La Salle 3 St. Joseph’s Prep 2 OT

Every second counts in a close game. That was borne out Wednesday afternoon when La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep squared off. Grant LaGreca’s goal with nine tenths of a second remaining in overtime gave the Explorers a 3-2 win at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

With time winding down in the three-on-three overtime LaGreca, stationed just inside the St. Josephs Prep blue line, turned his body sideways and flipped the puck toward the net and past Hawk goalkeeper Declan Geary. His post-goal celebration brought him a minor penalty but the goal and the victory stood.

“It was coming down to the wire,” LaGreca said, and {one of his teammates} was saying ‘Shoot it.’ I just threw it at the net and it found its way through.”

The result kept the Explorers (11-6, 5-2 in the APAC) in the running for the conference regular-season title although their ray of hope is growing dim. La Salle trails Holy Ghost Prep by one point in the APAC standings with one conference game remaining. The Firebirds have the tiebreaker if the teams finish deadlocked.

Michael Zaezycki gave La Salle a 1-0 lead off a setup from Noel Donohue with 1:20 left in the first period. Donohue made it a 2-0 game with 9:13 left in the second stanza.

At that point the Hawks (8-7, 3-3) who had just 14 skaters and a goaltender on hand, seemed to be at a disadvantage. But they took the ice in the third period with what seemed to be a renewed sense of energy.

It took just 73 seconds for Patrick Sweeney to make it a one-goal game. Noah Stuhl followed up with 11:42 remaining in regulation.

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner felt the second period was his team’ best. But momentum shifted after the intermission and ice cut.

“When they got that first one it gave them the momentum that they needed,” Muehlbronner said. “I think we were kind of on our heels a little bit but we managed to come out on top which is what matters the most.”

Ironically in this matchup of rivals, there were no penalties called until La Salle’s Will Gregorio was sent off for slashing with 7:20 left in regulation. The next came 1:08 into overtime when the Hawks’ Frankie Ely was flagged for tripping, giving the Explorers a four-skaters-to-three advantage.

Just s Ely’s penalty expired, Donohue seemingly gave La Salle the win when he launched a rocket from the right wing that beat Geary. But goal was immediately disallowed on the grounds the net had become dislodged.

The countdown to the dramatic finish ensued from there.

Although the Hawks came up short on the scoreboard, St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin was impressed with the effort his team have him.

“I was very proud of the effort our boys put out,” he said. They really paid attention to detail and fought back. It was a tough way to lose but being so shorthanded it was nice to see us compete.”

Jake Rossi got the win in goal, making 27 saves along the way.

“I think {Rossi} was very calm in goal,” Muehlbronner said. “I think that helped keep the guys focused on just trying to get our game back. I do think the seniors did a good job.”

La Salle 1 1 0 1—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Michael Zarycki (L) from Nole Donohue, 15:40

Second-period goal: Donohue (L) Julian Tarsi and Michael Esmond, 7:47

Third-period goals: Patrick Sweeney (SJP) unassisted, 1:13; Noah Stuhl (SJP) from Adam Charrafi, 5:18

Overtime goal: Grant LaGreca (L) from Julian Tarsi, 4:59

Shots: La Salle 38, St. Joseph’s Prep 29; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 27, Declan Geary (SJP) 35

For more information about La Salle College High School CLICK HERE

For more information about St. Joseph’s Prep CLICK HERE

Malvern Prep 4 Hun School 0

Four different player scored goal as Malvern Prep shut out Hun School 4-0 Wednesday afternoon in an APAC game at Ice Line.

The win broke the Friars’ seven-game losing streak and lifted them to 3-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play. The Raiders fell to 3-9-2 and 0-4 in the APAC.

Gabe Bdwell gave his team the lead with a shorthanded goal 8:19 into the first period.

The hosts broke the game open in the third period when Jake Weingartner, Teague Murray, and Finn Gatta scored goals in a span of 7 minutes, 26 seconds.

Matt Crawford earned the shutout in goal with 28 saves.

Hun School 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 1 0 3—4

First-period goal: Gabe Bedwell (MP) unassisted, 8:19 (sh) Teague Murray (MP) from Matt Barbacanem 7:41 (pp); Finn Gatta (MP) from James Young, 11:29

Third-period goals: Jake Weingartner (MP) unassisted, 4:03;

Shots: Hun School 28, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 36, Matt Crawford (MP) 28

Holy Ghost Prep 3 The Hill School 3

The Firebirds and the Blues skated to a draw Wednesday afternoon at the Eccleston Rink on the Hill School campus in Pottstown.

