Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals Back in the SHSHL Nest

A common saying in hockey circles is ‘A goaltender is a team’s last line of defense.’ Emmett Kepniss took that mindset to a new level Thursday night.

Kepniss is Upper Dublin’s starting and only goalkeeper. It was his presence alone that allowed the Flying Cardinals to face Souderton in what was their first official SHSHL game since the 2018-19 season.

The Big Red prevailed 7-2 in the non-conference matchup, but in a way, Kepniss was the most important player on the ice.

For two seasons, Upper Dublin was barred from SHSHL play because they were considered impure; the club had to look outside the its student population to find a goaltender. This season, Kepniss answered the call.

The senior has an athletic background; he was a two-way lineman in football and is a midfielder in lacrosse. But, despite being a lifelong hockey fan, he had never been on skates until a few weeks ago when he was approached by some of his fellow seniors who were on the hockey team.

“They were trying to get someone in the school,” Kepniss said. “My girlfriend’s dad runs the club, He approached me, I talked to him further, and now I’m here.

Prior to Thursday’s game, Kepniss had several practices plus two scrimmages to get a sense of what playing in goal is all about. On game night, he experienced live fire.

“It’s a lot faster,” he said. “You have to be quicker on your feet. In practice, there’s a little more leeway because it’s your team. But (Thursday’s game) counts so you kind of have to play your best hockey and give it your all really.”

Which Kepniss did. He had some early jitters and allowed three goals in the first period on seven shots but gradually grew more comfortable and made several quality stops later in the game. He finished the evening with 23 saves.

“I told the guys I was going to get nervous a little bit,” he said. “It was the first game but …. The guys told me ‘Don’t worry about it.”

Upper Dublin coach Anthony Richichi praised Kepniss’s effort. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Emmett as our goalie,” he said. “he showed up, completely volunteered, and, with limited practice time, has worked really hard.
“Obviously, he’s hot some work to do but we as a team, we need to understand our roles in supporting him.

Liam O’ Neill and Nick Smith each scored twice for Souderton

Souderton 3 2 2—7

Upper Dublin 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Liam O’ Neill (S) from Anthony Lanzilotti, 3:40; Jamie Avaria (S) unassisted, 7:01; Tim Alexander (S) unassisted, 9:33; Kevin McGinley (UD) from Gus Plat, 11:20

Second-period goals: O’Neill (S) unassisted, 5:58; Nick Smith (S) from Evan Thacker, 14:54 (pp)

Third-period goals: Alexander (S) unassisted, :25; Marco Morina (UD) from Louis Gamburg and Jonah Fisher, 3:40; Smith (S) 13:28.

Shots: Souderton 30, Upper Dublin 33; Saves: Liam Kelly (S) 31, Emmett Kepniss (UD) 23

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Opening Night for Upper Dublin and Souderton

Golden Hawks Open With a Win

Council Rock South got its season off to an impressive start Wednesday night. The Golden Hawks scored four goals in the first period and went on to a 6-1 win over North Penn in a SHSHL non-league curtain raiser at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Julian Sarne and Kevin Koles scored two goals apiece as the Golden Hawks picked up where they left after a 2020-21 campaign that saw then reach the SHSHL Class AA final.

Sarne got his team on the board 9:11 into the first frame off a feed from Koles on a play that started behind the North Penn net. Matt Yothers answered back for the Knights just 64 seconds later but Sarne scored his second goal at the 11:16 mark and the Golden Hawks rolled on from there. Koles made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 11:16 when North Penn got caught in a line change and Bobby Gilbert extended his team’s lead two seconds before the period ended.

Sarne, a senior, stressed the importance of the fast start. “I think it was very important that we came out buzzing today,” he said. “We need a good start to the season. We’ve got to kick it off great. It’s our senior year. We just needed a win in the books.”

Koles scored his second goal 4:24 into the second session and Matt Constanini completed the scoring at 14:36.

