The chasm proved too wide to navigate. Seneca Valley scored twice in the first period and went on to a 7-2 win over Holy Ghost Prep in the Pennsylvania Class AAA state championship game Saturday night at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center in suburban Pittsburgh.
The state title was Seneca Valley’s first.
The Firebirds, who closed the season at 21-5-1, were seeking their second state championship, and their first came in 2017.
Ethan Riffle got the Raiders started 7:30 into the opening period when he had an open look and beat Jack Unger from the edge of the left faceoff circle. Braden Morin made it a 2-0 game with 3:29 left in the first frame. Marshall Hewitt etended the Seneca Valley lead 3:32 into the second session, leaving the Flyers Cup champion with a steep hill to climb.
They gave it their best shot. John Gavaghan scored off a setup from Brady Logue 7:07 into the period and when Ryan Lippy put in a rebound during a power play with 2:56 left in the period the Firebirds appeared to have the momentum.
But Jimmy Murphy responded for the Raiders just 84 seconds later and when Murphy scored his second goal of the game 1:04 into third period the outcome was no longer in doubt. Holt Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie lifted Unger at that point.
“I’m disappointed, obviously,” Ritchie said, “but I don’t think the score did the game justice.
Seneca Valley is s really good team and they finished their chances off our mistakes.”
Ritchie wants his players to look back with pride on their season once they over the pain of Saturday’s loss.
“I am very proud of our players,” he said. It’s an incredible group of kids and a season to remember at some point when they get away from the emption of losing tonight.
“They should be very proud of what they accomplished.”
Holy Ghost Prep 0 2 0—2
Seneca Valley 2 2 3—7
First-period goals: Ethan Riffe (SV) from Tyler Maxwell, 7:30; Braden Morin (SV) from Carter Hoehn and John Sroka, 13:31 (pp)
Second-period goals: Marshall Hewitt (SV) from Sroka , 3:32; John Gavaghan (HGP) from Brady Logue, 7:07; Ryan Lippy (HGP) unassisted, 14:04; Jimmy Murphy (HGP) from Owen Martin. 15:38
Third-period goals: Murphy (SV) from Martin, 1:04; Morin from Hewitt, 4:30; Morin (SV) from Hewitt, 7:02 (en)
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, Seneca Valley 30; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 15 and John Botthof 7, Chris Brown (SV) 24
The evening came down to capitalizing on opportunities while avoiding mistakes. Holy Ghost Prep found the right balance Wednesday night and left Hatfield Ice Arena as the Class AAA Flyers Cup champion.
Chase Logue scored two goals and Jack Unger was superb in goal as the Firebirds bested La Salle 3-1 in front of a full house to win its first Flyers Cup title since 2017 and the fifth in the school’s history.
“It’s amazing,” Logue, a sophomore, said. “To be with those guys in the locker room is a blessing. “
Offensive opportunities were scarce early on as two teams familiar with each other were reluctant to yield space to the opposition.
The second-seeded Explorers (17-8) outshot the top-seeded Firebirds (21-4-1) 7-1 in the early going but Unger stood tall between the pipes. His big save not quite seven minutes into the first period set the tone for the night.
Logue put his team on from 1:27 into the second period when he beat La Salle netminder Jake Rossi from close range.
“I was lucky,” he said. “I just came out and shot it. I put pucks on net and it went it.”
Some 200 feet away, Unger was doing his part to keep Holy Ghost Prep in front, denying Julian Tarsi on a breakaway with 2:25 left in the middle frame to send the Firebirds into the ice cut clinging to the 1-0 lead.
The Explorers however weren’t going away and a Holy Ghost Prep turnover two-and-a-half minutes into the third period gave them an opening. Michael Esmond converted the chance when the Firebirds lost the puck in front of their own net.
But Logue responded with his second goal of the game just 15 seconds later. With 14:15 left in regulation the Firebirds were back in front but the game was still up for grabs.
It was left to Unger to reach out and seized it by the throat, which he did when the Firebird found themselves killing two penalties in the last 7:14 of regulation. The shots seemingly never stopped coming but Unger turned them all away, en route to winning the Bob Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He finished the evening with 29 saves.
Unger, a senior felt that Wednesday’s game was the best of his career.
“I would say for sure,” he said. “Between the atmosphere, the intensity of the game, and what was at stake.
“I was able to lock in and then being able to get the tam to rally around me and especially during that third period.’
