Council Rock South 5, Central Bucks South 3

HATFIELD—At a time when familiarity is difficult to come by, there was something reassuring about Wednesday’s Suburban High School Hockey League season opener between Central Bucks South and Council Rock South.

There were no spectators in the stands and the players came to the rink dressed instead of utilizing the locker rooms at Hatfield. But it was business as usual once the teams hit the ice.

Kevin Koles’s long-range goal with 4:58 left in regulation proved to be the game winner as the Golden Hawks scored a 5-3 decision.

Jeremy Purcell put the puck in an empty net with six seconds left to complete the scoring; it was his second goal of the game.

Purcell was happy to get back on the ice with his teammates. “It feels good,” he said. “It’s been a long time, especially with that month off (break in the preseason). But it felt good, it felt good to be out there.”

The Golden Hawks were awarded the only power play of the game just 56 seconds into the opening period. They didn’t score during the man advantage but Doug Lopez put in a rebound at the 3:17 mark to give his team a 1-0 lead, beating Titan netminder Dominic Varacallo. Varacallo drew the assignment in goal in place of veteran Mason Moyer who was not dressed.

Aydin Thierolf tied the game for the Titans at the 8:38 mark before Daniel Kvecher finished a dash down the right wing by putting the puck behind Golden Hawk goaltender Carson Lopez to give the Titans the lead just 36 seconds later.

That lead was short lived. Julian Wagenmann tied the game with 32 seconds when he tipped in Kyle Boss’s original shot.

At period’s end, the Golden Hawks changed goaltenders Lopez left the game because of illness and veteran Jimmy Sweeney took over.

The Golden Hawks took the lead for the second time when Purcell scored just seven seconds into the period but the Titans tied the game at the 4:53 mark and had the better of the play for much of the rest of the period, but never got the lead back.

“We had a slow start,” said Titan coach Shaun McGinty. “We had our chances. We need to capitalize on them.”

The third period was scoreless until Koles’s late-game heroics. For a young Golden Hawks team, it was a good beginning.

“It was okay, they did well,” said Council Rock South coach Joe Houk. ”I told them ‘Keep it simple, don’t over pursue things.’”

Council Rock South 2 1 2—5

Central Bucks South 2 1 0—3

Shots: C.R. South 17, C.B. South 23; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 7 and Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 13; Dominic Varacallo (CBS) 12

Council Rock South 7, Parkland 5

BRISTOL— Six minutes into Tuesday’s second period, Council Rock South’s path to the second round of the Flyers Cup tournament seemed wide open. The Golden Hawks, who were coming off a SHSHL championship game win, held a 6-1 win over Parkland and seemed to be in command.

Instead, sixth-seeded South had to battle to the final buzzer to hold off the 11th-seeded Trojans 7-5 in a Class AA first-round game at Grundy Arena. The Golden Hawks indeed advanced, to Thursday’s quarterfinals against third seed Perkiomen Valley (6:15 at Ice Line) but there were some anxious moments along the way.

The evening got off to an explosive start with three goals in less than five minutes. Bill Harrelson and Jeremy Purcell scored for South before and after a tally from Parkland’s Eric Dennis to give their side a 2-1 lead after just 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Harrelson and Michael Roby added additional goals to give the Golden Hawks a 4-1 lead after one period.

David Mueller extended the Hawks’ lead 4:53 into the second period before Harrelson completed a hat trick at 10:07. Even after Joshua Bower scored for the Trojans with 3:11 left in the middle period, the Hawks were seemingly in control.

But then came the third period and the Trojans, who reached the Flyers Cup finals in 2013, didn’t roll over over. First, Alexander Doe scored a goal with 8:18 remaining in regulation. Then Dennis, the Trojans’ leading scorer, pocketed his second goal of the night during a power play with 6:30 left and then completed his own hat trick with 1:45 remaining.

After having a comfortable lead, the Golden Hawks found themselves hanging on.

