Hawks’ Lynch Embraces Wearing the Captain’s ‘C’

The captain’s position in hockey, whatever the level, transcends that role in other team sports.

The captain is expected to provide leadership and support to his teammates, and perhaps at times serve as a bridge between the players and the coaching staff, while taking care not to let his own on-ice performance fall off.

John Lynch is wearing the ‘C’ at St. Joseph’s Prep this season. The senior defenseman was appointed by his coach, David Giacomin, with input from his teammates. Each player on the roster was permitted to submit three names to be considered for the captaincy.

It is a role that Lynch, a South Philadelphia resident, embraces.

John Lynch

“I was happy with it,” he said. “Because I’ve been a captain before. But I was never given the actual ‘C ‘I, was just named captain.

“And to have the ‘C,’ it’s nice to have it; it just shows my dedication and my true leadership.

St. Joseph’s Prep is the first team Lynch has played for that has a designated captain but he says he’s assumed a leadership role on the club teams he’s played for (he’s currently skating for the Philadelphia Blazers 18 AA team).

“It’s good to be the guy that everyone looks up to,” he said. “This year with a lot of freshmen especially, it’s good to earn everyone’s respect and to just be positive. I have to make everyone accountable, which is the most important aspect.”

Lynch’s leadership style varies depending on he’s interacting with upperclassmen or his younger teammates.

“With the upperclassmen, I can talk to them in a different way,” he said. “And they can relate to my position. And they can help me out, see where I’m coming from. And there’s ways to address them, even though they’re in the same grade.

“It’s different with the freshmen because when you’re teaching them now, you’re setting up for the rest of their four years of high school and they can just continue to pass that on as they go.”

The lineup of 20 players the Hawks dressed in their APAC opener against La Salle included two freshmen and four sophomores. Two other freshmen didn’t dress.

Lynch points out that with a roster so young, it’s especially important that he and the other veterans set a positive tone.

“it’s important because there’s so many of them,” he said. “They all have to understand the commitment, and how we all just have to be together as one.

“You just have to show them more and earn their respect because if you don’t have their respect, it won’t work. But, if everyone just buys in, especially with the young kids, everyone just has to understand their role. If you teach them now, you’re setting them up for success later and they can eventually pass it on when they’re seniors.”

Lynch notes the importance of leading by example, of not letting his captain’s responsibilities negatively own on-ice performance.

“That’s definitely a factor,” he said. “If I’m having a bad game and I’m the captain there’s ways you can address the team, tell them we’ve got to step it up. Even if I’m not on my game, I can see through our mistakes and everything.

“They can see that I’m doing something wrong too but I can also help the team in other ways if I’m not having the best game. Like, motivating everybody getting up if they can to block shots.

“There’s other ways to address it especially if I’m not having that good a game, but it is hard to keep a positive mindset if I’m having a bad game If I am having a bad game, everyone just sees it.”

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Thanksgiving Eve a Big Night for High School Hockey

Thanksgiving Eve is one of the high points of the scholastic hockey season. It’s an occasion that sees traditional rivalries renewed in front of enthusiastic audiences that often include alumni who are home from college for the holiday.

With the SHSH’s expanded league schedule, every game on this list save one will impact league standings.

Here is the schedule

La Salle vs. Malvern Prep 6:45 at Ice Line

Holy Ghost Prep vs. Father Judge 7:00 at Grundy Arena

C.B. East vs C.B. West 7:00 at Revolution Ice Gardens

Pennridge vs. Souderton 7:00 at Hatfield Ice

Pennsbury vs. Neshaminy 7:20 at Grundy Arena

Springfield vs HH/UD 7:30 at Bucks County Ice

C.R. North vs C.R. South 8:45 at Revolution Ice Gardens

North Penn vs C.B. South 9:00 at Hatfield Ice

La Salle 3 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A bolt of lightning was followed by rolling thunder. La Salle scored two goals 69 second apart early in the third period and went on to a 3-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep at Hatfield Ice Wednesday afternoon to officially kick off the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s sixth hockey season.