The closest he came faltering the stretch came when a shot from La Salle’s La Salle’s Alistair St. Hilaire from the right wing actually got behind him but slid across the crease before going wide of the far post.
“I’m not going to lie, that one really scared me,” Unger said. “But sometimes you need a little bit of luck on your side.”
Joseph Kauffman scored an empty-net goal for Holy Ghost Prep just before the final buzzer.
For La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, whose team was trying to win its 14th Flyers Cup the result was a disappointment but he appreciated the level of play on both sides.
“That was definitely a great high-school hockey game for sure,” he said.
Muehlbronner felt his team did a lot of good things right during its three power-play chances, except score.
“I thought we did well on the power play,” he said. “We moved the puck well. We didn’t bury many pucks, we didn’t get many bounces that we needed.
“But, I think we played a great game, I really do. We carried a large portion of it, but weren’t able to put any in.”
The Firebirds will face Penguins Cup champion Seneca Valley for the Class AAA state title Saturday in suburban Pittsburgh.
The All-Tournament Team included :
G Jack Unger Holy Ghost Prep
D Ryan Lippy Holy Ghost Prep
D Cam Ross LaSalle
F Alistair St. Hilaire
F Chase Lougue HGP
F Brady Logue HGP
La Salle 0 0 1—1
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 2—3
Second-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino, 1:27
Third-period goals: Michael Esmond (L) from Luke Baumann and Alex Gibson, 2:30; Chase Logue (HGP) from Brady Logue and John Gavaghan, 2:45; Joseph Kaufman (HGP) unassisted,16:59 (sh)
Shots: La Salle 30, Holy Ghost Prep 24; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 21, Jack Unger (HGP) 29
Longtime rivals collide Wednesday night in a Flyers Cup finals doubleheader at Hatfield Ice. Here’s a look at the matchups.
Class AAA Final—6:00
1 Holy Ghost Prep (20-4-1)
Coach: John Ritchie
Players to watch: Brady Logue 25 goals, 18 assists, 43 points inc. 6 goals and 2 assists for 8 points in the tournament; Joe Spadaccino 10-17-27, 0-3-3 in the tournament; Brian Kinniry 18-6-24, 1-1-2 in the tournament; Jack Unger 1.74 GAA, .922 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Salesianum 5-2 in the semifinals.
2 LaSalle (17-7)
Coach: Wally Muehlbronner
Players to watch: Nole Donohue 14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points including 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in the tournament; Grant LaGreca 20-5-25, 3-0-3 in the tournament; Julian Tarsi 10-14-24, 0-4-4 in the tournament; Jake Rossi 1.90 GAA, .926 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Devon Prep 7-0 in the quarterfinals and Father Judge 7-2 in the semifinals.
Ice chips: This game marks the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams. The Firebirds won the previous three, including the Founders Cup championship game for the APAC title 6-4 on February 26th.
The Explorers will be trying to win their third consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup and their 13th overall (they’ve also won it once in Class AA). Their 13 overall titles is a record in any classification. Holy Ghost Prep has won four Flyer Cup titles, three times in Class AAA, once in Class AA.
Class AA Final—8:45
1 Council Rock South (22-2)
Coach: Joe Houk
Players to watch: Jake Weiner 43 goals, 21 assists, 60 points, including 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in the tournament; Jeremy Rayher 33-31-64, 4-2-6 in the tournament; Jordan Sarne 18-27-45, 1-3-4 in the tournament; Trey Prozzillo 2.56 GAA; .884 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Spring-Ford 7-2 in the semifinals
2 North Penn (19-3)
Coach: Kevin Vaitis
Players to watch: Cole Pluck 24 goals, 33 assists, 57 points; 3 goals in the tournament; Samuel Norton 28-28-53.0-3-3 in the tournament Nolan Shingle 23-18-41, 4-2 in the tournament; Aidan Quigley 1.91 GAA .923 save percentage; Andrew Norton 2.14 GAA .909 save percentage
Ice chips: The teams split two regular-season meetings. The Golden Hawks won the first 6-3 on November 20th, the Knights took the rematch 5-3 on February 5th.
South is seeking its fourth Flyers Cup title and its first since 2012. North Penn is seeking its first Cup.
La Salle’s success this season has been based on the concept of getting contributions from a variety of sources.
Such was the case Thursday night. Grant LaGreca and Noel Donohue each scored two goals and three other players scored on goal each as the Explorers downed Father Judge 7-2 in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice Arena.
