Category: Hockey History

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Malvern Prep 3 SO

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—The evening offered a little bit of everything, including a dramatic conclusion to a first-rate hockey game.

Frankie Ely’s goal in the sixth round of a shootout was the margin of victory as St. Joseph’s Prep edged Malvern Prep 4-3 Wednesday night in an APAC matchup at Ice Line.

For the Hawks, who improved to 3-1 overall (1-1 in the APAC) it was another step in the maturation of a young hockey team. Ely was one of five freshmen who saw ice time for his team.

“The very first [APAC] game against La Salle opened my eyes a little bit,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin.  “These kids can get challenged a little bit and play well.

“We had a good game against Gonzaga and the kids really stepped up. I think they’re a bit more experienced, a little bit less nervous, when they’re out there playing against the bigger and older kids.”
Calum Hartnell gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead 11:24 into the opening period off a turnover at the Friars’ blue line. Tristan Winata made it a 2-0 game at the 13:20 mark when he beat Matt Crawford in goal on an effort from the left faceoff circle.

Winata, a junior, is impressed with the play of his younger teammates.

“They’re so much better than when I originally met them,” he said. “They’re playing great out there. A lot of speed, everyone is playing together.”

Winata noted the importance of the veterans on the roster setting the tone for the newcomers.

“I think as an older [member of the team] we have to show them all out plays,” he said, “playing together, those kinds of things. When I was a freshman I had a hard time getting used to it, so I want to be a leader for them.”

The Hawks had a chance to build on their lead at the start of the second game when they were awarded their third power play of the evening. The Friars ( 3-3, 1-2) were able to kill the penalty however and used that sequence as an impetus to get back in the game.

Caiden Canale tipped in Jeremy Jacob’s shot from the right point at the 1:55 mark while the teams were skating four on four. The Friars tied the game with 1.4 seconds left in the period when Gabriel Bedwell, with Jacobs’ help, beat Hawk netminder Jacob Aranda when he put his shot just under the crossbar.

The Friars took the lead on shorthanded goal with 6:31 left in regulation when Jacobs forced a turnover inside the Hawks’ blue line went on to beat Aranda from close range.

As the clock would down, Malvern Prep seemed to have the upper hand but Caiden Kelly scored for the Hawks via a deflection to send the two teams to overtime.

Cole Gargon started the shootout by scoring for the Hawks. James Young responded immediately for the Friars and the two goaltenders, who had performed with distinction for 56 minutes, were impenetrable until Ely’s game winner and Aranda’s game-ending save, when he denied Paxton Hoishik to send the Hawks home with a win.

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan praised his team for rallying from a two-goal deficit.

“I told our guys it’s hard to come back from a 2-0 deficit,” he said. “The resilience of them to get the game back tied and get a shorthanded goal to go up 3-2 said a lot about our team, about the grit that we have.”

Ice chips—Wednesday’s game was a benefit for families with children afflicted with Rubenstein-Taybi Syndrome or RTS. The genetic disorder causes intellectual and developmental disabilities and impacts one in 125,000 children, among them Connor Keenan, Bill Keenan’s 3-year old son.

The two teams wore multicolored jerseys during the warmup in support of families impacted by RTS.

Connor Keenan (with glasses) standing with his mother Sarah and father Bill during Wednesday’s ceremonial faceoff. With them are Connor’s siblings J.J. and Olivia. (photo by Max Mangigian)

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 0 1 0 1—4

Malvern Prep 0 2 1 0 0—3

First-period goals: Calum Hartnell (SJP) unassisted. 11:24; Tristan Winata (SJP) from Bobby McGinn. 13:20

Second-period goals: Caiden Canale (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 1:55; Gabriel Bedwell (MP) from Jacobs, 16:58

Third-period goals: Jacobs (MP) unassisted, 10:29 (sh); Caden Kelly (SJP) unassisted, 15:57

Shootout goals: SJP: Cole Gargon, Frankie Ely; MP: James Young

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 35, Malvern Prep 37; Saves:  Jacob Aranda (SJP) 34; Matt Crawford (MP) 32

CLICK HERE for more about Malvern Prep

CLICK HERE for more about St. Joseph’s Prep

Bergen Catholic 5 Hun School 3 (scrimmage)

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ—Wednesday marked the dawn of a new era for the Hun School hockey program. The Raiders made their 2023-24 debut under Eric Szeker, who is succeeding Ian McNally this season. 

His troops gave a good effort before dropping a 5-3 decision to Bergen Catholic at Ice Land. 

