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Holy Ghost Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit and rolled to a 5-1 non-league win over Council Rock South Monday night at Revolution Ice Gardens.
Brady Logue scored twice for the Firebirds (3-1 overall). Logan Barnes, Chris Marshall, and Anthony Valeriote also scored goals.
Daniel Filippov scored for the Golden Hawks, who lost for the first time in six starts.
Holy Ghost Prep 0 4 1—5
C.R. South 1 0 0—1
Eleven of the 12 scheduled crossover games between SHSHL and ICSHL teams have been completed. Scores are listed below; the ICSHL leads the series six victiories to five.
Friday 11-8 Strath Haven 3 Wissahickon 1
Friday 11-8 Downingtown East 6 C.B. South 1
Wednesday 11-13 Pennridge 6 Boyertown 3
Thursday 11-14 Marple-Newtown 7 Hatboro-Horsham 4
Thursday 11-14 Neshaminy 2 Conestoga 0
Friday 11-15 North Penn 6 Downingtown West 2
Friday 11-15 Spring-Ford 8 Pennsbury 7
Friday 11-15 Avon Grove 7 C.B. East 0
Wednesday 11-20 Lower Merion 5 Souderton 4
Thursday 11-21 Plymouth Whitemarsh 4 Radnor 2
Thursday 11-21 C.R. South 2 Haverford 1 OT
Thursday 12-5 Abington at Harriton 8:00 at Skatium
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BRISTOL—Haverford and Council Rock South both embrace strong hockey traditions. The Fords are one of the oldest scholastic hockey programs in the area and have won five Flyers Cup titles. The Golden Hawks have been in existence for a little over two decades and have claimed three Flyers Cup titles.
It seemed only fitting that the two schools meet in the ongoing SHSHL-ICHSL series. And so they did Thursday night at Grundy Arena with the host Golden Hawks prevailing 2-1.
Pete Pereborow scored the winning goal amidst a scramble in front of the net with 1:42 remaining in overtime to keep South unbeaten at 5-0.
Haverford’s Joseph Cianciarulo (left) and Council Rock South’s Brendan Rooney take a faceoff Thursday night. Sean Weisner photo
“[The puck] deflected off somebody,” he said. “I don’t know if it deflected off our own player or the underneath netting seam. I just know that I saw that puck going forward. I had to bat it home to secure it, that’s all I had to do.”
The first two periods were scoreless and the two goaltenders, South’s Evan Ayala and Haverford’s Dylan Vieira passed every test.
The Hawks spent a fair amount of time shorthanded. They killed off four penalties in the first period. In the end they were accessed seven of the game’s 12 penalties.
Jordan Sarne scored the evening’s first goal 7:13 into the final period, beating Vieira with a forehander from the right faceoff circle.
Five minutes later South drew its sixth penalty of the game; Jackson Mosley was sent to the box for roughing. It took just 12 seconds for Connor Lill to score the tying goal for Haverford (3-1).
South wound up having to kill one more penalty before regulation play ended. The number of penalties was a source of concern for Jake Houk who filled in for his father Joe behind the Hawks’ bench.
“My dad told me before the game ‘When the cat’s gone, the mice come out to play,’” the younger Houk said. “I think some of the kids on our team that lose their heads a little bit kind of showed it tonight. But, I was proud of them for staying composed after a few of them.”
Haverford coach John Povey took an abundance of positives out of the evening.
“I’m extremely happy with my guys and how they played tonight,” he said. “We battled all the way to near the end there to get into overtime. It’s 50-50 at that point.
“We found a way to tie the game up. I told my guys to walk out of this building with their heads up high because they played a really good game tonight.”
Lill said the early-season test against a quality opponent taught him a lot about his own team.
“I learned we don’t give up,” he said.“
Ice Chips—Haverford claimed Flyers Cup titles in 1992 in Class A, and three consecutive Class AA Crowns from 2005-07, and a fourth Class AA Title in 2021. South’s Cup titles, all in Class AA, came in 2009, ’11, and ’12. They also won a state championship in 2012… The Golden Hawks unveiled a set of gold alternate jerseys Thursday night.
Haverford 0 0 1 0—1
C.R. South 0 0 1 1—2
Third-period goals: Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jonah Weston and Jeremy Rahner, 7:13; Connor Lill (H) from Brendan McCormick and Shawn Yoder, 12:26 (pp)
Overtime goal: Pete Pereborow (CRS) unassisted, 3:18
Shots: Haverford 26, C.R. South 31; Saves: Dylan Vieira (H) 29 Evan Ayala (CRS) 25
The Raiders dropped a one-goal decision to the visiting Tide on Thursday in their season opener at Ice Land. Anders Van Raalte, Lucas Jean, and Justin Bibeau scored the Hun School goals.
