Salesianum Joins the APAC

Philadelphia, PA – May 7, 2026 – The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference (APAC), the Philadelphia region’s premier scholastic ice hockey conference, is proud to announce that Salesianum School of Wilmington, Delaware has been approved as the league’s seventh member institution, effective with the 2026–27 hockey season.

Founded in 2017, the APAC was created to provide a premier scholastic hockey conference for independent and preparatory schools committed to excellence in academics, athletics, sportsmanship, and student-athlete development, while fostering strong competition and traditional rivalries among member institutions.

“On behalf of the APAC member schools, we are pleased to welcome Salesianum School to the conference,” said Steve Mackell, Chairman of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. “Salesianum’s longstanding reputation for academic excellence, athletic achievement, and strong institutional values aligns perfectly with the mission of the APAC. Their addition further strengthens the quality and competitiveness of our league, and we look forward to their participation beginning in the 2026–27 season.”

A highly respected college preparatory school founded in 1903, Salesianum School has established a tradition of success across its athletic programs while maintaining a strong commitment to character formation, leadership, and academic achievement.

“We are incredibly excited for Salesianum Ice Hockey to join the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference,” said Brian LeBlanc, Head Coach of Salesianum Ice Hockey. “This is a major step forward for our program and an opportunity to compete in what has quickly become the premier scholastic hockey league in the region. The APAC represents outstanding competition, tradition, and sportsmanship, and we are proud to be part of a conference that aligns so well with the values and culture of Salesianum Hockey. Our players, families, and alumni are looking forward to the challenge and excitement that comes with this next chapter.”

Beginning with the 2026–27 season, Salesianum School will compete alongside the following APAC member institutions:

La Salle College High School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Malvern Preparatory School
St. Joseph’s Preparatory School
The Hun School
Devon Preparatory School

Devon Prep Joins the APAC

Devon Prep will join the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference for the 2026-27 hockey season.

“We are pleased to announce the addition of the Devon Preparatory School to the APAC,” said APAC Chairman Steve Mackell. “Devon Prep brings a strong hockey program and excellent academic reputation to our league. We are excited to add them as our newest member and look forward to the competitive matchups they will bring to the ice starting in the 2026-27 season.”

“Devon Prep is humbled to join the APAC,” said Tide coach Matt Fabrizio. “We look forward to upholding the values and traditions established by some of the best hockey programs in the entire state.”

The Tide is entering its fifth season of varsity hockey. Fabrizio has been the head coach from the start.

“For a hockey program to take off, you really need buy in from the entire school,” he said. “I just happened to be the lucky guy that was in the school that was ready for it.

“The administration has been incredibly supportive. Our athletic encouraged us to start it.”

The 2026-27 will be the APAC’s ninth. The four founding members, Holy Ghost Prep, La Salle College High School, Malvern Prep, and St. Joseph’s Prep, launched the conference at the start of the 2018-19 season.

This year’s conference schedule will include 10 regular season games. All si teams will qualify for the Founders Cup playoffs; the top two finishers will get byes into the semifinals.

The Hun School became the conference’s fifth member school for the 2021-22 season. The member schools are comitted to creating an environment where their student-athletes can thrive academically and athletically.

Slack takes Over at Neshaminy

Sean Slack is the new head coach at Neshaminy. He replaces Bill Mooney, who is stepping down after two seasons. Slack played four years of varsity hockey for Truman and served as the Tigers’ captain before going on to play junior hockey for the Bucks County Americans. As a coach, he has worked with players from the Mite through the Junior A levels.Last season he was behind the bench for the Blazers 12uAA and the Neshaminy MS Red team. He currently holds a Level 4 Coaching Certification

2026 APAC All-Stars Named

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference All-Star Team was selected by the five conference coaches

First Team

F Chase Logue Junior Holy Ghost Prep

F Pax Hoishik Senior Malvern Prep

F Cole Gargon Junior St Joseph’s Prep

D Nate Romer Junior Holy Ghost Prep

D Adam Charrafi Senior Saint Joseph’s Prep

G Matt Salita Junior Holy Ghost Prep

Second Team

F Lucas Gonzalez Senior Holy Ghost Prep

F Anthony Valeriote Senior Holy Ghost Prep

F Braden Fisher Senior St Joseph’s Prep

D Andrew Frantz Sophomore LaSalle College High School

D Andrew Darst Senior Hun School

G Blake Echternacht Senior Hun School

Honorable Mention

F Zach Vallee Junior Hun School

F Liam Greenawalt Sophomore LaSalle College High School

F Patrick Lunsford Junior LaSalle College High School

D Danny Burke Junior LaSalle College High School

D Reece Hanna Senior Malvern Prep

G Declan Geary Junior St Joseph’s Prep

Penn-Trafford 3 North Penn 1

WEST GOSHEN— For the first time in a long time, North Penn was presented with a puzzle it could not solve. The Knights’ bid for a second consecutive Class AA state title fell short Saturday afternoon at the hands of Penn-Trafford by a margin of 3-1 at Ice Line.

