Souderton 9 Bensalem 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—For Seth Grossman, it was a night to remember. The Souderton senior tallied a career high six goals as the Big Red pulled away from Bensalem to record a 9-4 win Thursday Night in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter at Hatfield Ice.
It was the first win for Souderton (2-5-0-1) in four games and their biggest offensive output of the season.

“I think it was just the fact that we knew we were missing some of our top guys tonight,” Grossman said. “We had to step up and rose to the challenge and we delivered that. People had to step up and they knew it and they stepped up.”
All told, the Big Red was minus seven regulars for one reason or another but Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat pointed out that those who were on hand stepped up when they had to.

“I think tonight being shorthanded, everybody was focused on what we had to do,” he said. “We executed and played the style we wanted to, disciplined. We wanted to play strong defensively. And we got offense from that.”

The game was competitive for most of two periods. Bensalem (2-5), which had just nine players in uniform (several were absent), battled the Big Red to a 3-3 standoff late in the second frame. But Grossman scored his second goal of the night with 3:42 left in the period and Timmy Alexander added a goal of his own 35 seconds later and Souderton went on to dominate the third period.

More to the point, Grossman dominated the third period; he found the back of the net four times. Through eight games he’s collected 12 goals plus eight assists for 20 points

There were some bright spots for the Owls. Alex Hood scored two goals and assisted on another, giving him 14 goals and three assists on the season.

But by the third period he and his teammates didn’t have a lot of gas left in the tank.

“We’re used to a short bench,” said Bensalem coach Jordan Roth. “We had our chances for sure, but all around, we didn’t play together as a team.”
Roth notes that team’s lack of numbers increases the necessity of doing the little things well.

“We face adversity every game,” he said. “There are a lot teams in the league where there are tryouts. We’re fortunate enough to be in the league and have nine players that show up every day and give it their best.

Ice Chips—Alexander scored twice for the Big Red while Noah Connor got the win in goal, making 20 saves before being replaced by Connor Paulus late in the third period. One of his saves came on Hood’s penalty shot in the second period. Gonzalez made 42 saves in the Bensalem net.

Bensalem 2 1 1—4

Souderton 1 4 4—9

First-period goals: Liam O’Neill (S) from Jamie Avaria and Drew Savarese, 3:25; Alex Hood (B) unassisted, 7:53; Cole Salayda (B) from Danny Mackley, 13:55.

Second-period goals: Seth Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 6:51; Timmy Alexander (S) from Matt Malanga, 7:44 (pp); Matthew Rowan (B) from Hood and Mackely, 9:03; Grossman (S) from Malagna, 13:18; Alexander (S) unassisted, 13:53.

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) unassisted, 7:11; Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 7:47; Grossman (S) from Luca Ferretti and Liam O’Neill, 9:29; Grossman (S) from Caiden O’Neill and Liam O’Neill, 12:44; Hood (B) from Rowan and Salayda, 14:19.

Shoots: Bensalem 29, Souderton 51; Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 42, Noah Connor (S) 20 and Connor Paulus (S) 5

La Salle 3 Hun School 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—There wasn’t a lot of artistry on display when Hun School and La Salle took the ice Wednesday afternoon. Instead, the Raiders and the Explorers engaged, in a gritty, grind-it-out encounter before La Salle emerged with a 3-1 win at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The win extended the Explorers’ unbeaten streak to four games and lifted them to 4-3-1 overall (3-1 in the APAC).

The Raiders, who were missing several players due to illness, dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in conference.

“It wasn’t a pretty game for either side,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We were just happy to get through it on top.”

Three of the game’s four goals came in the first period. Justin Laplante gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at the 2:51 mark; Ryan Desmond answered for the Explorers at 10:19. Dean Carvalho put his team in front for good when he deposited a rebound of Cam Ross’s shot behind Raider goaltender Julian Arsenault just before the period-ending buzzer.

For most of the rest of the last two periods the teams battled failed to find the net. Muelbronner juggled his lineup in a bid to generate more offense.

“We were mixing things around quite a bit,” he said, “trying different guys in different spots. Nothing seemed to really click.”

