Malvern Prep 7, St. Joseph’s Prep 0

WEST GOSHEN— A lot of people stepped up for Malvern Prep Monday afternoon. Jack Constabile scored two goals and five other players scored one goal each as the Friars downed St. Joseph’s Prep 7-0 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

The win gave Malvern Prep the APAC regular season title and essentially assured the Friars (10-1 overall, 5-1-2-0 in conference) of the top seed for the Class AAA Flyers Cup, which begins April 5.
The Hawks, who were missing several players for an assortment of reasons (they dressed just 16 players) dropped 3-5 overall and 1-5 in conference.

As has been the case for Malvern Prep all season long everyone helped out. “We’re sticking to our basics,” Constabile said. “Everyone is putting in a part, they all have a role. Everyone is doing their job.

“We’re moving pucks fast, getting second opportunities in front of the net. I think that’s been a big part of our success this year.

The first period was contested almost exclusively on Malvern Prep’s offensive side of the red line, but the Friars couldn’t solve Andrew Custer in the St. Joseph’s Prep net; he stopped 12 shots in the period and went on to make 42 saves in the game. His teammates did good work in front of him early on to deprive their opponents of quality chances.

“Our first period, we didn’t play the game we wanted to,” Constabile said. “We weren’t getting guys in front, second opportunities. It was not our typical game but in the second period we started to play our game.”

St. Joseph’s Prep’s Jeffrey Hammond (in red) and Malvern Prep’s Matt Harris follow the play in Monday’s game. (photo by Gracie Cleveland)

The Friars certainly did. Matt Harris beat Custer with a shot from between the faceoff dots at the 2:13 mark for the day’s first goal before he and his teammates broke the game open with a three-goal spurt late in the period.

Quinn Dougherty finished off an end-to-end rush up the right wing before beating Custer with a backhander at 11:34. Constabile made it 3-0 42 seconds later when he finished off a game of tic tac toe with Harris and Jimmy Kirk. When Hayden Campbell found the back of the net at the 14:33 mark, it was Malvern Prep’s third goal in a span of 2:59.

Jeremy Jacobs, Chris Blango, and Constabile all scored goals in the third period.

Senior forward Ryan Sambuco finished the afternoon with two assists. He noted his team thrived on a back-to-basics approach, in part because of its depth.

“We have big depths going into the games,” he said. “We can get consistent from our first through our fourth line. It’s huge going into it and it makes it easier for us to kept it simple and just roll the lines and keep moving forward throughout the game.”

Ice Chips— Anthony Puerto made 15 saves in the Malvern Prep net before being relieved by Riley McCarry with 5:11 left in the game. McCarry made four saves of his own and preserved the shutout … The Friars were listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released Monday, while the Hawks were ranked fourth. No further rankings will be published prior to the tournament field being announced on Sunday, March 28. The APAC playoffs will not affect the Flyers Cup seedings.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0
Malvern Prep 0 4 3—7
Second-period goals: Matt Harris (MP) from Pierre Larocque and Jack Constabile, 2:13; Quinn Dougherty (M) unassisted, 11:34; Constabile (MP) from Kirk and Harris, 12:16; Hayden Campbell (MP) from Matt Donatucci and Chris Blango, 14:33
Third-period goals: Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Jack Sharer, :58 (pp); Blango (MP) unassisted, 8:25 (pp): Constabile (MP) from Blango, 14:27
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Malvern Prep 49; Saves: Andrew Custer (SJP) 42, Anthony Perti (MP) 15 and Riley McCarry (MP 4

For more about Malvern Prep Click Here

For more about St. Joseph’s Prep Click Here

Malvern Prep 4, Holy Ghost Prep 3 OT

This post has been modified and incorrect information removed.

BRISTOL—For the third time this season, Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep need more than the regulation 48 minutes to conduct their business.

Pierre Larocque scored a power-play goal 2:02 into the three-on-three overtime to give the Friars a 4-3 win at Grundy Arena Thursday afternoon and put a damper on the Firebirds’ Senior Day festivities.

It was the Friars’ (9-1, overall, 3-1-3-0 in conference) third win over Holy Ghost Prep this season. They prevailed 3-2 via shootout in each of the first two meetings.

The Friars were listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.

The winning goal came just nine seconds after the Firebirds Luke Panepresso drew a minor penalty plus an automatic 10-minue misconduct for a check from behind that took the Friars’ Jimmy Jacobs into the boards behind the Firebirds’ net. It was a no-doubt-about-it call for referee Laura White.

