorable Mention

Stephen Chen G Hun School

Chase Hannon D La Salle

Brady Doyle D Malvern Prep

Dan Whitlock F La Salle

Brendan Marino F Malvern Prep

Peters Township 5 Malvern Prep 4

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP— It was game that turned into a shootout in very short order. In the end, Malvern Prep ran out of ammunition and fell to Peters Township 5-4 in the Class AAA Pennsylvania state championship game Saturday night at Ice Line.

Five different players scored goals for the Indians (18-5-1) who claimed their third Class AAA Pennsylvania Cup and sixth overall. They previously won Class AAA state titles in 2014 and ’17 and Class AA State titles in 2002, ’04, and ’05.

The goals came fast and furious Saturday night; six of them in the first period alone on a night when neither goaltender was particularly sharp.

Malvern Prep (16-4) scored first. Haydon Campbell beat Indian netminder Nolan Hilbert just 1:35 into the first frame.

Kolby Ringwald tied the game for Peters Township on a shot that sailed high and wide of the Malvern Prep net and caromed off the end boards and back in front of the goal. Ringwald tucked the puck behind Anthony Perti at the 6:11 mark.

Quinn Dougherty put the Friars back in front just 13 seconds later but Camden Martin retied the game for the Indians at 7:56. Caleb Kovac put Peters Township for the first time at the 12:21 mark before Jimmy Jacobs retied the game at 14:15, on a shot that Hilbert couldn’t handle, to being down the curtain on a first period that featured some unexpected twists and turns.

“Each team capitalized on the other’s mistakes,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “Overall, I thought our boys came out and played the game. They worked hard. Unfortunately, some of the bounces didn’t go our way, but that’s the game of hockey.”

It was more of the same in the second stanza. Jimmy Jacobs gave Malvern Prep the lead just 34 seconds into the period, but back-to-back penalties to Jack Sharer and Steve Getsie left the Friars two men short for 1:47 and the Indians took advantage. Austin Malley tied the game for the Indians with 5:50 left in the session. The penalty boxes were empty when William Tomko out in a rebound of Malley’s original shot with 3:11 left in the period.

That turned out to be the last goal of the game. The Friars picked up the pace in the third period but couldn’t net the equalizer.

“We tried to push the puck up the ice,” Keenan said. “Peters Township did a good job of keeping everything in front of them, put the puck deep, and just made us go the length of the ice.”

Malvern Prep was attempting to become the first Class AAA team to successful defend a state title since La Salle in 2009.

Peters Township 3 2 0—5

Malvern Prep 3 1 0—4

First-period goals: Hayden Campbell (MP) unassisted, 1:35; Kolby Ringwald (PT) from Colin Kimberling, 6:21; Quinn Dougherty (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 6:34; Camden Martin (PT) from Caleb Kovac and Kimberling, 7:56; Kovac (PR) from Martin and Kimberling, 12:21; Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Caiden Canale, 14:15

Second-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Dougherty, :26; Austin Malley (PT) from Martin and William Tomko, 11:10 (pp); Tomko (PT) from Malley, 13:49

Shots: Peters Township 41, Malvern Prep 39; Saves: Nolan Hilbert (PT) 35, Anthony Perti (MP) 36

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