Hun School coach Ian McNally had to do some juggling of his own, albeit for different reasons.

“Unfortunately we had four guys out,” he said. “That’s not an excuse for why we lost but it just created enough of a disturbance in lines and power plays and everything.

“We did have to come up with a different game plan. The goal was to be within five minutes with a chance to win because some of the guys who weren’t able to play were the guys who score goals for us. We knew we wouldn’t be scoring five goals, but we knew if there was five minutes left and we were within one or up one or tied, that was the goal.”

Hun School received a power-play chance with 5:45 left in regulation when La Salle’s Chase Hannon was booked for a hooking in fraction but Explorer goaltender Aries Caranagi stood tall, he went on to finish the game with 20 saves. His best effort with just under eight minutes left in regulation when he turn aside a blast from the Raiders’ Scott Richmond.

“When we make mistakes, we know he has our backs,: Desmond said. “To build us back up. And save us when we need him.”

It was wasn’t a stylish performance, but the Explorers got the result they wanted.

“We pulled it together toward the end and came out with the victory,” Desmond said. “That’s all that matters.”

Ice Chips—Julian Arsenault made 34 saves in the Hun School net. The Raiders will face Holy Ghost Prep on Friday before pausing for the holidays while La Salle will travel to the Mount St. Charles tournament in Rhode Island after Christmas. It marks the first time the tournament will be held in three years because of Covid.

Hun School 1 0 0—1

La Salle 2 0 1—3

First period goals: Justin Laplante (HS) unassisted, 2:51; Ryan Desmomd (L) from Chase Hannon, 10:19; Dean Carvalho (L) from Cam Ross and James Carpenter 17:00

Third-period goal: Hannon (L) from Desmond and Evan Golato, 15:29

Shots: Hun School 21, La Salle 37; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 34, Aries Carangi (L) 20

Pennsbury 8 C.B. South 2

BRISTOL—It was all systems go for Pennsbury Thursday night. The Falcons lit up the scoreboard at Grundy Arena as if it were a holiday light display in an 8-2 win over Central Bucks South in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter.

Brendan Macainsh scored four goals and assisted on two others to help Pennsbury to its third straight win and fourth win overall in six starts. Justin Marlin added two goals and two assists. Shane Gleisner and Chris Sarver also scored goals.
The Falcons are averaging five goals a game and have scored 21 times over the course of their last three outings,
Macainsh, a senior and Pennsbury’s captain, says the team’s recent offensive surge stems from aggressive forechecking.

“We weren’t forechecking as much,” he said. “We were just kind of lagging around. We had to pick up our tempo, we had to play the full game, all three periods.”

Justin Marlin put Pennsbury in front just 28 seconds into the first period on a shot from the left point that eluded South netminder Dom Varacallo. Aidan Linso answered for the Titans when he beat Aaron McDaniel with 7:21 left in the opening session, but the Falcons broke the game open in the second frame.

Macainsh, Marlin, Gleisner (with the most picturesque goal of the night off a two-on-one situation), and Macainsh again scored goals in a span of just over six minutes to give Pennsbury a 5-1 lead.

Sean Cutter ended the streak when he scored for the Titans (3-4 overall during a four-on-four situation but Macainsh completed his hat trick with one minute left in the period.

At period’s end the Falcons led 6-2 although their shot advantage was just 23-21. At that point, South coach Shaun McGinty replaced Varacallo in goal with Jason Magaruth before Sarver and Macainsh added goals for Pennsbury in the final period.

McGinty made it clear afterward that Varacallo did not get the defensive support he deserved.

“They were getting two-on-ones, three-on-ones, they were getting odd-man breaks,” he said. “Our defense struggled, they were subpar, and they were outworked.

“I only pulled Dom because it wasn’t fair to him. He gave up (six goals on 23 shots) but on the two-on-ones and the second chances, I’m not putting that on him. Our defense was subpar, we were losing battles, they outworked us.”

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.

“We’ve had some good games this year,” he said, “but I think that was the first time we put three full periods together. It seems like the chemistry is finally kind of getting there.”

