Pennridge 6 Pennsbury 3

HATFELD TOWNSHIP— One of the mantras of postseason hockey is ‘Don’t take bad penalties.’ Failing to adhere to that axiom cost Pennsbury dearly Wednesday night.

Pennridge scored four goals in the third period and went on to a 6-3 win over the Falcons in an SHSHL National Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice. The second-seeded Rams, still unbeaten at 16-0-1, will take on Council Rock South Thursday night at 7:10 in the same rink for the National Division title. Third-seeded Pennsbury (11-4-1-0), which was defending the division title it won last year, will await the start of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament next Tuesday.

As the third period commenced, it was anyone’s game with the teams deadlocked at 2-2. Tyler Manto and Kevin Pico produced first-period goals for Pennridge. Brendan Macainsh, who scored for the Falcons just 35 seconds into the opening session, set up his teammate Shane Siegmound 77 seconds into the second.

But not quite a third of the way into the final period, the flow of the game shifted dramatically. At the 5:06 mark, the Falcons drew a bench penalty for too many men on the ice. It took Aeryk Lehrhaupt just 11 seconds to score the goal that put his team ahead for good.

But there was more to come. At the 6:06 mark Lehrhaupt was flagged for hooking. Fifty-three seconds later Pennsbury’s Andrew Falkenstein knocked a Pennridge player off stride with his knee and was called for tripping, leaving teams skating four on four. Colin Dachowski scored for Pennridge at 7:51 to make it a 4-2 game and for the remainder of the period, play flowed in Pennridge’s direction, like a river flowing downhill.

Andrew Lizak added a goal at 10:49 to give the Rams a three-goal lead. Macainsh brought his team closer when he scored his second goal of the game at 12:27 but that was all the Falcons could muster.

Shane Dachowski finished the scoring with an empty net goal with seven seconds remaining.

There was an ice cut before the start of the third period, which Lehrhaupt said allowed the Rams to regroup.

“We didn’t feel like we played like we were in a tie game,” he said. “As soon as we came out buzzing (in the third period) and got that goal, it made a whole world of a difference.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his time out prior to his team’s third-period power play to tell his troops to pick up the pace. “I thought we were going a little too much trying to play defense,” he said. ‘I thought their next five minutes was their best five minutes of the year.”

The game featured 12 minor penalties, six against each team. Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley voiced his displeasure with the work of the officials.

“I don’t want to talk about penalties too much,” he said, “but in my opinion, that was one of the worst officiated games I’ve ever been in.

“The penalties we took, we took, it doesn’t help at all. But it also doesn’t help when the referees are (inattentive) to what’s going on the ice.”

Both goaltenders were sharp. Aaron McDaniel stopped 37 shots for the Falcons. His Pennridge counterpart Ryan Pico was credited with 32 saves.

“Our goalie was keeping us in it,” Daley said, “with some spectacular saves, especially right at the end of the second, and Pico was doing his thing. He stole a few from us as expected.

“We really played great the first two periods. It was just a five-minute span of going brain dead that killed us in the third.”

Pennsbury 1 1 1—3

Pennridge 2 0 4—6

First-period goal: Brendan Macainsh (Pb) from Shane Siegmund, :35; Tyler Manto (Pr) from Kevin Pico and Colin Dachowski, 9:40; Pico (Pr) from Aidan Boyle, 13:25

Second-period goal: Siegmund (P) from Macainsh, 1:17 (pp)

Third-period goals: Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Jack Lowery, 5:17; Colin Dachowski (Pr) unassisted, 7:51; Andrew Lizak (Pr) from Boyle, 10:49; Macainsh (Pb) from Siegmund, 12:27; Shane Dachowski (Pr) from Manto, 16:53 (en)

Shots: Pennsbury 35, Pennridge 43; Saves: Aaron McDaniel (Pb) 37, Ryan Pico (Pr) 32

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Flyers Cup Facts

• The field for the 43^rd Flyers Cup tournament will be revealed Sunday night, February 27. The Flyers Cup selection show will air on the Flyers Cup You Tube Channel

• The field will be selected by the Flyers Cup Competition Committee which will also determine the number of teams in each bracket.

