Start of SHSHL Season to be Delayed

The start of the upcoming Suburban High School Hockey League season will be delayed until January 3, 2021. SHSHL President Kenny Haas said the19 clubs that will skate under the SHSHL umbrella this season are committed to doing so in a safe manner.

“We all agree that the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, officials and their families is most important,” said. “Unfortunately, the current trend of this pandemic requires us to delay the season at this time.”

“I am very proud that 100 percent of our member clubs have made the difficult decision to delay the season and place the safety of our participants and their families as the highest priority.”

Traditionally, the SHSHL Season commences in late October or early November. This year’s season was originally scheduled to begin on Thanksgiving Eve, November 25.

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Malvern Prep Wins Opener

Malvern Prep opened the scholastic hockey season Thursday night with a 9-0 win West Chester Bayard Rustin at Ice Line.

Matt Harris paced the Friars with a four-goal effort, while Anthony Perti earned the shutout in goal.

“Going into the game we were prepared like it was any other normal game,” Harris said. “But, going into the season our goal is to win Flyers Cup, and everyone felt good tonight.”

Bayard Rustin 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 2 4 3—9

First-period goals: Jimmy Kirk (MP) from Jack Constabile and Matt Harris, 12:02 (pp); Harris (MP) from Travis Buckley, 14:59.

Second-period goals: Ryan Sambuco (MP) unassisted, 2:43 (sh); Constabile (MP) from Sambuco, 2:50 (sh); Harris (MP) from Sambuco, 13:29 (pp); Harris (MP) from Chris Blngo, 15:08.

Third-period goals: Harris (MP) unassisted, 1:39; Pierre Larocque (MP) from Quinn Dougherty, 2:58; Matt Donatucci (MP) from Sambucco, 6:31.

Shots: Bayard Rustin 11, Malvern Prep 51; Saves: Bobst (MP) 42, Anthony Perti (MP) 11

Malvern Prep goaltender Anthony Perti makes a save in traffic (photo by Gracie Cleveland)

Malvern Prep at the Threshold of a New Hockey Season

Malvern Prep is approaching the 1920-21 hockey season with a blend of caution and optimism. The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference will not begin its new season until after the holidays but the Friars, like other scholastic hockey teams in the area, are holding preseason drills.

Unlike most other teams however, Malvern Prep is hoping to get on the ice for some non-league games between now and the end of the year; the Friars are scheduled to go against West Chester Rustin Thursday night at Ice Line.

The three other members of the APAC, Holy Ghost Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep, and two-time defending champion La Salle, are all on the ice but none of the other three have committed to playing a game as of yet.

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan has adjusted his practice schedule to try to get his players as much ice time as possible. “We flip flop a little bit between a varsity-only practice, and a JV and varsity combined practice,” he said, “but for the most part, all the guys are (on the ice) twice a week.”

Keenan described how he structures a practice with safety in mind. “When I go into practices, the biggest thing I try to do is implement the drills in a sense to where the kids are constantly moving and not standing in line next to each other,” he said.

““If we do have those drills where guys must stand in a line, I try to form drills so it’s not only one or two lines but a drill that has multiple components where the kids might be in five or six different lines across the ice. So, you’re taking your guys and you’re kind of spreading them and then while they’re in line they can kind of adhere to social distancing. I would say most of the guys are rarely next to each other for more than a minute or two when the drills are kicked off. And by the time they get back in line they’re starting to flow through the drill again. It’s constant movement.”
Malvern Prep’s student body is back on campus and the players are screened a minimum of twice each day.

“They get health screenings before they go on campus in the morning,” Kenan said, “They do one at home and then when they (arrive on campus) they do another one; there are color coded wristbands and they’re not allowed to come to practice without a wristband.”

The players are not forbidden to utilize the locker room facilities at Ice Line prior to or following practices.

Hatfield Ice to Close for Two Weeks

Hatfield Ice, the primary venue for Suburban High School Hockey League games, and other hockey events will be closed for two weeks, from Saturday, November 7 through Friday, November 20.

The closing was ordered by the Montgomery County Department of Health.

All facilities, including the rink, the pro shop, and cafe will be closed during this period.

Rink general manager Brian Pecca issued a statement/press release via Twitter.

“During this shutdown, we will continue to clean and sanitize our facilities, as have done since reopening back in June,” he said. “We are extremely disappointed in this decision, but we will continue to do everything we can to reopen and provide a safe environment for our customers.”

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APAC Season to Begin in January

The start of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s third season will be delayed until January due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. League officials are hoping to implement a 10-league schedule following the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, depending on the academic schedules of the league’s four member schools, La Salle, Holy Ghost Prep, Malvern Prep, and St. Joseph’s Prep.

