Suburban High School Hockey League Counting Down to Opening Night

Besides being a night for trick or treaters, Halloween Night will also serve as Opening Night for the 2018-19 Suburban High School Hockey League season. A total of 17 teams will skate under the SHSHL banner in this, the league’s 45th season, 12 in Class 2A and five more in Class A.

The 12 Class 2A teams will, as usual, be divided into two groups of six. The Continental Division will include Flyers Cup finalist Central Bucks South along with Central Bucks East, Central Bucks West, North Penn, Souderton, and Pennridge.

The National Division will feature Council Rock South, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, William Tennent, Truman, and Abington.

The Class AA league schedule will feature 11 league games with each team playing the others once. Teams may play each other a second time to fill out a 16-game schedule; in that instance the second meeting is the one that will count in the league standings.

The Class A American Division will feature five teams; Wissahickon, Lower Moreland, Hatboro-Horsham, Upper Dublin, and Plymouth Whitemarsh. The five teams will play each other three times each for a total of 12 league games plus four additional non-league games.

Several teams will be absent from the league schedule this year. Upper Moreland and Archbishop Wood, both of which skated in Class A last year, have combined to form a single team that will not be part of the SHSHL structure this season.

Council Rock North has added players from New Hope-Solebury this year; both schools had numbers issues a season ago. This year’s combined team will skate independently.

The SHSHL umbrella will not include a Class AAA division this season. Holy Ghost Prep and LaSalle have joined St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep to form the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.

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ISHL Opens Season This Week

The Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League will is kickoff its new season. A total of 36 boys teams and 14 girls teams will skate under the Intercounty League umbrella this season.

The boys’ alignment will include the Ches-Mont, Central, and Philadelphia Catholic Leagues. Some teams, including several from the aforementioned leagues, will compete in the Liberty North and Liberty South divisions, which will include teams from an assortment of existing leagues as well the state of Delaware.

The boys’ season officially begins on Thursday. Defending Class 2A Flyers Cup champion Downingtown East will open its season against Unionville on Friday, November 2 at Ice Line.

The girls’ teams, which in some cases have already begun their seasons, are divided into two seven-team divisions.

The Intercounty League is the oldest scholastic hockey league in the area. It is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this season. The league was launched in 1969 as a six-team organization that included Cardinal O’Hara, Conestoga, Haverford High, Marple Newtown, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Swarthmore

The league alignments will be as follows

Boys

Ches-Mont League

Avon Grove

Downingtown East

Downingtown West

Unionville

West Chester Bayard Rustin

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Central League

Conestoga

Garnet valley

Haverford

Lower Merion

Penncrest

Radnor

Ridley

Springfield (Delco)

Strath Haven

Catholic League

Archbishop Ryan

Cardinal O’Hara

Delaware Military Academy

Father Judge

Roman Catholic

Salesianum

Liberty North

Boyertown

Owen J. Roberts

Perkiomen Valley

Spring Ford

Archbishop Carroll

Monsignor Bonner

Bishop Shanahan

Liberty South

Harriton

Interboro

Marple Newtown

Appoquinmink

Kennett

St. Mark’s

Girls

National Division

OJR/Boyertown

Unionville

West Chester Bayard Rustin

Garnet Valley

Downingtown West

Lower Merion

West Chester East

American Division

Avon Grove

Bishop Shanahan

Lansdale Catholic

Conestoga

Penncrest-Strath Haven

Radnor

West Chester East 2

Two of the girls’ teams will be co-op teams

Tennent’s D’Aurizio Sees the Big Picture of the AHA Showcase

William Tennent has dropped its first two games in the Athletes Helping Athletes hockey showcase.

The Panthers fell to Central Bucks East 7-4 Wednesday night at Revolution Ice Gardens after falling to Souderton 9-6 in their opener on October 5.

But for Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio and his players, there is a lot more to the AHA event than what’s on the scoreboard.

Now in his ninth season behind the Tennent bench, D’Aurizio has been involved with the five-year old AHA showcase since its inception.

“We’re happy to be a part of it,” he said. “We were happy to be part of this in Year One and we were lucky enough to have some good teams early on; we won it two years in a row.”

D’Aurizio credits tournament organizer Eric Tye for helping the event reach its current level of prominence. “Eric does a great job,” he said. “The impact that (the showcase) has on the AHA and the Bucks County Admirals, it makes it all worth it. And it really gets the season off on a really good note. Everybody’s upbeat, everybody enjoys themselves, it’s a great month.”

D’Aurizio says the showcase has allowed his program and the players in it to connect with the special-needs athletes who benefit from AHA’s efforts. “Year after year, they love working with the AHA kids,” he said, “the Admirals kids.