A capacity crowd witnessed a final contested at an elite level.

“Hats off to them,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. They’re a good hockey team. Their goalie played outstanding. I’m proud of our guys.”

The Knights took the ice minus leading scorer Samuel Norton who was serving a suspension.

“It obviously hurt some things not having Sam out there,” Vaitis said. “He’s such a huge part of our team.

“We can all play the ‘What if’ scenarios with things like that, but I’m proud of the guys and how hard we worked.”

Hockey coaches talk a lot about games between evenly matched teams being decided a freak bounce here or there. The Warriors (20-7) scored the first goal of the game with the help of a bounce that was to say the least, out of the realm of the ordinary.

With just under seven minutes left in the opening period, the Warriors’ Zach Grkman launched a shot on goal from the center of the ice, just as he crossed the red line. The puck slid along the ice until it reached a point roughly midway between the faceoff circle hash marks when it abruptly sailed high in the air and over the shoulder of North Penn goaltender Andy Norton.

With 6:32 left in the opening session, Penn-Trafford had a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors extended their lead 7:51 into the third period. Liam Lehneke launched a shot from the right point that caromed off the end wall to Norton’s left, Norton however lost track of the puck which was lying behind his left pad when Brock Bienemann tucked it inside the post.

North Penn (25-2) kept battling and with 61 seconds left in regulation, North on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, Nolan Shingle was able to get the best of Penn-Trafford netminder Tyler Funk.

But Ben Zierski brought the curtain down on the affair with an empty net goal with six seconds remaining, a goal that coincidentally brought down the curtain on one of the most remarkable seasons and certainly the most remarkable two-year stretch in the 50-year history of the North Penn hockey program.

“When you look at North Penn and the history we’ve had, nobody can attest to what these guys have accomplished,” Vaitis said. “I’m proud of them.

“The loss} hurts, it stings but time will allow us to heal together and we won’t forget the ride we had the last two years. We had a remarkable ride and for the guys coming back, we’re going to have a really good hockey team next year.

“We’ll take some time to heal and get over this, and start to get ready for next year.”

• In Saturday’s other two state championship games, Quaker Valley defeated Hershey 6-2 for the Class A title, while Seneca Valley bested Holy Ghost Prep 7-2 in Class AAA.

Penn-Trafford 1 0 2—3

North Penn 0 0 1—1

First-period goal; Zach Grkman (PT) from Nico Castelli, 10:28

Third-period goals: Brock Bienemann (PT) from Liam Lehneke, 7:51; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Gabe Dunn and Chris Silvotti, 15:59; Ben Zierski (PT) unassited,16:54 (en)

Shots: Penn-Trafford 39, Holy Ghost Prep 33; Saves: Tyler Funk (PT) 32, Andy Norton (NP) 36

Penn-Trafford 1 0 2—3

North Penn 0 0 1—1

First-period goal; Zach Grkman (PT) from Nico Castelli, 10:28

Third-period goals: Brock Bienemann (PT) from Liam Lehneke, 7:51; Nolan Shingle (NP) from Gabe Dunn and Chris Silvotti, 15:59; Ben Zierski (PT) unassited,16:54 (en)

Shots: Penn-Trafford 39, North Penn 33; Saves: Tyler Funk (PT) 32, Andy Norton (NP) 36

Pennsylvania Class AAA Finals. Sat. 3-21

Holy Ghost Prep vs. Seneca Valley 5:00 at Ice Line

Holy Ghost Prep (20-4)

Coach: John Ritchie

Key players: Chase Logue 29 goals, 7 assists, 36 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-16—27, Anthony Valeriote 8-16-24; Matt Salita .950 save %

Seneca Valley (22-0-1)

Coach: Tyler Mesisca

Key players: Braden Morin 17 goals, 12 assists, 29 points: Jacob Gilbert 10-17-27; John Sroka III 11-15-26; Cooper Hoehn 15-10-25; Chris Nichols .947 save %

Ice chips: This game is a rematch of the Raiders’ 7-2 win a year ago which gave them their first state championship.

The Firebirds, who are 41-9 over the last two seasons, will be seeking the second state title in school history; their first came in 2015.

Since the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference was launched in the 2018-19, three of its teams have won state titles: La Salle in 2019 and ’23, and Malvern Prep in 2021.

La Salle is also the last Class AAA team to successfully defend, in 2009.

Lower Merion Girls 3 Avon Grove 1

Thea Moore scored one goal and assisted on another as Lower Merion bested Avon Grove 3-1 Thursday night in the Flyers Cup girls’ championship game at PNY Arena.