Malvern Prep won the ensuing faceoff to set up Larocque’s game winner. It was the junior’s second goal of the game.

“This is very satisfying,” Larocque said. “Especially missing (club players) from our team, it’s very satisfying to win this game.”

Malvern Prep’ Ryan Sambuco (in white carries the puck against Holy Ghost Prep’s E.J. Pohl. #97 in white is Jeremy Jacobs. (Photo by Rick Woelfel)

The Friars were four players short on Thursday, including senior defenseman Chris Blango, their captain, senior forward Jack Constabile, and junior forward Matt Harris. All normally play major roles but all were away on club duty.

“We told our boys coming in it was going to be a tall task,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “Going into overtime the first two games, we knew it was going to be tough. To come out again in the overtime, it was nice to get a win.”

The Firebirds (4-5 overall, 3-3-0-2 in conference) took a 1-0 lead 2:51 into the first period when Antony Sparo tipped in Panepresso’s shot from the left point after his team won a faceoff in the offensive right circle. Ryan Sambuco tied the game for Malvern Prep at the 11:47 mark.

Larocque scored to give the Friars a 2-1 lead just 2:13 into the second session but it only took John Connelly 33 seconds to respond for Holy Ghost Prep. Connelly scored his second goal of the game 2:57 into the third period to give his team the lead for the second time but Sambuco answered back with a power play goal at 6:03 while Evan Mudrick was serving a double minor.

The Firebirds finished with a 31-26 edge in shots. Anthony Perti came up big in goal for the Friars; a number of his 28 saves were extraordinarily difficult.

Keenan credits for his team’s success his senior class. “I’ve said it all year,” he said. “It’s a great group of guys, they’ve been in this program for quite some time and to see them really control the locker, control the bench during the game, it’s nice to see as coaches. Coaches can do so much but the players have got to go out and win the game.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for the Firebirds, who were listed second in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings, but whose losing streak has now reached four games.

“I thought we came out and played pretty well,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside.” It was a good start and then a tough break at the end getting that penalty. We just can’t find ways to win right now.”

Malvern Prep 1 1 1 1—4

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goals: Anthony Sparo (HGP) from Luke Panepresso and Brian Butler, 2:51; Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Quinn Dougherty and Jeremy Jacobs, 11:47

Second-period goals: Pierre Larocque (MP) from Jack Sharer, 2:13; John Connelly (HGP) from Patrick McAneny and Colin Moore, 2:22

Third-period goals: Connelly (HGP) unassisted, 2:57; Sambuco (MP) from Jimmy Kirk, 6:03 (pp)

Overtime goal: Larocque (MP) from Kirk and Dougherty, 2:02

Shots: Malvern Prep 26, Holy Ghost Prep 31; Saves: Anthony Perti (MP) 28; Bobby Baehser (HGP) 22

For more information about Malvern Prep Click Here

For more information about Holy Ghost Prep Click Here

Friday’s scheduled APAC game between La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep has been postponed.

Flyers Cup Tournament Names Host Sites

Three different venues will serve as host sites for the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament. The scholastic hockey showcase is scheduled to get underway on Monday, April 5.

Tournament games will be played at Hatfield Ice in Hatfield, Ice Line in West Chester, and Ice Works in Aston.

Speaking on the Hokey Happenings podcast. Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye indicated that tournament games would be limited to those three facilities.

“The way this looks right now is, I don’t foresee this changing, the tournament will only be played in three rinks this year,” he said. Hatfield, Ice Line, and Ice Works.

“Some rinks just can’t hold (Flyers Cup) games because of restrictions. Some rinks opted not to have Flyers Cup games in their buildings and we understand all that. We’ll revisit with all those rinks again next year but for this year, the tournament will be played at just Hatfield, Ice Line, and Ice Works.”

Tye said plans are still in place to allow spectators at Cup games. “We got a little help from the state last week when they bumped up the occupancy levels in the buildings,” he said. “Seeing as the tournament doesn’t start for another month, we may see another bump, or hopefully two bumps. But we will be allowing fans in up to the capacity limits of the rinks. If the rink says we can have 125 people in there, we’ll put the first 125 people who show up in the building.”

Tye indicated if spectators are allowed to attend Flyers Cup games, masks and social distancing will be required.

To hear the latest edition of the Hockey Happenings podcast, Click Here

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

Flyers Cup Rankings. 3-8-21

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of rankings relating to the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament. The committee ranked five teams in each of four classes. The ratings are based on game results through March 5 and observations by the committee.
The Flyers Cup tournament is scheduled to begin on April 5. No final determination has been made regarding the number of teams in the field or in each bracket.
The Flyers Cup is an invitational event and there are no automatic bids.