Will Gregorio scored what proved to be the winning goal 1:24 into the third frame. Dean Carvalho added an insurance goal at the 2:33 mark as the Explorers (4-0 overall), the defending Founders Cup, Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champions, won their ninth straight game dating back to the close of the 2023 regular season.

Carvalho noted it was not a perfect performance.

“I didn’t think we played as a well as we could have,” he said. “There’s room for improvement, and every week we’re working to improve every game.”

The Hawks (1-1 overall) took the first lead of the afternoon, thanks to Bobby McGinn’s goal with 1:07 left in a first period in which La Salle dominated, but was unable to solve St. Joseph’s Prep netminder Jacob Aranda. The junior finished the period with 13 saves and the game with 32.

“He played great,” said St. Joseph’s Perp coach David Giacomin. “He made some quality saves, he’s always in position.

“I’d like to see the tape on a couple of goals, he might have given them a little too much, but he kept us in there the first period.”

Alastair St. Hiaire tied the game for the Explorers 7:11 into the second period and the two teams battled on even terms for the balance of the session.

Gregorio’s game winner came during a four-on-four situation with La Salle’s Patrick Brace and the Hawks’ Brayden Collins both in the box. Carvalho’s goal came after Brace’s penalty time had expired but with two seconds still remaining on Collins’ infraction.

“I thought we came out and played well out of the gate,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “Then I think we kind of got away from our game. And I think St. Joe’s did a really good job. Their goaltender made a lot of really good saves early on and they had some really good opportunities early on.

“I feel it was a pretty even game throughout.”

Even though it came out on the short end of the score,Giacomin was pleased with the effort of his young team; the 20 players who dressed for the Hawks included three freshmen and six sophomores.

“Obviously there are some things we messed up and I’d like to have back,” he said, “but we’re a very young team. I think what they learned today is, of they play the game the right way they can compete with pretty much anybody but with youngness comes taking your lumps here and there ands we made a couple mistakes.”

Ice chips: La Salle’s last loss came to Wyoming Seminary in its regular-season finale last season. The Explorers won five postseason games a year ago.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 0—1

La Salle 0 1 2—3

First-period goal: Bobby McGinn (SJP) from Ben Kursun, 15:53

Second-period goal: Alastair St. Hilaire (L) from James Carpenter and Dean Carvalho, 7:11

Third-period goals: Will Gregorio (L) from Declan Kelly, 1:24; Dean Carvalho (L) from Gregorio, 2:33 (pp);

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 32, La Salle 35; Saves: Jacob Aranda (SJP) 32, Jacob Rossi (L) 31

Holt Embracing His Role at Holy Ghost Prep

As high-school senior, Mike Holt is experiencing some changes in his life, in the classroom and on the ice. Next spring, he will graduate from Holy Ghost Prep.

Even before he enrolled there, the Huntingdon Valley resident sensed he and the school would be a good fit.

“Going in (as an eighth grader) for your shadow day, you see the type of brotherhood and the type of community we have here” he said. “Whether it’s just talking with your friends at the lunch table, or getting together and maybe studying for a test, it’s the sense of brotherhood and community that you get at a smaller school like Ghost. I think that’s one of the biggest aspects for me being able to have close connections with my teachers and my friends in such a nice space.”

The curriculum at Holy Ghost Prep is set up to allow students to make an assortment of independent decisions. Invariably, as Holt points out, this leads to learning from a wrong decision, particularly in the area of time management.

“Definitely learning some things the hard way for sure,” he said, “but I think it’s a great opportunity for young men like us, trying to mold our minds and making those decisions on whether you want to go play basketball with your friends or if you need to get some work done.

“But, I think a big part of that maturity factor goes into our free time and how we access it, and I think a lot of people in our school do a great job at that.”

