Pennridge 8 Avon Grove 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— It was hockey’s equivalent of a first-round knockout. Pennridge scored three times before the contest was nine minutes old and went on to an 8-1 win over Avon Grove Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The top-seeded Rams (20-0-1) will face third-seeded Council Rock South in an all-SHSHL final at this same venue, likely next Monday or Tuesday. Fifth-seeded Avon Grove closed at 14-8-0-1.

As impressive as Pennridge has been this season coach, Jeff Montagna felt his team reached a new level on this night.

“I thought was by far the best game they’ve played all year,” he said. “On the biggest stage. And in the biggest game of their lives up until that moment.”

Andrew Savona the Rams off to a fast start when he beat Justin Mackey in the Red Devils’ net 4:16 into the opening period off a feed from Kevin Pico. Shane Dachowski followed at 8:09 and Pico extended the Rams’ lead just 30 seconds later.

Jack Lowery, who assisted on two of the Rams goals, said the Rams were energized by the fast start. “The past few games we’ve been coming out a little slow,” he said, “and going down early. “We talked in the locker room before this game; the biggest thing is to come out here, score a couple goals fast.

“(Avon Grove is looking up to us. We’re the one seed. We want them chasing us, playing our game and get them off theirs. That’s exactly what we did tonight.”

Savona and Dachowski finished the evening with two goals each. Pico had two assists to go with his goal. A total of six players had multi-point games.

Lowery pointed out that the Rams’ fast-paced style is easier to implement with veteran Ryan Pico in goal.

“We can rely on Ryan every game,” he said. “Every game, no matter what, he’s back there making good saves for us. When you have a goalie like that, you can take some chances.”

Avon Grove’s only goal was a power-play effort off the stick of Brendan Chandler 6:33 into the third period.

The Flyers Cup final and possibly a state championship game are still ahead but Lowery, a senior knows his time with the Rams is drawing to a close. That realization has sharpened his focus.

“These are the last games I’m going to be playing competitively in youth hockey,” he said. “All I want to do is win, that’s all we want to do.”

Avon Grove 0 0 1—1

Pennridge 3 1 1 3—8

First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Kevin Pico, 4:16; Shane Dachowski (P) from Aidan Boyle and Jack Lowery, 8:09; Pico (P) from Tyler Manto, 8:39

Second-period goals: Manto (P) from Dachowski, 11:49 (sh)

Third-period goals: Savona (P) from Pico, 1:32; Brendan Chandler (AG) from Will Gorman, 6:33 (pp); Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) unassisted, 10:57 (pp); Ryan Schuler (PP) from David, 14:22; Dachowski (P) from Lowery and Schuler,16:24

Shots: Avon Grove 26, Pennridge 39; Saves: Justin Mackley (AG) 31, Ryan Pico (Pr) 25

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 La Salle 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— The evening’s festivities didn’t feature an abundance of artistry. The matchup between St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle was a gritty, grind-it-out hockey game between two foes intimately familiar with each other.

It was Hawks who emerged from the scrum victorious by a count of 2-0 in a Class AAA semifinal Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice.

Jeffrey Hammond scored both goals to propel the third-seed Hawks (10-8-1) into next week’s final against top-seeded Malvern Prep. The junior spoke to the level of familiarity between the Hawks and the Explorers, who are traditional rivals in every sport.

“All the videos of our games are on You Tube,” he said. “All the players and coaches watched a lot of our games, over and over again and we picked out what we needed to do to come out with a win today.”

Hammond said all the preparation paid off. “We definitely came prepared,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. Everyone expected it. Everyone played like they had to to get the job done.”

Hammond gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead 4:27 into the first period when he scored off a scramble in front of the La Salle net, beating Explorer netminder Will Braun. The early goal set the tone.

Jeffrey Hammond scores the game’s first goal.

“We knew going into it that they’ve got the speed,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin said of the Explorers. “They are strong, they like to bang the body.

