Updated Playoff Schedule 2-22-24

Thursday, February 22

SHSHL National Division Quarterfinal

4. Central Bucks East vs. 5. North Penn

7:10 at Hatfield Ice

Wednesday, February 28

APAC Championship Game

St. Joseph’s Prep at La Salle

4:00 Hatfield Ice

SHSHL American Division Final

Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Bensalem

6:50 at Hatfield Ice

SHSHL National Division Semifinal

C.B. South vs. Council Rock South

7:20 at Grundy Arena

SHSHL National Division Semifinal

C.B. East or North Penn vs. Pennridge

8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Thursday, February 29

SHSHL National Division Final

Site, Time TBD

SHSHL Playoff Recap 2-21-24

 C.B. South 6, Souderton 2

Aidan Linso scored two goals and four other players scored one goal each Wednesday night as the third-seeded Titans bested the sixth-seeded Big Red at Hatfield Ice to earn a place in the National Division semifinals.

Colin Mendham, D.J. Lindenmuth, Sean Cutter, and Ryan Frey all scored for South (13-7-1) which took command in the first period when Linso scored his two goals and Mendham scored in between.

Nathan Napolitano got the win in goal.

Nick Smith and Seth Grossman scored goals for Souderton (7-12).

“We won three periods,” said South coach Shaun McGinty.

Our D-zone play was much better tonight and needs to be as we move forward.  We had steady goaltending and capitalized on opportunities.  It was a solid effort from both teams and showed the depth of our league.”

The Titans will second-seeded Council Rock South next Wednesday in the semifinals.

Souderton 0 1 1—2

C.B. South 3 1 2—6

First-period goals: Aidan Linso (CBS) from Ryan Frey, :30; Colin Mendham (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 12:11; Linso (CBS) from Mendham, 14:41

Second-period goals: D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Joey Sobodorian, 11:00; Nick Smith (S) from Seth Grossman, 16:48

Third-period goals: Cutter (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher, 1:57; Frey (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 8:12; Grossman (S) from Snith and Max Ryon, 9:03

Shots: Souderton 30, C.B. South 42; Saves: Connor Paulus (S) 36, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 28

Bensalem 3, Abington 0

The second-seeded Owls (13-3) advanced to the American Division championship game with the win over the third-seeded Galloping Ghosts (6-10-1) in Wednesday night’s semifinal at Grundy Arena.

Lucas Gonzalez gave his team a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the opening period. He extended Bensalem’s lead when he scored his second goal of the night with 3:40 left in the third period. Alex Hood added a goal of his own with 16 seconds remaining.

An altercation following Hood’s goal and another following the final buzzer led to five players being accessed a total of 77 minutes in penalties.

Bensalem will face Plymouth Whitemarsh net Wednesday in the American Division finale.

Abington 0 0 0—0

Bensalem 1 0 2—3

First-period goal: Lucas Gonzalez (B) from Alex Hood, 5:17

Third-period goals: Gonzalez (B) from Cole Salayda and Hood, 12:40; Hood (B) unassisted (en)

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Hun School 2

Holy Ghost Prep started fast on Tuesday and kept on going. A pair of first-period goals gave the Firebirds a 2-0 lead and propelled them to a 5-2 win over Hun School in the APAC play in game at Grundy Arena.

Fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (11-12) earned a date with top seed and defending champion La Salle Wednesday at 4:00 at the Class of 1923 Arena at the University of Pennsylvania. Fifth-seeded Hun School closed its season at 4-11.

Having twice defeated the Raiders during the regular season, the hosts took the ice on Tuesday looking to set a tone. Pat Slook’s goal 3:12 into the opening period did just that.  Jack Gavaghan made it a 2-0 on a shot from the right point with 2:34 left in the period.

“We knew that if we just jumped on them, it we got one early, we could keep rolling through them,” Slook said. “The plan was to get pucks deep and go at them, work in the corners and just grind out. Getting that first goal was a big one early.”

Nathan Romer and Caine Bickel added power-play goals for the Firebirds in the second frame, just over five minutes apart.

Special teams were impactful for much of a game that featured 12 minor penalties, six to each side.

