Central Bucks South 4 Pennridge 3

Two teams in transaction crossed paths at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Pennridge is in the midst of defining the roles of characters in this season’s narrative while Central Bucks South took the ice with holes in its lineup.

In the end, it was the Titans who prevailed 4-3 over a Ram team that refused to go away, C.B. South improved to 3-1 on the season, 3-0 in SHSHL National; its only loss has been to La Salle.

Thursday’s win did not come easy. The Titans were without veterans Jamison Crouch and Damien Hauck who were serving suspensions in the wake of an altercation in Wednesday’s win over Neshaminy. Coach Josh Sklar shuffled his deck as a result.

{The player’ absence} definitely affected us,” he said. “We had a short bench. Everybody’s got to pick up the leash and everybody’s got to do their jobs.”

And so they did. Senior Joey Slobodrian led by example, assisting on the first goal of the night and scoring the second.

“It definitely affected our defense,” he said. “We were out a defenseman and out a forward. But, we got through it. We had two {defensive pairs) so we were kind of tired in the back end.”

Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi have South a 1-0 lead with 1:55 left in the opening period after Ryan Montagna and Slobodrian sent him down the middle of the ice.

Slobodrian made it 2-0 9;18 into the second frame off a scramble in front during a power play that came about when the Rams’ Justin Dinsmore was flagged for roughing.

Down two goals, the Rams (1-1) did not buckle. Landon Bishop went end to end and solved Titan goaltender Nate Neapolitan to make it a 2-1 game with 6:42 left in the period but Owen Fry answered for the Titans 57 seconds later.

When Grant Boyne made it a 4-1 game 75 seconds into the final period the Tirana’s appeared to have things well in hand. But Bishop scored his second goal of the game 2:46 into the period and James Rush made 4-3 with 8:06 still left forcing the titans to battle hard to the finish.

“We kind of let up at the end of the game,” Slobodrian said. Hopefully we’ll do better next game.”

Sklar praised his troops for stepping up and filling holes when needed.

“Playing short, the guys and the girls on the team did good,” he said. “Everyone picked up the slack.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna left the rink feeling satisfied as well.

“I told them I’m really proud of them,” he said. “I have a lot of guys new to varsity hockey. When they got down 4-1 they could have rolled over {but} they just kept coming. They played a very smart, disciplined game.

“They’re going to get better and better.”

C.B. South 1 2 1—4

Pennridge 0 1 2—3

First-period goal: Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi (CBS) from Ryan Montagna and Joey Slobodrian, 15:05

Second-period goals: Slobodrian (CBS) from Dominic Gibson and Ryan Frey, 9:18 (pp); Landon Bishop (P) from Justin Dinsmore and James Rush, 10:18; Owen Frey (CBS) from Gibson, 11:15

Third-period goals: Grant Boyne (CBS) unassisted, 1:15; Bishop (P) from Andrew Engle and Ryan Burke, 2:26; Rush (P) from Colby Booth, 8:54

Shots: C.B. South 36, Pennridge 26; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 23, Andrew Slutsky (P) 32

Council Rock South 6 Pennsbury 2

BRISTOL—It didn’t take Jake Weiner long to make an impact Wednesday night. Two minutes, 48 seconds, to be exact.

Weiner, who led the SHSHL in scoring last season, was in top form, giving his team the early lead and collecting three goals and two assists as Council Rock South bested Pennsbury 6 -2 in a SHSHL National matchup at Grundy Arena.

Jordan Sarne, Weiner’s linemate, didn’t do badly either, providing a goal and five assists as the Golden Hawks, the three-time defending division champions won their second straight to start the new season.

It was a tighter game than the final score indicates. South led just 2-1 after the second period before pulling away on the strength of four third-period goals in a span of 8:17.

“We persevered,” said South coach Joe Houk, “and we were good enough to win. Not a great game, not our best. But, we’ll bounce back.”

The Falcons (0-2) hung tough for two periods plus. Connor Gray lifted Pennsbury into a 1-1 tie with 5:22 left in the opening period with a shot from the top of the right circle that eluded South goaltender Troy Prozzillo.

The only goal of the middle period came from South’s Allen Pronin on a setup from Weiner and Sarne on a play that started on the deep right wing.

Starting the third frame the game was up for grabs but Sarne’s goal at 1:55 gave South some breathing room. Weiner, Nathaniel Grinberg, and Weiner again followed with additional goals to make it a 6-1 game with 6:48 left in regulation.

