Pennridge 6 C.B. East 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It was not a good night to be a goaltender. Pennridge and Central Bucks East played 51 minutes of up-and-down hockey Thursday night in a game that a saw saw 83 shots, 10 goals, and two hat tricks before the Rams prevailed 6-4 in at Hatfield Ice.

The win solidified the bulk of the SHSHL National Division playoff bracket. Pennridge (13-4, 8-2 in the division) clinched the second seed and earned a bye into the semifinals.

The Patriots (8-8-1, 4-5-1) will be seeded sixth and will face third seed Pennsbury in a first-round game next Wednesday. Neshaminy and Central Bucks South will face each other in next Wednesday’s other first round game.

Pennridge’s Kevin Pico and C.B. East’s Corey Cosick led the way for their respective sides. Pico delivered three goals himself and assisted on a fourth, while Cosick tallied three goals of his own. Both players had plenty of open ice to work in, albeit at a moderate tempo; there was little physicality on display in part because many of the Rams and Patriots are club teammates.

“I think we’re better when teams don’t play physical,” Pico said. “(The Patriots) are our friends, so we’re not going to play as physical as usual and they’re not going to play as physical.”

Charlie Keiser and Pico traded goals in the first period. Cosick gave East a 2-1 lead 67 seconds into the second frame and shortly thereafter Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his timeout to deliver a motivational address.

“I didn’t like the way they were playing,” he said. “I thought we looked like a team that played the night before (a 9-1 win over Council Rock North) and like they have for a lot of games this year. They were just going through the motions in the first period.”

Then Rams responded. Pico and Andrew Savona scored goals two-and-a-half minutes apart to give the Rams a 3-2 lead. Cosick tied the game for the Patriots with 7:19 left in the period but James Embert and Pico scored goals 44 seconds apart to give the Rams a two-goal lead.

Cosick completed his hat trick with 1:37 left in the period but Pennridge’s Dane Fitchett scored the only goal of the third period. East’s chances were diminished when D.J. Brown was whistled for a check from behind with 7:20 left in the game.

East goaltender Matt Mangiacapre kept his team in the game, he was credited with 52 saves

“We came out strong and matched their tempo,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell., but we took a couple bad penalties in the third period. (Brown) is our top defenseman that was here tonight. It wasn’t intentional, it was just an ill-timed call and an ill-timed play.

“All in all I thought we played a great game. Our goaltender played on his head again.”

Pennridge 1 4 1—6

C.B. East 1 3 0—4

First-period goals: Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Drew Trask, 1:50; Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 10:43

Second-period goals: Corey Cosick (CBE) from Keiser, 1:17; Pico (P) unassisted, 4:16; Andrew Savona (P) from Pico and Colin Dachowki, 6:51; Cosick (CBE) from Stephen DiRugeris, 9:41; James Embert (P)) from Colin Dachowski, 11:25; Pico (P) from Savona and Shane Dachowski, 12:19; Cosick (CBE) unassisted, 15:23

Third-period goals: Dane Fitchett (P) from Savona and Colin Dachowski, 1:59

Shots: Pennridge 58, C.B. East 25; Saves: Jacob Winston (P) 21 Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 52

Quakertown 7 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Officially, Wednesday’s matchup between Quakertown was the regular-season finale for both teams. In reality, it might as well have been a playoff game.

It was the Panthers who prevailed 7-2 in a SHSHL American Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win assures Quakertown (10-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in the division) of a playoff spot. Wissahickon (10-6, 6-6 in the division) comes up short if, as expected, Plymouth Whitemarsh defeats Springfield on Thursday night. Both teams remain eligible for the Flyers Cup tournament.

Kiera Shaw played a huge role in Quakertown’s success. The junior scored two goals, including the game winner.

The first period belonged to Quakertown goaltender Matt Krem, who turned aside 17 of the 18 shots he saw in the opening session. Largely as the result of Krem’s efforts, the teams ended the first frame tied at 1-1. The Trojans’ Danny Hussa and the Panthers’ William Shaw were the goal scorers.

“We’re just so thankful that Matt is great in net,” Kiera Shaw said. “They were beating up on us in the first period so we took it to them in the second and third and got it back.”

The Panthers did just that, albeit with some from the Trojans
Defensive zone breakdowns led to three Quakertown goals in a span of 1 minute, 25 seconds. Cole Slemmer (on a shorthanded effort), Kiera Shaw, and Jack Diliberto were the goal scorers.

