APAC Championship Preview

Wednesday, February 25

APAC Founders Cup Championship Game

Holy Ghost Prep vs 3. St. Joseph’s Prep

4:00 at Grundy Arena

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 17-4

Key Players: Chase Logue 25 goals, 6 assists, 31 points in all competitions; Lucas Gonzalez 11-11-22; Antony Valeriote 7-15-22; Chris Marshall 7-12-19; Matt Salita .956 save % 1.00 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: Charlie Van Kula

Record: 16-6

Key players: Cole Gargon 14 goals, 26 assists, 42 points in all competitions; Bradan Fisher 10-13-23; Michael Waslick 9-9-18; Adam Charrafi 7-10-17; Declan Geary .930 save %, 1.61 GAA

This season:

12-17 Holy Ghost Prep 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

2-4 Holy Ghost Prep 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Ice chips: This game marks the conclusion of the APAC’s eighth season … The Firebirds, who are the defending conference champions, also reached the finals in 2019, ’20, and ’23, losing to La Salle each time …The Hawks’ only previous trip to the Founders Cup final came in 2020 when they lost to La Salle.

The Firebirds are seeded first for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup and the Hawks are seeded second. Those seedings will not be impacted by the results of this game.

SHSHL 2026 All-League Teams

National Division

First Team

F Jake Weiner Sr. Council Rock South

F Shane Gleisner Sr. Pennsbury

F Samuel Norton Jr. North Penn

D James Boyle Sr. North Penn

D Jamison Crouch Sr. Central Bucks South

G Andy Norton So. North Penn

Second Team

F Max Ryon Sr. Souderton

F Jordan Sarne Sr. Council Rock South

F Chris Silvotti Jr. North Penn

D Ben Dempsey So. Central Bucks East

D John Lord So. Central Bucks South

G Isaac Mays Sr. Central Bucks West

American Division

First Team

F Vince Graziani So. Hatboro-Horsham

F Nate Nemchinov Sr. Hatboro-Horsham

F Dan Guller Sr. Plymouth Whitemarsh

D Logan Dicus Sr. Wissahickon

D Ryan Jaegher Sr. Plymouth Whitemarsh

G Matt Evangelist Jr. Abington

Second Team

F Grayson Quinn Sr. Springfield

F Cooper Kanzee So. Plymouth Whitemarsh

F William Moffa Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

D Luca Staffieri Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

D Reid Richestie Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

G Max Yoder So. Plymouth Whitemarsh

Players were selected by league coaches

The Hockey Happenings podcast is available HERE

Flyers Cup Seedings 2026

Forty-two teams have been selected for the 47^th edition of the Flyers Cup tournament. Action will begin on Monday, March 2.

The Class AAA and girls’ brackets will be comprised of seven teams each. There will be 16 teams in Class AA and 12 in Class A.

Here are the matchups and seedings. Game sites and times will be added when available.

Class AAA 7 teams

1 Holy Ghost Prep bye

4 Malvern Prep vs 5 Devon Prep

3 La Salle vs 6 Father Judge

2 St. Joseph’s Prep vs 7 Salesianum

Class AA 16 teams

1 North Penn vs 16 Shawnee

8 Owen J. Roberts vs 9 Avon Grove

4 Conestoga vs 13 Central Bucks East

5 Downingtown West vs 12 Pennridge

2 Boyertown vs 15 Souderton

7 Haverford vs 10 Pennsbury

3 Council Rock South vs 14 Spring-Ford

6 Central Bucks South vs 11 Downingtown East

Class A 12 teams

1 Hershey bye

8 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 9 West Chester Henderson

4 West Chester East bye

5 Marple Newtown vs 12 West Chester Rustin

2 Penncrest bye

7 Garnett Valley vs. 10 Palmyra

3 Kennett bye

6 Hatboro-Horsham vs 11 Radnor

Girls 7 Teams

1 Avon Grove bye

4 Conestoga vs 5 West Chester East

2 Downingtown West vs 7 Pennridge

3 Lower Merion Maroon vs 6 Radnor

SHSHL Playoff Update 2-22-26

Game times/dates are subject to change due to the weather

Monday, February 23

National Division First Round

C.B. South 2 6. C.B. East 1

Pennsbury 8 Pennridge 4

3. Central Bucks South

Coach: Josh Sklar

Record: 13-5, 12-4 in the SHSHL

Key players: Ryan Frey 18 goals, 27 assists, 45 points; Ryan Montagna 18-16-34; Joey Slobodrian 14-19-33; Nathan Napolitano .887 save %, 3.37 GAA

