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Braedon Baehser scored two goals as Holy Ghost Prep defeated Father Judge 7-2 Monday night at Grundy Arena. Sean Marshall, Carlos Rodriguez, Landon Stout, Col Stevens, and Eric Pohl all added goals for the Firebirds, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Father Judge 1 1 0—2
Holy Ghost Prep 2 4 1—7
WEST GOSHEN— A lot of people stepped up for Malvern Prep Monday afternoon. Jack Constabile scored two goals and five other players scored one goal each as the Friars downed St. Joseph’s Prep 7-0 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.
The win gave Malvern Prep the APAC regular season title and essentially assured the Friars (10-1 overall, 5-1-2-0 in conference) of the top seed for the Class AAA Flyers Cup, which begins April 5.
The Hawks, who were missing several players for an assortment of reasons (they dressed just 16 players) dropped 3-5 overall and 1-5 in conference.
As has been the case for Malvern Prep all season long everyone helped out. “We’re sticking to our basics,” Constabile said. “Everyone is putting in a part, they all have a role. Everyone is doing their job.
“We’re moving pucks fast, getting second opportunities in front of the net. I think that’s been a big part of our success this year.
The first period was contested almost exclusively on Malvern Prep’s offensive side of the red line, but the Friars couldn’t solve Andrew Custer in the St. Joseph’s Prep net; he stopped 12 shots in the period and went on to make 42 saves in the game. His teammates did good work in front of him early on to deprive their opponents of quality chances.
“Our first period, we didn’t play the game we wanted to,” Constabile said. “We weren’t getting guys in front, second opportunities. It was not our typical game but in the second period we started to play our game.”
The Friars certainly did. Matt Harris beat Custer with a shot from between the faceoff dots at the 2:13 mark for the day’s first goal before he and his teammates broke the game open with a three-goal spurt late in the period.
Quinn Dougherty finished off an end-to-end rush up the right wing before beating Custer with a backhander at 11:34. Constabile made it 3-0 42 seconds later when he finished off a game of tic tac toe with Harris and Jimmy Kirk. When Hayden Campbell found the back of the net at the 14:33 mark, it was Malvern Prep’s third goal in a span of 2:59.
Jeremy Jacobs, Chris Blango, and Constabile all scored goals in the third period.
Senior forward Ryan Sambuco finished the afternoon with two assists. He noted his team thrived on a back-to-basics approach, in part because of its depth.
“We have big depths going into the games,” he said. “We can get consistent from our first through our fourth line. It’s huge going into it and it makes it easier for us to kept it simple and just roll the lines and keep moving forward throughout the game.”
Ice Chips— Anthony Puerto made 15 saves in the Malvern Prep net before being relieved by Riley McCarry with 5:11 left in the game. McCarry made four saves of his own and preserved the shutout … The Friars were listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released Monday, while the Hawks were ranked fourth. No further rankings will be published prior to the tournament field being announced on Sunday, March 28. The APAC playoffs will not affect the Flyers Cup seedings.
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0
Malvern Prep 0 4 3—7
Second-period goals: Matt Harris (MP) from Pierre Larocque and Jack Constabile, 2:13; Quinn Dougherty (M) unassisted, 11:34; Constabile (MP) from Kirk and Harris, 12:16; Hayden Campbell (MP) from Matt Donatucci and Chris Blango, 14:33
Third-period goals: Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Jack Sharer, :58 (pp); Blango (MP) unassisted, 8:25 (pp): Constabile (MP) from Blango, 14:27
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Malvern Prep 49; Saves: Andrew Custer (SJP) 42, Anthony Perti (MP) 15 and Riley McCarry (MP 4
For more about Malvern Prep Click Here
For more about St. Joseph’s Prep Click Here
SHSHL Standings as of 3-15-21
National/Continental W L T OTL Pts.
Pennsbury (9-0-0-1) 6 0 0 0 12
Council Rock South (6-3-0-2) 4 2 0 1 9
Neshaminy (5-3-1) 4 1 0 0 8
Pennridge (6-3) 4 2 0 0 8
Central Bucks South (4-3-1) 3 1 0 0 6
North Penn (5-4-1-1) 3 3 0 1 7
Central Bucks East (5-3-1-1) 1 3 0 1 3
Souderton (2-7) 1 5 0 0 2
Central Bucks West (0-10) 0 6 0 0 0
The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out
American Division W L T OTL Pts.