A.J. Prete made it a 5-0 game 2:20 into the third period and the Firebirds seemed to have things well in hand.

At that point the Raiders, who had just 14 skaters dressed, seemed to be running low on energy. Following Prete’s goal, P.J. Angotti replaced Julien Arseneault in the Hun School net

  But the visitors never stopped working and their effort paid off when Charles-Etienne Jette got the puck past Firebird netminder Jack Unger 5:35 into the final session. Joachim Neverdahl added a shorthanded goal just shy of four minutes later.

Hun School coach Eric Szeker celebrated his young team’s work ethic.

“My guys gave it everything they had,” he said. “Fatigue, whatever it might be, they made no excuses.

“We came out in the third when everything was against us and we still put a great effort out. That tells you about the [team] more than the score will.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie notes there is still work left to do as his team evolves.

“We gave up a couple breakaways late in the second period,” he said. “A young team starts to cheat a little bit when they have some success offensively and I thought we did that. It ended up hurting us.”

With the ‘second season’ now underway, Slook is encouraged by the progress he and his teammates have made over the course of the campaign.

“We grew as a team,” he said. “I think we hit a few speed bumps along the way but I think we just stayed together as a team and worked through it, and I think we’re in pretty good shape for the playoffs.”

Ice chips: Nine Hun School players concluded their high-school careers this season … The Holy Ghost Prep-La Salle game will be the first game of an APAC semifinal doubleheader matching Malvern Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep. is scheduled for a 6:15 start.

The results of the playoffs will not impact Flyers Cup tournament seedings.

Hun School 0 0 2—2

HGP      2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Patrick Slook (HGP) from Jake McCaw, 3:12; Jack Gavaghan (HGP) from Andrew Morgan and A.J. Prete, 14:26

Second-period goals: Nathan Romer (HGP) from Caine Bickel, 2:30 (pp); Bickel (HGP) from Colin Bara, 7:41 (pp);

Third-period goals; Prete (HGP) from Joseph Kaufmann, 2:20; Charles-Etienne Jette from Andrew Darst, 5:35; Joachim Neverdahl (HS) from Justin Laplante and P.J. Angotti, 9:25 (sh);

Shots: Hun School 21 Holy Ghost Prep 39; Saves: Julien Arseneault (HS) and P.J. Angotti (HS) 34, Jack Unger (HGP) 19

For more about Holy Ghost Prep CLICK HERE

For more about The Hun School CLICK HERE

SHSHL Playoff Schedule 2024

SHSHL Playoff Schedule (Revised)

Wednesday, February 21

National Division Quarterfinal

3. Central Bucks South vs. 6. Souderton

7:20 at Hatfield Ice

American Division Semifinal

2. Bensalem vs. 3. Abington

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Thursday, February 22

National Division Quarterfinal

4. Central Bucks East vs. 5 North Penn

7:10 at Hatfield Ice

Wednesday, February 28

National Division Semifinals

  1. Pennridge vs. North Penn or C.B. East

8:45 at Hatfield Ice

  • Council Rick South vs. C.B. South or Souderton

   7:20 at Grundy Arena

American Division Final

  1. Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Abington or Bensalem

   6:50 at Hatfield Ice

Thursday, February 29

National Division Final (tentative)