South coach Joe Houk was pleased with the win, but offered a qualifier. “It’s good to get off to a fast start.” he said. “I thought we didn’t play our best game. We were very sloppy, we had a couple selfish players, and stuff like that, But I thought overall, we did a good job.”

Houk said he was concerned about his team maintaining its focus in the late going. “I thought the flow of the game was okay,” he said. “But, when we get games like that, we get real complacent and we start doing stupid stuff. But, we haven’t had a lot of time together yet. By we’ll work on it. We’ll get back at it at practice on Monday.”

The evening’s unsung hero was North Penn goaltender Nick Crist who faced a barrage of 62 shots and stopped 56 of them. It was the junior’s first varsity game.

“He did a great job for us,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. Sixty-two shots and six goals. “He kept is in it. It could have been worse.”

Vaitis noted that the evening was a learning experience for a young team. “We have some young players that got some quality minutes tonight,” he said, “and we’re going to look to kind of grow and build upon that.”

North Penn 1 0 0—1

C.R. South 4 2 0—6

First-period goals Julian Sarne (CRS) from Kevin Koles, 9:11; Matt Yothers (NP) from Justin Yothers, 10:15; Sarne (CRS) from Sam Cherkassky, 11:16; Koles (CRS) unassisted, 12:55; Bobby Gilbert (CRS) from Cherkassky, 15:58

Second-period goals: Koles (CRS) from Blaize Peppe, 4:24; Matt Constantini (CRS) from Koles, 14:36

Shots: North Penn 21, C.R. South 62; Saves: Nick Crist (NP) 56, Carson Lopez (CRS) 20

Haverford 4, Pennridge 1

WEST GOSHEN— It took Haverford some time to get started Wednesday night. But over the course of 51 minutes the Fords found the right gear and prevailed 4-1 over Pennridge in a Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal at Ice Line.

Third-seeded Haverford (15-1), a winner of its last 13 starts, will face top-seed Downingtown West in Tuesday’s final at Ice Line (6:15 start). The 10th-seeded Rams closed their season at 10-6.

At the evening’s outset, the Rams face the question of how to neutralize Haverford’s speed.
They were successful for most of the first period until Dane Fichette drew the game’s first penalty at the 11:10 mark, giving the Fords the game’s first power play.

It was Pennridge however who got on the scoreboard first when Aidan Boyle blocked a shot from the high slot, which set up Aeryk Lehrhaupt for a shorthanded breakaway. Lehrhaupt deposited the puck behind Haverford goaltender Jai Jani at 13:25.

The Rams maintained their lead past the midway point of the second period but the momentum was starting to shifting the Fords’ way when Quinn Carson tied the game with at the 11:41 mark of the period; his shot from the right wing caromed off Pennridge netminder Ryan Pico and into the net.

Haverford took the lead three-and-a-minutes later when Dan Quartapella tried to score on a wraparound inside the right post. Pico made the save but Alex Gattone poked in the rebound.

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna saw Gattone’s goal as a turning point. “That second goal took a lot out of us,” he said.

By that point, Pico was keeping Pennridge in the game; after two periods The Rams were being outshot 27-14.

The Fords controlled the third period. Jacob Orazi extended his team’s lead when he scored a shorthanded goal at the 6:44 mark off a turnover in the Pennridge zone. Dan Quartapella completed the scoring for the evening at at 10:14. At evening’s end, the Fords’ shot advantage was 37-18.

Montagna saluted his team’s effort. “They did what I wanted,” he said. “They did it our way. It wasn’t sitting back and it wasn’t just waiting for the inevitable to come, They took it to them to start that game as best they could.”

The person perhaps most impressed by Pennridge’s performance was Haverford coach John Povey. “Pennridge gave us everything that we could handle,” he said. Hats off to their team, hats off to their coaching staff.

“That was one of the tougher games we’ve played all year. Hats off to them, but hats off to our guys, down 1-0. I don’t think we’d trailed in a game since the beginning of February, so it was good for us to find a way to win.”

