APAC Update

Standings include games played through 1-16-20

W L OW OL Pts GF GA

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-8) 3 0 0 3 12 21 19

Holy Ghost Prep (9-4-1) 3 3 1 0 11 25 21

Malvern Prep (6-5) 2 4 2 0 10 33 36

LaSalle (8-11) 1 2 1 1 6 24 15

Games of Friday, January 10

La Salle 6, Holy Ghost Prep 1

Malvern Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 4 OT

Scoring Leaders Games G A Pts

Byron Hartley (HGP) 11 16 10 26

Matt Harris (MP) 8 15 4 19

Jack Constabile (MP) 8 3 13 16

Evan Mudrick (HGP) 10 7 7 14

Anthony Sparo (HGP) 9 4 9 13

Ryan Sambuco (MP) 8 4 9 13

Nathan Benner (La) 11 6 5 11

Andrew Centrella (SJP) 12 1 10 11

Jimmy Craig (SJP) 12 3 7 10

Braedon Barsher (HGP) 11 8 1 9

Nolan Woudenberg (La) 10 7 2 9

Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) 11 7 2 9

Class AAA Flyers Cup Power Rankings

1 St. Joseph’s Prep

2. Holy Ghost Prep

3. Malvern Prep

4. La Salle

5. Father Judge

Flyers Cup rankings are calculated exclusively on results against the Flyers Cup-eligible teams.

Check out our Flyers Cup podcast with Flyers Cup committee president Eric Tye at:

www.buzzsprout.com/213400

New podcasts will be added each Friday from now until the end of the season.

SHSHL Update 1-7-2020

Standings

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

Neshaminy (7-2-0-0) 5 1 0 0 10

C.B. South 7-0-0-1) 5 0 0 0 10

C.R. South (4-3-0-0) 4 0 0 0 8

North Penn (5-2-0-0) 4 0 0 0 8

C.B. East (6-1-1-1) 3 1 1 1 8

C.B. West (6-1-1-1)) 3 1 1 0 7

Pennsbury (6-2-1-0 3 2 1 0 7

Abington (2-6-0-0) 1 3 0 0 2

Pennridge (5-5-0-0) 2 4 0 0 4

William Tennent (3-6-0-0) 1 5 0 0 2

Souderton (1-8-1-1) 1 4 1 1 4

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

Council Rock North (1-8-0-0) 0 6 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-1-0-0) 5 0 0 0 8

Wissahickon (5-5-0-0) 3 3 0 0 6

Hatboro-Horsham (8-1-0-1) 3 1 0 1 7

Lower Moreland (1-7-0-0) 1 3 0 0 2

Truman (0-9-0-0) 0 4 0 0 0

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game.

The shootout will not be used

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 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!

Promote your product, service, or event in this space, all the way to the Flyers Cup! Contact us HERE for more information.

Check out our Flyers Cup podcast with Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye HERE

Scoring Class AA G A Pts

Jake Lang (CBW) 21 17 38

Robert Seewagon(Nesh) 19 13 32

Chris Trefz (CBW). 9 20 29

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 6 16 22

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 9 12 21

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 10 10 20

Beau Brusius-Yedman (PB) 9 11 20

Antii Autere (CRS) 5 14 19

Michael Roby (CRS) 13 6 19

Joey DeMatteo (Nesh) 11 7 18

Colin Abbonizio (CBS) 10 7 17

Class A G A Pos.

Aidan Keogh (PW) 14 18 32

Seth Lerner (HH) 15 10 25

Alex Howieson (HH) 14 13 27

Jake Weikel (PW) 13 12 25

Dean Keller (PW) 13 12 25

Luke Weikel (PW) 11 10 21

Aidan Esack (HH) 7 12 19

Nicholas Hissa (Wiss) 13 4 17

Tarek Elsabbagh (HH) 9 8 17

Class AA

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 272 6 1.06

Mason Moyer (CBS) 384 10 1.25

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 380 16 1.85

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 390 21 2.59

Jake Coddington (CBW) 408 28 3.29

Save Percentage MP Shots GA Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS) 384 172 10 .942

Jimmy Sweeney 272 85 6 .929

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 390 245 21 .921

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 380 153 16 .895

Ryan Pico (Pr) 432 271 31 .886

Class A

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Ben Yuter (PW) 340 21 2.97

Joe Gambimo (HH) 390 32 3.97

Saved Percentage. MP Shots GA. Save Pct.