“We made a lot of bad turnovers in the neutral zone,” Harrelson said, “and it ended up costing us, I think. We need to control the puck, get in deep, play our game really because (Parkland) knocked us off it a lot. We started losing our heads and taking bad penalties (four in the third period and five of the six in the game) and it was killing us. But we pulled out the win.”

The issue was settled with Michael Roby scored an empty net goal for South with 27 seconds remaining. But South coach Joe Houk remarked that his team will have to play better to have hopes of claiming a fourth Flyers Cup title.

“What we did last week (in the SHSHL final) we did not do this week,” he said. “We’ll have to regroup a little bit. It’s just the little things that make a difference and we didn’t do them tonight.”

Parkland coach Chad Loomis lamented his team’s slow start. “That was definitely our downfall,” he said. “I think we had a hard time just marching their intensity and adjusting to their game.
“We had an opportunity to take a little break (after the second period) and talk about it and make the necessary adjustments. We just kind of ran out of time.”

Parkland 1 1 3—5
Council Rick South 4 2 1—7
First-period goals: Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Brennen Wright and Antii Autere, 2:45 (pp); Eric Dennis (P) from Joshua Bower, 4:12; Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from David Mueller, 4:47; Harrelson (CRS) from Andrew Darling and Purcell, 9:40; Michael Roby (CRS) from Autere and Douglas Lopez, 12:01.
Second-period goals: Mueller (CRS) unassisted, 4:53; Harrelson (CRS) from Roby and Purcell, 10:07; Bower (P) from Alexander Doe and Dennis, 12:49 (pp)
Third-period goals: Doe (P) from Zachary Averill and Hunter Dolan, 7:42; Dennis (P) unassisted, 9:30 (pp); Dennis (P) from Luke Yocum, 14:15; Roby (CRS) from Autere, 15:33 (en).
Shots: Parkland 29, CRS 25; Saves: Vincent Bylick (P) 18, JImmy Sweeny (CRS) 24

Pennridge 4, Neshaminy 3

BRISTOL—Since the calendar turned to 2020 Pennridge has been a hockey team in the rise. On Tuesday night the Rams took another step forward, a big one, by coming from behind in the third period for a 4-3 win over Neshaminy in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Grundy Arena.

The 10th-seeded Rams trailed 2-0 and 3-2 before Aeryk Lehrhaupt scored on a shot from the right faceoff circle with 55 seconds left in regulation to send he and his mates into the quarterfinals on Thursday against second seed Haverford (7:00 at the Skatium).

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna praised his team’s effort after being eliminated in the opening round of the SHSHL playoffs by Council Rick South. “It says so much about them,” he said. “I don’t have words of how proud I am of them. That young, they shouldn’t be making all the plays they did.”

The seventh-seeded ‘Skins used a methodical approach to build a 2-0 first-period lead. David McColgan got his team on the scoreboard 4:46 into the opening period, beating Pennridge goaltender Ryan Pico from close range. Thomas Gallagher gave his team a two-goal lead at 10:07.

The Rams responded in the second frame. Andrew Lizak beat Brian Nelson from the deep right circle off a right corner dump to get the Rams on the board 3:18 mark before Richie Shanks tied the game at 9:51.

Neshaminy retook the lead when Joey DeMatteo scored with 6:10 left in the middle session and stayed in front when Nelson denied Lehrhaupt on a two-on-one with 14 seconds left in the period.

The Rams got their second power play chance of the third period at the 8:31 mark when Neshaminy drew a bench minor for having too many men on the ice. Blake Stewart, the Rams’ captain, scored the tying goal with 5:40 left in regulation as the prelude to the finish.

Stewart noted that Pennridge opened its season back in October with a loss to Neshaminy but had natured since then. “We came to this game a much stronger team,” he said. “We just wanted it more, we came out hungry, and we just wanted to move on. No one really wanted us here and no one thought we would be here.”

It was a frustrating evening for Neshaminy coach Matt DeMattteo. “They were the hungrier team today,” he said of the Rams. “They skated harder. They did the things you need to do to win the game and we just did not play a good game as a team.”