Holt speaks of the life lessons he’s absorbed during his years at Holy Ghost Prep, including the willingness to ask for help when he’s floundering.

“I think one of the biggest core values they try to teach us at Ghost is obviously being gentlemen and to be a man,” he said, “but with that comes the ability having the ability, to recognize when you need some help and recognize when you need to collaborate with someone and you need to talk to that teacher and you need to go for that extra [help].

“I think a lot of men today really think they can do it all themselves and I think Ghost is a great space where you can really kind of collaborate and work on what you need to work on without having to do it all by yourself so I think it’s definitely a great space where you can rely on each other in that sense.”

As a captain this season, Holt embraces the responsibility of showing the way for his teammates.

“I feel like [leadership ability] came pretty easy to me early on,” he said, “but obviously, there are things you always need to work on. I always had to work on being a better leader myself but I feel early on, freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, I was always feeling that need to help the guys out. If they needed something to get done, I’d help them out with it.

“I feel like the top leadership role is a new thing for me, but I also feel like I can rely on my teammates and I feel like I’ve grown in a space where I can really express that leadership and be the reliable kind of personality that the guys need and that I need from the guys.
“It’s not just all about me and the two other assistants, it’s about the team.”

Mike Holt

The Firebirds are putting a young team on the ice this season. Holt is counting on contributions from all hands.

“I feel athletically, obviously, we’re going to need guys to step up and play a role,” he said, “not just as good players but obviously as leaders. I think our captains are definitely capable of doing it this year and I think we’ve got a really strong corps of leaders that are able and willing to lead this team and I think that’s my mindset going into it.”

The competition in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference promises to be as rugged as ever. Holt says the team that develops cohesiveness will have the best chance of success.

“We have end players playing in the APAC,” he said. “Everybody knows that it is a very [ competitive] conference but I think it’s [about] the team that really molds together as a family and is willing to fight got each other. The guy to your left is the guy you want to be worrying about and it just goes up and down the line throughout the whole team.

“You’ve got to be able to really rely on each other and I think a big aspect of what teams are going to be successful with is working together and just being one team. A family.”

APAC Previews 2023-24

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is embarking on its sixth season. Here’s a look at what to expect.

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Richie (first season)

Last year: 18-8, 4-2-1-1 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Jack Unger (G); Sr. Mike Holt (D); Jr. Ryan Lippy (D); Sr. A.J. Prete (F); St. Matt Cholaj (Sr.); Sr. Jake McCaw (F)

Outlook: Richie, who once played for the Firebirds, takes over for the retired Gump Whiteside.

This year’s team will be a young group that will be lacking much of last season’s offensive firepower.

“The strength of this year’s team will be the returning defensive corps,” Richie said, “who have all played varsity before. We have great depth within the program and expect a lot of players to get opportunities at the varsity level this upcoming season as players look to establish their role and solidify their spots come playoff time.”

Unger’s experience in goal will help.

Hun School

Coach: Eric Szeker (first season)

Last year: 11-13, 3-5 in APAC

Key Players: Sr. Julien Arseneault (G); Sr. Charles-Étienne Jetté (D); Sr. Ryan Levesque (F); Sr. Justin Laplante (F); Sr. Brendan Marino (F); Sr. Jack Neckritz (F)

Outlook: Szeker, a Hun School alum, takes over for Ian McNally after serving as his assistant. Ten seniors are gone from last year’s team but some impressive talent returns and Szeker is enthused about the newcomers who will be stepping into the varsity lineup.

“We will be looking to our sophomore class to make a big jump this season,” he said, “with plenty of holes to fill.”

Arsenault heads up the goaltending corps, while Levesque, Laplante and Marino will be counted on to provide the majority of the scoring punch.