The Fords made some adjustments to neutralize the Rams’ early surge. “We just started getting pucks behind their (defense),” Povey said. Our forecheck was really good. Halfway through the game, we were able to possess the puck and wear them down a little bit.”

The Rams had a long ride home Wednesday night but Blake Stewart, their captain, was quick to point out that the Rams earned the right to hold their heads high at evening’s end.

“We came into the season with low expectations,” he said. “I can say right now, no one thought we’d be here, especially the only SHSHL team here. And that gave us firepower. We came into the playoffs, we came into the Flyers Cup with nothing to lose. We did nothing but prove people wrong.”

Downingtown West defeated 12th seed Avon Grove 4-3 in the other semifinal.

Pennridge 1 0 0—1
Haverford 0 2 2—4
First-period goals: Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Aidan Boyle, 13:25 (sh)
Second period goals: Quinn Carson (H) from Daniel Quartapella and Nate Rabadam, 11:41; Alex Gattone (H) from Quartapella and Carson, 15:13
Third-period goals: Jacob Orazi (H) from Rabadam and Cally Moran, 6:44 (sh); Quartapella (H) Rabadam, 10:41
Shots: Pennridge 18, Haverford 37; Saves: Ryan Pico (P) 33, Jai Jani (H) 17

West Chester Henderson 5, Wissahickon 1

HATFIELD—Making the transition from the regular season to the Flyers Cup tournament requires stepping up. On Thursday night, Wissahickon was unable to make the climb.

Alex Holloway and Edward Jefferis each contributed two goals and two assists as West Chester Henderson prevailed over the Trojans 5-1 in a Class A quarterfinal game at Hatfield Ice.

The sixth-seeded Warriors (5-7-2) earned a place in Tuesday’s semifinals while third-seeded Wissahickon concluded its season at 12-2.

The Trojans came into the game averaging nine goals per game but never got into high gear against a Henderson team that kept them under pressure all evening long.

“They could keep up with (Henderson’s) speed,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington,” but they would make decisions a little too quick because (opponents) were right on top of them. (But) a lot of times they weren’t and they would get in that mode ‘I’ve got to get rid of it.’”

And while the Trojans did generate some quality chances, they were unable to solve Warrior goaltender Dylan Krick until late in the third period.

“We had a lot of chances,” Harrington said, but they didn’t go in. We had enough, but their goalie was very good.”

Henderson jumped in from early on. Holloway corralled a loose puck just inside the Wissahickon blue line and went in alone on Trojan goaltender Michael Bonnani before putting the puck past him just 3:33 into the opening period. A second turnover on a similar play set up a goal from Jefferis and the Warriors had a 2-0 lead at the 12:38 mark.

Holloway set up Jefferis from behind the net and his teammate scored his second goal of the night to make it a 3-0 game 2:45 into the second period. Robbie Moses extended Henderson’s lead when he blasted a shot past Bonnani from the right faceoff circle at 14:19.By that point in the game, the Trojans, who had just 10 skaters available instead of their usual 12, were running low on energy.

Holloway scored his second goal of the game with 6:54 left in regulation on a shot from the left point, two long strides inside the blue line. Bonnani appeared to be screened on the play.

Wissahickon finally got on the scoreboard with 4:16 remaining when Ben Junker scored a power-play goal on a low shot from the high slot that found its way through traffic.

The Warriors outshot the Trojans 35-32.

