Pennridge Wins SHSHL Class AA title

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The combination of solid defense and quality goaltending will win a lot of hockey games, especially in the postseason. The Pennridge Rams utilized that formula to become champions Thursday night.

Luke Stranick stopped 35 shots and Matt Guinette and Michael Eissler provided the necessary scoring as the Rams downed Central Bucks South 2-0 in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA championship game at Hatfield Ice

It’s the second SHSHL title in history for the second-seeded Rams, who improved their record to 14-2-3. The top-seeded Titans (13-4-2) were attempting to capture an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL crown and their ninth in history.
After shutting down one of the most potent offenses in the area, the Rams were savoring their success.

“I’ve only gone here for two years, and it feels great to me” said junior defenseman Frankie Rota, who transferred from Quakertown prior to last season. “I can imagine the guys that have been going here for four, I imagine it feels incredible.”

The Rams outshot the Titans by just 40-35 but the efforts of the blueline corps limited South’s quality chances and made life easier for their goaltender.

“My defense played perfect,” Stranick said. “They did everything I could have asked for. They kept the shots to the outside, they kept the screens out of my way, they made it real easy.”

The Titans had the better of things early on until the pace picked up midway through the opening period. Guinette got the Rams on the board at the 8:18 mark of the first frame with a shot from midway between the tops of the two faceoff circles that beat South netminder Oscar Levin, who had a solid game between the pipes despite the defeat.

Pennridge’s second goal, which came 3:30 into the middle period, was the result of a picturesque individual effort by Eissler, who went up the middle and over the blue line before deking around a South defender and beating Moyer. That was all the scoring there was but that was all that was needed.

“Defensively, we gave up some chances,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “but we did a real good job not giving up second-chance opportunities. Our defensemen blocked a ton of shots in this game and we swept everything up.

“(South) is a hard team to hold off for 51 minutes and we did.”

Notes: The Rams won their first league crown in 2008 …Both teams will see action in the Flyers Cup tournament next Wednesday. The second-seeded Titans will face 15th-seed Downingtown West on Wednesday at Revolution Ice Gardens at 7:15. The fourth-seeded Rams will take on 13th seed Garnet Valley the same evening at Hatfield Ice at 8:40 … Shaun McGinty was not behind the Titans’ bench Thursday night because of work commitments. Assistant Tyler Skronski stepped in for him.

Pennridge 1 1 0—2

C.B. South 0 0 0—0

First-period goal: Matt Guinette (P) from Eric Slater, 8:18

Second-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 3:30

Shots: Pennridge 40, C.B. South 35; Saves: Luke Stranick 35 Oscar Levin (CBS) 33

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SHSHL Finals

Suburban High School Hockey League Championship Results

Class AA

Pennridge 2, Central Bucks South 0

Class A

Wissahickon 16, Lower Moreland 6

Details of these games coming. Check back later

Wissahickon 3, Plymouth Whtemarsh 2 OT

By Rick Woelfel

The result left the victors ecstatic and their defeated foes in agony. Two teams played a quality hockey game and left Hatfield Ice Wednesday night separated by the slimmest of margins.

It took Bryan Garry’s power-play goal 26 seconds into overtime to give the Wissahickon a 3-2 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class A semifinal.

The win moves the second-seeded Trojans (12-3-2) into Thursday’s final against top-seeded Lower Moreland (8:40 at Hatfield Ice).

The winning goal came during a four-on three situation that got its start when minor penalties 20 seconds apart late in the third period left each team a man down heading into the 15-minute sudden death (five skaters against five) overtime period.

When John Cubbin was whistled for tripping just 11 seconds into the extra session, the third-seeded Colonials were two men short and the second-seeded Trojans had a lot of open ice to work in.

Gary’s goal came on a wrister from around the left circle and put a damper on a brilliant performance in goal by the Colonials’ Ben Yuter, who made 42 saves and was challenged repeatedly.

“Three goals in 45 shots on net,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello.