6. Central Bucks East

Coach: Tom Mitchell

Record: 6-10-1, 6-9-1 in SHSHL

Key Players: Ben Dempsey 12 goals, 19 assists, 21 points; Ale Wilson 6-11-17; Cameron Young .902 save %, 4.62 GAA

This season:

12-4 C.B. South 5 C.B. East 1

1-21 C.B. South 3 C.B. East 2

At stake: the winner faces second seed Council Rock South in Wednesday’s semifinals

4. Pennsbury

Coach: Ryan Daley

Record: 12-5-1, 10-5-1 in SHSHL

Key Players: Shane Gleisner 44 goals 21 assists, 65 points; Shane Hicks 18-23—41; Jacob Sarver 17-18-36; Brendan Milliken .886 save %, 3.62 GAA

5. Pennridge

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Record: 6-10-1. 6-10 in SHSHL

Key Players: Landon Bishop 22-14-36; James Rush 21-15-36; Andrew Slutsky .875 save %, 3.92 GAA

This season:

11-20 Pennsbury 9 Pennridge 4

1-26 Pennsbury 4 Pennridge 3

At stake: The winner faces top seed North Penn in Wednesday’s semifinals.

The Flyers Cup Selection Show will air on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel at 8 pm, Eastern Time on Sunday 2-22

Pennridge 6 C.B. East 0

The SHSHL playoff field is complete. And Pennridge provided the final piece of the puzzle.

James Rush and Landon Bishop scored two goals each as the Rams bested Central Bucks East 6-0 Thursday night in a National Division matchup. that served as the finale for the SHSHL’s regular season.

The Pennridge win, combined with Central Buck South’s overtime win over Souderton Thursday night, filled the last two slots on the National Division playoff bracket. Pennridge (6-10-1, 6-10 in the division with two losses in OT)) will be seeded fifth and face fourth seed Pennsbury Monday night. Central Bucks East (6-10-1, 6-9-1 with one win in OT), the sixth seed, will face third-seeded Central Bucks South. North Penn and Council Rock South, the top two seeds, have byes into Wednesday’s semifinals.

For a Pennridge teams that had only nine skaters available at one point early in the season reaching the postseason is a remarkable achievement.

“It’s incredibly satisfying,” said Ram coach Jeff Montagna. “They deserve it, for the amount of close games they played and lost, and come in to basically a ‘You lose and your done’ scenario, with that kind of pressure and play a perfect hockey game? It says a lot about them.

“I feel really, really good for them tonight.”

Junior Ryan says Montagna is committed to winning but also understands that hockey is supposed to be fun.

“He’s definitely intense,” Burke said. “He’s very loud, he’s very expressive on how he coaches.

“But, he wants to have a good time. He’s always joking, in the locker room and on the bench.

“He’ll show {His competitive side. You’ll hear him on the bench. He’s very intense, but he’s a great coach.”

Burke says Montagna and his staff have worked to make this season a positive experience for the players, even when the losses added up.

“There’s a lot of joking around and trying to lift our spirits up before games and during games. Just trying to push through those {challenges} we’ve gone through.

Pennridge controlled the game from the start. Rush scored a power-play goal just 2:38 into the opening period and assisted on second-period goals by Landon Bishop and Kaden Gunning.

Andrew Engler made it a 4-0 game with 2:01 left in the middle period and sent Patriot goaltender Cameron Young to the bench; Logan Mitchell replaced him.

Rush and Bishop added third-period goals; Rush also contributed three assists.

• Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Wissahickon 11-1 Thursday night to claim the American Division title and arn a bye into Thursday’s championship game. Second seed Hatboro-Horsham and third-seed Springfield will meet in a Wednesday semifinal.