“In the second period they got more aggressive,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “They would chip it down below the goal line. That’s bread and butter for them.”

Trailing 4-2 at the 4:01 mark of the third period, the Trojans got a huge opportunity when Slemmer and his teammate Corbin Cassel drew minor penalties simultaneously, giving the Trojans a two-man advantage for two minutes. Slemmer went on to draw a game misconduct penalty for a verbal outburst; as he left the ice he hurled his stick over the glass behind the Quakertown net.

Instead of capitalizing on the advantage however, the Trojans floundered. Kiera Shaw scored a shorthanded goal at the 5:43 mark and the Panthers maintained control to the wire.

Quakertown’s Lucas Cunnane scored the final two goals of the evening; his second goal came with 3:23 remaining and was scored into an empty net.

“We’ve talked all year about zone time,” said Quakertown coach Keith Krem. “We didn’t win that battle at all in the first period. We got some big saves on the back side and kind of got through the storm.

“They were only running two lines on the other side … we thought they were going to gas out and if we stopped turning pucks over on our exits and started getting pucks in our zone, we’d get our opportunities.”

Shaw credited the Quakertown rooting section for the energy in the building.

“They just really made the atmosphere great tonight,” she said. “Everyone was ready for the game. Everyone really loves the team and wants to keep playing.”

Quakertown 1 3 3—7

Wissahickon 1 10—2

First-period goals: Danny Hussa from Aiden Brooks, 11:04; William Shaw (Q) unassisted, 14:01

Second-period goals: Danny Hussa unassisted, 4:23 (pp); Cole Slemmer (Q) from Jack Diliberto, 11:48 (sh); Kiera Shaw (Q) from Lucas Cunnane 12;52; Diliberto (Q) unassisted, 13:13

Third-period goals: Kiera Shaw (Q) unassisted 5:43 (sh); Cunnane (Q) from William Shaw, 10:42; Cunnane (Q) unassisted, 13:37

Shots: Quakertown 25, Wissahickon 38

Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 23, Fletcher Lynch 31

Council Rock South 5 Pennridge 3

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Flyers Cup tournament is just over a month away, but Council Rock South and Pennridge offered a preview on Wednesday night.

The Golden Hawks and the Rams demonstrated why they are serious Class AA Flyers Cup contenders before the Hawks emerged with a 5-3 win in front a of a full house in the Blue Rink at Hatfield ice.

The win lifted South to 12-1-0-1 on the season and 6-0-0-1 in SHSHSL National Division play. The Hawks are listed third in the current Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

The loss dropped Pennridge 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the division. The Rams stand fourth in the Flyers Cup rankings.

The opening period saw the teams combine for five goals in a span of 8 minutes, 48 seconds.
Evan Mostoller started it off for the Golden Hawks just 1:52 with a shot along the ice from the right point that eluded Pennridge netminder Jacob Gilbert. Jake Weiner made it a 2-0 game at the 3:34 mark.

Dane Fitchett got the Rams on the scoreboard at 4:47 and Shane Dachowski tied the game at 10:13 but Illia Mukhin answered for South 27 seconds later via bad bounce and the Hawks never trailed again.

At period’s end Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna made a goaltender change, inserting Jacob Winton between the pipes.

“He allowed us to regain our equilibrium,” Montagna said. “He did exactly what you need him to do when you come into that situation. It is not an easy spot for a sophomore playing his fourth varsity game.”

Winton and South’s Carson Lopez were virtually impregnable most of the rest of the way. Lopez did not yield another goal while Winton was steadfast until Mukhin and Chase Tovsky scored goals 42 seconds apart to give South a 5-2 lead with 6:42 left in the third period.

With 48.2 seconds remaining in the game emotions boiled over and a scrum erupted along the boards near the Council Rock South bench. Four players were penalized.

South’s Blaize Pepe received a roughing minor plus a major penalty for fighting. Lopez, the only goaltender the Hawks had dressed, was penalized for leaving his crease and banished for being the third man in a fight.

The Rams lost Dachowski via a fighting major and a game misconduct and Andrew Savona for being a third man in.

What followed was the unique circumstance of the Golden Hawks playing with a three-goal lead and defending an empty net, since they had no one available to replace Lopez in goal. It took just nine seconds for Kevin Pico to score into the empty net to make it a two-goal game.

That turned out to be the last goal of the evening but the fireworks weren’t over; with 10 seconds left in the game Weiner and Gavin Nisenzon drew misconduct penalties for the Golden Hawks.

The late-game histrionics overshadowed Lopez’s work in the South net; he finished with 41 saves.

