Championhip Thursday 2-27

SHSHL

American Division Final

Hatboro-Horsham 5 Plymouth Whitemrash 2

National Division Final

Council Rock South 4vs. Central Bucks South 3

ICSHL

Prep/Catholic Final

Salesianum 6 Devon Prep 2—The Sallies overcame a 2-1 second-period deficit with five straight goals over the last period and a half. Connor Davis scored twice foe Salesianum with both goals coming in the third period.

Ches-Mont Final

Kennett 2 West Chester Henderson 1—Luke Ganley scored the winning goal with 5:11 left in the third period. Lucas Mott also scored for Kennett. Nick Denrdi’s goal gave Henderson a 1-0 lead late in the first period.

Central Final

Garnet Valley 10 Haverford High 0—A.J. Tenhuisen scored three goals and Dylan Orr added two more as Garnet Valley rolled to the Central League title at Ice Works. jake Morrow and Jake Robinson each recorded three assists.

C.R. South 4 Pennridge 1

It’s no small feat to top the defending state champions three times in a season.

But Council Rock South accomplished that on Wednesday, topping defending Flyers Cup and state champion Pennridge, 4-1, in the semifinals of the SHSHL National Division at Grundy.

In the first period, the Golden Hawks took advantage of a Shane Dachowski roughing minor by netting a power play goal by Jagger Smith for the first score of the game.

They added to that when Jake Weiner scored back-to-back goals in the second period.

That 3-0 lead lasted until just seven minutes remained in the game, when Joshua Kelly’s shot took an odd ricochet over CR South goaltender Trey Prozzillo’s right shoulder.

It wasn’t enough of a spark for the Rams, though, and Jeremy Rayher shut the door with his goal for CR South with 3:36 to go in the game.

“The first five minutes, teams have to feel each other out,” said Pennridge junior James Rush, a forward. “After those five minutes, I felt our team was pretty engaged. I thought our lines were moving pretty good. We were going hard, but we weren’t getting the bounces.

“I think the mindset is pretty much the same for us every game. We know our system. We just want to stick to that.

“I really didn’t think we were going to lose until about the last two minutes. Crazier things have happened and you never want to think you’re out of it so you don’t give up until the last whistle.”

Prozzillo was superb for the Golden Hawks, making 25 saves.

“I really wanted the shutout,” said Prozzillo, a junior. “That one goal that I let in was weak.

“But our whole team stayed together. We wanted to win this game so bad for all the times that we lost to them in the past. We really worked as a team and supported each other.”

His teammates appreciated his performance.

“For him to stand on his head like that, he was great,” said Dan Filippov, a senior defenseman for the Golden Hawks. “He was backing up Carson Lopez last year so he had big shoes to fill and when he plays like that against a team like that, you can’t thank him enough.”

It was the third meeting of the year between the two, with CR South winning the first meeting, 6-5, and the rematch, 5-2.

“We came out a little slow but we definitely picked it up in the second period. We had a talk and we knew we had to work together. The teams that win these games are the teams that work together. Individuality will not win these games. We built that momentum up and then we started banging in those goals.

“Against a team like this, that we’ve lost to in the Flyers Cup twice, there’s history there and we wanted to win,” Filippov said. “We gave it everything we had. We wanted to show a different team than they’ve seen in the past.

“Even the kids who don’t see a lot of playing time were banging on the boards and getting into it and that’s good to see.”

The Rams are a relatively young squad.

“We had like 14-15 guys graduate from last year and we had a bunch of JV players come up and filling big roles,” said Pennridge senior Jared Garber, a defenseman. “That was an adjustment a little at the beginning but they’ve been playing really well.

“We had some good chances but we couldn’t find the net and their goalie played phenomenal. But I thought we outplayed them, honestly but we couldn’t put the puck in the net.”

The Golden Hawks (17-5) seek their third consecutive SHSHL title.

“I’m excited,” Prozzillo said. “We’re really looking forward to it.”

CR South will take on Central Bucks South, a 4-3 winner over North Penn, for the division championship on Thursday. Win or lose, the Golden Hawks will participate in the Flyers Cup, which begins on Monday.

Pennridge (13-8) will be back on the ice for the Flyers Cup.

“That’s all we’re worried about,” Rush said. “These playoffs are great but we have our eyes set on the Flyers Cup.”

Garber agreed.

“We lost this game a couple of years ago and we still won the Flyers Cup, so we won’t give up,” he said.

