Category: Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

Holy Ghost Prep-Malvern Prep Matchup A Big Step for the APAC

Wednesday night’s matchup between Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep at the Wells Fargo Center was another step forward in the evolution of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.

The Friars emerged with a 3-2 overtime win in front of a large and enthusiastic audience.

Holy Ghost Prep Athletic Director Jim Stewart spoke with Hockey Happenings Wednesday night and celebrated the evening’s success.

“It’s a great evening,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for both programs, especially in the first year of the APAC it’s certainly an experience that the kids playing tonight will never forget, having the chance to play on the ice of the Philadelphia Flyers and it says something about the connections that are being made between the schools in the APAC so far. We’re working to give the kids a great opportunity for competition.”

Stewart noted that the vison the four member schools had of what the league should be is, to this point, being realized.

“There has been really good competition,” he said. “We set out to begin this under the leadership of a couple of the coaches at LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep and we put some goals out of there of what we wanted to achieve this year in terms of ice time, schedule, varsity and JV play, and it has worked out great.”

Friars and Firebirds Make Memories at the Wells Fargo Center

A lot of history has been made at the Wells Fargo Center since the building opened 12-and-a-half years ago. Holy Ghost Prep and Malvern Prep made some history of their own Wednesday night when they met in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game, but mostly, the players made lasting memories for themselves, memories they’ll be able to share for decades with teammates, family, and friends.

Kenny Connors scored two goals for the Friars in their 3-2 overtime win, including the game winner. He had skated on the Wells Fargo Center in the past as a participant in Mites on Ice, but playing a regulation game there was another matter. ”The environment with the (Malvern Prep student body) coming was a lot different,” he said. It was a lot more noisy environment, fun to play in.”

Connors said stepping on the ice for the warmup was a unique experience. ”You come to games here and you watch the guys play,” he said, “and to be able to be on that same ice as them is something special. And to have people come and watch and to be able to get a win out of it was something that was great for us.”

 

Malvern Prep 3, Holy Ghost Prep 2 OT

By Rick Woelfel

It was a finish fit for the wetting. Kenny Connors scored a dramatic goal 2minutes, 23 seconds into overtime to give Malvern Prep a 3-2 win over Holy Ghost Prep Wednesday night in front of an energized audience at the Wells Fargo Center.

The game-winner came moments after the Firebirds’ Byron Hartley fired wide at the other end. Malvern’s Nick Martino corralled the rebound and shot up the right wing, sending a cross-ice pass to Connors as the two plyers crossed the blue line. Connors delivered a forehander that beat Firebird netminder Sean Joyce.

“(Martino) had a really great look across and got me open,” the sophomore said. “The goalie came out too far, I thought.

“It was a great win. We played great defense and scored in transition.”

Connors scored two goals for Malvern Prep (11-3, 5-2 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference) and assisted on the third.

It took a goal from Kyle Washalavitch with 1:18 left in the third period for the Friars to force overtime.

The Firebirds took a 2-1 lead on Byron Hartley’s goal with 6:48 left in the third frame.

But following a Malvern Prep timeout at the 1:21 mark, the Friars won a faceoff in their offensive left wing circle and got the puck back to Waskalavotch at the point who beat Joyce with a wrister.

The teams traded goals in the first period. Connors put the Friars up just 80 seconds into the game. Evan Mudrick answered for Holy Ghost Prep (6-11, 0-7 in conference) when he scored in the midst of a flurry in front of Malvern Prep goaltender Dan Dougherty.

For Holy Ghost Prep, the result was another in a season-long string of frustrations. The Firebirds have lost four game this season in either overtime or a shootout.

“I didn’t think we played a very good second period,” said Firebird coach Gump Whiteside, “but our first period and our third period were great. In overtime, we had a lot of chances. We just can’t find a way to win right now. It’s frustrating.”

 

 

 

Notes—It’s the second this season the Friars have staged a late rally to get a win. They trailed St. Joseph’s Prep 1-0 with 2:52 left in the game on January 11th and won the game with a pair of shorthanded goals.

Malvern Prep swept the three-game series with Holy Ghost Prep this season. All three games were decided by one goal …. There was plenty of hitting but no nonsense. Referee Greg Liscino let the players play and didn’t call a single penalty.

 

 

 

Malvern Prep 1 0 1 1—3

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 1 0—2

First-period goals: Kenny Connors (MP) from Quinn Dougherty, 1:20; Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Eric Pohl and Alex D’Angelo, 14:21

APAC Scoring Leaders

Here are the top scorers in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference as of 1-29-19; conference games only.

 

GP     G     A     Pts

Sam Lipkin Ls                      6          7       9     16

Michael Casey Ls                   6         5       9   14

Daniel Sambuco Ls               6         5       9     14

Nick Martino MP                   5        7        5     12

Kyle Washkalavitch MP        6      3         4       7

Byron Hartley HGP               5       4          1      5

Jan Olenginski Ls                   5       2           3      5

Eric Pohl HGP                         6       2          2       4

Charlie Andress MP              5        1          3       4

Brandon Leer Ls                   6         3          1       4

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Making Its Mark

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has completed exactly two thirds of his inaugural season. LaSalle, Malvern Prep, Holy Ghost Prep, and St. Joseph’s Prep each have three conference games remaining, one each against each other.

APAC Commissioner Jim Britt expressed satisfaction with how the league has evolved. “It is a great start to what we hope is an ever-expanding and developing environment,” he said. “The kids are reacting well because of the support that the institutions, the school administrations, the high-quality coaching staffs that are involved.

