Category: Hockey News

Holy Ghost Prep 2, La Salle 1

BRISTOL—If familiarity doesn’t breed contempt it certainly breeds a certain amount of hostility. Friday’s game between La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep was the third of the season between the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference rivals and Grundy Arena was filled to the brim with emotional energy.

Anthony Sparo’s goal with 8:28 left in regulation was the difference in the Firebirds’ 2-1 win. The win moved Holy Ghost Prep into first place in the APAC with a 4-3-1-0 league mark for 14 points, one point in front of St. Joseph’s Prep, which has a game in hand.

La Salle dropped to 9-14 overall and 1-3-2-1 in conference play.

“There was a lot of emotion,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “Two very good hockey teams, great energy in the building tonight. Just happy to get out of here with a win.”

The Explorers’ Chris Wnek opened the scoring 3:15 into the first periods off a feed from David Kimmel.

Early in the second frame the Firebirds found themselves with an opportunity to draw even when they were presented with an 83-second two-man advantage. EJ. Pohl thought he had tied the game at the 2:11 mark with a shot from the right wing but the referee ruled the puck hit the post and did not cross the goal line and the Explorers killed off the remainder of both penalties. A few minutes later, Sean Joyce made a pair of big saves seconds apart to keep it a one-goal game,

The Firebirds did tie the game with a minute left in the period when Brady Baehser scored on an effort that got through a pile of players in front of the net and past La Salle netminder Matthew Bant.

The two teams started the third period on fresh ice and if anything, the pace of play picked up.

Sparo’s game-winning goal came off a left-circle faceoff in the offensive zone.

With 1:29 left in the game the emotions of the evening boiled over when La Salle’s Andrew Budzynski was called for cross checking. Moments later it appeared the Explorers’ Max Maddalo was knocked into the boards but no additional penalties were called and La Salle skated a man short until the Explorers’ Nathan Benner and the Firebirds’ Dan Behr got into a scuffle with eight seconds to go that led to five additional penalties.

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner was unavailable for comment following the game.

Notes—Brant stopped 39 shots in the La Salle net … La Salle will close its conference campaign at Malvern Prep Monday night … Holy Ghost Prep will host St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon. A regulation win would give the Firebirds the APAC regular-season title.

La Sallle 1 0 0—1
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2
First-period goal: Chris Wnek (L) from David Kimmel, 3:15;
Second-period goal: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Aidan Mulholland, 15:00 (pp)
Third-period goal: Anthony Sparo (HGP) unassisted, 7:32
Shots: La Salle 16, Holy Ghost Prep 41; Saves: Matthew Brant (L) 39, Sean Joyce (HGP) 15

 

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Check out our Hockey  Happenings podcast atwww.buzzsprout.com/213400

 

Neshaminy 5, Pennsbury 2

BRISTOL— The atmosphere resembled that of a Flyers Cup game, Which was not surprising; any contest between Pennsbury and Neshaminy, whatever the sport, is sure to be crackling with intensity.

It was Neshaminy that had the better of things Thursday night, 5-2 in a SHSHL Class AA Division game before a large and energetic audience at Grundy Arena. Joey DeMatteo scored three goals to help the Skins (9-3, 7-2 in divisional play) avenge a Thanksgiving Eve loss to the Falcons (8-4-1, 4-4-1)

The game was tight for 32 minutes before Neshaminy scored three goals in the third frame.

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo said his team responded to the emotions of the evening without being overwhelmed by those emotions.

“We’re still a bit of a younger team,” he said. “We only have three seniors and part of learning how to win is learning how to play mature, and learning how to play the way the game dictates.”

The first period was played on even terms with the ‘Skins looking for open ice while the Falcons employed a dump-and-chase strategy. Neshaminy’s Robert Seewagen scored the period’s only goal with 40 seconds remaining off a Pennsbury turnover, It was one of a series of miscues that hurt the Falcons’ cause and undermined a solid performance by Topher Seiler, their goaltender.

“Our goalie stood on top of his head,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “He couldn’t have played any better.”

Thomas Gallagher extended Neshaminy’s lead 1:40 into the second period when he found open space in the right circle and put the puck in the top right corner of the net. Erik Eisler answered back at 11:46 to make it a one-goal game heading into the third period.

Joey DeMatteo took over from there, scoring twice in a seven-minute span to put his team up 4-1 with 6:44 left in regulation. Eisler scored his second goal of the game on a power play with 4:57 left but DeMatteo fired the puck into an empty net with 37 seconds remaining.

