Pennridge 7 Downingtown East 5

On Pennsylvania scholastic hockey’s biggest stage, and with the game in the balance Aidan Boyle came up big. The Pennridge senior delivered two assists and scored the winning goal, all in the third period as Pennridge scored four times in the final stanza to score a 7-5 win over Downingtown East Thursday night in a Flyers Cup Class AA quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice.

The top-seeded Rams (19-0-1) will face Avon Grove in a semifinal game next Wednesday at 8:40 at Hatfield Ice.

The fans that filled the rink Thursday night got their money’s worth. There was little to choose between the Cougars and Rams who went into the tied at 3-3.

Jack Wolf’s third goal of the game gave eighth-seeded Downingtown East a 4-3 lead at the 2:37 mark but goals from Colin Dachowski and Andrew Savona put Pennridge up 5-4 with 6:41 left in regulation. Boyle assisted on both goals.

Parker Nassour tied the game for the Cougars with 5:13 left on a shot from between the circles that Pennridge goaltender Ryan Pico couldn’t handle.

The deciding sequence was set up when the Cougars’ Sean Woods was called for tripping with 3:08 remaining, one of 16 penalties called in the game, all minors. During the subsequent power play, Boyle played the puck to Kevin Pico behind the net who in turn moved to the side of the net and tried to tuck the disk inside the right post before sliding the disk across to Boyle who put it behind Downingtown East goaltender Ian Warter with 1:36 remaining in regulation.

“We know the third period is our best period of hockey that we always play,” Boyle said. “We always come out hot in the third period and we knew we had it. We just had to work hard.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna credited his team for stepping up when Ryan Pico, one of the area’s best goaltenders, was at less than peak form.

“Pico has been our rock for three years,” he said. “He wasn’t on top of his game, we picked him up.

“You watch the NCAA basketball tournament, the team that wins always has one game where they’re on the ropes. The words I like to use are facing their mortality. And they did that, and like they have all year they responded. They do that every game.”

The teams were never separated by more than a goal until Shane Dachowski scored into an empty net in the final minute. But Boyle was confident the Rams would prevail.

“We all knew that we weren’t losing this game,” he said. “We just went out there and said ‘We’re playing next week, we’re not going home tonight.’”

Downingtown East 2 1 2—5

Pennridge 2 1 4—7

First-period goals: Jacob McCallion (DE) from Matthew Sano and Carter Vela, 2:01; Kevin Pico (P) from Tyler Manto, 3:36; Jack Wolf (DE) from Vela and Aaron Harclerode, 7:38; Shane Dachowski (P) from Jack Lowery, 14:06 (pp)

Second-period goals: Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Lowery and Colin Dachowski, 4:55; Wolf (DE) unassisted, 6:16 (sh)

Third-period goals: Wolf (DE) from Parker Nassour and Sean Woods, 2:37; Colin Dachowski (P) from Aidan Boyle, 6:17; Andrew Savona (P) from Boyle, 10:19; Nassour (DE) from Wolf and Brody Matthews, 11:47; Boyle (P) from Pico, 15:34 (pp); Shane Dachowski (P) from Lehrhaupt, 16:05 (en)

Shots: Downingtown East 32, Pennridge 46; Saves: Ian Warter (DE) 39, Ryan Pico (Pr) 27

Flyers Cup Schedule for Thursday, March 10

Class A Quarterfinals

West Chester East 11 Radnor 1

Hershey 3 vs 5 Council Rock North 0

Palmyra 3 West Chester Bayard Rustin 1

Springfield Delco 4 West Chester Henderson 1

Class AAA First Round

4 Holy Ghost Prep 7 Father Judge 2

3 St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Cardinal O’Hara 1

Class AA Quarterfinals

Pennridge 7 Downingtown East 5

Avon Grove 6 Pennsbury 2

Council Rock South 4 Downingtown West 1

Haverford 6 Neshaminy 5

Council Rock South 5 Abington 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Council Rock South had reason to be a bit frustrated Tuesday night. The Golden Hawks spent two periods firing shots at the Abington net and had nothing to show for it.

Ben Panella made 32 saves and he and his teammates took a 1-0 lead into the post-second period ice cut, on the strength of Griffin Carpenter’s goal in the first period.

But when Chase Tovsky scored for South 3:20 into the third frame it seemingly energized his teammates. The Golden Hawks went on to score five goals in the final period and record a 5-1 win in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks (14-1-2-1) will see action in Thursday’s quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Downingtown West (site and time TBD). Abington, the 14th seed, closes the season at 15-2.