Wissahickon coach ken Harrington was impressed Yuter’s effort, as was everyone else in the building. “We got a lot of shots on goal,” he said. “We just couldn’t get the rebounds. He did a superb job, hats off to him.”

The teams have now split four meetings this season. Gary said he was not surprised that Wednesday’s game was close.

Garry said he was expecting the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams to be a tightly contested affair

“We’ve played them before and they’ve been close games” he said, “so I just expected it be another close game.”

The Trojans’ Dan Glazer started the scoring just 1:25 into the first frame. Gavin Mulligan tied the game for Plymouth Whitemarsh at the 15:16 mark off a Wissahickon turnover in the neutral zone.

Aidan Keogh scored on a wraparound move from behind the goal 6:05 into the third period to give Plymouth Whitemarsh a 2-1 lead. Sean Gary tied the game for Wissahickon with 3:40 left in regulation but Yuter made some big saves down the stretch to force overtime.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 1 0—2

Wissahickon 1 0 1 1—2

First-period goals: Dan Glazer from Sean Garry, 1:25; Gavin Mulligan (PW) from Peter Troy, 15:16.

Third-period goals: Aidan Keogh (PW) from Jake Weikel, 6:05; Sean Garry from Bryan Garry, 13:20.

Overtime goal: Bryan Garry from Sean Garry, :26 (pp).
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 21, Wissahickon 45; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 42, Michael Henderson 19

Pennridge 6, North Penn 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Truly great players step up when it matters. That’s the case in every sport and it was certainly the case when North Penn and Pennridge squared off Wednesday night in their Suburban High School Hockey League semifinal.

Michael Walker scored what proved to be the winning goal with 9:55 left in the third period and followed up by scoring into an empty net with 18 seconds to go to give the Rams a 6-4 win on a night when some of the SHSHL’s elite players showed the audience at Hatfield Ice why they have achieved that status.

Walker provided an assist to go with his two goals. Eric Slater, perhaps the premier sniper in the SHSHL’s Class AA division, helped the Rams’ cause with a goal and an assist while Luke Stranick was impressive in goal.

Meantime, Josh Albano was contributing three goals for the Knights while Nathan Oh was helping out with three assists.

As a result of all this, it was anyone’s game until the late going. With the game tied 4-4 the third-seeded Knights (11-4-3) lost Luke Van Why to a tripping penalty. It took Walker just 17 seconds to put the Rams (13-2-3) in front; he scored via a feed from Slater off a faceoff.

But Stranick knew he and his teammates couldn’t relax. “It definitely keeps me dialed in,” he said. “My defense does a really good job of keeping the pucks coming from the outside and when they do that, it makes it a lot easier for me and the team.”

Blake Stewart and Tommy Pichardo sported the Rams two goals to the good by the 5:18 mark of the first period but Albano answered back, scoring two goals in a span of 2 minutes, 9 seconds to tie the game.

“I thought that early on we struggled a little bit defensively,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “We started to settle down. I told them ‘The mark of a good team is when you do struggle and don’t have your ‘A’ game’ … The older guys made a play every single time we needed one.”

Freshman Aidan Boyle scored his first varsity goal to put Pennridge up 3-2 at the 3:02 mark of the second frame. Thomas Boyle answered for the Knights just 41 seconds later.

Slater put the Rams back in front when he scored with 39 seconds left in the period but Albano finished his hat trick at 5:19 of the third frame to set the stage for the conclusion.

“We knew they had a number of talented players up front,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “I don’t think you’re ever going to stop them, I think you just look to contain them. I thought we did a decent job of that but they’re still (dangerous).”

The win puts second-seeded Pennridge into Thursday’s championship game (6:50 at Hatfield Ice) against top-seed Central Bucks South which is seeking an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL title.

Pennridge is seeking to claim its first title since 2008.

Notes: The semifinal featured 17-minute periods (instead of 16) and in ice cut after the second stanza, the same format that will be utilized for the Flyers Cup semifinals and finals … Four officials were on the ice.