Second-seeded La Salle (17-7) will face Holy Ghost Prep next Wednesday at this same venue in a bid to win its third consecutive Flyers Cup, a feat the Explorers last accomplished in 2014 when they claimed the Cup for a fourth consecutive year. Sixth-seeded Father Judge closed the season at 16-6.
The game was closer than the final score seemingly indicted. Judge trailed 2-1 after one period was close enough to be a threat, trailing 4-2 early in the third before the Explorers put the game away.
Michael Zarzycki got thing started for La Salle when he beat Crusader goaltender Christian McDonald 3:32 into the first period. But Chris Ferrero responded for Judge with a power-play goal at the 8:49 before Donohue’s effort with 1:14 remaining put La Salle in front for good.
The Explorers extended their lead in the second period on goal from Declan Kelly and Alex Gibson.
Jake Pound made thing more interesting when he scored for Judge just 14 seconds into the final period but LaGreca answered at the 2:21 mark.
Donohue and LaGreca once more added additional goals.
“We started slow,” LaGreca said, “but we stuck to our system, listened to what our coaches had for the game plan, but we played the right way in the end.”
LaGreca said the Explorers stayed patient when it counted.
“We know we can’t look past anyone.” he said. “We’ve got to stay patient and keep shooting pucks on net.”
The final numbers on the scoreboard were misleading. True enough, Holy Ghost Prep prevailed over Salesianum 5-2 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice Arena.
The top-seeded Firebirds (20-4-1) earned a place in next Wednesday’s final (6:00 puck drop at Hatfield Ice) against La Salle.
Thursday’s matchup was the second meeting of the season between the two schools. The Firebirds won the first 5-1 on January 9th.
But on this night, for two periods, the fifth-seeded Sallies gave Holy Ghost Prep all it could handle and going into the third frame the teams were deadlocked at 2-2. The Firebirds put the way by scoring three goals in the third period.
Brady Logue, who paced the Firebirds with a three-goal effort, started the scoring 7:27 into the first period. It was the only goal of the opening frame.
Salesianum (18-4) tied the game on a goal from Jerry DiStefano 8:34 into the middle period Logue answered with his second goal of the game with 4:19 left in the period but when Sean Albert found the back of the net 80 seconds later, the two team were deadlocked once more.
“They did a good job of taking us out of our game,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “So, we made some adjustments. I think we got back to what’s worked for us in the third period.”
Once the final period commenced, the Firebirds did their best to make up for lost time. Chase Logue extended his team’ lead 5:17 into the period. Lucas Gonzalez made it a 4-1 at the 7:05 mark before Brady Logue completed his hat trick with 53 seconds remaining.
“Once {Salesianum} scored {their first goal} the momentum kind of changed” said Holy Ghost Prep captain Ryan Lippy. “The kind of stopped our momentum.
“And then we kind of realized that we needed to pick it up but we didn’t start picking it up until the third.”
Holy Ghost Prep enjoyed a 34-20 edge in shots.
Lippy said he and his teammates entered the third period refocused.
“We decided to put the emotion aside,” he said. “And just play our game, play how we should play.”
Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc celebrated what his team accomplished this season.
“The team executed on every aspect of our game,” he said. “It was a special group of players who played for each other; our family. I’m very proud of what they accomplished this year. Unfortunately injuries during the last two weeks took down some firepower.
“Thank you to the Flyers Cup committee who worked hard to organize a great tournament for these young men.”
• Holy Ghost Prep last won a Flyers Cup in 2017. Salesianum won three Cups in the now-defunct New Jersey/Delaware Division, most recently in 2023, the last year that division existed.
Second-period goals: Jerry DiStefano (S) unassisted, 8:34; Brady Logue (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino and Santino Tibero, 12:41; Sean Albert (S) from MIchael Cellucci and Braeden Graham, 14:01
Third-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) from William Harmr, 5:17; Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Colin Bara and Brian Kinniry, 7:05; Brady Logue (HGP) unassisted, 16:07
Shots: Salesianum 20, Holy Ghost Prep 34: Saves: Gavin Needs (S) 29, Jack Unger (HGP) 18
For two seasons now, Jake Rossi has been a fixture in the La Salle net. Last season, he was named the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s first-team All-Conference goaltender and helped the Explorers win their second consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup. As a sophomore, he was part of a team that won a state championship.
But sometime in the next two weeks, Rossi’s high-school career will come to an end. That moment could come in Thursday’s Flyers Cup semifinal against Father Judge, perhaps in next week’ final, or the state-championship game on March 22.