South’s goals came in a span 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Tovsky’s initial effort was followed by goals from Sam Chekassky, David Vergules, Tovsky again, and Julian Wagenmann.

“I thought we were the better team,” said South coach Joe Houk, “but they played well. They played really well, but they were running out of gas.

“I said ‘All it’s going to take is one goal guys and that’s going to open the floodgates.’”

Vergules said he and his teammates were a bit miffed after Panella stymied them for the game’s first 34 minutes (Panella finished with 50 saves).

“The guys were definitely frustrated,” he said. We knew we were the better team, that we would come out on top. It just took a little more effort and moe guts and grit.”

Carpenter’s goal came 10:47 into the first frame during an Abington power play. But Carson Lopez in the South net was impregnable after that; he finished with 13 saves. He did his best work when he denied Abington;s Matt Cholaj twice from close range midway through the second period.”

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski praised his team’s effort. “They came out (In the third period) and just played at a little bit of a different level we had a hard time matching,” he said. “They got a couple lucky bounces in the defensive end and found the back of the net.”

Even after Tovsky’s first goal, Brzozowski’s felt his team was still in the game. “We still kind of felt okay,” he said. “It was really when I’d say the third one went in, that’s kind of when we felt ‘We’re definitely back on our heels a little bit.”

Abington 1 0 0—1

C.R. South 0 0 5—5

First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Joe Stelacio, 10:47 (pp)

Third-period goals: Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Blaise Pepe and Kevin Koles, 3:20; Sam Cherkassky (CRS) from Julian Sarne and Kyle Boss, 4:56; David Vergules (CRS) fron Koles and Matt Constantino, 6:56; Tovsky (CRS) from Daniel Filippov, 11:15; Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Vergules and Boss, 12:49

Shots: Abington 14, C.R. South 55; Saves: Ben Panella (A) 50, Carson Lopez (CRS) 13

Pennsbury 7 Owen J. Roberts 3

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Pennsbury Falcons typically don’t wait for things to happen. Their up-tempo style on ice is one of the keys to their success; they are capable of putting a string of goals together in a hurry.

That trend continued Tuesday night. The Falcons scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-3 win over Owen J. Roberts in a Class A first-round Flyers Cup encounter at Hatfield Ice.

Senior defenseman Reece Millman says the Falcons’ fast-paced stole is a good fit. “Hockey is all about momentum,” he said. “If you can score goals and build upon it, then you’re just going to score more goals. So, it’s nice to know that we have the ability to do it. It’s not something that happens out of the blue.

So, when we are down, it’s nice to know. Everybody knows that we can bury goals quickly.”

The 14th-seeded Wildcats (10-10-0-1) took a 2-1 lead in a goal from Brady Callahan 3:32 into the second period but the third-seeded Falcons (12-4-1) responded in a big way. Logan Doyle, Brendan Macainsh, Reece Picker and Andrew Falkenstein scored goals in a span of 4 minutes, 16 seconds to give Pennsbury a 5-2 lead.

Riley Vitullo scored for the Wildcats with 1:46 left in the middle period but Macainsh answered for Pennsbury just 16 seconds later. The teams traded goals in the third period.

“I’m never too worried about our offense,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “Which is nice right? You’re not too worried about half of your game.

“I’m always a little worried about our defense, but I’m veery happy with out offensive ability.”

Whatever concerns Daley might have had about his team’s play inside its own blue line were alleviated by the work of Aaron McDaniel in goal. The sophomore has done some of his best late in the season. On Tuesday night he stopped 17 of the 20 shots he saw.

“This is his first year starting,” Daley said. “He got to be the backup last year (on a SHSHL championship team). I think he learned a lot from our senior goaltender last year; how to put together a playoff run. This second half of the season, he’s been stellar.”

Pennsbury will face fifth-seeded Avon Grove in a Thursday quarterfinal. The site and time of that game will be announced on Wednesday.

O.J. Roberts 1 2 0—3

Pennsbury 1 5 1—7

First-period goals: Shane Siegmund (P) from Reece Millman, 14:29; Sean Kavanagh (OJR) from Charlie Davis and Ethan Bochanski, 16:18

Second-period goals: Brady Callahan (OJR) from Davis and Andrew Watson, 3:32; Logan Doyle (pp) from Siegmund and Brendan Macainsh, 8:14; Macainsh (P) from Doyle and Justin Marlin, 10:53; Reece Picker (P) from Macainsh, 11:59; Andrew Falkenstein (P) from Millman,14:59; Riley Vitullo (OJR) unassisted, 15:14; Macainsh (P) from Evan Eissler and Millman, 15:30;

Third-period goals: Millman (P) from Eissler, 4:25

Shots: O.J. Roberts 20, Pennsbury 40; Saves: Shane Towler (OJR) 33, Aaron McDaniel (P) 17

Council Rock North 7 Penncrest 3

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A fast start is advantageous for any hockey team, particularly in the crucible that is the Flyers Cup tournament.