Shane Hicks added a consolation goal for Pennsbury with 4:46 left.

“They’re a good team over there,” Weiner said of the Falcons. “They have great coaches over there.

“We just worked. {Houk} always says ‘Work hard and we’ll find a way to win.’ That’s what we did tonight.”

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley praised his team’s effort, which included 47 saves from goaltender Brendan Milliken.

“I’m really happy with the way we played,” he said. “It was very encouraging. They got that third goal on a broken play that we had a great chance to get out. Our guy gets tripped up a little, the play comes back the other way, they score.

“It was a little deflating. We kind of took our eye off the ball for a little it and they converted.”

Houk stresses that his two big guns do the little things well on a night-to-night basis, which sets an example for the rest of the lineup.

“It’s real important” Houk said, “because I preach to these guys about the little things you do in games that make a difference whether you win or lose. And, when they do all the right things all the time, they make mistakes, but the other guys feed off of that.”

Pennsbury 1 0 1–2

CR. South 1 1 4—6

First-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 2:48; Connor Gray (P) unassisted, 11:38

Second-period goal: Allen Pronin (CRS) from Weiner and Sarne, 15:47

Third-period goals: Sarne (CRS) from Weiner, 1:55; Weiner (CRS) from Sarne, 7:54; Nathaniel Grinberg (CRS) from William Hollis and Chase Strattan, 8:22; Weiner (CRS) from Sarne, 10:12; Shane Hicks (P) unassisted, 12:14

Shots: Pennsbury 32, C.R. South 53; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 47, Troy Prozzillo (CRS) 30

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North Penn Looks Back on 50 Years

The high-school hockey landscape has changed considerably over the past half century. When North Penn founded its ice hockey club for the 1975-76 season the sport was in the midst of a growth spurt, thanks in no small measure to the Philadelphia Flyers, who had just won their second consecutive Stanley Cup. In 1976 they reached the finals once more but were swept by the Montreal Canadians.

In that era, a lot of high-school players were less concerned about playing for a championship than they were happy to be playing on an enclosed rink with lies painted on the ice.

Pete Hendricks was North Penn’ first coach. For six seasons, he dealt with the challenges that are part and parcel to getting a program off the ground.

Dave Culp played for North Penn as a senior before graduating 1980. He went on to coach the Knights from 1986-94, a time when the team was at first unable to field a pure roster (consisting entirely of players from North Penn).

“When we first started, we had Lansdale Catholic and North Penn working together,” he said. “When {He started coaching}, North Penn was going downhill we couldn’t get anybody.

I was grabbing guys from North Penn Lansdale Catholic Souderton and one from a (private) Christian school.”

Culp recalls an early North Penn team being barred from the SHSHL playoffs over the purity issue.

“It took us about two years but we became pure,” he said. “We had all North Penn guys.”

Culp recalls North Penn teams playing games outdoors.

“There was a skating rink at Whites Road Park,” he said. “I remember having practices and games there when I was playing. We were playing a game there outside and snow was coming through your cage. It was the most incredible thing we’d ever done.”

Dan Vaitis has never coached North Penn, but he has been involved in the program for some 25 years and is today the club’s president, a role he has filled for a decade. His son Kevin is the longest-tenured head coach in the club’s history.

Dan Vaitis commented on the growth of amateur/scholastic hockey during his involvement with the sport.

“Ice hockey overall has become much more popular,” he said, “Not only club hockey but high school hockey and middle school hockey. I think that North Penn has set the standard over the years for being a first-class organization.

“It’s great to see all these kids participate in ice hockey. We’re extremely proud that many of our coaches are alumni of North Penn Ice Hockey in terms of love of the game, we have a lot of coaches that really love the game.”

The Knights have won three SHSHL titles in their history and claimed their first Class AA Flyers Cup and state championships last season.

Senior Chase Kelly Del Ricci carries the program’s legacy forward as this year’s captain.

“It feels pretty hood,” he said. “I’ve been here since I was a freshman and it feels pretty good to be part of something that’s lasted this long.”

SHSHL Previews

National Division

Central Bucks East

Coach: Jeff Mitchell (sixth season)

Last year: 10-10-1, 10-7-1 in divisional play; Class AA Flyers Cup invitee

Key players: So. Cameron Young (G); Sr. Alex Wilson (F); Sr. Ethan Cenci (F); Sr. Braedon Hahn (F); Sr. Evan Asimakopoulos (F); Sr. Cole Kleindienst (F)

Outlook: The Patriots are a team in transition, in Mitchell’s words “Retooling rather than rebuilding.” Some key pieces from last year’s team are lost to graduation. There may be early growing pains but the plan is to blend youthful energy and team chemistry to create success.