The passage of time however, makes the conclusion of Rossi’s journey inevitable.
“It’s definitely been a fun journey,” he said. “I had a lot of ups. Obviously, some downs, that’s what comes with the sport and just kind of looking back on it, I don’t think I’d have it any other way.”
The numbers Rossi has complied this season have been impressive; a 1.98 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
“Jake is the quiet, steady backbone of our team,” said La Salle head coach Wally Muehlbronner. He has been the startong goalie in 99 percent of our games the past to years and always gives us a chance to win.”
But Rossi is the first to admit he’s just one element in in this season’s success. With the Explorers perhaps lacking some of the offensive firepower they’ve had in recent seasons, getting contributions from all hands has been essential.
Jake Rossi
“I think this year it’s been definitely different from years in the past,” Rossi said. “I think, especially last year, our depth with the seniors was incredibly strong. Especially early {this season, you saw some of the dropoff.
“But I think some of the younger guys, the freshmen, the sophomores, and even some of the seniors who are on the varsity for their first year, they really stepped up and helped to fill that role. And I feel like some of the guys definitely embraced their roles even if they’re not playing top-line minutes.
“Especially me, I noticed an impact where it’s just wearing guys down on the forecheck. I’m really appreciative of that.”
Rossi says the contributions of the younger players on the roster helps keep the veterans focused.
“We know our spots are not guaranteed,” he said. “You might be playing on the first line or the first D-pair but that could change game to game, especially if you’re not playing well.
“That pressure from the younger guys, for the older guys, it gives us motivation and kind of pushes us to be our best which I think this year we really have compared to years past.”
Rossi says he and his teammates are a closely knit group, linked by their shared experiences.
“I think for us hockey guys, especially for us seniors it’s kind of knowing all we’ve been through. We’ve battled together, most of us, all together, for four years.
“So, we know each other’s aspirations and we know we need to give it our all for each other. Especially this year, with us being seniors. At the end of the day our goal is to win a state championship. That’s what we push ourselves to hopefully achieve.”
Rossi started skating at age 4 and was playing hockey at age 6. By the time he turned 8, he was a goaltender. For the past six years, he works with goaltending coach Chris Economou.
“My first year or two I wasn’t {a goaltender} Rossi recalls, “but I think eventually our team needed a goalie and I don’t know why but I said ‘I’ll do it.’ and started learning how to play. I’ve loved it ever since.
“I think for me it was kind of knowing that I was the last guy. If everyone else got beat, I was the only one left from keeping the puck out of the net. I didn’t think about it when I was young, but looking at it now I embraced the challenge of that and it think it made me work harder.”
Rossi is considering the next steps in his hockey career. He’s exploring playing junior hockey next season and want to play in college.
Wherever his future takes him however, he will take his memories of La Salle with him.
“Just being in the room with the boys,” he said. “Like some of our practices, even the ones where we {skated hard}, there was kind of a sense of ‘It’s going to make us better and prepare us for the more important stuff coming down the road.’
And I think classes, nor even just about the hockey team. The camaraderie, showing appreciation when the sports teams did well Our swimming team won a state championship my freshman year and the all the guys in class congratulated them.”
“Jake is a model student-athlete at La Salle,” Muelronner said, “well respected by his peers, teachers, and administrators.”
Rossi reflected on how his experience at La Salle has impacted him, as a student approaching adulthood, and as an athlete.
“I think it’s helped me tremendously,” he said. “The social aspect has been everything I could have asked for. I’ve made so many lifelong friends, not just through hockey but through classes and other stuff like that. And I think it’s just kind of instilled a good work ethic in me, in the classroom and life in general. I think that’s something that I’ll always keep from La Salle.”
Salesianum had a bit too much for Malvern Prep Thursday night. Too much in terms of physicality and firepower. Liam Bell scored two goals set the pace as the Sallies downed the Friars 4-2 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinal at Ice Line.
Fifth-seeded Salesianum (18-3) will move to the semifinals next Thursday against top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep. Fourth-seeded Malvern Prep closes the season at 5-11.
Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc said his team took care of the small details.
“Our game is forecheck hard and backcheck hard,” he said. “Every shift we have 110 percent in that 45-second shift and every person on all three lines did that. That’s what gets you success.”
Senior Braeden Graham, the Sallies’ captain, said he and his teammates were comfortable with the game’s physics tone.