SHSHL Update for 2-19-24

Final Regular Season Standings

National Division         W   L   T  OW   OL  Pts

Pennridge  (17-1-2)        16  0   1    1   0   0   34

Council Rock South (18-1-0)    17    1    0   0   0   34

Cent. Bucks South (12-7-1)     12    5    1    0    2   27

Central Bucks East (11-5-2)    11    5    2    2   0   24

North Penn (10-7-1)         10    7    1    0   0   21

Souderton (7-11-0)              7    11    0    4     2  18

Pennsbury (4-13-1)              4    13     1    0    2   11

Council Rock North (2-13-0)  4   14      0   1     1   9

Cent. Bucks West  (3-14-1)     3    14    1    0   1    8

Neshaminy (1-14-3)          1    14    3    0    0   5

American Division           W    L   T  OW OL  Pts

Plymouth White. (13-3)  11     1   0     0    1   23

Bensalem (12-3)               9     3   0     1    1   19

Abington (6-9-1)            5     7   0    0     0    10

Springfield (3-12)             3     9   0   0     0    6

Wissahickon (2-13)         2   10   0     1      4

 National Division Scoring   G   A   Pts

Kevin Pico (Pr)                     28   47 75

Andrew Savona (Pr)           40  31   71

Maxwell Ryon (Soud)       43 20     63

Shane Dachowski (Pr)       27  33   60

Seth Grossman (Soud)     24  30   54

Kevin Koles (CRS)               24  26  50

Jake Weiner (CRS)             28   20  48

Blaize Pepe (CRS)              16 27    43

Nolan Shingle (NP)           9    30    39

Corey Kosick (CBE)          26  12     38

American Division Scoring  G   A   Pts

Alex Hood (Bens)                 52   18   70

Alex Bazylevich (Bens)        15   27   42

David Branigan (PW)           23   16  39

Dylan Novitski (PW)          19    12    31

Seamus Donofry (Ab)        7     23     30

Jason Segal (PW)                14   16    30

Lucas Gonalez (Bens)        10-  19     29

Tim Murphy (PW)              10     19   29

Daniel Guller (PW)              9    19     28

Owen Quinn (Sp)                18    10   28

Playoff Ponderings—APAC

Tuesday, February 20

APAC Play In

#5 Hun School at #4 Holy Ghost Prep

4:00 Grundy Arena

Hun School (4-10, 1-7 APAC)

A young Raider squad battled inexperience and injuries for much of the season. Justin Laplante scored four goals and added three assist in conference play. Julian Arsenault (.920 save percentage) and P.J. Angotti are both solid in goal.

Holy Ghost Prep (10-12, 3-5 APAC)

A young team matured as the season progressed.

Anthony Valeriote leads the team in scoring with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in all competitions. Matt Cholaj has scored three goals and added 10 assists for 13 points.Jake McCaw finished regular season with nine goals and added four assists for 13 points; 3-3-6 in APAC play. Jack Unger is the probable starter in goal (.958 save percentage, 0.84 GAA in conference play; .893/2.36 in all competitions).

Wednesday, February 21

#1  La Salle vs Hun School/Holy Ghost Prep

4:00 at Class of 1923 Rink

La Salle (18-3, 8-0 APAC)

The defending conference, Flyers Cup, and state champion Explorers are seeking their fourth outright APAC title in the conference’s six-year history (they’ve also shared another).  Dean Carvalho led the APAC in scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points. He tallied 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points in all competitions. Patrick Brace has collected eight goals and 11 assists for 19 point in all competitions; 4-3-7 in the APAC. Goaltender Jake Rossi has a season-long save percentage of .936 and a GAA of 1.63; .954/1.13 in conference play.

#3 St. Joseph’s Prep vs #2 Malvern Prep

6:15 at Class of 1923 Rink

St. Joseph’s Prep (14-5, 4-4 APAC)

A corps of young players combined with veteran leadership to record some impressive results for the Hawks this season. Brayden Collins led the team in scoring with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points; 3-3-6 in conference play. John Lynch scored four goals and added 11 assists overall. Jake Schultz was the Hawks’ top scoring in APAC competition with four goals and three assists for seven points; 7-5-12 overall. Jacob Aranda started every conference game in goal and finished league play with an .894 saver percentage and a 3.09 GAA; .893/2.85 overall.

Malvern Prep (9-7, 4-4 APAC)

The Friars had their ups and down early on, but rebounded to win six of their last nine games. Jeremy Jacobs led the team in scoring with 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points; 5-6-11 in conference play.  Caiden Canale deposited six goals and added seven assists for 13 points in all competitions; 1-4-5 in the APAC. Brady Doyle added five goals and seven assists overall; 1-4-5 in conference play. Goaltender Matt Crawford turned in a .935 save percentage in APAC play with a 2.27 GAA; .911-2.62 in all competitions.

