Salesianum 7 Haverford School 1

LaBuono, Braeden Graham, and Sean Melican each scored two goals as Salesianum concluded its regular season with a 7-1 win over The Haverford School Friday afternoon at Ice Line.

The Sallies closed the regular season 15-3 against ICSHL competition closed the regular season with three consecutive conference win.

Liam Bell also scored for the Sallies. Melican added two assists.

After a scoreless first period, LaBuono started the scoring four minutes into the second period. Harry Neilly tied the game for the Fords (2-6 in the division) just 19 seconds later but Salesianum broke the game open when Bell, Melican Graham, and LaBuono scored goals in a four-and-a-half minute span.

Melican and Graham added goals in the third period.

Salesianum 0 5 2—7

Haverford School 0 1 0—1

Second-period goals: Nick LaBuono (S) unassisted, 4:00; Harry Neilly (HS) from Michael DiPalma and Henry Cagliuso, 4:19; Liam Bell (S) from Sean Melican 5:08; Melican (S) from Michael Flaherty and Jerry Distefano, 6:46; Braeden Graham (S) from LaBuono (S) and Grayson Betterly, 7:53; LaBuono (S) from Melican and Jerry Distefano, 9:48

Third-period goals: Melican (S) from Blake D’Italia and Sean Albert 5:29; Graham (S) from Park Stipa, 9:12

Shots: Salesianum 38, Haverford School 6 Saves: Gavin Needs (S) 6, Ike Matoney (HS) 31

W.C. East 5 Avon Grove 2

West Chester East is playing some of the best hockey in the area and the timing couldn’t be better. The Vikings scored three times in the third period Wednesday afternoon en route to a 5-2 Ches-Mont League win over Avon Grove at Ice Line.

With just 12 days remaining until the start of the ICSHL playoffs and just 11 until the field for the Flyers Cup tournament is announced, the Vikings have won three straight games and five of their last six to conclude their league schedule. With one crossover game remaining (against Springfield-Delco on February 21) East now stands at 9-8 overall and 5-7 in the Ches-Mont and is listed fifth in the Class A Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday.

Avon Grove, which had won three of its last four prior to Wednesday and is hoping to earn a place in the Class AA Flyers Cup, dropped to 8-9-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the Ches-Mont.

Tyler Stutzman opened the scoring for the Vikings 2:23 into the first period. Evan Finnicum responded for the Devils with a power-play goal at 12:19.

Jackson Zwirzina’s goal with 1:45 left in the middle period gave the Vikings the lead for good. James Hayes extended that lead 2:48 into the final period.

Mason Hitt’s power-play goal a minute later made it a one-goal game once more but first Finn and then Hayes added additional goals to solidify the Vikings’ grip.

West Chester East coach Eric Wolf said the Vikings, who have won three Flyers Cup titles in the past four years, has been playing with a sense of urgency of late.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” he said. “I was really stressing to the guys back in December ‘Hey, look at your record. You’re trending toward not getting in the Flyers Cup right now.

“That’s where we were trending. We had one win in the Ches-Mont at the turn of the calendar. That’s not satisfactory for our program. “We’re still very strong team and we were not playing up to our capabilities.”

The Devils were missing four regulars from their lineup.

“We were shorthanded,” said Avon Grove coach Sean Cannon, ‘But I liked our work effort and our energy.”

Avon Grove 1 0 1—2

West Chester East 1 1 3—5

First-period goals: Tyler Stutzman (WCE) from Konrad Finnin, 2:23; Evan Finnicum (AG) from Parker Thompson, 12:43 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jackson Zwirzina (WCE) from Noah Rosenthal, 15:15

Third-period goals: James Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 2:48; Mason Hitt (AG) from Finnicum, 3:48 (pp); Finn (WCE) unassisted, 4:31; Hayes (WCE) unassisted, 11:19 (sh)

Shots: Avon Grove 26, W.C. East 22; Saves: Jacob Calabretta (AG), 17 Cameron Chandler (WCE) 24

Flyers Cup Rankings 2-10-25

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum

Class AA

Council Rock South
North Penn
Downingtown East
Haverford High
Central Bucks South

Class A

Garnet Valley
Kennett
West Chester Henderson
Penncrest
West Chester East

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
Conestoga
West Chester Henderson
Radnor

This marks the final set of Flyers Cup rankings prior to the Flyers Cup Selection Show on Sunday, February 23. The show will air at 8 PM that evening on the Flyers Cup You Tube Channel.