Pennridge 0 2 2—4
Neshaminy 2 1—3
First-period goals: David McColgan (N) from Rob Seewagen and J.J. Hathaway, 4:46; Thomas Gallagher (N) from Matt Buchinski and Joey DeMatteo, 10:07;
Second-period goals: Andrew Lizak (P) unassisted, 3:18; Richie Shanks (P) from Blake Stewart and Andrew David; DeMatteo (N) from Nolan Geria and Seewagen, 11:50.
Third-period goals: Stewart (P) from Shanks, 10:20 (pp); Aeryk Lehrhaupt from Jack Lowery and Conrad Frisch, 15:05.
Shots: Pennridge 32, Neshaminy 30; Saves: Ryan Pico (P) 27, Brian Nelson (N) 28

Lower Dauphin 6, Plymouth Whitemarsh 4

Noah Leach and Cole McCully scored three goals each as Lower Dauphin edged Plymouth Whitemarsh 6-4 Monday night in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Ice Line.

The result sends the ninth-seeded Falcons into Wednesday’s quarterfinals; they’ll face top-seed West Chester East at Ice Line in a scheduled 6:15 start. Eighth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh closes its season at 18-2. Monday marked its only loss of the season to a Class A team.

McCurley scored a shorthanded goal with 2:19 left in regulation to give ninth-seeded Lower Dauphin a 5-4 lead. Leach scored into an empty net 16 seconds later.

Lower Dauphin built a 3-0 lead in the second period on a goal from Leach and two from McCulley in a span of just 1:23 but Jake Weikel, Dean Keller, and Thomas Corcoran scored for the Colonials in a span of 2:40 to tie the game before Leach scored his second goal of the game to put Lower Dauphin up 4-3 with 2:29 left in the period.

Logan Westerfer tied the game for the Colonials 3:34 into the third period.

The game included 17 penalties, including four against the Colonials following the final buzzer. Westerfer received a major penalty and a game misconduct for his tole in that altercation while Colin Franzoni received a major and a match penalty.

The Colonials’ Dean Keller and Lower Dauphin’s Ezra Oyler had received game misconducts earlier in the game, Keller for boarding just past the midway point of the second period and Oyler for a check from behind late in the third.

A complete box score is available HERE

First Round Results (Monday)

Unionville 11, Wissahickon 2—Steve Cicchino scored three times in the second period as sixth-seeded Unionville pulled away to a win over the 11th-seeded Trojans at Hatfield Ice. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period before the Indians broke the game open.

Springfield Delco 10, Hatboro-Horsham 0—Zach Crain scored two goals and eight other players scored on goal each as the seventh-seeded Cougars eliminated the 10th-seeded Hatters at Ice Line. Ryan Krtyos had a goal and assists, while Aidan Zappo added three assists. The contest was halted early in the third period via the 10-goal rule. The Hatters closed their season 11-7-0-1.

West Chester East 8, Lower Merion 5

Strath Haven 4, Sun Valley 0

Hershey 10 West Chester Henderson 0

West Chester Bayard Rustin 12, Garnet Valley 2

Palmyra 6, Radnor 1

Here are the Class A quarterfinal pairings for Wednesday, March 4

All four games at Ice Line

1 West Chester East vs 9 Lower Dauphin 6:15

4 Strath Haven vs 5 Hershey

3 Bayard Rustin vs 6 Unionville 6:30

7 Springfield Delco vs 2 Palmyra 8:30

Council Rock South 3, Central Bucks South 1

HATFIELD— If one word were used to describe Council Rock South’s performance Thursday night it would be efficient. One shift at a time one period at a time, all the way to a 3-1 win over Central Bucks South to claim the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA title in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice.

Jeremy Purcell scored twice for the third-seeded Golden Hawks (13-5-0-1) who did a lot of little things right up and down the lineup to claim the second SHSHL championship in school history. Its first came in 2010.

“You win championships, you win big games like this with you second and third lines,” said Joe Houk, Council Rick South’s veteran coach. “Our second and third lines won the game tonight.”