Joe Gambino (HH)) 390 291 32 .890

Ben Yuter (PW) 340 155 21 .865

Flyers Cup Power Rankings 1-6-2020

Below are the Flyers Cup power rankings for Monday, January 6. They are based on a combination of game results, schedule strength, and the observations of the Flyers Cup Competition Committee.

Records include results reported as of 1-5-2020.

The information below is provided by the Flyers Cup Committee. For complete information about the 41^st Flyers Cup, go to www.flyers-cup.org .

Class AA

Central Bucks South (7-0-0-1)
Haverford (12-1-0-0)
Perkiomen Valley (7-1-0-1)
North Penn (5-2-0-0)
Neshaminy (7-2-0-0)
Central Bucks East (6-1-1-1)
Central Bucks West (6-1-1-1)
Downingtown West (5-4-0-1)
Pennsbury (6-2-1-0)
Council Rock South (4-2-0-0)

The top three teams remained the same as top-seeded CB South (SHSHL) did not take the ice this week. Second seeded Haverford High (ICSHL) took care of business against Ridley (ICSHL) with an 8-1 victory. Perkiomen Valley (ICSHL) remains in third as they defeated AAA Cardinal O’Hara (ICSHL) by a score of 4-3. Previous #4 CB West (SHSHK) suffered a 12-2 loss to Pennridge (SHSHL), dropping them to #7, and Downingtown West (ICSHL) fell from #6 to #8 after a 2-1 loss to Boyertown (ICSCHL). Ridley additionally fell out of this week’s rankings after their loss to Haverford High and were replaced by CR South (SHSHL), who enters this week at #10.

Key Upcoming Games

1/6: Avon Grove vs. Downingtown West
1/8: CB South vs. CB East
1/8: CB West vs. CR South
1/9: North Penn vs. Neshaminy
1/10: Conestoga vs. Downingtown West

Class AAA

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-1-0-1)
Holy Ghost Prep (5-2-0-0)
Malvern Prep (4-3-0-0)
La Salle (4-2-0-0)
Father Judge (7-5-0-0)

There was no change to this week’s rankings due to a large break for league and local play. St. Joseph’s Prep (APAC) remains as the top seed and is followed by Holy Ghost Prep (APAC), Malvern Prep (APAC), La Salle (APAC) and Father Judge (ICSHL). Father Judge added to their win record with a 5-2 victory over Roman Catholic in ICSHL-PCL play and remains as the only non-APAC school in the top 5.

Key Upcoming Games

1/8 @ 4:00pm: Malvern Prep vs. La Salle (Hatfield Ice Arena)
1/10: Holy Ghost Prep vs. La Salle
1/10: St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Malvern Prep
1/10: Father Judge vs. Cardinal O’Hara

Note: . The Flyers Cup Committee made the decision to only quantify results against other Flyers Cup eligible teams (league and non-league). Teams will not be potentially penalized by example for traveling out of state to compete against other nationally ranked schools from around the Mid-Atlantic region and country. The records in graphic represents eligible games.

Class A

West Chester East (9-2-0-0)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-1-0-0)
Springfield Delco (7-2-0-2)
West Chester Rustin (5-3-0-2)
Unionville (7-5-0-0)
Hatboro-Horsham (8-1-0-1)
Palmyra (10-1-0-1)
Strath Haven (7-3-0-1)
Hershey (8-1-1-2)
West Chester Henderson (4-4-1-0)

West Chester East (ICSHL) remains as the top seed of Class A after a 3-1 victory over West Chester Henderson (ICSHL). Plymouth Whitemarsh’s (SHSHL) large 12-3 victory over Lower Moreland (SHSHL) keeps them at #2, and Springfield (ICSHL) remains at #3 with no games played last week. West Chester Rustin (ICSHL) makes the climb from #5 to #4 after defeating Ches-Mont rival Downingtown East (ICSHL) by a score of 3-1. Unionville also climbs from #6 to #5 after defeating Avon Grove (ICSHL) 5-2, swapping places with #6 Hatboro-Horsham (SHSHL) who took care of business against Truman (SHSHL). WC Henderon’s loss to WC East caused a slight shake up from #7-#10. Palmyra (CPIHL) and Hershey (CPIHL) both benefitted from Henderson’s loss, and Strath Haven (ICSHL) remained at #8 after a 7-2 victory over Garnet Valley (ICSHL).