Penncrest 4 Springfield-Delco 2

Chase Francis and Andrew Hausch scored third-period goals to lift Penncrest past Springfield-Delco 4-2 Monday night in a Central League interdivisional matchup at IceWorks. The win kept the Lions unbeaten at 10-0 in the American Division (12-3 overall). They are ranked fourth in the current Class A Flyers Cup rankings. The Cougars dropped to 4-11 overall and 4-7 in the National Division.

Nash Grant gave the Lions a 1-0 lead 11:19 into the opening period. Francis extended that lead 6:18 into the second frame but Alexander Losacco and Brendan Becker scored goals for the Cougars 26 seconds apart to tie the game with 9:36 left in the middle period.

Francis’s game-winner came with 7:55 remaining in regulation on a rebound on a shot from the right point that he put behind Springfield goaltender Aidan Fitti. Hausch added an insurance goal with 1:47 remaining.

“We had trouble keeping up with their energy,” said Penncrest coach Steve Mescanti. That can happen on a Monday after they’ve been playing all weekend.

“We kept at it and grinded one out tonight. We got a couple of gritty goals off hard work. That really was the difference.”

Springfield coach Dan Dilbeck praised his team’s effort after falling behind early.

“It was a very hard fought, competitive game,” he said. “I was very proud of our team for overcoming a 2-0 deficit, but we came up a little short in the end. We were unable to capitalize on our opportunities.”

Olivia Jacobi earned the win in goal with 22 saves.

Penncrest 1 1 2—4

Springfield 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Nash Grant (P) from Cole McCarty, 11:19;

Second-period goals: Chase Francis (P) from Grant and Michael Iacobucci, 6:18; Alexander Losacco (S) from Joseph Clifford, 6:58; Brendan Becker (S) unassisted, 7:24

Third-period goals: Francis (P) from Iacobucci and Scott Scranton, 9:05; Andrew Hausch (P) unassisted, 15:13

Shots: Penncrest 40, Springfield 24; Saves: Olivia Jacobi (P) 22, Aidan Fitti (S) 36

West Chester East 3 Kennett 1

West Chester East was in shutdown mode Monday night.

Three different Vikings scored goals en route to a 3-1 Ches-Mont League win at Ice Line.

Sean Farrell, Jaxon Swirzina, and Braedon McVeigh scored for East (7-8, 3-7 in the Ches-Mont) but the Vikings were arguably most impressive inside their own blue line; they limited the Blue Demons (9-4-1, 6-3-1) to just 18 shots on goal with 12 of the 18 coming in the final period.

West Chester East coach Eric Wolf said his team stepped up after a 5-1 loss to Downingtown East last Friday night. The Vikings now won three of their last four starts.

“We got it together tonight,” he said. “Kennett is a very top-heavy team. They have a very good line and a very good line.

“So, we were focusing on ‘We’re not going to let that line beat us. The goaltender might beat us; there’s nothing really we can do about that but we didn’t want to let that line beat us.”

Sean Farrell have East a 1-0 lead 5:26 into the first period when his shot from the right point deflected past Kennett goaltender Auden Mott. The goal came one second after a roughing penalty to the Blue Demons Ben Fisher expired.

The Vikings extended their lead in the second frame. Jaxon Swirzina made it a 2-0game at the 1:41 mark before Braedon McVeigh extended his team’s advantage with a sharp-angle shot from the deep left wing that eluded Kennett goaltender Aiden Mott.

After managing a total of just shots on goal in the first two periods combined, Kennett came out swarming in the third, energized in part by a power-play chance that materialized when East’s James Hayes was called for tripping just 34 seconds into the period.

It took just 12 additional seconds for Kennett to get on the scoreboard. Colin Kelly scored the goal from close range via a feed from Lucas Mott who started the play from behind the Viking net.

The Blue Demons kept the pressure on from there and had a 12-6 shot advantage in the third period but were unable to solve Chandler.

Kennett’s last chance came when East’s Ben Peruto was called for tripping with 2:09 left in regulation the Vikings’ penalty killing unit was in top form. It limited the Blue Demons to one shot during the power play and that shot was not on goal; Kennett spent a few brief spurts in the offensive zone.

Kennett won te first meeting of the season between the two teams 3-2 in overtime on November 7.