North Penn 2 1 1—4

Pennridge 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Blake Stewart (P) from Matt Guinette, 3:14; Tommy Pichardo (P) from Guinette, 5:56; Josh Albano (NP) from Nathan Oh and Tommy Tuozzo, 10:06; Albano, (NP) from Tyler Greenstein and Oh (pp).

Second-period goals: Aidan Boyle (P) from Frankie Rota, 3:02; Thomas Boyle, (NP) from Oh, 3:44; Eric Slater (P) from Stewart, 16:39.

Third-period goals: Albano (NP) from Oh and Josh Kaufhold, 5;17 (pp); Michael Walker (P) from Slater, 7:05 (pp); Walker (P) unassisted, 16:42.

Shots: North Penn 32, Pennridge 35; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 29, Luke Stranick (P) 28.

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LaSalle 6, Holy Ghost Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— All season long, LaSalle has shown the ability to score in bunches. That talent was on display Wednesday afternoon against Holy Ghost Prep in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference championship game. The Explorers scored four second-period goals in a span of 6 minutes, 7 seconds and went on to a 5-2 win over the Firebirds to claim the first-ever Founders Cup in front of an energized audience at Hatfield Ice.

“I’m feeling really excited right now,” said Brandon Leer, one of LaSalle’s captains. “The past four years I’ve been here, this is my first championship … It feels really good right now.”

The two teams played the first period on even terms.

The Firebirds (8-13) started the scoring at the 3:12 mark when Alex D’Angelo sent a pass down the middle of the ice from deep on the left side of his own zone. E.J. Pohl collected the puck in full stride and went up the middle to beat LaSalle goaltender Aidan McCabe.

Nathan Benner tied the game for the Explorers (20-6) with two seconds left in the opening session from midway between the faceoff circles.

Holy Ghost Prep took a 2-1 lead 5:59 into the second period when he tipped in D’Angelo’s shot from the high slot.

But then the Explorers exploded. Fabrizzio Mazzarelli, Sam Lipkin, Jan Olenginski, and Daniel Sambucco all scored goals during the barrage and LaSalle found itself up 5-2 with 1:23 left in the period.

“I think we started clicking a little bit better,” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner. “I don’t know that all the lines were on the same page to start with but once we started clicking, we were going to the net hard.”

That five different players scored the Explorers’ first five goals was a testament to the team’s scoring balance. “I think we’re fortunate,” Muehlbronner said, “and they definitely stepped up tonight. It was good to see.”

D’Angelo scored a power-play goal for the Firebirds with 6:39 left in regulation but Benner answered for the Explorers 61 seconds later.

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside lamented his team’s inability to sustain its early momentum. “I thought we played well the first and third periods,” he said, “and that stretch in the second period our wheels fell off a little bit and they took advantage of our mistakes. Credit to them, Wally and the boys. “But we’ll see them again.”

The Flyers Cup is still ahead but the APAC officially completed its inaugural season on Wednesday. Leer noted the caliber of play was first rate all year season long. “Every team out here (including Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep was outstanding,” he said. “There was not one game where we felt as if we completely dominate the opponent. Each game we had was very close and then either we outworked the opponent and made the gap grow bigger or they backed down, which made our job a lot easier.”

Notes: LaSalle had a 34-26 edge in shots. All four APAC teams will compete in the Class AAA Flyers Cup. LaSalle is the top seed and had a first-round bye. Malvern Prep is seeded second, Holy Ghost Prep fifth, and St. Joseph’s Prep sixth.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1—3

LaSalle 1 4 1—6

First-period goals: EJ. Pohl (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 3:12; Nathan Benner (L) from Michael Casey and Sam Lipkin, 15:58.

Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from D’Angelo, 5:59; Fabrizzio Mazzarelli (L) from Jan Olenginski and Lipkin, 8:30 (pp); Lipkin (L) from Casey and Zach Baker, 9:10 (sh); Olenginski (L) unassisted, 11:06; Daniel Sambuco (L) unassisted, 14:37.