“They always embrace the (honorary) captains that we have. It’s just awesome to see. Every year they ask me ‘Hey, when is the Admirals skate?’ It’s something they really look forward to and that makes you feel good as a coach because it means your kids are good people. They’re not only good players but they’re good people. And that’s what we try to breed here at Tennent and again, we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

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Athletes Helping Athletes Update

The Athletes Helping Athletes showcase continued Wednesday night at Revolution Ice Gardens. Father Judge bested Central Bucks South 3-2 to complete opening round play with a perfect 3-0 record. The Crusaders are assured of a spot in next Friday’s championship game.

In the other game on Wednesday’s card, North Penn was a 9-4 winner over Souderton.

Here are the current standings

Father Judge 3-0

C.B. East. 2-1

Hatboro-Horsham 2-1

C.B. South 1-1

North Penn 1-1

Souderton 1-2

William Tennent 1-2

Archbishop Wood 0-3

The results and and remaining games are listed below

Wednesday, October 3

7:20 9 North Penn vs. Souderton 4

9:05 8 C.B. South vs. C.B. East 1

Friday, October 5

7:25 4 North Penn vs Father Judge 11

7:35 12 Hatboro-Horsham vs. Archbishop Wood 1

9:10 6 William Tennent vs. Souderton 9

Wednesday, October 10

7:20 0 Hatboro-Horsham vs. C.B. East 2

9:05 3 Archbishop Wood vs. Father Judge 11

Friday, October 12

7:30 Flyers Alumni vs. Team AHA

Wednesday, October 17

7:00 7 Father Judge vs. C.B. South 2

9:05 7 C.B. East vs. William Tennent 4

Wednesday, October 24

7:20 6 Archbishop Wood vs. William Tennent 13

9:05 7 Souderton vs. Hatboro-Horsham 9

Thursday, October 25

7:00 C.B. South vs. North Penn

Friday, October 26

5:45 Consolation 7 vs 8

7:25 Consolation 3 vs. 4

7:35 Consolation 1 vs. 2

9:10 Consolation 5 vs. 6

AHA Showcase About More Than Hockey

The Athletes Helping Athletes Showcase has become a fixture in local hockey circles. For the eight teams involved, (Central Bucks South, Central Bucks East, Father Judge, North Penn, Souderton, William Tennent, Hatboro-Horsham, Archbishop Wood) it is an opportunity to tune up for the season to come.

But it also an opportunity to promote the Athletes Helping Athletes effort as AHA founder Rick Leonetti explains.

“When the (AHA) kids come in here, I know they’re excited to be here,” Leonetti said Monday night. “I know the teams are excited to have them all which is even more beneficial. The parents get to sit back and watch the kids (participate in a ceremonial puck drop) and be a part of the team.

“Some of the teams let the let kids go into the locker room before the game. It’s an exciting thing because the kids get to do something typical.

“We have some high-school kids coming tonight that will host them and sit with them and talk to them. Whether they’re into the hockey games or not, the girls that are here tonight will sit with them and talk to them about everything under the sun.”

The showcase is now in its fifth season. North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis has brought his team to the showcase since Year Two.

“There are a few of my players that have been here since we started,” he said. “It just something that shows them that there’s more to ice hockey. Having some of these athletes here and cheering us on up against the glass, it’s really a thrill for them and it’s a great experience for us to kind of give back to them.”

The tournament will continue at Revolution Ice Gardens through October 26.

Athletes Helping Athletes Showcase to Kick Off Scholastic Hockey Season

Eight high-school hockey teams are getting ready got lace up their skates for the fifth annual Athletes Helping Athletes curtain raiser that serves as a prelude to the scholastic hockey season.

The event will feature 16 games between October 3 and 26. All will be played at Revolution Ice Gardens in Warwick.

It will also include a game on Friday, October 12 between the Flyers Alumni and Team AHA which will feature a group of area coaches.

Tickets for tournament games will be $5, save for the Flyers Alumni-Team AHA event which will be $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

All proceeds will benefit the AHA effort

For tickets, contact Eric Tye at Coach.EricTye@gmail.com or BarbYoung at BYoung423@msn.com

Game Schedule

Wednesday, October 3

7:20 9 North Penn vs. Souderton 4

9:05 8 C.B. South vs. C.B. East 1

Friday, October 5

7:25 4 North Penn vs Father Judge 11

7:35 12 Hatboro-Horsham vs. Archbishop Wood 1

9:10 6 William Tennent vs. Souderton 9

Wednesday, October 10

7:20 0 Hatboro-Horsham vs. C.B. East 2

9:05 3 Archbishop Wood vs. Father Judge 11

Friday, October 12

7:30 Flyers Alumni vs. Team AHA

Wednesday, October 17

7:00 7 Father Judge vs. C.B. South 2

9:05 7 C.B. East vs. William Tennent 4

Wednesday, October 24

7:20 Archbishop Wood vs. William Tennent

9:05 Souderton vs. Hatboro-Horsham

Thursday, October 25

7:00 C.B. South vs. North Penn

Friday, October 26

5:45 Consolation 7 vs 8

7:25 Consolation 3 vs. 4

7:35 Consolation 1 vs. 2

9:10 Consolation 5 vs. 6

New PA Prep Hockey League Forming

Some of the most prominent scholastic ice hockey programs in the Philadelphia area are aligning to form a new conference.

Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Malvern Prep will compete against one another this coming season.

The four schools are in different leagues in other sports. Holy Ghost Prep belongs to the Bicentennial Athletic League, St. Joseph’s Prep and LaSalle to the Philadelphia Catholic League, and Malvern Prep to the InterAc League.

The four schools will play each other three times each over the course of the season. A source told Hockey Happenings that plans call for each team to play six of its nine conference games in the afternoon, the other three at night. The regular season will be followed by a pair of one-game semifinals and a one-game final.

The idea behind the new league was to form a conference composed entirely of schools where ice hockey is considered a full-fledged varsity sport. Veteran Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside notes that all four member schools fit hockey into their athletic and academic structures.

“I think that stems from the leadership at these schools,” he said.
All four schools involved in the alliance have longstanding hockey traditions. LaSalle has won 10 Flyers Cup titles, nine in Class 3A and one in Class 2A. Malvern Prep has won seven Cups, all in Class 3A. Holy Ghost Prep has won three Class 3A Flyers Cup titles to go with one in Class 2A while St. Joseph’s Prep claimed its first Flyers Cup title when it won the Class 3A title this past March.

The four schools will remain part of the Flyers Cup structure where will compete in Class 3A but will not be aligned with the Suburban High School Hockey League or the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League. for scheduling purposes

Jim Britt, who has had a long association with amateur hockey, will serve as commissioner of what is expected to be known as the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.

State Championship Results 3-24-18

Class A

Bayard Rustin 4, Bishop McCourt 1—Nicholas Ferraro scored twice as West Chester Bayard Rustin defeated. Bishop McCourt 4-1 on Saturday to win the Pennsylvania Class A ice hockey championship at Ice Line. It was the fifth site title in a row for the Indians, tying an all-time record in any class.

Class 2A

Downiungtown East 3, Armstrong 2—Ryan Prestayko scored at 2:35 of the fifth overtime period to give Downingtown East a 3-2 win over Armstrong in the Pennsylvania Class 2A hockey championship game Saturday afternoon at ice Line in West Chester. The winning goal, which came on an assist from Eric Stankiewicz, gave the Cougars their second consecutive state title.

The Cougars took a 1-0 lead when Luca Pisani, the Most Valuable Player in the recent Class 2A Flyers Cup scored at 2:55 of the opening period.

Jacob Gross and Easton Hooks scored goals for Armstrong 4 minutes, 19 seconds apart to give the River Hawks a 2-1 lead after the first period.

Dan Stankiewicz tied the game for Downingtown East 8:24 into the second period and the teams battled on through 51 minutes of regulation and 42:35 of overtime until the game winner.

Downingtown East is the first Class 2A team to defend a state title since Latrobe won the last of three straight in 2010. The Cougars are the only Class 2A team to successfully defend.

Class 3A

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Seneca Valley 0 —Mark Colavita scored three goals to propel St. Joseph’s Prep to a 4-0 win over Seneca Valley in the Class 3A state hockey championship game Saturday evening at Ice Line in West Chester. Tyler Boucher also scored for the Hawks, who won the first state championship in school history.

Colavita scored just 42 seconds after the opening face-off and Boucher added a goal nine minutes later to put the Hawks up 2-0 with 7:10 left in the opening period.

Colavita added two goals early in the third period 23 seconds apart, the second one shorthanded, to complete his hat trick.

St, Joseph’s Prep had a 34-19 edge in shots.

The state championship games matching Flyers Cup and Penguins Cup champions began in 1981. There were Class 3A and 2A games starting in 1984. A Class 1A game was added in 1989. It should be remembered that the Flyers Cup did not expand to three classes until 1991.

Our thanks to the administration and staff at Holy Ghost Prep for their support all season long.

Holy Ghost Prep is a private, Catholic, all-boys school located in Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Located adjacent to the busy I-95 corridor in metropolitan Philadelphia, Holy Ghost Prep attracts students from more than 100 elementary feeder schools from throughout metropolitan Philadelphia counties and New Jersey

Today is a vibrant community of nearly 500 young men preparing for college and adult life through a challenging program which stresses the cultivation of students’ unique gifts and talents, academic excellence, and generous service to the poor. We continue to be mindful of our founding history as a seminary as we seek to form young men morally, intellectually, and spiritually in the Spiritan tradition.