Purcell, who centers the Hawks’ second line, is a case in point. He had just four goals and six assists in 13 games prior to Thursday. His contributions were needed because two Council Rock defensemen were out of the lineup.

“It’s a team game,” Purcell said. “We’ve all got to work together. C.B. South is a very good team. We’ve got to put it all together to win in the end.”

The opening 17-minute period featured an abundance of physicality but just a single goal, a power-play effort from the Golden Hawks’ Antii Autere who made a rush from his own zone, all the way down the left wing and took the puck behind the Titans’ net before beating Mason Moyer at the 6:05 mark.

Purcell scored his first goal 1:54 into the second period off a left circle faceoff which set up a wraparound from behind the net with the junior tucking the puck inside the right post. At that point, the Golden Hawks had scored twice on just six shots.

A key moment in the game occurred 7:33 into the second period when the Titans’ Nathan Fievitz drew a five-minute major penalty plus a match penalty for butt ending that gave the Golden Hawks an extended power play and brought Fievitz an indefinite suspension pending a review by USA Hockey.

Purcell scored his second goal of the game during the ensuing power play with Bill Harrelson’s help at the 10:39 mark to give his team a three-goal lead.

The Titans, to their credit, kept battling and got on the board via a goal from Aidan Gaffney with 3:05 left in regulation and kept Golden Hawks’ goaltender Jimmy Sweeney busy down the stretch.

Titan assistant Tyler Skroski praised the Golden Hawks’ effort. “They came out buzzing,” he said. “They came out buzzing against North Penn (in the semifinals) and they carried it right over into this game. They’ve got some really dynamic scoters mixed in with solid goaltending and veterans on defense.”
Ice Chips—The Golden Hawks are the sixth seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament and will face 11th-seeded Parkland Tuesday night at 8:45 at Grundy Arena. The top-seeded Titans will take on 16th seed Conestoga at 6:40 at Hatfield Ice the same evening.

C.R. South 1 2 0
C.B. South 0 0 1
First-period goals: Antii Autere (CRS) from Matt Constantini, 6:05 (pp)
Second-period goals: Jeremy Purcell (CRS) unassisted, 1:54; Purcell (CRS) from Bill Harrelson, 10:39 (pp)
Third-period goals: Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Colin Abbonizio and Daniel Kvetcher, 13;55
Shots: C.R. South 19, C.B. South 30; Saves: Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 29, Mason Moyer (CBS) 16

Wissahickon 10, Hatboro-Horsham 6

WARWICK—After spotting their opponent a significant head start, Wissahickon took control of its Suburban High School Hockey League Class A semifinal against Hatboro-Horsham Wednesday night.

Trailing 3-0 in the first period, the Trojan scored nine goals in the equivalent of one period of hockey and went on to a 10-6 win at Revolution Ice Gardens. The third-seeded Trojans (10-8 overall) will face top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in Thursday’s final (8:30) at Hatfield Ice.

Prior to the opening faceoff, Wissahickon figured to be playing uphill. Leading scorer Nicholas Hussa and Daniel Glazier were serving suspensions while Ben Junker was sidelined with an injury. With next week’s Flyers Cup opener against Unionville already set, it would have been understandable had the Trojans struggled.

Alex Carrozza, their captain, admitted that focusing was a bit difficult. “A little bit,” he said. “Especially since we played them the last game of the regular season (a 9-1 win for the Hatters last Friday). They kind of put a couple goals in on us. It was tough for us to play. We were able to come back and actually put a good team together.”

The second-seeded Hatters (11-6-0-1) were in command at the start, thanks to a goal from Nick Long and two from Aidan Esack, which gave them a 3-0 lead just 6:07 into the first period.

The flow of the game changed however when Carrozza scored for the Trojans with 54 seconds left in the opening session.

“I thought it was important to score that goal.” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington.”

