Holy Ghost Prep 5 Hun School 2

Holy Ghost Prep started fast on Tuesday and kept on going. A pair of first-period goals gave the Firebirds a 2-0 lead and propelled them to a 5-2 win over Hun School in the APAC play in game at Grundy Arena.

Fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (11-12) earned a date with top seed and defending champion La Salle Wednesday at 4:00 at the Class of 1923 Arena at the University of Pennsylvania. Fifth-seeded Hun School closed its season at 4-11.

Having twice defeated the Raiders during the regular season, the hosts took the ice on Tuesday looking to set a tone. Pat Slook’s goal 3:12 into the opening period did just that. Jack Gavaghan made it a 2-0 on a shot from the right point with 2:34 left in the period.

“We knew that if we just jumped on them, it we got one early, we could keep rolling through them,” Slook said. “The plan was to get pucks deep and go at them, work in the corners and just grind out. Getting that first goal was a big one early.”

Nathan Romer and Caine Bickel added power-play goals for the Firebirds in the second frame, just over five minutes apart.

Special teams were impactful for much of a game that featured 12 minor penalties, six to each side.

A.J. Prete made it a 5-0 game 2:20 into the third period and the Firebirds seemed to have things well in hand.

At that point the Raiders, who had just 14 skaters dressed, seemed to be running low on energy. Following Prete’s goal, P.J. Angotti replaced Julien Arseneault in the Hun School net

But the visitors never stopped working and their effort paid off when Charles-Etienne Jette got the puck past Firebird netminder Jack Unger 5:35 into the final session. Joachim Neverdahl added a shorthanded goal just shy of four minutes later.

Hun School coach Eric Szeker celebrated his young team’s work ethic.

“My guys gave it everything they had,” he said. “Fatigue, whatever it might be, they made no excuses.

“We came out in the third when everything was against us and we still put a great effort out. That tells you about the [team] more than the score will.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie notes there is still work left to do as his team evolves.

“We gave up a couple breakaways late in the second period,” he said. “A young team starts to cheat a little bit when they have some success offensively and I thought we did that. It ended up hurting us.”

With the ‘second season’ now underway, Slook is encouraged by the progress he and his teammates have made over the course of the campaign.

“We grew as a team,” he said. “I think we hit a few speed bumps along the way but I think we just stayed together as a team and worked through it, and I think we’re in pretty good shape for the playoffs.”

Ice chips: Nine Hun School players concluded their high-school careers this season … The Holy Ghost Prep-La Salle game will be the first game of an APAC semifinal doubleheader matching Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep. is scheduled for a 6:15 start.

The results of the playoffs will not impact Flyers Cup tournament seedings.

Hun School 0 0 2—2

HGP 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Patrick Slook (HGP) from Jake McCaw, 3:12; Jack Gavaghan (HGP) from Andrew Morgan and A.J. Prete, 14:26

Second-period goals: Nathan Romer (HGP) from Caine Bickel, 2:30 (pp); Bickel (HGP) from Colin Bara, 7:41 (pp);

Third-period goals; Prete (HGP) from Joseph Kaufmann, 2:20; Charles-Etienne Jette from Andrew Darst, 5:35; Joachim Neverdahl (HS) from Justin Laplante and P.J. Angotti, 9:25 (sh);

Shots: Hun School 21 Holy Ghost Prep 39; Saves: Julien Arseneault (HS) and P.J. Angotti (HS) 34, Jack Unger (HGP) 19

For more about Holy Ghost Prep CLICK HERE

For more about The Hun School CLICK HERE

SHSHL Playoff Schedule 2024

SHSHL Playoff Schedule (Revised)

Wednesday, February 21

National Division Quarterfinal

3. Central Bucks South vs. 6. Souderton

7:20 at Hatfield Ice

American Division Semifinal

2. Bensalem vs. 3. Abington

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Thursday, February 22

National Division Quarterfinal

4. Central Bucks East vs. 5 North Penn

7:10 at Hatfield Ice

Wednesday, February 28

National Division Semifinals

Pennridge vs. North Penn or C.B. East

8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Council Rick South vs. C.B. South or Souderton

7:20 at Grundy Arena

American Division Final

Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Abington or Bensalem

6:50 at Hatfield Ice

Thursday, February 29

National Division Final (tentative)