Council Rock North got off to as fast start Monday night and never looked back. The Indians scored three times in the first period and went on to a 7-3 win over Penncrest in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

Eighth-seeded North (10-7) will face fourth-seeded Hershey Thursday at Ice Line in a quarterfinal game. The 12^th-seeeded Lions closed at 5-10.

The Indians have been a potent offensive force all season and that didn’t change on Wednesday.

Karson Grainey gave his team a 1-0 lead with 4:08 left in the opening period. Wilton Pasch, the only senior in the North lineup, made it a 2-0 game at the 2:54 mark and Noah Epstein added a power play goal with 2.9 seconds left in the first frame.

North coach Greg McDonald spoke to the importance of the fast start.

“You don’t know who is on the other side,” he pointed out. “If the boys are excited, and they’re jumping, and they get some goals, it kind of lets you settle some things down early.”

Kain Walker scored a power-play goal for Penncrest 7:22 onto the second session but Lucas Siomos answered for the Indians with exactly five minutes left in the period.

There were five goals scored in the third period, among them Pasch’s second of the night. North was never in jeopardy of losing the lead.

Goaltender Ian Goldberg saw to that, making 33 saves. The freshman credited the defense in front of him.

“We moved the puck good out of the one,” he said, “and covered the net good.”

McDonald was please that his troops maintained their composure to the final horn. “What (the coaching staff) keeps talking about is it’s not about this game,” he said. It’s not about Game One, it’s not about Penncrest. It’s part of the ride and I think when you can bring that concept to the guys on the bench, it doesn’t make it feel like it’s so urgent. It’s not all here and I think it allows them to get a little bit more perspective and get back to just playing hockey.”

Penncrest 0 1 2—3

C.R. North 3 1 3—7

First-period goals: Karson Grainey (CRN) unassisted, 12:52; Wilton Pasch (CRN) from Jackson Mosley, 14:06; Noah Epstein (CRN) from Ryan Keil and Nick Hahn, 16:59 (pp).

Second-period goals: Kain Walker (P) from Tyler Conn and Quentin Baker, 7:22 (pp); Lucas Siomos (CRN) from Hahn, 12:00.

Third-period goals: Van Evans (P) from Walker, 3:10; Pasch (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey (pp), 5:25; Jackson Accardi (CRN) from Jesse Schaff, 6:00; Eddie Morroni (P) from Colin Curran, 15:17; Hahn (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey,16:59.

Shots: Penncrest 36, C.R. North 45; Saved: Fiona Walker (P) 38, Ian Goldberg (CRN) 33

Jeff Mauro has written a book on the history of the Pennsylvania state high school hockey championship. To find out more and order a copy CLICK HERE

Radnor 10 Plymouth Whitemarsh 8

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— The goals came in waves, like seawater crashing against a rocky coastline. In the end, it was Radnor who survived, 10-8 over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game Monday night at Hatfield Ice.

Eight different players scored goals to help the ninth-seeded Raptors (10-8-1-1) advance to a quarterfinal game against top-seeded and defending champion West Chester East on Thursday. Andrew French and Colin Knight each contributed two goals and an assist. A total of 12 different Raptors found their way onto the scoresheet in some capacity.

The eighth-seeded Colonials (11-5) got big performances from their big guns. Matt Flynn delivered three goals plus an assist. Luke Weikel, playing in what turned out to be his final high-school game, scored a goal and produced four assists. Aidan Keogh closed his high-school career with a goal and three assists.

Six minutes into the opening period, Radnor enjoyed a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Robert Toomey and Ryan Carr.

Before the period ended, the Colonials had tied the game on power-play goals from Weikel and Flynn.

The sequence was indicative of what was to come in that all nine penalties called in the game were whistled against Radnor. Reed Gall was flagged for four infractions, including an automatic game misconduct after receiving his fourth minor penalty; he will be unavailable for his team’s quarterfinal game.

Flynn gave Plymouth Whitemarsh a 3-2 lead 8:23 into the second period but French tied the game 65 seconds later.