The affair was officially designated as a scrimmage, since Bergen Catholic, which plays hockey under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association could not play an official game until Thursday. That designation did not diminish the energy level on the ice however and both teams were able to dress an extra player or two.

The Cougars wasted no time jumping in front. Will Schlechtweg found the net just 59 seconds after the opening faceoff and Bergen Catholic never trailed.

Matthew Maglio, who assisted on Schlechtweg’s tally, made it a 2-0 game with a goal of his own at the 8:18 mark.

Nathaniel TrawinskI got the Raiders on the board but Kyle Frassetto’s power-play effort 9:32 into the second frame made it a two-goal game once more.

 Ryan Levesque stepped up for Hun School not quite four minutes later when he scored on a shorthanded breakaway but Kyle Rooks and Colin Higgins added goals for the Crusaders to make it a 5-2 game 6:05 into the final period.

Justin Laplante’s late goal made the final margin a bit closer.

Szeker took a number of positives away from the afternoon.

“I loved the effort,” he said. “We were working up and down the ice. But sometimes, the effort isn’t enough. We’ve got to pick up guys and stuff like that.

Having lost 10 seniors to graduation a year ago, the Raiders are looking for contributions from the underclassmen on the roster.

“We like to see the guys coming out and competing and playing their hardest,” Szeker said. “We’ve got a lot of young player who are going to have to adjust to the level.

“What I like is we’ve got the compete level. Now, we’ve got to execute at a higher level.”

Szeker, who played for Hun School says a big key for players transitioning to a higher level of hockey is improved/quicker decision making.

“The game comes at them a lot faster,” he said. “They’ve got to make those decisions pretty quick. The plus side to it is there are a lot of skilled players at a younger age and I don’t think it’s going to take them too long to adjust to the speed, but just decision making is going to be the biggest thing they have to adjust to.”

Ice chips—The Raiders will host Haverford School Friday night in their first official game of the Eason. They’ll open APAC play at La Salle on December 6

Bergen Catholic 2 1 2—5

Hun School 1 1 1—3

First-period goals: Will Schlechtweg (BC) from Matthew Maglio, :59; Maglio (BC) from Alex Frassetto, 8:18; Nathaniel TrawinskI (HS) unassised, 14:00

Second-period goals: Kyle Frassetto (BC) from Justin Tong and Andrew Darst, 9:32 (pp) Ryan Levesque (HS) 13:25 (sh)

Third-period goals: Kyle Rooks (BC) from Nick Frassetto and George Weiner, 1:13; Colin Higgins (BC) from Braydon Kane and Rocco Venezia, 6:05; Justin Laplante (HS) from Jake Beck and Anders Raalte, 15:27

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Gonzaga 2

Cole Gargon scored two goals to help the Hawks to the win over Gonzaga Friday afternoon at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 rink.

The freshman’s second goal of the game with 1:58 left in the second period snapped a 2-2 tie. Jake Shultz added a third-period goal as the hosts improved to 2-1 on the season.

Frankie Ely, another freshman, also scored for the Hawks; his tally in the first period was the first varsity goal of his career.

Declan Geary, another freshman, got the win in goal, making 30 saves.

Gonzaga 1 1 0—2

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Edwin Siembzeba (G) from Hamilton Nordwin, 13:13; Frankie Ely (SP) from Adam Charrafi and Carter Short, 13:29

Second-period goals: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Charrafi, 6:22; Matthew Shay (G) from Tyler Jasell, 8:57; Gargon (SP) from Tristan Winata and Charrafi, 15:52

Third-period goal: Jake Shultz (SP) from Tyler Degiralomo and Shane O’Neill, 8:18

Shots: Gonzaga 32, St. Joseph’s Prep 34; Saves: Tucker Forest (G) 17 and Paddy Kircher (G) 9, Declan Geary (SJP) 30

APAC Update for 11-24-23

                                        W    L    OTW OTL    Pts     GF    GA

 La Salle (6-0)                  2     0    0        0        6        7       2

Malvern Prep (3-2)       1     1    0       0          3        3        5

Hun School (0-0)           0    0    0        0        0        0       0

 St. Joseph’s Prep (2-1)  0    1    0       0         0        1       2

Holy Ghost Prep (0-3)  0    1     0       0          0        1       3

This Week

Friday 11-24

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Gonzaga 2

Wednesday 11-29

Bergen Catholic 5 Hun School 3   (scrimmage)

La Salle 3 Delberton 2

Thursday 11-30

St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Malvern Prep 6:30 at Ice Line

Friday 12-1

Hun School vs. Haverford School 7:15 at Ice Land

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.”