Pennridge 0 0 1

Council Rock South 1 2 1

First-period goal; Jagger Smith (CRS) from Jonah Weston, 11:07 (pp);

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Jagger Smith, 1:22; Jake Weiner (CRS) unassisted, 13:34;

Third-period goals: Joshua Kelly (P) unassisted, 9:58; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) unassisted, 13:24

Shots: Pennridge 25, CR South 33; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 33, Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 25

C.B. South 4 North Penn 3

Central Bucks South scored three times in the third period Wednesday night to earn a place in the SHSHL National Division final with a 4-3 decision over North Penn at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Titans (17-5) will face two-time defending champion Council Rock South Thursday night at Grundy Arena. Second-seeded North Penn will be idle until the quarterfinal round of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament next Thursday.

“This was a true team win,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “With three period ahead of us, the boys must continue to play hard in all three zones.

“Our focus remains on team structure and having a team-first mentality.

South’s Sean Cutter and North Penn’s James Boyle traded goals to send the game into the third period all even.

Dom Gibson scored for South to his team up 2-1 2:23 into the final period, but Boyle followed with his second goal of the game with 9:51 left in regulation.

Logan Hood’s goal with 6:21 remaining put the Titans ahead for good. Ryan Frey added an insurance goal 37 seconds later and the policy was needed and Boyle completed a hat trick with 21 seconds left in regulation.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis credited the Titans for their effort.

“They had multiple lines coming at us in waves,” he said. “Hats off to them for how they played. I told our boys to keep our heads up as we have to refocus now and get ready for the Flyers Cup.”

C.B. South 1 0 3—4

North Penn 0 1 2—3

First-period goal: Sean Cutter (CBS) from Ryan Frey, 12:44

Second-period goal: James Boyle (NP) from Daniel Cabrales and Sam Norton, 5:45 (pp)

Third-period goals: Dom Gibson (CBS) from Peter Herring, 2:23; Boyle (NP) from Nolan Shingles, 7:09; Logan Hood (CBS) unassisted, 10:39; Frey (CBS) unassisted, 11:16; Boyle (NP) from Chris Silvotto, 16:39

Shots: C.B. South 29, North Penn 23; Saves: Nate Napolitano (CBS) 20, Aidan Quigley (NP) 25

Holy Ghost Prep 6 La Salle 4

Holy Ghost Prep made history Wednesday evening.

Joe Kaufmann’s goal with 12:32 left in the third period snapped a 3-3 tie and Holy Ghost Prep went on to a 6-4 win over La Salle in the APAC Founders Cup championship game at Grundy Arena.

It was the first triumph for top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (18-4-1) in an APAC final in three tries.

The win marked the Firebirds’ third over second-seeded La Salle (15-7) this season but it did not come easily. Brady Logue, Colin Bara, and Brian Kinniry scored goals in a span of 7 minutes, 21 seconds in the first period to give the hosts a 3-0 advantage.

“That was our game plan going in,” Kinniry said. “Get on them early.”

But, just before the midway point of the second period, the Explorers woke up. Michael Esmond made a run up the middle of the ice and finished the play himself 2:19 into the period. Nole Donohue made it a 3-2 game at the 8:53 mark and Cam Ross tied the game 2:09 into the third period when he put in a rebound.

Kauffman said he and his teammates knew they had a fight on their hands as La Salle made its surge.

“We weren’t sure what was really going to happen,” he said. “We just knew when we got back on the ice in the third that we had to give it our all. Either put something in the net, or stop them from scoring.”

And Kaufmann did just that with a shot from the right wing. Logue extended his team’s lead with 9:43 left in the regulation and Kinniry scored his second goal of the game with 1:36 left.

Kinniry said he and his teammates stayed focused on their mission.

“It really gave us motivation to get through the third period,” he said. “Our second period was pretty bad so we came back out and got the go-ahead goals.”

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbonner said his team struggled from the start.

“I don’t think we played a good game at all,” he said. “We played the way we needed to in the second period, that was our best period obviously. But it’s tough to come back from down three.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie credited his players for a season’s worth of effort.

“This isn’t about the adults,” he said. “This is about the kids. They’re so deserving.

“It’s a long year, it’s tough to stay on top in a league like this. I can’t say enough positive things about the group that’s in there.

“Everybody bought in, everybody did their jobs and even when it got close and don’t think there was any doubt we would figure a way to beat them.”

The Firebirds and Explorers will open Class AAA Flyers Cup play on Tuesday. Top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep will face eighth-seeded Owen J. Roberts (6:15) while second-seeded La Salle will go against number-seven Devon Prep. Both games will be played at Hatfield Ice.