“The kids are reacting and progressing as we’d hoped. It is a great environment to develop the students both through hockey and through the academic environment and it’s an exciting time for those programs. I’ve been very pleased with how well teams have been playing, the pace of the games, the skill quality, the fact that people are focused on playing the game right. You strip away some of the stuff that has marred (high-school hockey) in the past and it makes it a great experience for everyone involved. They’re very happy with it.”

Britt notes that a strong conference with a membership of schools committed to hockey is a major step forward for the sport.

“I think it’s important,” he said. I have been involved with high school hockey for over 20 years in a lot of different capacities. I have some very close friends who have given heart and soul, blood sweat and tears, to develop strong programs. I think what we’re doing here with the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is the next step.

“I know coaches in various programs that are doing a bangup job in the Suburban League and the Intercounty League and (the APAC) takes it to the next step, it takes it to the next level of commitment by the institutions. And that’s important. It’s important at every level of these students’ development, that all of the adults are on the same page, all the adults are pulling for the right things, are trying to do the right things.”

In addition to facing each other three times each, the four APAC schools are all playing a group of four New Jersey institutions; Gloucester Catholic, St. Augustine, Princeton Day School, and the Hun School. Could the APAC expand?

Britt says the member schools are cautiously in that regard. “The approach is to basically take it one step at a time,” he said. The idea is to make sure that we’re doing it not just for the right way, but for the right reasons and that we don’t missing anything. That we’re not forgetting anything because of the way that we are structuring this.

“Having said that, we have had some discussions about the possibility of having other programs joining the conference.”

Batting weather complications, the SHSHL will conclude its league season on February 12. Playoff dates have yet to be announced.”

 

Wednesday January 30 Malvern Prep vs Holy Ghost Prep 7:00 at Wells Fargo Center

Friday, February 1  St. Joseph’s Prep at LaSalle   5:00 at Hatfield

Wednesday, February 6 Malvern Prep at Lasalle 4:00 at Hatfield

Holy Ghost Prep at St. Joseph’s Prep 4:30 at Class of 1923 Rink

Monday, February 11 LaSalle at Holy Ghost Prep 4:00 at Grundy

Tuesday, February 12 St. Joseph’s Prep at Malvern Prep, 3:55 at Ice Line

The most significant stretch of the high-school hockey season is straight ahead. The Suburban High School Hockey League and the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference are in the final weeks of the regular season.

Following that; the league playoffs  and the 40th Flyers Cup tournament. We’ll be following all the action here at Hockey Happenings and here’s your opportunity to be part of it all.

Contact us to promote your product or service here at Hockey Happenings right through the Flyers Cup and the Pennsylvania state championship.

Our e-mail is rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

APAC Standings. 1-24-19

Updated standings of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference as of January 24, 2019

 

 

Standings                      Won       Lost      OTW      OTL      PTS

LaSalle (13-5)                   5             0           1            0          17

Malvern Prep (10-3)        4             2          0             0         12

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-12)  1             4          1             0          5

Holy Ghost Prep (5-9)      0             4          0             2         2

 

Each team receives: 3 points for a regulation win

2 points for an overtime win

1 point for an overtime loss

Princeton Day School 4, Holy Ghost Prep 0

BRISTOL—The struggle continued for Holy Ghost Prep Thursday afternoon. Luke Antonacci scored two goals as the Princeton Day School shut out the Firebirds 4-0 in a nom-league encounter at Grundy Arena.

The Firebirds (4-9) have now lost seven straight games.

The Panthers (8-7) were in control early on. Drew McConaughy beat Sean Joyce with a backhander at the 8:28 mark of the first frame to give his team a 1-0 lead. Antonacci made it a 2-0 game at 11:19.

The Panthers wound up outshooting the Firebirds (4-9) 17-3 in the first period. “We had a good first shift,” said Thomas McNulty, one of the Firebird captains. “And then after that, we kind of went downhill, we lost our intensity. It seemed like we weren’t all in today.”

Kevin Flahile extended the Panthers’ lead with a goal at the 6:41 mark off the second period before Antonacci added his second goal of the game 4:50 into the third period with a shot from the right point.

Jeremy Siegel pitched the shutout in goal. It was the fourth straight win for the Panthers and their second over over an Atlantic Prep Athletic conference team in 24 hours; Princeton Day bested LaSalle 4-2 on Wednesday.

Princeton Day coach Scott Bertoli said his team was able to take advantage of the Firebirds’ relative youth on the blue line. “I think we recognized that we’re young on the back end,” he said. “I like the fact that we got pucks deep and penetrated. We had a ton of opportunities.

“I give their goalie credit … that could have been a four or five-goal game and I thought he hung in there.”

In the wake of Thursday’s loss the Firebirds continue to look for solutions for what has become an extraordinarily difficult puzzle.

“We’ve been in a little bit of a slump,” McNulty said, “and honestly, we’re not used to that at all. This is my fourth year on the team and I’ve never experienced anything like this.
‘

“We’re slowly trying to piece together this puzzle and figure it out but it just comes down to our work ethic. And yes, a lot of guys left last year but we just need to put in the work and I think we’ll start to click.

Notes—The Panthers outshot the Firebirds 33-15. Laura White, who refereed, works games for the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Princeton Day 2 1 1—4
Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Drew McConaughy (PDS) from Stephan Gorelenkov, 8:28; Luke Antonacci (PDS) from Colby Auslander and Ty Eastman, 11:19.
Second-period goal: Kevin Flahile (PSD) from Gibson Linnehan and Chris Cecelia, 6:41.
Third-period goal: Antonacci (PDS) from Gorlenkov and Cecelia, 4:50.
Shots: Princeton Day 33, Holy Ghost Prep 15; Saves: Jeremy Siegel (PDS) 15, Sean Joyce (HGP) 29.