It wasn’t apparent immediately, but Carrozza’s effort was a preview of what was to come. Wissahickon’s Bryan Garry and the Hatters’ Seth Lerner traded girls early in the second period before the Trojans scored seven times in a span if 5 minutes, 49 seconds to take a 9-5 lead with 48 seconds left in the 17-minute period.

Garry scored three times in that span. A.J. Pounds added two goals during the spurt, while Carrozza and Nolan Ryan also scored.

Hatter coach Gianni Lafratta felt his team got away from what it defensively in the opening period. “We had guys in the slot, we kept everything outside,” he said.” Gary, I think, had three shots on net.

“We had that three-goal lead and the little things started to fall apart, the passing, the presence in the defensive zone.”

Garry added a fifth goal in the third period. He also had an assist.

Ice Chips—Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Truman 12-2 in the evening’s other semifinal. Aidan Keogh scored four goals for the Colonials before the game was called with 10:54 left in the third period. Luke Weikel, Colin Franzoni, and Dean Keller added two goals each.

Wissahickon 1 8 1—10

Hatboro-Horsham 3 2 1—6

First-period goals: Nick Long (HH) unassisted, 1:28; Aiden Esack (HH) from Alex Howieson and Jack Steinberg, 3:31; Esack (HH) from Marcus Soucy, 6:07; Alex Carrozza from Nolan Ryan, 16:06.

Second-period goals: Bryan Garry from Michael Bonanni, 3:23; Howieson (HH) from Tarek Eisabbagh, 4:38; A.J. Pounds from Ty Schiff, 10:23; Garry unassisted, 10:32; Carrozza unassisted, 11:27 (pp); Seth Lerner (HH) from James McCoy and Howieson, 12:19; Pounds from Garry, 13:17; Nolan Tyan uunassisted. 15:40; Garry from Pounds and Schiff 15:49; Garry from Pounds, 16:12

Third-period goals: McCoy (HH) unassisted, 4:13; Garry unassisted, 15:36

Shots: Wissahickon 47, Hatboro-Horsham 27; Saves: Chris Shea 20, Joe Gambino (HH) 37

Class AA Semifinals

Central Bucks South 5, Neshaminy 2

Council Rock South 4, North Penn 2

Thursday Schedule

6:30 Central Bucks South vs. Council Rock South

8:30 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Wissahickon

Both games at Hatfield Ice

Central Buck South 13, Central Bucks West 3

HATFIELD—Central Bucks South had some high-performance fuel in their gas tanks Monday night. The Titans built a 5-0 first-period lead and went on to defeat Central Bucks West 13-3 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice that was terminated with 8:17 left in the third period. The top-seeded Titans (15-0-0-1) will advance to a Wednesday semifinal against Neshaminy in this same venue Wednesday night (6:30). Neshaminy, the fourth seed, bested fifth seed Central Bucks East 5-3 in another Monday quarterfinal.

Colin Abbonizio scored six goals and assisted on another for the Titans, who are seeking their ninth SHSHL title. Dominic Patrone and Connor Gaffney scored two goals each.

Jake Lang, who had been out of the lineup for several weeks for the eighth-seeded Bucks, was on the ice for the opening faceoff and wound up scoring two goals.

The Titans are already assured of the top seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament; the SHSHL playoffs do not impact the Flyers Cup seedings. But any notion that South might coast through the league tournament was immediately dispelled.

Abbonizio scored the game’s first goal at the 6:23 mark of the first period and Aidan Gaffney made it 2-0 just 10 seconds later. Abbonizio completed a hat trick before the first period ended.

“We were so fired up- to get playoffs going,” he said. “We really had everyone going. Everyone is just so excited that we put everything out there.”

Abbonizio, the Titans’ captain, emphasized that the SHSHL title matters a lot to he and his teammates. “We never look past this tournament,” he said. “Obviously, South has gad a lot of success in past years. These trophies (for winning the regular season and league titles) are an appetizer. We want to get those trophies and we want more.”