Key Upcoming Games

1/6: WC East vs. Downingtown East (AA)
1/8: Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Wissahickon
1/10: Palmyra vs. Hershey
1/10: Strath Haven vs. Lower Merion

South Jersey/Delaware

Eastern (8-2-2-0)
Salesianum (5-3-1-1)
Mooresetown (7-3-2-0)
Shawnee (6-4-2-0)
Appoquinimink (8-1-0-1)

Eastern (SJHSHL) sits at the top as they lead the pack in the SJHSHL and after they defeated Kingsway 9-2 in a league battle this past week. Salesianum (ICSHL) checks in at #2 and are followed by Moorestown (SJHSHL) and Shawnee (SJHSHL) who played each other this past week – Moorestown won 4-3. Appoquinimink (ICSHL) rounds out the top 5 after defeating Bishop Shanahan by a score of 5-2.

Key Upcoming Games

1/6: Eastern vs. Shawnee
1/10: Salesianum vs. Perkiomen Valley (AA)
1/10: Eastern vs. Moorestown

Girls

Unionville (8-2-0-1)
Bux-Mony (9-1-0-0)
Avon Grove (8-3-0-1)
West Chester East (3-6-0-0)

Unionville (ICSHL) leads the way in the first power rankings for the Flyers Cup girls division with a record of 8-2-0-1. They are followed by Bux-Mont (ICSHL), Avon Grove (ICSHL), and West Chester East (ISCHL). The following teams are additionally eligible for the girls division: Conestoga, Radnor, West Chester Henderson, and West Chester Bayard Rustin – All from the ICSHL.

Key Upcoming Games

1/10: Bux-Mont vs. Radnor

Who Is Eligible?

The following boys’ teams are eligible to compete in the 2020 Flyers Cup.

Class AAA (10 teams, the final field will consist of a maximum of 8)

Archbishop Carroll

Bishop Shanahan

Bux-Mont Catholic

Cardinal O’Hara

Father Judge

Holy Ghost Prep

La Salle

Malvern Prep

Roman Catholic

St. Joseph’s Prep

Class AA (24 teams, the final field will consist of a maximum of 16)

Abington

Avon Grove

Boyertown

Central Bucks East

Central Bucks South

Central Bucks West

Conestoga

Council Rock South

Cumberland Valley

Downingtown East

Downingtown West

Haverford

Manheim Township

Neshaminy

North Penn

Parkland

Pennridge

Pennsbury

Perkiomen Valley

Quakertown

Ridley

Souderton

Spring-Ford

William Tennent

Class A (21 teams, the final field will consist of maximum of 16)

Council Rock North

Garnet Valley

Hatboro-Horsham

Hershey

Lower Dauphin

Lower Merion

Lower Moreland

Owen J. Roberts

Palmyra

Penncrest

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Radnor

Springfield-Delco

Strath Haven

Sun Valley

Truman

Unionville

West Chester Bayard Rustin

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Wissahickon

South Jersey/Delaware (11 teams, size of field TBD)

Appoquinimink

Cherokee

Delaware Military Academy

Eastern

Egg Harbor

Kingsway

Moorestown

Salesianum

Shawnee

St. Mark’s

Washington Township

Flyers Cup Podcast

Hockey Happenings sat down with Eric Tye, the President of the Flyers Cup Committee, to discuss the 2020 Flyers Cup. The countdown is underway to the 41st edition of the tournament, which is scheduled to begin March 2.

Check out our podcast at www.buzzsprout.com/213400.

Pennridge 12, C.B. West 2

HATFIELD—Pennridge got hot early Thursday night and stayed hot. Blake Stewart scored three goals and assisted on three others and Jeff Manto scored three goals of his own as the Rams blasted Central Bucks West 12-2 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA game at Hatfield Ice.

Pennridge is just 2-4 in league play but has improved to 5-5 overall. With the start of the new year, a young team is beginning to blossom.

“I didn’t really see that coming,” said Ram coach Jeff Montagna. “We’ve just been preaching, ‘Do things the right way. And more times than not, it’s going to go your way. If it doesn’t, keep going at it.’

