North Penn 5 Pennridge 0

It took North Penn most of two periods to solve the puzzle. But once the Knights did, the goals came in rapid-fire succession.

Three goals in the final three minute of the second period propelled North Penn to a 5-0 win over Pennridge Thursday night ay Hatfield Ice in a battle of SHSHL National Division heavyweights.

Daniel Cabrales scored two goals and Aidan Quigley was perfect between the pipes as the Knights improved to 8-2 overall and 7-2 in divisional play. The Rams boast an identical record at the season’s halfway mark.

The Rams were ranked third and the Knights fourth in the season’s first set of Class AA Flyers Cup rankings

“That probably was the best game we’ve played all year from a 51-minute perspective,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We knew [Pennridge] was a good hockey team. They weren’t going to give it to us, we had to come out and earn it.”

North Penn took control at the start, outshooting Pennridge 22-6 in the first period. That trend continued in the middle period as the Knights launched shots at James Winton from all angles.

It took them until the waning minutes of the period however to get the better of him.

Nolan Shingle scored the first goal of the night, a power-play effort with 2:51 left in the period. Cabrales made it a 2-0 game with 1:05 remaining when he poked in a rebound that Winton couldn’t control. Half a minute later Samuel Norton stole the puck and center ice and launched a shot from long range that beat Winton on his glove side. It was North Penn’s third goal in a span of 2:25.

Vaitis credited his troops for the way they moved the puck.

“The big thing we focus on is puck movement,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of skill players [and we tell them] don’t try to do anything on their own. When we move the puck well, good thigs happen for us.”

By this point, the Rams were operating on auxiliary power offensively, having lost catalyst Shane Dachowski in the second period to a shoulder injury. No one in the lineup was able to fill the gap created by his absence.

“These guys need to learn how to do things for themselves,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. ”Without waiting for someone else to do it. We’re not going to make excuses about it. We have a bunch of guys that have to learn how to go through this.”

Luke Haftel and Carbrales provided goals for North Penn in the third period. Meanwhile, Quigley was stopping all 17 shots he saw.

“I didn’t face a whole lot of shots,” he said. “It’s hard, trying to stay with it when you’re not getting a ton of shots. But, the team played strong and helped me out.”

Quigley credited his defense for minimalizing potential rebounds.

“My defense helped me out,” he said. “Any rebounds they got out. No bad turnovers.”

• With 13:02 remaining in the third period, Winton left the ice because of asthma issues. He returned after approximately. five minutes North Penn utilized its time out after the Rams had used theirs to allow Winton extra time to recover.

Pennridge 0 0 0—0

North Penn 0 3 2—5

Second-period goals: Nolan Shingle (NP) from James Boyle and Daniel Cabrales, 2:51 (pp); Cabrales (MP) from Samuel Norton and Cole Pluck, 1:05; Norton (NP) unassisted, :21

Third-period goals: Luke Haftel (NP) from Christopher Silvotti, 7:27, Cabrales (NP) from Norton, 1:36

Shots: Pennridge 17, North Penn 51; Saves: James Winton (P) 46, Aidan Quigley (NP) 17

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Malvern Prep 1

PHILADELPHIA—Cole Gargon stepped up for St. Joseph’s Prep in a big way for Sr. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon. The sophomore scored three of his team’s goals as the Hawks bested Malvern Prep 4-1 in an APAC encounter at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.

The win lifted St. Joseph’s Prep (5-1, 3-1 in the APAC) into a three-way tie for the top spot in the conference standings but the Hawks have a game in hand over Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle, the teams they are tied with.

The hosts had to play from behind. After a scoreless first frame Gabe Bedwell gave the Friars (2-5, 1-3) the lead 6:50 into the second people when he put in a rebound of Matt Barbacane’s shot.

Gargon tied the game with a power-play goal at the 7:56 mark and put his team ahead for good 86 seconds later when he weaved his way through traffic front of the net and beat Malvern Prep goaltender Riley Doyle.

Gargon completed his hat trick six minutes into the third period before Frank Ely, who missed some time after being helped off the ice with an injury early in the first period finished the scoring with 2:08 left in the game.

Afterwards, Gawk coach David Giacomin credited Gargon and his linemates for their effort.

“Their line played well,” he said. “It was tough being without Frankie Ely for a while because of the injury but once he came back it was nice to be able to get that line back.”

Giacomin noted his team had some ups and downs over the course of the afternoon.

“The first 10 minutes of the game we played really well,” he said. “Then they took it to us a bit and won the board battle and all that stuff and it took us a little while to get back into it.”