St. Joseph’s Prep Wins Class 3A Flyers Cup

St. Joseph’s Prep defeated Holy Ghost Prep 4-2 Tuesday night in the Class 3A Flyers Cup final at Grundy Arena.

Our account of the game can be found HERE via the Bucks County Courier Times web site.

The Penguins Cup tournament crowned two champions Tuesday night

Class 2A Armstrong 5, Quaker Valley 0

Class 3A Seneca Valley 4, Peters Township 2

The state championship games are set for Saturday at Ice Line

11:00 Class A Rustin vs Bishop McCourt

1:30 Class2A Downingtown East vs. Armstrong

4:00 Class 3A St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Seneca Valley

Downingtown East Wins Flyers Cup

Downingtown East defeated Central Bucks South 4-3 in overtime Thursday night to win the Class 2A Flyers Cup at Hatfield Ice.

Luca Pisai scored the winning goal with 2:10 left in the first sudden-death overtime period.

This account of the game was published in the Intelligencer on Friday, March 16 and the newspaper holds the copyright.

Downingtown East 4, Central Bucks South 3

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD— The performance was held on a stage that measured precisely 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. And on that grand stage, Luca Pisani was the brightest star of all. Pisani’s goal, 7 minutes and 50 seconds into overtime, gave Downingtown East a 4-3 win over Central Bucks South Thursday night at Hatfield Ice in a Flyers Cup Class 2A final that was the ultimate advertisement for interscholastic hockey.

The second-seeded and defending championship Cougars, who claimed their four Cup since 2010, went on the power play when the Titans’ Nick Morelli drew a holding penalty at the 7:09 mark when he took down a Cougar on the right wing at the blue line in front of the Titans’ bench and directly in front of one of the referees.

The winning goal came on a slapshot from the left point.

It was Pasani’s second goal of the game; he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

South coach Sean McGinty directed a stream of verbiage at the officiating crew following the goal and afterwards his emotions were still running on high. “In my opinion… you can’t make that call,” he said. “It’s overtime. It’s the Flyers Cup.”

The Titans took a 1-0 lead at the 5:37 mark of the first period when Joe DeLaurentis parked himself on the goal line to the left of the Cougar net and found Reis Braccio in front, Braccio found the back of the net with a forehander. That was the only goal of a fast-paced opening session.

Downingtown East drew even on a second-period power-play chance. The Titans’ Dominic Patrone was sent to the box for high sticking at the 11:59 mark and it took the Cougars just 28 seconds to score. Pisani launched rocket from the center of the ice just inside the blue line and found his target inches off the ice just inside the right post.

Braccio put the top-seeded Titans (30-4) ahead with 1:08 left in the period on a goal that produced traffic in front of the Cougar net. Goaltender Matt Shandler was knocked to the ice in the midst of he scramble. He regained his feet but Bracio scored in the midst of the scrum. The Cougars argued for goaltender interference but the goal was allowed to stand.

DeLaurentis and the Cougars’ Jack Barton traded goals two minutes, 15 seconds apart in the third period before Patrick Bobko tied the game for Downingtown East on a slapshot from the point with 5:03 left in regulation.

It was a game that saw the two teams push each other to a level that only truly outstanding teams can aspire to. Even in the midst of his disappointment, South captain Matt Stoll sensed that.

“It’s awesome,” he said, “playing at such a fast pace. Knowing that for some players, this is the highest level we’ll ever play at. “It’s awesome. It’s truly an honor to make it this far.”

Notes: South was trying for its third Flyers Cup title in five years. Downingtown East will play in the state championship game on March 24. The Cougars, who held a 35-21 edge in shots, are the first Class 2A team to defend the Flyers Cup title since Council Rock South six years ago.

Downingtown East 0 1 2 1—4

C.B. South 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goal: Reis Braccio (CBS) from Joe DeLaurentis, 5:37.

Second-period goals; Luca Pisani (DE) from Mark Stankiewicz and Eric Stankiewicz,, 12:27 (pp); Braccio (CBS) from Dominic Patrone, 15:52.

Third-period goal: DeLaurentis (CBS) unassisted, 3:30; Jack Barton (DE) from Justin Cohn, 5:45 (pp); Patrick Bobko (DE) unassisted, 11:57.

Overtime goal: Pisani (DE) from MIke Bolger, 7:50 (pp).

Shots: Downingtown East 35, C.B. South 21; Saves: Matt Shandler (DE) 18; Tim White (CBS) 31.

Records: Downingtown East (19-5); Central Bucks South (30-4)

A look back at Thursday’s Flyers Cup 2A final

Downingtown East’s Luca Pisani, who scored two goals, including the game winner, is #6.

His teammate Mike Bolger is # 98. Joe DeLaurentis of Central Bucks South is #66.

Photo by Dara Nappen King

www.DaraNKingPhotography.com
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DaraKing@mac.com