The senior said his team took a different approach to the rematch with the Falcons. “We focused on emotion way too much in that game,” he said, “and we just kind of put all that aside and just played the game and focused on the game.”

Neshaminy came into the game ranked sixth in the Class AA Flyers Cup power rankings. The Falcons were ranked 10th this week.

Pennsbury 0 1 1—2
Neshaminy 1 1 3—5
First-period goal: Robert Seewagen (N) unassisted, 15:20.
Second-period goals: Thomas Gallagher (N) from Trevor Kuhn, 1:40; Erik Eisler (P) from Beau Bruslius and Ben Dous, 11:46.
Third-period goals: Joey DeMatteo (N) unassisted, 2:15; DeMatteo (N) from J.J. Hathaway and Matt Buchinski, 9:16; Eisler (P) unassisted, 11:03 (pp); DeMatteo (N) from Michael Knipple, 15:23 (en).
Shots: Pennsbury 21, Neshaminy 38; Saves: Topher Seiler (P) 33, Brian Nelson (N) 19

Volunteers Needed for Learn to Skate Program

The Andrew L. Hicks Jr. Foundation is seeking volunteers for its 10thannual Learn to Skate event, which will be held on Sunday, March 29 from 4:00-7:00 at the Ice Line rink on Lawrence Road in West Chester. It is an opportunity for youngers from Chester in grades 3-5 to learn what ice skating is all about.

If you’re interested in helping out at the event, go to:
http://www.andrewlhicksjrfoundation.org/open-events/learn-skate-volunteer-registration/

Or contact Event Coordinator Julie Bernard at  julie@alhjr.org or at:

1-866-ALHJR10 Ext #3 or at 215-823-9726 – cell

Princeton Day School 3, Malvern Prep 2

WEST GOSHEN— Coaches talk a lot as out staying out of the penalty box. Malvern Prep was unable to do that Monday afternoon and that proved to be its undoing.
John Oliver’s power-play goal with 2:16 left in the third period gave Princeton Day school a 3-2 win over the Friars in a non-league matchup Ice Line.

Oliver’s game winner was the second power play goal of the game for the Panthers (6-6) who compete in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League. Malvern Prep (6-7) was accessed all five penalties that were called in the game, all of them minors. Two of them came back-to-back late in the third period. As a result, the Friars’ Jack Constabile found himself in the box for four minutes over the final 5:29 of the game.

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Princeton Day School’s Drew McConaughy (in gray) and Malvern Prep’s Caimin Hayes battle for the puck. (Photo by Gracie Cleveland)

Constabile opened the scoring when he got the Friars on the board 12:02 into the first period of a setup from Ryan Sambuco. Malvern Prep extended its lead 57 seconds into the second frame when Sambuco beat Panther goaltender Timothy Miller on a shot from the left circle.

The Panthers responded at the 5::03 mark when Luke Austinacci scored a power-play goal and tied the game at the 13:13 mark when Drew McConaughy found the back of the net.

Both teams had opportunities in the third period but Miller and the Friars’ Anthony Perti were up to the task of protecting their nets. Constabile was sent to the box for a check from behind with 5:29 left in the third period. Just 10 seconds after stepping back on the ice he was boxed again, this time for tripping; the second infraction led to Oliver’s game-winning goal.

“Anytime you go down and take penalties, it’s hard to get a rhythm going,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We started to click well there at the beginning of the third period, but two late penalties hurt us.”

With an eye toward the end of the season, the Friars will now regroup and refocus, Three regular season games remain, including the APAC finale against La Salle next Monday night.

“The couple games we’ve taken some shifts off,” Keenan said, “but I think we’re headed in the right direction,”

Keenan points out that the conference race has been a wide open one so far this season; he does not expect that to change. “(The league) had four strong teams and we know we very time we go up against one of those teams it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “We’re just hoping that e can start clicking at the right time and hopefully go far.”

Princeton Day School 0 2 1—3
Malvern Prep 1 1 0—2
First-period goals: Jack Constabile (MP) from Ryan Sambuco, 12:02
Second-period goals: Sambuco (MP) from Chris Blango, :57; Luke Austinacci (PDS) from David Sherman, 5:03 (pp); Drew McConaughy (PDS) from Stephan Gorelenkov and Oliver Hall, 13:13
Third-period goals: John Oliver (PS) from Gibson Linnehan and Birch Gorman, 13:44 (pp).
Shots; Princeton Day School 32, Malvern Prep 22; Saves: Timothy Miller (PDS) 20, Anthony Perti (MP) 29

Founders Cup Playoff Dates Set

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has finalized the dates for its Founders Cup playoffs. All four teams will participate in the semifinals on Monday, February 24thwith the top seed hosting the fourth-place finisher and the second seed hosting the third seed.