Giacomin said the break for an ice cut between the second and third periods helped the Hawks regain their focus.

“Today it was well needed,” he said. The second period was not a pretty period to watch. There were a lot of scrums, there wasn’t much up-and-down skating. We had to get them back to doing what we were supposed to do.”

The Friars were limited to just 15 shots on goal.

“We’ve been stressing moving through the ice, good zone entry, and getting shots on net,” aid Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We weren’t able to get much traffic today.

“Overall, I thought our effort was there for a period-and-a-half and then it tailed off.”

Malvern Prep 0 1 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 2 2—4

Second-period goals: Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Matt Barbcane and Paton Hoishak, 3:50 (pp); Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely, 9:04; Gargon (SJP) unassisted, 10:30 (pp)

Third-period goals: Gargon (SJP) from Michael Castelli and Ely, 6:00; Ely (SJP) unassisted, 14:52

Shots: Malvern Prep 15, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: Riley Doyle (MP) 21, Declan Geary (SJP) 14

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Winata Embracing Leadership at St. Joseph’s Prep

Tristan Winata is dedicated to being the best hockey player he can be. But the St. Joseph’s Prep senior is also committed to being the best teammate, leader, and student-athlete he can be.

The Sicklerville, N.J. is one of the Hawks’ captains and takes his responsibilities seriously.

“I want to make sure everybody feels included,” he said. “The environment around a hockey team is a good environment. I don’t really need to do much but just make sure everybody knows what they need to do, what [Coach David Giacomin] the coach is going to do.”

Winata is in the midst of his fourth varsity season but he was sidelined for a time during his freshman campaign by a shoulder injury. Now, as an experienced veteran, he works to ease his younger teammates transition to the high-school version of the game.

“It’s a big transition from eighth grade to high school,” he said, “or even from club to high school because there is a significant age gap, so I just want to make sure that everybody is fitting in. That they know how to play, how to keep themselves safe

“I find that really important because I got hurt my first year of high school I wouldn’t want that on anybody.”

Winata first hit the ice at age 7.

“My parents took me ice skating and I didn’t like it at first,” he recalls, “but the net time I went, at the Igloo [in Mount Laurel, N.J.], I met some kids who said ‘You’re fast, you should play ice hockey.’

“So, I started trying it out and I started to love the game.”

Winata chose St. Joseph’s Prep for the academic and athletic challenges it provides.

“St. Joseph’s Prep is a notoriously good school with a lot of good people,” he said. “It was a good hockey program a well. It was a good education, they gave me a good scholarship as well.”

Like many of his peers, Winata learned to manage his time effetively.

I try to get of as much procrastinating as possible. When I did that, I filled a lot of time honestly. I know a lot of people have it harder but I’m pretty good at school I’d say.

I‘ve been hardworking and I just try not to procrastinate; try to condense my work into as little time as possible.”

As Christmas approaches, the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference race is tightly bunched. The Hawks stand at 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the APAC heading into a scheduled Wednesday matchup against Malvern Prep. They’ll close out the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule against Father Judge on Friday night before defending their title in the Purple Puck Tournament in the nation’s capital next weekend.

“I think our team is looking pretty decent,” Winata said. “I think this year is one of those weird years where pretty much anybody can win, everyone’s pretty good. We’ve just got to be able to put the puck in the net and keep the puck out of our net. Make sure we finish hard and everything.”

Tristan Winata

Winata was able to broaden his hockey horizons this past summer by representing Indonesia at a tournament in Thailand.

‘Playing in Thailand that was pretty crazy,” Winata said. That was a lot of fun. It was quite an event. Not a lot people can say they’ve played internationally.

“I haven’t had much contact with Indonesia but it felt really nice, just to be able to represent something.”

Winata is proud to have played a role in popularizing hockey in a country that is home to member of his family.

“In Indonesia hockey is a growing sport,” he said. “Before maybe five years ago, they didn’t have ice rinks or anything but ice hockey is growing sport. They even have professional hockey over there. And being a part of that means a lot to me. It’s one of the biggest things I’ve been a part of.”

CLICK HERE for more about St. Joseph’s Prep.

Flyers Cup Rankings Debut for ’24-’25

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of rankings for the 2024-25 season., It’s the first major step toward the selection of the field for the Flyers Cup tournament at season’s end. The rankings were determined through a blend of ranking points and observations by committee members.