C.B. South 1 1 0—2

Pennsbury 1 5 2—8

First-period goals: Justin Marlin (P) unassisted, :28; Aidan Linso (CBS) from Brad Cannon and Justin Montagna, 9:39.

Second-period goals: Brendan Macainsh (P) unassisted, :12 (sh); Marlin (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 2:02; Shane Gleisner (P) from Logan Doyle, 5:04; Macainsh from Chris Sarver and Connor Kane, 6:14; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Linso, 11:10; Macainsh (P) from Marlin, 16:00 (pp).

Third-period goals: Sarver (P) from Jake McCaw and Macainsh, 6:55; Macainsh (P) from Jake Seiler, 13:20 (pp).

Shots: C.B. South 28, Pennsbury 34; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 17 and Jason Magaruh (CBS) 9, Aaron McDaniel (P) 26

Wissahickon 3 Quakertown 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The goaltenders were the stars at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Goaltending duels are rare in the SHSH’s American Division, a division best known for offensive accomplishments.

On this occasion, Wissahickon’s Fletcher Lynch and Quakertown’ Matt Krem came up big. Lynch, a freshman, playing in goal for just the fourth time in his life, stopped 22 shots in his team’s 3-1 win while Krem, an experienced senior netminder, made 37 saves.

Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington, who saw his team advance to 3-1 on the year both overall and in the division, had expected to see more than four goals scored but credited both goaltenders.

“They were going head to head,” he said. “I’d pay money to watch it,”

John Kufner gave the Trojans the lead 6:33 into the first period on a shot off an offensive left-circle faceoff. It took Brandon McNally just 50 seconds to respond for the Panthers (3-1, 2-1 in the division).

For most of the rest of the evening, Lynch and Krem were in charge with Krem was particularly busy in the Panther net.

“We’ve had a good stretch of goaltending here at Quakertown said Krem’s coach and father, Keith Krem. “It’s kind of been the one thing we’ve always had to rely on in games.

“Their guy, I give him a lot of credit. I know he’s new to the position. For him to play over the 90 percent (save percentage) is a huge stride for him.”

By the start of the third period both teams were starting to feel the impact of having just nine skaters each available.

The Trojans took the lead for good when Will Hussa beat Krem off a setup from Griffin Lynch 5:33 into the final session. The goal came just five seconds after the Panthers’ Cole Stemmer was sent to the box for slashing.

Like his coach, Hussa expected more scoring over the course of the evening.

“It definitely surprised us,” he said. “We’re used to scoring a lot of goals but you’ve just got to do what you have to do to win.”

Danny Hussa gave his team insurance with a goal with 3:44 remaining in regulation.

“Our failure just came down to, we had a game plan and we didn’t execute it,” Krem said. More so, we failed to manage the puck. They spent a lot more time in our zone we did in theirs.”

The Trojans have now faced every and Will Hussa says he and his teammates like where they stand.

“Now that we’ve seen everybody we know we can beat everybody,” he said. “We had a close game against Abington (a 12-10 loss). We lost that game but we know we can get them next time.”

Quakertown 1 0 0—1

Wissahickon 1 0 2—3

First-period goals: John Kufner from Danny Hussa 6:33; Brandon McNally (Q) from Connor Elmore, 7:23

Third-period goals: Will Hussa from Griffin Lynch and Hudson Honrycutt, 5:33 (pp); Danny Hussa from Nolan Pounds, 13:16 (sh)

Shots: Quakertown 23, Wissahickon 40; Saves: Fletcher Lynch 22, Matt Krem (Q) 37

Council Rock South 4 Neshaminy 1

BRISTOL— A month into the Suburban High School Hockey League season, a lot of knowledgeable observers are looking at Council Rock South as the team to beat.

Nothing the Golden Hawks did Wednesday night would discourage that sentiment.

Jake Weiner scored two goals and Sam Reiter and Chase Tovsky added one goal each as South remained unbeaten with a 4-1 decision over Neshaminy at Grundy Arena.

The win was the fifth without defeat for the Golden Hawks, who were runners up in the SHSHL’s National Division and the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament last season.

The loss was the first for Neshaminy after three season-opening wins.