“They got some breaks tonight.You’re not going to beat that team 12-2 very often.”
The opening period featured five goals in a 10-and-a-half minute span. The Rams opened the scoring 2:30 into the period when Connor Frisch delivers a wrister from 10 feet inside the West blue line. Arek Lehrhaupt made it a 2-0 game at the 5:25 mark. Luke Tremmel scored for West at 7:33 to cut the margin in half but Pennridge took over from there. Jack Lowery extended his team’s lead at the 9:41 mark before Stewart ended the flurry with a goal at 10:58.

The Bucks (6-1-1-1, 3-1-1 in the league) were shorthanded because of injuries. They had just 13 skaters available including four freshmen. West coach Dave Baun felt his team was suffering the effects of the holiday layoff.

“That’s what a team that relies in structure looks like when they play without any,” he said. “We haven’t practiced for a month and a lot of the things that we work on a lot were clearly forgotten.”

The Rams kept coming in the second period when Stewart and Manto scored two goals apiece.

Kyle Fasolak replaced Jeff Coddington in the West net at the start of the final period. Tremmel scored a second goal for the Bucks but the Rams scored four times themselves before Manto completed his hat trick to send everyone home with 1:05 left in regulation.

“It was a great feeling to have it all click,” Manto said. “It felt real good as a a team.”

Manto is hoping Thursday’s win will give his team a jump start as the long match to the postseason begins. “Hopefully it will give us a confidence boost,” the junior said.

Stewart, who is also a junior, is optimistic about what lies ahead for Rams. “We’re a young team,” he said, and if we just connect like we have been all season we’ll get a lot of goals. And out a lot of pressure on these other teams.”

Notes— Thursday’s game was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Rams suffered a 4-3 loss to the Bucks in a non-league encounter a week before Christmas.
C.B. West 1 0 1—2
Pennridge 4 4 4—12

First-period goals: Connor Frisch (P) unassisted, 2:30; Arek Lehrhaupt (P) from Blake Stewart, 5:25; Luke Tremmel (CBW) from Danny Poliak, 7:33; Jack Lowery (P) from Lehrhaupt, 9:41; Blake Stewart (P) unassisted, 10:58.
Second-period goals: Stewart (P) from Andrew David and Richie Shanks, :48; Jeff Manto (P) from Stewart, 7:11(sh); Stewart (P) from Shanks, 13:00; Manto (P) from Lowery, 14:34.
Third-period goals: Jacob Lizak from Sian Boyle and Cooper White; 53; David (P) from Stewart, 1:43; Tremmel (CBW) from Poliak, 8:38; Manto (P) from Frisch, 11:39; Shanks (P) from Frisch, 14:55.
Shots, C.B. West 27, Pennridge 42; Saves: Jake Coddington (CBW) 22 and Kyle Fasolak (CBW) 8, Ryan Pico (P) 25.

First Set of Flyers Cup Power Rankings Announced

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of power rankings for the 2019-20 season. The committee established the rankings system in an effort to enhance the tournament’s competitive balance.

The rankings include scholastic hockey teams in Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware. They are based in part on results prior to the holiday break, as well as schedule strength and the input of a five-member competition committee,whose members, all of whom have extensive hockey backgrounds, attend and observe games throughout the area.

Longtime coach Eric Tye overseeing the Flyers Cup Committee. He stresses the importance of the competition committee observing games.

“I think it’s very important,” he said. There is a formula that were using, but eye tests are a factor here and the only way to get eye tests is to watch games. They’re paying attention and they’re watching.”

The rankings will be updated weekly until the tournament field is selected in February; the selections are scheduled to be announced on February 23.

