More Flyers Cup History

The first Flyers Cup tournament was played in 1980. It featured just four teams.

All games were played at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 rink, which was less than a decade old at the time and was home to the university’s NCAA Division I hockey team.

Semifinals;

Archbishop Carroll def. Archbishop Ryan

Malvern Prep def. Germantown Academy in overtime

The winners advanced to a best-of-three final

Game 1 – Malvern 6, Carroll 5

Game 2 – Carroll 7, Malvern 3

Game 3 – Carroll 6, Malvern 2

Our thanks to Rob Bear of the Philadelphia Flyers for providing this information

MVP: Scott Chamness, Carroll (four hat tricks in four games)

Flyers Cup Superlatives

LaSalle which will face off against St. Joseph’s Prep in Sunday’s Class AAA final, holds the record for the most Flyers Cup titles with 10. Malvern Prep is next with 9. West Chester Rustin, which faces Hershey for the Class A title on Sunday, has won eight. The Unionville girls have also won eight. Unionville will face West Chester Rustin for the girls title Sunday.

LaSalle (10)— Class AAA in 1996, ’98, 2008, ’09, 2011-14, 2016

Class AA in 1999.

Malvern Prep (9)— Class AAA in1987, 1992, ’93, ’97, 2001-05

West Chester Bayard Ruston (8)—Class A in 2009, ’10, ’12, 14-18

Unionville Girls (8)— 2010-13, 20015-18

Malvern Prep (2001-05) and West Chester Rustin (2014-18) share the record of five consecutive Flyers Cup titles

Sunday Schedule:

9:45 Girls Final West Chester Rustin vs. Unionville

2:00 Boys Class A Final Unionville vs. Hershey

4:30 Boys Class AA Final Downingtown East vs. Downingtown West

7:00 Boys Class AAA Final LaSalle vs. St. Joseph’s Prep

The three boys’ games will be available for viewing HERE on Sunday

Downingtown East 3, Pennridge 2

Michael Bolger’s goal with 6:15 left in the third period proved to be decisive as Downingtown East held off Pennridge 3-2 Thursday night in a Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal at Ice Line.

The two-defending Flyers Cup and state champion Cougars Downingtown West in Sunday’s championship game (4:30 at the Wells Fargo Center).

Top-seeded Downingtown East took a 1-0 lead on Ryan Johnston’s power-play goal with 2:48 left in the first period but the fourth-seeded Rams answered back when Blake Stewart scored with 36 seconds remaining in the opening session.

Nick Rosati gave the Cougars the lead for good when he scored with 3:56 remaining in the second period and Bolger’s tally gave Downingtown East a two-goal lead.

Eric Slater scored for Pennridge with 4:24 left in regulation to cut the lead in half and the Rams kept up the pressure, generating several chances in the final minutes and hitting a post with 30 seconds to play.

The Cougars had a 34-26 edge in shots.

Pennridge 1 0 1—2

Downingtown East 1 1 1—3

Three Flyers Cup finals will be available Sunday HERE beginning with the Class A final between Hershey and West Chester Rustin at 2:00. The Class AA final between Downingtown East and Downingtown West will follow at 4:30, followed by the Class AAA matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep at 7:00.

St. Joseph’s Prep 6, Malvern Prep 2

Owen Moke scored two goals and added an assist s St. Joseph’s Prep defeated Malvern Prep 6-2 in a Flyers Cup Class AAA semifinal Thursday night at Ice Line. The win puts the sixth-seeded and defending champion Hawks into Sunday’s final against LaSalle (7 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center).

Four of the Hawks’ six goals came on power plays.

Second-seeded Malvern Prep took a 1-0 first-period lead on goal from Nick Martino 2:48 into the first period.

Austin Amato countered for the Hawks on a power play at the 9:48 mark before Moke scored a power-play goal of his own at 11:46 to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.

John Dewey tied the game for Malvern Prep 6:44 into the second period but Nick Corrado’s power-play goal at 12:19 but St. Joseph’s Prep the lead for good. Vincent Borgesi extended the lead with a goal with just 47 seconds left in the period.