La Salle 0 2 2

Holy Ghost Prep 3 0 3

First-period goals; Brady Logue (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan and Ryan Lippy, 5:10; Colin Bara (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Brian Kinniry, 9:15; Kinniry (HGP) from Chase Logue, 12:31 (sh)

Second-period goals: Michael Esmond (L) from John Greenawalt, 7:19; Nole Donohue (L) from Jake Warner, 8:53;

Third-period goal: Cam Ross (L) from Alistair St. Hilaire, 2:09; Joe Kaufmann (HGP) from. Anthony Valeriote, 4:28; Brady Logue (HGP) from Chase Logue, 7:17; Kinniry HGP unassisted, 15:24; Ross (L) from St. Hilaire and Declan Kelly, 16:36 (pp)

Shots totals were unavailable

SHSHL Playoff Update for 2-26-25

National Division Semifinals

At Hatfield Ice

8:00 North Penn (17-2)

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Players to watch: Samuel Norton 30 goals, 27 assists, 57 points; Cole Pluck 32-24-56; Nolan Shingle 20-16-36; Aidan Quigley 1.92 GAA, .924 save percentage; Andrew Norton 2.28 GAA, .901 save percentage

Central Bucks South (16-5)

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Players to watch: Sean Cutter 18 goals, 19 assists, 37 points; Jeff Kvecher 13-22-35; Joey Slobodrian 17-15-32; Dom Gibson 17-15-32 Jake Matkowski 3.75 GAA, .838 save percentage; Nate Napolitano 3.53, .866

Notes: The teams split two regular-season meetings. South won 6-5 on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, and North Penn prevailed 4-2 on November 11.

The winner will play North Penn or Central Bucks South for the division title on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host.

North Penn is seeded second for the upcoming Class AA Flyers Cup. South is seeded fifth.

At Grundy Arena

7:30 Council Rock South (18-2)

Coach: Joe Houk

Players to watch: Jake Weiner 41 goal, 19 assists, 60 points; Jeremy Rayher 29-30-59; Jordan Sarne 18-23-41; Trey Prozzillo 2.98 GAA, .880 save percentage

Pennridge (13-7)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Players to watch Shane Dachowski 35 goals, 26 assists, 61 points; James Rush 25-26-51; Jacob Winton 2.50 GAA, .921 save percentage

Notes: Council Rock South won both regular-season meetings, 6-5 on January 8 and 5-2 on February 13 Tonight’s winner plays North Penn or Central Bucks South for the division championship on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host. South is seeded first for the upcoming Class AA Flyers Cup. Pennridge is seeded seventh.

American Division Semifinal

At Hatfield Ice

6:10 (2) Hatboro-Horsham vs (3) Springfield-Montco

Hatboro-Horsham (9-8, 9-7 in the American Division)

Coach: Shane Smith

Players to watch: Vince Graziani 22 goals, 25 assists, 47 points; Nate Nemchinov 27-28-45; Eric Miller 4.97 GAA, .800 save percentage

Springfield (8-8 overall and in the division)

Coach: Don Quinn

Players to watch: Owen Quinn 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points; Grayson Quinn 14-9-23; Liam Baskin 3.02 GAA, .886 save percentage

Notes: Hatboro-Horsham won three of four regular-season meetings between the two teams. Wednesday’s winner faces top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh for the division Thursday at Hatfield Ice (6:00 start).

Hatboro-Horsham will be the 14^th seed in the upcoming Class A Flyers Cup regardless of how they fare Wednesday or Thursday. Springfield was not selected for the Flyers Cup.

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Playoff Results 2-24

SHSHL

National Division/First Round

Pennridge 4 Central Bucks East 1

Central Bucks South 8 Pennsbury 1

ICSHL

Central

Haverford 3 Strath Haven 0

Marple Newtown 6 Conestoga 1

Penncrest 4 Springfield-Delco 3

Garnet Valley 4 Radnor 0

Ches Mont

Kennett 5 West Chester East 4

D-town East 7 Avon Grove 1

Pioneer

Boyertown 5 Perkiomen Valley 0

Spring-Ford 4 Owen J. Roberts 0

Catholic/Prep

Salesianum 10 Shanahan/Coatesville 0

Devon Prep 5 Father Judge 1

Girls National

Avon Grove 5 OJR/Spring-Ford 0

D-town West 10 Kingsway 4

Girls American

Conestoga 6 WC East 0

W C Henderson 9 Radnor 3

Pennridge 4 C.B. East 1

Monday night marked the first stage of what the participants hope will be a month-long journey. And Pennridge looked very much at home in the playoff environment.

