Category: Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

Friars, Firebirds to Meet at Wells Fargo Center

The opportunity to take the ice at the Wells Fargo Center is obviously a special occasion for a high-school hockey player. Holy Ghost Prep and Malvern Prep will have that opportunity Wednesday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference encounter. Game time is 7:00.

The two teams met at the Wells Fargo Center in January of 2019 with the Friars prevailing 3-2 in overtime.

Malvern Prep senior defenseman Quinn Dougherty was a freshman on that team. To his recollection, there was just one other freshman in a Friars uniform on that occasion.

“I’d never had the chance to play there for a club team,” he said. “I think the last time I played there was Mites on Ice. Honestly, it was really electric. The atmosphere was amazing. All the people that came out to support us. Just walking through the halls down there, it makes you feel special, like you’re playing a really big game.”

Holy Ghost Prep senior and captain Shawn Marshall was also in the lineup that night. 

“I was the only freshman on the team when we went to the Wells Fargo Center,” he said. “It was a great experience.

“We wound up losing that game so we want a little redemption this time. Playing at the Wells Fargo Center is a special thing. I’m glad I get to be a part of it and I’m glad our team gets to be a part of it.”

Dougherty has a devised a strategy for dealing with the emotions of the moment.

“I think that kind of starts in warmups,” he said. “Right in the warmups, when I hop on the ice, I try to get acclimated to what’s going on. I take a breath, try and calm myself down, and then when we huddle around the net, I try and calm everyone else down because I know their nerves are probably going a mile a minute.

“I think it takes a little while for us to get settled in especially after the first shift, but you kind of block out the outside and, you just focus on the game and the team.”

Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 4 OT

Standing on the edge of the abyss, Holy Ghost Prep refused to yield. The Firebirds scored the last three goals of the evening to overcome a 4-2 second-period deficit and record a 5-4 overtime win over St. Joseph’s Prep in an APAC contest at the Skatium that was a splendid advertisement for high-school hockey.

Brady Baehser scored the  game winner with 1:21 remaining in the three-on-three overtime, his second goal of the game.

The win was the third straight for Holy Ghost Prep (2-0 in the APAC).  Joey Samango scored twice for the Hawks (2-1 against high-school competition), who were opening their conference schedule 

Midway through the second period, things were going pretty much the Hawks’ way. With the game tied 1-1, Dante Passio, Joey Samango, and Christian Short scored goals inn a span of 5 minutes, 21 seconds to put the hosts up 4-1 with 6:47 left in the period, prompting Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside to use his timeout.

Colin Moore’s  power-play goal with 2:20 left brought Holy Ghost Prep a bit closer but the Firebirds still started the third period two goals down, albeit in full possession of their resolve.

“We don’t get down on each other,” Baehser said. “We stay together, stay positive, talk about what we need to do, and get the job done.”

Baehser delivered a power-play goal 2:52 into the third period to make it a one-goal game. For the rest of the third period the two goaltenders, St. Joseph’s Prep’s Rocco Bruno and Holy  Ghost Prep’s Colin Mudrick, took turns making quality saves.

Bruno yielded just once more, when Zach Pers tied the game with 1:53 remaining in regulation.

Baehser’s overtime effort was a memorable conclusion to the evening.

“I’m really proud of our boys,” Whiteside said. “I told them at the beginning of the season I was going to ask two things from them, that they work hard, have a good work ethic, and I want you to be a good teammate.

“I think you saw that in the third period and overtime. We stuck together. I think we really settled our game down, once we called that timeout. We chased the game a little bit, which you never want to do, but I was really proud of the effort and proud of our senior leadership.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2 1—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 3 0 0—4

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Kieran Mulholland and Shaun Moore, 6:27 (pp); Joey Samango (SJP) from Quinn Egan, 13:36

Second-period goals: Dante Passio (SJP) from Nick Storti, 4:52 (pp); Samango (SJP) from Luca Palachick and Egan, 6:03; Christian Short (SJP) unassisted, 10:13 Colin Moore (HGP) from John Seravalli and Luke Penepresso, 14:40 (pp);

Third-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli and Moore, 2:52 (pp); Zach Pers (HGP) from Stout and Mulholland, 15:07.

Overtime goal: Baehser (HGP) from Marshall,  3:39

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 25, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: Colin Mudrick (HGP) 21, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 20

Joey Samango scores the game’s first goal.