“Overall I’m happy with our first game as a group,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker. “We got better as the game went along and ran into a very hot goaltender.”
BRISTOL—There wasn’t a lot of slash and sizzle to what Malvern Prep was doing on Tuesday afternoon. But hockey games are not decided on style points.
Two third-period power-play goals in a span of 71 seconds allowed the Friars to overcome a 1-0 deficit and they went on from there to defeat Holy Ghost Prep 4-2 in an APAC game at Grundy Arena.
Teague Murray scored two goals and assisted on a third as Malvern Prep (2-1 overall) opened conference play with a win.
The host Firebirds (2-1, 1-1 in the APAC) took a 1-0 lead on Logan Barnes’ goal 1:37 into the second period on a play that started off a scramble for a loose puck the neutral one. Murray set up House Young for the game-tying goal which came with 3:58 remaining in the period and erased the deficit.
“I think that’s kind of our identity this year,” Murray said. “We went down, we’ve been down early in every game we’ve played but we keep battling. That’s just kind of our identity.”
The Firebirds were undone by self-inflicted wounds. With 33 seconds left in the second frame Brady Logue was flagged for interference, giving Malvern Prep a split power play.
Murray gave his team the lead 52 seconds into the third period when he topped home Matt Barbacane’s shot from the left point.
Just 19 seconds later Malvern Prep was awarded another power play when Holy Ghost Prep’s Anthony Valeriote was whistled for interference. Pax Hoishik delivered a power play goal just 52 seconds after that to give the Friars a two-goal lead.
Brian Kinniry gave the Firebirds a last-gasp opportunity when he beat Matt Crawford in the Malvern Prep net with 53 seconds to go but it took just 15 additional seconds for Murray to respond.
Afterward, he spoke of the importance of shepherding his younger teammates through the rigors what for some was their first APAC game.
“It’s super important,” the senior said. “They’ve got to know there’s not going to be any flashy goals when you’re playing good teams like Ghost and La Salle. You’ve got to get gritty goals.
Murray notes that Malvern Prep’s power play has improved since the season kicked off.
“The first two games were a little rusty,” he said, “but now we’re starting to pick it up and we were really clicking this game.”
Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan cited his team’s blur-collar approach.
“We had a lot of grit that game,” he said. “The first period was completely back and forth, up and down the ice, got some shots on net, got some power plays late in the second and early in the third and we capitalized on them.
“Right now, we’re feeling good with where we’re at.”
• Crawford finished with 22 saves. Matt Salita made 17 saves for Holy Ghost. Salita is the third goaltender the Firebirds have started in three game. each has played one full game.
Malvern Prep 0 1 3—4
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2
Second-period goals: Logan Barnes (HGP) from Colin Bara, 1:37; House Young (MP) from Teague Murray, 13:02
Third-period goals: Murray (MP) from Matt Barbacane and Cole Scarbinsky, :52 (pp); Pax Hoishik (MP) unassisted, 2:03 (pp); Brian Kinniry (HGP)) from Bara, 16:07; Murray (MP) unassisted, 16:32
Shots: Malvern Prep 21, Holy Ghost Prep 23; saves: Matt Crawford (MP) 22, Matt Salita (HGP) 17
St. Joseph’s Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit and went on to defeat The Haverford School 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at the Class of 1923 Rink in a non-league game.
Henry Cagliuso gave the Fords the lead with 4:57 left in the first period bur Caden Kelly tied the game for the Hawks with one minute left in the second session. Jai Perry-Pereira put his team in front with 7:43 left in the game before Frank Ely and Tristan Winata added goals in the final minute.
The Hawks (1-1) outshot the Fords 47-12 but Ike Matoney kept Haverford in the game with his work in goal.
“We played pretty well,” said Hawks coach David Giacomin. “We dad great puck movement and pressure. Haverford packed it in defensively and their goalie was awesome.”
Thanksgiving is still over a week away but North Penn is already attracting a lot of attention.
The Knights are unbeaten in four starts after a 6-2 win over Downingtown West last Friday night in a game that was part of the SHSHL-ICSHL crossover series. They’re 3-0 in SHSHL National Division play with a trip to Council Rock South awaiting on Wednesday night (7:20 at Grundy Arena).
The Knights are scoring a lot of goals; they’re averaging 8.5 goals per game while allowing just 1.5 goals per contest. The lineup features some of the division’s early season scoring leaders.