When French scored his second goal of the game to put his team in front for good with 3:31 remaining in the middle period, the floodgates opened. Dominick Laudicina scored a goal at the two-minute mark and Tommy Kennedy made it a 6-3 game with 33 seconds remaining.

The third period featured nine goals. Andrew Knight extended the Radnor lead to 7-3 when he scored a shorthanded goal 2:21 into the period but the Colonials didn’t fold.

Keogh, Isaac Mishkin, Flynn, Timothy Murphy, and Conlan Carpenter all scored goals to help Plymouth Whitemarsh forge an 8-8 tie with 2:25 left in regulation but Tucker Graham’s goal with 1:53 left off a burst down the right wing proved to be the game winner. Knight added an insurance goal.

Afterwards, it took Colonial coach Josh Aiello some time to sort through it all. “We scored five goals in the third period,” he said. “That’s a pretty big accomplishment in any game but in a. Flyers Cup game, the biggest high-school hockey tournament in the state that’s pretty impressive.

“I’m really proud of our guys for what they accomplished in the third period and their effort, and their dedication to the team, to themselves, and the school.”

Radnor 2 4 4—10

PW 2 1 5—8

First-period goals: Robert Toomey (R) from Colin French and Tommy Kennedy, 3:01; Ryan Carr (R) from Dominick Laudicina, 5:54; Luke Weikel (PW) from Matthew Flynn and Aidan Keogh, 11:04; Flynn (PW) from Weikel, 13:35 (pp)

Second-period goals: Flynn (PW) from Weikel and Keogh, 8:23; French (R) from Toomey 9:28; French (R) from Connor Baumann and Toomey,, 13:29; Laudicina (R) from Andrew Knight and Henry Kennedy, 15:00; Kennedy (R) from Tucker Graham and Christopher Boulder, 16:37

Third-period goals: Knight (R) from Hajoon Kim and French, 2:21 (sh); Keogh from Weikel and Brandon Butler, 4:48 (pp); Isaac Mishkin (P) from Dylan Novitsky and Dan Smith 9:57; Flynn (PW) from Conlan Carpenter and Novitsky, 12;10; Baumann (R) from Carr, 12:59; Tim Murphy (P) from Keogh and Weikel, 13:52; Carpenter (PW) unassisted, 14:35; Tucker Graham (R) unassisted,15:07; Knight (R) unassisted, 15:50

Shots: Radnor 38 Plymouth Whitemarsh 35; Saves: Luke Mallory (R) 27, Kolton Galie 28

Abington 4 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP —Abington worked a very long time, all season in fact, for the right to hoist the SHSHL American Division (Class A) championship trophy, all season in fact.

But in the wake of their 4-2 win over Wissahickon Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, could be argued the top-seeded Galloping Ghosts had been working for far longer than that; Thursday’s win gave Abington its seventh SHSHL title but its first since 2004.

“It’s a huge win for our program,” said Abington coach Ken Brozowski. “We talked about before the game, about the history that Abington has. And it was important for us to come through and win this game.

Matt Cholaj and Pat Stelacio each scored two goals and each added an assist as top-seeded Abington won its 15^th straight game after opening the season with a loss to new SHSHL Class AA champion Pennridge.

“We lost the first game of the season,” Chelaj said, “but we came out hot after that We really didn’t let much get to us. We kept our heads in every game.

“It’s good when all four of our lines can really get going and score goals. All four of our lines are putting up points this year and it was just an overall good season.”

Cholaj put Abington in front 5:19 into the opening period. A.J. Pounds answered for third-seeded Wissahickon (9-8) at the 9:42 mark.
Abington’s next three goals came on power plays. Stelacio put his team in front for the second and last time with 3:11 left in the opening session before Abington broke the game open early in the second stanza thanks to consecutive Trojan penalties that gave the Galloping Ghosts a two-man advantage; Cholaj and Stelacio each scored goals during that interlude to put their team up by three goals just 3:01 into the middle period.

Will Hussa made it a 4-2 game at the 6:34 mark. Wissahickon had no further success against Ben Panella in the Abington net although the Trojans had two goals disallowed during the game.

Abington is classified Class AA for the Flyers Cup and as the 14^th seed will face third seed Council Rock South on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. Wissahickon is seeded 10^th in Class A and will go against seventh-seeded West Chester Henderson Monday at Ice Line

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Pennridge 5 Council Rock South 4 OT

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—There wasn’t much to choose between Pennridge and Council Rock South Thursday night. Perhaps it was fitting that the Rams and the Golden Hawks went into overtime in their SHSHL Class AA championship game. It took 4 minutes, 27 seconds of extra time before Shane Dachowski found the back of the net to give the Rams a 5-4 win in front of a packed house at Hatfield Ice.

