Malvern Prep 5 North Penn 2

Logan Logan Love scored two goals and three other players added one goal each as the Friars bested the Class AA Flyers Cup and state champion Knights Wednesday evening at Ice Line.

It was the first win of the season for Malvern Prep (1-1-1).

Love’s first goal came with one minute remaining in the opening period and tied the game after Sam Norton had given North Penn the early lead.

Rocco Corrado gave the hosts the lead for good 4:38 into the second period and Love’s second goal extended that lead five-and-a-half minutes later.

Logan Singles brought North Penn closer 1:26 into the third period before Staton Luke Johnson and Lawrence Ayers scored goals 63 seconds apart to secure the win.

Malvern Prep will open APAC play November 19 at Holy Ghost Prep.

North Penn 1 0 1—2

Malvern Prep 1 2 2—5

First-period goals: Sam Norton (NP) unassisted, 12:19; Logan Love (MP) unassisted, 16:00

Second-period goals: Rocco Corrado (MP) from Charles Ingersol and Cole Wray, 4:38; Love (MP) unassisted, 10:07

Third-period goals: Logan Shingles (NP) from Sam Norton and Chris Silvotti, 1:26; Staton Luke Johnson (MP) from James Young, 11:12; Lawrence Ayers (MP) from Corrado and Nick Troiano, 12:15

Shots: North Penn 28, Malvern Prep 28; Saves: Aidan Quigley (NP) 23, Isaac Maloney (MP) 26

Devon Prep 1 Holy Ghost Prep 0 OT

It wasn’t a typical non-league season opener. Devon Prep and Holy Ghost Prep battled hard for nearly 56 minutes Monday afternoon.

Matters weren’t decided until Danny Dowling delivered a goal with 5.6 seconds left in overtime to give the visiting Tide a 1-0 win over the Firebirds at Grundy Arena.

Both teams found out a lot about themselves over the course of the affair. The Tide tested themselves against the reigning Class AAA Flyers Cup champions while the Firebirds got an idea of how the pieces of this year’s puzzle will fit.

The winning goal was set up when Dowling, working down low on the offensive left side collected a feed from teammate Jan Bach and put it behind Firebird goaltender John Botthof.

Devon Prep coach Matt Fabrizio commented on the significance of the win.

“Even being able to skate with Holy Ghost is exciting,” he said. “But that the fact we stuck to it, held them scoreless, and were able to step up in overtime, is a massive achievement for our team.”

“I can’t think of a victory that’s been more significant for us, to beat a team like Holy Ghost, the defending champs.”

The hosts had a 47-31 advantage in shots but Tide goaltender Aidan Wright turned away every challenge.

He had to be particularly sharp in the first frame when he turned aside 17 shots.

Each netminder made a big save in the third period to keep the game scoreless. Bottthof denied Dowling five minutes and change into the period with a quality glove save Wright turned away the Firebirds’ Anthony Valeriote with seven-and-a-half minutes left.

Neither team shied away from physical play and for the most part the officials left the players to their own devices. There were just three minor penalties accessed, all in the third period.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie understands the challenges his players will face this season as the reigning Flyers Cup champions.

“You’re going to have a target on your back every game,” he said. “You’re going to get every team’s best game, their full effort, and their goalie was great today.”

Ritchie learned a lot about his team in the course of the afternoon, as newcomers worked to fit in, and some veterans assumed new roles.

“I think there were a lot of positives we can build on from this,” he said. “I’d rather this type of loss happen at the beginning of the season versus going into the playoffs.

“I think we have a good corps,” he said. “I think we have to figure out how to manufacture and score some goals. I think that obviously is what hurt us today. You get a hot goaltender that’s going to keep the other team in the game, and guys get nervous.

“I think as we go along in the season we’ve just got to find who are going to be our go-to guys to finish plays.”

Ice Chips—The Firebirds will open APAC play next Wednesday when they host La Salle…. Devon Prep lost to La Salle in the first round of last year’s Flyers Cup.

Devon Prep 0 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 0 0—0

Overtime goal: Danny Dowling (DP) from Jan Bach, 4:55

Shots; Devon Prep 31, Holy Ghost Prep 47; Saves: Aidan Wright (DP) 47, John Botthof (HGP) 30

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 Calvert Hall 1

Adam Charaffi’s third-period goal fave the Hawks the non-league win over Calvert Hall Wednesday afternoon at the Class of 1923 rink.

Buno Mainardi stopped 15 shots ss the Hawks won their second straight.