Wissahickon (10-1) 10 1 0 0 20
Abington (5-3) 5 3 0 0 10
Plymouth-Whitemarsh (6-4-) 5 4 0 0 10
Hatboro-Horsham (4-4-1-1) 4 4 1 1 10
William Tennent (4-5-1-0) 4 5 1 0 9
Truman (4-6) 4 6 0 0 8
Quakertown (1-8-0-1) 1 7 0 1 3
We reported that Malvern Prep’s 4-3 over Holy Ghost Prep on Thursday clinched the APAC regular-season title for the Friars. This was incorrect. La Salle still has the opportunity to claim that distinction.
Our sincere thanks to the individual that pointed out our error and our apology to those that follow our site for posting erroneous information.
The updated APAC standings are listed below
Won Lost OTW OTL Pts
Malvern Prep (9-1) 3 1 3 0 15
Holy Ghost Prep (4-5) 3 3 0 2 11
La Salle (4-4) 3 3 0 0 9
St. Joseph’s Prep (3-4) 1 4 0 0 3
Remaining Conference Games
Monday 3-15: St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Malvern Prep, 3:30 at Ice Line
Wednesday 3-17: St. Joseph’s Prep vs. La Salle 4:00 at Hatfield
Friday 3-19: Malvern Prep vs. St. Joseph’s Prep, 7:00 at Skatium
La Salle vs. Holy Ghost Prep, 7:30 at Grundy
Friday, March 26: La Salle vs. St. Joseph’s Prep, 7:00 at Skatium
The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!
This post has been modified and incorrect information removed.
BRISTOL—For the third time this season, Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep need more than the regulation 48 minutes to conduct their business.
Pierre Larocque scored a power-play goal 2:02 into the three-on-three overtime to give the Friars a 4-3 win at Grundy Arena Thursday afternoon and put a damper on the Firebirds’ Senior Day festivities.
It was the Friars’ (9-1, overall, 3-1-3-0 in conference) third win over Holy Ghost Prep this season. They prevailed 3-2 via shootout in each of the first two meetings.
The Friars were listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.
The winning goal came just nine seconds after the Firebirds Luke Panepresso drew a minor penalty plus an automatic 10-minue misconduct for a check from behind that took the Friars’ Jimmy Jacobs into the boards behind the Firebirds’ net. It was a no-doubt-about-it call for referee Laura White.
Malvern Prep won the ensuing faceoff to set up Larocque’s game winner. It was the junior’s second goal of the game.
“This is very satisfying,” Larocque said. “Especially missing (club players) from our team, it’s very satisfying to win this game.”
The Friars were four players short on Thursday, including senior defenseman Chris Blango, their captain, senior forward Jack Constabile, and junior forward Matt Harris. All normally play major roles but all were away on club duty.
“We told our boys coming in it was going to be a tall task,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “Going into overtime the first two games, we knew it was going to be tough. To come out again in the overtime, it was nice to get a win.”
The Firebirds (4-5 overall, 3-3-0-2 in conference) took a 1-0 lead 2:51 into the first period when Antony Sparo tipped in Panepresso’s shot from the left point after his team won a faceoff in the offensive right circle. Ryan Sambuco tied the game for Malvern Prep at the 11:47 mark.
Larocque scored to give the Friars a 2-1 lead just 2:13 into the second session but it only took John Connelly 33 seconds to respond for Holy Ghost Prep. Connelly scored his second goal of the game 2:57 into the third period to give his team the lead for the second time but Sambuco answered back with a power play goal at 6:03 while Evan Mudrick was serving a double minor.
The Firebirds finished with a 31-26 edge in shots. Anthony Perti came up big in goal for the Friars; a number of his 28 saves were extraordinarily difficult.
Keenan credits for his team’s success his senior class. “I’ve said it all year,” he said. “It’s a great group of guys, they’ve been in this program for quite some time and to see them really control the locker, control the bench during the game, it’s nice to see as coaches. Coaches can do so much but the players have got to go out and win the game.”
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Firebirds, who were listed second in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings, but whose losing streak has now reached four games.
“I thought we came out and played pretty well,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside.” It was a good start and then a tough break at the end getting that penalty. We just can’t find ways to win right now.”
Malvern Prep 1 1 1 1—4
Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1 0—3
First-period goals: Anthony Sparo (HGP) from Luke Panepresso and Brian Butler, 2:51; Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Quinn Dougherty and Jeremy Jacobs, 11:47
Second-period goals: Pierre Larocque (MP) from Jack Sharer, 2:13; John Connelly (HGP) from Patrick McAneny and Colin Moore, 2:22
Third-period goals: Connelly (HGP) unassisted, 2:57; Sambuco (MP) from Jimmy Kirk, 6:03 (pp)
Overtime goal: Larocque (MP) from Kirk and Dougherty, 2:02
Shots: Malvern Prep 26, Holy Ghost Prep 31; Saves: Anthony Perti (MP) 28; Bobby Baehser (HGP) 22
For more information about Malvern Prep Click Here
For more information about Holy Ghost Prep Click Here
Friday’s scheduled APAC game between La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep has been postponed.