Class AAA
1. Malvern Prep
2. Holy Ghost Prep
3. La Salle
4. St. Joseph’s Prep
5. Roman Catholic

Class AA
1. Downingtown West
2. Pennsbury
3. Haverford
4. Spring-Ford
5. Pennridge

Class A
1. West Chester East
2. Strath Haven
3. West Chester Henderson
4. Springfield-Delco
5. Wissahickon

Girls
1. Bux Mont
2. Downingtown West
3. West Chester Henderson
4. Bayard Rustin
5. Avon Grove

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SHSHL Update 3-2-21

SHSHL Standings as of 3-2-21

National/Continental W L T OTL Pts.

Pennsbury (7-0-0-1) 5 0 0 0 10

Pennridge (6-3) 4 2 0 0 8

Central Bucks South (4-2-1) 3 0 0 0 6

Neshaminy (4-3-1) 3 1 0 0 6

North Penn (5-4-1-0) 3 3 0 0 6

Council Rock South (3-2-0-2) 1 1 0 1 3

Central Bucks East (4-2-1-1) 1 2 0 1 3

Central Bucks West (0-6) 0 4 0 0 0

Souderton (0-7) 0 5 0 0 0

American Division W L T OTL Pts.

National Continental teams play four teams twice and four teams once. if teams meet twice, the second game c counts in the league standings, the first one does not. Both games impact Flyers Cup tournament selections.

Wissahickon (7-1) 7 1 0 0 14

Abington (5-1) 5 1 0 0 10

Plymouth-Whitemarsh (5-3-0-1) 4 3 0 1 9

Hatboro-Horsham (3-3-1-1) 3 4 1 1 8

William Tennent (3-4-1-0) 3 4 1 0 5

Truman (3-5) 3 5 0 0 6

Quakertown (1-6-0-1) 1 6 0 3 0

American Division team play each other twice. Both games count in the standings.

National/Continental Scoring GP G A Pts

Adam Bostock (CBE) 8 10 11 21

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 8 8 11 19

Thomas Gallagher (Nesh) 7 8 6 14

Robert Seewagen (Nesh) 8 9 5 14

Aeryk Lehrhaupt (Pr) 9 11 3 14

Shane Siegmund (Pb) 8 5 8 13

Ryan Cunningham (NP) 10 7 6 13

Seth Grossman (Soud) 5 12 0 12

Blake Stewart (Pr) 7 6 6 12

Andrew David (Pr) 9 6 6 12

American Division Scoring GP G A Pts

Bryan Garry (Wss) 8 32 15 47

Nick Hussa (Wiss) 7 10 17 27

Jeremy McCartney (Tr) 8 13 12 25

Eric Orzehoski (Q) 8 9 9 18

Justin Carrelli (WT 8 11 6 17

Joe Stelacio (Ab) 6 6 10 16

Aidan Keough (PW) 8 6 9 15

Luke Weikel (PW) 8 7 7 14

Jack Mishkin (PW) 8 7 7 14

The scholastic hockey season will conclude in April with the Flyers Cup tournament. We’d love to help you promote your product, service, or event during the tournament. Contact us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com for more information.

Flyers Cup Committee Names Eligible Teams

The countdown to the 42^nd annual Flyers Cup tournament has officially begun with the revelation of the teams that are eligible to be selected for the tournament field.

The Flyers Cup Committee revealed a list of 64 tournament-eligible teams on Thursday morning.

The 64 teams represent the InterCounty Scholastic Hockey League, the Suburban High School Hockey League, the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey league, and the state of Delaware.

There will be four brackets: Class A for public schools with enrollments of 625 males or fewer (based on PIAA enrollment figures); Class AA for public schools with male enrollments exceeding 625, Class AAA for private schools, and girls.

Tournament play is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 5. The number of teams that will comprise each bracket has yet to be determined by the Flyers Cup Committee.

The Flyers Cup is an invitational tournament and there are no automatic bids.

Last year’s tournament was called off prior to completion because of Covid-19 issues.