Top-seeded Avon Grove took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Emmy Sullivan 1:18 into the 16-minute first period but Ellen Smith tied the game for the Aces just 25 seconds later off a setup from Moore.

Stella Stoode scored the Cup-winning goal with 7:22 left in the first frame and Moore added a goal of her own 3:34 into the second.

Lower Merion goaltender Ruby Leno came up big, making 41 saves. The Aces were outshot 42-26

Lower Merion 2 1 0—3

Avon Grove 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: Emmy Sullivan (AG) from Brianna Register and Blaire Stoltzfus, 1:18; Ellen Smith (LM) from Thea Moore, 1:43; Stella Strode (LM) unassisted, 8:38

Second-period goal: Moore (LM) unassisted, 3:34

Shots: Lower Merion 26, Avon Grove 42; Saves: Ruby Leno (LM) 41, Mckayla Mellon (AG) 23

Hershey 6 West Chester East 1

For the second time in three years, Hershey is the Class A Flyers Cup champion. Gabriel Placeres and Cole Umberger scored two goals as the top-seeded Trojans bested second-seeded Penncrest 6-1 Wednesday night at Ice Line.

Hershey, which won the Class A Flyers Cup and state titles in 2024 will face Penguins Cup champion Quaker Valley Saturday at 11:00 at this same venue in the state championship game.

The Trojans were outshot 39-24 but Alexander Placeres, who won the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player two years ago, claimed it for the second time. Wednesday night. He made 37 saves and pitched a shutout until he left the fame after surrendering a goal with 26 seconds remaining.

Placeres was at his best in the first period when he made 15 saves to keep the game scoreless.

Hershey got control of the game when Gabriel Placeres, Brady Cox, and Umberger scored goals in a span of 4:53. Placeres, Braden Boblick, and Umberger added goals in the third period.

Sebouth Flett scored for Penncrest.

• Placeres is the first Class A player to win consecutive Bobby Clarke Awards since Brian Christie from West Chester Rustin in 2009-10.

Hershey 0 3 3—6

Penncrest 0 0 1—1

Second-period goals: Gabriel Placeres (H) from Bennett Sheppard, 9:24; Brady Cox from Aaron Heisey, 11:51; Cole Umberger (H) from Blake Umberger and Braden Boblick, 14:17

Third-period goals: G. Placeres (H) from Heisey and Boblick, :48; Boblick (H) from Bryce Erwin and G. Placeres, 9:41 (pp); Umberger (H) from Boblick, 11:22 (pp); Sebouth Flett (P) from Christian Vernacchio and Andrew Hausch, 16:34

Shots: Penncrest 39, Hershey 24; Saves: Nathan Shahi (P) 18, Alexander Placeres (H) 37 and Zachary Imboden (H) 1

Flyers Cup Class AA Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

North Penn vs. 2 Boyertown 8:45 at Hatfield Ice

North Penn

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Record: 25-1

Key players: Sr. James Boyle 17 goals, 11 assists, 28 points; Jr. Samuel Norton 22-23-55; So. Andy Norton .924 save %

In this tournament: Def. Shawnee 9-2 in first round; def. Owen J. Roberts 6-3 in quarterfinals; def. Downingtown West 4-1 in semifinals.

2. Boyertown

Coach: Joe Slowik

Record: 17-5

Key players: So. Brayden Kotzen 17 goals, 23 assists, 40 points; Sr. Logan Brown 22-14-36; Sr. Zach Rosen 22-10-32; So, Lucas Yancey .907 save %

In this tournament: Def. Souderton 12-2 in first round: def. Pennsbury 5-3 in quarterfinals; def. Council Rock South 4-3 in semifinals.

Ice chips: North Penn is trying to become the first Class AA team to successfully defend a Flyers Cup title since Downingtown East won its third straight championship in 2019 … SHSHL teams have won the last four Class AA Cup titles. Three of the four went on to win the state championship including North Penn last year … The last SHSHL team to successfully defend a Class AA Cup title was Council Rock South in 2012.

Class AAA Flyers Cup Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3 La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 19-4

Key players: Matt Salita .914 save %; Chase Logue 29 goals, 6 assists, 35 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-15-26; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23

In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals; def. Malvern Prep 3-2 in overtime in semifinals.

3. La Salle

Record 8-13

Key players: Anthony Foster .923 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 7-1-16; Andrew Frantz 4-9-13

In this tournament: Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals; def. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in semifinals

Ice chips: This marks the 10th time Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle have met in a Flyers Cup final, the third time in the last four years. La Salle has a 6-3 edge in those meetings. The Explorers have won 13 Cups in all, including one in Class AA. The Firebirds have won five, including one in Class AA.