WARWICK— Council Rock South stepped up Wednesday night, just when it mattered most. Jeremy Purcell scored three times in the third period as the Golden Hawks bested Central Bucks East 5-2 at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center in a Suburban High School Hockey League National/Continental matchup.
The evening was virtually a case of two games in one. After a scoreless first frame the Golden Hawks (5-3-0-2 overall, 3-2-0-1 in divisional play) got a breakaway goal from Blaize Pepe 27 seconds into the second period.
Stephen DiRugeris answered for the Patriots at 3:29 bit the biggest moment of the period and perhaps of the game occurred 5:32 into the period when the Hawks’ Douglas Lopez drew a major penalty for catching the Patriots’ Phil McIntyre with a high stick. The Patriots failed to score during the five-minute power play.
The first part of the third period featured three goals in a span of just 54 seconds. Purcell gave the Golden Hawks the lead when beat Matt Mangiacapre from close range at the 1:23 mark. Chris Mangiacapre drew the Patriots even with a shot from the slot midway between the two faceoff circles at 2:03 but James Diiulio gave South the lead for good just 14 seconds later. Purcell scored his second goal of the game with 2:26 left and completed his hat trick with an empty net goal with 16 seconds remaining.
Purcell said he and his teammates found the energy they needed in the third period. “Everyone was tired,” he said, “but we knew we had to keep going. The boys were just buzzing tonight I guess. Everyone was feeling it, everyone had the hot hand.”
Under head coach Joe Houk, the Golden Hawks have a tradition of playing their best hockey late in the season. Purcell, a senior, says it’s a matter of all the pieces fitting together. “Everything slowly starts to merge together,” he said. “Everyone starts to feel better out on the ice together.”
Purcell says that chemistry is particularly important late in the season. “We work hard in practice,” he said. “We work hard every week. It’s just a matter of everything merging together better.”
The win was South’s second in three games, but the team is just 2-3 since February 17.
“We had a rough couple weeks,” Houk said. “We lost a couple close games, there were too many mistakes. We had a real strong practice on Monday. We (worked the kids hard) and that brought the same intensity to this game.
“I thought we really controlled the game right from the start to the end.”
Council Rock South 0 1 4—5
Central Bucks East 0 1 1—2
Second-period goals: Blaize Pepe (CRS) from Chase Tovsky, :27; Stephen DiRugeris (CBE) from Connor Keiser, 3:29
Third-period-goals Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from Pepe, 1:21; Chris Mangiacapre (CBE) from Adam Bostock and Tyler Godown, 2:03; James Diiulio (CRS) from Purcell and Kevin Koles, 2:17; Purcell (CRS) from Koles, 13:34; Purcell (CRS) unassisted, 15:44 (en)
Shots: Council Rock South 29, C.B. East 39; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 37; Matt Manigacapre 24
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Three different venues will serve as host sites for the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament. The scholastic hockey showcase is scheduled to get underway on Monday, April 5.
Tournament games will be played at Hatfield Ice in Hatfield, Ice Line in West Chester, and Ice Works in Aston.
Speaking on the Hokey Happenings podcast. Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye indicated that tournament games would be limited to those three facilities.
“The way this looks right now is, I don’t foresee this changing, the tournament will only be played in three rinks this year,” he said. Hatfield, Ice Line, and Ice Works.
“Some rinks just can’t hold (Flyers Cup) games because of restrictions. Some rinks opted not to have Flyers Cup games in their buildings and we understand all that. We’ll revisit with all those rinks again next year but for this year, the tournament will be played at just Hatfield, Ice Line, and Ice Works.”
Tye said plans are still in place to allow spectators at Cup games. “We got a little help from the state last week when they bumped up the occupancy levels in the buildings,” he said. “Seeing as the tournament doesn’t start for another month, we may see another bump, or hopefully two bumps. But we will be allowing fans in up to the capacity limits of the rinks. If the rink says we can have 125 people in there, we’ll put the first 125 people who show up in the building.”
Tye indicated if spectators are allowed to attend Flyers Cup games, masks and social distancing will be required.
To hear the latest edition of the Hockey Happenings podcast, Click Here
The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!
