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Nick Martino scored two goals and added two assists as Malvern Prep downed St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in an Atlantic Prep Collegiate Conference game Tuesday at Ice Line.
The Friars improved to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the APAC. The Hawks dropped to 5-10 and 2-4
PHILADELPHIA—It was hockey’s equivalent of a late-round knockout. Down by a goal and a man, Malvern Prep scored two shorthanded goals 74 seconds apart in the waning moments of the third period to score a stunning 2-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.
Nick Martino scored the game-winning goal with 53 seconds remaining in regulation off a turnover the Hawks’ zone, beating Dan McGill with a forehander.
The comeback was, to say the least, improbable. Trailing 1-0 with 2:22 left in regulation, the Friars (8-3, 3-2 in the APAC) drew a penalty for having too many men on the ice. Up to that point the Hawks (5-9, 2-3) had had far the better of the third period and, skating on fresh ice, took a 1-0 lead on Brody Plouride’s goal with 13:01 remaking in regulation.
The Friars were skating uphill but they were unbowed. Martino tied the game with 2:07 remaining in regulation on a perfectly placed shot from the deep right wing that grazed the far post as it entered the net. But even that development gave no inkling as to what would happen from there.
Still on the power play, the Hawks coughed up the puck and one of the APAC’s premier snipers was there to take advantage.
“‘Never a doubt’ was our mindset,” Martino said. “After the time out was called (prior to the power play) Coach (Dave Dorman) was telling us ‘Take your chances but don’t overcommit.’ Two chances showed up and thankfully, we capitalized.”
Martino was in perfect position to capitalize on the turnover. “I saw the guy come up the ice,” he said. “I got a good angle on him. The puck needed up on my stick and I was just thinking, ‘Shoot.'”
Dorman said the result was a testament to his team’s resolve.”The this I’m most proud about is, through the highs and the lows, we managed them well and we stayed even keel,” he said.
“That was the most important thing, because at any point in time, that game could have gone either way.”
St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin regarded the defeat philosophically. “Games like that happen,” he said. “I thought we played as great hockey game for the entire game, and unfortunately, kids are kids. We wanted them to stay back on the power play and your instinct is to go forward and unfortunately, you give a very talented kid some ice and he buried that first one and the turnover costs on the second (goal).”
Notes—The Hawks had a 33-27 edge in shots. Dan Dougherty got the win in goal for the Friars The two teams will have a rematch Tuesday afternoon at Ice Line.
By Rick Woelfel
Malvern Prep 0 0 2—2
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1
Third-period goals: Brody Plouride (SJP) from Ryan Newby, 2:59; Nick Martino (MP) from Jack Constabile, 13:53 (sh); Martino (MP) unassisted, 13:53 (sh).
Shots: Malvern Prep 27, St. Joseph’s Prep 33; Saves: Dan Dougherty (MP) 32, Dan McGill (SJP 25
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—They may be few in numbers, but the Lower Moreland Lions Lower Moreland are making an impact in the Suburban High School Hockey League’s American Division. The Lions have just 12 players on their roster and had just seven skaters in uniform Monday night but their offense was as potent as ever in a 14-2, two- period win over Upper Dublin at Hatfield Ice.
Coleman Peppelman and Vincenzo DeMaio scored four goals each to lead the way for Lower Moreland, which moved into first place in the division with a 4-1-3 divisional mark (6-1-3 overall). The Lions, despite their lack of numbers, are unbeaten in their last eight games and are averaging nine goals a game.
The result was determined within moments of the opening puck drop. Much of the opening period was played in the Flying Cardinals’ defensive zone.
Lower Moreland scored 12 goals in the opening frame. Upper Dublin (3-7, 0-7 in league play) was outgunned but Flying Cardinal netminder Liam Nixon did some good work between the pipes, making 25 saves in the opening period. He added five more in the second frame.
The Flying Cardinals got on the scoreboard when Ari Nordlinger found the back of the net 71 seconds into the second session and the teams traded goals until the contest was halted at the period’s conclusion via the 10-goal mercy rule.
The Lions backed off the throttle in the second frame but Peppleman noted that having a sizable lead allowed he and his teammates to work on some of the game’s finer points. “We try to build up our defense,” he said, “from giving up a lot of goals and offensively I think we’re pretty solid.”
Peppelman, one of just two seniors in the lineup on Wednesday, stressed the importance of staying focused in a one-sided game to avoid developing bad habits.