“Many of the details depend on the schools’ academic calendars, which are still in flux,” said APAC Commissioner Jim Britt. “Some schools have yet to finalize their academic calendars for the 2020 winter months through May 2021, including holiday breaks, spring breaks, exam periods, and dates we might potentially need to black out.

“The impact of schedule conflicts for students who normally participate in spring sports or other activities is also a factor to be considered.”

The APAC is hoping to conclude its season by late February to coincide with the traditional start date of the Flyers Cup tournament.

All four league schools have been on the ice for preseason drills.

Malvern Prep has scheduled non-league games against West Chester Rustin on November 12 and Cardinal O’Hara on Thanksgiving Eve. Two-time defending APAC champion La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep are hoping to schedule non-league games during November and December while Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside indicated his team would not play a game until January.

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SHSHL Realigning as New Season Approaches

The Suburban High School Hockey League will have a new look this season. The league will be comprised of 16 teams this season, divided into two divisions.

The Class AA Division will include defending champion Council Rock South, Central Bucks East, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks West, Neshaminy, North Penn, Pennridge, Pennsbury, and Souderton.

The Class A Division will be comprised defending champion Plymouth Whitemarsh, Hatboro-Horsham, Wissahickon, Truman, Abington, Quakertown, and William Tennent. The latter three teams will play at the Class A level this coming season after competing in Class AA a year ago.

The SHSHL’s 48^thseason is expected to begin on Wednesday, November 25.

Peyton Jones Headed to AHL

Peyton Jones, who started in goal for Penn State and before that Holy Ghost Pep, has agreed to a two-year, one-way contract with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, beginning with the 2020-21 season. The team announced the signing Monday afternoon.

Colorado was granted membership as an expansion team in the AHL beginning with the 2018-19 season and is the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

“We are extremely happy for Peyton,” mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. “Through an incredible level of commitment to improving every day as an athlete and a student, Peyton has done so much for the success of our hockey program and has set standards that we hope are lived up to for many years to come. Congratulations to Peyton, we are excited to see his future successes.”

Jones jumped right into the starting role between the pipes as a freshman becoming the program’s first-ever everyday goalie following four years where goalies saw split time in Hockey Valley. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania native seized the opportunity and never looked back graduating from Penn State with 14 program records.

Jones, Penn State’s all-time wins leader, bookended his time as a Nittany Lion with victories in his first and last games at Pegula Ice Arena. He registered a 76-44-11 career record including a single-season record 23 during his freshman campaign where he was named the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as the Nittany Lions captured their first-ever tournament title. His 42 career Big Ten victories are also a conference standard.

The senior is the Penn State career leader for games played and games started by a goalie with 133 for his career as well as leading in minutes (7866:20), saves (3,685) and points/assists by a goalie with eight. Along with his single-season program record for wins, Jones also holds single-season standards in games started (36), saves (983), points/assists (4) and shutouts (2).

During his final season in Hockey Valley this past year, Jones registered career-highs with a .919 save percentage, ranking fourth in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, to go along with a 2.60 goals against average while posting a 18-9-3 record and leading the Nittany Lions to their first-ever Big Ten regular-season championship. Jones’ .919 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average are both the second-best single-season marks in program history.

“Penn State has prepared me well for my pro hockey career,” mentioned Jones. “The coaching staff has done a great job with getting me stronger and ready for the next level off the ice while on the ice I was fortunate enough to have some extremely talented teammates who challenged me to be my best every day.”

Gump Whiteside coached Jones at Holy Ghost where Jones had a presence about him even as a freshman and even earlier when Jones was playing at the middle-school level.

Whiteside said Jones’s success could be attributed to his mental discipline and work ethic as well as his physical abilities. “Making it in the AHL, at a high level, is tough for a goaltender. It’s a little easier for forwards and defensemen. That just goes to show you about his work ethic.”

Flyers Cup Tournament Officially Cancelled

The Flyers Cup Committee has issued the following statement:

All,

In accordance with Governor Wolf’s mandate that all Pennsylvania schools will remained closed to in-student learning for the remainder of the academic year, the Flyers Cup Committee has made the unfortunate decision to cancel the remainder of the 2020 Flyers Cup tournament as well as the Pennsylvania State Championships.

This was certainly not an easy decision, but given the current and ongoing status of COVID-19, along with several other factors, we collectively feel that this is the unfortunate necessary option for the safety and well being of our players, coaches, officials, and communities as we follow the direction of many other scholastic, national, and international events.