The winning sequence began with a long pass from Trey Mikulich from inside the Pennridge blue line up the center of the ice. Dachowski collected it in full stride and went in on goal before beating South netminder Carson Lopez with a backhander.

“We knew we weren’t losing tonight,” Dachowski said. “We just went out there and did it.”

Second-seeded Pennridge, which remained unbeaten at 16-0-1 trailed 3-1 late in the second period before rallying win its third SHSHL title; the previous two came in 2008 and ’19.

Top-seeded Council Rock South (13-2-2) spent much of the first period killing four penalties and portions of the second period killing two more. Matt Constantini gave the Golden Hawks a 1-0 at the 10:34 mark but drew and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while celebrating the goal.

Jack Lowery tied the game for Pennridge
“You can’t win games shorthanded,” said South coach Joe Houk. ”We literally skated shorthanded the first half of that. You can’t play catchup like that.

But in short order, it was the Rams playing catchup after Daniel Filippov and Gavin Nisenzon scored goals in a span of 2:06 to give the Golden Hawks a 3-1 lead with 3:07 left in the middle period.

Cooper White brought the Rams closer before the second period ended and Andrew Savona tied the game 1:57 into the third when he beat Lopez from the left faceoff circle.
Kevin Pico gave Pennridge its first lead of the lead at the 6:44 mark when he scored off a South turnover.

As the final minute of regulation counted down, the Rams fought to hold their lead but David Vergules emerged victorious from a scramble in front of Ram goaltender Ryan Pico to tie the game with 40 seconds left in regulation. The goal served as a prelude to an overtime session that brought the evening to a dramatic conclusion.

“That was one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. It was back and forth, it was everything that a championship game should be.”

• Pennridge is seeded first for the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face 16^th seeded Ridley Tuesday night at Hatfield Ice. The Golden Hawks are seeded third and will face 14^th-seeded Abington on Tuesday, also at Hatfield Ice.

Pennridge 0 2 2 1—5

C.R. South 1 2 1 0—4

First-period goal: Matt Constantini (CRS) from Julian Wagenman and Kevin Koles, 10:34

Second-period goals: Jack Lowery (P) unassisted, 11:23; Dan Filippov (CRS) from Blaise Pepe, 11:47; Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Pepe, 13:53 (pp), Cooper White (P) from Andrew David and Andrew Lizak, 14:59

Third-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Kevin Pico and Aidan Boyle, 1:57 (pp); Pico (P) from Savona and Tyler Manto, 6:44; David Vergules (CRN) from Kyle Boss, 19:20

Overtime goal: Shane Dachowski (P) from Trey Mikulich, 4:27

Shots: Pennridge 48, Council Rock North 37; Saves: Ryan Pico (P) 33, Carson Lopez (CRN) 43

Council Rock South 7 Council Rock North 5

Council Rock South exploded for four goals in the second period and then held on to knock Council Rock North out of the Suburban High School Hockey League playoffs. The win propels the top-seeded Golden Hawks (13-1-2) into the championship game against Pennridge Thursday at 7:10 at Hatfield Ice.

The Golden Hawks lost to Pennsbury in last year’s final.

The fifth-seeded Indians (9-7) broke out quickly in the first period, when Karson Grainey scored a goal with only 2:28 gone in the period. But CR South came right back with two goals, one by Bobby Gilbert and one by Blaize Pepe in a span of just over rwo-and-a-half minutes.

In the second period, the goals came fast and furious. South got goals from Mike Costantini and Sam Cherassky to get things going before Grainey got one back for North.

But South scored another, this one from Daniel Vergules and added a second from Blaize Pepe sandwiched around North goals from Jackson Accardi and Grainey.

The Indians attempted teo comeback in the third period as Zach Weissman cut into the Hawks’ lead. But Chase Tovsky finished off the scoring for South and for the game.

“I don’t think at any one time we had control of the game,” said South coach Joe Houk. If we had scored a couple more goals, like four or five, that would have been totally different.”

CR South 7, CR North 5

CR North 1 3 1 — 5

CR South 2 4 1 — 7

First period: Karson Gainey CRN (Noah Epstein) 2:28; Bobby Gilbert CRS (Blaize Pepe)11:19; B. PepeCRS (Eric Mostoller) 13:57 SH.