Calvert Hall 0 0 1—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 1—2

First-period goal: Joe Darrow (SJP) from Will Savarese and Aiden Quinn, 9:34

Third-period goals: Poltrack (CH) unassisted, 1:11; Adam Charrafi (SJP) from Cole Gargon, 5:45

Shots: Calvert Hall 16, St. Joseph’s Prep 30; Saves: Jones (CH) 28, Bruno Mainardi (SP) 15

APAC Previews 2025-26

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is in the midst of beginning its eighth season.

Here’s a look at how the teams are shaping up.

Holy Ghost Prep

Head coach: John Ritchie (third season)

Last year: 21-5-1, 6-2 in APAC; APAC and Class AAA Flyers Cup Champion

Key players: Sr. Jack Botthof (G); Jr. Matt Salita (G); Sr. Brandon Watkins (D); Jr. Nate Romer (D); Jr. Brady Flynn (D); Sr. Anthony Valeriote (F); Sr. Lucas Gonzalez (F); Sr. Chris Marshall (F); Sr. Jack Gavaghan (F); Sr. Patryk Oszer (F); Jr. Chase Logue (F)

Outlook: Coming off a Flyers Cup title, the Firebirds are looking for more of the same this season. While 10 members of last year’s team are lost to graduation, a solid nucleus remains to face a demanding schedule. Botthoff and Salita form the APAC’s most experienced goaltending tandem.

“We play a very difficult non-league schedule this year,” Ritchie said, “that should help shape our roster for the end of the season. We graduated a core group from the Flyers Cup team, but believe with returners and program depth we should be in the mix again.”

Hun School

Head coach: Eric Szeker (third season)

Last year: 5-17-2, 0-8 in APAC)

Key players: Sr. Andrew Darst (D); So. Devin Espana (D); ); Sr. Luca Jean (F), Jr. Justin Bibeau (F); Sr. Nate Trawinski (F); Sr. Jacob Kelly-Lepage (F); Sr. Anders Van Raalte (F); So. Conor Mulligan (F),

Outlook: The Raiders endured a difficult season in 2025 due in part to youth and injuries but nine seniors will provide significant experience, depth, and off-ice leadership. Szeker is looking for balanced scoring, but is counting on Jean and Mulligan to set the pace.

La Salle

Head coach: Wally Muehlbronner (28^th season)

Last year: 17-8, 6-2 in APAC

Key players: Sr. Matt Kohlhepp (G); Jr. Patrick Murphy (G); Jr. Antony Foster (G); Sr. Tristan Mitchell (D); Jr. Matthew Jones(D); Jr. Danny Burke (D); Sr. Luke Baumann (F); So. Liam Greenwalt (F); So. Darrian Brown (F)

Outlook: The Explorers are starting fresh this season with one of their least-experienced teams of recent years, and the returnees will be assuming new roles. But if the past is any indication, they’ll mature with the passage of time and be playing their best hockey late in the season.

Malvern Prep

Head coach: Bill Keenan (seventh season)

Last year: 5-10-1, 3-5 in APAC

Key players: Sr. Ryan Caterino (G); Sr. Cole Scarbinsky (D); Sr. Logan Love (D); Sr. Reece Hanna (D); So. Finn McCullough (D); Sr. Andrew Starck (F); Sr. Henry Tesoriero (F); Sr. Pax Hoishik (F); Jr. House Young (F); So. Jake Weingartner (F); So. Luke Johnson (F); Fr. Ryan Jacobs (F)

Outlook: After having trouble scoring goals last season, the Friars are optimistic about the season ahead.

“We’re excited to compete with a strong core of returning players,” Keenan said, “complemented by key new additions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the puck. The team brings a balanced mix of experience, energy, and depth that we believe will position us well throughout the year.”

St. Joseph’s Prep

Head coach: Charlie Van Kula (first season)

Last year: 10-10, 5-3 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Declan Geary (G); Sr. Ben Kersun (D); Sr. Adam Charrafi (D); Jr. Cole Gargon (F); Jr. Frankie Ely (F)

Outlook: Van Kula takes over behind the Hawks’ bench for David Giacomin. He’ll put a veteran team on the ice one that includes in Ely and Gargon, two of the APAC’s top returning scorers.

Wyoming Seminary 5 Malvern Prep 4 OT

Pax Hoishik Jake Weingartner each scored twice as the Friars opened their season with an overtime loss at Wyoming Seminary on Wednesday.

Malvern Prep found itself down 3-0 in the game’s first eight minutes before rallying to force overtime.