The Golden Hawks didn’t create any highlight videos Wednesday night but they moved the puck effectively and did all the little things well.

“Little things make a difference in whether you win or lose,” said South coach Joe Houk. “I thought our backcheck was pretty good tonight. I thought (goaltender Carson Lopez) was rock solid.”

Lopez, whose GAA now stands at 1.29 points out that hockey games are not decided by style points.

“A goal is a goal, a save is a save,” he said. “I think our goal this season is to score three and let me do the rest.”

The Hawks won a battle for a loose puck in their offensive left-wing corner set up the first goal of the evening. It came off Weiner’s stick with 8:34 left in the opening period.

Reiter made it 2-0 1:37 into the second frame off a feed from Evan Mostoller who was set up in the high slot at the time.

Nolan Geria answered for Neshaminy at the 5:45 mark and with Cory Hemberger matching Lopez with his effort in the ‘Skins net, the game was still very much for grabs.

Tovsky’s goal, which came with 3:35 left in the second period, gave the Golden Hawks some breathing room.

“The third goal was a big one before the end of the second period,” Houk said.

The Golden Hawks went on to dominate the period. The period featured just one goal, from Weiner with 3:35 left in the game, but South outshot Neshaminy 16-3 in the final period.

With four varsity players missing because of injuries and illness, the ‘Skins simply ran out of gas.

“They’re a very good team,” Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo said of the Hawks. “There were some things we could have done better. I thought our transition game wasn’t great and I thought our defensive zone was a little shaky. But, tired legs hurt you in the end.”

Ice chips—While Wednesday’s result won’t factor into the SHSHL National Division standings since the teams will play again in February, it will be part of Flyers Cup seedings calculations at year’s end.

Neshaminy 0 1 0—1

C.R. South 1 2 1—4

First-period goal: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Illia Mukhin, 8:26

Second-period goals: Sam Reiter (CRS) from Evan Mostoller and Blaize Pepe, 1:37; Nolan Geria (N) from David McColligan and Michael Rago, 5:45; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Bobby Gilbert, 13:25

Third-period goal: Weiner (CRS) unassisted, 4:28

Shots: Neshaminy 26, Council Rock South 39; Saves: Cory Hemberger (N) 35, Carson Lopez (CRS) 25

Souderton 6 C.B. West 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Souderton found out a lot about itself Thursday night. Coming off an emotional last-second loss 24 hours earlier, the Big Red responded with a solid effort in a 6-1 SHSHL National win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice Arena.

It was Souderton’s first win in four tries while the Bucks dropped to 1-2. The result will not factor into the divisional standings as the two teams are scheduled to play again on January 25th.

But that mattered little to Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat, whose team came into the game thirsting for a win.

“I think they showed a lot of resiliency, he said. “They showed a lot of resiliency last night coming back in the third period.

“This team has a real positive attitude, they’ve a little bit of a giddy up. It’s fun to see, it’s fun to be a part of as well.”

Souderton’s top line had a big night. Nick Smith delivered a three-goal hat trick. Seth Grossman scored two goals and assisted on three others while Maxwell Ryon provided a goal and an assist.

Smith noted the win was especially satisfying after 4-3 loss to Council Rock North on Wednesday that saw the Big Red surrender the winning goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It felt good,” he said. “After a tough loss like that with two seconds left, it felt good to finally win.”

Smith made his presence felt early on, scoring twice to put his team up 2-0 just 7:45 into the opening period.

The Bucks got closer when Adam Ricci won a goal-mouth scramble to put the puck behind Big Red netminder Noah Connor during a power play at the 8:21 mark of the second period.

But Souderton put its resiliency on display when Ryon answered back at 10:26 before Smith completed his hat trick with exactly four minutes left in the period.

Grossman scored his two goals in the third frame.

The Big Red enjoyed a 42-21 advantage in shots. West goalkeeper Liam Rogers did some quality work between the pipes to keep his team in the game for most of the way.

Smith spoke to the speed and skill of the Big Red’s number-one line.”I think that’s our strong point,” he said. “The first line has a lot of skill.”