Central Bucks South

Coach: Josh Sklar (first season)

Last year: 17-7, 15-3 in divisional play; Class AA Flyers Cup invitee

Key players: Jr. Nathan Napolitano (G); Sr. JD Crouch (D); So. Braxton Lord (D); Sr. Ryan Frey (F); Sr. Ryan Montagna (F); Sr. Joey Slobodrian (F); Jr. Dominic Gibson (F); Jr. Grant Boyne (F); Fr. Owen Frey (F); Fr. Nolan Senigo (F)

Outlook: Sklar takes over for the retiring Shaun McGinty; he directed the Titans on an interim basis during portions of last season.

This year’s roster will feature a solid group of veterans, led by Napolitano in goal and a promising group of underclassmen.

The pieces are in place for a promising season.

Central Bucks West

Coach: Frank Blust (first season)

Last year: 0-18, 0-18 in divisional play

Key players: Jr. Issac Mays (G); Sr. Austin Griffin (D); Jr. Colin Murray (F/D); Sr. Jackson Hirsch (F); Jr. Alex Korolev (F); So. Tyler Ricci (F)

Outlook: Blust takes over behind the bench for Dave Baun, who retired after 20 seasons. He’s looking to field a lineup that blends youth and experience.

“We’ve brought back a nice core that I think will work well with some of our new faces,” Bust said. “They’ve worked hard to improve in all three zones and build some team chemistry.”

Council Rock South

Coach: Joe Houk (20^th season)

Last year: 22-3, 17-1 in divisional play, National Division champions; Class AA Flyers Cup finalist

Key players: Sr. Trey Prozzillo (G); So. Evan Ayala (G); Jr. Wes Mallon (D); Sr. Jake Weiner; Sr. Jordan Sarne (F)

Outlook: The Golden Hawks lost eight seniors off last year’s championship squad but Houk, the longest-tenured coach in the SHSHL, feels good about this year’s squad, which will be trying for its fourth straight National Division title and is poised to make another championship run.

Weiner led the SHSHL in scoring last season with 41 regular-season goals and 19 assists for 60 points. Sarne collected 41 points via 18 goals and 23 assists.

Neshaminy

Coach: Bill Mooney (second season)

Last year: 6-12-1, 5-12-1 in divisional play

Key players: Sr. Gianna Raggio (G); Fr. Tommy Fox (G); Jr. Sean Mooney (D); Fr. Kainen Thompson (D); Sr. Anthony DiCrosta (F); Sr. Angelo Veneziale (F); Sr. Jake Topoleski (F); So. Nate Parker F; So. Tyler Hathaway (F); So. Eli Kirsh (F); Fr. Chris Koehler (F)

Outlook: The ‘Skins lost three key players to graduation after last season and will be in adjustment mode at first after just missing the postseason a year ago.

“Our goals as a team this season are to continue to work hard, compete in every game,” Mooney said, “make the SHSHL playoffs and get an invite to this year’s Flyers Cup tournament.”

North Penn

Coach: Kevin Vaitis (17^th season)

Last year: 21-3, 16-2 in divisional play; Class AA Flyers Cup and state champions

Key players: Jr. Aidan Quigley (G); So. Any Norton (G); St. James Boyle (D); Sr. Danielle Cabrales (D); Sr. Chase Kelly Del-Ricci (D); Sr. Gabe Dunn (D); Jr. Sam Norton (F); Sr. Nolan Shingle (F); Jr. Chris Silvotti (F); St. Luke Haftel (F)

Outlook: When you’ve won a Flyers Cup and a state title, what do you do for an encore? North Penn will do its best to answer that question with an impressive corps of returnees.

Norton is second among the division’s returning scorers with 30 regular-season goals a year ago and 27 assists for 57 points.

“We know everyone is going to bring their best against us,” Vaitis said, “and we have to be ready every night we step on the ice. We will be led by great goaltending, strong defense, and multiple lines that can contribute up front. We are focused on getting better each week.”

Pennsbury

Coach: Ryan Daley

Last year: 6-14, 6-12 in divisional play

Key players: Sr. Brendan Milliken (G); Sr. Franky DeLucia (D); Jr. Connor Gray (D); Sr. Shane Gleisner (F); Jr. Jake Sarver (F)

Outlook: A young Falcon team went through some growing pains last season. But the additional year of experience will pay dividends this time around.