Owen Kelly and Moke scored in the final period; Kelly’s goal was his team’s fourth power-play effort of the game.

Dan McGill got the win in goal, making 25 saves.

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 2 2—6

Malvern Prep 1 1 0—2

LaSalle 5, Holy Ghost Prep 4

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Down but not out, late in the final round of Thursday night’s Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal Thursday night, LaSalle rallied to score a dramatic knockout win.

Daniel Sambuco and Sam Lipkin scored goals 11 seconds apart in the final 28 seconds of the third period to give the Explorers a 5-4 win over Holy Ghost Prep at Hatfield Ice. Lipkin’s game winner, which came with 17 seconds remaining in regulation time, marked the first and only time the top-seeded Explorers held the lead in a game that saw them score all five of their goals in the third period.

With the win, the top-seeded Explorers (21-6) will move on to Sunday evening’s final at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m.) where they will try to win their 11^th Flyers Cup. Their opponent will be sixth-seeded and defending champion St. Joseph’s Prep, a 6-2 winner over Malvern Prep in the other Class AAA semifinal that was played Thursday at Ice Line.

Trailing by a goal as the clock wound down inside the final minute of the third period, LaSalle’s chances weren’t exactly bright. But Explorer head coach Wally Muehlbronner remained upbeat and his players kept battling.

“The way we’ve been able to score throughout the season I thought we could get one,” Muehlbronner said. “I sure didn’t think we’d get two.”

Sambuco tied the game for LaSalle with 38 seconds left when his shot from the deep left wing beat Firebird goaltender Sean Joyce inside the far post.

The Explorers won the ensuing faceoff and played the puck into the Firebirds’ zone before Lipkin collected it and scored the game winner to send his team to the finals and hand the fourth-seeded Firebirds (9-14) the loss, their fifth against LaSalle this season.

LaSalle’s Eric Ford battles Holy Ghost Prep’s Alex D’Angelo in Thursday’s Flyers Cup Class AAA semifinal. (Photo by Kathy Leister)

“I was really proud of our effort,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I thought we came out really hard, I thought we played a really good game. But 38 seconds is 38 seconds, and it’s unfortunate. They capitalized on bad breaks.

The Firebirds had the better of the play in a hard-hitting but scoreless opening period that saw them outshoot the Explorers 11-6. They took a 2-0 lead into the second session on the strength of goals from Colin Costello at the 6:48 mark and a shorthanded effort from Byron Hartley at 9:49.

Both came off Explorer breakdowns in their own defensive zone. The margin might have been wider had it not been for the work of Aidan McCabe in the LaSalle net.

“We never would have gotten to this point if McCabe didn’t play the way he did,” Muehlbronner said. “He stopped four breakaways in the first two periods.”

The Explorers served notice at the start of the third period that they were still around. It took Sambuco just 53 seconds to cut the deficit in half. Collin Kleiser tied the game at the 3:09 mark on a wrister from the left point.

Evan Mudrick put Holy Ghost Prep back in front when he split two defenders near the LaSalle blue line and went up the middle to beat McCabe at 4:54. Sambuco tied the game for the second time when he went down the left wing and behind the Firebird net before finding Lipkin in front, who tucked the puck in the net with 4:38 remaining.

It took Dan Behr just 63 seconds to respond for the Firebirds off a feed from Alex D’Angelo, who just minutes earlier had been helped off the ice after suffering an apparent leg injury during a collision.

At that point, Holy Ghost Prep was 3:35 away from victory, but their quest came up short.

“I thought Ghost played a tremendous game,” Muehlbronner said. “They took it to us for two periods strong, I think we came out in the third and we played the way we’re capable of playing.”

Holy Ghost Prep 0 2 2—4

LaSalle 0 0 5—5

Second-period-period goals: Colin Costello (HGP) from Byron Hartley, 6:48; Hartley (HGP) from Costello, 9:59 (sh).

