Category: Hockey History

Flyers Cup Results: Monday, 4-5

Penncrest 5, Plymouth Whitemarsh 1
Five different Penncrest players scored goals in a 5-1 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh Monday night in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Ice Works. Kain Walker led the way for the eighth-seeded Lions scoring one goal and assisting on the other four. Shane Kokoska, Ryan Anderson, Tyler Conn, and Van Evans also scored goals for the Lions, who will face top-seeded West Chester East in Thursday’s quarterfinals. 

Conlan Carpenter scored the only goal for the ninth-seeded Colonials who closed their season at 7-6.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 0—1

Penncrest 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Van Evans (P) from Kain Walker, 1:15; Ryan Anderson (P) from Walker and Shane Kofoska, 13:02

Second-period goals: Conlan Carpenter (PW) from Isaac MIshkin, 3:15; Walker (P) from Tyler Conn, 15:18 (pp)

Third-period goals: Conn (P) from Walker and Van Evans, 1:19; Shane Kokoska (P) from Walker and Evans, 8:16

Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 27, Penncrest 21; Saves: Kolton Galie (PW) 16, Gannon Walker (P) 26

West Chester Bayard Rustin 6, Radnor 2

10th-seeded Bayard Rustin surprised seventh seed Radnor 6-2 Monday night in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Ice Works.

Rustin, a six-time defending Flyers Cup champion, will face second seed Strath Haven on Thursday.

WC Bayard Rustin 1 2 3—6

Radnor 0 2 0—2

If you would like to promote your product or service during the Flyers Cup tournament, contact us at the link above.

It’s Time

The start of the 42nd Flyers Cup tournament is at hand.

The action kicks off Monday night with a pair of Class A play-in games

8 Penncrest 5 vs 9 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

7 Radnor vs. 10 Bayard Rustin   8:45 at Ice Works

On Tuesday there is a full slate of eight Class AA first-round games.

1 Downingtown West vs. 16 Ridley    6:15 at Ice Line

8 Perkiomen Valley vs. 9 Neshaminy  6:45 at Ice Line

4 Spring Ford vs. 13 Downingtown East 8:45 at Ice Line

5 Council Rock South vs. 12 Avon Grove 6:30 at Hatfield Ice

3 Haverford vs. 14 North Penn     8:15 at Ice Line

6 Central Bucks South vs 11. Owen J. Roberts 8:10 at Hatfield Ice

7 Central Bucks East vs. 10 Pennridge 6:00 at Hatfield

2 Pennsbury vs. Conestoga 8:40 at Hatfield

Quarterfinal games in both classes are scheduled for Thursday

There will also be a single Class AAA quarterfinal game on Thursday

3 Holy Ghost Prep vs 6 Cardinal O’Hara 8:40 at Hatfield Ice

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!

Pennsbury 7, Council Rock South 4

BRISTOL— All season long, Pennsbury has relied on offensive firepower for its success. The stakes were higher Wednesday night but the methodology was unchanged as the Falcons outgunned Council Rock South 7-4 in the Suburban High School Hockey League National/Continental championship game at Grundy Arena.

Brendan MacAinsh scored four goals and added two assists to help the Falcons (12-2-0-1), the top seed in the playoffs, to their first SHSHL title since joining the league for the 2007-08 season

It was an emotional moment for Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley, who, in his four seasons as head coach, has seen his team rise from the depths of the standings to the championship level.

“If you had told ne four years ago we’d be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. “No way. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of guys. Especially the seniors that were on that team as freshmen and saw the worst of it and now they’ve had the best of it. I just couldn’t be happier for those guys.”

MacAinsh is just a sophomore, so he wasn’t present for much of the Falcons’ rise from the ashes. But the night was no less special for him.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It really is. To come in as a sophomore and win it in my second year playing. I didn’t get to play much as a freshman but coming in the second year (and helping the team win a championship) is a great feeling.”

After one period the Falcons and the Golden Hawks (9-4-0-2) were all even after Pennsbury’s Logan Doyle and South’s Kyle Schneider traded goals

After needing overtime to win their respective semifinals 24 hours earlier, both teams were impacted by the game’s physicality as the two officials essentially put their whistled in their pockets for most of the night.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks took a 2-1 lead when Julian Wagenmann poked in a rebound of Brennan Wright’s original shot 48 seconds into the second frame.