• There are NO automatic bids and no league is assured of a certain number of bids. This is an invitational tournament.

Wissahickon 6 Plymouth Whitemarsh 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Wissahickon charged out of the starting gate Thursday night and maintained its momentum all night long. The Trojans scored three times in the first period and went on to a 6-4 win over Plymouth Whitemrsh in a SHSHL American Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Third-seeded Wissahickon (9-7) will face top-seeded Abington next Thursday at the same venue for the American Division title; the Trojans are the defending champions. The second-seeded Colonials dropped to 11-5.

Both teams are hoping to land bids in the Class A Flyers Cup tournament; the field will be revealed Sunday night.

Wednesday’s game wasn’t as close as the final score might have indicated. Ty Schiff, Will Hussa, and Nick Hussa scored the Trojans’ early goals and the Colonials spent the rest of the evening playing catchup.

“We’ve been turning it on lately,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington,” and playing more as a team.”

The Trojans have won four of their last five games and Harrington says his players have enjoyed the emotions that that success has generated.

“They may not know it, but they know the feel of winning,” he said.

Luke Weikel scored consecutive goals for the Colonials, the first with nine seconds left in the first period, the next at the 3:01 mark of the second, to make it a one-goal game for a time. Hudson Honeycutt and Will Hussa responded for the Trojans however and while Plymouth Whitemarsh stayed close enough to force their opponent to stay focused, the Colonials never posed a serious threat.

That was due in part to the work of Michael Bonnani in the Wissahickon net, the senior made 32 saves. Bonnani was pressed into service as a goaltender two-and-a-half seasons ago. He says he’s grown as a player since then.

“I definitely have felt improvement,” he said. “I’ve come a long way from just flopping around in the net and getting hit in the face with pucks. I still get hit in the face but I’ve learned to deal with it better.”

Bonnani had a stout defense corps in front of him. “We played a defensive game,” said. “That’s how you beat these teams in this league. You have to play defense.

“We learned that throughout the season. We were getting scored on a lot and we had to switch it up and play team defense.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello said the Trojans quick start proved too much to overcome but he was impressed with his players’ collective efforts.

“There’s no quit in the team,” he said. “(The game) didn’t start off favorably for us but we were dedicated and continued to nettle.

“We knew there would be a lot of back and forth especially with Wissahickon. They got the better of us tonight but I’m proud of our players.”

Wissahickon 3 2 1—6

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Ty Schiff from Nick Hussa, 6:22 (pp); Will Hussa from Schiff, 9:37; Nick Hussa unassisted, 15:48; Luke Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh, 16:51

Second-period goals: Weikel (PW) from Dylan Novitski, 3:01; (PW); Hudson Honeycutt from Griffin Lynch, 5:50 (pp); Will Hussa from Honeycutt, 12:09; Timothy Murphy (PW) from Weikel, 13:45

Third-period goals: Nick Hussa from A.J. Pounds, 4:34; Isaac Mishkin (PW) from Weikel, 16:46

Shots: Wissahickon 43, Plymouth Whitemarsh 36; Saves: Michael Bonnani 32; Kolton Galie (PW) 37

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Malvern Prep 4 La Salle 1

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—Their opportunity was delayed 12 long months. Which made their accomplishment all the more satisfying.

Malvern Prep scored twice in the first period and went on to a 4-1 win over La Salle Wednesday night to claim the Founders Cup, symbolic of the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, at Ice Line.

An enthusiastic audience was on hand to see the Friars (14-3) claim the championship they did not have the opportunity to play for last season because of Covid issues; the scheduled conference final between the Friars and the Explorers was never contested.

Even after Malvern Prep went on to win the Class AAA Flyers Cup and state titles, there was something missing from a glittering resume. Wednesday’s result perhaps helped fill that void.

“It’s super satisfying,” said Friars captain Matt Harris. “We don’t have to share that trophy any more and we can bring it back to Warren Avenue and not have to split it between two teams.

“It’s good to have a full season and get what we deserve. We put in the work on Mondays in practice and brought it back to Warren Ave.