SHSHL Update for 2-19-24

Final Regular Season Standings

National Division W L T OW OL Pts

Pennridge (17-1-2) 16 0 1 1 0 0 34

Council Rock South (18-1-0) 17 1 0 0 0 34

Cent. Bucks South (12-7-1) 12 5 1 0 2 27

Central Bucks East (11-5-2) 11 5 2 2 0 24

North Penn (10-7-1) 10 7 1 0 0 21

Souderton (7-11-0) 7 11 0 4 2 18

Pennsbury (4-13-1) 4 13 1 0 2 11

Council Rock North (2-13-0) 4 14 0 1 1 9

Cent. Bucks West (3-14-1) 3 14 1 0 1 8

Neshaminy (1-14-3) 1 14 3 0 0 5

American Division W L T OW OL Pts

Plymouth White. (13-3) 11 1 0 0 1 23

Bensalem (12-3) 9 3 0 1 1 19

Abington (6-9-1) 5 7 0 0 0 10

Springfield (3-12) 3 9 0 0 0 6

Wissahickon (2-13) 2 10 0 1 4

National Division Scoring G A Pts

Kevin Pico (Pr) 28 47 75

Andrew Savona (Pr) 40 31 71

Maxwell Ryon (Soud) 43 20 63

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 27 33 60

Seth Grossman (Soud) 24 30 54

Kevin Koles (CRS) 24 26 50

Jake Weiner (CRS) 28 20 48

Blaize Pepe (CRS) 16 27 43

Nolan Shingle (NP) 9 30 39

Corey Kosick (CBE) 26 12 38

American Division Scoring G A Pts

Alex Hood (Bens) 52 18 70

Alex Bazylevich (Bens) 15 27 42

David Branigan (PW) 23 16 39

Dylan Novitski (PW) 19 12 31

Seamus Donofry (Ab) 7 23 30

Jason Segal (PW) 14 16 30

Lucas Gonalez (Bens) 10- 19 29

Tim Murphy (PW) 10 19 29

Daniel Guller (PW) 9 19 28

Owen Quinn (Sp) 18 10 28

Playoff Ponderings—APAC

Tuesday, February 20

APAC Play In

#5 Hun School at #4 Holy Ghost Prep

4:00 Grundy Arena

Hun School (4-10, 1-7 APAC)

A young Raider squad battled inexperience and injuries for much of the season. Justin Laplante scored four goals and added three assist in conference play. Julian Arsenault (.920 save percentage) and P.J. Angotti are both solid in goal.

Holy Ghost Prep (10-12, 3-5 APAC)

A young team matured as the season progressed.

Anthony Valeriote leads the team in scoring with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in all competitions. Matt Cholaj has scored three goals and added 10 assists for 13 points.Jake McCaw finished regular season with nine goals and added four assists for 13 points; 3-3-6 in APAC play. Jack Unger is the probable starter in goal (.958 save percentage, 0.84 GAA in conference play; .893/2.36 in all competitions).

Wednesday, February 21

#1 La Salle vs Hun School/Holy Ghost Prep

4:00 at Class of 1923 Rink

La Salle (18-3, 8-0 APAC)

The defending conference, Flyers Cup, and state champion Explorers are seeking their fourth outright APAC title in the conference’s six-year history (they’ve also shared another). Dean Carvalho led the APAC in scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points. He tallied 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points in all competitions. Patrick Brace has collected eight goals and 11 assists for 19 point in all competitions; 4-3-7 in the APAC. Goaltender Jake Rossi has a season-long save percentage of .936 and a GAA of 1.63; .954/1.13 in conference play.

#3 St. Joseph’s Prep vs #2 Malvern Prep

6:15 at Class of 1923 Rink

St. Joseph’s Prep (14-5, 4-4 APAC)

A corps of young players combined with veteran leadership to record some impressive results for the Hawks this season. Brayden Collins led the team in scoring with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points; 3-3-6 in conference play. John Lynch scored four goals and added 11 assists overall. Jake Schultz was the Hawks’ top scoring in APAC competition with four goals and three assists for seven points; 7-5-12 overall. Jacob Aranda started every conference game in goal and finished league play with an .894 saver percentage and a 3.09 GAA; .893/2.85 overall.

Malvern Prep (9-7, 4-4 APAC)

The Friars had their ups and down early on, but rebounded to win six of their last nine games. Jeremy Jacobs led the team in scoring with 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points; 5-6-11 in conference play. Caiden Canale deposited six goals and added seven assists for 13 points in all competitions; 1-4-5 in the APAC. Brady Doyle added five goals and seven assists overall; 1-4-5 in conference play. Goaltender Matt Crawford turned in a .935 save percentage in APAC play with a 2.27 GAA; .911-2.62 in all competitions.