Video courtesy of Jost Winata

Holy Ghost Prep 3, La Salle 1

A fast start proved decisive for Holy Ghost Prep Wednesday afternoon. The Firebirds scored twice before the game was six minutes old and went on to  a 3-1 win over La Salle in an APAC encounter at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Landon Stout beat La Salle netminder Will Braun just 41 seconds after the opening faceoff off a dash down the right wing, and Sean Marshall added a power-play goal at the 5:32 mark as Holy Ghost Prep won its second straight start and its conference opener.

Coach Gump Whiteside appreciated his team’s energy level, particularly in the first period.

“I thought we came out with a good start,” he said. “Any time you play La Salle, you’ve got to be on your toes.”

La Salle (0-2 overall and in the APAC) cut the deficit in half when Matthew Conforti scored just 12 seconds into the middle period. It was the Explorers first goal of the season and seemed to give them an energy boost; La Salle outshot the Firebirds 22-12 over the finals 34 minutes, but couldn’t pocket another goal, thanks in large part to the work of Firebird  goaltender Jason Soule. The senior and first-year starter finished with 34 saves.

“Jay was huge for us,” Whiteside said. “ He’s playing really well and the kids really rally around him.”

Marshall finished the scoring with an empty-net goal with 15 seconds remaining in the final period. “We said in the the locker room before the game ‘We’ve got to come out strong,’” he said. “It’s a great team on the other side. I knew we had to come out strong, and we did. We  put it too them in the first couple minutes and scored two quick. 

“We lost our momentum a little bit but we got it back. We battled in the third period and never gave up.”

Despite the final result, La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner took an abundance of positives away from the encounter.

“I thought it was a good game,” he said. “After we gave up two, we settled in pretty well.

“I think Will played a great game after he settled down a little bit, and our second and third period, I thought we played really well.

“We’ve got to find a way to start scoring some goals.”

Marshall noted the game was the latest in a long strong of close encounters between the Firebirds and the Explorers. “Both teams are good every year,” he said, “A lot of people on both teams are seniors. When they graduate, new people come in. They battle every game.”

Prior to the opening face-off, the Holy Ghost Prep players presented their counterparts at La Salle a memorial puck in honor of La Salle student-athlete Blake Barklage.

Holy Ghost Prep 2 0 1—3

La Salle 0 1 0—1

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Shaun Moore, :41; Sean Marshall (HGP) from Brady Baehser, 5:32 (pp)

Second-period goal: Matthew Conforti (L) from Patrick Brace, :12

Third—period goal: Marshall (HGP) from Baehser, 16:45 (en)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 25, La Salle 35; Saves: Jason Soule (HGP) 34, Will Braun (L) 22

La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep begin Wednesday’s third period

Malvern Prep Wins APAC Opener 2-0 Over La Salle

There was an abundance of raw competitive energy on display when Malvern Prep and La Salle took the ice Friday evening. Just not a lot of goals.

Pierre Larocque scored off a neutral-zone faceoff and a La Salle turnover with 5:55 remaining in regulation and Matt Harris added a goal into an empty net in the waning seconds to give the Friars a 2-0 win at Hatfield Ice Arena in the opening game of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference campaign.

Friday’s game was a rematch off the Friars’ overtime win in the Class 3A Flyers Cup final last April and although some names and faces had changed, the two teams seemingly picked up where they left off.

“We knew La Salle was going to be tough,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We picked up right where we left off last year in a tough battle.

“We got returning guys, they’ve got returning guys, we knew it would be a tough game and we were up for the challenge.”

Friday’s game soon became a goaltending duel with the Friars’ Anthony Perti and the Explorers’ Aries Carangi squaring off at opposite ends of the ice. Between them, the pair stopped 65 shots.

“You don’t see (a goaltending duel) a lot,” Perti said, “but my guys savored this game, we knew it was going to be a tough game; expectations were met.

“You’re going to get the bounce if you play the right way.”

Keenan, who saw his team improve to 2-1 overall, noted both goaltenders came up big when their best was needed. “Anthony has been great,” he said. “He was the MVP last year. He’s looked good so far this year, and a credit to La Salle’s goalie. We peppered him with shots and he came up big a lot.”

La Salle head coach Wally Muehlbronner noted that his team paid a high price for a mistake. “We turned it over and they capitalized like they certainly can,” he said “They’re a good team. But for a first game, I think it was probably good for both teams.”

Muehlbronner was asked what adjustments are required of players at the APAC level, whether they are new to the lineup entirely, or assuming new roles.

“They do play on good teams outside of La Salle so they do play at a pretty good pace,” he said. “The physical side shift to shift could be a little different, so I think that’s going to be an adjustment they’re going to have to get used to, but all in all, I think the young guys did a pretty sound job.”