But MacAinsh tied the game at 3:20 and put his team ahead for good at the 5:11 mark, just 16 seconds into the game’s first power play.

Shane Siegmund extended Pennsbury’s lead with a shorthanded goal with 56 seconds remaining the second period. At that point, it was apparent that the Golden Hawks, who had just 13 skaters dressed, were running low on energy. MacAinsh went on to score two additional goals early in the first three minutes 10 seconds of the third period to extend Pennsbury’s lead to 6-2.

South coach Joe Houk saw the shorthanded goal as a turning point.

“Letting a shorthanded goal in with (56) seconds left in the second period, that’s like a final in the coffin,” he said. “Now, you’ve got to come back (down) by two. You’ve got to get the next one. The next period. we let them score right of the bat again.”

Schneider and Julian Sarne added power-play goals for South in the third period to make the final margin a little closer before Shane Siegmund scored for Pennsbury to wrap things up.

“You can look at it like you’re out of gas and stuff like that but I thought we didn’t battle hard enough tonight,” Houk said. “They won a lot of loose pucks, the harder you work, the luckier you get and they worked their tails off. They were the better team tonight.

Notes: Both teams will open Flyers Cup play on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. Second-seeded Pennsbury will face number-15 Conestoga at 8:40 while the fifth-seeded Golden Hawks will take on 12th seed Avon Grove at 6:30 … Wednesday’s game was played in 17-minute periods with an ice cut after the second period.

Council Rock South 1 1 2—4

Pennsbury 1 3 3—7

First-period goals: Logan Doyle (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 4:42; Kyle Schneider (CRS) from Bobby Gilbert and Blaize Pepe, 10:44;

Second-period goals: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Brennan Wright and Jeremy Purcell, Brendan MacAinsh (P) from Justin Marlin, 3:20; MacAinsh (P) from Reece Millman, 5:11 (pp); Shane Siegmund (P) from MacAinsh, 16:04 (sh); 

Third-period goals: MacAinsh (P) from Nillman and Colin Michalak, 1:27; MacAinsh (P) from Eddie Bossler, 3:10; Schneider (CRS) from Wagenmann, 6:42 (pp); Julian Sarne (CRS) from Pepe and Wagenmann, 13:11 (pp) Siegmund (P) from MacAinsh, 16:01

Shots: Council Rock South 30, Pennsbury 37; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 30, Marek Jorgenson (P) 26

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!

Council Rock South 2 Central Bucks South 1 OT

HATFIELD—In the end, both teams left every ounce of energy on the ice, like warriors spilling their last drop of blood on the battlefield.

Sam Cherkassky scored a power-play goal 5:23 into sudden-death overtime Wednesday night to give Council Rock South a 2-1 win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban High School Hockey League National/Continental semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks (9-3-0-2) will try to defend their divisional title when they face top-seeded Pennsbury Thursday night at Grundy Arena (7:20) in the championship game.

The winning goal came as the second-seeded Titans, who had just 11 skaters dressed because of injuries, a suspension, and Covid issues, were dealing with a flurry of penalties; four of them in the last 2:19 of regulation plus overtime.

Trailing 1-0 heading down the stretch with the Titans’ Aydin Thierolf in the box for elbowing, the Golden Hawks pulled goaltender Jimmy Sweeney, giving them a six-skaters-to-four advantage. Julian Wagenmann tied the game with 1:12 left in regulation when he poked in the second rebound of a shot from the right point.

The Titans found themselves shorthanded again when D.J. Bray was whistled for elbowing 3:04 into the 15-minute extra period. Just 11 seconds later, Owen Mendham was called for interference with a bench minor attached, a bench minor that didn’t start until Bray’s penalty expired. Mendham’s penalty lapsed without incident but Emilee Lindenmuth, who was serving the extra penalty, could only watch, along with her teammates, as Cherkassky scored the game winner.

Council Rock South forward Doug Lopez said it was important for he and his teammates to step up their games entering the third period.

“We just knew that they were shorthanded,” he said. “We came into the locker room after the second period and said ‘We’ve got to give it our all.’

“I think them being short and a combination of them being short and us coming out hard really changed the game in our favor.”

Council Rock South coach Joe Houk noted that after a break for an ice cut following the second period, his players found another gear.