APAC Update for 2-16-24

Final Regular Season Standings

W L OTW OTL Pts GF GA

La Salle (18-3) 8 0 0 0 24 36 9

Malvern Prep (9-7) 4 4 2 2 12 18 20

St. Joseph’s Prep (14-5) 4 4 1 0 11 28 25

Holy Ghost Prep (10-12) 3 5 0 1 9 13 20

Hun School (4-10) 1 7 0 1 3 16 37

Playoff Schedule

Tuesday 2-20

4:00 (5) Hun School vs. (4) Holy Ghost Prep at Grundy Arena

Wednesday, February 21

4:00 Hun School or Holy Ghost Prep vs. (1). La Salle

6:15 (3) Malvern Prep vs. (2) St. Joseph’s Prep

Both game at Class of 1923 Rink

Wednesday, February 28

Tentative date for Founders Cup final to be hosted by highest seeded finalist

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts. PPG

Dan Carvalho (L) 8 6 6 12 1.50

Jeremy Jacobs (MP) 8 5 6 11 1.38

Patrick Brace (L) 8 4 3 7 0.88

William Carpenter (L) 8 1 6 7 0.88

Justin Laplante (HS) 8 4 3 7 0.88

Jake Schultz (SJP) 7 4 3 7 0.88

Ryan Levesque (HS) 6 1 4 5 0.83

Jake McCaw (HGP) 8 3 3 6 0.75

Brayden Collins (SJP) 8 3 3 6 0.75

Julian Tarsi (L) 8 3 3 6 0.75

Declan Kelly (L) 8 1 5 6 0.75

Will Gregorio (L) 8 1 5 6 0.75

Tristan Winata (SJP) 8 6 0 6 0.75

Save Pct (Conference Games) GP Shots GA Save Pct.

Jack Unger (HGP) 4 72 3 .958

Jake Rossi (L) 7 197 9 .954

Matt Crawford (MP) 7 293 19 .935

Julian Arseneault (HS) 4 200 16 .920

Jaccob Aranda (SJP) 8 235 25 .894

Goals Against (Conference Games)

Jack Unger (HGP) 0.84

Jake Rossi (L) 1.13

Matt Crawford (MP) 2.27

Jacob Aranda (SJP) 3.09

Julian Arsenault (HS) 3.10

(Goaltemders must have played 153 minutes in conference games)

La Salle 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 3

La Salle overcame a 3-0 second-period deficit to stun St. Joseph’s Prep 5-3 Wednesday evening in an APAC game at the Class of 1923. The Explorers scored five goals in the third period to conclude conference play with a perfect 8-0 record (18-3 overall).

Dean Carvalho scored two goals for La Salle and assisted on another. Alex Fusaro, Alistair St. Hilaire, and Patrick Brace also scored goals.

Tristan Winada gave the Hawks (14-5, 4-4) a 1-0 lead with 18 seconds left in the first period. Brayden Collins and Calum Hartnell added goals in the second period.

La Salle 0 0 5—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 0—3

First period goals: Tristan Winada (SJP) from Brayden Collins, 16:42

Second-period goals: Collins (SJP) from John Lynch and Cole Garson, 8:44; Calum Hartnell (SJP) from Caden Kelly, 16:48

Third-period goals: Dean Carvalho (L) from Alex Fusaro and Ben Faliclki, 5:55; Fusaro (L) from Thomas Ducet and Liam Donahue, 12:34; Alistair St. Hilaire (L) from Carvalho and Julian Trasi, 14:23; Carvalho (L) from Will Carpenter, 15:49; Patrick Brace (L) unassisted, 16:59 (en)

Shots: Saves:

Holy Ghost Prep 4 C.B. South 0

Holy Ghost Prep scored three times in the first period Monday night and went on to a 4-0 win over Central Bucks South in a non-league encounter at Flyers Skate Zone Northeast.

The matchup served as a tuneup for both the Titans and the Firebirds as they set their sights on postseason play next week in the APAC and the SHSHL National Division respectively.

Cane Bickel, Matt Cholaj, and Colin Bara all scored for Holy Ghost Prep in a span of 2:18 to put the Firebirds up 3-0 with 2:55 left in the first period.

Patrick Oser added a goal with 2:57 left in the middle period.

C.B. South 0 0

Holy Ghost Prep 3 1

First-period goals: Caine Bickel (HGP) from Anthony Valerote, 11:47; Matt Cholaj (HGP) from Nathan Romer, 12:17; Colin Bara (HGP) from Brian Kinniry, 14:05

Second-period goals: Patrick Oser (HGP) from Daniel McCullion and Valerote, 14:03

Shots: C.B. South 27, Holy Ghost Prep 35

SHSHL Playoff Schedule Set

With all the playoff qualifiers having been determined, game times and sites have been set for the first phase of the SHSHL Playoffs.