Class AAA

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

Class AA

Council Rock South
Haverford High
Pennridge
North Penn
Spring-Ford

Class A

1 West Chester Henderson

2 Garnett Valley

3 Kennett

4 Hershey

5 West Chester East

Girls

1 Avon Grove

2 Downingtown West

3 Conestoga

4 Kingsway

5 West Chester Hendersom

Pennsbury 9 Souderton 7

It was an evening Dylan Nink is likely to remember for some time.

Nink, a senior and a first-year varsity player scored his first varsity goal for Pennsbury Thursday night. His shot from the left point with 4:54 remaining the third period turned out to be the winning goal as the Falcons bested Souderton 9-7 in a SHSHL National Division shootout at Grundy Arena.

The win was just the second for the Falcons in seven divisional games (2-6 overall). The teams combined for 13 goal in the last two periods including four in the last 7:02 of the third period. Nink said he and his teammates had one thought in mind.

“All we wanted to do was get pucks on net,” he said, “drive the middle and just score. We were in a little bit of a stretch where we’ve been losing [Pennsbury had lost four straight prior to Thursday night], we really needed this.”

Shane Gleisner put the Falcons on his back in the early going, scoring their first four goals. His fourth goal of the night gave his team a 4-3 lead just 1:20 into the second period.

By the time the period ended, the game was tied 5-5. Patrick Callahan had scored twice for Souderton (3-5, 3-4 in the division) and three other players had one goal each.

The game’ defining sequence commenced four-and-a-half minutes into the third period and the game tied 6-6 when the Big Red was presented with a seven-minute power play. The chain of events began when a referee raised his arm to signal a delayed penalty against Gleisner for cross checking. Before the whistle blew, Gleisner delivered a forearm blow to the head of a Souderton player and was given a five-minute major penalty for head contact.

Gleisner’s penalty time started with 12:27 left in regulation; for 25 seconds the Big Red had a five skater-to-three advantage. But more importantly, by rule, he served the major penalty first, so when Matthew Cross scored his second goal of the game for Souderton to give it the lead with 7:08 remaining, the power play concluded.

By that point however, the Big Red who had just 12 skaters available, were running out of energy and the Falcons, first Chris Saver, then Nink, then Sarver once more into an empty net, scored the game’s last three goals.

“We took too many penalties as a team” said Souderton coach Scott Ryon. “That put us down quite a bit in the second period, and ultimately caught up to our legs in the third.”

Ryon lamented not having gotten more out of the extended power play.

“We wanted to put a lot more in the net,” he said. “But, with a short bench plus the penalties, we were gassed even during the seven-minute power play.

Souderton 1 4 2—7

Pennsbury 2 3 4—9

First-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Kevin DeRosa, :20; Patrick Callahan (S) from Cameron Fairweather and Jackson Kelly, 7:13 (pp); Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver and Jason Fowler, 7:54

Second-period goals: Nick Smith (S) from Fairweather, :52; Gleisner (P) from DeRosa, 1:20; Fairweather (S) from Smith, 1:37; Gleisner (P). from Logan Weed and Shane Hicks, 2:31; Matt Cross (S) from Fairweather and Caden O’Neill, 10:35 (pp); Jacob. Sarver (P) from Chris Sarver and Connor Gray, 16:45; Callahan (S) from Fairweather and Cross, 16:52

Third-period goals: Hicks (P)) from Chris Sarver, :28; Fairweather (S) from Smith, 2:05; Cross (S) from Luca Ferretti, 9:58; Chris Sarver (P) from Brendan Milliken, 10:28; Dylan Nink (P) from Fowler and Jacob Sarver, 12:06; Chriss Sarver (P) from DeRosa and Jacob Sarver, 16:55 (en)

Holy Ghost Prep 4 Malvern Prep 1

Looking to pick up its second Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference win in two days, Holy Ghost Prep didn’t miss a beat. Chase Logue scored two goals as the Firebirds downed Malvern Prep 4-1 Thursday night at Ice Line.

The win was the Firebirds’ fourth straight and lifted them to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the APAC.

Logue opened the scoring 6:28 into the first period with an assist from his brother Brady. John Gavaghan made it a 2-0 game with a shorthanded goal just 28 seconds into the second frame while his teammate Logan Barnes was in the box serving a tripping penalty.

Andrew Starck answered for the Friars (2-4, 1-2 APAC) with a power-play goal 46 seconds later.

Chase Logue scored his second goal 1:13 into the final period, again with his brother’s assistance and again while his team was shorthanded; Anthony Valeriote was in the box at the time.

The Firebirds enjoyed a 40-19 edge in shots. Jack Unger got the win in goal. Losing goaltender Matt Crawford kept his team in the game by making 36 saves.