“I felt we were not focused the first half of the game,” he said. I thought our puck possession in the third, plus in overtime, whether there were penalties or not. I thought we controlled the entire overtime.”

Central Bucks South coach Shaun McGinty tried to find solace in his team’s work rate. “The boys played a great game,” he said. “The effort was there. Hat’s off to (Council Rock South), we’ll take the loss and move on to the Flyers Cup.”

Notes—The Titans’ goal came from Adam Cusick 63 seconds into the second period. Central Bucks South is seeded sixth for the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament and will face 11th-seeded Own J. Roberts on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. The Golden Hawks, who are seeded fifth, will take on 12th seed Avon Grove on Tuesday at the same venue.

C.R. South 0 0 1 1—2

C.B. South 0 1 0 0—1

Second-period goal: Adam Cusick (CBS) unassisted, 1:03

Third-period goal: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) unassisted, 14:48 (pp);

Overtime goal: Sam Cherkassky (CRS) unassisted, 5:23 (pp)

Shots: CR South 29, CB South 22; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 21, Mason Moyer (CBS) 27

SHSHL Playoff Results

Pennsbury 6, Pennridge 5 OT

Erik Eisler scored his third goal of the game 5:16 into overtime as Pennsbury bested Pennridge 6-5 Wednesday night in a SHSHL National/Continental semifinal game at Grundy Arena.

The top-seeded Falcons will face third seed Council Rock South in Thursday’s final (7:20 at the same venue.

Pennsbury’s Shane Siegmund and the Rams’ Andrew David traded first-period goals Reese Picker gave Pennsbury a 2-1 lead with 1:59 left in the opening session.

Aidan Boyle, Jack Lowery, and Richie Shanks all scored goals to give Pennridge a 4-2 lead with 6:26 left in the middle period but Eisler made it a one-goal game when he found the back of the net with 4:36 left.

Andrew Savona’s goal with 2:39 left in the period gave the Rams a two-goal lead once more.

Eisler’s second goal of the game with 7:10 left in regulation made it a one-goal game one more. Brendan MacAinsh tied the game with 2:11 left in regulation to set the stage for Eisler’s game winner.

Pennridge will now be idle until the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament on Tuesday. The 10th-seeded Rams will face seventh seed Central Bucks East at Hatfield Ice.

Pennridge 1 4 0 0—5

Pennsbury 2 1 2 1—6

National/Continental Semifinals

Pennsbury 6, Pennridge 5 OT

Council Rock South 3, Central Bucks South 1 OT

American Division Semifinals

Abington 7, Plymouth Whitemarsh 3′

Matt Kramer scored four goals and Tin Rourke added two more as the Galloping Ghosts bested the Colonials Wednesday night in a SHSHL American Division semifinal at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. Joe Stelacio also scored for Abington, which will face Wissahickon in the division final Thursday night at Hatfield Ice at 6:10.

John Cubbin scored twice for the third-seeded Colonials. Luke Weikel also scored.

Plymouth Whitemarsh and Wissahickon will both move on to the Class A Flyers Cup next week. Abington, which was not selected for the Class AA Flyers Cup, will conclude its season this evening.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 2—3

Abington 3 1 3—7

Wissahickon vs. Hatboro-Horsham cancelled

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Founders Cup Final

La salle vs. Malvern Prep postponed

Amanda Coopersmith Celebrates the Holy Ghost Prep Community

Two words that could be used to describe Amanda Coopersmith are passionate and dedicated. Passionate about her teaching career and dedicated to enhancing the lives of her students at Holy Ghost Prep.

Coopersmith teaches chemistry but her students also absorb an abundance of life lessons over the course of the school year. She arrived at Holy Ghost Prep in the fall of 2014.

“I had taken a year off for a family illness,” Coopersmith recalled, “and when I was ready to go back to work there was a job at Holy Ghost and I thought ‘Well, I taught girls for seven years (at Villa Joseph Marie), let’s try boys.’”

Coopersmith notes the biggest adjustments for incoming students, regardless of where they come from, revolve around time management. “Adjustment to high school, whether you’ve been to Catholic school, private school, or public school is all the same” she said. “It’s an adjustment. “A lot of these kids came from schools where they were in the top 10 percent. They did whatever they had to do, which was not a whole lot, to be honest. They got through, got their As. 