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (26^th season)

Last year: 16-9-2, 6-2 in APAC; defending Founders Cup, and Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champions

Key players: Jr. Jake Rossi (G); Sr. Thomas Doucet (D); Sr. Charlie Budd (D); Jr. Cam Ross (D); Jr. Will Gregorio (D); Dean Carvalho (F); Sr. James Carpenter (F), Sr. Patrick Brace (F); Sr. Ryan Wiley (F); Sr. Charlie Kennedy (F); Sr. Liam Donahue (F)

Outlook: The Explorers come into the season off their 11^th Flyers Cup title and seventh state championship. They’ve also claimed three of the previous five Founders Cup titles and shared another.

This year’s roster features what Muehlbronner calls “A nice group of players,” one that is deep and offers scoring balance.

Rossi is being counted on in goal.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan (fifth season)
Last year: 10-8, 2-5-0-1 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Matt Crawford (G); Sr. Brady Doyle (D); Jr. Matt Barbacane (D); So. Cole Scrabinsky (D); Sr. Jeremy Jacobs (F); Sr. Caiden Canale (F); Sr. Aidan Kelly (F); Sr. Brayden Baum (F); Jr. Gabe Bedwell (F); Jr. Teague Murray (F); So. Pax Hoishik F

Outlook: The Friars struggled in the APAC last season but they return a core group of experienced upperclassmen, including Jacobs, who is the APAC’s top returning scorer.

The mix will also include a group of promising newcomers.

“We are excited to see what this younger incoming class can do,” Keenan said. “The seniors in this group are probably one of the best groups of seniors that has come through our program since we won back in 2021. The boys are just having fun and are ready to compete day in and day out. The energy and work this group is putting in is great to see.”

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: David Giacomin (11^th season)

Last year: 16-7-2, 3-4-1-0 in APAC

Key players: Jr. Jacob Aranda (G); Sr. John Lynch (D); Sr. Gareth McDonald (D); Sr. Shane O’Neil (D); Sr. Tyler Degirolamo (D); Sr. Brayden Collins (F); Jr. Tristan Winata (F); Jr. Jake Schultz (F); Jr. Caden Kelly (F)

Outlook: The Hawks lost 10 seniors off last year’s team, one that was a formidable group when all the pieces were in place, and claimed a title at the prestigious Purple Puck tournament.

The returning corps of veterans will be bolstered by some promising newcomers, including Aranda in goal.

“We hope to be a speed driven team that will play hard in all three zones,” Giacomin said. “Depth will play a big role this year. With offensive returnees and the defense leading the way we hope to get off to a fast start and build from there.”

Hockey Happenings is looking for interested individuals to provide video clips of APAC conferences games. If you’re interested or would like further information contact us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

La Salle 4 Wyoming Seminary 3

La Salle and Wyoming Seminary got their respective seasons off to a slam-bam start on Wednesday afternoon.

It took a late goal from the Explorers’ Dean Carvalho to settle things. Carvallo beat Jonah Boles with 3:47 left in the third period to give the hosts a 4-3 win at Hatfield Ice.

Prior to that, the non-league encounter had a bit of everything; an impressive number of goals, an abundance of penalties (19) and no lack of intensity.

For the Explorers, it was their first opportunity to put the pieces together at game speed.

“We have a pretty good corps back,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “The new guys we have, there’s only one, he’s a freshman he fit in pretty well. The other guys are guys that have been jayvee and have been knocking on the door for a number of years.

“They’re here to play hard. I think they know their roles. It’s just a matter of getting everybody in synch and understanding the type of game we need to play to be successful.”

Alex Fusaro gave La Salle a 1-0 8:03 into the first period off a but the Blues’ Yoan Gagnon drew his team even with a power-play goal just 63 seconds after that.

Gagnon would be heard from later, but not before Bill Gregorio put the Explorers back in front with a power-play goal of his own with 2:40 left in the period on a wrist shot along the ice from the top of the slot.