These are unprecedented times and we share the disappointment of the teams still vying for championships at each given classification .We understand that this is not the end goal that each team set for the 2019-2020 season, but it unfortunately is the necessary ending. As a result of this decision, all remaining teams will have their team names only, engraved on the respective trophy as a group. There unfortunately will also not be any recognition of individual or all-tournament teams.

Stay safe and be well,

The Flyers Cup Committee

APAC Announces All-Conference Team

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 All-APAC teams. The honorees were selected by vote of the Head Coaches of the APAC member schools: Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle College High School, Malvern Prep, and St. Joseph’s Prep; institutions that share similar missions to promote academic and athletic excellence for their student-athletes.

First Team

Byron Hartley

Holy Ghost Prep (senior)

Position: Forward

Key facts: The APAC’s leading scorer with 26 goals and 22 assists for 48 points and helped the Firebirds reach the Flyers Cup semifinals.

“Byron was our senior captain,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “He was a true leader who developed tremendously over his four years at Holy Ghost Prep. He was a great teammate who made players better by his work ethic and personality.

Ryan Sambuco

Malvern Prep (junior)

Position: Forward

Key facts: Played a key role for the Friars while scoring 10 goals and adding 16 assists for 26 points. “He shows great vision, said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan, “and always finds ways to jump start the team.”

James Craig

St. Joseph’s Prep (senior)

Position: Forward

Key facts: A tenacious player whose eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in APAC/Flyers Cup play and helped his team reach the Flyers Cup semifinals.

“He did everything a coach could ask for,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “He was a tremendous competitor.”

Andrew Centrella

St. Joseph’s Prep (sophomore)

Position: Defense

Key facts: Scored four goals and provided 13 assists for 17 points in APAC and Flyers Cup play.

“He was an assistant captain and our hardest worker,” Giacomin said. “He played huge minutes and was always a threat on the ice.”

Chris Blango

Malvern Prep (junior)

Position: Defense

Key facts: Was a major force on the blue line for the Friars, scoring three goals and adding eight assists for 11 points. “He was the anchor of Malvern’s defense,” Keenan said, “and is very posed with the puck.”

Aidan McCabe

La Salle (senior)

Position: Goaltender

Key facts: A four-year varsity performer, he was the catalyst for an Explorer team that captured its second straight APAC title and reached the Flyers Cup semifinals. “He was the backbone of our team,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner.

Second Team

Nathan Benner

La Salle (senior)

Position: Forward

Key facts: Finished his final high-school season with nine goals and six assists for 15 points. “He was one of our captains,” Muehlbronner said, “and a solid all-around player.”

Jeffrey Hammond

St. Josephs Prep (freshman)

Position: Forward

Key facts: Made an impressive debut for the Hawks with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in APAC/Flyers Cup competition. “He’s a great two-way player,” Giacomin said. “He played in all situations.”

David Kimmell

La Salle (junior)

Position: Forward

Key facts: An offensive catalyst for the Explorers. Led the team in scoring with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points. “He was our top scorer,” Muehlbronner said, “and an offensive key.”

Michael Urbani

St. Joseph’s Prep (senior)

Position: Defense

Key facts: Served as one of the Hawks’ captains and contributed five goals and 11 assists to his team’s effort. “He was a captain and the leader of our defensive corps,” Giacomin said. “He has a deadly shot and was a key defensively.”

Nolan Woudenberg

La Salle (sophomore)

Position: Defense

Key facts: Had a solid season for the Explorers with 10 goals and six assists for 16 points. “He was a strong, all around defenseman,” Muehlbronner said.”

Sean Joyce

Holy Ghost Prep (senior)

Position: Goaltender

Key facts: Finished his final season with the Firebirds with a 2.13 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

“Sean was a gamer,” said his coach, Gump Whiteside. One of the best goalies in the history of Holy Ghost Prep hockey. When Sean was in net, you always knew you could win the game.”

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SHSHL Select Team

This team was selected as a supplement to the Suburban High School Hockey League divisional teams that were announced last week. Our thanks to the coaches who provided input.

F Colin Abbonizio Sr. Central Bucks South

F Antii Autere So. Council Rock South

F Bryan Garry Jr. Wissahickon

F Tyler Greenstein Sr. North Penn

F Aidan Keogh So Plymouth Whitemarsh

F Michael Roby Jr. Council Rock South

F Robbie Seewagen, Jr. Neshaminy

F Chris Trefz Sr. Central Bucks West

D Tom Boyle Sr. North Penn

D Matt Buchinski Jr. Neshaminy

D Ken Duffield So. Council Rock South

D Ryan Gingras Sr. Central Bucks South

G Chris McIntyre Jr. Central Bucks East

G Jimmy Sweeney So. Council Rock South