Second period: Mike Costantini CRS (Kevin Koles) 2:08; Sam Cherassky CRS (Koles) 5:44; Grainey CRN (Zach Weissman, Epstein) 7:06 PP; Daniel Vergules CRS (Koles) 8:38;Jackson Accardi CRN (Nicholas Hahn, Grainey) 9:42; Grainey CRN (unassisted) 14:02 SH; B. Pepe CRS (Gilbert) 16:47.

Third period: Weissman CRN (Accardi, Grainey) 2:23; Chase Tovsky CRS (B. Pepe, Cherassky)8:34 PP.

Shots: CRN 19, CRS 42. Saves: Ian Goldberg (CRN) 35, Carson Lopez (CRS) 12.

Pennridge 6 Pennsbury 3

HATFELD TOWNSHIP— One of the mantras of postseason hockey is ‘Don’t take bad penalties.’ Failing to adhere to that axiom cost Pennsbury dearly Wednesday night.

Pennridge scored four goals in the third period and went on to a 6-3 win over the Falcons in an SHSHL National Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice. The second-seeded Rams, still unbeaten at 16-0-1, will take on Council Rock South Thursday night at 7:10 in the same rink for the National Division title. Third-seeded Pennsbury (11-4-1-0), which was defending the division title it won last year, will await the start of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament next Tuesday.

As the third period commenced, it was anyone’s game with the teams deadlocked at 2-2. Tyler Manto and Kevin Pico produced first-period goals for Pennridge. Brendan Macainsh, who scored for the Falcons just 35 seconds into the opening session, set up his teammate Shane Siegmound 77 seconds into the second.

But not quite a third of the way into the final period, the flow of the game shifted dramatically. At the 5:06 mark, the Falcons drew a bench penalty for too many men on the ice. It took Aeryk Lehrhaupt just 11 seconds to score the goal that put his team ahead for good.

But there was more to come. At the 6:06 mark Lehrhaupt was flagged for hooking. Fifty-three seconds later Pennsbury’s Andrew Falkenstein knocked a Pennridge player off stride with his knee and was called for tripping, leaving teams skating four on four. Colin Dachowski scored for Pennridge at 7:51 to make it a 4-2 game and for the remainder of the period, play flowed in Pennridge’s direction, like a river flowing downhill.

Andrew Lizak added a goal at 10:49 to give the Rams a three-goal lead. Macainsh brought his team closer when he scored his second goal of the game at 12:27 but that was all the Falcons could muster.

Shane Dachowski finished the scoring with an empty net goal with seven seconds remaining.

There was an ice cut before the start of the third period, which Lehrhaupt said allowed the Rams to regroup.

“We didn’t feel like we played like we were in a tie game,” he said. “As soon as we came out buzzing (in the third period) and got that goal, it made a whole world of a difference.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his time out prior to his team’s third-period power play to tell his troops to pick up the pace. “I thought we were going a little too much trying to play defense,” he said. ‘I thought their next five minutes was their best five minutes of the year.”

The game featured 12 minor penalties, six against each team. Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley voiced his displeasure with the work of the officials.

“I don’t want to talk about penalties too much,” he said, “but in my opinion, that was one of the worst officiated games I’ve ever been in.

“The penalties we took, we took, it doesn’t help at all. But it also doesn’t help when the referees are (inattentive) to what’s going on the ice.”

Both goaltenders were sharp. Aaron McDaniel stopped 37 shots for the Falcons. His Pennridge counterpart Ryan Pico was credited with 32 saves.

“Our goalie was keeping us in it,” Daley said, “with some spectacular saves, especially right at the end of the second, and Pico was doing his thing. He stole a few from us as expected.

“We really played great the first two periods. It was just a five-minute span of going brain dead that killed us in the third.”

Pennsbury 1 1 1—3

Pennridge 2 0 4—6

First-period goal: Brendan Macainsh (Pb) from Shane Siegmund, :35; Tyler Manto (Pr) from Kevin Pico and Colin Dachowski, 9:40; Pico (Pr) from Aidan Boyle, 13:25

Second-period goal: Siegmund (P) from Macainsh, 1:17 (pp)

Third-period goals: Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Jack Lowery, 5:17; Colin Dachowski (Pr) unassisted, 7:51; Andrew Lizak (Pr) from Boyle, 10:49; Macainsh (Pb) from Siegmund, 12:27; Shane Dachowski (Pr) from Manto, 16:53 (en)

Shots: Pennsbury 35, Pennridge 43; Saves: Aaron McDaniel (Pb) 37, Ryan Pico (Pr) 32