The Class AA (National Division) quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, February 21 at Hatfield Ice with third-seeded Central Bucks South taking on sixth-seeded Souderton (7:20). The same night in the same building, fourth-seeded Central Bucks East will face number-five North Penn (8:30).

Pennridge and Council Rock South, who are assured of the top two seeds (Order of finish TBD) have byes into the semifinals the week of February 28.

The one-game Class A (American Division) semifinal is set for that same night, Wednesday, February 21 with second seed Bensalem hosting number-three Abington at Grundy Arena (7:20).

The winner will face top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh the week of February 28.

The results of the playoffs will have no impact on the selections and seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament, which will be announced February 25.

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Holy Ghost Prep 6 Haverford School 0

Anthony Prete scored two goals and four other players scored one goal each as the Firebirds bested the Fords to win their Senior Night game at Grundy Arena Friday night.

Colin Bara, Patrick Slook, Brendan Schultz, and Joseph Kaufmann all scored for Holy Ghost Prep (9-12), which broke the game open with three goals in the second period.

Dillon Gallagher earned the shutout in goal.

Haverford School 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 1 3 2—6

C.B. South 6 C.B. East 2

Like the pieces of a puzzle fitting together, The SHSHL’s National Division playoff mosaic is taking shape, with a huge assist from Central Bucks South,

Six different players scored goals as the Titans downed Central Bucks East 6-2 Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, a result that solidifies the division’s playoff bracket.

With the win, South (12-4-1 in the division, 12-5-1 overall) is assured of finishing third in the division standings while the Patriots (10-5-2 overall and in the division) will finish fourth. Both will see action in the opening round of the playoffs in two weeks.

On Thursday night, the Titans. heightened their focus, and turned in a workmanlike, no-frills, effort. D.J. Lindenmuth, their captain, scored a goal and assisted on three others.

The senior noted the importance of the veterans on the roster setting the right tone for their teammates.

“The younger guys look up to the veterans,” he said. “Of we’re not leading by example, or going out and stat padding, or going out and playing for ourselves, no one is going to win a game like that because it’s a team sport.

Tyan Frey, with help from Lindenmuth, and Grant Boyne, gave South a 2-0 first-period lead.

Corey Kosick scored for East 4:42 into the second period to make it a one-goal game for a time but Lindenmuth answered with 2:38 left in the period.

Jaden Young’s tally 4:42 into the third frame made things interesting but the Titans left in the Patriots in their wake when Sean Cutter, Jeff Kvectcher, and Joey Slobodrian scored goals in a two-and-a-half minute span.

South coach Shaun McGinty expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.

“The boys needed that,” he said. “I thought it was three good periods.

“We definitely got to work, getting the puck deep, playing the physicality.”

McGinty stressed the importance if his team playing quality five-on-five hockey.

“I said to [his players] ‘You have an identity, you have to play that way,” he said. “You can’t sway into other teams’ ways and you can’t sway into individual high-powered offense.

“You stay five on five and play our way, pucks deep, playing physical. I thought our defense was much better than it had been the last two games.

“All in all, it was definitely a good team win, something that they needed.”

Lindenmuth says that with the postseason approaching, he and his teammates are focusing on what is to come.

“We’re definitely dialed in,” he said, “focusing on the path ahead, realizing it’s important to win these games, but not just game.

“Every period, every shift, every point, every goal, everything matters.”

Ice chips: The final order of finish in the National Division; Pennridge and Council Rock South are assured of the top two spots, the final order will be determined next week.

The next four spots will belong to Central Bucks South, Central Bucks East, North Penn, and Souderton in that order.

C.B. South 2 1 3—6

C.B. East 0 11—2

First-period goals: Ryan Frey (CBS) from DJ. Lindenmuth, 5:49; Grant Boyne (CBS) from Peter Herring, 11:34

Second-period goals: Corey Kosick (CBE) from Ethan Cenci and David Brown, 4:42; Lindenmuth (CBS) unassisted, 14:22

Third-period goals: Jaden Young (CBE) from Drew Trask and Gavin Widmer, 4:42; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 5:49; Jeff Kvectcher (CBS) from Logan Hood and Keith Waldron, 6:48; Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 8:21

Shots: C.B. South 45, C.B. East 21; Saves: Nate Napolitano (CBS) 19, Cole Breen (CBE) 39