“With more experience at the varsity level we look to make a jump in the standings,” Daley said, “and push for another postseason run.”

Pennridge

Coach: Jeff Montagna (eighth season)

Last year: 14-9, 11-7 in divisional play; Class AA Flyers Cup quarterfinalist

Key players: Jr. Andrew Slutsky (G); St. Justin Dinsmore (D); r. Ryan Burke (F); Jr. Landon Bishop (F); Jr. Dean Venner (F); Sr. Kaden Gunning (F);

Outlook: Montagna is behind the bench after announcing he was stepping away at the close of last season. He’ll be presiding over a new era of Pennridge hockey; there are just skaters on the roster, four of whom are new to varsity competition.

“I told them it will be a challenge,” Montagna said, “but that they will find out a lot about themselves as players and competitors. We will have to play a completely different style but they are up for it and we will have some fun with it. I’m really excited to see how it works.”

Souderton

Coach: Ryan Uchniat (eighth season)

Last year: 6-13, 6-12 in divisional play

Key players: Sr. Max Ryon (F); Jr. Cameron Fairweather (F); Jr. Matthew Cross (F)

Outlook: Uchniat will be back behind the Souderton bench after taking a year off. The Big Red will be short in numbers but there are some game-changing players in the lineup. Ryon scored 26 regular-season goals last year and added 32 assists for 58 points to finish third in the National Division in scoring.

American Division

Abington

Coach: Ken Brzozowski (ninth season)

Last year: 0-16, 0-16 in divisional play

Key players: Jr. Matt Evangelist (G); Sr. Moses Garcia (D); Jr. Ben Biko (D); R. Liam Gura (D); Sr. Jamison Donofty (F); So. Joey Widmeier (F)

Outlook: The Galloping Ghosts will be one of the youngest teams in the SHSHL; there are just three senior on the roster. The lineup also features Evangelist, a quality goaltender.

A preseason camp at the University of Delaware got the team off on the right foot.

“We’re looking to build on the early season momentum” Brzozowski said. “The coaches are committed to and look forward to being part of the team’s continued improvements and progression towards returning Abington back to a championship level”

Hatboro-Horsham

Coach: Shane Smith (fifth season)

Last year: 12-9, 9-7 in divisional play; American Division champion, Class A Flyers Cup quarterfinalist

Key players: Jr. Eric Miller (G); Jr. Reid Rochestie (D); So. Joseph Magnon (F); Sr. Nate Nemchinov (F); So. Vincent Graziani (F) Jr. William Moffa (F)

Outlook: The Hatters come into the season off an American Division title and the first Flyers Cup win in school history.

Graziani with 22 goals and 25 assists (47 points) and Nemchinov (27-18-45) were second and third in the division in scoring last season.

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Coach: Vince Forti (second season)

Last year: 17-3, 15-1 in divisional play; American Division regular season champion, Class A Flyers Cup quarterfinalist

Key players: So. Max Yoder (G); So. Lucas Bennett (G); Sr. Ryan Jagher (D); Sr. Danny Guller (F-D); Sr. John Zawislak (F); So. Cooper Kanze (F)

Outlook: The Colonials return the bulk of the lineup of last year’s regular-season champions.

“We are looking forward to getting the year started,” Forti said. “The team chemistry has been great. Our guys have been practicing hard, unsatisfied with the results of last season. We hope to get off to a strong start and continue to build on that throughout the season. “

Guller (19 goals, 33 assists, 52 points) is the division’s top returning scorer.

Springfield (Montco)

Coach: Don Quinn (third season)

Last year: 8-9, 8-8 in divisional play

Key players: Fr. Emmett Kline(G), So. John Barr(D), Jr. Luke Belles (D); Sr. Gavin McManus(F), Sr. Kellen Warman(F), Sr. Grayson Quinn(F)

Outlook: The Spartans reached the playoffs a year ago and Quinn is hoping to use that as accomplishment as a springboard to success this season.

“We will rely heavily on our seniors to lead on and off the ice,” he said, and we have some young skilled players that will contribute this season.”

Wissahickon

Coach: James Rumsey (third season)

Last year: 8-9, 8-8 in divisional play

Key players: Sr. Fletcher Lynch (G); St. Logan Dicus (D), Jr. Joey Gambino (F); Jr. Logan Honeycutt (F); Jr. Mark Risnychok (F)

Outlook: The Trojans lost five seniors to graduation but Rumsey is excited about what lies ahead.