APAC Update 1-21-25

W L Pts OTW OTL

Holy Ghost Prep (12-4) 5 2 15 0 0

La Salle (10-6) 4 2 12 0 0

St. Joseph’s Prep (8-6) 3 2 9 0 0

Malvern Prep (2-7) 1 4 3 0 0

Hun School (3-8-2) 0 3 0 0 0

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts PPG

Brady Logue HGP 7 8 10 18 2.57

Grant LaGreca La 6 8 1 9 1.50

Cole Gagron SJP 5 6 1 7 1.40

Frank Ely La 5 1 5 6 1.20

Michael Zarzycki La 6 4 3 7 1.17

Chase Logue HGP 7 3 4 7 1.00

Anthony Valeriote HGP 7 4 3 7 1.00

Save Percentage GP Shots GA Save %

Jake Rossi La 6 170 12 .929

John Botthof HGP 2 64 5 .922

Patrick Donoghue HS 2 109 10 .908

Declan Geary SJP 4 93 9 .903

Matt Crawford MP 4 120 12 .900

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Jake Rossi La 304 12 2.01

Declan Geary SJP 204 9 2.25

John Botthof HGP 102 5 2.50

Matt Salita HGP 102 5 2.50

Jack Unger HGP 153 8 2.67

Matt Crawford MP 204 12 3.00

Holy Ghost Prep 4 Hun School 1

The journey wasn’t easy at times. But, in the end, Holy Ghost Prep got the result it wanted Wednesday afternoon, a 4-1 decision over The Hun School in an APAC encounter at Ice Land.
With the win, the Firebirds, who have won eight of their last nine starts improved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the APAC. They’ll conclude conference play with a rematch against the Raiders next Friday.

The visitors jumped in front early on. Joe Spadaccino scored a power-play goal 3:30 into the opening period.

But the remainder of the first frame was challenging for both sides, a study in old-time hockey. There were 12 penalties called in the opening session.

“It didn’t seem like there was much flow to the game early on,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker.

The visitors had the better of the play over the first two periods but were stymied repeatedly by Patrick Donoghue in the Hun School net. The senior finished with 51 saves. The Raiders are just 2-8-2 on the season (0-3 in the APAC) but Donoghue and Elliot Wong have been sold in goal all season.

“I think the one really nice thing is we have two really good goalies,” Szeker said. “I never worry about who is going between the pipes for us. They work hard, they’re best friends in the locker room, and they push each other every day.”

Anthony Valeriote extended Holy Ghost Prep’s lead 35 second into the third period but the Raiders responded a minute-and-a-half later when the Firebirds coughed up the puck directly in front of their own net, making it a one-goal game once more.

Brian Kinniry extended his team’s lead when he scored with 11:39 left in the third frame and then delivered an insurance goal with 2:01 remaining.

Spadaccino didn’t play in the last two periods but was proud of the way his teammates were able to get past the challenging first frame.

“It shows that no matter what gets in our path, we just keep on fighting,” he said. “We try to get to the end goal of winning.”

Firebird goaltender Matt Salita stopped 14 of the 15 shots he saw, earning praise from his coach John Ritchie.

“I thought Salita did a great job in net for a sophomore,” Ritchie said. “Those are tough games for goalies, only facing 15 shots dispersed throughout the game with power plays for them and stretches where he wasn’t seeing pucks.”

The Firebirds are listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday, but Ritchie says his team will need contributions from the entire lineup to reach its potential.

“We have a couple guys on our roster that carry the weight of this team on their backs game in and game out,” he said. “I know what to expect from them, so it’s just about getting all 20 guys, or all 18 skaters, to pull the rope in the same direction.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 3—4

Hun School 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Brady Logue, 3:30 (pp)

Third-period goals: Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from Chase Logue and Brady Logue, :35; Luke Rassler (HS) unassisted, 2:03; Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Logan Barnes and Colin Bara, 5:21; Kinniry (HGP) from Barnes and Santino Tiberio, 14:59

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 55, Hun School 15; Saves: Matt Salita (HGP) 14, Patrick Donoghue (HS) 51

Flyers Cup Rankings #2

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum

Class AA

Council Rock South
Haverford High
North Penn
Downingtown West
Pennridge

Class A
1. West Chester Henderson

2. Garnet Valley

3. Kennett

4. Penncrest

5. Hershey

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
Conestoga
Kingsway
West Chester Henderson

This is the second of four sets of rankings that will be released prior to the Flyers Cup Selection Show on Sunday, February 23.

