Thanksgiving Eve Hockey Scores

Pennsbury 4, Neshaminy 3

Upper Dublin 12, Truman 2

William Tennent 14, Archbishop Wood 4

Hatboro-Horsham 6, Moreland/NHS 4

Central Bucks East 5,  Central Bucks West 4 OT

Council Rock South 11, Council Rock North 1

Central Bucks South 5, North Penn 1

Pennridge 6, Souderton  1

 

Malvern Prep 3 vs. Cardinal O’Hara 1

Holy Ghost Prep 4, Father Judge 2

 

Interested in promoting your product, service, or event in this space? Email us HERE

 

One Step at a Time

Chris Gallagher has some definite ideas about what he wants the hockey program at Council Rock North to be.

By Rick Woelfel

Council Rock North took another step forward Thursday night. The Indians fell to Central Bucks West 11-0 at Hatfield Ice in a Suburban High School Hockey League matchup that was called after the second period but there were an abundance of signs the program is moving in the right direction.

North had just 12 skaters and a goaltender in uniform. Eight of the skaters were freshmen and no one on the blueline corps had any experience there prior to the start of this season, but the Indians played hard and maintained their composure against an unbeaten West team (4-0) that was more mature physically and processed superior skating ability.

“I was happy with the way the boys played,” said North coach Chris Gallagher, “and I thought they put a lot of effort in tonight. They’re learning on the fly and everyone appreciates the effort.”

Gallagher has put in a lot of effort himself over two seasons plus, resurrecting a program that dropped off the radar because of declining numbers. He and assistant coach Mike Epstein understand that building a quality program doesn’t happen overnight. But Gallagher has a plan in place.

“One was to have a middle-school program (originally run by Epstein),” he said. “Two was to have good kids play. Kids you could be proud of and get the numbers up, and I think we see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Senior Colin Kiefer is North’s captain. He will not be around to see his leadership efforts come to complete fruition. But what the North program will become over the next few seasons will be determined in part by the example Kiefer is setting now.

“My sophomore year we had nine seniors,” he said,” and we were just phenomenal. We played really well that season and obviously lost year we lost them all. We’ve got a new of new freshmen. It’s definitely going to be an experience teaching them how to play high-school hockey and what it’s like. It’s definitely a lot different than club hockey.”

Kiefer points out wearing a jersey with a school’s name on it brings with it a certain responsibility. That’s a point he tries to get across to his younger teammates.“They need to understand that this is a serious thing and represent the school,” he said.

Another element in building a program is building a relationship between the hockey club and the school’s administration. Gallagher says the process starts in the classroom.

“That’s probably my number-one priority this year,” he said, “Making sure these kids are student-athletes. They’re excelling the in the classroom, they’re doing the best they can on the ice, but they’re becoming good people and people that we can be proud of that are going to graduate from this program.

“They’re complying with the same requirements that every student-athlete has at North and if there are any incidents at school or on the ice, there’s going to be consequences and if any grades aren’t up to our requirements there’s going to be consequences as well.”

Like hockey programs at other public schools in the area and many probate ones, the Indians are a club team and not a varsity sport. But like many of his peers who oversee programs at other schools, Gallagher wants a good relationship with the school whose name his players carry on their jerseys.

“We’re not owed anything from Council Rock North,” he said. “We have a great group of kids here and we’re looking to set an example that we’re doing things the right way.”

The Game—Jake Lang had a big night for the Bucks with four goals and three assists. Seven other players score one goal each. West is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Indians dropped to 1-3 and 0-2.

Council Rock North 0 0 x—0
C.B. West 4 7 x—11
First-period goals: Billy Loughnane (CBW) from Reese Dalzell, 1:31; Chris Trefz (CBW) from Evan Hee and Grant Funseth, 3:34; Nikita Ushakov (CBW) from Jake Lang and Sammy Poliak, 8:58; Hee (CBW) from Lang and Keith Orlando, 15:49.
Second-period goals: Lang (CBW) from Funseth, 1:51; Jack Boland (CBW) from Poliak and Hee, 2:18; Lang (CBW) from Ushakov and Orlando, 10:11; Orlando (CBW) from Lang and Trefz, 10:40; Lang (CBW) from Trefz and Orlando, 12:09 (pp); Lang (CBW) from Loughnane and Poliak, 13:29; Ben Morris (CBW) from Funseth 15:39.
Shots: Council Rock North 11, C.B. West 35; Saves: Rex Goldberg (CRN), Jake Coddingfton (CBW) 11.