Note from History: Henderson won a Class A Flyers Cup title in 2007,

WC Henderson 2 2 1—5
Wissahickon 0 0 1—1—1
First-period goals: Alex Holloway (WCH) unassisted, 3:33; Edward Jefferis (WCH) from Holloway, 12:38
Second-period goals: Jefferis (WCH) from Holloway, 2:45; Robbie Moses (P) from Christopher Lawrence, 14:19
Third-period goals: Holloway (WCH) from Jefferis and Tyler Krick, 9:06; Ben Junker (P) from Ty Schaffer’s and Bryan Garry, 11:44 (pp)
Shots: WCH 35, Wiss. 33 Saves: Dylan Krick (WCH) 32, Michael Bonnani 30

Flyers Cup Schedule for Thursday, April 8. NOTE UPDATE

Today’s originally scheduled Class AAA quarterfinal game between #3 Holy Ghost Prep and #6 Cardinal O’Hara has been postponed. The game will be played at a later date to be determined that will not affect the current and ongoing Flyers Cup timeline.

Class A Quarterfinals

1 West Chester East vs. 8 Penncrest 6:15 Ice Line 1

4 Spring.-Delco vs 5 Sun Valley 8:50 Ice Works 3

West Chester Henderson 5, Wissahickon 1

2 Strath Havem vs 10 WC Bayard Rustin 8:50 Ice Works 4

Class AA Quarterfinals

1 Downingtown West vs 9 Neshaminy 8:45 at Ice Line 3

Avon Grove 4, Spring Ford 2

3 Haverford vs 6 Central Bucks South 8:15 at Ice Line 1

Pennridge 9, Pennsbury 6

All these games can be seen on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel

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Central Bucks South 3, Owen J. Roberts 1

HATFIELD—It was a performance lacking in artistic excellence perhaps. But by evening’s end, Central Bucks South had what it came for; a win. Three different players scored goals as the sixth-seeded Titans downed Owen J. Roberts 3-1 Tuesday night in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

Dan Kvecher, Owen Mendham, and Aydin Thierolf all scored to send the Titans (8-5-1-1) to Thursday’s quarterfinals against third-seeded Haverford (8:15 at Ice Line).

Goals weren’t easy to come by Tueday night. The 11^th-seeded Wildcats (5-5-3) enjoyed a 36-24 edge in shots They also had the better of procession time over the first two periods but couldn’t solve South goaltender Mason Moyer despite having three-power-play opportunities over the first 32 minutes of playing time.

The Titans scored the only goal of that span in a unique fashion. Kvecher made a move on left wing before encountering traffic in the offensive zone. He launched a shot that caromed off of Wildcat goaltender Shane Towler and into the net. The goal came with 3:58 remaining in the period.

Kevecher anticipated a tough battle from the Lions. “Every game is a battle,” he said, “no matter what opponent we play. We just come out here and do what we do.

“(O.J Roberts) is a great team. We have to battle the whole game.”

Kvecher’s teammate, Owen Mendham made it a 2-0 game on a power-play goal 7:04 into the third period.

South spent a big chunk of the third period killing penalties, three in the last 8:25 of regulation. But the only goal the Lions managed came on the last one when Cale Primanti put in a rebound with 1:59 remaining.

“Early on we had a lot of possession time,” said Owen J. Roberts coach Chuck Gorman. ”We just couldn’t penetrate between the dots on them and get second shots..”

The last goal of the game came with 1:06 left in regulation when the Lions, who had pulled Towler for an extra attacker, turned the puck over just to their defensive side of the red line. Thierolf controlled the loose puck for the Titans and was poised for a breakaway when the Lions’ Ava Rinker pulled him down. With the net empty, Thierolf was awarded a goal. And the Titans lived to play another day.

“In this kind of tournament you take the win, you move on,” said South coach Shaun McGinty.”They came, they did their job, they got their shot total up.

“We wre struggling a bit finding the net, but the first two periods they were pretty much winning the one-on-one battles.”