“I told them as long as we keep them on the outside, don’t give up the little gritty goals, take away the behind the net, we would have a chance.

“We were lucky enough to get two good goals early, and they had to play catchup, which is hard to do.”

Hammond scored a statement goal for the Hawks 8:31 into the second session. With his teammate Nick Storti serving a two-minute sentence for a slashing infraction, Hammond found space on right wing and beat Braun with a wrister.

That was it as far as scoring was concerned, although the game’s emotional temperature remained at a fever pitch.

Jeffrey Hammond scores his second goal of the game.

But try as they might the second-seeded Explorers (8-9-1) couldn’t find a way to sustain momentum in their offensive zone or solve Hawks’ goaltender Rocco Bruno who finished with 26 saves.

“We just couldn’t seem to get any bounces or any momentum going,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “I think the shorthanded goal we gave up really hurt us.

“I think St. Joseph’s Prep played a great game. They were opportunistic. They played a really good game.”

Emotions boiled over in the late going. With 1:38 left in the third period La Salle’s Chase Hannon was called for elbowing before being accessed three additional penalties, resulting in his banishment.

A series of penalties with 36 seconds left resulted in the teams finishing the game with three skaters each on the ice although La Salle had already pulled Braun to add an extra skater.

St. Joseph’s 1 1 0—2

La Salle 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) fro Joey Samango and Christian Short, 4:27

Second-period goals: Hammond (SJP) unassisted, 8:31 (sh)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 20, La Salle 26; Saves Rocco Bruno (SJP) 26, Will Braun (L) 18

Video provided by Erin Schneider

Getsie and Malvern Prep Primed for Flyers Cup

Steve Getsie was drawn to Malvern Prep because of his passion for hockey and lacrosse. By all accounts, it’s been a good fit. The junior defenseman will be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Friars face off against Holy Ghost Prep in the Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinals at Ice Line (6:45 start).

Malvern Prep is the defending Flyers Cup and state champion and recently claimed the APAC title.

Getsie is in his third varsity season, a stay-at-home defenseman who does the little things well and processes a strong work ethic. Not that he didn’t have some adjustments to make at first. Like most newcomers to high school hockey, he had to become comfortable playing with and against players who were bigger, stronger, and older.

“I’m a January ‘05 birthday,” he said, “so I was usually older than most of the kids I played with. My eighth- grade year I was playing with ‘06s, so I was so I was a lot bigger than most of the guys I was playing against, so when I came into high school it was definitely a change to be playing on varsity against seniors that were a lot bigger and stronger than me.”

Getsie prides himself on being a physical player, but he had to tone down that side of his game when he first came to Malvern Prep because of the physical maturity of his teammates and opponents.

”Just because being a younger guy out there was a little bit different,” he said.

But the foundation of Getsie’s game remained unchanged.

“I definitely just played my game of hockey,” he said. “I didn’t come in and try to do something else. I feel like I’ve always been more of a defensive defenseman than an offensive defenseman. Coming to Malvern, I was definitely able to harp on those strengths.

“I would be a physical player, I would block a bunch of shots and a lot of the older guys, when I was a freshman and sophomore, they really respected me for putting my body on the line for the team. So, that was able to help me fit in on the team and that’s kind of my place still, being a defensive defenseman that puts his body on the line and plays for the team.”

The Friars have set a standard of excellence for two seasons now. Many of their players play together at the club level. Getsie says that familiarity breeds success.

“We’ve been together for the last three years, pretty much,” he said. “The star players that are the juniors and senior Jimmy (Jacobs) Pierre (Larocque), (Matt) Harris and Quinn Dougherty, they’ve all been playing on the same team since our freshman and sophomore years, so this has all been over the last three years.

“Just being able to play with each other on Malvern as well as most of those guys playing in the same organization or on the same team elsewhere. I think that has allowed everyone to develop good chemistry the last three years. And then it has helped Malvern develop into the kind of team we are.”