The 64 teams eligible for selection to this year’s tournament include:

Class AAA (14 teams)

Archbishop Carroll

Archbishop Ryan

Bishop Shanahan

Bux Mont Catholic

Cardinal O’Hara

Delaware Military Academy-Tatnall

Father Judge

Holy Ghost Prep

La Salle

Malvern Prep

Roman Catholic

Salesianum

St. Mark’s-Tower Hill

St. Joseph’s Prep

Class AA (24 teams)

Abington

Avon Grove

Boyertown

Central Bucks East

Central Bucks South

Central Bucks West

Conestoga

Council Rock South

Downingtown East

Downingtown West

Harry S Truman

Haverford

Neshaminy

North Penn

Owen J. Roberts

Parkland

Pennridge

Pennsbury

Perkiomen Valley

Quakertown

Ridley

Souderton
Spring Ford

William Tennent

Class A (16 teams)

Garnet Valley

Harriton

Hatboro-Horsham

Lower Merion

Marple Newtown

Moreland/New Hope

Penncrest

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Radnor

Springfield Delco

Strath Haven

Sun Valley

West Chester Bayard Rustin

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Wissahickon

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Girls (10 teams)
Avon Grove

Bux Mont

Conestoga

Downingtown West

Lower Merion
Radnor

West Chester Bayard Rustin

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Unionville

Malvern Prep 4, La Salle 0

HATFIELD— Malvern Prep made a statement Wednesday afternoon. And the rest of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is sure to notice.

Jack Constabile delivered a hat trick and Anthony Perti pitched a shutout in goal as the Friars prevailed over La Salle 4-0 at Hatfield Ice. It was Malvern Prep’s fourth win of the season without a blemish but Wednesday’s game was its first in conference play and the win over the two-time defending APAC champion Explorers served notice the Friars will be a team to be reckoned with.

Perti made 31 saves in goal, with a half dozen falling into the ‘Extremely Difficult’ category. “I wanted to come out out and prove that we are a good team,” he said,

Prior to Wednesday, Malvern Prep played three non-league games against teams from the InterCounty League, albeit teams classified below the AAA level. Perti spoke to the importance of the Friars stepping up in their conference opener.

“It can’t be (overstated),” he said. “The game we played today, I don’t think it was even the best we’ve played. So, we still have more to prove, and honestly, out goal is to win the Flyers Cup, so this is one step in the right direction.”

Malvern Prep’s Chris Blango (l) and La Salle’s Jake Armstrong battle in Monday’s game.

Jeremy Jacobs gave his team a 1-0 lead 3:51 into the opening period when he made a solo run down the left wing and beat La Salle netminder Aries Carangi. Constabile made it a 2-0 game when he tipped in Chris Blango’s blast from the high slot with 38 seconds left in the period during a Malvern Prep power play.

Constabile added two additional goals not quite four minutes apart late in the second period.
Blango, a defenseman and his team’s captain, has been experiencing the satisfaction of merely being on the ice in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It feels awesome,” he said. “My senior year and all the other seniors (on the Malvern Prep roster) and all the other schools. It feels great just to play, to be able to compete. And to try to win a Flyers Cup.”

In addition to being the two-time defending APAC champion, La Salle is the reigning Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champion. But the Explorers have dropped their first two starts, both in APAC play and in 96 minutes of hockey have scored just three goals.

Veteran coach Wally Muehlbronner is looking for answers. “Not as much progress as I was hoping for since last week’s game (a Friday loss to Holy Ghost Prep,” he said. “We’ve got to get better playing together. I don’t think we’re playing that well together.”

Muehlbronner said his team us still trying to define itself. “Right now it’s kind of about forming an identity,” he said, “getting the guys to figure out who the leaders are going to be and then filling in the roles so the guys can follow along and follow their lead.”

• Between them, the Friars (eight) and La Salle (11) have won Flyers Cups. The Friars won five straight from 2001-‘05, a record for Class AAA.

Malvern Prep 2 2 0—4
La Salle 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Pierre Larocque, 3:51; Jack Constabile (MP) rom Matt Harris and Chris Blango, 15:22 (pp).
Second-period goals: Contabile (MP) from Quinn Dougherty and Ryan Sambuco, 10:48; Constabile (MP) from Dougherty and Harris, 14:43.
Shots: Malvern Prep 28, La Salle 31; Saves: Anthony Perti (MP) 31, Aries Carangi (L) 24

The Road Ahead

The path to the start of the hockey season has been difficult to navigate to stay the least. But all interested parties now parties now have a road map that shows a route all the way to the end of the season.

The Inter County Scholastic Hockey League (ICSHL) launched its 2021 campaign last Friday and the Suburban High School Hockey League is kicking off its season this week.

Meantime, the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference (APAC) remains on hold, on deference to the Covid-19 restrictions which are still in place in the City of Philadelphia and have mandated the closing of ice rinks, specifically the Class of 1923 rink at the University of Pennsylvania and the Flyers Skatezonein Northeast Philadelphia.Those restrictions are scheduled to be lifted this Friday, January 15.