By the end of the second period South had built a 10-0 lead but they maintained their focus to the final buzzer. Their coach, Shaun McGinty, would have it no other way.
“We break it down season by season,” he said. “Tonight is the second season. Everybody is 0-0-0. What happened last week is over We all know each other in this second season.”

Both teams are locked into their Flyers Cup seeds. The top-seeded Titans will host number-16 Conestoga next Tuesday at Hatfield Ice (6:40 start). The 15th-seeded Bucks (7-7-2-1) will face second seed Haverford at the Skatium at 7:00 that same evening.

C.B. West 0 3 0—3
C.B. South 5 5 3—13
First-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 6:23 (pp); Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Ryan Gingras and Connor Gaffney, 6:36; Daniel Kvecher (CBS) from Abbonizio, 7:17; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 14:11; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 14:56.
Second-period goals: Keith Orlando (CBS) from Evan Hee and Chris Trefz, 1:13; Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, 1:18; Jake Lang (CBW) from Ben Morris and Sammy Poliak, 4:03; Dominic Patrone (CBS) from Nick Klein and Gingras, 5:44; Lang (CBW) from Trefz and Hee, 6:52; Patrone (CBS) from Matt Milanesi and Gingras, 11:31 (pp); Connor Gaffney (CBS) from Max Levitz, 12:09; Abbonizio (CBS) from Stephen McMillan, 13:37
Third-period goals: Gaffney (CBS) from Owen Mendham, 3:47 (pp) Abbonizio (CBS) from McMillan, 6:30; Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Connor Gaffney 7:43
Shots: C.B. West 25, C.B. South 54; Saves: Jake Coddington (CBW) 41, Mason Moyer (CBW) 22

Central Bucks South 3, North Penn 2 OT

HATFIELD—The evening was a fitting conclusion to the regular season. Daniel Kvecher scored 72 seconds into overtime to give Central Bucks South a 3-2 win over North Penn Thursday night in a SHSHL Class AA game at Hatfield Ice.

With the win the Titans (14-0-0-1 overall) completed a 12-0 run through the Class AA division, claimed the regular-season division title and the top seed for next week’s SHSHL playoffs, and enhanced their claim on the top seed for the Flyers Cup tournament next month. That’s a lot to accomplish in one evening of work.

The Titans controlled play in the overtime. The game-winning sequence started when Colin Abbonizio made a move down the left wing and the puck didn’t leave the North Penn defensive zone thereafter. Kvecher beat Knight goaltender Nick Ebbinghaus on a shot from the right circle.

“Something we stress as a team is just getting it in the zone,” Abbonizio said. “Get it on net and once you get it in the zone, keep it there.”

The Titans we’re playing their second game in 24 hours but Abbonizio, the Titans’ captain, said he and his teammates found the energy they needed late in the game. “We were exhausted,” he said, but you know in a game like that you’ve got to push through, you’ve got to give it your all. Something that I personally look at is you just go hard for those last couple minutes. You’ve got a couple days to rest and you’ve got to give it your all.”

North Penn had tied the game with 10:06 left in the third period when Tony Trozzi scored after corralling a lose puck in his offensive right-wing corner, darting in front of the net and putting in a rebound after South netminder Mason Moyer stopped his original shot.

Both teams worked hard at both ends of the ice and scoring chances were minimal. Ryan Gingras gave the Titans a 1-0 lead 2;53 into the first period off as turnover and a bounce. Abbonizio made it 2-0 40 seconds into the second frame when he put in a rebound off his own initial shot but Josh Kaufhold got North Penn (12-3, 11-1) on the scoreboard at the 4:59 mark on shot from the right faceoff circle.

Both teams gave the impression they’d like to play hockey for a while longer, say, another month.

“It’s a great way to end the season,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “Obviousy, going to (overtime) is a lot of fun for the kids. It’s great for high-school hockey as well and we. We’re fortunate to come out on top.”

The Knights aren’t planning on going away anytime soon either.”It was a great hockey game,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “A well-played game by both teams, coming down to the end of the season, first place on the line. It’s everything you want in a hickey game and I think everybody got to see that tonight.”