Owen J. Roberts 0 0 1

Central Bucks South 0 1 2

Second-period goals: Dan Kvecher (CBS) unassisted, 12:02

Third-period goals: Owen Mendham (CBS) from Adam Cusick and Aydin Thierolf, 7:04 (pp); Cael Primanti (OJR) from Chatles Davis, 14:01 (pp); Thierolf (CBS) unassisted, 14:54 (awarded goal), (en)

Shots: O.J. Roberts 36, C.B. South 24 Saves: Shane Towler (OJR) 21, Mason Moyer (CBS) 35

Pennridge 4, Central Bucks East 2

HATFIELD— Pennridge got off to a quick start Tuesday night and maintained its advantage all evening long. The Rams scored three times in the first period and went on to a 4-2 win over Central Bucks East in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

Tenth-seeded Pennridge will face second-seeded Pennsbury in a quarterfinal game on Thursday (6:30 at Hatfield Ice).

There wasn’t a lot of flash and sizzle in what the Rams did on the ice. But they were extremely efficient and Ryan Pico was solid in goal. That’s been a winning formula for the Rams (9-4-0-1) all season and it was again on Tuesday.

“It was boring,” admitted Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “But I’ll take that every day of the week.”

The Rams lack the firepower they’ve enjoyed in the recent past. That necessitated a different approach this season.

“If we’re going to win, if we’re going to advance, it’s got to be defense first, second, and third,” Montagna said. “That’s not easy for kids to always want to do, they want to go. To respond this way, that’s a lot of the older guys. They’ve been there, they know how we’ve got play.”

Richie Shanks got things started for the Rams 6:39 into the opening period when he beat Patriot netminder Matt Mangiacapre from close range off a feed from Aidan Boyle. Aeryk Lehrhaupt made it a 2-0 game at the 10:08 mark before Boyle extended his team’s lead at 12:54.

Despite the three-goal deficit, the Patriots kept battling. “It was hard to keep consistent pressure in their zone,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell. “We’re missing a couple key guys in the lineup. It just got to a point where the boys gave it their all. Things just didn’t go our way at the end of everything.”

Connor Keiser got East on the scoreboard 6:48 into the second frame.

Adam Bostock made it a one-goal game when he beat Ryan Pico 3:19 into the third period. But Blake Stewart answered back for Pennridge 71 seconds later to complete the scoring.

The seventh-seeded Patriots, who we’re playing their first game since March 17, saw their late hopes fade thanks to a pair of late penalties; Tyler Godown and Phil McIntyre were accessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with 1:28 left in regulation, forcing East to finish the game with two players in the penalty box. Two other Patriots drew unsportsmanlike conduct penalties following the final buzzer.It marked the conclusion to a season in which the Patriots (6-4-1-1) faced a plethora of unique challenges.

“There were a lot of things that were out of our hands this year,” Mitchell said. I feel like my group did the best they could given the hand that they were dealt.”

Pennridge 3 0 1—4
C.B. East 0 1 1—2
First-period goals: Richie Shanks (P) from Aidan Boyle, 6:39; Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) from Blake Stewart, 10:08; Boyle (P) from Colin Dahowski and Dane Fichette, 12:54
Second-period goals: Connor Keiser (CBE) from Phil McIntyre and Adam Bostock, 6:48
Third-period goals: Adam Bostock (CBE) from Stephen DIRugeris, 3:19; Stewart (P) from Cooper White and Lehrhaupt, 4:30;
Shots: Pennridge 40, C.B. East 26; Saves: Ryan Pico (P) 24, Matt Mangiacapre 36

Pennsbury 7, Council Rock South 4

BRISTOL— All season long, Pennsbury has relied on offensive firepower for its success. The stakes were higher Wednesday night but the methodology was unchanged as the Falcons outgunned Council Rock South 7-4 in the Suburban High School Hockey League National/Continental championship game at Grundy Arena.

Brendan MacAinsh scored four goals and added two assists to help the Falcons (12-2-0-1), the top seed in the playoffs, to their first SHSHL title since joining the league for the 2007-08 season

It was an emotional moment for Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley, who, in his four seasons as head coach, has seen his team rise from the depths of the standings to the championship level.

“If you had told ne four years ago we’d be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said. “No way. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of guys. Especially the seniors that were on that team as freshmen and saw the worst of it and now they’ve had the best of it. I just couldn’t be happier for those guys.”