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Malvern Prep (in blue) and La Salle open the APAC conference schedule

Malvern Prep 0 0 2—2

La Salle 0 0 0—0

Third-period goals: Pierre Larocque (MP) from Matt Harris, 11:05; Harris (MP) unassisted (empty net), 16:47

Shots Malvern Prep 32, La Salle 35: Saves: Anthony Perti (MP) 35, Aries Carangi (L) 30

To learn more about Malvern Prep CLICK HERE

To learn more about La Salle CLICK HERE

APAC Previews

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference beginning its fourth season with The Hun School joining Holy Ghost Prep, La Salle, and St. Joseph’s Prep. Each team will play eight conference games this season. 

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: Gump Whiteside (13th season)

Last year: 7-7, 3-3-0-3 in APAC

Key players: Sr. Brian Butler (D); Sr. Colin Moore (D); Sr. Luke Panepresso (D); Sr. Sean Marshall (F); Jr. Brady Baesher (F); Jr. Landon Stout (F); Jr. Shaun Moore (F); Jr. Kieran Mulholland (F)

There is veteran experience on the blue line with veterans Butler, Moore, and Panepresso. Baesher, a first-team all-conference selection a year ago, is being counted on up front along with Stout, Marshall, Moore, and Mulholland, who will provide experience and quickness.

Whiteside is also expecting to get contributions from a talented group of underclassmen.

The Hun School

Coach: Ian McNally (11th season)

Last year: 0-3

Key players: Sr. Jack Borek (G); PG Nick Dimatos (D); Sr. Christian Clover (D); Sr. Riley Frost (F)

Outlook: The Raiders are the newest members of the APAC. They won’t begin on-ice practices until November 8 and won’t play a game until Thanksgiving Weekend.
Damatos, a post grad, is an offensive-minded defenseman. Clover is more of the stay-at-home mold. Frost is being counted on up front after not playing much hockey the last two years because of Covid and injuries while Borek is experienced in goal.

“It will be interesting to see what we actually have here,” McNally said. “We were only able to play a few games over the course of one week last year so were never able to see what are new players were actually capable of.  Anyone who was a part of our team two seasons ago will return much older and presumably bigger, faster and stronger.  I think there is the potential to have a pretty strong season this year, but we will learn a lot about our identity over these first weeks.

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (24th season)

Last year: 10-5, 6-3 APAC; conference co-champions

Key players:  Jr. Aries Carangi (G), So. Willum Braun (G), Sr. Gavin O’Connell (D), Jr. Chase Hannon (D), Sr. Daniel Whittock (F), Sr. Keenan Schneider (F), Sr. Max Maddalo (F), Sr. Chris Wnek (F)

Outlook: La Salle returns 13 players from a team that shared the APAC and reached the Class AAA Flyers Cup final.The lineup features experience and balance. Carangi saw quality time in goal a year ago and O’ Connell and Hannon are solid on the blue line. Whittock, Schneider, Maddalo, and Wnek all have demonstrated ability to put the puck in the net.
The Explorers will be trying to keep a streak alive; they shared the first two APAC titles before sharing the crown last year.

“We’re excited to hit the ice,” Muehlbronner said.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan (third season)

Last year: 15-1, 5-1-3 in APAC; conference co-champions, Class AAA Flyers Cup and Pennsylvania State Champions

Key players: Sr. Anthony Perti (G); Jr. Brandon Novabilski (G); Sr. Quinn Dougherty (D); Sr. Travis Buckley (D); Jr. Steven Getsie (D); So. Brady Doyle (D); So. Jack Sharer (D); Sr. Matt Harris (F); Sr. Pierre Larocque (F); Jr. Jimmy Jacobs (F); So. Jeremy Jacobs (F); 

Outlook: Much of last season’s Flyers Cup and state championship team returns and lineup is deep and talented, led by Perti and Harris, who were first-team all-conference selections last season. They’ll be joined by the likes of Dougherty and Buckley on defense along with Larocque up front.

The Friars will be trying to become the first Class AAA team in 13 years to successfully defend both the Flyers Cup and state titles.

“We are excited to get back to playing hockey,” Keenan said. “We have a good group of leaders returning as well as some younger guys filling in some gaps in the lineup. We are ready to get out there and compete and to have fun.”

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: David Giacomin (ninth season)

Last year: 4-10, 1-8 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Rocco Bruno (G); So. Ajay White (G); Sr. Nick Sorti (D); Sr. Declan Pierce, Sr. Michael Ahearn (D); Sr. Christian Short (D); Jr. Dante Passio (D); Jr. Jeffrey Hammond (F); Jr. Joey Samango (F); Sr. Quinn Egan (F); Sr. Charlie Maratea (F); Sr. Liam Mooney (F)

Outlook: The Hawks’ biggest strength will be in goal, where veteran Bruno and White will share responsibilities, and on defense. There is a veteran presence on the blue line in Pierce, Ahearn, and Short, and up front with Hammond and Mooney.