Ice Chips: The win was the Titans’ 14th straight. Their only loss has been to La Salle in overtime in their season opener. North Penn’s three losses include two to the Titans and one to Hioly Ghost Prep. The Titans won a no-league game from the Knights 5-1 on November 27.

North Penn 0 1 1 0—2
C.B. South 1 1 0 1—3
First-period goals: Ryan Gingras (CBS) unassisted, 2:53
Second-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) unassisted, :40; Josh Kaufhold (NP) from Tyler Greenstein, 4:59 (pp)
Third-period goals: Tony Tuozzo (NP) unassisted, 5:54
Overtime goal: David Kvecher (CBS) from Abbonizio and Gingras, 1:12
Shots: North Penn 23, C.B. South 31; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP), Mason Moyer (CBS) 21

Neshaniny 11, Abington 1

WARWICK—Neshaminy had things pretty much its own way Wednesday night. The ‘Skins scored four goals in just under six minutes and went on to an 11-1 win over Abington in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA game at Revolution Ice Gardens that was halted following the second period via the 10-goal mercy rule.

The result was not unexpected. Neshaminy (11-3, 9-2 in divisional play) is assured of a top-four seed at worst in next week’s SHSHL playoffs and is seemingly in line for a high seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament. The Galloping Ghosts, who have 15 underclassmen on their roster, slipped to 3-13 overall and 2-9 in the division; each team has one regular-season game remaining.

Thursday’s meeting was something of a bridge between two eras of SHSHL history. Neshaminy knew its share of sorrows before taking giant strides forward this season and last. And while Abington has struggled in recent seasons, the Galloping Ghosts have a rich historical legacy that is tied to the origins of the league. Abington won the championship in the SHSHL’s inaugural reason in 1974 and went on to win the first three league titles and four of the first five. There was no Flyers Cup tournament in those days but the Galloping Ghosts claimed two state titles as well.

All told, Abington has won six SHSHL titles of one sort or another, the last of them the second of back-to-back Class AA crowns in 2004. That trails only Germantown Academy (11), Central Bucks South (8) and possibly Council Rock (six documented titles and a possible seventh) on the all-time list.

That a history that Abington coach Ken Brzozowski wants his team to embrace. “I shared that with the tonight,” he said, “and hopefully that will mean something to them.

“For us, we’ve got little goals. Next year, to improve our record, compete for a playoff spot. And then from there, maybe try to restore some of that glory that Abington had in the past.

“We’ve got a few kids that have some talent, we mix in some hard work, and maybe we can get back to that point.”

Jacob Helms scored two goals for Neshaminy while nine other players scored one goal each.

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo urged his team to maintain its focus. “You start to get into a lack of team play,” he said, “where everybody wants to skate up and try and get on the scoresheet. That leads to bad habits, which (Thursday) night against Council Rock South could come back to hurt us.”

Griffin Carpenter scored the Abington goal with 1:12 left in the second period.

The ‘Skins outshot the Galloping Ghosts 35-3. Abington didn’t record its first shot on goal until 2:05 remained in what turned out to be the final period.

Neshaminy, which has won four straight and five of its last six, closes the regular season against Council Rock South on Thursday while Abington finishes against Quakertown on Friday.

Neshaminy 7 4 x—11

Abington 0 1 x—11

First-period goals: J.J. Hathaway (N) unassisted, 1:21; Joseph Hornung (N) from Joey DeMatteo, 2:25; Michael Knipple (N) from Nolan Geria, 5:14; Jacob Helms (N) from Hathaway, 5:59; DeMatteo (N) from Noah Seawagen, 8:23; Geria (N) from Hathaway, 12:32 (pp); Helms (N) from DeMatteo and Knipple, 14:15.

Second-period goals: Thomas Gallagher (N) from Ryan McColgan, 4:09; Matt Buchinski (N) from Gallagher, 4:50; Noah Seawagen (N unassisted, 7:38; Horning (N) unassisted, 7:38; Griffin Carpenter (A) from Joe Stelacio and Tom Rourke, 14:18.