APAC Update for 2-16-24

Final Regular Season Standings

                                               W     L    OTW  OTL Pts  GF     GA

La Salle (18-3)                      8     0       0        0    24    36      9 

Malvern Prep (9-7)             4      4      2       2      12     18    20 

St. Joseph’s Prep (14-5)      4      4      1      0     11    28   25

Holy Ghost Prep (10-12)       3    5      0       1     9     13    20

Hun School (4-10)                  1     7      0        1     3   16    37

Playoff Schedule

Tuesday 2-20

4:00 (5) Hun School vs. (4) Holy Ghost Prep at Grundy Arena

Wednesday, February 21

4:00 Hun School or Holy Ghost Prep vs. (1). La Salle

6:15 (3) Malvern Prep vs. (2) St. Joseph’s Prep

Both game at Class of 1923 Rink

Wednesday, February 28

Tentative date for Founders Cup final to be hosted by highest seeded finalist

Scoring (Conference Games)     GP    G     A     Pts. PPG  

Dan Carvalho (L)                           8       6   6     12      1.50    

Jeremy Jacobs (MP)                      8        5   6    11     1.38    

Patrick Brace (L)                          8       4       3    7       0.88    

William Carpenter (L)                  8         1     6    7     0.88    

Justin Laplante (HS)                   8         4     3     7      0.88   

Jake Schultz (SJP)                        7         4      3      7   0.88

Ryan Levesque (HS)                    6        1       4    5     0.83

Jake McCaw (HGP)                      8         3     3    6     0.75

Brayden Collins (SJP)                  8         3      3    6    0.75

Julian Tarsi (L)                              8        3      3     6   0.75 

Declan Kelly (L)                            8        1      5     6   0.75  

Will Gregorio (L)                          8       1      5     6    0.75

Tristan Winata (SJP)                   8        6      0     6   0.75 

Save Pct (Conference Games)   GP Shots GA  Save Pct.

Jack Unger (HGP)                         4      72    3     .958

Jake Rossi (L)                                 7     197    9     .954

Matt Crawford (MP)                   7      293  19  .935

Julian Arseneault (HS)                4      200  16   .920

Jaccob Aranda (SJP)                    8       235  25  .894

Goals Against (Conference Games)

Jack Unger (HGP)   0.84

Jake Rossi (L)          1.13

Matt Crawford (MP) 2.27

Jacob Aranda (SJP)   3.09

Julian Arsenault (HS) 3.10

(Goaltemders must have played 153 minutes in conference games)

Pennridge 7 C.B. South 1

Pennridge 7 C.B. South 1

The last pieces of the SHSHL playoff puzzle are now in place.

Pennridge turned in a solid, workmanlike, effort Wednesday night, en route to a 7-1 win over Central Bucks South at Hatfield Ice.

The Rams closed the SHSHL regular season at 16-1-1 in divisional play (17-1-2 overall) and will be seeded first when the National Division playoffs commence next week.

Andrew Savona once more occupied center stage, scoring four goals and assisting on another.

His linemate, Kevin Pico, assisted on three goals while Shane Dachowski, the third member of the trio, scored two goals and assisted on another.

Pico spoke to the significance of the win with the playoffs at hand.

“It was huge,” he said. “Our last game of the season. To put up that many goals and get that first seed locked in.

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna noted his team’s effort over the full 51 minutes.

“Tonight was probably our best game of the year,” he said. “One thing this team does really well is, when the goal is in front of them and they know what they’re playing for, they take it to a different level. They’ve done that for three years, they did that tonight. It was a great game all around.”

Dachowski gave the Rams the lead with 2:26 left in the opening period. In the second session, the floodgates opened when Savona, James Rush, and Savona again, scored three unanswered goals in a span of 11 minutes, 21 seconds. The first two were shorthanded, the third, Savona’s second coming just as a South penalty expired. For all intents and purposes it was game, set, and match Pennridge at that point.

The Titans (12-5-1 in the division, 12-7-1 overall), who will be seeded third for the playoffs never really got things started. Their only goal came off the stick of Ryan Montagna with 6:36 left in the third period.