“We are excited to see the new generation of players take the ice and step up to the challenge,” he said. “Our players seem to have a great connection at practice and really seem to enjoy being on the ice together.

“We have a short bench in numbers but a lot of grit to make up for it. I have no doubt this group will leave everything they have on the ice this year.”

Wyoming Seminary 3 La Salle 1

HATFIELD—The theme for La Salle’s season opener against Wyoming Seminary Wednesday afternoon might have been ‘Starting Over Again.’ Which is what the Explorers were doing to a large extent.

Just five of the 21 players Wally Muehlbronner had in uniform were part of the Explorers’ Flyers Cup roster last season. Ten of the 21 were underclassmen who, in a number of cases were getting their first taste of varsity hockey.

The end was result was a 3-1 loss to a Blue Knight squad that had already won its first four starts, albeit against Class AA and AAA Midget competition.

Muehlbronner found out a lot about his team in the course of the afternoon.

“We learned a lot,” he said. “For a lot of the younger guys, it was a big eye opener for them and that’s exactly why we wanted to play them.”

The Blue Knights took just 37 seconds to jump in front. Dilan Lucas, a native of Chateauguay, Quebec, put the puck behind Matt Kohlhepp to give his team the lead. Louis-David Jolin made it a 2-0 game with 40 seconds remaining in the opening frame but the Explorers hung in with their bigger, older, and more worldly foes from that point forward (the Blue Knights had players from eight different nations in their lineup)

Kohlhepp, Patrick Murphy, and Anthony Foster each took a turn in the Explorer net.
Deep in the third period the Explorers were able to solve Wyoming Seminary goaltender Tristan Boyer. Quin Leonards, playing in his first varsity game, scored off a setup from Andrew Frantz with 5:33 left in regulation to make it a one-goal affair.

It took Hendrik McNulty’s empty netter with 1:02 left to settle the issue.

“I think we definitely had a good amount of jitters for the first five minutes of that game,” Muehlbronner said, “but we settled in an we got better as the game went along.

“I think if we had been able to get a little more pressure on them, we could have created some more opportunities.”

The afternoon exemplified the advantages of starting the season against a quality opponent.

“They’re a good team,” Muehlbronner said, “We learned a lot from the game so we got exactly what we wanted.”

Wyoming Seminary 2 0 1—3

La Salle 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Dilan Lucas (WS) from Hendrik McNulty, :37; Louis-David Jolin (WS) from Ondrej Vina, 16:20

Third-period goals: Quin Leonards (L) from Andrew Frantz, 11:27 pp; McNulty (WS) unassisted, 15:58 en;

Shots: Wyoming Seminary 34, La Salle 15 Saves: Tristan Boyer (WS) 15, Matt Kohlhepp (L) 8, Patrick Murphy (L) 14, Anthony Foster (L) 9

Hockey Happenings is looking for writers to be part of our coverage of Philadelphia area high-school hockey this season. I am particularly in need of writers to cover games in Delaware and Chester Counties.

Candidates should have some sort of writing background, be knowledgeable about ice hockey and have availability on weeknights.

For more information, contact us through this web site or at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com. Please include: High School Hockey in the subject line.

North Penn 4 Erie Cathedral Prep 1

The game was up for grabs. North Penn stepped up and took it.

James Boyle and Daniel Carbrales scored third-period goals 19 apart Saturday afternoon to snap a 1-1 tie and propel the Knights to 4-1 win over Erie Cathedral Prep in the Pennsylvania Class AA hockey championship game at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center.

It was the first state hockey championship for North Penn (22-3) in the school’s history and the third state championship for the Suburban High School Hockey League in four years: Pennridge won Class AA titles in 2022 and ’24.

There was little to choose between the two teams for the first two periods. The Raiders’ Tucker Kinnear delivered the only goal in that span, 5:19 into the second frame.

With 4:52 left in the period the Knights briefly appeared to have scored the tying goal. Cathedral Prep goaltender Ian Brown denied Norton on a wraparound before Derek Lugera put in the rebound. The apparent goal was disallowed however when it ruled was the net had come off its moorings prior to the puck crossing the goal line.

During the post-second period ice cut, North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis reassured his players.

“I told them we’ve just got to keep moving the puck,” he said, “keep playing our game and our chances are going to come.”

At the start of the third period, Samuel Norton stepped up. With the Ramblers’ Charlie McBrier in the box serving an interference penalty, Norton, a sophomore made a dash down the right wing and beat Brown to tie the game 2:49 into the period.