Third-period goals: Alex D’Angelo (HGP) from Eric Mark and Midrick, 9:21 (pp); Benner L) from Colin Kreisler and Ryan Ferry, 10:22.

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, LaSalle 34; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 28, Aidan McCabe (L) 23

North Penn 4 Pennsbury 2

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Prior to taking the ice Monday night in their Suburban High School Hockey League quarterfinal, Pennsbury and North Penn were fully aware they are scheduled to face each other next Wednesday in the opening round of the Flyers Cup tournament. With that fact in mind, the Falcons and the Knights would have been forgiven for playing things close to the vest, since the results of the SHSHL playoffs have no bearing on the Flyers Cup seedings.

Instead, they chose to go another way. Both teams stepped up their games Monday night, the Falcons, who were seeded sixth in the SHSHL tournament, especially so.

It took a third-period goals from Josh Kaufhold and Nathan Oh to give the Knights a 4-2 win in an entertaining affair at Hatfield Ice. North Penn (11-3-3) will face second-seeded Pennridge on Wednesday at 7:00 in the semifinals while Pennsbury (7-8-3) will wait for next Wednesday’s rematch in the Flyers Cup.

Oh, who assisted on Kaufhold’s winning goal, was quick to point out that winning a SHSHL title would mean a lot to the Knights.

“Winning the league would mean so much for us,” he said. “Obviously, (Central Bucks South) has been on top forever and for us to get some hardware, that would be awesome. It would be great for me and the rest of the seniors.”

Jake Nelson gave the Knights an early lead when he scored just 2:02 into the first period but Ben Dous scored twice for the sixth-seeded Falcons (7-7-3) to give them a 2-1 lead after one frame.

Tyler Greenstein tied the game for North Penn with 5:51 left in the second period on the most picturesque play of the night; he skated up the middle of the ice and split the two Pennsbury defensemen before beating Falcon netminder Topher Seiler with a forehander.

At the start of the third period it was anyone’s hockey game.

The teams hadn’t played each other since November 29 and North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis noted that both had evolved since then. “Obviously both teams have changed a lot over the last three months,” he said. “Hats off to them. They came out really ready to play and they kind of went toe-to-toe with us for two periods.”
Kaufhold scored the winning goal on a power play with 9:09 left in the third period. The goal came while the Falcons Beau Yedman was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

Oh added an empty net goal with four seconds remaining.

Despite the loss, and his team’s elimination from the SHSHL playoffs, Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley feels his team has taken some big steps forward of late. The Falcons were 4-1-1 in their last six games prior to Monday night.

“The kids have been on fire,” he said. “I was telling the guys before the game that we’re a dangerous team. We’re an underdog playing extremely good hockey and I knew we had good shot. A couple bounces didn’t go our way, but it’s hockey.”

Notes: Both goaltenders came up with some big saves. Seiler and North Penn’s Nick Ebbinghaus combined to stop 52 shots.

Pennsbury 2 0 0—2

North Penn 1 1 2—4

First-period goals: Jake Nelson (NP) from Tyler Greenstein, 2:02; Ben Dous (P) from Jake Sieger, 11:34; Dous (P) from Sieger and Erik Eisler, 12:51.

Second-period goal: Greenstein (NP) from Jared Albano and Luke Van Why, 10:09.

Third-period goals: Josh Kaufhold (NP) from Nathan Oh, 6:51 (pp); Oh (NP) from Albano, 15:56 (en).

Shots; Pennsbury 25, North Penn 33; Saves: Topher Seiler (P) 29, Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 23

Pennridge 6 Central Bucks East 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge served notice Monday night that its ready for the postseason. The Rams were in firm form Monday night during a 6-0 win over Central Bucks East in the opening round of the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

Six different players scored goals for second-seeded Pennridge (12-2-3), which will face North Penn in Wednesday’s semifinals (7:00 at Hatfield Ice. The seventh-seeded Patriots (11-6-2) will be idle until the Flyers Cup tournament begins next week; they’ll face Haverford High in the opening round next Wednesday.