“You’ve got to show up,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “We lost three periods in a row. Defensively, we weren’t there. We gave up two shorthanded goals on four power plays. I said to the boys, ’There’s no mathematical equation that’s going to issue a W.

“You lose three periods in a row, you can’t win a game; you’ve got to take it one period at a time.”

The Rams, who were Class AA Flyers Cup finalists a year ago, and Flyers Cup and state champions the tear before, will now have a week-long break before beginning another postseason challenge.

“I think it will be a good week to have off,” Pico said, “resting up and then get going again.

“Some of our guys’ club seasons are over so now that we have [only] high school, it’s definitely a nice time that we can rest. Looking forward to playoffs, definitely.”

Ice chips: Pico leads the entire SHSHL in scoring with 28 goals and 47 assists for 75 points. Savona is next with 40 goals and 31 assists for 71 points, followed by Shane Dachowski (27-33-60).

“You can watch high-school hockey for a long time,” Montagna said. “You’re not going to find a better line than those three. It’s amazing, some of the things they do on the ice.”

C.B. South 0 0 1—1

Pennridge 1 4 2—7

First-period goal: Shane Dachowski (P) from Kevin Pico, 14:34

Second-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Pico, 1:47 (sh); James Rush, unassisted, 2:04; Savona (P) from Pico and Colin Dachowki, 13:08; Savona (P) from Nick Young, 16:05

Third-period goals: Savona (P) unassisted, 8:18; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Colin Mendham and Sean Cutter, 10:24; Shane Dachowski (P) from Savona, 15:08

Shots: C.B. South 31, Pennridge 37; Saves: Nathan Neapolitan (CBS) 30, Jacob Winston (P) 30

Hockey Happenings is looking for individuals interested in supporting our coverage of the upcoming SHSHL playoffs. Contact us at the link above or at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com for details.

La Salle 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 3

La Salle overcame a 3-0 second-period deficit to stun St. Joseph’s Prep 5-3 Wednesday evening in an APAC game at the Class of 1923. The Explorers scored five goals in the third period to conclude conference play with a perfect 8-0 record (18-3 overall).

Dean Carvalho scored two goals for La Salle  and assisted on another. Alex Fusaro, Alistair St. Hilaire, and Patrick Brace also scored goals.

Tristan Winada gave the Hawks (14-5, 4-4) a 1-0 lead with 18 seconds left in the first period. Brayden Collins and Calum Hartnell added goals in the second period.

La Salle 0 0 5—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 0—3

First period goals: Tristan Winada (SJP) from Brayden Collins, 16:42

Second-period goals: Collins (SJP) from John Lynch and Cole Garson, 8:44; Calum Hartnell (SJP) from Caden Kelly, 16:48

Third-period goals: Dean Carvalho (L) from Alex Fusaro and Ben Faliclki, 5:55; Fusaro (L) from Thomas Ducet and Liam Donahue, 12:34; Alistair St. Hilaire (L) from Carvalho and Julian Trasi, 14:23; Carvalho (L) from Will Carpenter, 15:49; Patrick Brace (L) unassisted, 16:59 (en)

Shots: Saves:

Holy Ghost Prep 4 C.B. South 0

Holy Ghost Prep scored three times in the first period Monday night and went on to a 4-0 win over Central Bucks South in a non-league encounter at Flyers Skate Zone Northeast.

The matchup served as a tuneup for both the Titans and the Firebirds as they set their sights on postseason play next week in the APAC and the SHSHL National Division respectively.

Cane Bickel, Matt Cholaj, and Colin Bara all scored for Holy Ghost Prep in a span of 2:18 to put the Firebirds up 3-0 with 2:55 left in the first period.

Patrick Oser added a goal with 2:57 left in the middle period.

C.B. South 0 0

Holy Ghost Prep 3 1

First-period goals: Caine Bickel (HGP) from Anthony Valerote, 11:47; Matt Cholaj (HGP) from Nathan Romer, 12:17; Colin Bara (HGP) from Brian Kinniry, 14:05

Second-period goals: Patrick Oser (HGP) from Daniel McCullion and Valerote, 14:03

Shots: C.B. South 27, Holy Ghost Prep 35