MacAinsh is just a sophomore, so he wasn’t present for much of the Falcons’ rise from the ashes. But the night was no less special for him.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It really is. To come in as a sophomore and win it in my second year playing. I didn’t get to play much as a freshman but coming in the second year (and helping the team win a championship) is a great feeling.”

After one period the Falcons and the Golden Hawks (9-4-0-2) were all even after Pennsbury’s Logan Doyle and South’s Kyle Schneider traded goals

After needing overtime to win their respective semifinals 24 hours earlier, both teams were impacted by the game’s physicality as the two officials essentially put their whistled in their pockets for most of the night.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks took a 2-1 lead when Julian Wagenmann poked in a rebound of Brennan Wright’s original shot 48 seconds into the second frame.

But MacAinsh tied the game at 3:20 and put his team ahead for good at the 5:11 mark, just 16 seconds into the game’s first power play.

Shane Siegmund extended Pennsbury’s lead with a shorthanded goal with 56 seconds remaining the second period. At that point, it was apparent that the Golden Hawks, who had just 13 skaters dressed, were running low on energy. MacAinsh went on to score two additional goals early in the first three minutes 10 seconds of the third period to extend Pennsbury’s lead to 6-2.

South coach Joe Houk saw the shorthanded goal as a turning point.

“Letting a shorthanded goal in with (56) seconds left in the second period, that’s like a final in the coffin,” he said. “Now, you’ve got to come back (down) by two. You’ve got to get the next one. The next period. we let them score right of the bat again.”

Schneider and Julian Sarne added power-play goals for South in the third period to make the final margin a little closer before Shane Siegmund scored for Pennsbury to wrap things up.

“You can look at it like you’re out of gas and stuff like that but I thought we didn’t battle hard enough tonight,” Houk said. “They won a lot of loose pucks, the harder you work, the luckier you get and they worked their tails off. They were the better team tonight.

Notes: Both teams will open Flyers Cup play on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. Second-seeded Pennsbury will face number-15 Conestoga at 8:40 while the fifth-seeded Golden Hawks will take on 12^th seed Avon Grove at 6:30 … Wednesday’s game was played in 17-minute periods with an ice cut after the second period.

Council Rock South 1 1 2—4

Pennsbury 1 3 3—7

First-period goals: Logan Doyle (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 4:42; Kyle Schneider (CRS) from Bobby Gilbert and Blaize Pepe, 10:44;

Second-period goals: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Brennan Wright and Jeremy Purcell, Brendan MacAinsh (P) from Justin Marlin, 3:20; MacAinsh (P) from Reece Millman, 5:11 (pp); Shane Siegmund (P) from MacAinsh, 16:04 (sh);

Third-period goals: MacAinsh (P) from Nillman and Colin Michalak, 1:27; MacAinsh (P) from Eddie Bossler, 3:10; Schneider (CRS) from Wagenmann, 6:42 (pp); Julian Sarne (CRS) from Pepe and Wagenmann, 13:11 (pp) Siegmund (P) from MacAinsh, 16:01

Shots: Council Rock South 30, Pennsbury 37; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 30, Marek Jorgenson (P) 26

Wissahickon 4, Abington 3

Nick Hussa scored a goal and assisted on three more as Wissahickon defeated Abington 4-3 Thursday night in the Suburban High School Hockey League American Division championship game at Hatfeld Ice.

It’s the fifth divisional title for the Trojans. They previously won championships in 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2019. A possible sixth championship in 2003 has not been verified.

Wisssahickon (12-1) took the lead on a goal from Bryan Garry 7:11 into the first period. Abington (8-4) drew even when Colin Bruton found the back of the net at the 15:36 mark during a power play.

Wissahickon’s Daniel Glazer and Abington’s Sam Paulik traded goals in the second period before Will Hussa gave Wissahickon the lead for good at the 13:28 mark with an assist from Nick Hussa, who extended the Trojans’ lead when he scored with 2:07 left in the period. Griffin Carpenter scored for Abington remaining in the second session; the third period was scoreless.