The Friars jumped in front 2:47 into the first period. Brady Doyle launched a knuckleball from just inside the blue line that caught the top right corner of the net. According to LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner, goaltender Aries Carangi was screened on the play and never saw the puck.

Teague Murray hit the same corner of the net on Carangi’s glove side to make it a 2-0 game at the 13:47.From that moment on, La Salle (8-8-1) was trying to climb a very steep hill.

“They had a lot of jump,” Muehlbronner said of the Friars. “They scored some really nice goals on some really good shots. We did not have a whole lot of jump tonight. We did not give them the game that I was hoping we were going to.”

Muehlbronner said his team needed to respond of Larocque’s early goal, but didn’t. “We needed a spark after we went down 1-zip,” said,. We didn’t get it.We had a couple opportunities around the net, but nothing that was really a strong opportunity.”

At period’s end, Muehlbronner made a goaltender change, with Will Braun replacing Carangi.

Harris, the APAC’s scoring champion, extended the Friars’ lead 12:10 into the second period on what was most certainly one of the most picturesque goals of the season. The senior made a move down the right wing, cut to his left and split two defenders before beating Braun.

La Salle got on the scoreboard on a goal from Patrick Brace 9:12 into the final period before Harris scored into an imply net with 1:47 remaining.

Brace’s goal was the only blemish on Anthony Perti’s record, the Malvern Prep netminder stopped 37 shots.

“We wanted to come in and win (the Founders Cup) for ourselves,” he said. “Keep it for ourselves and ourselves only.”

Perti said Wednesday’s game was reminiscent of last year’s Flyers Cup final, which saw the Friars top the Explorers. “Same type of game, same type of atmosphere,” he said. “Honestly I was pretty calm, didn’t think too much of it. Just another game.”

La Salle 0 0 1—1

Malvern Prep 2 1 1—4

First-period goals: Brady Doyle (MP) unassisted, 2:47; Teague Murray (MP) from Gavin Wilson, 13:47

Second-period goal: Matt Harris (MP) from Jack Shaver, 12:10

Third-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Ryan Desmond, 9:12; Harris (MP) from Quinn Dougherty, 15:13 (en)

Shots: La Salle 38, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Aries Carangi (L) 12 and Will Braun (L) 24; Anthony Perti (MP) 37

The game’s first goal

Matt Harris extended Malvern Prep’s lead in the second period.

Patrick Brace scores for La Salle

Video courtesy of Erin Schneider

St. Joseph’s Prep 3 Hun School 1

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP—With just eight days remaining in the APAC regular season, teams are striving to climb over each other and gain a foothold that strengthens their position not only in the conference standings but also in the minds of the members of the committee that will seed the Class AAA portion of the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament.

St. Joseph’s Prep took a step up on Friday night, climbing over The Hun School 3-1 on Senior Night at the Skatium.

Cathal Dowd, Liam Mooney, and Joey Samango all scored goals for the Hawks (7-6 overall) who moved into second place in the APAC standings with a 3-2-0-2 conference mark, one point ahead of La Salle. The Hawks and Explorers will meet on Wednesday to conclude their respective league schedules.

Hun School (7-7 overall) stands at 2-3-1-0 in the conference with games remaining against Malvern Prep on Wednesday and Holy Ghost Prep next Friday.

The first meeting between the two teams (a 1-0 Hun School win) was decided on the last shot of a shootout and Friday’s game was closely contested as well, despite the Hawks’ margin of victory.

“They played hard,” Mooney said of the Raiders. “They’re hard to play against. They had a couple good lines; they were a couple guys short (due to suspensions) but I thought we played them pretty tough, played them pretty well.”

Hun School Coach Ian McNally noted that Friday’s game featured a rematch between the goaltenders who hooked up in the teams’ first meeting; the Hawks Ajay White and the Raiders Stephen Chen. He was impressed with White’s winning performance.

“We scored one (regulation) goal; in two games against this kid. He was in our kitchen.”

Mooney noted Friday’s game had a different flow than the first meeting and the Hawks generated more opportunities.