As the clock wound down, momentum seemed to be shifting in North Penn’s direction. Boyle drove that point home with emphasis with 3:36 left in the game when he found the back of the net with a one-timer from the left point. It was a power-play goal; the Raiders were playing a man down after being caught with too many men on the ice.

Just 19 seconds later Cabrales scored a goal of his own to tighten the Knights’ hold on the game,

Nolan Shingle the evening with a goal into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining.

Vaitis said sened early on this could be a special season.

“At the beginning of the season when we met with them for the first time, we knew with the team we were going to have and the talent we were going to have what we were capable of doing,” he said. “We believed in them and it was a matter of them understanding of they were able to put the work in, just how special the season could be for them.”

North Penn 0 0 4—4

Cathedral Prep 0 1 0—1

Second-period goal: Tucker Kinnear from Ethan Cunningham and Chris Bruschi, 5:19

Third-period goals: Samuel Norton (NP) unassisted, 2:49 (pp); James Boyle (NP) from Norton and Cole Pluck, 13:24 (pp); Daniel Cabrales (NP), 13:43 unassisted; Nolan Single (NP) 16:17 (en) unassisted

Shots: North Penn 35, Erie Cathedral Prep 27; Saves: Andy Norton (NP) 26, Ian Brown (CP) 31

North Penn Takes Flyers Cup AA Final

The game was hanging in the balance. With 4 minutes, 26 seconds gone in the third period of Wednesday’s Class AA Flyers Cup final, second-seed North Penn was holding a 3-2 lead over top-seeded Council Rock South.

But the Knights’ Sam Norton was sitting in the penalty box, having been assessed a minor penalty for high sticking and the Golden Hawks, who were preparing to embark on a two-minute power play, seemed to have momentum flowing their way.

But appearances were deceiving.

Instead of taking a conservative stance, the Knights stayed in an up-tempo mode and were rewarded with a shorthanded goal from Cole Pluck exactly 60 seconds into their supposed penalty kill.

Pluck’s effort led to four additional goals in the third period as North Penn pulled away to an 8-2 to claim the first Flyers Cup in school history. North Penn (20-3) will face Erie Cathedral Prep on Saturday in the Class AA State championship game in suburban Pittsburgh.

Pluck finished with two goals and two assists.

“This feel great he said. “The best moment of my life, so far.”

Pluck described his second goal, which altered the entire texture of the game.

“{C.R. South} needed a goal and were pressing up,” he said. “The {defenseman} just stepped up and I went around him.”

Pluck says the Knights are comfortable playing up-tempo hockey in shorthanded situations.

“We like to try to play offense on the kill sometimes,” he said.

The final period of Wednesday’s matchup was a distinctly separate entity than the first two, which saw Jake Weiner score twice for the Golden Hawks (22-3) and Pluck and Norton match him for North Penn. Daniel Cabrales gave North Penn a 3-2 lead 5:56 into the second frame and the Knights took the lead into the break for the post-second-period ice cut.

“We talked to them between the periods,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We said we knew we had to come out and take it. They weren’t going to give it to us. {He told his team} we’ve got to come out and finish this game. And that’s exactly what we did, we dominated that third period.”

Pluck’s shorthanded goal gave North Penn a 4-2 lead. Norton followed with his second goal of the night with 7:40 remaining as South slowly unraveled; Nolan Shingle, Declan Leahy and Luke Haftel added goals for North Penn in the closing minutes, all of them coming on power plays; there were nine penalties called in the third period five of them against South. North Penn’s Thomas Sprague and South’s Luke Ralston were each drew simultaneous minors and misconducts as part of the emotional overload down the stretch.

South coach Joe Houk gave full credit to the Knights.

“They were the better team tonight,” he said. “We ran out of gas. We have it everything we had.

‘We’ve said three out of the last four years ‘We’ll be back here next year. But we can’t get over that hump.”

• The All-Tournament Team, selected by the Flyers Cup Committee included:

G Andy Norton North Penn

D Jake Maurer Council Rock South

D James Boyle North Penn

F Sam Norton North Penn

F Cole Pluck North Penn

F Jake Weiner Council Rock South

Norton, a sophomore, was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“It’s a great feeling to know I was the MVP,” he said, “but without the whole team, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.”

Norton said winning the Flyers Cup title marked the completion of a season-long journey.

“We had a big goal from the start,” he said, “but completing it and getting ahold of this trophy, it’s unreal.”