“They showed up at our school, and like any high school, it’s a challenge. So, their biggest adjustment is adjusting to the workload and the dedication it takes to get into a rhythm of managing time.”

Coopersmith, who is a fixture at school sporting events, says that student-athletes do a better job managing their time when their sport is in season. “I find that students are actually better at time management when they’re in season, whatever sport season they play, then when they’re out of season,” she said.

“Once they go out of season, a lot of them struggle because they realize they have more time than they used to and they waste it. And they have to get used to being better at their time management out of season. So, freshman year can be hard on them that way because they don’t learn to be consistent all year.”

Coopersmith says one of the school’s selling points is its intimate environment which allows the faculty and staff to get to know students on an individual basis.

“I have about 16 kids in a class,” she said. “I know every kid’s name, I know what sports they play, I know what they’re interests are. So, for instance, in my class, when they struggle, I can talk to them based on their sport; I do analogies based on their sport. 

“If I were in a larger school with 30 or 35 kids to a class, I would never be able to do that. I also have an advantage, because we’re a smaller school, that I can get to know them a little more on a one-to-one level so if they struggle, they feel comfortable coming for help. So, if we have a student with an injury or a student who is out sick, they aren’t panicking that they’re going to be left behind. They know that we’re going to be there to help them when they get back, and they make the arrangements ahead of time. We teach them to self-advocate which is invaluable in life.”

Coopersmith says the size of the school allows for an intimacy that leads to a caring, mutually supportive environment. 

“It really is a community,” she said. “I went to one of those monstrous high schools. I had teachers that I swear did not know my name, even though I had them more than one year and yet, I know students (at Holy Ghost Prep) who have never been in my class; they’ll still come in for help And, if I can’t help them, I can point them in the right direction.”

Coopersmith says the student-athletes at the school assume the responsibility of looking out for each other. “Our teams take care of each other.” she said. “So, the hockey boys will make sure the other hockey students stay on track. Same with basketball, soccer, the swim team. It’s wonderful.”

Coopersmith says the student body at Holy Ghost Prep embrace the idea of looking out for and supporting one another.

“It’s really nice that we have great leadership from the top down,” she said.  “The seniors model the behavior that they expect the freshmen to have. The juniors fall in line; the sophomores understand how important it is. 

“We have freshman come in who are unsure of what to do. They’re 14 years old and its harder for them to act older and more mature and more responsibly. 

“When they see that behavior constantly modeled and constantly drilled in, they realize this is the right thing to do, not because someone is yelling at them but because it’s the right way to act.”

For more about Holy Ghost Prep Click Here

La Salle 4, St. Joseph’s Prep 0

 La Salle 4, St. Joseph’s Prep 0

BRISTOL— Some of the actors assumed new roles in the production. But in the end the performance was more or less unaffected.

Despite fielding a lineup that had some pieces missing La Salle stayed focused on the task at hand and recorded a 4-0 win over St. Joseph’s Prep Monday night at Grundy Arena in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal. The win was La Salle’s sixth straight.

The two-time defending champion Explorers (8-4) will face regular-season champion Malvern Prep for the Founders Cup title Wednesday night at 8:00 at Ice Line.

La Salle’s big guns were as powerful as usual. Michael Casey scored a goal and assisted on two others. David Kimmel had a goal and an assist, while Keenan Schneider and Dan Whittock also scored goals.

 But with only 15 skaters in uniform and several regulars missing, La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner had to play mix and match several players got more ice time than usual as a result. One of them was senior forward Michael Roman.

“Definitely it’s a big chance to step up and help the team out,” he said. “I was definitely out there more, so it was more of a way to bring my leadership as a senior.”

Roman notes its important he set an example for his teammates even though, or perhaps because he doesn’t see a lot of ice time in many circumstances.

“It’s extremely important,” he said. “My main job, if I’m not on the ice, I’m giving everyone high-fives and telling everyone ‘Good work’, telling them what to do. Just trying to keep a positive energy on the bench.

Schneider gave the Explorers a 1-0 lead just 72 seconds after the opening faceoff on a shot from the inside of the right circle that seemed to catch St. Joseph’s Prep netminder Rocco Bruno by surprise
Kimmel made it a 2-0 when he put in a rebound of Whittock’s original shot.

Whittock himself extended La Salle’s lead at the 16:41 of the second period and Casey added a fourth goal 8:21 into the third.

