SHSHL National Division Recap 2-12-25

Four National Division games had playoff implications on Wednesday night

Council Rock South 8 Souderton 5

Jake Weiner scored five goals as the Golden Hawks stayed in the hunt for the SHSHL’s National Division title Wednesday night at Grundy Arena. Jeremy Rayher scored twice for South, which improved to 15-1 on the season and 16-2 overall.

Jagger Smith added three assists.

Souderton dropped to 5-12 overall and 5-11 in the division. Nick Smith scored all five goals for the Big Red which remains alive in the hunt for the division’s sixth and final playoff spot.

Pennridge 3 Neshaminy 1

The Rams scored twice in the third period to beat the ‘Skins Wednesday night. Shane Dachowski, Nolan Shaw, and James Rush scored for Pennridge which improved to 11-5 in divisional play, 12-5 overall.

Tyler Hathaway scored for Neshaminy (6-11-1, 5-11-1 in the division).

Central Bucks South 16 Council Rock North 3

Joey Slobodrian scored for goals for the Titans Wednesday night in a game that was halted after the second period.

Ten different players scored goals for South which improved to 13-5 overall and 13-3 in the division.

Dominic Gibson, Logan Hood, and Brennan Thierolf each scored twice while eight other players scored one goal each.

The Indians fell to 3-14 overall and in the division.

North Penn 9 Pennsbury 2

Samuel Norton scored three goals and added four assists as the Knights downed the Falcons Wednesday night at Grundy Arena. Cole Pluck added two goals and three assists.

North Penn broke the game open with six goals in the second period.

The win kept North Penn (16-2, 15-2 in divisional play) one point in front of Council Rock South in the battle for the National Division title. The Golden Hawks however have a game in hand.

North Penn will close its regular season against Council Rock North next Wednesday.

Pennsbury (6-12, 6-11) has a three-point lead in the battle for the final division playoff spot heading into a matchup with Souderton next Thursday.

W.C. East 5 Avon Grove 2

West Chester East is playing some of the best hockey in the area and the timing couldn’t be better. The Vikings scored three times in the third period Wednesday afternoon en route to a 5-2 Ches-Mont League win over Avon Grove at Ice Line.

With just 12 days remaining until the start of the ICSHL playoffs and just 11 until the field for the Flyers Cup tournament is announced, the Vikings have won three straight games and five of their last six to conclude their league schedule. With one crossover game remaining (against Springfield-Delco on February 21) East now stands at 9-8 overall and 5-7 in the Ches-Mont and is listed fifth in the Class A Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.

Avon Grove, which had won three of its last four prior to Wednesday and is hoping to earn a place in the Class AA Flyers Cup, dropped to 8-9-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the Ches-Mont.

Tyler Stutzman opened the scoring for the Vikings 2:23 into the first period. Evan Finnicum responded for the Devils with a power-play goal at 12:19.

Jackson Zwirzina’s goal with 1:45 left in the middle period gave the Vikings the lead for good. James Hayes extended that lead 2:48 into the final period.

Mason Hitt’s power-play goal a minute later made it a one-goal game once more but first Finn and then Hayes added additional goals to solidify the Vikings’ grip.

West Chester East coach Eric Wolf said the Vikings, who have won three Flyers Cup titles in the past four years, has been playing with a sense of urgency of late.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” he said. “I was really stressing to the guys back in December ‘Hey, look at your record. You’re trending toward not getting in the Flyers Cup right now.

“That’s where we were trending. We had one win in the Ches-Mont at the turn of the calendar. That’s not satisfactory for our program. “We’re still very strong team and we were not playing up to our capabilities.”

The Devils were missing four regulars from their lineup.

“We were shorthanded,” said Avon Grove coach Sean Cannon, ‘But I liked our work effort and our energy.”

Avon Grove 1 0 1—2

West Chester East 1 1 3—5

First-period goals: Tyler Stutzman (WCE) from Konrad Finnin, 2:23; Evan Finnicum (AG) from Parker Thompson, 12:43 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jackson Zwirzina (WCE) from Noah Rosenthal, 15:15

Third-period goals: James Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 2:48; Mason Hitt (AG) from Finnicum, 3:48 (pp); Finn (WCE) unassisted, 4:31; Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 11:19 (sh)

Shots: Avon Grove 26, W.C. East 22; Saves: Jacob Calabretta (AG), 17 Cameron Chandler (WCE) 24

Malvern Prep 4 Hun School 0

The postseason is a time for a fresh start. Malvern Prep took advantage of the opportunity Monday afternoon. House Young scored two goals and Matt Crawford delivered a shutout in goal as the Friars bested The Hun School 4-0 in the APAC’s Founders Cup play-in game at Ice Line.