Holy Ghost Prep 5, Salesianum 1

The APAC and the Intercounty League crossed paths Thursday afternoon. In a prelude to a possible Flyers Cup Tournament matchup, Holy Ghost Prep, from the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, scored a 5-1 decision over Salesianum which was sailing under the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League banner. Ur was the Firebirds’ seventh straight win.

The result of the non-league encounter, which was played at Grundy Arena in Bristol, will be factored into the calculations the Flyers Cup Committee will use to determine the makeup and seedings for its Class AAA field.

It was the second win for the Firebirds (11-3 in less than 24 hours; they defeated St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night. On Thursday, they picked up where they left off although two of their big guns Brady and Chase Logue, were away on club duty.

Senior Logan Barnes started things off with a shot from the left point that got the better of Sallies goaltender Ryne Dominick and have the hosts the lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening period. Joe Spadaccino it a 2-0 game just 74 seconds later.

The second period was largely a battle of special teams; there were seven penalties called in the period, but the Firebirds got the better of it despite being two men short for 37 seconds at one point.

Brian Kinniry extended the Firebirds’ lead with 6:47 left in the second frame while the teams were skating four on four. The senior spoke of how the Firebirds bounced back after their win Wednesday night.

“I think we all came together as a team he said. “It was a tough game last night with a different atmosphere but we all pushed through.”

The Sallies (12-2) got on the scoreboard with 10:49 left in the third period when Justin Celentino got the puck past Firebird goaltender Matt Salita from in front of the net. It was 3-1 at that point but William Harmar answered for Holy Ghost Prep less than two minutes later and Joseph Kauffman added an insurance goal with 6:47 left in regulation.

“We were going toe to toe with them in the first period,” said Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc, “but then in the second period we kind of slowed down a little bit.

“You’d think that a power play and a five-on-three would give you some advantage but we couldn’t even get a shot on goal. It was not whet we had hoped for but I think we learned a lot today.”

The Firebirds have won five straight games since returning from the National Scholastic Invitational tournament in Jamestown, New York. Assistant coach George Mundy says the tournament was a turning point.

“Since we’ve gotten back from New York the team has played really, really well,” he said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different players, which is good. We’re getting good goaltending our defense has been solid. So, we’re playing really good hockey right now.”

Salesianum 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Logan Barnes (HGP) from Brady Flynn, 12:42; Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 13:56

Second-period goal: Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan and Nate Romer, 10:13

Third-period goals: Justin Celentino (S) from Braeden Graham and Liam Bell, 6:11; William Harmar (HGP) from Kinniry, 8:00; Joseph Kaufmann (HGP) from John Graff, 10:29

Shots: Salesianum 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38; Saves: Ryne Dominick (S) 33, Matt Salita (HGP) 26

St. Ignatius 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 3

Purple Puck Tournament Final

Sam Elwell scored two goals and assisted on a third as St. Ignatius downed St. Joseph’s Prep 4-3 Sunday evening in the Prep Division championship game of the Purple Puck Tournament in Springfield, Virginia.

Noel Ignacio and Kyle Rucinski also scored for St. Ignatius, which won all five of its tournament games over the course of the weekend.

Rucinski’s goal with 3:11 left in the second half was the game winner.

Cole Gargon scored twice for St. Joseph’s Prep, which went 2-3 over the weekend and was trying for its third straight division championship. Michael Washlick also scored for the Hawks, who now stand at 8-4 overall.

Elwell and Gargon traded goals in the first 25-minute half before Ignacio Have St. Ignatius a 2-1 lead with 6:11 remaining in the half.

Elwell extended his team’s lead 9:20 into the second half. Gargon’s power-play goal with 7:59 left in regulation drew the Hawks closer but Rucinski answered four-and-a-half minutes later.