Michael Eissler gave Pennridge a 1-0 lead with 4:12 left in the opening period when he tipped in a rebound of Jeff Manto’s original shot, beating East netminder Chris Mcintyre.

The Rams broke the game open in the second period, scoring five times in a span of 6 minutes, 58 seconds. Bryson Egan, Michael Walker, Manto, Blake Stewart, and Evan Kehoe all scored goals, the last two of which came just 14 seconds apart.

The Rams are unbeaten in their last nine games (7-0-2) Walker, a junior, says he and his teammates are focused on their postseason goals. “We’re kind of looking at every game as just like the next step forward to get to where we want to be,” he said. “We want to win the SHSHL and then obviously go as far as we possibly can in the Flyers Cup. So, this is just a step on the way.”

Walker noted the Rams have found more scoring balance in recent weeks

“In the beginning of the season we were a little one sided,” he said. “The first line was getting a lot of points, but as the season went on, the chemistry got better. Everyone was scoring on every line.”

The Rams are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2008. Walker noted the team is benefitting from the abundance of experience on the roster, as well as the experience of playing together. “With the regular season, working as hard as we did, coming into the postseason and working with each other isn’t as difficult as it seems,” he said. “We just connect.”

The Patriots had trouble coping with Pennridge’s speed for most of the evening and managed just 10 shots on goal in the 48-minute game.

“For the last three or four games we haven’t been on our game,” said East coach Ken Latchum. “Hopefully the Flyers Cup is another new season and we’ll get it going there.”

C.B. East 0 0

Pennridge 1 5

First-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 11:48

Second-period goals: Bryson Egan (P) from Michael Walker, 1:43; Walker (P) from Eric Slater, 2:06; Jeff Manto (P) from Nick Eissler, 5:20; Blake Stewart (P) from Slater and Matt Guinette, 8:27 (pp); Evan Kehoe (P) from Tommy Prichard, 8:41

Shots: C.B. East 10, Pennridge 40; Saves; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 34, Luke Stranik (Pr) 10.

2019 Flyers Cup Schedule

Here is the complete Flyers Cup 2019 game schedule

Game times and sites are subject to change

Class AAA

Quarterfinals

# 1 1 LaSalle has a bye

Wednesday, March 6

#2 4 Holy Ghost Prep vs. 5 Father Judge 8:40 at Grundy

#3 3 Cardinal O’Hara vs 6 St. Joseph’s Prep 6:15 at Skatium

Thursday, March 7

#4 2 Malvern Prep vs 7 Roman Catholic 8:00 at Ice Line

Semifinals

Thursday, March 14

LaSalle vs Winner of Game 2 7:00 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 3 and 4 6:30 at Ice Line

Championship Game

Sunday, March 17 7:00 at Wells Fargo Center. 7:00

Class AA

First Round: All Games Wednesday, March 6

# 1 1 Downingtown East vs Council Rock South 5:30 at Ice Line

# 2 8 Neshaminy vs. 9 Parkland 7:00 at Grundy

# 3 4 Pennridge vs. 13 Garnet Valley 8:40 at Hatfied

# 4 5 North Penn vs. 12 Pennsbury 7:00 at Hatfield

# 5 3 Conestoga vs. 14 Perkiomen Valley 8:50 at Ice Line

#6 6 Haverford vs. Central Bucks East 8:00 at Skatium

# 7 7 Boyertown vs. 10 Central Bucks West 7:10 at Ice Line

# 8 2 Central Bucks South vs. 15 Downingtown West 7:15 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Quarterfinals: All Games March 11

Winners of Games 1 and 2 6:15 at Ice Line

Winners of Games 3 and 4 7:00 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 5 and 6 8:00 at Ice Line

Winners of Games 7 and 8 7:15 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Semifinals

Thursday, March 14

Upper Bracket 6:15 at Ice Line

Wednesday, March 13

Lower Bracket 7:00 at Hatfield

Championship Game

Sunday, March 17 at Wells Fargo Center 4:30 P.M.