Smith believes that Thursday’s performance is a sign of things to come. Souderton has scored nine goals in its last two games after scoring just three in its first two games combined.

“I think we can win some games finally,” Smith said. “We’re starting to finally score and not scoring one goal a game. I think we can finally capitalize on some opportunities.”

C.B. West 0 1 0—1

Souderton 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Nick Smith (S) from Seth Grossman and Caden O’Neill, 2:50; Smith from Maxwell Ryon, 7:45

Second-period goals: Adam Ricci (CBW) from Luke Tremmel, 8:21 (pp); Ryon (S) from Grossman, 10:26; Smith (S) from Grossman and Matt Malanga, 13:00

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) unassisted, 3:31; Grossman (S) unassisted, 8:00

Shots: C.B. West 21, Souderton 42; Saves: Liam Rogers (CBW) 36, Noah Connor (S) 20

C.R. North 4 Souderton 3

BRISTOL—The conclusion was dramatic, to say the least. Karson Grainey’s power-play goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in the third period was the decisive blow as Council Rock North edged Souderton 4-3 Wednesday night at Grundy Arena in a Suburban High School Hockey League National Division matchup.

The winning goal capped a late flurry that the Big Red (0-3, 0-1 in divisional play) score three times in the third period, including twice in a span of 14 seconds to tie the game with 50 seconds left in regulation, only to yield Grainey’s game winner, which came while Souderton’s Seth Grossman was sitting in the penalty box after drawing an elbowing penalty with 23 seconds remaining before overtime.

The win was the first for the Indians in four starts (1-1 in the division).

“I think it gives us a big energy boost,” Grainey said. “Especially going into our rivalry game next week (against Council Rock South next Wednesday). I think we’re moe confident.

“It wasn’t the most pretty win, but we’re more confident now, and we’ve just got to keep it rolling from here.”

Goals from Lucas Simmons and Michael Booth gave North a 2-0 lead before Jackson Accardi extended his team’s lead to 3-0 with 1:02 left in the second frame.

Grossman ended Ina Goldberg’s bid for a shutout 2:43 into the final period but North still looked to be in control as the clock wound down. When Maxwell Ryon scored to make it a one-goal game some eyebrows were raised but North still had time on its side with just 1:04 remaining in regulation. Grossman’s second goal of the night altered the landscape significantly but just 27 seconds later he was flagged for a no-doubt-about-it elbowing penalty to give North a power play.

Grainey’s goal came on a rebound off Simos’s original shot. The junior found the top right quadrant of the net after Souderton netminder Noah Connor made an initial save.

“I think what’s really fortunate is that is was a good learning opportunity for the kids about playing three periods 17 minutes all the way through” said North coach Greg McDonald. “They’re lucky to come out on top. So, hopefully it helps us down the road.

Meanwhile, Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat had a forum to address his team about the importance of killing penalties.

“I think that’s two weeks in a row where our penalty kill has come up short,” he said. “With (23) seconds left, we needed to really execute.”

Uchniat also spoke to the importance of staying out of the box altogether. “We’ve really got to be more disciplined as a team in general,” he said. “It starts with me, making sure we stay focused. That means focused on the simple things, playing solid hockey and playing within the whistles.”

Souderton 0 0 3—3

C.R. North 2 1 1—4

Pennridge 6 C.B. South 5

HATFIELD—A lot went on at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Much of it in the realm of the unexpected.

Pennridge rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 5-1 to post a 6-5 overtime win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban High School Hockey League National Division non-league matchup.

Kevin Pico delivered the game winner for the Rams 34 seconds into overtime after the last period was shortened to nine minutes from the usual 17 after a combination of 10 goals and an abundance of penalties consumed the bulk of the allocated ice slot.

Six different players scored for the Rams (1-1). Andrew Savona, Dane Fichte, James Rush, Shane Dachowski, and Josh Kelly found the back of the net before Kevin Pico pocketed the game winner. South netminder Dom Varacallo stopped Savona’s initial shot before Pico put in the rebound.

“We needed something to wake us up,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, who team squared its record at 1-1. “We needed to find that edge that we’ve been lacking in practice. Early in this season, we haven’t had it. And, I think getting down tonight against a rival with as much emotion as there was going in here, woke us up.”