The championship game will be played on Wednesday, February 26 and will be hosted by the highest seeded finalist.

La Salle is the defending Founders Cup champion.

APAC Update

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Standings

Includes games played and reported through 1-28

 

W        L       OW      OL        Pts               GF       GA

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-10)                       3          0       0           4           13                 25       23

Holy Ghost Prep (10-4-1)                       3         3        1      0               11                25         21

Malvern Prep (6-7)                              2         4         2        0             10               33           36

LaSalle (9-13)                                      1          2     2           1                8                 28        19

Teams receive:

3 points for a regulation win

2 points  for an overtime or shootout win

1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

0 points for a regulation loss

 

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Scoring Leaders                        Games     G      A       Pts

Byron Hartley (HGP)                  14         17     11      28

Matt Harris (MP)                        12          17    8        25

Jack Constabile (MP)                  8             5     15      20

Evan Mudrick (HGP)                   12        10     9       19

Ryan Sambuco (MP)                   12          5     11     16

Anthony Sparo (HGP)                  12        4   10     14

Nathan Benner (La)                     15        8     5     13

Jimmy Craig (SJP)                         13         4     8     12

Braedon Barsher (HGP)              11        10    1      11

Keenan Schneider (La)                15          2      9     11

Andrew Centrella (SJP)               12           1    10    11

 

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. Stop in an check us out  or please visit our Facebook page  

 

St. Joseph’s Prep Wins Title in Florida

St. Joseph’s Prep will return home from Clearwater, Florida with the championship of the Clearwater Beach Martin Luther King Day Tournament. The Hawks won four consecutive games against a field of scholastic and club teams.

The Hawks bested the Palm Beach Hawks 5-0 in Monday’s championship game after wins over the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes 5-3, the Nova Ice Dogs 3-0 and St. John Ravencourt 5-0 the previous two days.

The Hawks are now 10-9 in all competitions and 3-0-0-3 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. They will return to action on Friday when they face La Salle in an APAC matchup at Hatfield Ice (6:50 start).

Flyers Cup Power Rankings for 1-20-20

The ratings below were computed by the Flyers Cup Committee and were determined by a combination of game results, strength of schedule, and committee observations through games on January 17. In the case of Class AAA only games against other Flyers Cup eligible teams are included. For more information go to the Flyers Cup Tournament site HERE

Check out the Flyers Cup podcast HERE.   New episodes posted each Friday.

 

 

Class AAA (Maximum # of teams in field: 8)

  1. St. Joseph’s Prep (6-0-0-3)
  2. La Salle (5-2-0-1)
  3. Holy Ghost Prep (6-3-0-0)
  4. Malvern Prep (6-3-0-0)
  5. Father Judge (10-5-0-0)

In a fairly quiet week across the AAA division, St. Joseph’s Prep (APAC) remains as the #1 team – still with an undefeated regulation record. Holy Ghost Prep (APAC) defeated Malvern Prep (APAC) (5-1) in this week’s only APAC game, sliding Malvern down in the rankings and pulling up HGP. La Salle (APAC) did not play and holds steady at second. Father Judge (ICSHL) remains at five after defeating DMA (ICSHL) in a non-division game.

 

 

Class AA (Maximum # of teams in field: 16)

  1. Central Bucks South (9-0-0-1)
  2. Haverford (13-1-0-0)
  3. Perkiomen Valley (9-2-0-1)
  4. North Penn (6-2-0-0)
  5. Downingtown West (7-5-0-1)
  6. Pennsbury (8-2-1-0)
  7. Neshaminy (8-3—0-1)
  8. Council Rock South (5-3-0-0)
  9. Boyertown (8-5-1-0)
  10. Central Bucks East (7-2-1-1)

Central Bucks South (SHSHL) took care of business against SHSHL rival Council Rock South to remain in the top sport and Haverford (ICSHL) remains as number two after having the week off. Perkiomen Valley (ICSHL) added two nice ICSHL wins (Downingtown West and Springford) to leapfrog North Penn (SHSHL) who did not play this week. Downingtown West (ICSHL) remains in fifth and both Pennsbury (SHSHL) and Neshaminy (SHSHL) jump CR South (SHSHL) after their respective wins and CRS’s loss. Boyertown’s (ICSHL) impressive 6-0 victory over Delaware power Salesianum brings Boyertown up one spot and number nine as Central Bucks East (SHSHL) rounds out the Top 10.