“He gives confidence to the team,” said South’s Ilya Kudzinau. “It gives us the confidence to push back. It’s really nice to have a goalie like that.”

Montagna noted his team was in the game up to the last.

“We outplayed that team for long stretches,” he said. “We had odd-man rush after odd-man rush but we couldn’t finish.”

In the end, the Rams were unable to get the better of Lopez.

“We know what Carson is,” Montagna said. “We got to him early and he settled in and made big save after big save for them.”

South coach Joe Houk noted his team picked up the pace in the third period.

“I thought we outplayed them in the third period,” he said. “We loved the puck better. We had more opportunities. They had a lot of power plays but they couldn’t (convert).

“Like I told the guys, a good team finds way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”

Council Rock South 3 0 2—5

Pennridge 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Evan Mostoller (CRS) from Bobby Gilbert and Illia Mukhin, 1:52; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Kevin Koles, 3:34; Dane Fitchett (P) from Nate McKean and Andrew Lizak, 4:47; Shane Dachowski (P) from Kevin Pico, 10:13; Mukhin (P) unassisted, 10:40

Third-period goals: Mukhin (CRS) from Weiner and Ilya Kudzinau, 9:36; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Koles, 10:18 (sh); Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 16:21

Shots: Council Rock South 40, Pennridge 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41, Jacob Gilbert (P) 8 and Jacob Winton (P) 27

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Flyers Cup tournament is just over a month away, but Council Rock South and Pennridge offered a preview on Wednesday night.

The Golden Hawks and the Rams demonstrated why they are serious Class AA Flyers Cup contenders before the Hawks emerged with a 5-3 win in front a of a full house in the Blue Rink at Hatfield ice.

The win lifted South to 12-1-0-1 on the season and 6-0-0-1 in SHSHSL National Division play. The Hawks are listed third in the current Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

The loss dropped Pennridge 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the division. The Rams stand fourth in the Flyers Cup rankings.

Dane Fitchett got the Rams on the scoreboard at 4:47 and Shane Dachowski tied the game at 10:13 but Illia Mukhin answered for South 27 seconds later via bad bounce and the Hawks never trailed again.

At period’s end Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna made a goaltender change, inserting Jacob Winton between the pipes.

With 48.2 seconds remaining in the game emotions boiled over and a scrum erupted along the boards near the Council Rock South bench. Four players were penalized.
South’s Blaize Pepe received a roughing minor plus a major penalty for fighting. Lopez, the only goaltender the Hawks had dressed, was penalized for leaving his crease and banished for being the third man in a fight.

The Rams lost Dachowski via a fighting major and a game misconduct and Andrew Savona for being a third man in.

That turned out to be the last goal of the evening but the fireworks weren’t over; with 10 seconds left in the game Weiner and Gavin Nisenzon drew misconduct penalties for the Golden Hawks.

The late-game histrionics overshadowed Lopez’s work in the South net; he finished with 41 saves.

“He gives confidence to the team,” said South’s Ilya Kudzinau. “It gives us the confidence to push back. It’s really nice to have a goalie like that.”

Montagna noted his team was in the game up to the last.

“We outplayed that team for long stretches,” he said. “We had odd-man rush after odd-man rush but we couldn’t finish.”

In the end, the Rams were unable to get the better of Lopez.

“We know what Carson is,” Montagna said. We got to him early and he settled in and made big save after big save for them.”

South coach Joe Houk noted his team picked up the pace in the third period.

“I thought we outplayed them in the third period,” he said. “We loved the puck better. We had more opportunities. They had a lot of power plays but they couldn’t (convert).

“Like I told the guys, a good team finds way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”

Council Rock South 3 0 2—5

Pennridge 2 0 1—3

Third-period goals: Mukhin (CRS) from Weiner and Ilya Kudzinau, 9:36; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Koles, 10:18 (sh); Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 16:21

Shots: Council Rock South 40, Pennridge 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41, Jacob Gilbert (P) 8 and Jacob Winton (P) 27

Council Rock South 5 Holy Ghost Prep 4

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—There was an air of anticipation in the building when Holy Ghost Prep and Council Rock South took the ice at Revolution Ice Gardens Monday night.

The matchup brought together two teams who are legitimate Flyers Cup contenders in their respective classes; the Firebirds in Class AAA and the Golden Hawks in Class AA.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed on this occasion overcoming am early 2-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win.