The Titans (1-1) jumped to a 3-0 lead before the first period was seven minutes old. Aydin Thierolf scored twice with a goal from D.J. Lindenmuth in between.

Colin Mendham and Michael Nemec added goals to give South a 5-1 lead 5:46 into the second frame.

Dane Fitchett drew the Rams a bit closer with 5:55 left in the period. Pico had a chance to bring his team closer when the Rams were awarded a penalty shot with 15.8 seconds left in the second period but was denied by Varacallo.

Both teams saw there efforts hampered by repeated trips to the penalty box. The officials whistled a total of 19 infractions, 12 of them to the Titans.

The number of stoppages and altercations resulted in the final period being shortened to nine minutes at the direction of rink management. Faced with a three-goal deficit, the Rams wasted no time.

Rush made it a 5-3 game 1:20 into the final session. Dachowski followed at 5:54 and Kelly tied the game at 6:58.

The five-minute, three-on-three overtime was allowed to go forward and it took Pico and Savona just moments to end matters.

“Our guys let off the gas,” said South coach Shaun McGinty, “and they’re a good team. A good team is going to find a way to win. We allowed them a little bit of momentum and momentum is a big part of the game in a team sport.”

Ice chips—The decision to shorten the the third period was part of a joint effort between the SHSHL and area rinks to complete scheduled games within their allocated 90-minute ice slots. The C.B. South-Pennridge contest was followed by a game between North Penn and Central Bucks West which was succeeded by an adult league game.

C.B. South 3 2 0 0—5

Pennridge 1 1 3 1—6

First-period goals: Aydin Thierolf (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 3:06; D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Matt Crouch, 4:14; Thierolf (CBS) unassisted 6:57 (pp); Andrew Savona (P) unassisted, 16:34

Second-period goals: Colin Mendam (CBS) unassisted, :38; Michael Nemec (CBS) from Justin Keilman, 5:46; Dane Fitchett (P) from Trey Mikulich, 11:05

Third-period goals: James Rush (P) from Mitchell Mothersbaugh, 1:20; Shane Dachowski (P) from Savona, 5:54; Josh Kelly (P) from Andrew Lizak and Tyler Manto

Overtime goal: Kevin Peco (P) from Savona, :34

Shots: Pennridge 35, C.B. South 28; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 29, Jacob Winton (P) 23

C.B. East 3 North Penn 1

HATFIELD—Any hockey team wants to make an impression at the start of a season. Central Bucks East did just that Wednesday night, scoring a 3-1 decision over North Penn at Hatfield Ice to help the Suburban High School Hockey League open its 50th season.

Corey Kosick scored two goals to help East start off its season on a winning note. Kosick, a junior, noted that this year’s edition of the Patriots runs the gambit when it comes to experience and that getting used to the style of play at the high-school level takes time.

“It’s all about being used to our level of play,” he said. “It’s all about hard work. Hard work is alway going to beat talent in the end and that’s why we came out on top today.”

Ethan Cenci gave the Patriots the early lead on a power-play goal 5:46 into the opening session and the two teams battled on even terms through the first two periods.

The officials kept a tight rein on the proceedings during that span, whistling 11 penalties for a total of 39 minutes.

With 15 seconds left in the second frame an engagement involving North Penn’s Sam Mostochuck and East’s Carter Keiser resulted in a major penalty and a game misconduct to Keiser and a three-minute power play for North Penn. The Knights however were unable to capitalize on their advantage.

“I think that sort of sums up our night,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We had aa bunch of power plays early in the game and couldn’t really get any momentum going in the zone, had trouble getting out of our own zone, getting set up in there and working the puck around.

“Their first goal was a power play. It was 1-0 through two periods If you capitalize on one of those (power plays), you’ve got a 1-1 game going into the third.”

Kosick extended the Patriots’ lead with a goal 6:43 into the third frame. John Stinson made it a one-goal game when he scored for the Knights at the 9:09 mark but Kosick answered back just eight seconds later.