 

 

Class A (Maximum # of teams in field: 16)

  1. West Chester East (10-3-0-0)
  2. Springfield Delco (9-2-0-2)
  3. Unionville (8-5-0-0)
  4. Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-1-0-0)
  5. West Chester Rustin (7-4-0-2)
  6. Palmyra (13-1-0-1)
  7. Strath Haven (8-3-0-1)
  8. Hershey (10-2-1-2)
  9. Lower Dauphin (10-4-0-0)
  10. West Chester Henderson (5-6-1-0)

 

West Chester East (ICSHL), Springfield (ICSHL), Unionville (ICSHL) had impressive wins and are the new top three in the A level classification. Plymouth Whitemarsh (SHSHL) earned another league W as they round out the top four. West Chester Bayard Rustin’s (ICSHL) win over cross-town rival West Chester Henderson (ICSHL) causes a flip-flop between Rustin and Palmyra (CPIHL). Palmyra, although earning a win, drop one spot to number six for this week. Strath Haven (ICSHL) has hung around the same general spot in our rankings all year and continue to be there at number seven. Hershey (CPIHL) moves up to number eight and fellow league member Lower Dauphin (CPIHL) enter the polls for the first time at number nine. WC Henderson drops to number ten after of dropping two games to equally dominant opponents (WC East and WC Bayard Rustin).

 

 

N.J./Del (Maximum # of teams in field: 8)

  1. Eastern (11-2-2-0)
  2. Salesianum (7-4-1-1)
  3. Moorsetown (8-4-3-0)
  4. Cherokee (7-4-4-0)
  5. Appoquinimink (11-1-0-2)

 

 Eastern (SJHSHL) remains as the top seed after adding one victory to their belt. Salesianum (ICSHL) still sits in second, but their non-division loss to Boyertown (6-0) has everything tightening up for later rankings, especially with Moorestown (SJHSHL) having a solid 1-0-1 week. Cherokee (SJHSHL) jumps to fourth after battling to a tie with Moorestown and then beating Shawnee (SJHSHL) in an emotional dual-senior night battle. Appoquinimink (ICSHL) rounds out the top five.

 

Girls (Maximum # of teams in field: 5)

  1. Bux-Mont Catholic (10-1-0-0)
  2. Unionville (8-2-0-2)
  3. Avon Grove (8-3-0-1)
  4. West Chester East (3-7-0-0)

Bux-Mont (ICSHL) sits at the top of the Girls division power Rranking for a second week in a row. It was a very quiet week of games, but previous #4 WC Henderson (ICSHL) suffered a large loss, moving WC East (ICSHL) back in to the polls as the new #4. Unionville (ICSHL) and Avon Grove (ICSHL) remain at #2 and #3.

SHSHL Update

Class AA                                         W     L     T      OTL     Pts

C.B. South 9-0-0-1)                          7     0     0        0         14

Neshaminy (8-3-0-0)                        6     2     0     0           12

North Penn (6-2-0-0)                       5    0     0     0            10

C.R. South (5-4-0-0)                          5     1     0     0           10

C.B. East (7-2-1-1)                              4     2     1     1           10

Pennsbury (8-2-1-0)                         4     2     1     0            9

C.B. West (6-2-2-1))                          3     2     2     0            8

Souderton (3-8-1-1)                        3     4     1     1            8

William Tennent (4-6-0-1)           2        5     1     0        5

Pennridge (5-5-0-0)                       2     4     0     0            4

Abington (2-8-0-0)                         1     5     0     0            2

 

Quakertown (1-8-1-0)                    0     5     1     0          1

Council Rock North (1-10-0-0)    0     7     0     0          0

 

 

 

 

Class A                                                     W    L      T     OTL  Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-1-0-0)        7     0     0       0     14

Wissahickon (7-6-0-0)                            5     4     0     0        10

Hatboro-Horsham (9-2-0-1)                 4     1     0     1         9

Lower Moreland (1-9-0-0)                   1     4     0     0          2

Truman (0-11-0-0)                                0     6     0     0         0

 

 

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

 

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game. The shootout will not be used

Check out the latest edition of the Hockey Happenings podcast. Rick Woelfel and Eric Tye count down to the 2020 Flyer Cup.