Pennridge 1 3 2—6

C.B. East 0 0 0—0

First-period goal: James Rush (P) unassisted, 2:38 (pp)

Second-period goals: Landon Bishop (P) from Rush, 5:03; Kaden Gunning (P) from Rush, 8:40; Andrew Engler (P) from Bishop, 14:59 (pp)

Third-period goals: Rush (P) from Morris Ostrobrook, 1:57; Bishop (P) from Rush and Engler, 6:14

Shots: Pennridge 47, C.B. East 23

Saves: Andrew Slutsky (P) 23, Cameron Young (CBE) 21 and Logan Mitchell (CBE) 20

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Malvern Prep 0

For most of the evening, it was a goaltending dual. But eventually, Holy Ghost Prep found the answers it was looking for. The Firebirds scored three times in the third period to post a 3-0 shutout over Malvern Prep at Ice Line.

Top-seeded and defending APAC champion Holy Ghost Prep (16-4) will host Sr. Joseph’s Prep next Wednesday afternoon at Grundy Arena at 4 p.m. with the Founders Cup at stake. Fifth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-11-2) will find out where it will be seeded for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

For most of the evening, Firebird netminder Matt Salita and Ike Matoney, his Malvern Prep counterpart, occupied center stage. Both were tested and for 34 minutes, both were perfect.

“It’s a lot of fun to go back and forth with another good goalie,” Salita said. “I thought he played pretty well.”

After the post-second period ice cut, the Firebirds returned for the third period energized.

“During intermission, Coach {John Ritchie} kind of gave us a wakeup call,” Salita said. ‘We kind of listened and we kind of simplified what we were going to do,

The retooling paid off. Lucas Gonzalez finally solved Matoney with a shot from long range, 3:01 into the final period. Nathan Romer followed at 8:53 and Billy Harmar finished the scoring with a power-play effort at 14:23.

“I thought we started off a little flat,” Salita said, “but we did our jobs in the third and got the job done.”

Ritchie made it clear to his team that despite an unblemished APAC record (9-0 including Wednesdays game) the road will only get tougher for the reigning APAC and Flyers Cup champions and that this is a new year.

“Last year, we took a couple losses at the beginning of the year,” he said, “and I think that helped fuel us.

“We’ve been in tight games, but we’ve come out on top all year {In conference play}. We’re seeing teams for the third and fourth time (Wednesday’s game was the fourth between the Firebirds and the Friars}. Every game is going to be tighter. There are no secrets. Everybody knows what everybody has.

Malvern came out with a games plan and I thought they did really, really well for most of the game.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan echoed those sentiments.

“I thought we came out strong,” he said. “Our message was to match their intensity and match their physicality. I thought we did that for two periods.

The first two periods were tight, they were close. It went back and forth, there was pressure each way. In the third period, they just outmatched us a little bit. They got a goal quick and we couldn’t recover.”

Malvern Prep 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 3—3

Third-period goals: Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 3:01; Nathan Romer (HGP) from John Gavaghan and Brady Flynn, 8:53; Billy Harmar (HGP) from Chris Marshall and Chase Logue. 14:23 (pp) Sots; Saves: Malvern Prep 18, Hoy Ghost Prep 32; Saves: Ike Matoney (MP) 29, Matt Salita (HGP) 18

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Hun School 2

There was an abundance of emotion on display at Ice Line Wednesday evening following the APAC semifinal between St. Joseph’s Prep and The Hun School. The Hawks earned the right to play for a conference title while the Raiders were a study in frustration, wondering what might have been.

Four different Prep players scored goals as the third-seeded Hawks (16-6) prevailed 4-2 to advance to next Wednesday’s Founders Cup championship game against top-seeded defending champion Holy Ghost Prep at Grundy Arena (game time 4 p.m.). They will learn Sunday where they are seeded for next month’s Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

Second-seeded Hun School closes the season at 13-13. The Raiders will not compete in the Flyers Cup due to s School policy that dictates when their season must end.

The most prominent numbers on the scoresheet Wednesday afternoon revolved around penalties. The officials called 25 minor penalties, 15 of them against the Raiders, who spent much of the afternoon skating uphill.

Hun School coach N.G. Welsh noted the impact of the numerous penalties.

“It was trying different line combination,” he said. “Trying different things. A guy is in the box, so this line can’t go. This guy is in the box so this guy can’t go.