Of the 25 players on North Penn’s Flyers Cup roster, only three were seniors and 11 were underclassmen.

North Penn 2 1 5—8

C.R. South 1 1 0—2

First-period goals; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Wesley Mallon, :54; Cole Pluck (NP) from James Boyle, 1:56; Samuel Norton (NP) from Norton, 6:50

Second-period goals; Weiner (CRS) from Jonah Weston and Jagger Smith, 3:34; Daniel Cabrales (NP) from Declan Leahy, 5:56

Third-period goals: Pluck (NP) from Boyle, 5:36 (sh); Norton (NP) from Pluck, 9:40 Nolan Shingle (NP) from Pluck, 13:14 (pp) Leahy (NP), unassisted, 14:05 (pp); Luke Haftel (NP) from Derek Lugura, 14:40 (pp)

Shots and saves unavailable

North Penn 4 Downingtown East 3

It was a contest of championship final caliber. Over the course of 51 minutes at Hatfield Ice Arena Thursday night, North Penn and Downingtown East both proved themselves worthy of playing for a Flyers Cup championship.

But only the Knights will get that opportunity.

Nolan Shingle’s goal with 3:43 left in regulation, his second goal in a span of 88 seconds, got the Knight past the Cougars 4-3 in a Class AA semifinal. The goal was Shingle’s third of the game and put the second-seeded Knights (19-3) into net Wednesday’s final against top-seeded Council Rock South (8:45 at Hatfield Ice). The third-seeded Cougars close their season at 15-7.

In the parlance of pugilism, both team got off the canvas. North Penn took a 2-0 lead into the third period on the strength of a power-play goal from Cole Pluck 11:49 into the first-period, which was followed by Shingle’ first goal of the night 7:48 into the second frame

But the Cougars survived those heavy blows and counterpunched. Ryan Nichols got Downingtown East on the scoreboard 4:19 into the third period and Anderson Frain tied the game with 6:44 left in regulation.

When Nichols scored his second goal of the game with 4:36 left in regulation the Cougars appeared to have the upper hand.

Shingle however did not agree with that line of reasoning. He tied the game 3:43 left on the clock before delivering the game winner that started out as a breakaway. Downingtown East goaltender Lucas Fleuty made the initial save on Sam Norton before Shingle followed up.

“Downingtown East is a great hockey team,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “Hats off to them, they’re well coached. We knew, going into the third, up 2-0 that it probably wasn’t going to end 2-0. I didn’t necessarily want to get down 3-2 but I’m proud of the boys. They continued to work, continued to battle.”

Downingtown East coach Mark Bobko praised his team’s resilience.

“Our guy showed a lot of heart,” he said. “Being down 2-0 going into the third, fighting back, and getting a lead.

“What I was telling them in the locker room was in games of this magnitude the margin of error is so tight that if you don’t expend every ounce of energy and focus it can tip the other way just as easily and that’s kind of what we saw here tonight.”

Downingtown East 0 0 3—3

North Penn 1 1 2—4

CR South 7 Spring-Ford 2

Council Rock South got off to a fast start Thursday night and never really slowed down.

Jeremy Rayher scored twice in the first period and the Golden Hawks went on to a 7-2 win over Spring-Ford Thursday night at Hatfield Ice Arena. Top-seeded South (22-2) will try to win its fourth Flyers Cup next Wednesday night when it faces North Penn (8:45 at Hatfield Ice).

Spring-Ford, the 12^th and last seed in the tournament, closed its season at 12-10-1 after winning two games to reach the semifinal round.

Rayher got his team on the scoreboard with 3:23 left in the opening and added a second goal with 57 second left. Those goals, his third and fourth of the tournament, set tone for the evening.

Rayher, a senior, spoke to the importance of the fast start.

“We all knew what my sophomore year with Pennsbury,” he said (the Hawks lost to the Falcons in the Flyers Cup semifinals).

“I just want that ring, everyone on the team wants that ring, so we all just came out hard, we came out with a mindset to win this game.

“We all just took it to them. We hit hard, we got a lot of shots on net. The goalie gave up lots of rebounds and we capitalized on them.”

Koen Gregg scored for the Rams 3:25 into the middle period to make it a 2-1 game but Daniel Filippov answered of South at the 6:34 mark.

The Hawks broke the game open when Jonah Weston, Rayher, and Jackson Mosley all scored goals in a span of 2 minutes, 39 seconds early in the third period. The balance of the period saw Spring-Ford’s Nathan Riley and the Hawks’ Peter Pereborow trade goals.