 

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 pageor stop in and check us out!

 

Scoring

Class AA                                      G      A     Pts

Jake Lang (CBW)                       23     17    40

Robert Seewagon(Nesh)         20      13    33

Chris Trefz (CBW)                   10       21   31

Michael Roby (CRS)                18       8      26

Tyler Greenstein (NP)             8     17       25

Antii Autere (CRS)                   7     18       25

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb)  11    13        24

Dominic Patrone (CBS)         11    13       24

Reece Millman (Pb)               14     9        23

Josh Kaufhold (NP)                11    11      22

Sean Gorman (CBE)              20     1        21

Erik Eisler (Pb)                      8      13       21

Justin Carrelli (WT)            14       7         21

Colin Abbonizio (CBS)      13        8         21

 

Class A                                    G     A    Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW)               15    24   39

Jake Weikel (PW)                  21   14   35

Alex Howieson (HH)           19     14   33

Dean Keller (PW)                  17   13   30

Luke Weikel (PW)                   14  14   28

Seth Lerner (HH)                   15    11   26

Aidan Esack (HH)                    10   13   23

Nichols Hussa (W)                  17     5    22

Tarek Elsabbagh (HH)            10   10   20

 

Goals Against

Class AA                         MP        GA     GAA

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)36112   1.60

Mason Moyer (CBS)   48016   1.60

Brian Nelson (Nesh)   42820   2.24

Chris McIntyre (CBE)  53425   2.25

Ryan Pico (Pr)      43231   3.44

 

Class A                     MP    GA    GAA

Ben Yuter (PW     41024   2.81

Joe Gambimo (HH)388      32   3.96

 

 

Save Percentage

 

Class AA                            MP       Shots    Saves     Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS)          480       230          214       .930

Chris McIntyre (CBE)        534       339          314       .926

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)       361        151       139         .921

Ryan Pico (Pr)                      432         271       240        .886

Brian Nelson (Nesh)           428         168        148        .881

 

 

Class A                                      MP             Shots      Saves    Save Pct

Joe Gambino (HH)                 388                 291       259      .890

Ben Yuter (PW)                    410             182         158        .868

 

 

 

 

Flyers Cup Schedule Finalized

The schedule for the 2020 Flyers Cup tournament has been set. The 41stedition of the tournament will commence on Monday, March 2 and continue through Friday, March 20.

Up to 53 teams will compete in the event in five separate divisions. The field will be announced on the evening of Sunday, February 23 with the tournament to begin eight days later.

 

The schedule is as follows

Monday. March 2: Class A first round games

Tuesday, March 3: Class AA first round games

Wednesday, March 4: Quarterfinal games in Class A and the South Jersey/Delaware divisions

Thursday, March 5: Quarterfinal games in Class AA and Class AAA divisions

Monday, March 9: Class A semifinals and Girls Division Play in

Wednesday, March 11: Class AA and Class AAA semifinals

Thursday, March 12: Class AA and Class AAA semifinals

Monday, March 16: Girls and SJ/Del semifinals

Tuesday, March 17: Class A final and possible Class AA final

Wednesday, March 18: Class AAA final and possible Class AA Final

Thursday, March 19: SJ/Del final

Friday, March 20: Girls final

The three Pennsylvania boys’ champions will advance to the Pennsylvania state championship games on Saturday, January 21 at Ice Line. The game schedule will be as follows:

11:00: Class A

2:00: Class AA

5:00: Class AAA

According to Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye, the game schedule will be arranged to accommodate doubleheaders at tournament venues and to keep teams close to their home areas as possible with higher seeded teams receiving priority. There is longer break between the semifinal and final rounds in years past to account for the possibility of inclement weather.

More tournament information and history can be found HERE

To hear the latest edition of the Flyers Cup 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!

 

If you or a family member, or friend are looking for a dentist, we’re proud to recommend All Smiles Family Dentistry. They’re located at 1620 South Broad Street in Lansdale.

Dr. Caroline Hsu, Dr. Azure Pelberg and their staff provide high-quality dental care in a caring, nurturing environment.  They’ve been taking care of my teeth for 25 years and I would recommend them to anyone. Going to the dentist can be an unsettling experience but everyone at All Smiles Family Dentistry will work to put you at ease.

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. 

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