Fourth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-9) will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep in one half of a semifinal doubleheader on February 19 and will be part of the Flyers Cup tournament after that. Fifth-seeded Hun School (5-16-2) will conclude its schedule with two non-league games; the Raiders are bypassing the Flyers Cup.

For the Friars, who have beaten Hun School three times in 20 days, it’s been something of a new beginning.

“We’re starting to hit our stride,” said Malvern Prep Bill Keenan. “Finishing out the [APAC schedule], going into the APAC playoff and the Flyers Cup. We want to find out stride and we’re just continuing to build right now.”

The Friars had the upper hand from the outset; they outshot the Raiders 14-6 in the opening period but it took time to find the back of the net. It was 5:32 into the second frame before Andrew Starck put his team in front by going top shelf against Hun School goaltender Elliot Wong. Gabe Bedwell made it 2-0 at the 7:24 mark when he put a bullet inside the left post.

“We definitely got off to a quick start,” Bedwell said. “That’s what we need every game, a quick start, we need everybody firing, everybody going.’

“That will bring us to the Flyers Cup. I think we all just need to work together and jut get on it from the jump.”

Young scored his first goal with 4:01 left in the period. His second effort of the night came with 4:37 left in the third period. By that point the Raiders, who had just 13 skaters available, were using up their energy reserves.

“It’s been one thing or the other this year,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker. “I give a lot of credit to our guys. They worked hard, they battled.

“Malvern played a great game too so you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the other side.”

The Friars outshot the Raiders 50-16. Matt Crawford earned the shutout in goal for Malvern Prep. His best save came when he denied Matt Trawinski from point-blank range just past the midway point of the second period. Wong made 46 saves at the other end of the ice.

“An unbelievable performance,” Szeker said. “He’s been light’s out the whole season. He’s been one of our best players so to see him have another performance like that is not too surprising.”

Hun School 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 0 3 1—4

Second-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Peter Narog, 5:39; Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Pax Hoishik and Cole Scarbinsky, 7:24; House Young (MP) from Jake Winegartner and Hoishik, 12:59

Third-period goal: Young (MP) from Winegartner and Matt Barbacane, 11:23 (pp)

Shots: Hun School 16, Malvern Prep 50 Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 46, Matt Crawford (MP) 16

Holy Ghost Prep 3 St. Peter’s Prep 1

Ryan Lippy, Brian Kinniry, and Colin Bara scored goals as the Firebirds won the non-league game on Monday. Jack Unger got the win in goal.

Flyers Cup Rankings 2-10-25

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum

Class AA

Council Rock South
North Penn
Downingtown East
Haverford High
Central Bucks South

Class A

Garnet Valley
Kennett
West Chester Henderson
Penncrest
West Chester East

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
Conestoga
West Chester Henderson
Radnor

This marks the final set of Flyers Cup rankings prior to the Flyers Cup Selection Show on Sunday, February 23. The show will air at 8 PM that evening on the Flyers Cup You Tube Channel.