“You’re putting out every single option you have at your disposal hoping something works. Today, it didn’t.”

Three of the four Prep goals came on power plays.

One Raider goal came when they were enjoying a two-man advantage the other while they were shorthanded.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula noted the impact of special teams, both pro and con.

“I don’t think our power play was quite as crisp as it has been,” he said. “It worked out enough times to make it successful.

“Our PK has been a staple all year. One kind of broke down from being five-on-three for so long. Otherwise, I thought they really stuck to what we do well.

Cole Gargon scored the Hawks’ first goal with 1:07 left in the first period. Vince Burnett made it 2-0 with 2:42 left in the second frame.

Zachary Vallee made it a 2-1 game when he scored for the Raiders on a shorthanded breakaway with 1:23 left in the period but Michael Castelli made it a two-goal game once more before the period ended.

Jason Kelly-LePage kept Hun School in the game with a power-play goal 7:10 into the final period but Michael Washlick shut the door at the 11:28 mark.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 1—4

The Hun School 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely and Adam Charrafi, 15:53 (pp)

Second-period goals: Vince Burnett (SJP) from Jake Ely and Charrafi, 14:18; Zachary Vallee (HS) unassisted, 15:37 (sh); Michael Castelli (SJP) from Ben Kurson, 16:08 (pp);

Third-period goals: Jason Kelly-LePage (HS) from Conor Mulligan, 7:10 (pp); Michael Washlick (SJP) from Charaffi and J. Ely, 11:28 (pp)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 40, Hun School 12: Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 10, Blake Echternacht (HS) 10

APAC Founders Cup Playoff Preview

The APAC’s Founders Cup semifinals are set for Wednesday at Ice Line. Second seed Hun School will face third seed St. Joseph’s Prep in the 3:30 opener. Top seed and defending champion Holy Ghost Prep will go against fifth seed Malvern Prep at approximately 5:45.

The Founders Cup championship game is set for next Wednesday, February 25 and will be hosted by the highest-seeded finalist.

Here’s how the teams match up. The statistics listed below are for APAC games only.

Hun School (2)

Coach: N.G. Welsh

Record: 13-12, 4-4 in APAC

Key Players: Jr. Zachary Vallee 8 goals, 2 assists, 10 points; Sr. Luca Jean 3-3-6; Elliot Trottier .917 save %, 2.45 GAA; Blake Echternacht .915 save &, 2.71 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep (3)

Coach: Charlie Van Kuna

Record: 15-6, 4-4 in APAC

Key Players: Jake Ely 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points; Jr. Cole Gargon 4-1-5; Sr. Bradan Fisher 1-4-5;. Jr. Declan Geary .908 save &, 2.31 GAA

This season:

12-10 Hun School 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

12-29 St. Joseph’s Prep 3 Hun School 2 (Purple Puck final)

1-13 Hun School 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 3

Holy Ghost Prep (1)

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 16-4, 8-0 in APAC

Key Players: Sr. Lucas Gonalez 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points; Jr. Chase Logue 9-1-10; Sr. Anthony Valeriote 1-7-8; Jr. Matt Salita .971 save &, 0.67 GAA

Malvern Prep (5)

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 5-10-2, 2-6 in APAC

Key Players: Sr. Pax Hoishik 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points: So. Jake Weingartner 4-7-11; Sr. Ryan Caterino .921 Save %, 2.34 GAA