Shane Dachowski scored three goals and assisted on a fourth as the Rams prevailed over Central Bucks East 4-1 in a SHSHL National Division first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

Fourth-seeded Pennridge (13-7) will advance to face top-seeded Council Rock South Wednesday night (7:00 at Grundy Arena) in the semifinals. The fifth-seeded Patriots (10-9-1) will be idle until Monday when they face Downingtown West to kick off the Class AA Flyers Cup.

Dachowski was the difference on this night, as he has been so often over the course of his career. He assisted on James Rush’s opening goal which came 5:32 into the first period as the result of a collaboration involving Ladan Bishop, the third member of Pennridge’s top line.

Dachowski extended Pennridge’s lead with a shot from the left point exactly eight minutes into the second period. David Brown scored for East not quite two-and-a-half minutes later when Pennridge turned the puck over in front of its own net.

But as clock counted down the closing seconds of the second period, Dachowski stepped up once more launching a blazer that scraped the underside of the crossbar inside the right post as at whistled past Patriot goaltender Cole Breen with 1.1 seconds showing on the clock.

“That was a really-needed goal,” Dachowski said. I don’t know what their defensemen were doing, but we took advantage of what they gave us.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna noted that Dachowski is now in postseason mode.

“I can’t even count how many hat tricks he has in playoff and Flyers Cup games,” he said. “It’s absurd.”

Dachowski completed yet another hat trick with an empty-net goal with 50 seconds remaining in the game.

The win Monday night was a response to the Rams’ 3-2 loss to East five days ago. That result doubtless strengthened the Patriots’ case with the Flyers Cup Committee, which seeded them 11^th in the 12-team Class AA field.

“They acted like they won the Stanley Cup,” Dachowski recalled.

The loss was the first for the Patriots in eight games. They had their chances, they were outshot just 32-31 but only solved Jacob Winton once.

“We got a of chances,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell. “We got a lot of pucks on net {but} we lacked the finish tonight.

“But, you get a team like Pennridge and the type of goaltender they have, they have a top-three goaltender in the league you’ve got to really, really make sure you’re giving your chances the best opportunity.”

The Rams will now try to unseat the two-time defending National Division champions. Montagna knows he’ll need another big night from Dachowski.

“If we want to go down and beat South Wednesday, he’s got to be great” Montagna said. Every game going forward he has to be great. He can’t have an off night. It’s a lot of pressure on him {but} he’s had that pressure for three years.”

C.B. East 0 1 0—1

Pennridge 1 2 1—4

First-period goal: James Rush (P) from Shane Dachowski and Ladan Bishop, 11:28;

Second-period goals: Dachowski (P) unassisted, 8:00; David Brown (CBE) unassisted, 10:23; Dachowski (P) from Josh Kelly and Rush, 16:59

Third-period goal: Dachowski (P) from Rush, 16:10

Shots: C.B. East 31, Pennridge 32; Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 28, Jacob Winston (P) 30

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Flyers Cup Field Revealed

Forty-one teams in four divisions will comprise the field for the 2025 Flyers Cup tournament. The field was announced during the Flyers Cup Selection Show Sunday night.

First-round games will get underway on Monday, March 3 and action will continue through the middle of the following week.

The Class A field, with 14 teams, will be the largest in the tournament. The Class AA field will include 12 teams, the Class AAA bracket 8, and the girls’ bracket 7.

In years past, the Class A and AA fields have consisted of as many as 16 teams each but with just 37 Cup-eligible teams between the two divisions this season, the committee took a different approach.

Eric Tye is the President of the Flyers Cup Committee.

“We’re not putting everyone in just so everyone can be in,” he said. “There needs to be a cutoff. We came up with 12 (for Class AA). Do we feel bad for teams 13 and 14? I gues so. We feel bad for teams 15 and 16 in {Class A} and 9 and 10 in {Class AAA}.

“People aren’t going to agree with what we did, we know that, but we did what we think’s best.”

Brackets are listed below.

Class AAA (8 teams)

Quarterfinals, March 4 and 6

1 Holy Ghost Prep vs 8 Owen J. Roberts. 3-4; 6:15 at Hatfield Blue

4 Malvern Prep vs 5 Salesianum. 3-6; 6:30 at Ice Line 1

2 La Salle vs 7 Devon Prep. 3-4 6:00; at Hatfield Gray

3 St. Joseph’s Prep vs 6 Father Judge. 3-6; 8:30 at Skatium

Semifinals, Thursday March 13

Monday, March 17 or Wednesday, March 19

Class AA (12 teams)