“That’s when you try to get the kids who don’t get the puck as much, get it to them,” he said, “and have them build up from there, just set them up and get them ready for the next game.”
Coleman Peppelman scored four goals for Lower Moreland in Thursday’s won over Upper Dublin (Photo by Keith Clemens)
Lower Moreland coach Gus Salfitti was focused on puck possession. “We have about four or five guys that can protect the puck,” he said. “They keep possession. Their passes are nice and crisp and they’re to a target …They use a big chunk of the ice.”
In addition to Peppelmans’s and DeMaio’s four-goal efforts, Adam Bostock scored twice while collecting an incredible seven assists for a nine-point night. Peppelman added three assists to finish with seven points while DeMaio’s two assists gave him six points on the evening.
By Rick Woelfel
Lower Moreland 12 2—14
Upper Dublin 0 2—2
First-period goals: Vincenzo DeMaio (LM) from Adam Bostock, 1:37; Coleman Peppelman (LM) unassisted, 2:01; Bostock (LM) from DeMaio, 5:04; Devin Green (LM) from Peppelman, 5:44; Peppelman (LM) from DeMaio, 7:07; DeMaio (LM) from Bostock, 7:23; Peppelman (LM) from Bostock, 9:33 (pp); DeMaio (LM) from Bostock, 11:35; Green (LM) from Bostock, 13:03; Arthur Rubinstein (LM) from Peppelman, 13:33; Peppelman (LM) unassisted, 14:02; DeMaio (LM) from Bostock and Peppelman, 15:51 (pp).
Second-period goals: Ari Nordlinger (UD) from Chris Barbera and Andrew Kearney, 1;11; Bostock (LM) unassisted, 2:35; Noah Gazzara (LM) from Bostock and Green, 7:35; Oren Serafin (UD) unassisted, 10:08.
Shots: Lower Moreland 44, Upper Dublin 17; Saves: Jacob Lungrin (LM) 15, Liam Nixon (UD) 30.
Records: Lower Moreland (6-1-3, 4-1-3 SHSHL American Division); Upper Dublin (3-7, 1-7)
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—On some nights, a single occurrence can turn a hockey game on its axis and send it in an entirely new direction. So it was at Hatfield Ice Wednesday night.
Leading by a goal in the waning moments of the second period but facing a two-man disadvantage, Plymouth Whitemarsh not only successfully killed both penalties but scored a shorthanded goal to boot and went on to a 7-4 win over previously unbeaten Wissahickon in a Suburban High School Hockey League American Division encounter.
Colin Franzoni and Dean Keller scored two goals each and Ben Yuter made 33 saves in goal but the win was made possible in large part by what happened late in the middle period and early in the third.
Keller had just scored a goal to put the Colonials up 4-3 when, with 2:08 left in the middle period, Franzoni was sent to the box for high sticking. With 51 seconds left in the period Desmond Brock was corralled for a hooking infraction, leaving Plymouth Whitemarsh two men short for 46 seconds.
As the clock wound down inside the final half minute of the period the Colonials iced the puck. Two Trojans headed back to retrieve it but the Colonials’ Jake Weikel got to the puck first behind the Wissahickon net and spotted Franzoni waiting in front. The junior proceeded to put the puck past Trojan netminder Michael Henderson with nine seconds left in the period.
“I just busted all the way (down the ice) Franzoni said. “(Weikel) got the open pass, I shot it and it went in.”
Franzoni’s second goal of the game didn’t mean the Colonials (7-3, 4-3 SHSHL American) could rest easy. Dan Glazer scored for Wissahickon (6-1-2, 4-1-2) 56 seconds into the third period to bring the Trojans within a goal at 5-4. But Gavin Mulligan and Keller scored goals at 6:14 and 12:26, respectively, to give the Colonials some insurance.
The winners were outshot 37-24 but Yuter, a junior, was on top of his game. He said the key was maintaining his concentration. “Just staying intense the whole time and just watching every shot in,” he said,”and just seeing where everyone is, and just playing every shift like it’s my last.”
After losing a 13-8 shootout to Lower Moreland last Thursday, Yuter said it was important for he and his mates to step up Wednesday night.
“It was very important,” he said, “because we’ve always had a big rivalry against Wissahickon. They’re undefeated (prior to Wednesday) and we just need to show them what’s up and who is boss in this league.”