The evening served as fundraiser in support of families dealing with Rubnenstein Taybi Syndrome, a genetic disorder. Connor Keenan, the son of Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan, is afflicted with the disorder.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie said he and his players were homoted to e part of the occasion.

“Holy Ghost Prep was very grateful to be asked to be part of such a great event,” he said. “The event’s success is a testament to our league and to our school communities as they support Bill and his family and it’s an event that I hope continues for many years.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2 —4

Malvern Prep 0 1 0—1

First-period goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Brady Logue, 6:28

Second-period goals: John Gavaghan (HGP) unassisted, :28 (sh); Andrew Starck (MP) from James Young, 1:14 (pp);

Third-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) from Brady Logue, 1:13 (sh); Brady Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 11:33

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 40, Malvern Prep 19; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 18, Matt Crawford (MP) 36

CLICK HERE for more information about Holy Ghost Prep

CLICK HERE for more infornation about Malvern Prep

Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 4

Brady Logue’s goal with 9:32 left in the third period was the game winner as Holy Ghost Prep topped La Salle 6-4 Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Ice. Logue scored three goals and added an assist as the Firebirds improved to 2-2 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference and 7-3 overall. It was their second win over the Explorers this season

Grant LaGreca and Michael Zarzycki each scored twice for the Explorers, who stand at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the APAC. LaGreca also added an assist.

Santino Tibero have Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead 4:58 into the first period. LaGreca answered with a power-play goal less than a minute later.

Logue scored two goals of his own before the period ended, the second one coming during a power play with one second remaining in the period after the Explores were penalized for having too many players on the ice.

LaGreca and Zarzycki scored goals in a span of 1:57 to tie the game at 3-3 5:44 into the second period. Chase Logue’s shorthanded goal with 7:54 left in the middle period put the Firebirds back in front but Zarzycki responded with a shorthanded goal of his own 5:35 into the third frame, setting the stage for Logue’s game winner.

Brian Kinniry added an empty net goal with 19 seconds remaining.

”I like some of the adjustments that we made,” said Holy Ghost prep coach John Ritchie, “and they seemed to pay off today.

”That being said, I know the La Salle team we will see come playoff time will be different.

”All in all, I think it was a good win but we have plenty to work on as we try to figue out who we are as a team.”

Holy Ghost Prep 3 1 2—6

La Salle 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Santino Tibero (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino and Brady Logue, 4:58; Grant LaGreca (L) from Jacob Warner and Cameron Ross, 5:55 (pp); Brady Logue (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 11:46; Brady Logue (HGP) unassisted, 16:59 (pp)

Second-period goals: LaGreca (L) unassisted, 3:48 (pp) Michael Zarzycki from LaGreca and Tristan Mitchell, 5:44; Chase Logue (HGP) unassisted, 9:06 (sh)

Third-period goals: Zarzycki unassisted, 5:35 (sh); Brady Logue (HGP) 7:28 (pp); Brian Kinniry (HGP) unassisted, 16:41 (en)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 34, La Salle 27; Saves: Jack Butthof (HGP) 23, Jake Rossi (HGP) 28

HGP-Malvern Prep Matchup About Much More Than Hockey

Thursday’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference matchup between Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will be about much more than what happens on the ice.

For the third year in succession, the hockey community is coming together for RTS Awareness Night and highlight the fight against Rubnenstein Taybi Syndrome, a genetic disorder. Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan and his wife Sarah joined the fight when they learned their son Connor, who will turn 5 in January, was afflicted with RTS.

Connor is the youngest of the Keenans’ three children. His brother JJ is 10, his sister Olivia is 8.

Proceeds from Thursday’s game (6:45 puck drop at Ice Line) will go to support the families of children dealing with the disorder.

“This is our third annual RTS Awareness Night,” Keenan said. “It’s a great night to come together as a community and raise awareness not only for RTS but those affected with rare diseases.

“Sometimes life is bigger then sports or a hockey game. We are grateful for the community that surrounds us and the support they provide to Connor and our family.”

“We look forward to continuing this event for many years to come. The past two years we played against St. Joseph’s Prep and this year Coach Ritchie without hesitation willingly said Holy Ghost would participate. It is a great sign of strength in why we play in this league because again it’s more than just a game.”

Holy Ghost Prep at National Scholastic Invitational

Holy Ghost Prep 2 St. Joseph’s 0

Lucas Gonzalez and Brian Kinniry scored goals in the first period and Jack Botthof was percet on goal as the Firebirds recorded their second consecutive Saturday shoutout.