Muehlbronner noted that Monday’s game was a new experience for some of his players who weren’t used to the postseason environment.

 “It was the first time for a lot of these guys playing in that playoff atmosphere,” he said, “and I think it showed at times. We just looked a little bit hesitant at times but I think the older guys got it going, and in the end, were certainly happy with the result.

St. Joseph’s Prep (3-9) had just 13 skaters dressed. Hawks’ coach David Giacomin said the pace of the game eventually caught up to his players.

“They played so hard the first period,” he said, “and about halfway through (the second period), maybe three quarters of the way through, that’s when they lost their legs. If they played like they did  … the consistent game, we’re going to be in every game and have a chance to win. But it’s really difficult playing game in and game out with the same 10-12 kids.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 2 1 1—4

First-period goals: Keenan Schneider (L) from Max Maddalo, 1:12; David Kimmel (L) from Dan Whittock and Michael Casey, 11:10

Second-period goals: Dan Whittock (L) from Casey, 16:41

Third-period goals: Casey (L) from Kimmel, 8:21

Shots: La Salle 35, St. Joseph’s Prep 31; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 31. Liam Gross (L) 31

SHSHL Semifinal Pairings Finalized

The matchups for Wednesday’s SHSHL semifinals are finalized, along with game sites and times.

National/Continental Division

5 Pennridge vs. 1 Pennsbury  7:20 at Grundy Arena

3 Council Rock South vs. 2 Central Bucks South 6:30 at Hatfield Ice

American Division

4 Hatboro-Horsham at 1 Wissahickon, 8:40 at Hatfield

3 Plymouth Whitemarsh at 2 Abington 9:00 at Bucks County Ice

Sites and times are subject to change

The championship games in both division are scheduled for Thursday with sites and times to be announced.

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!

SHSHL Playoff Recap 3-29-21

Council Rock South 7, North Penn 0

Blaize Pepe scored three goals to lead Council Rock South to a 7-0 over North Penn Monday night in a SHSHL  National/Continental playoff game at Grundy Arena. Julian Wagenmann, Brennan Wright, Julian Sarne, and Jeremy all scored goals for the third-seeded Golden Hawks who will face second-seeded Central Bucks South in a Wednesday semifinal at Hatfield Ice (6:30 start).

Jimmy Sweeney earned the shutout in goal, stopping 34 shots.

Sixth-seeded North Penn (5-6-1-1) will be idle until it begins play in the Flyers Cup tournament next week.

North Penn 0 0 0—0

C.R. South 2 3 2—7

First-period goals: Blaize Pepe (CRS) from Kyle Schneider, 3:22; Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from Kyle Boss and Julian Sarne, 9:59

Second-period goals: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Andrew Darling, 6:25; Pepe (CRS) from Chase Tovsky and Doug Lopez, 8:40; Nrennan Wright (CRS) from Kevin Koles and Tovsky, 12:05

Third-period goals: Sarne (CRS) from Lopez and Sam Cherkassky 9:13; Pepe (CRS) from Purcell, 13:49

Shots: North Penn 34, C.R. South 33; Saves: Jon Boyles (NP) 26, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 34

Pennridge 4, Neshaminy 2

Four different Pennridge players scored goals as Pennridge downed Neshaminy 4-2 Monday night in a SHSHL first-round National/Continental playoff game at Hatfield Ice.
Andrew Savona’s goal with 1:52 gone in the opening period gave Pennridge (8-4) a 1-0 lead). Jacob Hems tied the game for Neshaminy (6-6-1) with 6:18 left in the period.

The Rams took the lead for good in the second period on goals from Jeff Manto and Aeryk Lehrhaupt.

Mike Duke scored a power-play goal for the ‘Skins 1:28 into the third period, but Jack Lowery provided insurance for the Rams with 5:42 remaining in regulation.

Neshaminy outshot the Rams 50-41. Pennridge goaltender Ryan Pico was credited with 48 saves.

Pennridge will face top-seeded Pennsbury on Wednesday in the semifinals (7:20 at Grundy Arena).

Neshaminy 1 0 1—2

Pennridge 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Kevin Pico, 1:52; Jacob Helms (N) unassisted, 9:42

Second-period goals: Jeff Manto (N) from Aeryk Lehrhaupt, 5:44; Lehrhaupt (P) from Aidan Boyle and Manto, 11:01