Third-period goals: Daniel Sambuco (L) unassisted, :53; Collin Kleiser (L) from Zach Baker and Michael Casey, 3:09; Evan Mudrick (HGP) rom Alex D’Angelo, 4:54; Sam Lipkin (L) from Sambuco and Casey, 12:22; Dan Behr (HGP) from D’Angelo, 13:25; Sambuco (L) from Lipkin, 16:33; Lipkin (L) from Casey and Sambuco, 16:47.

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 32, LaSalle 34; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 29, Aidan McCabe (L) 28.

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Three Flyers Cup finals will be available Sunday HERE beginning with the Class A final between Hershey and West Chester Rustin at 2:00. The Class AA final between Downingtown East and Downingtown West will follow at 4:30, followed by the Class AAA matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep at 7:00.

Pennridge 4, North Penn 3 OT

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The stars shined brightly at Hatfield Ice Monday evening. And in the end, Eric Slater lit up the night like a supernova. Slater’s goal 3 minutes, 25 seconds into overtime gave Pennridge a 4-3 decision over North Penn in a Flyers Cup Class AA quarterfinal.

The fourth-seeded Rams (16-2-3) will take a five-game winning streak and a 13-game unbeaten streak into Thursday’s semifinals against two-time defending Flyers Cup and state champion Downingtown East (5:15 at Ice Line).

Nathan Oh, playing in what turned out to be his final high-school game, delivered a hat trick for fifth-seeded North Penn (12-5-3).

It was a night when the best players on both teams came up big, but none more than Slater, who scored two goals and assisted on a third. His game-winner came on a shot from just beyond the faceoff circles off a feed from Matt Guinette. The shot beat Knight goaltender Nick Ebbinghaus on his stick (right) side but the freshman could not be faulted on the play.

“I was trying to drive the net,” Slater said. (Guinette) gave me a perfect pass. I made a move and shot it and hoped for the best.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna said he was expecting Slater to step up at the start of the 15-minute sudden-death period. “He’s going to go out other shift in that overtime,” Montagna said, “and if we’re going to win, most likely, he’s going to win it for us.”

The Knights had far the best of the opening period, outshooting the Rams 15-3 but the session ended with teams deadlocked at one goal each. Oh gave North Penn the lead with a dash down the wing after his team own a faceoff in its own zone. He beat Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick at the 7:39 mark. Slater answered back just under two minutes later with a wrister from the left wing after finding himself alone one on one with a Knight defenseman.

North Penn’s Josh Kaufholf (with puck) goes against Pennridge’s Frankie Rota in the first period of Monday’s game. (photo by Kathy Leister)

Michael Walker gave Pennridge the lead once more 63 seconds into the second period when he collected a feed from Guinette and made a move around a defender and beat Ebbinghaus.

The freshman came up big however with 1:50 left in the period however with a kick save on a shot from Walker that would have given the Rams a two-goal lead, Instead, Oh tied the game with 53.6 seconds left to send the teams to the third period all even.
Pennridge took the lead for the third time on Blake Stewart’s power-play goal with 5:17 left in the third period. With North Penn’s Will Hughes in the box serving a hooking minor, the Rams’ Franke Rota set up shot at the right point and sent a pass across the ice to Slater who launched a rocket along the ice. Stewart tipped the puck past Ebbinghaus.

Oh completed his hat trick with 2:16 left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Knights, who finished with a 37-21 wedge in shots, had a good chance early in the extra period but Stranick stood his ground and the teams played on until Slater delivered his game winner.

“You got Nate Oh on North Penn and Eric Slate on Pennridge,” North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis pointed out. “They’re two of the best high-school players in the (SHSHL) and definitely in the Flyers Cup tournament.

“They got the bounce to go their way in overtime and that’s part of the game. We were probably inches away from winning it there early in overtime and didn’t capitalize.”

Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick covers the puck. He finished with 34 saves. (Photo by Dara N. King)

North Penn 1 1 1 0—3

Pennridge 1 1 1 1—4

First-period goals: Nathan Oh (NP) from Jared Albano, 7:39; Eric Slater (MP) from Frankie Rota, 9:36;

Second-period goals: Michael Walker (P) from Matt Guinette, 1:03; Oh (NP) from Jake Nelson, 15:07

Third-period goals: Blake Stewart (P) from Walker and Rota, 10:43 (pp); Oh (NP) from Albano, 13:44

Overtime goal: Slater (P) from Guinette, 3:25

Shots: North Penn 37, Pennridge 21; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 17, Luke Stranick (P) 34

Malvern Prep 9, Roman Catholic 1

By Rick Woelfel

WEST GOSHEN— It took Malvern Prep some time to get started Thursday night, but it eventually got rolling, right into the Flyers Cup semifinals. Kyle Waskalavitch scored three goals and added two assists to help propel the Friars to a 9-1 win over Roman Catholic in a Class AAA quarterfinal game at Ice Line.

Second-seeded Malvern Prep will face sixth-seeded and defending Cup champion St. Joseph’s Prep in next Thursday’s semifinals (8:30 at the same rink).

The Friars dominated the opening period, but it took them until the waning seconds to score. Kyle Waskalavitch put the puck behind Cahillite goaltender John Lally with 38 seconds left in the period. Prior to that, Lally was first rate, he made 17 saves in the first frame.

“We play on the perimeter a lot,” Waskalavitch said. ” So, for us, we’ve got to focus on getting pucks to the net and crashing and getting those dirty goals. Not every goal is going to be pretty, especially in the playoffs.”

Malvern Prep coach Dave Dorman admitted he was concerned before the opening faceoff about the possibility of his team looking past the seventh-seeded Cahillites.

“That was my message before the game,” he said. “It had nothing to do with Xs and Os, it had northing to do with strategy. It was definitely about living in the moment and making sure that we take care of this game and we’re not overlooking anyone.

“There’s enough good players on any side of the puck that if you’re not playing the game the right way, you can get beat by someone.”

Ryan Sambuco extended Malvern Prep’s lead with a power-play goal 1:57 into the second session, ironically off the initial faceoff after Lally took an elbowing penalty.

Sambuco’s goal opened the floodgates. Washkalavitch and Matthew Harris followed with goals of their own two minutes apart and with 10:04 still to go in the second period the Friars enjoyed a 4-0 advantage.

The Cahillites lifted Lally at that point in favor of Michael Smith whom Konstantinos Harris greeted with a goal at the 8:49 mark.

Roman was able to solve Malvern Prep goaltender Dan Dougherty thanks to Colin Rosener, who scored with 5:53 left in the period before Waskavlavitch completed his hat trick with 2:40 remaining.

Rudloff, Jack Constabile and Aidan Gordinier added goals in the third period.

The Friars outshot the Cahillites 49-16. Dan Dougherty made 12 saves in the Malvern Prep net before being lifted for Anthony Perti with 10:04 left in the third period.

The result assures that an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference team will win the Class AAA Flyers Cup.

Roman Catholic 0 1 0—1

Malvern Prep 1 5 3—9

First-period goals: Kyle Waskalavitch (MP) from Kenny Connors, 15:28

Second-period goals: Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Nick Martino and Waskalavitch, 1:57 (pp); Waskalavitch (MP) from Connors and Andrew Harder, 3:55; Matthew Harris (MP) from Washkalavitch and Jake Rudloff, 5:56; Konstantinos Hionis (MP) from Martino and Harris, 8:49; Colin Rosenberg (RC) from Gilbert Newton, 10:07; Washkalavitch (MP) from Chris Blango and Connors, 13:20.

Third-period goals: Rudloff (MP) from Martino, 13:01; Jack Constabile (MP) from Charles Andress and Harrison Campbell, 13;48; Aidan Gordinier (MP) unassisted, 14:15.

Shots: Roman Catholic 16, Malvern Prep 49; Saves: John Lally (RC) 20 and Michael Smith (RC) 11, Dan Dougherty (MP) 12 and Anthony Perti (MP) 3.

Parkland 6 Neshaminy 4

By Rick Woelfel

BRISTOL— the combatants battled to the final bell. At the end, it was Parkland that was left standing.

Eric Dennis scored his third goal of the game with 4:24 remaining in the third period and that proved to be the game winner as the Trojans downed Neshaminy 6-4 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament at Grundy Arena.