“(Chen) played really good last time,” he said. “Today, we just got more shots on him. That was the key to winning today.”

Cathal Dowd gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 1-0 lead 10:34 into the first period when he scored off a turnover just to the right of Chen in front of the Raider’s net. The fast-paced first sessions saw the teams generate 30 shots between them.

Play slowed a bit in the second frame and it was still a 1-0 game early in the third period before Mooney’s goal extended his team’s lead.

Elian Estulin cut that lead in half when he scored off a Hawk turnover but Nick Storti cemented the victory for the hosts when he scored a power-play goal with 1:52 remaining in regulation.

”In our league, every team battles to the end,” said Hawk coach David Giacomin. “It was basically a one-goal game up until the power play.”

In two meetings against each other, Chen and White combined to stop 131 of 135 shots in regulation and overtime. Chen made 66 saves and White 65

Hun School 0 0 1—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 2—3

First-period goal: Cathal Dowd (HGO) from Dante Passio, 10:34

Third-period goals: Liam Mooney (SJP) from Charles Maratea, 3:52; Elian Estulin (HS) from Seth Kaplan, 7:54; Nick Storti (SJP) from Jeffrey Hammond, 15:08 (pp)

Shots: Hun School 34, St. Joseph’s Prep 35; Saves; Stephen Chen (HS) 32, Ajay White (SJP) 32

For more about St. Joseph’s Prep CLICK HERE

Foe more about The Hun School CLICK HERE

Flyers Cup Rankings for 1-31-22

Class AAA

Malvern Prep
Sr. Joseph’s Prep
La Salle
Holy Ghost Prep
Cardinal O’Hara

Class AA

Pennridge
Haverford
Council Rock South
Avon Grove
Neshaminy

Class A

West Chester East
Springfield-Delco
West Chester Rustin
Hershey
Plymouth Whitemarsh

NJ/Del

Salesianum
Eastern
Shawnee
Moorsetown
Kingsway
Cherokee

Girls

West Chester Henderson
Avon Grove
Downingtown West
Unionville
Kingsway

Rankings determined by the Flyers Cup Competition Committee based on game results and personal observations. The field for the 43rd Flyers Cup tournament will be announced on Sunday, February 27.

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St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Malvern Prep 2

Four different players scored goals as St. Joseph’s Prep downed Malvern Prep 4-2 Thursday afternoon in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

Christian Short, Jeffrey Hammond, Joey Samango, and Michael Ahearn all scored goals as the Hawks (6-6 overall, 1-2-1-0 in conference) handed the Friars (10-3, 5-1-1-0) their first conference loss.

Ajay White came up big in goal for the Hawks, making 47 saves; his team was outshot 49-25.

Goals from Short and Hammond gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead at the 1:22 mark of the second period. Teague Murray scored for Malvern Prep to cut the margin in half at the 3:50 mark before goals from Samango and Ahearn extended the St. Joseph’s Prep lead.
Matt Harris scored for Malvern Prep in the final minute of the second period but the Friars could not come any closer.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 3 0—4

Malvern Prep 0 2 0—2

First-period goals: Christian Short (SJP) unassisted, 14:28

Second-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Nick Storti and Dante Passio, 1:22; Teague Murray (MP) from Hayden Campbell and Matt Barbacane, 3:50; Joey Samango (SJP) from Hammond and Passio, 8:22; Michael Ahearn (SJP) from Tristan Winata and Passio, 13:22; Matt Harris (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs and Quinn Dougherty, 16:02 (pp)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 25, Malcom Prep 49; Saves: Ajay White (SJP) 47, Anthony Perti (MP) 21

Jeffrey Hammond scores in the second period to give St. Joseph’s Prep a 2-0 lead.

Teague Murray scores for Malvern Prep in the second period.

Videos provided by St. Joseph’s Prep.

Elsewhere

Hun School 10, Pingry School 3

The Raiders scored two shorthanded goals before the game was two minutes old and went on to the win on Thursday at Iceland.