Kennett 0 0 1—0

West Chester East 1 2 0—3

First-period goal: Sean Farrell (WCE) unassisted, 5:26;

Second-period goal: Jaxon Swirzina (WCE) from Teagan Stutzman and Ben Peruto 1:41; Braedon McVeigh (WCE) from James Hayes, 5:26

Third-period goals: Colin Kelly (K) from Lucas Mott :47

Shots: Kennett 18, W.C. East 31; Saves: Aiden Mott (K) 28, Cameron Chandler (WCE) 17

APAC Update 1-21-25

W L Pts OTW OTL

Holy Ghost Prep (12-4) 5 2 15 0 0

La Salle (10-6) 4 2 12 0 0

St. Joseph’s Prep (8-6) 3 2 9 0 0

Malvern Prep (2-7) 1 4 3 0 0

Hun School (3-8-2) 0 3 0 0 0

Scoring (Conference Games) GP G A Pts PPG

Brady Logue HGP 7 8 10 18 2.57

Grant LaGreca La 6 8 1 9 1.50

Cole Gagron SJP 5 6 1 7 1.40

Frank Ely La 5 1 5 6 1.20

Michael Zarzycki La 6 4 3 7 1.17

Chase Logue HGP 7 3 4 7 1.00

Anthony Valeriote HGP 7 4 3 7 1.00

Save Percentage GP Shots GA Save %

Jake Rossi La 6 170 12 .929

John Botthof HGP 2 64 5 .922

Patrick Donoghue HS 2 109 10 .908

Declan Geary SJP 4 93 9 .903

Matt Crawford MP 4 120 12 .900

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Jake Rossi La 304 12 2.01

Declan Geary SJP 204 9 2.25

John Botthof HGP 102 5 2.50

Matt Salita HGP 102 5 2.50

Jack Unger HGP 153 8 2.67

Matt Crawford MP 204 12 3.00

Penncrest 5 Haverford 4 OT

Nash Grant’s goal 26 seconds into overtime gave Penncrest a 5-4 come-from behind win over Haverford Monday night at the Skatium in a battle of two Central League heavyweights.

Grant’s third goal of the night lifted the Lions to 8-3 overall and kept then a perfect 6-0 in the Central League National Division standings.

Gavin McCarty the Lions the early lead 5:26 into the opening period. Nash extended the lead at the 7:01 mark before Connor Lill answered for Haverford with 1:42 remaining in the period.

Shawn Yoder tied the game for Haverford 28 seconds into the second frame. Penncrest’s Cole McCarty and Haverford’s Alexander Scuderi, scored goals just over a minute-and-a-half apart to tie the game at 3-3 with 1:38 left in the second session.

Dylan McKelvey gave the Fords (8-3, 7-1 in Central National) their only lead of the night at 4-3 with 12:27 remaining in regulation but Grant tied the game with his second goal of the night just 33 seconds later.

Grant’s game-winner gave him a hat trick in two consecutive games; he scored three goals and collected four assists in the Lions’ previous start against Harriton last Friday night.

It was just a really fun game,” said Penncrest coach Steve Mescanti. There was no nonsense and the kids played hard. The kids did a lot of the things we’ve been harping on.”

Both teams are listed in the latest edition of the Flyers Cup rankings, which was released on Monday. Penncrest is listed fourth in Class A while Haverford I ranked second in Class AA.

Penncrest 2 1 1 1—5

Haverford 1 2 1 0—4

First-period goals: Gavin McCarty (P) from Matt McKay, 5:26; Nash Grant (P) from Scott Scranton and McKay, 7:01; Connor Lill (H) from Brendan McCormick and Alexander Scuderi, 15:18
Second-period goals: Shawn Yoder (H) from Jorge Tecedor and Jack Brawley, :28; Cole McCarty (P) from McKay and McCarty, 13:33; Scuderi (H) from Lil, 15:12

Third-period goals: Dylan McKelvey (H) unassisted, 4:33; Grant (P) from Scott Scranton, 5:06

Overtime goal: Grant (P) from Matt Labuono and Scranton, :26

Shots: Penncrest 60 Haverford 30; Saves: Fiona Walker (P) 26, Dylan Vieira 55

Flyers Cup Rankings #2

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum

Class AA

Council Rock South
Haverford High
North Penn
Downingtown West
Pennridge

Class A
1. West Chester Henderson

2. Garnet Valley

3. Kennett

4. Penncrest

5. Hershey

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
Conestoga
Kingsway
West Chester Henderson

This is the second of four sets of rankings that will be released prior to the Flyers Cup Selection Show on Sunday, February 23.

Holy Ghost Prep 5, Salesianum 1

The APAC and the Intercounty League crossed paths Thursday afternoon. In a prelude to a possible Flyers Cup Tournament matchup, Holy Ghost Prep, from the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, scored a 5-1 decision over Salesianum which was sailing under the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League banner. Ur was the Firebirds’ seventh straight win.

The result of the non-league encounter, which was played at Grundy Arena in Bristol, will be factored into the calculations the Flyers Cup Committee will use to determine the makeup and seedings for its Class AAA field.