That issue won’t be settled until season’s end but Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington acknowledged Plymouth Whitemarsh was the superior team on this occasion.
“They were outworking us over and over,” he said. “We weren’t adjusting; they were collapsing on us and we weren’t adjusting.”
Harrington acknowledged his team still has some work to do. “We looked real sluggish,” he said. “A couple guys were under the weather, they were game time decisions, but no excuses. They’re were outworking us and the one-on-one battles, they won a lot of them.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 3 2—7
Wissahickon 2 1 1—4
First-period goals: Colin Franzoni (PW) from Ben Lucas, 9:10; Bryan Gary 
from Sean Gary, 9:31; Peter Troy (PW) from Dean Keller, 15:06; Sean Gary from Bryan Gary and Nick Hussa, 15:36 (pp).
Second-period goals: Aidan Keith (PW) from Troy, 5:43; Bryan Gary from Sean Gary, 11:55; Keller (PW) unassisted, 12:29; Franzoni (PW) from Jake Weikel, 15:49 (sh).
Third-period goals: Dan Glazer from Ty Schaffer, :56; Gavin Mulligan from Desmond Brock, 6:14; Keller (PW) from Franzoni, 12:26.
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 24, Wissahickon 37; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 33, Michael Henderson 17
By Rick Woelfel
Suburban High School Hockey League statistics as of 1-6-19
Scoring GP Goals Assists Points
Sean Gary Wiss 8 22 15 37
Bryan Gary Wiss 8 22 12 34
Dean Keller PW 9 13 18 31
Vincent DeMaio LM 9 16 14 30
Coleman Peppelman LM 9 18 11 29
Tyler Greenstein NP 10 15 12 27
Nathan Oh NP 10 10 14 24
Perry Carpenter Ab 8 15 8 23
Steven Avellino Tr 8 17 5 22
Reis Bracio CBS 9 11 10 21
Eric Slater Pr 7 17 4 21
Matt Cade Wiss 8 10 11 21
Ari Nordlinger UD 8 12 9 21
Colin Franzoni PW 9 13 8 21
Jake Weikel PW 9 15 6 21
Josh Kaufhold NP 10 6 14 20
John Gray Soud 9 12 8 20
Devin Green LM 9 8 12 20
Goals against Ave.(Min. 192 minutes played) GP Min. GAA
Chris McIntyre CBE 8 240 2.60
Luke Stranik Pr 7 329 2.62
Andrew Zanoni NP 8 240 2.80
Nick Ebbinghus NP 8 240 2.80
Joe Gambino HH 8 336 3.14
Ben Yuter PW 8 312 3.22
Oscar Levin CBS 8 312 3.23
Jimmy Sweeney CRS 6 208 3.46
Michael Henderson Wiss 8 384 3.50
Steven Glik, Nesh 8 336 3.86
Save Percentage (Min 192 minutes played) GP Min Sv Pct.
Chris McIntyre CBE 8 240 .912
Steveb Glik Nesh 8 336 .902
Luke Stranik Pr 7 329 .901
Joe Gambino HH 8 336 .900
Oscar Levin CBS 8 312 .881
Jonathan Pritchard Soud 10 432 .880
Jeremy Wedul Tr 9 384 .866
Jacob Snellenburg Ab 8 240 .863
Michael Henderson Wiss 8 384 .859
Ben Yuter PW 8 312 .858
Here is how the standings shape up in the Suburban High School Hockey League going into the week.
Class 2A
National Division W L T Pts
C.R. South (5-2-2) 2 1 2 5
Abington (3-3-2) 2 1 1 4
Neshaminy (3-4-1) 2 3 0 4
Pennsbury (3-4-2) 2 3 0 4
Truman (2-5-2) 1 3 1 3
William Tennent (3-6) 1 4 0 2
Continental Division W L T Pts
C.B. South (6-2-1) 5 0 1 11
North Penn (6-2-2) 5 1 1 11
Pennridge (5-1-1) 4 1 0 8
C.B. East (5-2-1) 2 2 0 4
C.B. West (3-5) 1 3 0 2
Souderton (1-9) 0 6 0 0
Class A
American Division W L T Pts
Wissahickon (6-0-2) 4 0 2 10
Hatboro-Horsham (5-3-1) 3 3 1 7
Lower Moreland (5-1-3) 3 1 1 7
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-3) 3 3 0 6
Upper Dublin (3-6) 0 6 0 0
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By Rick Woelfel
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP‑The much-anticipated matchup delivered on most expectations. But it did not produce a winner.