“We knew they were going to come out hitting,” he said. “We knew they were a team that hit. we knew from watching film on them that we had to match that so playing the body tonight was really important to us to keep their skill payers contained.”
Bell have his team a 1-0 lead 10:33 into the first period off a setup from Jerry DiStefano who played the puck across the goal mouth from the right wing. Bell was perfectly positioned to tuck the disk inside the left post.
The Friars suffered a huge loss with 10:54 left in the second period when they lost senior forward Teague Murray, one of their primary offensive threats. Murray checked the Sallies’ Connor Davis into the boards near the Salesianum bench and was assessed a five-minute major penalty for a check from behind plus a game misconduct.
“You don’t want to see a kid get kicked out of the game,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “I think the call was a little borderline but you can’t control the {referees}.
“Obviously, we needed somebody to put the puck in the net for us and that was a back breaker but you have got to find a way to step up and fill the void.”
Sean Melican extended Salesianum’s lead with 49 seconds left in the second period when he found his target from between the faceoff circles. Bell scored his second goal of the night 2:49 into the third period. From that moment on Malvern Prep was playing against the clock as much as the Sallies.
James Young got the Friars on the scoreboard 7:31 into the final session with a shot from just inside the blue line during a power play.
Salesianum’s Sean Albert and Malvern Prep’s Luke Johnson traded goals down the stretch.
Keenan credited the Sallies for their effort
“They’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re well coached. I’ve known {LeBlanc} for a few seasons now. They play fast, they play physical. Our boys I think matched the intensity, we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Graham says he and his Salesianum teammates aren’t finished yet. “We’re very proud of ourselves,” he said, “but we know this isn’t the end.
“A lot of the teams in the APAC have disrespected us. They don’t think we’re on the same level as they are because we play in a different league (the Prep/Catholic Division of the ICSHL).”
Ice chips—Salesianum won three Flyers Cup titles in the now-defunct New Jersey/Delaware Division, including the last one two years ago.
Salesianum 1 1 2—4
Malvern Prep 0 0 2—2
First-period goal: Liam Bell (MP) from Jerry DiStefano and Connor Davis, 10:33
Second period goal: Sean Melican (S) from Davis and Justin Celestino, 16:11
Third-period goals: Bell (S) unassisted, 2:49; James Young (MP) unassisted, 7:31 (pp); Sean Albert (S) from Braedon Graham, 9:53; Luke Johnson (MP) from Gabe Bedwell and Matt Barbacane, 13:56 (pp)
Shots: Salesianum 33, Malvern Prep 23; Saves: Gavin Needs. (S) 21; Matt Crawford (MP) 29
Father Judge took control of the game with a four-goal outburst in the second period and stunned St. Joseph’s Prep 6-2 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinal at the Skatium.
Carlos Rowland and Owen Myers each scored twice for the sixth-seeded Crusaders (16-5), who will face La Salle next Thursday in the semifinals while the third-seeded Hawks closed their season at 10-10.
Rowland scored the first goal of the night 7:19 into the opening period. When he scored a second time, 50 seconds into the second frame, the burst. Gavin Culver, Myers, and Joseph Mullen followed with goals in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds and 11:16 still to go in the second period Father Judge had a 5-0 lead.
“We weren’t prepared,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “The boys thought they would walk all over Father Judge.”
Jai Perry-Pereira got the Hawks on the scoreboard with 2:18 left in the second session but St. Joseph’s Prep never got any closer.
Myers scored his second goal of the night with 7:09 left in regulation. Michael Washlick added the Hawks’ second goal with 4:49 remaining.
“Judge’s goalie (Christian McDonald) played great,” Giacomin said. He made four unbelievable saves.
“In one-and-done scenarios you have to show up. Father Judge did and that’s why they are moving on. Our goalie played well despite the score as he got no help in the second period.”
Father Judge 1 4 1—6
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 1—2
First-period goal: Carlos Rowland (FJ) from Gavin Culver, 7:19
Second-period goals: Rowland (FJ) from Jake Proud and Owen Myers, :50; Culver (FJ) from Charles Heron, 2:38; Myers (FJ) from Rowland, 4:54 (sh); Joseph Mullen (FJ) unassisted, 5:44; Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Adam Charaffi, 14:42
Third-period goals: Myers (FJ) unassisted, 9:51; Michael Washlick (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney and Perry-Pereira, 12:11
Shots: Father Judge 44, St. Joseph’s Prep 35 Saves: Christian McDonald (FJ) 33, Declan Geary (SJP) 38
Hockey Happenings 