APAC Update 2-9-25

Regular Season Standings W L Pts OTW OTL

Holy Ghost Prep (12-4-1) 5 2 15 0 0

La Salle (11-6) 5 2 14 1 0

St. Joseph’s Prep (8-7) 3 3 10 0 1

Malvern Prep (3-8) 2 4 6 0 0

Hun School (5-15-2) 0 4 0 0 0

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts PPG

Brady Logue HGP 8 10 11 21 2.63

Cole Gagron SJP 7 8 1 9 1.29

Noel Donohue La 8 5 5 10 1.25

Grant LaGrrca La 8 8 1 9 1.13

Michael Zarzycki La 8 6 3 9 1.13

Frank Ely La 8 2 6 8 1.00

Chase Logue HGP 7 3 4 7 1.00

Anthony Valeriote HGP 8 5 3 8 1.00

Joe Spadaccino HGP 6 3 3 6 1.00

Save Percentage GP Shots GA Save %

Jake Rossi La 6 225 14 .938

John Botthof HGP 2 64 5 .922

Declan Geary SJP 7 190 15 .921

Matt Crawford MP 6 176 14 .920

Jack Unger HGP 3 79 8 .899

Patrick Donoghue HS 2 109 10 .908

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Jake Rossi La 394 14 1.81

Matt Salita HGP 153 6 2.00

Declan Geary SJP 364 15 2.10

Matt Crawford MP 208 14 2.20

John Botthof HGP 102 5 2.50

Jack Unger HGP 153 8 2.67

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H-H 9 Wissahickon 6

It all came together for Hatboro-Horsham Friday night at a most opportune moment. Nate Nemchinov scored three goals and added an assist while three other players delivered to goals each. The result was a 9-6 win over Wissahickon in a SHSHL American Division matchup at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

The result leaves the Hatters two points clear of the Trojans in the battle for second and third places in the division standings, the last two playoff positions (Plymouth Whitemarsh has already clinched first place).

The two teams both have 7-6 divisional records (both are 7-7 overall) but Hatboro-Horsham has the edge because two of its divisional losses came in overtime.

Nemchinov noted it was a night when all the pieces fit from the Hatters’ point of view.

“We were just playing a team game,” he said, “getting pucks deep and winning board battles. Just doing the little things right and those little things created goals.

The goals came fat and furious early on. The Hatters’ Will Moffa and the Trojans’ Aiden Brooks took turns finding the back of the net before Nemchinov won a pair of battles for loose picks saw him score twice himself and put his team up 3-1 after 17 minutes.

Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith cited his team’s cohesiveness.

“We’ve had several talks with the team about what it takes to be a championship team and win,” he said. ‘I think they realized that some of the one-on-one type play wasn’t effective. Everyone made a strong commitment to come out and play a team game.”

The Hatters’ Vince Graziani and Wissahickon’ Logan Honeycutt traded goals to start the middle period before Victor Wilkins scored and Graziani added a second goal of his own to make it a 7-2 game after 34 minutes.

Joe Gambino offered a response for Wissahickon 79 seconds into the third period but Nemchinov and Moffa continued the Hatters’ goal-scoring barrage. It was 9-3 with 10:51 left in regulation before the Trojans finished the evening with three straight goals.

The final score made the game seem closer than it actually was.

“We showed up to the party much too late,” said Wissahickon coach James Rumsey. “Hatboro-Horsham wanted it more than we did tonight.”

Nemchinov say the Hatters will approach their three remaining games with a playoff mindset.

“They’re all must-win games,” he said. “We’ve got to play these games like they’re playoff games and keep doing the little thing right hopefully clinch the second seed.”

• The Hatters and Trojans will close the regular season against each other on February 19^th,

Hatboro-Horsham 3 4 2—9

Wissahickon 1 1 4—6

First-period goals: Will Moffa (HH) from Aiden North, 4:04; Aiden Brooks from Link Matozzo, 8:09; Nate Nemchinov (HH) unassisted, 11:52; Nemchinov (HH) from Reid Rochestie, 14:55

Second-period goals Vince Graziani (HH) from Connor Smith 1:42; Logan Honeycutt (HH) from Ben Raebiger, 2:56; Victor Wilkins (HH) from Brady Gurt, 3:22; Wilkins (HH) from Nemchinov, 6:36; Vince Graziani from North, 8:55

Third-period goals: Joe Gambino from Raebiger, 1:19: Nemchinov (HH) from Darius Graziani, 2:35 (pp); Moffa (HH) from Wilkins, 6:09; Gambino unassisted, 7:59, Gambino from Logan Dicus, 8:39; Brooks unassisted, 9:45

Shots: Hatboro-Horsham 39, Wissahickon 38 Saves: Eric Miller (HH) 32, Fletcher Lynch 30

St. Joseph’s Prep 7 Hun School 2

St. Joseph’s Prep exploded for five goals in a 10-minute span of the third period to pull away from The Hun School and go on to a 7-2 win Friday night at The Skatium to bring down the curtain on the APAC regular-season.

Noah Stuhl scored two goal and delivered two assists for the Hawks who closed their regular season at 10-8 an 5-3 in the APAC.