Gagnon, a senior from Sherbrooke, Quebec, scored twice in the second period, once on a power play, to put Wyoming Seminary up 3-2 with 6:52 left in the session.

Alistair St. Hilaire tied the game for La Salle 58 seconds later.
Carvalho’s game-winner came as he was being knocked to the ice in the slot. Bill Carpenter collected the primary assist, his third of the game. The Explorers controlled the third period, outshooting the Blues 9-2 and 29-21 for the game.

Jacob Rossi got the win in goal.

“The third period was out best period,” Muehlbronner said. “I definitely think we got better as we went along. Early on I think we made a lot of not-smart plays, turnover that you can’t be doing, but I think we got it together in the third period. That was our best period. We played I think the way we want to play.”

Wyoming Seminary 1 2 0—3

La Salle 2 1 1—4

First-period goals: Alex Fusaro (L) from Patrick Brace and Julian Tarsi, 8:03; Yoan Gagnon (WS) from Ben Moccia, 9:06 (pp); Bill Gregorio (L) from William Carpenter, 14:20 (pp)

Second-period goals: Gagnon(WS) from Jonah Boles, 1:56; Gagnon (WS) from Heli William DeSeve Elliott. 10:08 (pp) Alistair St. Hilaire (L) from Carpenter, 11:06

Third-period goal: Dean Carvalho (L) from Carpenter and Jacob Rossi. 13:13

Shots: Wyoming Seminary 21, La Salle 29; Saves: Jonah Boles(WS) 25, Jacob Rossi (L) 18

APAC Recap for 10-25-23

Malvern Prep 6 St. John’s College High 3

Jeremy Jacobs scored three goals and assisted on a fourth as Malvern Prep defeated St. John’s College High 6-3 Wednesday afternoon in a non-league game in Rockville, Md.

Caiden Canale, House Young and Henry Tesoriero scored one goal each as the Friars won their second straight.

Council Rock South 6, St. Joseph’s Prep 3

Council Rock South came out on top in Wednesday’s non-league game at the Class of 1923 Rink on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Malvern Prep 7 West Chester East 2

Malvern Prep jumped to a 4-0 second-period lead and went on to a season-opening 7-2 win over West Chester East Wednesday afternoon in a non-league game at Ice Line.

Jeremy Jacobs led the way for the Friars with three goals and a pair of assists. Caiden Canale, House Young, Brady Doyle, and Finn Gatta scored one goal each.

Teagan Stutzman and Jimmy Haynes scored for the Vikings.

West Chester East 0 2 0—2

Malvern Prep 3 3 1—7

First-period goals: Caiden Canale (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 16:25; House Young (MP) from Alex March, 15:42; Jacobs (MP) unassisted, 5:43.

Second-period goals: Jacobs (MP) from Brayden Baum, 15:51; Teagan Sturzman (WCE) from Colin Mastronardo, 15:14; Jacobs (MP) from Logan Love, 11:46; Jimmy Haynes (WCE) from Cam Greenawalt, 1:48; Brady Doyle (MP) from Caiden Canale and Jacobs, 1:12 (pp).

Third-period goal: Finn Gatta (MP) from Cole Soarbinsky, 8:52.

Shots: West Chester East 43, Malvern Prep 43; Saves: Cameron Chandler (WCE) 36, Matt Crawford (MP) 12 and Ryan Caterino (MP) 29

St. Joseph’s Prep 5 Avon Grove 1

Jake Schultz scored two goals and three other players scored one goal each as St. Joseph’s Prep opened the scholastic hockey season with 5-1 win over Avon Grove on Wednesday at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 rink.

Carter Short, Brayden Collins, and Tristan Winata all scored goals for the Hawks.

Declan Geary and Jacob Aranda split time in goal.

Brendan Chandler scored for Avon Grove.

The hosts had a 56-19 shot advantage.