Getsie notes that the culture at Malvern Prep encourages unselfishness, and that mindset carries over onto the ice.

“I think it’s kind of the history of Malvern hockey,” he said, “whether we were a top team or not. The seniors, and the older guys before those guys, kind of set (the standard) to always be a leader for the team and not a self-centered guy.

“As well as at Malvern, we kind of have that theme of brotherhood and I’ve definitely seen that come out on the team as well the school in total just going through Covid. Everyone has come together and we’re all like a family so, I feel like in the environment we have on our team, nobody plays for themselves and they all want what’s best for the team.”

The Friars are focused on successfully defending the Class AAA Flyers Cup, something that hasn’t happened since 2014.

“The mindset is ‘Take advantage of what we have,’” Getsie said. “We have another really good team this year and all of us would love to win it again. We’ve been practicing and we’re making sure we’re staying primed, staying in the atmosphere and mindset of hockey. We’re going to hit the ice on Wednesday and play like we left off last game.”

La Salle’ Keenan Schneider Keying Up For Flyers Cu

Keenan Schneider is looking forward to the Flyers Cup tournament.

The La Salle senior forward will be counted on to play a significant role when the Explorers face off against St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night in a Class AAA semifinal (6:00 at Hatfield Ice).

The Flyers Cup tournament is the highlight of the scholastic hockey season and teams, players, and coaches alike embrace it. But the tournament might mean more to Schneider than most. Just two days before Thanksgiving he suffered a shoulder injury in a game against Christian Brothers Academy. In its aftermath, Schneider thought his season and La Salle career might be at an end.

“In the heat of the moment, in the back of my head, I was thinking at it was the end of my high-school career,” he said, “and all could think about was just watching my team play on the sidelines while was out for the season. But thankfully, I got a lot of tests done, I’ve been through rehab the past four or five months. Every day I still have to work on it, my shoulder, and I’m just staying positive and keeping my strength up in my shoulder so I can prevent a further injury from happening.

It was during this period that Schneider’s teammates and in fact the entire La Salle community rallied around him. That support mean a lot to him.

“It’s one of the most important things,” he said. “The most important things about a team is sticking together. And making sure everyone is on the same page. When I got hurt, my teammates, my coaches and even some teachers were just praying for me and hoping for the best. And they were just saying “Keep your head high, it will all work itself out.”

Keenan Schneider (provided by Erin Schneider)

Schneider was able to return to the lineup and finished the APAC season with five goals and two assists. The Explorers wound up losing the Founders Cup final to Malvern Prep.

The Flyers Cup tournament offers a fresh start. The Explorers will have had a two week break before taking the ice for their semifinal, which has given Head Coach Wally Muehlbronner and his players time to do some fine tuning in practice.

“This is the most practices we’ve had in a while,” Schneider said, “because of our game schedule, and dealing with (club) and stuff.

“Basically right now, we’re just going over our system, we’re just focusing on what our game is and what we need to do to be successful.”

Schneider, who has played approximately 85 games this season between his high school and club teams, is using the break to recharge mentally and physically.”

“I just try to stay calm and collected,” he said. ”I try to balance out (his hockey commitments) fairly evenly and just take care of my body as I get some days of rest. I just love the game so nothing can really bring me down that much where I can’t play.

“I’m always wanting to play and always wanting to compete. And basically, just mentally staying focused on what the goal is, and that’s winning the Flyers Cup.”

Schneider’s four years of high school coincide with the APAC’s first four seasons. “The APC is probably one of the most competitive leagues I have ever played in,” Schneider said. If you don’t come out with your A game, any team can beat anyone.

“That’s the best part about it, just how each team is competitive. Every team is good enough to beat the others. It’s always the team that shows up is the one that wins.”

Schneider cites the respect that the conference’s players and coaches display on the ice.

“Our coach and I believe every other coach, they all stress the fact to respect the game,” he said. “Every school wants to respect not only themselves but each other and who they play, to keep the game just a game and not let emotions fall though.