Monday’s game was also a meeting of two of the area’s most respected coaches. Joe Houk has been at Council Rock South for 17 seasons. Gump Whiteside has been at Holy Ghost Prep for 15 seasons and spent eight years at Germantown Academy before that.

Both Houk and Whiteside have won scores of games and have Flyers Cup and state titles on their resumes. They share a passion for the game of hockey—and a mutual respect that goes back to when they played against each other in their high-school days.

“Joe’s a pro,” Whiteside. “Quite honestly, he’s been a mentor to me. I’ve coached Joe for many, many, many, many years and he’s always been a pro,

“He always approaches it the right way. He doesn’t have an ego it’s not about him. It’s about his players.

“And you could see it tonight. He had his team prepared. Joe is the ultimate pro, the ultimate mentor, and quite honestly a great guy.”

Whiteside noted the tenaciousness Houk’s teams regularly bring to the rink.

“They play with grit,” he said.”

Houk similar sentiments.

“Gump is a good guy, a good human being,” he said. “He brings such a good quality of the sport to the game.

“He’s a man of character. And he cares about the kids. It’s not ‘Win at all costs’ with him. It’s more about development and hopefully, you move some of those kids on.

“He’s just a good guy. He’s a good guy for the sport.”

• Jake Weiner scored a pair of goals 45 seconds apart that turned a 2-2 standoff into a 4-2 South lead and the Golden Hawks never trailed again.

The win was South’s 11^th of the season against two defeats with one of the losses coming in overtime.

Houk said going against a team the Firebirds said a lot about his own team’s potential for success.

“If we can at that sustained level we played at tonight,” he said. “The physical part of it, keeping things simple, keeping things to the outside, getting the opportunities on transition. I thought we controlled the whole game (but) they’re good. They’ve got some really, really good skill players. They move the puck well. They’re a good team. They’re going to go far too.”

Brady Baehser scored three goals for the Firebirds, who saw their record drop to 13-6.

“We got up 2-0 and that’s when we started to take them lightly,” he said. “And we just fell apart.”
Baehser said the defeat highlighted the importance delivering a solid effort from the start to finish of each game.”

“We’re a very talented team and we think we can win games based off that. But that outworked us all night, all three periods and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 0—4

Council Rock South 2 3 0—5

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Patrick Slook and John Seravalli, 1:03; Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 5:18; Blaize Peppe (CRS) unassisted, 8:39; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Gavin Nisenson, :41

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Illia Muckhin, 3:19; Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 4:04; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 8:26 (pp); Joseph Diiulio (CRS) from Weiner and Pepe, 12:04; Baehser (HGP) from Stout, 12:35 (pp)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 27, Council Rock South 41; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 36 Carson Lopez (CRS) 23

Council Rock South 5 Central Bucks South 2

BRISTOL— Starting a game with a four-goal advantage is a big edge for a hockey team. Council Rock South was essentially in that situation Thursday night.
The Golden Hawks scored four unanswered goals in the first period and went on to a 5-2 in over Central Bucks South at Grundy Arena.

The win lifted the Golden Hawks to 10-1-0-1 overall and their 5-0-0-1 mark in divisional play kept them in control of their own destiny in the SHSHL National Division chase.

Both teams came to the rink with lineups liberally sprinkled with junior varsity call ups necessitated by injuries and suspensions and it was Council Rock South which found its equilibrium first with its veterans leading the way.

Blaize Pepe scored the Golden Hawks’ first goal with 5:35 left in the opening period. Kevin Koles made it 2-0 just 61 seconds later and Jake Weiner extended his team’s lead 52 seconds after that with his team’s third goal in a span of 1 minute, 53 seconds.

Koles scored his second goal of the game with 47.3 seconds left in the period leaving the Titans (7-6-0-1, 4-3 in the division) in a very deep hole.

The second period was something of a fresh start for Central Bucks South, including a goaltender change; Jason Magaruh replaced Dom Varacallo in goal.

The Titans cut the deficit in half the middle period courtesy of Michael Nemec and Aydon Thierolf but could come no closer.

“(Council Rock South) is a good team,” said Central Bucks South coach Shaun McGinty. “They capitalized in the first period. We lost 4-0 in the first period, won 2-0 in the second period, and we lost 1-0 (on an empty net goal from Gavin Nisenzon) in the third period.

“We were giving chances (In the first period); a good team is going to capitalize and South is a good team.”

Council Rock South coach Joe Houk acknowledged how difficult it was for his team to stay focused after its strong start.