Bradan Fisher provided a goal and two assists for the Hawks. Frank Ely, Jai Perry-Pereira, Cole Gargon, and Patrick Sweeney also scored goals.

Nate Trawinski and Jake Beck scored for the Raiders (5-15-2, 0-8).
Perry-Pereira’s goal, which came 90 second into the second period, was the only goal in the game’s first 34 minutes. But the hosts found another gear at the start of the third frame.

Fisher scored just 51 seconds into the period and Sweeney made it a 3-0 game at the 2:52 mark. Ely, Gargon, and Stuhl followed; Stuhl’s goal, which came during a power play, put the Hawks up 6-0 with 6:13 remaining in regulation.

Beck broke the streak with a power-play goal of his own with 5:21 remaining. Trawinski followed just over two minutes later before Stuhl finished the scoring with 34 seconds left.

Declan Geary got the win in goal, making 34 saves along the way.

Both teams will now look ahead to the Founders Cup playoffs. The Raiders, who reseeded fifth, will take on fourth-seeded Malvern Prep on Monday at Ice Line in a play-in game. The third-seeded Hawks will take on second-seeded La Salle in a semifinal game on Wednesday, February 19 at Grundy Arena as part of a doubleheader. The Malvern Prep-Hun School winner will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep in the other semifinal.

Hun School 0 0 2—2

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 6—7

Second-period goal: Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Tristan Winata and Ben Kersun, 1:30

Third-period goals: Bradan Fisher (SP) from Noah Stuhl and Thomas Ely, :51; Patrick Sweeney (SJP) from Michael Washlick, 2:52; Frank Ely (SJP) from Stuhl, 6:19; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Adam Charrafi 6:50; Stuhl (SP) from Fisher, 10:47 (pp); Jake Beck (HS) from Luca Jean, 11:39 (pp); Nathanial Trawinski (HS) from Beck and Andrew Darst, 12:49; Stuhl (SJP) from Fisher, 16:26

Shots: Hun School 36, St. Joseph’s Prep 40; Saves: Patrick Donoghue (HS) 33, Declan Geary (SJP) 34

C.B. South 9 Pennsbury 2

Shoot early and shoot often. That’s been a winning formula for Central Bucks South for some time now and that was the case once more on Thursday night. The Titans tallied 52 shots on goal and nine found their intended target in a 9-2 win over Pennsbury at Hatfield Ice Arena.

“That’s classic C.B. South hockey said assistant coach Josh Sklar. “Put pucks in deep. Go get them, put pucks on net. Go to work. Pressure them all game long.”

Joey Slobodrian found the back of the net twice and seven other players scored one goal each to enable the Titans (12-6, 12-3 in the division) to move into third place in the division standings. The result assures they will be seeded no lower than fourth for the upcoming National Division playoffs.

Senior Ryan Frey assisted on Slobodrian’s game-opening goal 6:23 into the first period before scoring a goal of his own just over five minutes later.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” Frey said, “because we might see {Pennsbury} in the playoffs so getting off to a fast start just shows them we’re the better team.”

Ryan Montagna extended South’s lead to 3-0 before the first period ended.

Shane Gleisner got the Falcons (6-11, 6-10 in the division) on the scoreboard five minutes into the second frame but Slobodrian and Dominic Gibson scored goals 52 seconds apart to assert the Titans’ hold on the proceedings. Jacob Sarver’s goal made it 5-2 with 5:43 still to go in the period but the Falcons’ hopes were dashed when Keith Waldron, Jake Stepp, Jeff Kvecher, and Logan Hood all scored for South.

Both teams lost a player when South’s Sean Cutter and Pennsbury’s Chris Sarver got into a scrap with 10:41 remaining in regulation. Cutter drew a double minor for roughing plus a game misconduct for accumulating four penalties during the game. Sarver was accessed a major penalty for fighting plus am automatic game misconduct.

Both players will serve one-game suspensions but the loss of Sarver, one of the Falcons’ top scorers, will be particularly troublesome when Pennsbury, who is trying to hold on to the division’s final playoff spot, faces division leader North Penn on Wednesday.

“It was not our night,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We played a very poor game in our D-zone and got behind the ball too quick.

“The first three goals were ‘Third guy high’ unmarked That’s simple hockey, you really shouldn’t make the same mistake three times.