Shots: Neshaminy 35, Abington 3; Saves; Brian Nelson (N) 0 and Andy Nau (N) 2; Sam Nemec (A) 24

By Rick Woelfel

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Plymouth Whitemarsh 14, Wissahickon 12

HATFIELD—An abundance of fireworks were discharged at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Wissahickon and Plymouth Whitemarsh celebrated a joint senior night by combining to score 26 goals in the scheduled 48-minute game with the Colonials prevailing 14-12.

The win kept Plymouth Whitemarsh unbeaten in SHSHL American Division play at 11-0 (15-1 overall). It was also the Colonials’ 12th straight win. The Trojans slipped to 8-7 overall and 6-5 in the division.

The contest was terminated with 6.9 seconds remaining in the third period after an altercation near the Plymouth Whitemarsh net that resulted in a total of 13 penalties being accessed to six players. Wissahickon’s Daniel Glazier was accessed a double game misconduct while his teammate Nicholas Hussa received a single game misconduct. Three Colonials, Devin Reilly, Thomas Corcoran, and Logan Westerfer received game misconducts.

Prior to the truncated finish, the evening featured an abundance of racehorse hockey. Plymouth Whitemarsh jumped to a 3-0 lead by the 4:35 mark of the first period before Wissahickon scored four straight goals to take the lead with 6:33 left in the period; it would turn out to be the Trojans’ only lead of the night and at period’s end the teams were deadlocked at 5-5.

The Colonials pulled away from their foes by scoring the first five goals of the second period before the Trojans scored the last two before adding two more at the start of the third frame to move within a goal at 10-9 with 12;54 still left in regulation. Jack Mishkin and Colin Franzoni added goals for the Colonials at that point and the lead was never less than two the rest of the way.

“Both teams came out with a lot of energy,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello. Both teams have offensive power and I think people were on the edge of their seats, it being Senior Night and really trying t get going offensively.”

Jake Weikel scored five goals for the Colonials and added an assist. Luke Weikel added three goals. Brian Gary paced Wissahickon with four goals and five assists, A.J. Pounds scored three goals for the Trojans and added four assists.

“It was kind of a run-and-gun game,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “Some games, they kick off like that and they remain that way the whole game and defense sort of goes to the side sometimes a little bit.”

Ice Chips—The two teams combined for 84 shots.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 5 5 4—14
Wissahickon 5 2 5—12
First-period goals: Jake Weikel (PW) from Dean Keller and Luke Weikel, 3:25; Aidan Keogh (PW) from Luke Weikel, 3:53; Jake Weikel (PW) from Luke Weikel, 4:35; Bryan Gary from A.J. Pounds, 5:30 (pp); Gary from Nicholas Hussa, 8:56 (pp); Alex Carrozza unassisted, 9:08; Pounds from Gary, 9:27; Jake Weikel (PW) from Colin Franzoni, 11:05; Ben Lukas (PW) from Keller, 13:45; Pounds from Gary, 14:40.
Second-period goals: Luke Weikel (PW) from Keogh and Jack Mishkin, 1:39 (sh); Luke Weikel (PW) from Jake Weikel, 4:55 (pp): Mishkin (PW) from Logan Westerfer, 5:49; Jake Weikel (PW) from Lucas, 7:55; Luke Weikel (PW) from THomas Corcoran and Keogh; Gary unassisted, 12:13; Pounds from Gary, 12:55.
Third-period goals: Hussa from Matt Winkowski and Pounds, 1:09; Gary from Pounds, 3:06; Mishkin (PW) from Franzoni, 4:17; Franzoni (PW) from Spencer Reilly, 6:41; Hussa from Pounds and Gary, 7:04; Jake Weikel (PW) from Keller, 9:06; Keller (PW) unassisted, 9:41; Daniel Glazer from Carrozza, 13:14; Carrozza from Hussa and Gary, 14:00.
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 41, Wissahickon 43; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 31, Chris Shea 27.