Sophomore Samuel Norton has scored five goals and added seven assists for 12 points. Senior Cole Pluck has accumulated 12 points by scoring three goals and adding nine assists. Junior Nolan Shingle has scored seven goals and added three assists for 10 points while junior James Boyle has accumulated 10 points of his own by scoring six goals and adding four assists.
“We’ve played well,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “With the team we have now we know we’re going to be able to put up a number of goals but we keep preaching strong defense and we’ve got great goaltending.”
Boyle, who epitomizes the offensive-oriented defenseman, says he and his teammates are taking good practice habits into games.
“I think it’s our preparation,” he said. “Good practices twice a week. Making sure we’re prepared before games helps us to get off to get off to good starts in games.”
Two years ago, North Penn won just five games and missed out on the postseason. Boyle was part of that 2023 team and says the memories of that disappointing campaign are a motivating force this season.
“Going through that, a season where we weren’t winning too much, made everyone want to be able to play and battle back,” he said. “We wanted the chance to and try to win it all this year.”
Last year, the Knights won 13 games and returned to both the SHSHL playoffs and the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament. Vaitis has bigger goals in mind this year and wants his players to understand what it takes to attain those goals.
“Thinking toward end of February and March, what does it take to be playing at [a high level]?” he said. “It’s strong defense, good goaltending, and getting scoring from all three lines. And that’s where we’re going; we’re getting scoring from multiple guys, it’s not just our top three.
“Last year was a great step for us, getting back into the Suburban League playoffs getting back into the Flyers Cup tournament but we want to do more than that this year, right? We obviously want to continue to play our best hockey at the end of the year; the goal has always been the Suburban League championship and the Flyers Cup that’s what the goal has been for the 15 years I’ve been here. we’re going to keep working and try to get better.”
National Division W L T PTS OTW OTL
North Penn (4-0) 3 0 0 12 0 0
C.R. South (3-0) 3 0 0 11 1 0
Souderton (2-1) 2 1 0 8 0 0
Cent. Bucks South (2-1) 2 1 0 7 1 0
Pennridge (2-1) 1 1 0 5 0 1
Pennsbury (1-3) 1 2 0 5 0 1
C.R. North (1-2) 1 2 0 4 0 0
C.B. East (1-3) 1 2 0 4 0 0
Neshaminy (!-2) 0 2 0 0 0 0
C.B. West (0-3) 0 3 0 0 0 0
American Division W L T PTS OTW OTL
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-0) 2 0 0 8 0 0
Springfield (1-1) 1 1 0 5 0 1
Wissahickon (1-2) 1 1 0 4 0 0
Hatboro-Horsham (1-2) 1 1 0 3 1 0
Abington (0-2 ) 0 2 0 0 0 0
Teams receive 4 points for a regulation win
3 points for an overtime win
2 points for a tie
1 point for an overtime loss
0 points for a regulation loss
National Division Scoring G A Pts
Shane Dachwski Pr 9 5 14
Jackson Accardi CRN 7 5 12
Samuel Norton NP 5 7 12
Cole Pluck NP 3 9 12
James Boyle NP 6 4 10
Nolan Shingle(NP) 7 3 10
Jacob Sarver Pb 4 5 9
James Rush Pr 4 5 9
Shane Hicks Pb 3 6 9
Jake Weiner CRS
American Division Scoring G A Pts
Cooper Kanze PW 7 1 8
Blake Ambler PW 4 3 7
Dan Guller PW 1 6 7
Vincent Graziani HH 3 2 5
Nathan Nemchinov HH 3 2 5
West Chester Henderson scored five unanswered goals in the third period on the way to an 8-3 win over Downingtown East Monday night in a battle of ICSHL Ches-Mont League unbeatens at Ice Line.
Blake Platz scored four goals for the Warriors, who improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Ches-Mont. Nick Denadai, Cole Navazio, Anthony Barthol, and Andrew Denny all scored single goals for Henderson, which broke the game open after taking a 3-2 lead into the third period. Hunter Haas added four assists.
Brody Matthews scored a goal for Downingtown East (4-1, 1-1) and added two assists.
“Tonight game was a great win for the Henderson program,” said Warrior coach Tom Aughey. The group played hard and stuck to the game plan.”
Denny gave the Warriors a quick lead just 21 seconds into the opening period. Anderson Frain tied the game for the Cougars at the 7:04 mark.
Platz scored a pair of goals 22 seconds apart early in the second frame to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. Christian McCuch scored for the Cougars to make it a one-goal game with 3:14 left in the period but Platz completed a hat trick 3:01 into the final period to spark a barrage of five goals in a span pf 11 minutes, 5 seconds. That spurt included Platz’s fourth goal of the night which came with 2:54 remaining.