The ninth-seeded Trojans (18-3-1) will face top-seeded Downingtown East in Monday’s quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded Neshaminy closed at 7-6-4.

NHS vs Parkland_IH_03062019_4516

Neshaminy’s Charlie Potash (in white) and Parkland’s Tom Boyer (in red) face off during Wednesday’s Flyers Cup game. Parkland won 6-4. Photo by Jesse Garber

The winning goal came on Dennis’s shot from the high slot. Neshaminy goaltender Steve Glick could not be faulted on the play.

The teams traded goals twice through the first period and change with Neshaminy getting tallies from Joey DeMatto and Thomas Gallagher while Joshua Bower and Dennis scored from Parkland.

Both goaltenders, Parkland’s Vincent Byelick and Neshaminy’s Steve Glick, were sharp early on and had to be to keep their respective teams in the game.

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo said his team was hurt by some early mistakes. “We had some problems with turnovers early on that coast us a couple goals,” he said. “I’d like to have those back but I couldn’t be more proud of the boys.”

Dennis scored his second goal of the game at the 9:34 mark of the second period on a rebound of Matt Zager’s original shot to give Parkland a 3-2 lead. Jason Dratch scored just 29 seconds later off a turnover to give the Trojans a two-goal advantage.

Neshaminy looked to have an opportunity when back-to-back tripping penalties gave it a two-man advantage for 1:31. But it managed just one shot on goal during that span and the deficit remained until Matthew Duke scored from the slot midway between the faceoff circles to make it a one-goal game with 1:38 left in the period.

Joey DeMatteo tied the game with his second goal of the night just 36 seconds into the final period.

From that moment on, Glick kept his team in the game; he made 12 saves in the third period. he finished the game with 30. Parkland had a 36-16 advantage in shots.

“I thought it was a good offensive battle back and forth,” Matt DeMatteo said. “I thought the boys played really hard. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort.”

Parkland 1 3 2—6

Neshaminy 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Joey DeMatteo (M) from Josh Haines and Rob Seewagen, 6:02 (pp) Joshua Bower (P) from Koby Staivecki and Eric Dennis, 10:04.

Second-period goals: Dennis (P) from Staivecki and Gus Schwartz, :35; Thomas Gallagher (N) from Matthew Duke, 2:29; Dennis (P) from Matt Zager and Jason Dratch 9:343; Dratch (P) from Dennis and Zager, 10:03; Duke (N) unassisted, 14:22.

Third-period goals: DeMatteo (N) from Charlie Potash, :36; Dennis (P) unassisted, 10:36; Zager (P) from Dratch, 15:49.

Shots: Parkland 36, Neshamony 16; Saves: Vincent Byelick (P) 12, Steve Glick (N) 30.

Flyers Cup Schedule for Wednesday, March 6

Class AA First Round

Downingtown East 4 Council Rock South 1

Parkland 6, Neshaminy 4——See story on this site

Pennridge 6, Garnet Valley 5—The fourth-seeded Rams trailed 5-4 going into the third period, but Eric Slater and Frankie Rota scored goals to secure the win over the 13th-seeeded Jaguars.

North Penn 9, Pennsbury 5—The fifth-seeded Knights scored five goals in the second period to dispatch the 12th-seeded Falcons at Hatfield Ice

Conestoga 5 Perkiomen Valley 1

Haverford 7 Central Bucks East 1

Boyertown 4 Central Bucks West 0

Downingtown West 5 Central Bucks South 2

Quarterfinals will be Monday, 3/11

Class AAA Quarterfinals

Holy Ghost Prep 9 Father Judge 5

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Cardinal O’Hara 0

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference in the Flyers Cup

The four members of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference have won 25 Flyers Cup titles between them; 23 in Class AAA and two in Class AA

Here is the breakdown (Class AA titles in italic)

LaSalle 10: 1996, ’98, 99, 2008, ’09, 2011-14, 2016

Malvern Prep 10: 1987, 1990, 1992, ’93, ’97; 2001-05,

Holy Ghost Prep: 4: 2003, 2007, ’15, ‘17

St. Joseph’s Prep 1; 2018