Seth Kaplan paced the Raiders (6-6) with two goals and four assists. Elian Estulin and Josh Sosner also scored two goals each for Hun School, which registered its first win since December 10 in just its second start since December 15

Pingry School 0 0 2—2

Hun School 4 3 3—10

Flyers Cup Rankings for 1-17

Rankings based on on-ice performance and observations of the Flyers Cup Committee

AAA

Malvern Prep (APAC)
St. Joes Prep (APAC)
Holy Ghost Prep (APAC)
La Salle College High School (APAC)
Father Judge (ICSHL PCL)

Pennridge (SHSHL Continental)
Haverford High (ICSHL Central)
Council Rock South (SHSHL National)
Avon Grove (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Downingtown West (ICSHL Ches-Mont)

West Chester East (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Springfield (ICSHL Central)
West Chester Rustin (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Hershey (CPIHL)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (SHSHL American)

NJ/DE

Salesianum (ICSHL PCL)
Eastern (SJHSHL)
Shawnee (SJHSHL)
Kingsway (SJHSHL)
Moorestown (SJHSHL)
Cherokee (SJHSHL)

Girls

West Chester Henderson (ICSHL NAT)
Avon Grove (ICSHL NAT)
Downingtown West (ICSHL NAT)
Unionville (ICSHL AM)
Kingsway (ICSHL AM)

Flyers Cup Update

A total of 61 teams will seek berths in the 43^rd edition of the Flyers Cup tournament. Selections will be announced on Sunday, February 27 and the tournament will begin eight days later on Monday, March 7.
The Flyers Cup Committee will determine tournament qualifiers and seedings; there is no predetermined number of qualifiers.

The line of demarcation between Class A and Class AA is 625 male students.

Class AAA (7)

Cardinal O’Hara

Father Judge

Holy Ghost Prep

La Salle

Malvern Prep

Roman Catholic

St. Joseph’s Prep

Class AA (23)
Abington

Avon Grove

Bensalem

Boyertown

Central Bucks East

Central Bucks South

Central Bucks West

Conestoga

Council Rock South

Cumberland Valley

Downingtown East

Downingtown West

Haverford

Neshaminy

North Penn

O.J. Roberts

Pennridge

Pennsbury

Quakertown

Ridley

Souderton

Spring Ford
William Tennent

Class A (17)

Council Rock North

Garnet Valley
Hatboro-Horsham

Hershey

Lower Dauphin

Palmyra

Penncrest

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Radnor

Springfield-Delco

Strath Haven

Unionville

Upper Dublin

West Chester Bayard Rustin

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Wissahickon

New Jersey/Delaware (6)

Cherokee

Eastern

Kingsway

Moorsetown

Salesianum

Shawnee

Girls (8)

Avon Grove

Conestoga

Downingtown West

Kingsway
Pennridge

Radnor

Unionville

West Chester Henderon

Flyers Cup Rankings for 12-27-21

The first set of Flyers Cup rankings for the 2021-22 season have been released. The rankings are based on results, records, and the opinions of members of the Flyers Cup Committee, who observe games either in person or virtually.

AAA

Malvern Prep (APAC)
Holy Ghost Prep (APAC)
La Salle College High School (APAC)
St. Joes Prep (APAC)
Father Judge (ICSHL PCL)

Pennridge (SHSHL Continental)
Downingtown West (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Haverford High (ICSHL Central)
Council Rock South (SHSHL National)
Neshaminy (SHSHL National)

West Chester East (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Springfield (ICSHL Central)
Hershey (CPIHL)
West Chester Rustin (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (SHSHL American)

SJ/DE

Salesianum (ICSHL PCL)
Shawnee (SJHSHL)
Eastern (SJHSHL)
Kingsway (SJHSHL)
Moorestown (SJHSHL)
Cherokee (SJHSHL)

Girls

West Chester Henderson (ICSHL National)
Downingtown West (ICSHL National)
Avon Grove (ICSHL National)
Unionville (ICSHL American)
Conestoga (ICSHL American)
Radnor (ICSHL American)

The first installment of the Hockey Happenings podcast featuring Rick Woelfel and Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye is now live.

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