“It was not our best. It was a game we would have loved to win. But they executed their game plan and we didn’t.”

Ice chips—Five of the six division playoff qualifiers have been determined. North Penn, Council Rock South, Central Bucks South, Pennridge, and Central Bucks East have all qualified, although seedings have not been finalized. Pennsbury has a three-point edge over Neshaminy for the sixth and final spot. The Falcons and ‘Skins each have two games remaining.

Pennsbury 0 2 0

C.B. South 3 2 4—9

First-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Sean Cutter and Ryan Frey, 6:23; Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian and Alex Cannon, 11:34; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher and Keith Waldron, 15:17

Second-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver, 5:00; Slobodrian (CBS) from Cutter, 7:54; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Logan Hood, 8:46; Jacob Sarver (P) from Logan Weed, 11:17

Third-period goals: Waldron (CBS) from Kvecher and Braxton Lord, 4:42; Jake Stepp (CBS) from Kvecher, 10:56 (pp); Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring, 14:27; Hood (CBS) from Stepp 15:39

Shots: Pennsbury 20, C.B. South 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 43, Ewan McMenemy (CBS) 18

North Penn 5 Council Rock South 3

Samuel Norton did it all for North Penn Wednesday night. The sophomore assisted on the first goal of the night, went on to score three goals himself and helped with a crucial four-minute penalty kill in the third period.

All those elements were part a winning formula as the Knights scored a 5-3 decision in a much-anticipated SHSHL National Division showdown with Council Rock South at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the 11^th straight for the Knights (15-2, 14-2 in the division) and lifted then into first place in the division, three points clear of the Golden Hawks (15-2, 14-1) who have a game in hand and three conference games remaining to North Penn’s two.

North Penn also has the inside lane in the race for the top two seeds in the division playoffs, which provide byes into the semifinals.

“It was definitely on our minds, Norton said.

The teams split four goals in the first frame before Norton’s second goal of the night gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with 8:17 left in the middle period. Jordan Sarne responded for South with a power-play goal, his second goal of the night, to tie the game with 2:19 remaining but Norton put North Penn back in front and completed his hat trick when he scored with 6.7 seconds left in the period during a stretch when the Hawks were trying to kill three consecutive penalties.

The game’s most critical sequence commenced with 13:50 left in the third period. North Penn held a 4-3 lead at that point and Norton had already pocketed his three goals but the Knights’ James Boyle was called for two cross checking penalties, giving South a four-minute power play.

At that point, there were some anxious moments behind the North Penn bench.

“They’ve got probably the best power play in the league,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “With [Jake] Weiner and [Jeremy] Rayher and Sarne and [Daniel] Fillipov, and [Jonah] Weston they have a very talented power-play unit when they go out there.

“We did a great job killing that off.”

The threat did not end however when the extended power play expired. The Hawks outshot the Knights 20-8 in the third period but Aidan Quigley stopped everything headed his way.

Cole Pluck added an insurance goal with 3:31 remaining.

{North Penn} played well tonight,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We did not play our best game but that’s only an excuse. North Penn has got a good team.

“I kept telling everybody ‘Listen. We’re not a 14-0 team. We’ve had a couple wins. But we can’t come and play ‘C’ hockey and expect to win games at the end of the year.

“We knew coming into the game it was going to be a challenge,” Norton said. “I think the North Penn boys really performed. It was a solid team game.”

Ice chips—South won the first meeting between the two teams, 6-3 on November … South stands first in the present Class AA Flyers Cup listings. North Penn is ranked third … With two assists on addition to his goal, Pluck went over the 100-point mark for his high-school career.

Council Rock South 2 1 0—3

North Penn 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Declan Leahy (NP from Cole Pluck and Samuel Norton, :21; Jonah Weston (CRS) from Jake Weiner 8:37; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Weiner 9:01; Norton (NP unassisted, 14:32 (sh)

Second-period goals: Norton (NP) from Leahy and Pluck, 8:43; Sarne (CRS) from Weiner, 14:41 (pp); Norton (NP) from James Boyle and Danial Cabrales, 16:54 (pp)

Third-period goal: Pluck (MP) from Leahy, 13:29 (pp)

Shots: Council Rock South 41, North Penn 34; Saves: Ryan Ayala (CRS) 29 Aidan Quigley (NP) 38

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