“I think every school is pretty respectful of each other and every school has the same goal. It can get very competitive and that’s why our league is so much more disciplined because we have that level of respect for each other.”

Updated Flyers Cup Schedule as of 3-11-21

Tuesday, March 15

Class A Semifinals

West Chester East 6 Hershey 1

Springfield-Delco 6 Palmyra 1

Girls First Round

Unionville 3 Kingsway 0

5 Pennridge Conestoga 3

Wednesday, March 16

Class AAA Semifinals

St. Joseph’s Prep 2, La Salle 0

Malvern Prep 6 Holy Ghost Prep 2

Class AA Semifinals

Pennridge 8 vs Avon Grove 1

Council Rick South 4 Haverford 1

Thursday, March 17

Girls Quarterfinal

Downingtown West 8 Pennridge 1

NJ/Delaware

Friday, March 18

Salesianum 4 Moorsetown 1

Eastern 10 vs Shawnee 3

Pennridge 7 Downingtown East 5

On Pennsylvania scholastic hockey’s biggest stage, and with the game in the balance Aidan Boyle came up big. The Pennridge senior delivered two assists and scored the winning goal, all in the third period as Pennridge scored four times in the final stanza to score a 7-5 win over Downingtown East Thursday night in a Flyers Cup Class AA quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice.

The top-seeded Rams (19-0-1) will face Avon Grove in a semifinal game next Wednesday at 8:40 at Hatfield Ice.

The fans that filled the rink Thursday night got their money’s worth. There was little to choose between the Cougars and Rams who went into the tied at 3-3.

Jack Wolf’s third goal of the game gave eighth-seeded Downingtown East a 4-3 lead at the 2:37 mark but goals from Colin Dachowski and Andrew Savona put Pennridge up 5-4 with 6:41 left in regulation. Boyle assisted on both goals.

Parker Nassour tied the game for the Cougars with 5:13 left on a shot from between the circles that Pennridge goaltender Ryan Pico couldn’t handle.

The deciding sequence was set up when the Cougars’ Sean Woods was called for tripping with 3:08 remaining, one of 16 penalties called in the game, all minors. During the subsequent power play, Boyle played the puck to Kevin Pico behind the net who in turn moved to the side of the net and tried to tuck the disk inside the right post before sliding the disk across to Boyle who put it behind Downingtown East goaltender Ian Warter with 1:36 remaining in regulation.

“We know the third period is our best period of hockey that we always play,” Boyle said. “We always come out hot in the third period and we knew we had it. We just had to work hard.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna credited his team for stepping up when Ryan Pico, one of the area’s best goaltenders, was at less than peak form.

“Pico has been our rock for three years,” he said. “He wasn’t on top of his game, we picked him up.

“You watch the NCAA basketball tournament, the team that wins always has one game where they’re on the ropes. The words I like to use are facing their mortality. And they did that, and like they have all year they responded. They do that every game.”

The teams were never separated by more than a goal until Shane Dachowski scored into an empty net in the final minute. But Boyle was confident the Rams would prevail.

“We all knew that we weren’t losing this game,” he said. “We just went out there and said ‘We’re playing next week, we’re not going home tonight.’”

Downingtown East 2 1 2—5

Pennridge 2 1 4—7

First-period goals: Jacob McCallion (DE) from Matthew Sano and Carter Vela, 2:01; Kevin Pico (P) from Tyler Manto, 3:36; Jack Wolf (DE) from Vela and Aaron Harclerode, 7:38; Shane Dachowski (P) from Jack Lowery, 14:06 (pp)

Second-period goals: Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Lowery and Colin Dachowski, 4:55; Wolf (DE) unassisted, 6:16 (sh)

Third-period goals: Wolf (DE) from Parker Nassour and Sean Woods, 2:37; Colin Dachowski (P) from Aidan Boyle, 6:17; Andrew Savona (P) from Boyle, 10:19; Nassour (DE) from Wolf and Brody Matthews, 11:47; Boyle (P) from Pico, 15:34 (pp); Shane Dachowski (P) from Lehrhaupt, 16:05 (en)

Shots: Downingtown East 32, Pennridge 46; Saves: Ian Warter (DE) 39, Ryan Pico (Pr) 27

St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Cardinal O’Hara 1

Liam Mooney and Michael Ahearn each scored two goals as St, Joseph’s Prep downed Cardinal O’Hara 6-1 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup first-round game at the PNY rink.