Central Bucks West 10, Abington 2

HATFIELD—Central Bucks West got of to a slow start Friday night. But once the Bucks got rolling, they kaput on going, all the way to a 10-2 win over Abington in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA league opener for both schools.

Griffin Carpenter gave the Galloping Ghosts (1-3, 0-1) the lead with a goal just 32 seconds after the opening faceoff. It took West (3-0, 1-0) some time to respond but Cooper Guerin’s goal at the 10:09 mark triggered a sequence that saw the Bucks score four goals in a span of just 4:29 to take a 4-1 lead and they went on from there.

West’s number-one line put up some big numbers. Jake Lang on left wing had a had trick and added three assists. Chris Trefz, the Bucks’ captain, had an eight-point night with two goals and six assists while Keith Orlando on right wing contributed two goals and two assists.

Lang said it was important for his team to respond after falling behind before a lot of fans at Hatfield Ice had settled in their seats. “That was super important,” he said. “If we didn’t get that next goal I think it would have went downhill from there for sure.”

West  coach Dave Baun says his top line benefits from having played a lot of shifts together. “They work the puck really well,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re scoring some goals, but a lot of it is on individual stuff and it’s not the kind of team play that we look for. But they did move the puck well in the cycle and they were breaking of their passes. It looked like we were starting to get it.”

For the most of the way, the game wasn’t as one sided as the final score made it appear. Orlando and Abington’s Tom Rourke traded second-period goals and West led 5-2 before adding two goals later in the period. The Bucks padded their lead with three goals in the final 2:32 of the third frame but that did not diminish the work of Abington netminder Ben Panella; the sophomore finished with 43 saves.

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski praise the work of his young goaltender. “He did a great job,” he said. “Actually this night and the game we had last week the did really good. We had a nice victory last week and huge played well tonight.”

The Galloping Ghosts are one of the youngest teams in the SHSHL, there are 15 underclassmen on the roster. Brzozowski is taking things one shift at a time.

“We’re just looking to take little steps every game,” he said. “Composure on the puck, seeing the ice. Taking what we’re doing in practice and executing that in the game. If we can continue to do that, then I think we’re going to be in a good spot by the end of the year.”
Abington 1 10—2
C.B. West 4 3 3—10
First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Tom Rourke, :32; Cooper Guerin (CBW) from Reese Dalzell, 10:09; Chris Trefz (CBW) from Keith Orlando and Jake Lang, 10:57; Orlando (CBW) from Sammy Poliak and Trefz, 12:24; Lang (CBW) from Trefz and Orlando, 14:38 (pp)
Second-period goals: Orlando (CBW) from Lang and Trefz, 3:30; Rourke (A) from Joe Stelacio and Carpenter, 6:04; Guerin (CBW) unassisted, 9:27; Lang (CBW) from Trefz, 15:09
Third-period goals: Lang (CBW) from Billy Loughnane and Trefz, 13:28; Loughnane (CBW) from Trefz, 14:08; Trefz (CBW) from Lang, 15:41
Shots: Abington 21, C.B. West 53; Saves: Ben Panella (A) 43, Jake Coddington (CBW) 19

By Rick Woelfel

North Penn 4, Central Bucks East 3 OT

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK­—North Penn and Central Bucks East made a bit of hockey history Wednesday night. The Knights and the Patriots engaged in the first regular-season overtime game in Suburban High School Hockey League history.

Ryan Cunningham scored with a slapshot from just off the left circle 2:08 into the five-minute overtime to give the Knights a 4-3 win. The goal came off a right-circle faceoff. Tyler Greenstein sent the puck across the ice to Cunningham, who rocketed the puck past Patriot goaltender Chris McIntyre.

Prior to Wednesday night the Knights (1-1, 1-0 in league play) had a bit of experience with three-on-three overtime.

“We did a scrimmage game with C.B. West,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, “and we played the last five minutes of that with the three-on-three. We got to get a little exposure to it. A lot of the kids have played travel hockey and they do it in travel hockey now.”

Cunningham’s goal came on a play that was executed as designed. “We work on specific plays like that,” the junior defenseman said. “For specific moments in overtime and on the power play and it happened to work out pretty well.”