Holy Ghost Prep 3 Lake Forest 0

John Gavaghan. Nate Romer, and Patryk Oser all scored goals as the Firebirds bested the Scouts Saturday afternoon at the National Scholastic Invitational. Jack Unger earned the shutout in goal.

Pine Richland 5 Holy Ghost Prep 3

Alexander Verszyla and Carson Parkhill scored goals 71 second apart late in the third period to give Pine Richland, the reigning Pennsylvania Class AAA state champions a 5-3 win over Holy Ghost Prep Friday night in the opening round of the National Scholastic Invitational in Jamestown, New York.

Verszyla put his team ahead for good when he scored his second goal of the game with 2:22 remaining in the final period after Lucas Gonzalez scored two second-period goals that enable the Firebirds to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Brian Kinniry scored for Holy Ghost Prep to give his team a 1-0 lead in the first period.

The Firebirds will face Lake Forest Illinois at noon on Saturday and St. Joseph’s Collegiate Prep from Buffalo at 6:00.

Wissahickon 7 H-H 6, OT

Hatboro-Horsham and Wissahickon got their first look at each other Thursday night, a month into the SHSHL season.

The wait was worth it.

The Trojans and the Hatters matched each other shift for shift and goal for goal for 51 minutes and beyond before Jack Raebiger’s goal 51 seconds into overtime gave Wissahickon a 7-6 win at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The third period and overtime served as a fitting climax to the evening. There were seven goals scored in the final period including three on power plays and two in shorthanded situations.

There were five penalties called in the third period, one of them a misconduct that accompanied a boarding call.

Raebiger’s winning goal, his second goal of the game came after a puck caromed out of the Wissahickon defensive zone to center ice. Raebiger, the Wissahickon captain, won a closely contested sprint for the puck and beat Hatter goaltender Eric Miller to send the Trojan fans home happy.

“I saw that puck and my legs were cramping up,” he said. “My calves were cramping up, but I did not want to lose to that team.”

The Trojans (3-2, 3-1 in the SHSHL’s American Division) took a 3-2 lead into the third frame. Ben Raebiger’s goal 2:11 into the period extended his team’s lead but Reid Rochestie and Darius Graziani scored goals for the Hatters (3-3, 3-2) 20 seconds apart to tie the game with 5:34 remaining in regulation. Graziani’s goal came during a power play.

Plenty of fireworks remained. Ben Raebiger and the Hatters’ Aidan North traded goals before Joseph Gambino’s rocket from the left wing seemingly put the Trojans over the finish line with 47.6 seconds remaining.

But Hatboro-Horsham got a last chance when a stoppage resulted in a faceoff in the circle to the right of Trojan goaltender Fletcher Lynch. The Hatters won the faceoff and the ensuing scramble near the crease and Nathan Nemchinov scored just before the final buzzer.

Jack Raebiger said he was anticipated a right game with the Hatters who returned to the American Division as a unified team this season.

“We saw their record,” he said. “We saw they beat the teams that we beat and we lost to the team that we lost against [Plymouth Whitemarsh] and we thought this was a crucial game for us.”
Thursday’s game was the first of three meetings between the Trojans and the Hatters. The next is set for December 19 and Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith was not surprised with how Thursday’s game evolved.

“When we looked at the other games that we both played we kind of had similar scores,” he said. “So, we knew it was going to be a dogfight and a battle all the way through.”

Wissahickon 0 3 3 1—7

Hatboro-Horsham 1 1 4 0—6

First-period goal: Vincent Graziani (HH) from Darius Grazianai, 7:58

Second-period goals: Jack Raebiger unassisted, 2:15; Evan McCutcheon unassisted, 7:47; Victor Wilkins (HH) from Nathan Nemchinov and Joseph MaGinn, 8:50; Logan Honeycutt from John Kuffner, 16:54

Third-period goals: Ben Raebiger from Jack Raebiger, 2:11 (pp); Reid Rochestie (HH) from MaGinn, 11:06; Vincent Graziani (HH) from William Moffa and Darius Graziani, 11:26 (pp); Ben Raebiger from Honeycutt and Aiden Brooks, 12:20 (pp); Aidan North (HH) from Vincent Graziani, 15:27 (pp); Joseph Gambino from Jack Raebiger, 16:13 (sh); Nemchinov (HH) from North and Darius Graziani, 0:00

Overtime goal: Jack Raebiger (W), :51

Shots: Wissahickon 25, Hatboro-Horsham 35; Saves: Fletcher Lynch 29, Eric Miller (HH) 18