The third-seeded Hawks will face second-seeded La Salle in a semifinal game ay 6:00 next Wednesday at Hatfield Ice.

Mooney and Luca Palachick scored goals 2 minutes, 3 seconds apart to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead with 7:02 left in the opening period. Hammond added a goal 3:37 into the second session.
Luke Melito’s power-play goal got the sixth-seeded Lions on the board at the 9:16 mark but Mooney (on a power play) and Ahearn scored for the Hawks before the period ended.

Ahearn added his second goal 4:04 into the third period.

Rocco Bruno and Ajay White split the game in goal for the Hawks.

Cardinal O’Hara 0 1 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 3 1—6

First-period goals: Liam Mooney (SJP) from Jeffrey Hammond, 7:55; Luca Palachick (SJP) from Cathal Dowd and Michael Ahearn, 9:58

Second-period goals: Hammond (SJP) from Joey Samango and Christian Short, 3:37; Luke Melito (COH) from Nate Fox, 9:16 (pp); Mooney (SJP) from Short, 10:32 (pp) Ahearn (SJP) from Palachick and Short, 15:59

Third-period goal: Ahearn (SJP) from Dowd and Palachick, 12:56

Shots: Cardinal O’Hara 10, St. Joseph’s Prep 46 Saves: Christian Green (COH) 39, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 3 and Ajay White (SJP) 6

Holy Ghost Prep 7 Father Judge 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Teams often look at a postseason tournament as an opportunity for a fresh start. Holy Ghost Prep embraced that mindset Thursday night. The Firebirds scored three times in a three-minute span in the first period and went on to a 7-2 win over Father Judge in Class AAA Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

The fourth-seeded Firebirds (11-11) will face top-seeded and defending champion Malvern Prep in a semifinal game at 6:45 next Wednesday at Ice Line.

The Firebirds’ eruption began 6:38 into the first frame when Shaun Moore scored off a scramble in front of the Crusader net. Michael Holt made it a 2-0 game at the 9:13 mark and John Seravalli followed right behind him at 9:37, the Firebirds’ third goal in a span of 2:59.

Senior Dominick Lombardo assisted Seravalli’s goal. “Going in, we knew we were coming off a couple hard losses,” he said. “We had a good win (In the APAC playoffs) against Hun and then we ended up taking a hard loss against (Malvern Prep).

“Going into this game, we just came in all as a team. We knew we could beat Judge, we beat them before (9-2 during the regular season).”

Lombardo noted the importance of the Firebirds’ fast start.

“For me, I knew it (could be) my last game,” he said. “If we lost, I would have been done. “So, I’m playing for me, I’m playing for the seniors, I’m playing for the kids that are hurt. Everything we do is for all the seniors.”

The fifth-seeded Crusaders made it a one-goal game for time in the second period when Anthony Casper and Matthew Moser scored goals 15 seconds apart to make it a 3-2 game with 6:21 still to go in the period. But Logan Barnes, Brendan Schultz, and Kieran Mulholland scored in a span of 3:37 to send Holy Ghost Prep into the third period with a four-goal advantage.

Moore scored the only goal of the third period.

It was the sort of performance Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside had been waiting for a while.

“I knew we had it in us,” he said. “I really liked our start. Those three goals in the first period really helped us get our game in gear.

“I thought we let up a little bit. But I liked the way we responded.”