St. Joseph’s Prep had a 34-24 edge in shots on goal. Dominic Filizetti got the win in goal with 31 saves

• Elwell and Ignacio led the tournament in scoring. Each finished with seven goals and three assists … St. Joseph’s Prep goaltender Declan Geary finished the tournament with a .902 save percentage and a 2.44 GAA.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2—3

St. Ignatius 2 2—4

First-half goals: Sam Elwell (SI) from Preston Forsythe and Cade Bradley, 5:11; Cole Gargon (SP) from Ben Kursen and Frankie Ely, 11:09; Noel Ignacio (SI) from Patrick Rose and Charlie Banaszak, 18:49

Second-half goals: Elwell (SI) unassisted, 15:40; Gargon (SJP) from Caden Kelly, 17:01 (pp); Kyle Rucinski (SI) from Elwell and Gavin Marziani, 21:49; Michael Washlick (SJP) from Jai Perry-Pereira, 22:01

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 34, St. Ignatius 24 Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 20, Dominic Filizetti 31

Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 4

Brady Logue’s goal with 9:32 left in the third period was the game winner as Holy Ghost Prep topped La Salle 6-4 Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Ice. Logue scored three goals and added an assist as the Firebirds improved to 2-2 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference and 7-3 overall. It was their second win over the Explorers this season

Grant LaGreca and Michael Zarzycki each scored twice for the Explorers, who stand at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the APAC. LaGreca also added an assist.

Santino Tibero have Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead 4:58 into the first period. LaGreca answered with a power-play goal less than a minute later.

Logue scored two goals of his own before the period ended, the second one coming during a power play with one second remaining in the period after the Explores were penalized for having too many players on the ice.

LaGreca and Zarzycki scored goals in a span of 1:57 to tie the game at 3-3 5:44 into the second period. Chase Logue’s shorthanded goal with 7:54 left in the middle period put the Firebirds back in front but Zarzycki responded with a shorthanded goal of his own 5:35 into the third frame, setting the stage for Logue’s game winner.

Brian Kinniry added an empty net goal with 19 seconds remaining.

”I like some of the adjustments that we made,” said Holy Ghost prep coach John Ritchie, “and they seemed to pay off today.

”That being said, I know the La Salle team we will see come playoff time will be different.

”All in all, I think it was a good win but we have plenty to work on as we try to figue out who we are as a team.”

Holy Ghost Prep 3 1 2—6

La Salle 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Santino Tibero (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino and Brady Logue, 4:58; Grant LaGreca (L) from Jacob Warner and Cameron Ross, 5:55 (pp); Brady Logue (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 11:46; Brady Logue (HGP) unassisted, 16:59 (pp)

Second-period goals: LaGreca (L) unassisted, 3:48 (pp) Michael Zarzycki from LaGreca and Tristan Mitchell, 5:44; Chase Logue (HGP) unassisted, 9:06 (sh)

Third-period goals: Zarzycki unassisted, 5:35 (sh); Brady Logue (HGP) 7:28 (pp); Brian Kinniry (HGP) unassisted, 16:41 (en)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 34, La Salle 27; Saves: Jack Butthof (HGP) 23, Jake Rossi (HGP) 28

HGP-Malvern Prep Matchup About Much More Than Hockey

Thursday’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference matchup between Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will be about much more than what happens on the ice.

For the third year in succession, the hockey community is coming together for RTS Awareness Night and highlight the fight against Rubnenstein Taybi Syndrome, a genetic disorder. Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan and his wife Sarah joined the fight when they learned their son Connor, who will turn 5 in January, was afflicted with RTS.

Connor is the youngest of the Keenans’ three children. His brother JJ is 10, his sister Olivia is 8.

Proceeds from Thursday’s game (6:45 puck drop at Ice Line) will go to support the families of children dealing with the disorder.

“This is our third annual RTS Awareness Night,” Keenan said. “It’s a great night to come together as a community and raise awareness not only for RTS but those affected with rare diseases.

“Sometimes life is bigger then sports or a hockey game. We are grateful for the community that surrounds us and the support they provide to Connor and our family.”

“We look forward to continuing this event for many years to come. The past two years we played against St. Joseph’s Prep and this year Coach Ritchie without hesitation willingly said Holy Ghost would participate. It is a great sign of strength in why we play in this league because again it’s more than just a game.”