Goals came fast and furious early on. Greenstein and Josh Kaufhold scored first-period goals for North Penn and East’s Sean Gorman scored in between. The three goals came in a span of just 48 seconds. Phil McIntyre tied the game for the Patriots just 23 seconds into the second stanza.

After that, the game turned into a goaltending dual between McIntyre and North Penn’s Nick Ebbbinghaus, both of whom were first rate. McIntyre finished with 45 saves.

Mike Capps filled in behind the Patriot bench for Ken Latchum, who was absent.

“(McIntyre) could be the best in in the league,” Capps said. He’s a young guy, only a junior. A very good player. We’re lucky to have him.”

With seven minutes left in the middle period the Patriots just missed taking the lead when Matt Cipriano’s blast from the top of the slot eluded Ebbinghaus but the referee on the play ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

Luke Van Why gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal 4:33 into the final period before the Patriots with his second goal of the game at the 9:36 mark.

After a one-sided loss to Holy Ghost Prep in their season opener, Vaitis said Wednesday’s win was a big step forward for the Knights. “It was very important for us,” he said. It was our first league game of the season. We only get to play these guys once. We played them last year to a real close game and we knew with a bunch of the guys coming back they were going to be a tough team.”

 

There would not have been a shootout had the teams played a full five minutes of overtime. The game would have been considered a tie.

 

North Penn 2 0 1 1—4

C.B. East 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goals: Tyler Greenstein (NP) from Josh Kaufhold, 8:50 (pp); Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 9:27; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein, 9:38.

Second-period goal: Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Bogden Borodenko, :23.

Third-period goals: Luke Van Why (NP) from Thomas Boyle, 4:33; Gorman (CBE) from Jasen Cluckey, 9:36 (sh).

Overtime goal: Ryan Cunningham (NP) from Greenstein and Van Why, 2:08.
Shots: North Penn 46, C.B. East 22; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 19, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 42

Malvern Prep 5, Holy Ghost Prep 4

By Rick Woelfel

WEST GOSHEN—The momentum of a hockey game can change in the blink of an eye. So it was Monday night as Malvern Prep overcame a two-goal deficit with a four-goal third period to stun Holy Ghost Prep 5-4 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference  game at Ice Line.

Matt Harris scored a natural hat trick for the Friars (1-1 overall and in the APAC). All three of his goals came during the third period when Malvern Prep found itself trailing by two goals on two occasions. The sophomore’s third goal, which came with 1:35 remaining in regulation, saw him beat Firebird goaltender Sean Joyce for the game winner.

Harris said the Friars took the ice for the final period with a determined mindset. “Just play hard and get pucks in on net,” he said.

The Firebirds (2-1, 1-1 in the APAC) had the upper hand for much of the first two periods and took a 3-1 lead 91 seconds into the third when Byron Hartley scored his second goal of the game on a feed from Evan Mudrick.

But momentum shifted in the Friars’ direction 4:08 into the third period when their goaltender Anthony Perti denied Mudrick on a penalty shot in the wake of a cross checking penalty.

Jack Constabile scored for Malvern Prep just 41 seconds later to make it a one-goal game. Sean Marshall scored for the Firebirds at the 7:26 mark to put his team up by two goals once more but Harris scored a shorthanded goal at 9:15 and tied the game with 3:51 remaining to set the stage for the finish.

Ironically, Perti, who made the game-changing save on Mudrick’s penalty shot, wasn’t around at the finish. He left with an apparent injury with 8:24 left in the game after making 18 saves. Jack Davis took his place and made four more.

Harris said he and teammates took considerable satisfaction rom rebounding from a one-goal los to St. Joseph’s Prep last Thursday. “It felt really good,” he said. “We knew what we had to do, come out hard and play Holy Ghost, who is good. We did what we had to do.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan credited his players for their resiliency. “The guys were down early again like our first game,” he said, “but it was nice to come back and really take that next step with the guys coming together and finding a way to pull out a win here.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside described the failed penalty shot attempt as huge. “It is what it is,” he said. It’’s frustrating. I’m happy for Bill, he got his first win as the Malvern coach. He’s a good guy. But it’s just frustrating tonight.”

Whiteside feels the devastating loss will be a lesson for his players. “We’re young,” he said. “The season’s early. and we’ll be a better team because of this, I can assure you.”