The final period featured six additional penalties, three to each side. East coach Jeff Mitchell stressed the importance of his team staying out of the box.

“The first goal definitely got the energy started in the right direction,” he said. “I think the penalties really killed us at the start of this game I think the refs did a great job moderating between both teams. But we’ve got to be able to stay out of the box and be able to keep five men on the ice and keep pucks in the net.”

C.B.East 1 0 2—3

North Penn 0 0 1—1

First-period goal

Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Patrick O’Brien and Charlie Keiser, 5:46 (pp)

Third-period goals

Corey Kosick (CBE) from Keiser and Cenci, 6:43; John Stinson (NP) unassisted, 9:09; Kosick (CBE) from Keiser, 9:17

Shots: C.B. East 33, North Penn 26; Saves: Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 25, Nick Crist (NP) 30

Pennridge 4 Thomas Jefferson 3 2OT

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—Pennridge and Thomas Jefferson matched each other stride for stride and shift for shift Saturday afternoon. At day’s end, it was the Rams who prevailed.

Kevin Pico’s goal 12:01 into the second overtime gave his team a 4-3 win over the Jaguars in the Pennsylvania Class AA state championship game in front of a full house at Ice Line.

The victory was well earned.

“That was a fabulous hockey game,” said Pennridge coach Montagna. “It was just a great game.”

Andrew Savona, Jack Lowery, and Tyler Manto scored regulation goals for Pennridge, which completed its season at 22-0-1.

The Rams enjoyed a 2-1 lead going into the third period but soon found themselves back on their heels. Colby Bilski scored his second goal of the game off a turnover 3:43 into the period to draw Thomas Jefferson (21-2) even before setting up Nick Stock during a power play to put the Jaguars up 3-2 at 7:31.

Lowery noted and his teammates stayed on an emotional even keel at that point, despite being behind.

“There was not an ounce of panic on our bench,” he said. “We were calm. “We knew that we’ve come back in multiple games before. Every championship game we’ve been in (In the SHSHL and Flyers Cup finals) we’ve been down and come back and won. And there wasn’t a doubt in our minds that we were going to come out in this game on top.”

Indeed, the Rams responded. Tyler Manto tied the game with 5:22 left in the regulation to leave the two teams searching for whatever they might have left for overtime.

“We did not have a lot left in overtime,” Montagna said.

In the end Pico scored the most significant goal of his career, after Manto and Savona worked the pick down low. The goal came off a rebound of Savona’s original shot

“That’s probably the biggest goal I’m ever going to score my whole hockey career,” Pico said.

Had it not been for Ryan Pico’s work in the Pennridge net, the drama might have ended differently. The senior goaltender faced 65 shots and turned 62 of them aside against an opponent Montagna called the best his team faced all season (the Rams were outshot 62-49).

“He was unbelievable,” Kevin Pico said of his brother. I’ve never seen him play that good in my whole life.”

Montagna echoed those sentiments. “Ryan Pico was absolutely incredible,” he said. “He kept us in there”

The postgame awards pentation and celebration was an emotional time for Lowery, one of the Pennridge captains.

“I feel like I’m top of the world right now,” he said. “No one can take me from that. We said all year, ‘Until this game is over, the job is not finished.’ And it feels great. The job is finally finished for us.

“That’s a hell of a hockey team we played today. It really could have gone either way. But we came out, played our game and came out on top. That’s just all we could do.”

Thomas Jefferson 0 1 2 0 0—3

Pennridge 2 0 1 0 1—4

First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Tyler Manto, 1:13; Jack Lowery from Aeryk Lehrhaupt, 9:41 (pp)

Second-period goal: Colby Biski (TJ) from Lance Smith, 10:10 (pp)

Third-period goals: Bilski (TJ) from Brett Smith, 3:43; Lance Smith (TJ) from Nick Stock and Bilski, 7:31 (pp); Manto (P) from Colin Dachowski, 11:38

Second-overtime goal: Kevin Pico (P) from Manto and Savona, 12:01

Shots: Thomas Jefferson 65, Pennridge 49; Saves: Billy Siemon (TJ) 45, Ryan Pico (P) 62