“It’s kind of hard when you get up to 4-0 he said. “You’ve got to find a way to sustain that level of play. When you get up 4-0 you can’t back off.

(Central Bucks South) is a good team. They’ve got some good players on that team and you can’t let them back in the game.”

Golden Hawks forward Bobby Gilbert praised his team’s effort

“It was a very hard game,” he said. “Everybody was battling hard, the playoffs are coming up. We seemed to dig more deep though, and we got the job done.”

C.B. South 0 2 0—2

C.R. South 4 0 1—5

First-period goals: Blaize Pepe (CRS from Daniel Filippov, 11:25; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Jake Weiner and Jeremy Rayher, 12:26; Weiner (CRS) from Koles and Pepe, 13:18 (pp); Koles (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 16:13

Second-period goals: Michael Nemec (CBS) from Aydin Thierolf and Justin Keilman, 3:52; Thierolf (CBS) from Colin Mendham, 11:05 (pp)

Third-period goal: Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Koles 16:13 (en)

Shots: C.B. South 31, C.R. South 30; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 7 and Jason Magaruh (CBS) 18, Carson Lopez (CRS) 29

Council Rock South 6 Pennsbury 3

BRISTOL—After one period against Pennsbury Tuesday night, Council Rock South was reeling, staring at a 2-0 deficit and playing at less than full strength; four regulars were out of the lineup.
In the end, none of that mattered. The Golden Hawks exploded for four goals in the second period and went on to a 6-3 win over the Falcons in a SHSHL National Division game at Grundy Arena.

With the win, South (9-1-0-1 overall, 4-0-0-1 in divisional play) is once more atop the divisional standings. And at a point in the season where every game matters just a little bit more and teams are starting to think more seriously about where they might fit in the SHSHL playoff and Flyers Cup brackets, the Golden Hawks displayed their resiliency.

“We clearly had to learn from what we did wrong in that first period,” said junior Kevin Koles. “We stuck to our game plan, stuck to what our coach (Joe Houk) said and we came out with a win.”

Koles had much to do with his team’s comeback, scoring three goals, two in the decisive second period and one in the third.

Blaize Pepe assisted on all three of Koles’ goals and scored a goal himself.

“We just didn’t get rattled,” Pepe said. “We kept our heads and we outplayed them the whole second and third periods. And we controlled the whole pace of the game.”

Pennsbury (8-4, 4-2 in the National Division) jumped in front when Aidan Macainsh scored twice in a three-minute span off South netminder Carson Lopez to put the Falcons up 2-0 with 4:45 left in the first period.

But the Hawks took over the game in the second stanza. Koles scored twice in a stretch of three-and-a-half minutes to tie the game with 8:25 left in the period

Pepe put the Hawks in front for good with a power-play goal with 1:34 left in the period, but Jagger Smith struck another blow for South when he beat Aaron McDaniel in the Pennsbury net with 18.4 seconds left in the period to give his team a 4-2 lead.

Macainsh completed a hat trick 6:52 into the final period to make it a one-goal game but Gavin Nisenzon scored an insurance goal for South with 3:41 left in the game.

Koles completed his hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 1:50 remaining.

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley took away a number of positives, despite the result.

“The first period was awesome,” he said. “Lopez is a stellar goalie, we knew that going in. It’s always hard to score on him.

“The second period, we obviously weren’t too thrilled about it. But I wouldn’t even say we couldn’t keep up with them it was just kind of the way it went. It was a tough second period, but overall, I’m happy with the way we played.”

Pepe credited his teammates for bouncing back after the slow start.

“Coach gave us a nice little speech,” he said. “It set us straight and we didn’t look back from there. Once we got one, we just kept putting them in. And Carson played outstanding.”

Council Rock South 0 4 2—6

Pennsbury 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Brendan Macainsh (P) from Justin Marlin, 9:25; Macainsh (P) from Andrew Falkenstein and Chris Sarver, 12:15

Second-period goals: Kevin Koles (CRS) from Blaize Pepe, 4:58; Koles (CRS) from Pepe, 8:35; Pepe (CRS) from Illia Mukhin, 15:26 (pp); Jagger Smith (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Jordan Sarne, 16:42

Third-period goals: Macainsh (P) from Falkenstein, 6:52; Gavin Nisenzon (CRN) unassisted, 13:19; Koles (CRS) from Pepe, 15:10 (en)

Shots: C.R. South 31, Pennsbury 27; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 24, Aaron McDaniel (P) 25

Pennridge 7 C.B. South 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— An evening that began with a lot of buildup evolved into a blowout.