Avon Grove 0 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 1 3—5

La Salle 7 Holy Ghost Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— La Salle’s big guns came up big when it mattered most. The line of Chase Hannon, Evan Golato ands Ryan Desmond combined for four goals and five assists as the Explorers bested Holy Ghost Prep 7-3 Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s Founders Cup Championship Game in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice.

The win gives the Explorers (13-9-2) their third outright championship in the APAC’s five-year history; they shared a fourth.

La Salle will be the top seed in the Class AAA bracket of the Flyers Cup tournament, which begins next week. The Explorers have a bye into the semifinals and will face either Malvern Prep or Father Judge the week of March 13.

Hannon spearheaded his team’s effort on Wednesday by scoring three goals. Golato added a goal and an assist while Desmond contributed four assists.

Hannon said the key to the win was taking care for the basics.

“Our game plan was to get pucks deep and get on them,” he said. “I think we did that, and it clearly worked for us.”

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner considered Wednesday’s game his team’s best start-to finish effort of the season.

“I think we had really good focus,” he said. “The guys really played hard, they came to play tonight.”

La Salle capitalized on a Firebird turnover to score the game’s first goal. Chase Hannon corralled the lose puck in the neutral zone, found space and weaved his way trough three opponents to beat Jack Unger with a forehander from the leading edge of the left circle 4:12 into the opening session.

The Firebirds drew even when the Explorers’ Evan Golato (roughing) and Ryan Desmond (tripping) drew back-to back penalties, giving Holy Ghost Prep a two-man advantage for 46 seconds. It took Landon Stout just 14 seconds to score the tying goal off a rebound of Brady Baehser’s original shot at the 9:20 mark.

The second period produced an abundance of offensive fireworks and a total of seven goals, five of them from the Explorers.

Evan Golato put La Salle in from just five seconds into the period with a shot from the left point. Hannon scored his second goal of the game during a power play at 3:57.

Baehser answered for the Firebirds with a power-play goal of his own at 5:37 but Hannon completed his hat trick just 17 seconds later. John Seravalli’s goal cut the Explorer lead to 4-3 with 3:27 left in the period but Will Gregorio and Charlie Kennedy scored for La Salle before the period ended.

Evan Mudrick replaced Unger in the Firebird net following Kennedy’s goal.

Tim Whitock scored the only goal of the third period at the 8:10 mark. He cited his team’s veteran experience as a factor in the win.

“Senior leadership I guess,’ he said. “Got to get the younger guys going. Do whatever you can.”

For Holy Ghost Prep (16-7) which has yet to win an APAC title, the loss was a disappointing end to the conference season.

“It was not one of our best efforts,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I thought we didn’t execute very well. Our structure wasn’t there the whole game. There were some things we did really well but it wasn’t a total team effort.

Ice chips—The Firebirds are seeded second for the Class AAA Flyers Cup and will face seventh-seeded Cardinal O’Hara in a quarterfinal game at Grundy Arena Monday night.

La Salle’s previous Founders Cup titles came in 2019 and ‘20, the APAC’s first two seasons. They shared the title with Malvern Prep two years ago when the Founders Cup final wasn’t played because of the pandemic.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2—3

La Salle 1 5 1—7

First-period goals: Chase Hannon (L) unassited, 4:12; Landon Stout (HGP) from Brady Baehser and John Seravalli, 9:20 (pp)

Second-period goals: Evan Golato (L) from Ryan Desmond, :05 Hannon (L) from Desmond and Golato, 3:57 (pp); Baehser (HGP) from Landon Stout and X, 11:23; Hannon (L) from Desmond, 11:40; Seravalli (HGP) unassisted, 13:33; Will Gregorio (L) from Desmond, 14:29 (pp); Charlie Kennedy (L) rom Max Monzo and Tim Whitock, 16:42

Third-period goals: Whitock (L) from Thomas Doucet, 8:10

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 40, La Salle 45 Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 26 and Colin Mudrick (HGP) 14; Aries Carangi (L) 37