Jack Constabile scored two goals to lead Malvern Prep to 4-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep on Monday at Ice Line as the Friars celebrated Senior Night. Matt Harris and Pierre Larocque also scored for Malvern Prep, which moved into first place in the APAC standings with the win, their eighth of the season in nine starts (3-1-2-0 in the APAC).
“The boys came out fast,” said Friars’ coach Bill Keenan. After losing to La Salle (on March 3) we had to get back to basics. It was good to get a win for our seniors on Senior Night.”
Dominic Fantozzi scored for the Hawks (3-4, 1-4)
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1
Malvern Prep 1 3 0—4
First-period goal: Jack Constabile (MP) from Chris Blango, 15:25
Second-period goals: Constabile (MP) from Matt Harris and Quinn Dougherty, 4:07; Jonathan Holt (MP) from Hayden Campbell and Blango, 6:54; Harris (MP) from Ryan Sambuco and Matt Donatucci, 15:55
Third-period goals: Dominic Fantozzi (SJP) Liam Mooney, 12:08
Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 35, Malvern Prep 44; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 40; Anthony Perti (MP) 34
BRISTOL— LaSalle seems poised for a stretch run in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. Three different players scored goals Monday afternoon as the Explorers shut out Holy Ghost Prep in an APAC matchup at Grundy Arena.
The win was La Salle’s third straight in APAC after the Explorers (4-4 overall) started the conference campaign with three consecutive defeats. They were listed third in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released Monday prior to game time.
“We’re starting to play hard,” said LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We’re scoring some goals, which has helped and Liam (goaltender Liam Gross) is giving us a chance to win.
On this occasion Gross, a senior, stopped all 33 shots he saw. He noted the Explorers have picked up their play defensively of late.
“We struggled in the beginning of the year with that,” he said. ”But, the group is really coming together, especially the defensive four and the other goalie (Aries Carangi) so it’ really good to see how they battled for me, blocked shots, and made plays.”
Gross says the seniors on the La Salle roster have been providing effective leadership. “All the guys want to win so badly this year,” he said. “We felt like we could have won (a Flyers Cup) last year too (before the season was halted by the pandemic) so this is sort of like a redemption year and I think our leadership is really coming together. We have a young team this year. (The seniors) are leading the young guys on and showing them the way., and they’re picking up pretty fast too.”
After a scoreless first period, Dan Whitock beat Bobby Baehser in the Firebird net just 37 seconds into the second session. The Explorers extended their lead with 1:24 in the period when Ryan Warner poked in a rebound of a David Kimmel shot from the right point. That was it until Kimmel scored into an empty net with 1:07 remaining in regulation.
The Firebirds, who have lost three straight, saw their record fall to 4-4 overall and 3-4 in conference. They were listed second in Monday’s Flyers Cup rankings.
“I thought it was a good game,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I liked our jump … We played well but not well enough. We’ve got to start finding ways to win.”
Whiteside said he’s encouraging his team to take a back-to-basics approach. “Just sticking with the fundamentals,” he said. “Doing things that they do well and not try to do things they can’t do well.”
La Salle 0 2 1—3
Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 0—0
Second-period goals: Dan Whitock (L) unassisted, :37; Ryan Warner (L) from David Kimmel and Michael Casey, 15:24
Third-period goal: Kimmel (L) from Casey, 14:53 (en)
Shots: La Salle 31, Holy Ghost Prep 33: Saves: Liam Gross (L) 33, Bobby Baehser (HGP) 30
For more about La Salle Click Here
For more about Holy Ghost Prep Click Here
The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of rankings relating to the 2021 Flyers Cup tournament. The committee ranked five teams in each of four classes. The ratings are based on game results through March 5 and observations by the committee.
The Flyers Cup tournament is scheduled to begin on April 5. No final determination has been made regarding the number of teams in the field or in each bracket.
The Flyers Cup is an invitational event and there are no automatic bids.
Class AAA
1. Malvern Prep
2. Holy Ghost Prep
3. La Salle
4. St. Joseph’s Prep
5. Roman Catholic
Class AA
1. Downingtown West
2. Pennsbury
3. Haverford
4. Spring-Ford
5. Pennridge
Class A
1. West Chester East
2. Strath Haven
3. West Chester Henderson
4. Springfield-Delco
5. Wissahickon
Girls
1. Bux Mont
2. Downingtown West
3. West Chester Henderson
4. Bayard Rustin
5. Avon Grove
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Call for an appointment at 215-616-0609 or e-mail them at allsmilesfamilydentistry@verizon.net. You can also find them on line at www.allsmileslansdale.com.
Hockey Happenings 