Pennridge dominated from start to finish Wednesday in the course of a 7-2 win over Central Bucks South in a key SHSHL National Division matchup in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice.

Shane Dachowski fueled the Rams effort, contributing a pure hat trick plus two assists as his team won its fourth straight game and served notice that it is not prepared to surrender its SHSHL, Flyers Cup, and state titles, at least not without first making a vigorous defense of those laurels.

The Rams started the evening in aggressive fashion by jumping to a 2-0, and were never headed.

“That was our plan,” Dachowski said. “We weren’t supposed to let them have space at all. We know how they play. We play them all the time and we have a thing going with them.”

The Rams (9-3, 4-1 in divisional play) got things started 5:06 into the first frame when Tyler Manto scored off a scramble in front of Titan goaltender Dom Varacallo via a setup from Dachowski. It became a 2-0 game with 40 seconds left in the period when Dachowski sent a pass up the center of the ice Andrew Lizak collected the puck and beat Varacallo at the end of a breakaway.

The Titans (7-4-0-1 overall, 4-2 in the division) got on the scoreboard 2:26 into the middle period thanks to a goal from Aydin Thierolf.

But after that it was all Pennridge. Varacallo found himself under heavy fire and his support was lacking. Dachowski scored a power-play goal at the 5:09 mark, then promptly scored his second goal of the night 14 seconds later. He completed a pure hat trick with a shorthanded goal at 9:25. Andrew Savona made it a 6-1 game with 4:56 left in the period. South coach Shuan McGinty eventually rescued Varacallo from the barrage while making it clear the scoreline was not the netminder’s fault.

“Our goalie has been playing well all season,” he said, “we let him hang out to try. I pulled him because it’s just not good for his confidence.

“All in all, they played well, we didn’t.”

The Titans Aidan Linso and Lizak traded goals in the third period.

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna says his team is playing as well now as it has all season. “That’s three games against good teams with Pennsbury, this game, and Neshaminy,” he said. (The Rams won all three games and scored 23 goals in the process). “We’ve really started to find out who we are. It took some time this year but they’re really starting to click. It’s cool to watch.”

The Titans suffered a major loss with 3:01 left in the game when Matt Crouch was accessed a major penalty plus a game misconduct for a check from behind; he’ll serve as suspension when South faces Council Rock South net Thursday in another game with significant playoff and Flyers Cup implications.

“We’ve got to finish up the season hard here,” McGinty said. “We have (Council Rock South) net and we won’t have our captain because of a selfish play.

“Guys are going to have step up.” and we have Pennsbury still to go.”

Pennridge 2 4 1—7

C.B. South 0 1 1—2

First-period goals: Tyler Manto (P) from Shane Dachowski 5:06; Andrew Lizak (P) from Shane Dachowski, 16:20

Second-period goals: Aydin Thierolf (CBS) from D.J, Lindenmuth and Colin Mendham, 2:26; Shane Dachowski (P) from Colin Dachowki and Kevin Pico, 5:09 (pp); Shane Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona, 5:23; Shane Dachowski (P) from Pico, 9:25 (sh); Savona (P) from Ian Brouse, 12:04

Third-period goals: Aidan Linso (CBS) from Sean Cutter and Ryan Frey, 6:59 (pp); Lizak (P) unassisted, 9:06

Shots: Pennridge 39, C.B. South 31

C.B. East 7 C.B. West 1

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—There is a lot of history within the walls of the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. The rink, originally called Face Off Circle, opened its doors in 1975 when the Philadelphia Flyers were the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

It’s the place where Central Bucks East Coach Jeff Mitchell learned to skate. And it’s where Mitchell brought his Patriots Friday night to renew one of the area’s traditional rivalries.

His players met expectations, scoring a 7-1 decision over Central Bucks West, a win that gave the Patriots two vital points in the SHSHL National Division standings. With the playoff field being reduced to six teams this season from the customary eight, the result was especially significant in terms of the standings.

Perhaps more importantly however the win was the Patriots’ second straight following a four-game losing streak, a losing streak that was especially difficult to endure after East (6-4, 2-1 in divisional play) began the season with four straight wins.

The Patriots displayed an abundance of scoring balance. Stephen DiRugeris scored two goals, while Owen Brackbill, Ethan Cenci, Anthony Dowd, Corey Kosick, and Drew Trask provided one goal each.

“The last two games have been a little bit of a sigh of relief,” Mitchell said, “that we’re getting back to the right motions that we’re running through when we’re playing our games.