APAC Commissioner Jim Britt said the conference is aiming at a February 1 start date. “The teams are making the final tweaks for APAC games and crossovers against selected ICSHL Class AAA teams,” he said.”

Britt praised the coaches and school administrators at the four APAC schools for their efforts to bring the 2021 season to fruition.

““Everyone was disappointed last March when the 2020 Flyers Cup was paused & eventually cancelled,” he said. “The APAC coaching staffs & administrators have been working hard to provide the best & safest 2021 experience possible, being creative & flexible as we navigate the challenges. We’re all looking forward to getting back on the ice.”

As for the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament, Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye indicated that the field for this year’s tournament will be announced on Sunday, March 28. The tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 5 and conclude on Thursday, April 15.

Those dates are subject to change if the season is interrupted because of Covid issues or some other cause.

The state championship games are scheduled for Saturday, April 24 in Pittsburgh.

APAC Eyeing Mid-January Start

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has formulated plans to begin its 2021 season the week of January 11.

According to APAC Commissioner Jim Britt, the schedule now under consideration would see the four conference schools, La Salle, Malvern Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep and Holy Ghost Prep play a 10-game regular season schedule that would see each team face each of the others three times while also playing one additional game against a Class AAA team from the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League (Cardinal O’Hara, Father Judge, and Roman Catholic would be among the possibilities).

That 10^thgame is important because as of now, teams are required to play 10 league games to be eligible to compete in the Flyers Cup tournament this coming spring.

The four APAC schools have been off the ice in the wake of Governor Tom Wolf’s executive order that closed indoor recreational facilities around the state, including ice rinks, effective December 12. They will remain closed until January 4.

Prior to the shutdown, Malvern Prep played and won two non-league games but the other three league schools have yet to play a game this season.

Britt is hoping that APAC teams will be able to get back on the ice for practice on or shortly after January 4. He acknowledged that that may not happen.

“At this time, there is no guarantee that the pause will be lifted at that time,” he said, “potentially causing delays to the planned restart of practices and the regular season. Player safety, with a reasonable amount of practices before starting the regular season, is an important consideration.”

Britt said the goal is to conclude the APAC regular season by mid-March with the league playoffs, prior to the start of the Flyers Cup tournament on April 5. The tournament is scheduled to conclude on April 20.

Hun School to Join APAC

Britt also announced that The Hun School will become the fifth member of the APAC beginning with the 2021-22 season. The school’s membership application was unanimously approved by the four current conference members but due to Covid restrictions in place in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the school has suspended its winter sports programs for the current school year. Hun School has competed against APAC schools in non-league games in the past.

2021 Flyers Cup Tournament to be Delayed

The 2021 Flyers Cup tournament will be played approximately one month later than usual. The decision was made by the Flyers Cup Committee in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the delayed start of the scholastic hockey season in the eastern and central portions of Pennsylvania.

The leagues that compete under the Flyers Cup umbrella traditionally begin their seasons in late October or early November. But due to the pandemic, they will not be beginning their league schedules until January.

As a result, the Flyers Cup, which traditionally begins the first week of March, is now tentatively scheduled to begin on Monday, April 5, the day after Easter, and conclude 15 days later on Tuesday, April 20.

The state championship games matching Flyers Cup and Penguins Cup champions are set for Saturday, April 24 at the Mario Lemieux Center in Pittsburgh.

Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye notes the listed start date for the tournament is tentative and could change in the event an in-season shutdown is required because of the pandemic.

“We do have some flexibility,” he said.

Tye indicated that it is possible the size of the tournament field, which last season included 53 teams (16 each in Class AA and Class A, eight each in Class AAA and the South Jersey-Delaware bracket plus five girls’ teams) could be reduced if necessary to complete the tournament in a reasonable amount of time.

There are no automatic qualifiers for the Flyers Cup tournament. It is an invitational event; teams are selected and seeded by the committee, which includes representatives from each league that sends teams to the tournament.

To be eligible for the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament, a team must play 10 league games. For a player to be eligible for the tournament he/she must participate in half the league games played by his/her team.

Examples: Team A plays a 14-game league schedule. To be Flyers Cup eligible, a player on Team A must participate in seven games.

Team B plays a 10-game league schedule. In order. to be Cup eligible, a player on Team B’s roster must participate in five league games.

Check out the latest Hockey Happenings podcast with Rick Woelfel and Eric Tye. It features an overview of what the 2021 season may look like.

It can be accessed at https://www.buzzsprout.com/213400

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