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

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

SHSHL Update 11-19-23

National Division        W   L   T  OW   OL  Pts

Council Rock South    4    0    0   0   0    8

Pennridge                    4    0    0   0   0    8

Central Bucks East     2    1    0    0   0    4

North Penn                 2    1    0    0   0    4

Cent. Bucks South     1    1    1    0    0   3 

Cent. Bucks West      1    2    1    0   0    3

Neshaminy                 0    2    2    0    0   2

Souderton                  1    2    0    1     0   2

Pennsbury                  0   3     0    0    1    1

Council Rock North  0   3      0   0     0   0

American Division     W    L   T    OW    OL    Pts

Bensalem                    3     1   0     0     1    7

Plymouth White.       3     0   0     0     0    6

Abington                     1     1   1    0      0    3

HH/UD                         1     1   1    0      0    3

Wissahickon               1      2   0   0     1      2

Springfield                  0       4   0   0     0     0 

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 National Division Scoring   G   A   Pts

Andrew Savona (Pr)             7    9   16

Kevon Koles (CRS)                7    8   15

Shane Dachowski (Pr)         5    8   13

Blaize Pepe (CRS)                7    6   13

Kevin Pico (Pr)                     6    6   12

Jake Weiner (CRS)              8    4   12

Alex Bazylevich (Bens)       2    8  10

Maxwell Ryon (Soud)        7    3   10

Chase Tovsky (Soud)         3    7   10

American Division Scoring  G   A   Pts

Alex Hood (Bens)                 16   5   21

William Hulbert (HH/UD)   10  3    13  

Seamus Donofry (Ab)          2    9   11

Dylan Novitsky (PW)           6    3    9

Kevin McGinley (HH/UD)   3    5    8

Michael Romano (Ab)        4    4    8        

Jason Segal (PW)               3    5    8             

Pennridge 7 North Penn 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Pennridge Ram just keep rolling along. Andrew Savona’s three goals and two assists led the way as the Ram bested North Penn 7-0 Friday night in a SHSHL National Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the fourth straight without a blemish for Pennridge, which came into the season off an appearance in the Class AA Flyers Cup finals last March and seemingly hasn’t lost a beat

The formula for this year’s success however includes different elements from a year ago when the Rams were one of the area’s most potent offensive juggernauts.

Senior Colin Dachowski is Pennridge’s captain. He notes the Rams are employing a more workmanlike, grind-it-out-style this season.

“That’s the style we have to play,” he said. “Grind every team out, wear them down.”

Which is more or less how Friday’s game played out. Pennridge had the better of the play in the first period but could only solve North Penn netminder Ian McAteer once; Shane Dachowski found the net at the 5:40 mark, but North Penn (2-1) outshot the Rams 10-9 in the opening session.
Kevin Pico and Savona added goals in the middle period but the game was still competitive until the third frame when Savona scored twice, before and after a tally from Josh Kelly, in a span of five minutes, nine seconds to make it a 6-0 game halfway through the period.

Dachowski said he and his teammates have adapted to the new approach.

“I think everyone understands their role,” he said, “and we know the scorers and we know the grinders. We just go by that.”

Savona stressed the importance of the veterans in the lineup showing the way for their less-experienced teammates.
“It’s a big deal,” he said. “We want to be leaders on this team and have them follow us along and work hard and keep going.”

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis had reason to be optimistic at evening’s end. The Knights played hard at both ends of the ice and made the Rams work for their chances until using up their energy reserves in the third period.

“We came out in the first period and I think we were kind of taken by surprise a little bit,” Vaitis said. “They’ve got a lot of talent on that team and they jumped on us early with some pressure.

“But, we hung with them, we continued to battle back. It was 1-0 after the first and we were doing all the things we needed to do, playing some good hockey.”

Vaitis cited McAteer for keeping his team in the game; the sophomore finished with 36 saves.

“We’ve got three goalies on the team and all three are very capable goalies at the varsity level,” he said. “It was Ian’s job tonight and he played really well for us.”

North Penn 0 0 0—0
Pennridge 1 2 4—7

First-period goal: Shane Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona, 5:40

Second-period goals: Kevin Pico (P) from Savona and Dachowski, 6:29; Savona (P) from Dachowski and James Rush, 8:25 (pp)

Third-period goals: Savona (P) from Dachowski, 3:11; Josh Kelly (P) from Nolan Shaw, 5:16 (sh); Savona (P) from Tyler Manto, 8:20; Rush (P) from Pico and Manto, 12:06

Shots: North Penn 18, Pennridge 43; Saves: Ian McAteer(NP) 36, Jacob Winton (P) 18

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