“Were kind of getting back to our core values. Probably the past four or five games have been very subpar, slow, a lack of effort. It’s almost like we had an easy start to the season.”

With a full lineup in uniform, Mitchell was enthused about the balanced scoring.

“Having everybody back in the lineup really helped,” he said. “We spread the puck around, we were able to get four full lines out there. Rotate four lines throughout the game.

“It definitely helps a lot with getting a little pressure off the top two lines.”

After a scoreless first frame, the Patriots took control with goal from Brackbill, DiRugeris, and Cenci to go up 3-0 with 6:46 left in the middle period. Anthony Dowd scored for West (3-7, 1-2) 43 seconds later but by the midpoint of the third period, the Bucks were running on empty. Kosick, DiRugeris, and Gerken scored goals in a span of 2:20.

“On the spectrum of how we play, I think we played pretty well the first half of the game,” said West coach Dave Baun. “In fact, I don’t think we played that badly the entire game for where we are right now.

“East is a little better and they beat us.”

Mitchell noted the importance of every point in the standings in light of the new playoff format.

“I think every team that makes the playoffs is going to be a top-tier team,” he said. “I think seeds one through six are all going to be challenging. So, we’re going to have to do our best to play the games we have left in the season and kind of get a feel for the competition.”

C.B. West 0 1 0—1

C.B. East 0 4 3—7

Second-period goals: Owen Brackbill (CBE) from Kyle McIntyre, :50; Stephen DiRugeris (CBE) from Corey Kosick, 5:06; Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Gavin Widmer, 10:14; Anthony Dowd (CBW) from Zane Sanders, Ryan Gerken (CBE) unassisted, 15:24

Third-period goals: Kosick (CBE) from Jason Young, 9:10; DiRugeris (CBE) from Cenci, 9:52 Drew Trask (CBE) from Brackbill, 11:30.
Shots: C.B. West 27, C.B. East 38; Saves: Kyle Fasolak (CBW) 31, Matt Magiacapre (CBE) 18 and Cole Breen (CBE) 8

Abington 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

HATFIELD TWNSHIP— With their halo of invincibility having disintegrated, Abington took the ice Thursday night with a renewed sense of purpose.

And it showed. Three goals in four-and-a-half minute span late in the first period left the Galloping Ghosts in command on the way to a 5-1 SHSHL American Division win over Plymouth Whitemarsh at Hatfield Ice Arena.

It was the first start for Abington (9-0-1, 8-0-1 in the division) since it sustained the only blemish on its record, a 2-2 standoff with Quakertown two days before Christmas. Thursday’s result allowed the Galloping Ghosts to leave that game far behind them.

“It was very important to start fast,” said senior forward Jordan Heydt. “This is arguably the most important game of the season. It solidifies us for a really good chance at first place, taking about the playoff bracket for this year (which will include three teams).

“(The regular-season champion) having a first-round-bye is huge.”

Abington has built its record despite the fact that two of its top scorers, Pat Stelacio and Matt Kramer remain sidelined with injuries. That has led some line juggling and other adjustments.

“We really have to have our players step up,” Heydet said. “We have to have our assistant captain, captain, and even the freshmen, they all have to step up.

“They all have to play their roles. They don’t have to do a lot, but they just have to play the system and play like they know how to play.”

Griffin Carpenter gave Abington a 1-0 lead 10:25 into the first period off a feed from Sam Abramson. Heydt made it a 2-0 game at the 11:53 mark, and Sam Paulik gave his team a three-goal advantage when he scored during a power play with 2:01 left in the period.

Playing their third game in three nights, the Colonials (6-4, 5-3 in the division) found themselves trying to dig out of a deep hole.

“We’ve done it before,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox. “But tonight, it just wasn’t there. Our third game in three days, I think started to take its toll.”

The Colonials’ Conlan Carpenter beat Abington netminder Sam Nemec on a power-play effort 1:16 into the middle period. But that was all he and his teammates could manage.

Heydt and Abramson added goals for Abington in the third period.

“We came out with energy tonight,” said Abington coach Ken Brzozowski. “We kind of knew it was a big matchup, they’d been winning some games, they’re right behind us in the standings.

“We knew if we could come out of here with a win, it would really put us in a good spot for the rest of the year.”

• Ice Chips— The two teams will play again in a non-league game at the Wells Fargo Center on January 18 to celebrate both teams’ Senior Nights. Face-off time is now set for 7 p.m.; the Senior Night celebration will precede the opening faceoff.