“Our team showed resilience,” said Friars’ head coach Bill Keenan. “We have a handful of new players who played well in their first game with Malvern. ”

Wyoming Seminary 3 La Salle 1

HATFIELD—The theme for La Salle’s season opener against Wyoming Seminary Wednesday afternoon might have been ‘Starting Over Again.’ Which is what the Explorers were doing to a large extent.

Just five of the 21 players Wally Muehlbronner had in uniform were part of the Explorers’ Flyers Cup roster last season. Ten of the 21 were underclassmen who, in a number of cases were getting their first taste of varsity hockey.

The end was result was a 3-1 loss to a Blue Knight squad that had already won its first four starts, albeit against Class AA and AAA Midget competition.

Muehlbronner found out a lot about his team in the course of the afternoon.

“We learned a lot,” he said. “For a lot of the younger guys, it was a big eye opener for them and that’s exactly why we wanted to play them.”

The Blue Knights took just 37 seconds to jump in front. Dilan Lucas, a native of Chateauguay, Quebec, put the puck behind Matt Kohlhepp to give his team the lead. Louis-David Jolin made it a 2-0 game with 40 seconds remaining in the opening frame but the Explorers hung in with their bigger, older, and more worldly foes from that point forward (the Blue Knights had players from eight different nations in their lineup)

Kohlhepp, Patrick Murphy, and Anthony Foster each took a turn in the Explorer net.
Deep in the third period the Explorers were able to solve Wyoming Seminary goaltender Tristan Boyer. Quin Leonards, playing in his first varsity game, scored off a setup from Andrew Frantz with 5:33 left in regulation to make it a one-goal affair.

It took Hendrik McNulty’s empty netter with 1:02 left to settle the issue.

“I think we definitely had a good amount of jitters for the first five minutes of that game,” Muehlbronner said, “but we settled in an we got better as the game went along.

“I think if we had been able to get a little more pressure on them, we could have created some more opportunities.”

The afternoon exemplified the advantages of starting the season against a quality opponent.

“They’re a good team,” Muehlbronner said, “We learned a lot from the game so we got exactly what we wanted.”

Wyoming Seminary 2 0 1—3

La Salle 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Dilan Lucas (WS) from Hendrik McNulty, :37; Louis-David Jolin (WS) from Ondrej Vina, 16:20

Third-period goals: Quin Leonards (L) from Andrew Frantz, 11:27 pp; McNulty (WS) unassisted, 15:58 en;

Shots: Wyoming Seminary 34, La Salle 15 Saves: Tristan Boyer (WS) 15, Matt Kohlhepp (L) 8, Patrick Murphy (L) 14, Anthony Foster (L) 9

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The Community Comes Together for Philadelphia Blind Hockey

The area’s scholastic hockey community came together Friday night in the support of the Philadelphia Blind Hockey organization. The occasion was the third annual Blindness Awareness Showcase.

Some 50 athletes from 10 different high schools, split into two teams. assembled at Hatfield Ice in support of the effort.

Team Orange included players from Holy Ghost Prep, Pennridge, Central Bucks East, Father Judge, and Central Bucks South. Team Black featured players from Conestoga (girls), North Penn, Holy Ghost Prep, Pennridge, and Malvern Prep.

This year’s showcase featured a new format. Instead of a series of cross-ice fames, as had been the case in the past, the two teams played three 17-minute running-clock periods utilizing the full 200 x 85 surface of the arena’s Gray Rink. The players wore goggles that simulated various vision disorders while goaltenders were blindfolded.

For the record, Team Orange prevailed on the scoreboard but the real winner was Philadelphia Blind Hockey was the beneficiary of the evening’s ticket sales and drawings.

North Penn senior forward Luke Haftel took part in last year’s showcase and has been on the ice for Philadelphia Blind Hockey practices, working the visually impaired youngsters who share his love for hockey. He said utilizing the entire ice surface gave the event a different feel.

“It was a little different than last year, “from half ice to the full sheet. Everyone was having a good time, being able to play the full ice.

Haftel utilized several sets of goggles that allowed he and his peers to experience various eye issues.

“You switch throughout the game, you see different types,” he said. “So, kids experience them and have an understanding of how we’re raising awareness.”

Penncrest junior forward Donovan Scheidley has worked with Philadelphia Blind Hockey players in the but had never taken the ice wearing goggles until Friday night.

“I tried every one on for at least one shift,” he said. “I think it was really interesting.”

With his vision restricted, Scheidley found himself relying heavily on his sense of hearing.

“When you don’t have your sight, it’s surprising to see how much you rely on your hearing,” he said.

Holy Ghost Prep senior defenseman Chris Marshall was making his first showcase appearance. He says working with Philadelphia Blind Hockey participants helped forge a connection between those players and he and his Firebird teammates.