Holy Ghost Prep opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal from Hartley 9:59 into the first period. Mudrick made it 2-0 just 73 seconds into the second session. Ryan Sambuco scored for the Friars at the 6:29 mark to cut the deficit in half and the score remained unchanged through the period’s end.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2—4
Malvern Prep 0 1 4—5
First-period goal: Byron Hartley (HGP) from Sean Marshall, 9:59 (sh)
Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley, 1:13; Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Andrew Harder, 6:29
Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Mudrick, 1:31; Jack Constabile (MP) from Ryan Sambuco, 4:49; Marshall (HGP) from Hartley and Mudrick, 7:26; Matt Harris (MP) from Chris Blango, 9:15 (sh); Harris (MP) from Jack Davis 13:09; Harris (MP) from Constabile and Blango, 15:35.
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, Malvern Prep 32; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 22, Anthony Perti (MP) 18 and Jack Davis (MP) 4

 

 

 

 

LaSalle 2, Central Bucks South 1 OT

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD— The start of a new hockey season always brings changes with it. Rosters change and even returning players assume new roles. But attention to detail matters.
A number of players who played key roles for the LaSalle team that won the Class AAA Flyers Cup and state titles last year are gone. But the program’s commitment to excellence remains as was demonstrated Monday night

Ryan Ferry scored 28 seconds into three-on-three overtime (a new feature of USA Hockey varsity competition this season) to give the Explorers a 2-1 non-league win over Central Bucks South at Hatfield Ice. Ferry collected a feed from Nate Benner out of the deep left-wing corner and beat Titan keeper Mason Moyer inside the left-wing corner. The puck hit the back of the net as Ferry was being checked to the ice.

It was the second non-league win of the season for the Explorers, who begin Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference play next week. But Ferry says he and his teammates still have some work to do. “I doin’t think we played up to our potential today,” he said. “But it was good just to get a win.”

Ferry, a senior, noted that this year’s LaSalle team is still taking shape. “We lost a lot of kids last year,” he said. “We have a long way to go. We’re not where we need to be right now. But I think if we all put in the hard work, we’re going to get there.”

LaSalle had the better of the opening period but South goaltender Mason Moyer kept the game scoreless most of the way by making 13 saves. His task was complicated by his teammates having to kill three minor penalties in front of him.

“Mason obviously played outstanding,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “He does that game in and game out, he’s the vital piece in our puzzle. Every team needs a good goaltender; he played stellar tonight.”

Moyer finally yielded when junior Nate Benner scored off a turnover with 13 seconds left in the period while the Explorers themselves were shorthanded.

The Titans drew even with 12:18 gone in the second frame when Colin Abbonizio, their captain, beat William Gross off an offensive right circle faceoff.

LaSalle enjoyed a 29-18 advantage in shots. Aidan McCabe William Gross split the evening in the Explorer net with Gross taking over midway through the second session.

LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner said his team has to do the little things well to be successful. “We don’t have the ability to put a lot of pucks in the net right now,” he said. “We’ve got to play a simple game and be strong defensively. And the compete levels has got to get higher.”
C.B. South 0 1 0 0—1
LaSalle 1 0 0 1—2
First-period goals: Nate Benner (L) unassisted, 15:47 (sh)
Second-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) from David Kvecher, 12:18
Overtime goal: Ryan Ferry (L) from Benner, :28
Shots: C.B.South 18, LaSalle 29; Saves: Mason Moyer (CBS) 27, Aidan McCabe (L) 7 and William Gross 10
Records: Central Bucks South 0-1, LaSalle 2-0

Wissahickon Wins SHSHL Class A Crown

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Bryan Garry scored six goals and assisted on two others to lead Wissahickon to a 16-6 win over Lower Moreland Thursday night in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class A championship game at Hatfield Ice.

The game was halted with 6:09 left in the third period via the 10-goal mercy rule.

It’s the fourth confirmed SHSHL title for the Trojans who also won Class A titles in 2006, ’10, and ’15; (Wissahickon may have won additional titles on two other occasions but  that has not been documented).

“This feels like a great reward,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “We had one of our (defenseman) with a broken wrist, we had a couple unfortunate things happen. These last two games are the first games where we’ve had all 13 players on our roster.”

Sean Garry provided three goals and four assists for top-seeded Wissahckon (13-4-2). Daniel Glazer added two goals and three assists. Nicholas Hussa scored twice while three other players scored one goal each.