Abington 3 0 2—5

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 0—1

First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Sam Abramson, 10:25; Jordan Heydt (A) from Sean Doyle and Seamus Donofry, 11:53; Sam Paulik (A) from Donofry and Devin Bates, 14:59 (pp).

Second-period goal: Conlan Carpenter (PW) from Dylan Novitsky, 1:16 (pp)

Third-period goals: Heydt (A) from Paulik. 4:17; Abramson (A) unassisted, 5:37

Shots: Abington 39, PW 20; Saves: Sam Nemec (A) 19, Chris Maslij (PW) 33

Pennridge 5 Neshaminy 3

BRISTOL— The atmosphere inside Grundy Arena was crackling with energy Wednesday night. Pennridge and Neshaminy were both looking to make a statement.

The Rams did just that, overcoming a two-goal first-period deficit before dominating the last two periods en route to a 5-3 win.

The result will not factor into the SHSHL National Division standings but will doubtless attract the attention of the Flyers Cup Committee when the next set of rankings is unveiled.

Josh Kelly and Shane Dachowski each scored twice for

Pennridge, the defending Class AA Flyers Cup and state champion. The Rams improved to 6-3 overall.

Kelly said he and his teammates refocused after falling behind early.

“We kind of realized we needed to start going,” the sophomore said. “We needed to put something in the back of the net. We kind of realized who we are. We came out slow and ended the game how we wanted to.”

The ’Skins (6-3) killed off two early penalties before taking a 1-0 lead 6:12 into the opening period. Noah Seewagen scored the power-play goal while the Rams’ Colin Dachowski was serving a tripping minor.

Max Gallagher made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal at the 11:06 mark off a rush down the right wing that finished with a slapshot along the ice that beat Pennridge goaltender Jacob Gilbert through the five hole.

That goal turned out to be the high point of the evening from Neshaminy’s point of view.

Tyler Manto got the Rams on the scoreboard 1:28 into the second frame on a shot that caromed of the stick of Neshaminy goaltender Cory Hemberger. Kelly the game when he scored on a rebound with 2:41 left in the period to send the teams into the third frame all even.

Shane Dachowski put Pennridge in front for good 2:49 into the final period when he converted a feed from Kevin Pico who set up the goal with a dash down the left wing.

Pico and Neshaminy’s Nolan Geria got some extended time in the penalty box after the two got into a skirmish with 13:48 remaining in regulation. Both drew minor penalties for head contact and automatic 10-minute misconducts but the incident had little bearing on the final result.

Kelly scored his second goal of the night with 9:23 remaining to give Pennridge a two-goal advantage. J.J. Hathaway scored during a Neshaminy power play wirg the Neshaminy net empty with 1:19 remaining but Shane Dachowski’s empty-net goal with 11.4 seconds left settled matters.

Pennridge’s dominance over the final two periods showed up on the scoresheet. After being outshot 12-7 in the first period the Rams outshot the ‘Skins 31-10 over the last two for a final margin of 38-22.

Rams coach Jeff Montagna cited his team’s comeback after a difficult beginning.

“It was a terrible start,” he said. “It was a terrible first period, which has been a strength for us. But, like they’ve done all year, they came back and they played a fabulous two periods.

“But, I told them, we’ve got to figure out these slow starts.”

The ‘Skins spent an inordinate amount of time skating shorthanded; they were whistled for 11 penalties (the Rams were flagged for eight). But Coach Matt DeMatteo was quick to point out his team came up short in other areas.

“Penalties were part of it,” he said, “(but) we had a really good first period, and stuck to the game plan, but we came out in the second period and they brought up the intensity and we did not.

“That was the difference in the game. They came out with urgency, we didn’t match it. they took the momentum of the game over.”

Pennridge 0 2 3—5

Neshaminy 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Noah Seewagen (N) from Michael Knipple, 6:12 (pp); Max Gallagher (N) unassisted, 11:06 (sh)

Second-period goals: Tyler Manto (P) unassisted, 1:28; Josh Kelly (P) from Colin Dachowski and Nate McKean, 14:19

Third-period goals: Shane Dachowski (P) from Kevin Pico and Andrew Savona, 2:49; Kelly (P) from McKean, 7:37 J.J. Hathaway (N from Gallagher, 15:41 (pp); Pico (P) unassisted, 16:49 (en)

Shots: Pennridge 38, Neshaminy 22; Saves: Jacob Gilbert (P) 20, Cory Hemberger (N) 33