The Hawks often found themselves shorthanded last year in terms of numbers, which led them running out of gas late in games. Giacomin anticipates having more depth on hand this season and is looking for the added manpower to allow his team to play at a quicker pace in all three zones.

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The APAC is Expanding

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference will be a five-team alliance for 2021-22. The Hun School from Princeton, N.J. will join Malvern Prep, Holy Ghost Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep, and two-time defending champion La Salle for the upcoming season.

Ian McNally is the Raiders’ hockey coach. “We’re excited to join the league,” he said. “We have competed with each of the APAC school programs for several years now and it will only improve the level of competition in our games when implications on standings, stats, playoff seeds and everything else that comes with league play are introduced.  I think we share a common understanding of scholastic athletics with the APAC member schools and so we have strong existing relationships with the other coaches and athletics offices.”  

Tracey Arndt is the Co-Director of Athletics at The Hun School. “The Hun School of Princeton is grateful for the opportunity for our Ice Hockey team to join the APAC this season,” she said. “This is a top-notch ice hockey league with likeminded schools that will allow us to compete at a high level throughout the year. We look forward to the competition with such respected programs.”

The Hun School is no stranger to the other conference members, having regularly competed against them in non-league games.

“The APAC was founded with the belief that exceptional schools and scholastic hockey could thrive side by side in a competitive league that values sportsmanship, academic distinction and a quality Spirit,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “The Hun School is a welcomed addition to strengthening our rivalries, traditions and desire for excellence.”

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner is enthusiastic about the Raiders coming on board. “La Salle is very excited to have Hun School join the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference,” he said. “Hun has had a long history of great competition versus the founding APAC schools. Their commitment to competing at a high level further strengthens the conference.”

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin is looking forward to competing against the Raiders. “St Joseph’s Prep is extremely excited to welcome The Hun School into the APAC,” he said. They are a great school and we can’t wait to compete for years to come.”

Bill Keenan is the head coach at Malvern Prep, the reigning Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champions. “We are excited to have The Hun School join the APAC this upcoming season. It is great to have another quality, competitive team join our league. We are looking forward to competing against them this season.”

APAC institutions have been successful at the highest levels of scholastic hockey, competing at national tournaments and capturing every Class AAA Flyers Cup and Class AAA Pennsylvania State Championship since 2017.
Last year’s postseason was not completed. La Salle and Malvern Prep were scheduled to meet in the Founders Cup final but that game was eventually cancelled because of Covid issues. Malvern Prep went on to win the Flyers Cup and the state championship.

APAC Names All-Conference Squad

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has named its all-conference team for 2021.

The players were selected by the four conference coaches.

First Team

F Michael Casey, La Salle Sr.

F Matt Harris, Malvern Prep Jr.

F Brady Baehser, Holy Ghost Prep So.

D Chris Blango, Malvern Prep, Sr.

D Andrew Budzynski, La Salle  Sr.

G Anthony Perti, Malvern Prep Jr.

Second Team
F Dom Fantozzi, St. Joseph’s Prep Sr.

F Jack Constabile, Malvern Prep Sr.

F Evan Mudrick, Holy Ghost Prep Sr.

D E.J. Pohl, Holy Ghost Prep Sr.

D Nick Storti, St. Joseph’s Prep Jr.

G Liam Gross. La Salle Sr.

Honorable Mention

F Connor Burman, St. Joseph’s Prep

F David Kimmell,La Salle

F Ryan Sambuco, Malvern Prep

F Sean Marshall, Holy Ghost Prep

F Jeffrey Hammond, St. Joseph’ Prep

D Declan Pierce, St. Joseph’s Prep

D Chase Hannon La Salle

D Brian Butler, Holy Ghost Prep

D Quinn Dougherty, Malvern Prep

G Rocco Bruno, St. Joseph’s Prep

G Bobby Baehser, Holy Ghost Prep

The conference has decided that the Founders Cup final, the APAC championship game will not be played. APAC Commissioner Jim Britt issued a statement Monday night:

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference representatives have elected to not play the Founders’ Cup Final Championship game, originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 31st between LaSalle College HS and Malvern Prep. The original championship game had been postponed due to Covid protocols.  Both teams will be recognized as 2020-2021 finalists.  The decision was made in consultation with school administrators and athletic directors, with special consideration given to schedule conflicts and impacts on spring activities and other sports.