Father Judge 0 2 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 3 3 1—7

First-period goals: Shaun Moore (HGP) from Landon Stout, 6:38; Michael Holt (HGP) from John Seavalli, 9:13; Seravalli (HGP) from Sean Marshall and Dominic Lombardo, 9:37

Second-period goals: Anthony Casper (FJ) from Michael Fontaine and Matthew Moser, 10:24; Moser (FJ) unassisted, 10:39; Logan Barnes (HGP) from Ryan Lippy, 11:25; Brendan Schutzenhofer (HGP) from Marshall, 13:02; Kieran Mulholland (HGP) from Zach Pers, 15:02

Third-period goal: Shaun Moore (HGP) from Mulholland and Pers, 14:37

Shots: Father Judge 21, Holy Ghost Prep 46; Saves: Coin McKee (FJ) 39, Jason Soule (HGP) 20

Flyers Cup Schedule for Thursday, March 10

Class A Quarterfinals

West Chester East 11 Radnor 1

Hershey 3 vs 5 Council Rock North 0

Palmyra 3 West Chester Bayard Rustin 1

Springfield Delco 4 West Chester Henderson 1

Class AAA First Round

4 Holy Ghost Prep 7 Father Judge 2

3 St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Cardinal O’Hara 1

Class AA Quarterfinals

Pennridge 7 Downingtown East 5

Avon Grove 6 Pennsbury 2

Council Rock South 4 Downingtown West 1

Haverford 6 Neshaminy 5

Council Rock South 5 Abington 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Council Rock South had reason to be a bit frustrated Tuesday night. The Golden Hawks spent two periods firing shots at the Abington net and had nothing to show for it.

Ben Panella made 32 saves and he and his teammates took a 1-0 lead into the post-second period ice cut, on the strength of Griffin Carpenter’s goal in the first period.

But when Chase Tovsky scored for South 3:20 into the third frame it seemingly energized his teammates. The Golden Hawks went on to score five goals in the final period and record a 5-1 win in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks (14-1-2-1) will see action in Thursday’s quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Downingtown West (site and time TBD). Abington, the 14th seed, closes the season at 15-2.

South’s goals came in a span 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Tovsky’s initial effort was followed by goals from Sam Chekassky, David Vergules, Tovsky again, and Julian Wagenmann.

“I thought we were the better team,” said South coach Joe Houk, “but they played well. They played really well, but they were running out of gas.

“I said ‘All it’s going to take is one goal guys and that’s going to open the floodgates.’”

Vergules said he and his teammates were a bit miffed after Panella stymied them for the game’s first 34 minutes (Panella finished with 50 saves).

“The guys were definitely frustrated,” he said. We knew we were the better team, that we would come out on top. It just took a little more effort and moe guts and grit.”

Carpenter’s goal came 10:47 into the first frame during an Abington power play. But Carson Lopez in the South net was impregnable after that; he finished with 13 saves. He did his best work when he denied Abington;s Matt Cholaj twice from close range midway through the second period.”

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski praised his team’s effort. “They came out (In the third period) and just played at a little bit of a different level we had a hard time matching,” he said. “They got a couple lucky bounces in the defensive end and found the back of the net.”

Even after Tovsky’s first goal, Brzozowski’s felt his team was still in the game. “We still kind of felt okay,” he said. “It was really when I’d say the third one went in, that’s kind of when we felt ‘We’re definitely back on our heels a little bit.”

Abington 1 0 0—1

C.R. South 0 0 5—5

First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Joe Stelacio, 10:47 (pp)

Third-period goals: Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Blaise Pepe and Kevin Koles, 3:20; Sam Cherkassky (CRS) from Julian Sarne and Kyle Boss, 4:56; David Vergules (CRS) fron Koles and Matt Constantino, 6:56; Tovsky (CRS) from Daniel Filippov, 11:15; Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Vergules and Boss, 12:49

Shots: Abington 14, C.R. South 55; Saves: Ben Panella (A) 50, Carson Lopez (CRS) 13