First Round, March 3 and 4

8 Conestoga vs 9 Boyertown 3-4; 8:30 at Ice Line 1

4 Central Bucks South vs 12 Spring Ford 3-4; 8:30 at Hatfield Blue

7 Pennridge vs 10 Avon Grove 3-4; 8:10 at Hatfield Gray

6 Downingtown West vs 11 Central Bucks East 3-4; 6:15 at Ice Line AAA

Quarterfinals, Thursday, March 6

1 Council Rock South vs Conestoga or Boyertown 6:15 at Hatfield Gray

4 Haverford vs Central Bucks South or Spring Ford 6:30 at Skatium

2 North Penn vs Pennridge or Avon Grove 8:10 at Hatfield Gray

3 Downingtown East vs Downingtown West or C.B. East TBD

Semifinals

March 17 or 19

Finals TBD

Class A (14 teams)

Play In

Monday, Match 3

Play In

12 Moorsetown vs 13 Strath Haven 8:10 at Hatfield Blue

11 Radnor vs 14 Hatboro-Horsham 6:30 at Ice Line 1

First Round

Monday, Match 3

8 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 9 Springield-Delco 6:00 at Hatfield Blue

7 Marple Newtown vs 10 Palmyra 6:30 at Skatium

Tuesday, March 4

First Round

Moorsetown or Strath Haven vs 5 Kennett

Radnor or Hatboro-Horsham vs 6 Hershey 8:30 at Skatium

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 6

Plymouth Whitemrsh or Springfield-Delco vs 1 Garnet Valley 6:30 at Ice Works

Moorsetown, Strath-Haven, or Kennet vs 4 WC East at Ice Line

Marple Newtown or Palmyra vs 2 WC Henderson at Ice Line

Radnor, H-H or Hershey at Penncrest 8:30 at Ice Works

Semifinals March 11

Finals March 17

Girls (7 teams)

Monday March 3

Play in

6 West Chester East vs 7 Pennridge 8:30 at Ice Line

Wednesday, Match 5

Quarterfinals

4 West Chester Henderson vs 5 Radnor 7:45 at PNY

West Chester East or Pennridge vs 3 Conestoga 6:00 at PNY

Wednesday March 12

Semifinals

WC Henderson or Radnor vs 1 Avon Grove 6:00 at PNY

WC East, Pennridge, or Conestoga vs 2 Downingtown West 7:45 at PNY

Tuesday, March 18

Finals

6:00 ay PNY

Eric Tye and Rick Woelfel will discuss the tournament on the Hockey Happenings podcast which will drop on Monday, February 24

ICSHL Sets Playoff Brackets

The Inter County Scholastic Hockey League has released its playoff brackets.

Links to each division’s bracket are listed below. Playoff results have no bearing on the selections and seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament.

Central Division

Ches-Mont Division

Pioneer Division

Catholic-Prep Division

Division 2 Bracket

Girls National

Girls American

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SHSHL Playoffs Kick Off Monday

The SHSHL playoffs kick off Monday night with two national Division first-round games. Council Rock South, which has a bye into the semifinals, is the two-time defending National Division champion.

Pennridge enters the postseason as the defending Class AA Flyers Cup champion and state champion, having claimed those distinctions twice in the last three seasons. The Rams last won the SHSHL title in 2022. C.B. East’s last title cane in 2011

Central Bucks South’s last SHSHL National title came in 2018 when the Titans completed a run of four consecutive league titles, six in seven seasons, and seven in nine seasons. Pennsbury, which won the Class AA Flyers Cup title in 2023 won the SHSHL National title in 2021.

North Penn last won an SHSHL title in 2014.

Pennridge (12-7, 11-7 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Players to watch Shane Dachowski 32 goals, 25 assists, 57 points; James Rush 24-24-48; Jacob Winton 2.58 GAA, .918 sae percentage

Central Bucks East (10-8-1, 10-7-1 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Mitchell

Players to watch: Alex Wilson 14 goals, 6 assists, 20 points; Jaden Young 10-6-16; Cole Breen 4.06 GAA, .875 save percentage

The winner will play top-seeded Council Rock South on Wednesday in the semifinals

Central Bucks South (15-5, 15-3 in National Division)

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Players to watch: Sean Cutter 16 goals, 19 assists, 35 points; Jeff Kvecher 12-21-33; Jake Matkowski 3.75 GAA, .838 save percentage; Nate Napolitano 3.81, .859

Pennsbury (7-12, 6-12 in National Division)

Coach: Ryan Daley

Players to watch: Chris Sarver 11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points; Shane Hicks 14-17-31; Brendan Milliken 5.71 GAA, .810 save percentage.

The winner will play second-seeded North Penn on Wednesday in the semifinals

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