The 41^st edition of the Flyers Cup will get underway on March 2

Class A

West Chester East (8-2-0-0)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-2-0-0)
Unionville (6-5-0-0)
Hatboro-Horsham (7-1-0-1)
West Chester Henderson (7-1-0-1)
Springfield Delco (7-2-0-2)
Palmyra (9-2-0-0)
Hershey (8-1-1-1)
Lower Dauphin (8-4-0-0)
Strath Haven (6-3-0-1)

Class AA

Central Bucks South (7-0-0-1)
Haverford High (11-1-0-0)
Perkiomen Valley (6-1-0-1)
North Penn (5-2-0-0)
Neshaminy (7-2-0-0)
Central Bucks West (6-0-1-1)
Downingtown West (5-3-0-1)
Pennsbury (5-2-1-0)
Ridley (7-3-0-0)
Central Bucks East (5-1-1-1)

Class AAA (records through 12-29)

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-7)
Holy Ghost Prep (8-3)
Malvern Prep (3-4)
La Salle (7-7)
Father Judge (6-5)

N.J./Delaware

Cherokee (6-2-3-0)
Shawnee (7-3-2-0)
Eastern (6-3-2-0)
Salesianum (5-3-1-1)
Moorestown (6-3-2-0)

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St. Joseph’s Prep 5, Cardinal O’Hara 1

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP— St. Joseph’s Prep hasn’t spent a lot of time on the ice of late because of exams and the approach of the Christmas holidays. But the Hawks put together a solid effort Monday night in a 5-1 win over Cardinal O’Hara at the Skatium.

Austin Amato scored three goals for the Hawks who closed the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with a 5-5 record.

“I really liked how we skated today,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “Our three lines skated hard and that’s all I can ever ask for. The other day (in a 2-1 overtime loss to Holy Ghost Prep last Friday) we didn’t skate as hard as I would have liked to have seen then but today they dug deep and played really well.”

The Hawks dominated the opening period. They opened the scoring 6:08 into the first period when Ryan Newby launched a shot from the left point.Lion goaltender Troy Percival made the save but Joseph Samango poked in the rebound.

O’Hara (7-4) got the equalizer when Shane Truax beat Andrew Custer at the 9:18 mark. It was the Lions’ first and only shot of the period.

The Hawks regained the lead at 7:52 of the second frame when Amato finished an odd-man rush with help from Andrew Centrella and Ben Briskin and extended it when Amato stole the puck at the Hawk blue line and went remaining 130 feet by himself. Amato completed his hat trick with 4:43 left in the game. Jeffrey Hammon finished the scoring with 39 seconds remaining.

Amato, who is a senior and one of the Hawks’ assistant captains, noted that a young team is beginning to mature. “In the beginning it was rough,” he said, “getting chemistry with the young guys. But everyone’s getting better. Everyone knows each other and we’re friends now so the chemistry is building.”

The evening was about more than hockey. It was also an evening to call attention to the fight against breast cancer. Various fundraisers were held to raise funds for the Kevin Cain Memorial Foundation, which supports cancer patients and their families and several breast cancer patients were recognized including Rachel Craig, whose brother Jimmy Craig is one of the St. Joseph’s Prep captains, and Eileen Vice, the principal at Cardinal O’Hara.

Amato appreciated being part of the event.”It’s awesome he said, “representing my teammates, my teammates families. I know it’s important to guys like Jimmy. It’s bigger than us.”

Ice Chips—The Hawks defeated the Lions in last year’s Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinals. They’ll travel to Washington, D.C. this weekend for the Purple Puck tournament.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 2—5
Cardinal O’Hara 1 0 0—1

First-period goal: Joseph Samango (SJP) from Ryan Newby, 6:08; ShaneTruax from Greg Diamond, 9:18.
Second-period goals: Austin Amato (SJP) from Centrella, and Ben Briskin, 7:52; Amato (SJP) unassisted, 13:19 (sh).
Third-period goal: Amato (SJP) from Andrew Centrella and Briskin, 11:17; Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Centrella, 15:21.
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 26, Cardinal O’Hara 18; Saves: Andrew Custer (HGP) 17, Troy Percival (COH) 21.

Flyers Cup Dates Set

By Rick Woelfel

Dates have been set for the 2020 Flyer Cup tournament. The 41^st edition of the tournament will be contested from March 2 through March 19 and feature the top high school teams in Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware.

Champions will be crowned in five divisions, including Class AAA, Class AA and Class A in Pennsylvania, as well as a girls’ division plus a separate championship for teams from South Jersey and Delaware.

The size of the tournament field is expected to be slightly reduced in 2020. The Class AAA field will be include a maximum of eight teams and the girls’ division will once more feature four schools. The Class AA and Class A fields however are expected to be capped at a maximum of 16 teams each. The size of the NJ-Delaware field is undetermined.