“That’s the most important part,” he said. “I think it’s a great experience for them to feel included and to be a part of our team.”

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Van Kula Named Coach at St. Joseph’s Prep

Charlie Van Kula is the new varsity hockey coach at St. Joseph’s Prep. He replaces David Giacomin who spent 14 seasons behind the Hawks’ bench.

For the past three seasons Van Kula has coached the Hawks’ JV Gray team. He has also served as a varsity assistant and been a coach for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey organization.

A St. Joseph’s Prep graduate, Van Kula was a four-year letter winner as a goaltender for the Hawks before going on to Boston College where he was a student manager apart from a brief stint as a walk on during the 2015-16 season.

Van Kula returned to the Prep in 2018-19 as an Alumni Service Corps member, during which time he served as a Varsity and JV assistant coach. He was a frequent presence at subsequent Prep Hockey summer camps and clinics.

Van Kula has also coached with a variety of the Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education organization’s programs from 2018-2021. Since 2022 he has been a full-time member of St. Joseph Prep’s Institutional Advancement team.

In addition to his coaching and playing experience, Van Kula has been an on-ice official for the past 17 seasons, including three full-time seasons in the USHL and NAHL. He currently referees at the NCAA Division I and Division III levels.

Keystone State Games Rosters

Hockey players from throughout the Commonwealth will converge at Penn State University next weekend for the Keystone State Games. Round robin play will take place at Pegula Ice Arena next Friday and Saturday, July 25-26. The gold and bronze medal games will be played on Sunday, July 27.

Games will be played in five divisions: 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U, and 19U (female) with teams representing four regions in the state.

Listed below are the U16 and U18 rosters for the South region, which encompasses the five-county Philadelphia area.

18U

1 Aiden Mott G

2 David Brown D

3 Brett Linker D

4 Aiden Paster D

5 Michael Snyder D

6 Jake Stepp D

7 Wim van Rossum D

8 Sean Cutter F

9 Shane Dachowski F

10 Declan Dowd F

11 Thomas Ely F

12 Ryan Frey F

13 Grady Jones F

14 Socrates Kelly F

15 Mason McCabe F

16 Lucas Mott F

17 Kevin Pico F

18 Cole Pluck F

19 Reed Surak F

30 Jacob Rotwitt G

16U

1 Nate Napolitano G

2 Seth Bender D

3 Aiden Collins D

4 Gabriel Dunn D

5 Aiden North D

6 Sean Tobin D

7 John Wagner D

8 Ryan Christie F

9 Joseph Darrah F

10 Malakye Johnson F

11 AJ Marazzacco F

12 Sean Scott F

13 Gavin Tietz F

14 Dean Venner F

15 Delan Wilson F

16 Alex Wilson F

17 Connor Boland F

18 Kamren Wetherell F

19 Dominic Gibson F

30 Peter Neveil G

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APAC Names All-Stars

The Atlantic Prep Athletuc Conference has named its all-conference team for 2024-25. Players were selected by the five conference head coaches.

First Team

F Brady Logue Jr. Holy Ghost Prep

F Grant LaGreca Sr. LaSalle College High School

F Cole Gargon So. St Josephs Prep

D Will Gregorio Sr. LaSalle College High School

D Ryan Lippy Sr. Holy Ghost Prep

G Jake Rossi Sr. LaSalle College High School

Second Team

F Teague Murray Sr. Malvern Prep

F Julian Tarsi Sr. LaSalle College High School

F Joe Spaddacino Sr. Holy Ghost Prep

D Joe Kauffman Sr. Holy Ghost Prep

D Declan Kelly Sr. LaSalle College High School

G Jack Unger Sr. Holy Ghost Prep

Honorable Mention

Forwards

Micheal Zarzycki Sr. LaSalle College High School

Anthony Valeriote Jr. Holy Ghost Prep

Gabe Bedwell Sr. Malvern Prep

Pax Hoishuk Jr. Malvern Prep

Thomas Ely Jr. St Josephs Prep

Noah Stuhl Jr. St Josephs Prep

Defensemen

Cole Scarbinsky Jr. Malvern Prep

Adam Charaffi Jr. St Josephs Prep

Matt Barbacane Sr. Malvern Prep

Ben Kersun Sr. St Josephs Prep

Jake Beck Jr. The Hun School

Andrew Darst Jr. The Hun School

Goalies

Elliott Wong Sr. The Hun School

Patrick Donohue Sr.The Hun School

Matt Crawford Sr. Malvern Prep

Declan Geary So. Joesphs Prep