Aughey said the key to the win was the play of goaltender Matthew Cieslukowski in the second period when the senior made seven of his 17 saves.
“The score was not indicative of the play within the game” Aughey said. “It was a big game from Matt. “He came up with plenty of big saves in the second to hold the lead for us.
“Platz and Haas took control in the third and we buried the opportunities we had.”
West Chester Henderson 1 2 5—8
Downingtown East 1 1 1—3
First-period goals: Andrew Denny (H) from Hunter Haas, :21; Anderson Frain (DE) from Christian McCuch and Brody Matthews, 7:04
Second-period goals: Blake Platz (H) from Declan Herr and Nicholas Denadai, 1:02; Platz (H) from Haas and Andrew Denny, 1:24; McCutch (DE) from Matthew Latch and Matthews, 13:46 (pp)
Third-period goal: Platz (H) from Haas and Denny, 3:01; Anthony Barthol (H) from Harrison Aller and Herr, 5:53; Colin Navazio (H) from Declan Dowd, 7:55; Denaldi (H) from Platz and Denny, 11:35 (pp); Platz (H) from Haas, 14:06; Matthews (DE) from Latch, 15:40
Shots: West Chester Henderson 28, Downingtown East 20; Saves: Matthew Cieslukowski (H) 17, Lucas Fleuty (DE) 20
EAST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—It was the sort of game one would expect to see during the second week of March as opposed to the third week of November. North Penn and Downingtown West demonstrated why they expect to be taken seriously in the weeks and months to come.
For the record, the Knights prevailed 6-2 in the SHSHL-ICSHL crossover matchup Friday night at Ice Line but the affair was much more closely contested than the score would indicate; it was a one-goal game until the closing minutes of the third period.
It was an evening the Knights celebrated their fourth consecutive victory of the young season, but North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis was quick to point out it was most of all an occasion to celebrate high-school hockey.
“I’m so glad we started doing the crossover games this year,” he said. “Downingtown East and C.B. South played last week, Boyertown-Pennridge and us and Downingtown West tonight.
“Heretofore, you don’t see these teams until March. It gives you an opportunity to play them and build high-school hockey in this area.”
Downingtown West coach Brett Mackel, who saw his team drop to 2-2 on the season, echoed those sentiments.
“I like that they added the crossover games this year,” he said. “Especially teams that we usually wouldn’t see until the Flyers Cup. It’s great having different teams come in, especially teams we’re not used to seeing.”
Sam Norton scored two goals for North Penn. Nolan Shingle was also credited with two goals while James Boyle produced a goal and an assist.
Goals from Bryce Schuler and Ryder Jones gave the Whippets a 2-1 lead 7:54 into the second period. Norton tied the game for North Penn with 2:18 left in the period and Boyle’s power-play goal 77 seconds later gave his team the lead for good at 3-2.
“I thought we came out a little flat,” Boyle said, “but then we picked it right back up. Then we got back on them.”
Shingle extended North Penn’s lead on a shot from the deep right wing with 6:29 left in regulation. His second goal was a power-play effort with 4:46 left after the Whippets were accessed a bench minor.
Norton added his second goal of the evening with two minutes to play when he lofted the puck from his own blue line into an empty net.
Aidan Quigley earned the win in goal with 26 saves, many of them achieved with heavy traffic in his field of view.
Mackel felt his team performed well in some areas but was lacking in others.
“We had a lot of penalty kills that we ended up killing off,” he said. We gave up two power-play goals, but other than that our kill was good.
Our goaltender [Justin Adams] gave up two power-play goals but he played pretty well.
“Negatives. We didn’t shoot the puck as much as we needed to tonight. Our defensive zone was pretty sloppy.”
North Penn 1 2 3—6
D-Town West 0 2 0—2
First-period goal: Gabriel Dunn (NP) from Aidan Quigley, 2:48
Second-period goals: Bryce Schuler (DW) from Ryder Jones, :44; Jones (DW) from Reed Surak, 7:54; Sam Norton (NP) from Chase Kelly Del Ricci, 14:42; James Boyle (NP) from Norton and Luke Haftel. 15:59
Third-period goals: Nolan Shingle (MP) from Cole Pluck, 10:31; Shingle (NP) from Boyle and Pluck, 12:16 (pp); Norton (NP) unassisted, 15:00 (en)
Shots: North Penn 35, Downingtown West 28; Saves: Aidan Quigley (NP) 26, Justin Adams (DW) 29
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