First-round games are set to begin on Monday, March 2 with championship games tentatively set for March 17, 18, and 19. The three Pennsylvania boys’ champions will face their counterparts from Western Pennsylvania in state championship games on Saturday, March 21.

The defending champions are as follows:

Class AAA La Salle

Class AA Downingtown East

Class A West Chester Rustin

Girls Unionville

SJ/Delaware Eastern Regional

The Flyers Cup was first played in 1980 and featured a four-team field. In the years since, it has been recognized as the premier event on the scholastic hockey schedule.

Flyers Cup Finals on You Tube

The webcasts of Sunday’s Flyers Cup finals are now available on You Tub as listed below

A Final – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMFTLLkMi4

AA Final – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkGl31ugH6k

AAA Final – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL2cxIEr7ks

Enjoy!!

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LaSalle 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

PHILADELPHIA— Sunday’s Class AAA Flyers Cup final could be divided into two distinct segments; the first 6 minutes, 52 seconds and all that happened thereafter.
LaSalle built a 3-0 lead over St. Joseph’s Prep in the opening phase of the game. From that point on, the two Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference rivals played on more or less even terms. But the Explorers’ opening surge proved decisive in a 5-2 victory before a large and enthusiastic audience at the Wells Fargo Center that gave them the Flyers Cup for the 11th time, but for the first time since 2016

“We got we are becasue of everybody in that locker room,” said LaSalle defenseman and captain Zach Baker, especially our goalkeeping.

Top-seeded LaSalle (22-6) got off to a fast start be scoring on three of its first four shots. Brandon Leer, Ryan Ferry, and Michael Casey all found the back of the net to put their team up 3-0 with 10:08 still to go in the first period, prompting St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin to make a goaltender change, with Dan McGill replacing Troy Stefano.

The sixth-seeded Hawks (8-17) continued to battle however. Vincent Borgesi’s power-play goal with 50 seconds left in the period served notice that he and his mates weren’t quite willing to relinquish their status as defending Flyers Cup champions. Andrew Centrella made it a one-goal game when he scored a power-play goal of his own, beating LaSalle netminder Aidan McCabe inside the right post at the 4:19 mark.
Meantime, McGill was sharp at the other end of the ice. Heading into the third period it was still 3-2 and the result was still up for grabs.

At that point, Sam Lipkin stepped up for LaSalle, making a move down the left wing and beating McGill to extend his team’s lead just 38 seconds into the period. Two minutes and change later LaSalle had an apparent goal disallowed (the puck was played with a high stick) and went on to dictate play in the the third period.
Ryan Sambuco finished the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:27 remaining.

“A tough start,” Giacomin said. “We gave up those three goals the way we did but I was proud of the way we battled back and got the game tight. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the greatest start in the third period.”

LaSalle Wally Muehlbronner said his team had a good attitude at the start and got it back at the start of the third period. “The message was ‘Let’s relax and let’s play the way we’re capable of playing,” he said, ‘and I think they did that.”

Casey who assisted on Lipkin’s goal in addition to scoring his own, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “I couldn’t do it without my linemates,” the sophomore said. “People behind me, coaches pushing me every shift. It’s obviously something special.”

LaSalle’s Sam Lipkin in white vs St. Joseph’s Prep’s Dan McGill (photo by Kathy Leister)

LaSalle will move on to the state championship game next Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins Cup champion … The Explorers had a 38-22 edge in shots … Lauren Hart gave a live rendition of the national anthem prior to the opening faceoff.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 10—2
LaSalle 3 0 2—5
First-period goals: Brandon Leer (L) from Ryan Walsh and Nolan Woudenberg, 4:03; Ryan Ferry (L) from Zach Baker and Eric Ford, 5:52 (pp): Michael Casey (L) from Sam Lipkin and Fabrizio Mazzarelli. 6:52; Vincent Borgesi (SJP) from Andrew Centrella and MIke Urbani 16:10 (pp).
Second-period goal: Centrella (HGP) from Dan McGill and Borgesi, 4:19 (pp).
Third-period goals: Lipkin(L) from Casey, :38; Ryan Sambuco (L) unassisted, 15;33.
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 22, LaSalle 38; Saves: Troy Stefano (SJP) 1 and Dan McGill (SJP) 32; Aidan McCabe (L) 20