“We got a little rocky in the second period,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We let them get a real crappy goal, but o thought all in all our puck pursuit was there.

“Maybe a little too much individual play. We got away from our game plan a little bit there.”

But Houk was able to get his troops refocused during the break for the post-second period ice cut.

“I thought we outplayed them from start to finish,” hGoukouk Houk said. “We really didn’t give them much room to breathe.”

Spring-Ford coach Tom Kisela reflected on his first season behind the Rams’ bench.

“For me, this whole season begins and ends with the players,” he said. As a first-year head coach, sometimes ir can take time to establish a culture, but not with these guys. Right from the start, I knew these wanted someone to come in and push them to get better every day.

“For us, having the incredibly successful season we had is a combination of diversity and the lessons learned throughout the year.”

Spring-Ford 0 1 1—2

C.R. South 2 1 4—7

North Penn 5 Pennridge 0

It can be quite a challenge to face the defending state champions.

But North Penn had a resounding answer.

The Knights posted a 5-0 win over defending Flyers Cup and state champion Pennridge in Thursday’s quarterfinal game of the Flyers Cup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Nolan Shingle got things started for North Penn, netting the first goal of the evening with an assist from Danial Cabrales and Samuel Norton with just over nine minutes to go in the first period.

James Boyle added a goal, assisted by Cabrales, with five minutes left in the second period to extend North Penn’s lead.

Cole Pluck scored back-to-back goals to put the game away in the third period. His first goal, coming less than two minutes into play, was assisted by Samuel Norton and Boyle while his second, coming six minutes later, was assisted by Shingle and Cabrales.

With 2:36 to go, Landon Hostetter iced the cake for the Knights with an assist from Chris Silvotti.

“We had a good team effort,” Pluck said. “We’ve got a great goaltender (Andy Norton) and we put a lot of trust in him.

“Late in the game, they were really trying to score and that opened up the ice a lot for us.”

The two teams are very familiar with each other. This was the third meeting between them this year. North Penn won the first game, 5-0, on December 19 and the rematch, 4-3, in overtime, on Jan. 29.

“We knew they were going to be good,” Andy Norton said. “We beat them two times this year, one in overtime, and coming into this game, we really knew that we had it.

“Our offense was really our defense. They played amazing.”

Norton made 24 saves in goal for North Penn.

“The second period I was definitely nervous just having that 1-0 lead but I had confidence that we’d score again,” he said.

It was the second time North Penn had shut out the Rams.

“That shows a lot,” Andy Norton said.

North Penn will take on third seed Downingtown East, a 4-0 winner over No. 6 Downingtown West, in the semifinals. The game will be Thursday at Hatfield at 8:45 p.m.

“This is the furthest we’ve gone in my four years here,” Pluck said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

The loss wasn’t just the end of the season for Pennridge; it was the end of an era. Longtime head coach Jeff Montagna is stepping down.

“We’re not built to come back,” Montagna said. “When they got the lead they were able to put three guys back there and we didn’t play very smart. We didn’t play a good game today. Sometimes that just happens.

“You go as far as your talent takes you. You lose enough guys, eventually it has to end. I’d rather it was 5-0 than 2-1 in overtime.

“To come out here and get a Flyers Cup win (Tuesday’s 7-2 opening round victory over Avon Grove), we’ve done that for nine straight years and I don’t think any other team in the league has done that, I’m proud of them.”

Montagna guided the Rams to the Flyers Cup and state championships in both 2022 and 2024.

“This was the first high school job I had, and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he said. “It’s a vastly different experience from club hockey. I was blessed with talent and talent has a way of making coaches look a lot better than they are.

“To know that our players, that every time they walk in this rink for the rest of their lives, they can look up and see the banners and go to their drawers and get their rings out, to know that the players get to do that, it’s really special.”

Pennridge 0 0 0—0

North Penn 1 1 3—5

First-period goal: Nolan Shingle (NP) from Danial Cabrales and Samuel Norton, 7:53

Second-period goal: James Boyle (NP) from Cabrales, 16:56

Third-period goals: Cole Pluck (NP) from S. Norton and Boyle, 1:16; Pluck (NP) from Shingle and Cabrales, 7:33; Landon Hostetter (NP) from Chris Silvotti, 15:24

Shots: Pennridge 24, North Penn 30; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 21, Andrew Slutsky (P) 4; Andy Norton (NP)