It was the second win for the Firebirds (11-3 in less than 24 hours; they defeated St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night. On Thursday, they picked up where they left off although two of their big guns Brady and Chase Logue, were away on club duty.

Senior Logan Barnes started things off with a shot from the left point that got the better of Sallies goaltender Ryne Dominick and have the hosts the lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening period. Joe Spadaccino it a 2-0 game just 74 seconds later.

The second period was largely a battle of special teams; there were seven penalties called in the period, but the Firebirds got the better of it despite being two men short for 37 seconds at one point.

Brian Kinniry extended the Firebirds’ lead with 6:47 left in the second frame while the teams were skating four on four. The senior spoke of how the Firebirds bounced back after their win Wednesday night.

“I think we all came together as a team he said. “It was a tough game last night with a different atmosphere but we all pushed through.”

The Sallies (12-2) got on the scoreboard with 10:49 left in the third period when Justin Celentino got the puck past Firebird goaltender Matt Salita from in front of the net. It was 3-1 at that point but William Harmar answered for Holy Ghost Prep less than two minutes later and Joseph Kauffman added an insurance goal with 6:47 left in regulation.

“We were going toe to toe with them in the first period,” said Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc, “but then in the second period we kind of slowed down a little bit.

“You’d think that a power play and a five-on-three would give you some advantage but we couldn’t even get a shot on goal. It was not whet we had hoped for but I think we learned a lot today.”

The Firebirds have won five straight games since returning from the National Scholastic Invitational tournament in Jamestown, New York. Assistant coach George Mundy says the tournament was a turning point.

“Since we’ve gotten back from New York the team has played really, really well,” he said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different players, which is good. We’re getting good goaltending our defense has been solid. So, we’re playing really good hockey right now.”

Salesianum 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Logan Barnes (HGP) from Brady Flynn, 12:42; Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 13:56

Second-period goal: Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan and Nate Romer, 10:13

Third-period goals: Justin Celentino (S) from Braeden Graham and Liam Bell, 6:11; William Harmar (HGP) from Kinniry, 8:00; Joseph Kaufmann (HGP) from John Graff, 10:29

Shots: Salesianum 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38; Saves: Ryne Dominick (S) 33, Matt Salita (HGP) 26

ICSHL All-Stars Meet

Good hockey for a good cause was the dish that was served at Ice Line on New Year’s Day. Teams representing the Central and Ches-Mont League squared off as part of the ICSHL’s traditional New Year’s card of All-Star games.

The Ches-Mont-Central League matchup was billed as the Hunger Game, with receipts from ticket sales earmarked for donation to an area food bank. Ice Line provided the ice slot free of charge and the two referees who worked the game donated their services.

Toby Myers of Lower Merion scored what proved to be the winning goal 58 seconds into the third period to give the Central League a 4-3 win.

Myers also blocked a shot in the closing seconds to conclude an entertaining 51 minutes of hockey that saw the Central League overcome a 2-0 first-period deficit. It was the senior defenseman’s second consecutive All-Star Game appearance.

“It was pretty cool,” he said. “[The All-Star Game] is always nice. Couldn’t get the ‘W’ last year. So, it was good to win this one.”

While the affair lacked some of the physicality of a typical regular-season contest the contingent of 44 All-Stars worked hard at both ends of the ice.

Haverford’s John Povey was behind the Central League bench along with Steve Mescanti from Penncrest and Chris Francis from Harriton.

“It’s always a good game,” Povey said. “We’ve had overtime games, we’ve had games come down like this one, one goal. As far as I can remember it’s always a tight, one goal, or two-goal game.”

Goals from Hunter Haas (West Chester Henderson) and Lucas Mott (Kennett) gave the Ches-Mont side a 2-0 lead with 2:24 left in the first period.

The Central League responded in the second frame with goals from Stephen Sucher from Radnor, Nash Grant from Penncrest, and Jake Heston from Springfield-Delco to take the lead in the final period.

Myers’ goal extended his team’s lead and as it turned out, the goal was needed. With 1:57 left in the third period, Blake Platz from Henderson was hooked from behind on a breakaway. Jake Rotwitt of Conestoga stopped the ensuing penalty shot to keep it a 4-2 game.

The Ches-Mont wasn’t finished. Brody Matthews scored with 58 seconds to go to make it a one-goal game but his teammates couldn’t come up with the tying goal.

Downingtown East coach Mark Bobko coached the Ches-Mont All-Stars.

“Both teams came out and played hard,” he said. “It’ a friendly game but the effort was there.”

Other games on the program included a girls’ all-star game, a matchup between the Pioneer Athletic Conference and the PCL/Prep Division, and twi junior varsity games.

Central League 0 3 1—4

Ches-Mont League 2 0 1—3