Central Bucks South and North Penn put on an impressive display of hockey at Hatfield Ice Thursday night before their Suburban High School Hockey League matchup ended in a 2-2 deadlock.
It was the second meeting of the season between the Titans and the Knights but this one counted in the SHSHL Class 2A division standings.
The Titans improved to 6-2-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the SHSHL. The Knights now stand at 6-2-2 and 5-1-1.
North Penn’s Jake Nelson scored what turned out to be the last goal of the evening 4:25 into the third period off a superb individual effort by his teammate, defenseman Ryan Cunningham, who carried the puck out of his own zone up the left wing before cutting to his right as he crossed the South blue line and moving in on Titan goaltender Oscar Levin. Levin made the save but Nelson put in the rebound.
“I knew (Cunningham) was going to shoot it,” Nelson said, “so I just went to the net, filled my lane, and looked for the rebound.”
Levin was superb in the Titans’ net, making 25 saves. His best work came just past the midway point of the second period when he denied first Nick Rowland and Josh Kaufhold in a 30-second span. “I usually use those to make sure our team gets the confidence to make sure we get back into our business,” Levin said, “where we can get good, quality shots on net and make sure that we can get as many shots as possible.”
North Penn was able to slow their foes down to some extent, outshooting the Titans 27-21.
“We want to try to get at least 10 shots every period,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We want to look to hold the other team to seven or less. (South) loves shooting the puck from all different angles and getting shots on net. We did a good job tonight of keeping their shots to the outside, keeping them to a minimum.”
South coach Shaun McGinty said his team was fortunate to come away with a point. “I think we were lucky to get out of there with a tie,” he said. “(North Penn) definitely deserved to win, they won all three periods. We definitely didn’t have the offense we’ve had.”
Ryan Gingras gave the Titans a 1-0 lead 8:45 into the first period with a long shot that caromed off the glove of North Penn goaltender Nick Ebbinghaus and into the net.
Nathan Oh drew the Knights even just seven seconds into the second frame but it took just another 1:23 for South to take a 2-1 lead thanks to Matt Milanesi’s power-play goal. Gingras set up the goal with a burst through the neutral zone
Notes—The Titans won the teams’ first meeting 5-2 on November 21. South is unbeaten in its last seven games
C.B. South 1 1 0—2
North Penn 0 1 1—2
First-period goal: Ryan Gingras (CBS) from Reis Braccio and Brian Keilman, 8:45.
Second-period goals: Nathan Oh (NP) from Jared Albano, :07; Matt Milanesi (CBS) from Gingras, 1:30 (pp).
Third-period goal: Jake Nelson (NP) from Ryan Cunningham and Tyler Greenstein, 4:25.
Shots: C.B. South 21, North Penn 27; saves: Oscar Levin (CBS) 25, Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 19.
BENSALEM—The pattern is becoming all too familiar for Holy Ghost Prep. Matthew Frett scored 35 seconds into overtime to give Gloucester Catholic a 2-1 win over the Firebirds Thursday afternoon at Grundy Arena.
It marked the third time in three games Holy Ghost Prep has gone down to defeat following regulation. The Firebirds (4-8) fell to LaSalle in overtime on December 21 and St. Joseph’s Prep in a shootout on December 14.
The winning goal came on a two-one one situation. Frett carried the puck down the right wing, took his time, and beat Firebird netminder Sean Joyce.
“It’s just really frustrating,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “We’ve just got to start winning some hockey games. We’ve got to care a little bit more, we’ve got to work harder, and just get better.”
For most of the afternoon the teams skated on even terms. The game got off to a fast pace. Six minutes of the opening period passed without a whistle. Joyce came up big when he denied Gloucester Catholic’s Carter Jones with six-and-a-half minutes left in the period.
Frett got his team on the scoreboard with just 61 seconds left in the opening session. Tyler Carter took the initial shot from the left wing. Joyce made the save but Frett put in the rebound.
Holy Ghost Prep was forced to come up by big on the penalty kill in the second period when defenseman Jack Kelly drew a five-minute major penalty plus a game misconduct, at the 6:48 mark for head contact. The Firebirds stood tall at the start of the subsequent power play before things even up when the Rams’ Connor Millikan drew a boarding call at 8:06.