This season

11-19 Holy Ghost Prep 4 Malvern Prep 1

12-3 Holy Ghost Prep 2 Malvern Prep 0

Past APAC Champions

2025 Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 4

2024 La Salle 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

2023 La Salle 7 Holy Ghost Prep 3

2022 Malvern Prep 4 La Salle 1

2021 La Salle and Malvern Prep declared co-champions

2020 La Salle 4 HGP 1

2019 La Salle 6 Holy Ghost Prep 3

SHSHL Update 2-16-26

National Division W L T OTW OTL Pts

@North Penn (19-1) 15 0 0 – – – – 60

#Council Rock South (15-3) 12 3 0 – – – – 48

#Central Bucks South (12-4) 11 3 0 – – – 44

#Pennsbury (11-5-1) 9 5 1 – – – – 38

Central Bucks East (6-9-1) 6 8 1 1 – – – 25

Souderton (6-11) 6 9 0 1 1 – – 24

Pennridge (5-10-1) 5 10 0 – 2 – – 22

Neshaminy (2-14) 2 13 0 1 – – – 7

Central Bucks West (0-16) 0 15 0 – – – – 0

American Division W L T OTW OTL PTS

#Plym. Whitemarsh (13-2) 13 2 0 – – 52

#Hatboro-Horsham (14-3) 12 3 0 – 1 49

Springfield (6-10) 6 9 0 1 23

Wissahickon (5-9-1) 5 8 1 2 – 20

Abington (1-14-1) 0 14 1 – 2 4

@ clinched regular-season title

Scoring All League Scheduled Games

National Division GP G A Pts

Shane Gleisner Pb 17 42 21 63

Jake Weiner CRS 15 38 18 56

Samuel Norton NP 17 24 29 53

Chris Silvotti NP 20 23 26 49

Max Ryon Sou. 11 29 16 45

Nolan Shingle 19 23 20 43

Ismael Cabrales NP 18 14 27 41

Ryan Frey C.B. South 16 17 21 38

Shane Hicks Pb 16 16 21 37

Jordan Sarne CRS 15 17 17 34

Landan Bishop Pr 13 20 13 33

American Division GP G A Pts

Vincent Graziani HH 17 32 26 58

Daniel Guller PW 14 17 31 48

Nate Nemchinov HH 15 23 20 43

Grayson Quinn Spr. 16 24 14 38

Cooper Kanze PW 11 17 18 35

Luca Staffieri HH 14 15 16 31

Mack Risnychok Wiss 14 19 11 30

Bill Moffa HH 14 11 16 27

Blake Ambler PW 12 10 17 27

Logan Dicus Wiss 14 12 13 25

Plymouth Whitemarsh 7 Hatboro-Horsham 4

Plymouth Whitemarsh scored three goals in two-minute span of the third period and went on to a 7-4 win Wednesday night in a SHSHL American Division matchup at Hatfield Ice.

The win moved the Colonials (13-2 overall and in divisional play {52 points}) back into first place in the division standings heading into the final week of the regular season. The regular-season champion will receive a bye into the division championship game. The Hatters dropped to 12-3 for 49 points in divisional play and 14-3 overall.

The game was tied 4-4 when Daniel Guller put the Colonials in front with 5:26 left in regulation. It was Guller’s third goal of the game. He followed with his fourth with 3:58 remaining and Dan Moloney extended the Plymouth Whitemarsh lead 32 seconds after that.

Guller’s first two goals came in the second period and helped Plymouth Whitemarsh to a 4-1 lead before the Hatters got goals from Nathan Nemchinov and Vincent Graziani to make it a one-goal game before the second period ended.

Nemchinov tied the game 14 seconds into the third period but the Hatters, who had just eight skaters available, would not score again.

“It’s always good to get a win,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti, “but it was not our best game. There are still some things we need to work on, but I have confidence in our group.

Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith praised his team’s effort despote being shorthanded.

“The team knew the importance of the {game} and fought extremely hard,” he said. “I am really proud of them.”

In addition to Guller’s four goals, Cooper Kanzee provided the Colonials with four assists. Nemchinov and Graziani each scored twice for the Hatters.

Hatboro-Horsham will conclude its regular season next Wednesday against Abington. Plymouth Whitemarsh finishes against Wissahickon next Thursday.

P-W 2 2 3—7

H-H 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Carson Woodbridge (PW) from Luke Smith, 2:58; Morgan Hulitt (PW) from Cooper Kanzee, 6:14; Vincent Graziani (HH) from Evan Snow and Luca Staffieri, 7:32

Second-period goal: Daniel Guller (PW) from Kanzee, :23; Guller from Kanzee, 6:54; Nathan Nemchinov (HH). From Snow, 7:40; Graziani (HH) from Aiden North and Snow, 13:55

Third period goals: Guller (PW) from Liam Kelly, 11:34; Guller (PW) unassisted, 13:02; Don Moloney (PW) from Kanzee, 13:34