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Class A

First Round

# 1 1 Bayard Rustin vs. 16 Sun Valley 3-5 at Ice Line, 6:30

#2 8 Lower Merion vs. 9 O.J. Roberts 3-4 at Skatium, 8:00

#3 4 West Chester East vs. 13 Wissahckon 3-4 at Ice Line, 5:30

#4 5 Palmyra vs. 12 Springfield Delco 3-5 at Ice Line, 8:15

#5 3 WC Henderson vs 14 Kennett 3-4 at Ice Line, 7:10

#6 6 Hershey vs. 11 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3-4 at Ice Line, 8:50

#7 7 Lower Moreland vs 10 Unionville 3-4 7:45 at Rev. Ice Gardens

#8 2 Strath Haven vs. Hatboro-Horsham 3-5 at Aston, 7:30

Quarterfinals: All Games March 7

Winners of Games 1 and 2 5:30 at Ice Line

Winners of Games 3 and 4 6:45 at Ice Line

Winners of Games 5 and 6 7:10 at Ice Line

Winners of Games 7 and 8 7:30 at Aston

Semifinals

Tuesday, March 12

Upper Bracket 7:00 at Ice Line

Wednesday, March 13

Lower Bracket 6:30 at Ice Line

Championship Game

Sunday, March 17 at Wells Fargo Center 2:00

Girls

Semifinals

1 Unionville has a bye

2 West Chester East vs West Chester Rustin 8:45 at Ice Line

Championship Game

Sunday, March 17 at Wells Fargo Center 9:45 A.M.

Unionville vs. Semifinal winner

Flyers Cup Seedings 2019

A total of 42 high school hockey teams have been selected and seeded for the 40th annual Flyers Cup tournament.

Sixteen teams each will comprise the boys’ Class A and Class AA brackets while seven more will compete in Class AAA and three others will meet in a girls’ competition.

First-round games will be played March 4-6 and the tournament will continue from there before the champions are crowned at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, March 17

Two-time defending Flyers Cup and state champion Downingtown East has drawn the top seed in Class 2A. Central Bucks South, which lost to the Cougars in overtime in last year’s championship game, is seeded second, followed by Conestoga, Pennridge, and North Penn.

Haverford is seeded sixth, followed by Boyertown, Neshaminy, Parkland, and Central Bucks West. Central Bucks East is seeded 11th, followed by Pennsbury, Garnet Valley, Perkiomen Valley, Downingtown West, and Council Rock South.

The field includes eight teams from the Suburban High School Hockey League, seven from the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League and one from the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League.

Five-time defending Flyers Cup and State Class A champion Bayard Rustin is once again the top seed in its bracket, followed by Strath Haven, West Chester Henderson, West Chester East, Palmyra, Hershey, Lower Moreland, and Lower Merion.

Owen J. Roberts is seeded ninth, followed by Unionville, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Springfield-Delco, Wissahickon, Kennett, Hatboro-Horsham, and Sun Valley.

LaSalle, which captured the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference regular-season title, is the top seed in Class AAA. The Explorers will be trying to win the Flyers Cup for the 11th time and will be the only boys’ team in any division with an opening-round bye.

Malvern Prep is seeded second followed by Cardinal O’Hara, Holy Ghost Prep, Father Judge, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Roman Catholic.

Unionville will have the bye in the girls’ bracket. West Chester East and West Chester Rustin will meet on March 13 for a place in the championship game.

Flyers Cup Seedings

The seedings and pairings for the 40th Flyers Cup will be announced on Sunday.

The announcements will originate from the Brick House in Horsham.

Hockey Happenings will be part of the live webcast at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/SFBN

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