The third period saw the Firebirds fail to take advantage of one power-play chance but they got a second when Frett was sent off for hooking with 4:31 left in the game. This time the hosts were able to capitalize. Stefen Melekos took the initial shot from the right wing, Ram goaltender Christopher Liscio made a quality save but Byron Hartley put in the rebound with a forehander.
The sudden-death overtime period was over seemingly in the blink of an eye.
“There were parts of the game where I thought our effort was really good,” Whiteside said. “Puck possession time, I thought we did some really good things. But again, we lost 2-1 and that’s the bottom line.”
Notes—Gloucester Catholic was a semi finalist a year ago in the New Jersey High School Athletic Association’s private school tournament. It is one of four schools that is playing a round robin with Atlantic Prep athletic Conference teams. The others are The Hun School, Princeton Day, and St. Augustine.
Gloucester Catholic 1 0 0 1—2
Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 1 0—1
First-period goal: Matthew Frett (GC) from Tyler Carter, 14:59
Third-period goal: Byron Hartley (HGP) from Stefen Melekos and Thomas McNulty, 12:16 (pp)
Overtime goal: Frett (GC) from Jake Grace, :35
Shots: Gloucester Catholic 27, Holy Ghost Prep 25; Saves: Christopher Liscio (GC) 24, Tristan Devine (HGP) 25
Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference W L OTW OTL Pts
LaSalle (12-3) 5 0 1 0 17
Malvern Prep (6-3) 2 2 0 0 6
St. Joseph’s Prep (5-6) 1 2 1 0 5
Holy Ghost Prep (4-7) 0 4 0 2 2
Teams receive three points for a regulation win, two points for a win in an overtime or shootout, one point for a loss in overtime or shootout
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Gloucester Catholic at Holy Ghost Prep
St. Joseph’s Prep at St. Augustine
WARWICK—The calendar has turned to January. And, as predictably as an appearance of the full moon, Council Rock South is rounding into form.
Four unanswered third-period goals enabled the Golden Hawks to pull away from Neshaminy 5-1 Wednesday night in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class 2A matchup at Revolution Ice Gardens. Five different players scored goals as South improved to 2-1-1 in league play and 5-2-2 overall. The Hawks have three wins and a tie in their last five starts dating back to Thanksgiving Eve. Neshaminy dropped to 3-4-1 and 2-3.
“It’s good when you get contributions from everybody,” said South coach Joe Houk. “That’s the key to everything. That’s all different lines too. The third line was we had was basically a line of (junior varsity) guys.”
Andrew Stoychev led the way for South with a goal and two assists. His goal 30 seconds into the third period provided to be the game winner. Logan Hurwitz also had a three-point night; three assists.
Despite the fact that there were several junior varsity players in the South lineup, Stoychev said all the pieces fit.
“Both our teams work together,” the senior said. “We saw what was happening with all of our lines, we know how to play with each other and we just make stuff work out.”
The game was scoreless for virtually all of the first two periods. Neshaminy’s Zach MacNamee broke the scoreless deadlock when he beat South netminder Jimmy Sweeney from close range with just 52 seconds left in the second session.
It took only 22 seconds for John Hearn to deliver the equalizer, a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.
Stoychev put South in front for good 30 seconds into the final period. Billy Harrelson, Cameron Schwartz, and Kenny Duffield followed with goals of their own over the next 7:42.
“We came out flat,” said Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo. “The biggest thing for us I think is that we turned too many pucks over in transition and we did a poor job getting the puck out of the zone. And when you let that team keep the puck in, and sustain pressure, sooner or later the puck is going to go in your net.”
Notes—South had a 21-16 wedge in shots. The game featured just three minor penalties.
Neshaminy 0 1 0—1
C.R. South 0 1 4—5
Second-period goals: Zach MacNamee (N) from Brett Nelson, 15:08; John Hearn (CRS) from Logan Hurwitz and Andrew Stoychev, 15:30.
Third-period goals: Stoychev (CRS) from Hurwitz and David Mueller, :30; Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Jimmy Purcell, 3:45; Cameron Schwartz (CRS) from Sam Cherkassky and Julian Wagenmann, 5:01; Kenny Duffield (CRS) from Hurwitz and Stoychev, 8:12.
Shots: Neshaminy 16, Council Rock South 21; Saves: Steven Glik (N) 16, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 15
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