Wissahickon will move on to the Class A Flyers Cup and will face sixth-seeded West Chester Henderson next Thursday at Hatfield Ice (7:10).

Thursday’s loss concluded Abington’s season.

Abington 1 2 0—3

Wissahickon 1 3 0—4

First-period goals: Bryan Garry from Nick Hussa and Daniel Glazer, 7:11; Colin Bruton (A) from Tom Rourke and Matt Kramer, 15:36 (pp)

Second-period goals: Galzer from Garry and Hussa, 3:50; Sam Paulik (A) from Ian Heydt and Sean Faye, 8:13; Wil Hussa from Nick Hussa, 13:28; Nick Hussa from Garry, 14:53; Griffin Carpenter (A) unassisted, 15:42

Shots: Abington 28, Wissahickon 49; Saves: Sam Panella (A) 45, Michael Bonanni 25

Council Rock South 2 Central Bucks South 1 OT

HATFIELD—In the end, both teams left every ounce of energy on the ice, like warriors spilling their last drop of blood on the battlefield.

Sam Cherkassky scored a power-play goal 5:23 into sudden-death overtime Wednesday night to give Council Rock South a 2-1 win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban High School Hockey League National/Continental semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Golden Hawks (9-3-0-2) will try to defend their divisional title when they face top-seeded Pennsbury Thursday night at Grundy Arena (7:20) in the championship game.

The winning goal came as the second-seeded Titans, who had just 11 skaters dressed because of injuries, a suspension, and Covid issues, were dealing with a flurry of penalties; four of them in the last 2:19 of regulation plus overtime.

Trailing 1-0 heading down the stretch with the Titans’ Aydin Thierolf in the box for elbowing, the Golden Hawks pulled goaltender Jimmy Sweeney, giving them a six-skaters-to-four advantage. Julian Wagenmann tied the game with 1:12 left in regulation when he poked in the second rebound of a shot from the right point.

The Titans found themselves shorthanded again when D.J. Bray was whistled for elbowing 3:04 into the 15-minute extra period. Just 11 seconds later, Owen Mendham was called for interference with a bench minor attached, a bench minor that didn’t start until Bray’s penalty expired. Mendham’s penalty lapsed without incident but Emilee Lindenmuth, who was serving the extra penalty, could only watch, along with her teammates, as Cherkassky scored the game winner.

Council Rock South forward Doug Lopez said it was important for he and his teammates to step up their games entering the third period.

“We just knew that they were shorthanded,” he said. “We came into the locker room after the second period and said ‘We’ve got to give it our all.’

“I think them being short and a combination of them being short and us coming out hard really changed the game in our favor.”

Council Rock South coach Joe Houk noted that after a break for an ice cut following the second period, his players found another gear.

“I felt we were not focused the first half of the game,” he said. I thought our puck possession in the third, plus in overtime, whether there were penalties or not. I thought we controlled the entire overtime.”

Central Bucks South coach Shaun McGinty tried to find solace in his team’s work rate. “The boys played a great game,” he said. “The effort was there. Hat’s off to (Council Rock South), we’ll take the loss and move on to the Flyers Cup.”

Notes—The Titans’ goal came from Adam Cusick 63 seconds into the second period. Central Bucks South is seeded sixth for the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament and will face 11^th-seeded Own J. Roberts on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. The Golden Hawks, who are seeded fifth, will take on 12^th seed Avon Grove on Tuesday at the same venue.

C.R. South 0 0 1 1—2

C.B. South 0 1 0 0—1

Second-period goal: Adam Cusick (CBS) unassisted, 1:03

Third-period goal: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) unassisted, 14:48 (pp);

Overtime goal: Sam Cherkassky (CRS) unassisted, 5:23 (pp)

Shots: CR South 29, CB South 22; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 21, Mason Moyer (CBS) 27