Coleman Peppelman scored three goals and added an assist to pace top-seeded Lower Moreland (12-3-3). Vincenzo DeMaio scored Twice and Noah Gazzara once.

The Lions had just eight skaters and a goaltender in uniform and were without forward Adam Bostock and defenseman Devin Green who were serving suspensions.

Sean Garry’s two goals helped Wissahickon build a 3-1 lead at the 5:29 mark of the first period but Gazzara and Peppleman scored back-to-back goals to draw the Lions even.

Bryan Garry scored his first goal of the night with 3:33 left in the period. It was the only power-play goal of the game (there were just two penalties called in the game) and put Wissahickon up for good at 4-3.

The Trojans broke the game open by scoring four straight goals in a span of 6:46 to go up 8-4 4:52 into the second period. By the end of the second stanza the margin was 12-5.

Lower Moreland coach Gus Salfitti said his player simply ran out of gas.

“It’s obviously a whole different game when you’remissing two of your top skaters,” he said. “I didn’t expect a blowout like this, but (the Trojans) are quick, they got rested, they’re out there every other shift, they’re better, players and they absolutely outskated the heck out of us.”

Lower Moreland 4 1 1—6

Wissahickon 5 7 4—16

First-period goals: Sean Garry (W) from Daniel Glazer, :27; Sean Garry (W) from Bryan Garry and Glazer, 2:22; Vincenzo DeMaio (LM) unassisted, 3:08; Nicholas Hussa (W) from Ty Schiff, 5:29; Noah Gazzara (LM) from Arthur Rubenstein, 6:53; Coleman Peppelman (LM) from Tyler Scolnick, 7:46; Bryan Garry (W) from Matt Cade, 13:27 (pp); Hussa (W) from Cade and Ben Junker, 13:56; Peppelman (LM) from Gazzara, 15:45.

Second-period goals: Junker (W) from Bryan Garry, 3:06; Nolan Ryan (W) unassisted, 3:42; Bryan Garry (W) from Sean Garry, 4:52; DeMaio (LM) from Peppelman, 6:31; Bryan Garry (W) unassisted, 7:03; Glazer (W) unassisted, 10:52; Bryan Garry (W) unassisted, 11:10; Bryan Garry (W) from Sean Garry and Glazer, 13:11.

Third-period goals: Glazrt (W) from Sean Garry, 3:06; Bryan Garry from Sean Garry, 5:47; Peppelman (LM) from Gazzara, 6:03; Sean Garry (W) unassisted, 9:50; Cade (W) 10:51, unassisted

* Game called with 6:09 left in the third period due to the 10-goal mercy rule.

Shots: Lower Moreland 33, Wissahickon 53; Saves: Jacob Lungren (LM) 37, Michael Henderson (LM) 27

If you or a family member, or friend are looking for a dentist, Hockey Happenings is proud to recommend All Smiles Family Dentistry. They’re located at 1620 South Broad Street in Lansdale.

Dr. Caroline Hsu, Dr. Azure Pelberg and their staff provide high-quality dental care in a caring, nurturing environment.  They’ve been taking care of my teeth for 25 years and I would recommend them to anyone. Going to the dentist can be an unsettling experience but everyone at All Smiles Family Dentistry will work to put you at ease.

Call for an appointment at 215-616-0609 or e-mail them at allsmilesfamilydentistry@verizon.net. You can also find them on line at www.allsmileslansdale.com

Pennridge Wins SHSHL Class AA title

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The combination of solid defense and quality goaltending will win a lot of hockey games, especially in the postseason. The Pennridge Rams utilized that formula to become champions Thursday night.

Luke Stranick stopped 35 shots and Matt Guinette and Michael Eissler provided the necessary scoring as the Rams downed Central Bucks South 2-0 in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA championship game at Hatfield Ice

It’s the second SHSHL title in history for the second-seeded Rams, who improved their record to 14-2-3. The top-seeded Titans (13-4-2) were attempting to capture an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL crown and their ninth in history.
After shutting down one of the most potent offenses in the area, the Rams were savoring their success.

“I’ve only gone here for two years, and it feels great to me” said junior defenseman Frankie Rota, who transferred from Quakertown prior to last season. “I can imagine the guys that have been going here for four, I imagine it feels incredible.”

The Rams outshot the Titans by just 40-35 but the efforts of the blueline corps limited South’s quality chances and made life easier for their goaltender.

“My defense played perfect,” Stranick said. “They did everything I could have asked for. They kept the shots to the outside, they kept the screens out of my way, they made it real easy.”

The Titans had the better of things early on until the pace picked up midway through the opening period. Guinette got the Rams on the board at the 8:18 mark of the first frame with a shot from midway between the tops of the two faceoff circles that beat South netminder Oscar Levin, who had a solid game between the pipes despite the defeat.

Pennridge’s second goal, which came 3:30 into the middle period, was the result of a picturesque individual effort by Eissler, who went up the middle and over the blue line before deking around a South defender and beating Moyer. That was all the scoring there was but that was all that was needed.

“Defensively, we gave up some chances,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “but we did a real good job not giving up second-chance opportunities. Our defensemen blocked a ton of shots in this game and we swept everything up.

“(South) is a hard team to hold off for 51 minutes and we did.”

Notes:  The Rams won their first league crown in 2008 …Both teams will see action in the Flyers Cup tournament next Wednesday. The second-seeded Titans will face 15th-seed Downingtown West on Wednesday at Revolution Ice Gardens at 7:15. The fourth-seeded Rams will take on 13th seed Garnet Valley the same evening at Hatfield Ice at 8:40 … Shaun McGinty was not behind the Titans’ bench Thursday night because of work commitments. Assistant Tyler Skronski stepped in for him.

Pennridge  1 1 0—2

C.B. South 0 0 0—0

First-period goal: Matt Guinette (P) from Eric Slater, 8:18

Second-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 3:30

Shots: Pennridge 40, C.B. South 35; Saves: Luke Stranick 35 Oscar Levin (CBS) 33

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services.  We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but owner, Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

 

Wissahickon 3, Plymouth Whtemarsh 2 OT

By Rick Woelfel

The result left the victors ecstatic and their defeated foes in agony. Two teams played a quality hockey game and left Hatfield Ice Wednesday night separated by the slimmest of margins.

It took Bryan Garry’s power-play goal 26 seconds into overtime to give the Wissahickon a 3-2 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class A semifinal.

The win moves the second-seeded Trojans (12-3-2) into Thursday’s final against top-seeded Lower Moreland (8:40 at Hatfield Ice).

The winning goal came during a four-on three situation that got its start when minor penalties 20 seconds apart late in the third period left each team a man down heading into the 15-minute sudden death (five skaters against five) overtime period.

When John Cubbin was whistled for tripping just 11 seconds into the extra session, the third-seeded Colonials were two men short and the second-seeded Trojans had a lot of open ice to work in.

Gary’s goal came on a wrister from around the left circle and put a damper on a brilliant performance in goal by the Colonials’ Ben Yuter, who made 42 saves and was challenged repeatedly.

“Three goals in 45 shots on net,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello.

Wissahickon coach ken Harrington was impressed Yuter’s effort, as was everyone else in the building. “We got a lot of shots on goal,” he said. “We just couldn’t get the rebounds. He did a superb job, hats off to him.”

 

The teams have now split four meetings this season. Gary said he was not surprised that Wednesday’s game was close.

Garry said he was expecting the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams to be a tightly contested affair

“We’ve played them before and they’ve been close games” he said, “so I just expected it be another close game.”

The Trojans’ Dan Glazer started the scoring just 1:25 into the first frame. Gavin Mulligan tied the game for Plymouth Whitemarsh at the 15:16 mark off a Wissahickon turnover in the neutral zone.

Aidan Keogh scored on a wraparound move from behind the goal 6:05 into the third period to give Plymouth Whitemarsh a 2-1 lead. Sean Gary tied the game for Wissahickon with 3:40 left in regulation but Yuter made some big saves down the stretch to force overtime.

 

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 0 1 0—2

Wissahickon 1 0 1 1—2

First-period goals: Dan Glazer (W) from Sean Garry, 1:25; Gavin Mulligan (PW) from Peter Troy, 15:16.

Third-period goals: Aidan Keogh (PW) from Jake Weikel, 6:05; Sean Garry (W) from Bryan Garry, 13:20.

Overtime goal: Bryan Garry (W) from Sean Garry, :26 (pp).
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 21, Wissahickon 45; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 42, Michael Henderson (W) 19