Pennridge 6, North Penn 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Truly great players step up when it matters. That’s the case in every sport and it was certainly the case when North Penn and Pennridge squared off Wednesday night in their Suburban High School Hockey League semifinal.

Michael Walker scored what proved to be the winning goal with 9:55 left in the third period and followed up by scoring into an empty net with 18 seconds to go to give the Rams a 6-4 win on a night when some of the SHSHL’s elite players showed the audience at Hatfield Ice why they have achieved that status.

Walker provided an assist to go with his two goals. Eric Slater, perhaps the premier sniper in the SHSHL’s Class AA division, helped the Rams’ cause with a goal and an assist while Luke Stranick was impressive in goal.

Meantime, Josh Albano was contributing three goals for the Knights while Nathan Oh was helping out with three assists.

As a result of all this, it was anyone’s game until the late going. With the game tied 4-4 the third-seeded Knights (11-4-3) lost Luke Van Why to a tripping penalty. It took Walker just 17 seconds to put the Rams (13-2-3) in front; he scored via a feed from Slater off a faceoff.

But Stranick knew he and his teammates couldn’t relax. “It definitely keeps me dialed in,” he said. “My defense does a really good job of keeping the pucks coming from the outside and when they do that, it makes it a lot easier for me and the team.”

Blake Stewart and Tommy Pichardo sported the Rams two goals to the good by the 5:18 mark of the first period but Albano answered back, scoring two goals in a span of 2 minutes, 9 seconds to tie the game.

“I thought that early on we struggled a little bit defensively,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “We started to settle down. I told them ‘The mark of a good team is when you do struggle and don’t have your ‘A’ game’ … The older guys made a play every single time we needed one.”

Freshman Aidan Boyle scored his first varsity goal to put Pennridge up 3-2 at the 3:02 mark of the second frame. Thomas Boyle answered for the Knights just 41 seconds later.

Slater put the Rams back in front when he scored with 39 seconds left in the period but Albano finished his hat trick at 5:19 of the third frame to set the stage for the conclusion.

“We knew they had a number of talented players up front,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “I don’t think you’re ever going to stop them, I think you just look to contain them. I thought we did a decent job of that but they’re still (dangerous).”

The win puts second-seeded Pennridge into Thursday’s championship game (6:50 at Hatfield Ice) against top-seed Central Bucks South which is seeking an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL title.

Pennridge is seeking to claim its first title since 2008.

Notes: The semifinal featured 17-minute periods (instead of 16) and in ice cut after the second stanza, the same format that will be utilized for the Flyers Cup semifinals and finals … Four officials were on the ice.

North Penn 2 1 1—4

Pennridge 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Blake Stewart (P) from Matt Guinette, 3:14; Tommy Pichardo (P) from Guinette, 5:56; Josh Albano (NP) from Nathan Oh and Tommy Tuozzo, 10:06; Albano, (NP) from Tyler Greenstein and Oh (pp).

Second-period goals: Aidan Boyle (P) from Frankie Rota, 3:02; Thomas Boyle, (NP) from Oh, 3:44; Eric Slater (P) from Stewart, 16:39.

Third-period goals: Albano (NP) from Oh and Josh Kaufhold, 5;17 (pp); Michael Walker (P) from Slater, 7:05 (pp); Walker (P) unassisted, 16:42.

Shots: North Penn 32, Pennridge 35; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 29, Luke Stranick (P) 28.

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North Penn 4 Pennsbury 2

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Prior to taking the ice Monday night in their Suburban High School Hockey League quarterfinal, Pennsbury and North Penn were fully aware they are scheduled to face each other next Wednesday in the opening round of the Flyers Cup tournament. With that fact in mind, the Falcons and the Knights would have been forgiven for playing things close to the vest, since the results of the SHSHL playoffs have no bearing on the Flyers Cup seedings.

Instead, they chose to go another way. Both teams stepped up their games Monday night, the Falcons, who were seeded sixth in the SHSHL tournament, especially so.

It took a third-period goals from Josh Kaufhold and Nathan Oh to give the Knights a 4-2 win in an entertaining affair at Hatfield Ice. North Penn (11-3-3) will face second-seeded Pennridge on Wednesday at 7:00 in the semifinals while Pennsbury (7-8-3) will wait for next Wednesday’s rematch in the Flyers Cup.

Oh, who assisted on Kaufhold’s winning goal, was quick to point out that winning a SHSHL title would mean a lot to the Knights.

“Winning the league would mean so much for us,” he said. “Obviously, (Central Bucks South) has been on top forever and for us to get some hardware, that would be awesome. It would be great for me and the rest of the seniors.”

Jake Nelson gave the Knights an early lead when he scored just 2:02 into the first period but Ben Dous scored twice for the sixth-seeded Falcons (7-7-3) to give them a 2-1 lead after one frame.

Tyler Greenstein tied the game for North Penn with 5:51 left in the second period on the most picturesque play of the night; he skated up the middle of the ice and split the two Pennsbury defensemen before beating Falcon netminder Topher Seiler with a forehander.

At the start of the third period it was anyone’s hockey game.

The teams hadn’t played each other since November 29 and North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis noted that both had evolved since then. “Obviously both teams have changed a lot over the last three months,” he said. “Hats off to them. They came out really ready to play and they kind of went toe-to-toe with us for two periods.”
Kaufhold scored the winning goal on a power play with 9:09 left in the third period. The goal came while the Falcons Beau Yedman was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

Oh added an empty net goal with four seconds remaining.

Despite the loss, and his team’s elimination from the SHSHL playoffs, Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley feels his team has taken some big steps forward of late. The Falcons were 4-1-1 in their last six games prior to Monday night.

“The kids have been on fire,” he said. “I was telling the guys before the game that we’re a dangerous team. We’re an underdog playing extremely good hockey and I knew we had good shot. A couple bounces didn’t go our way, but it’s hockey.”

Notes: Both goaltenders came up with some big saves. Seiler and North Penn’s Nick Ebbinghaus combined to stop 52 shots.

Pennsbury 2 0 0—2

North Penn 1 1 2—4

First-period goals: Jake Nelson (NP) from Tyler Greenstein, 2:02; Ben Dous (P) from Jake Sieger, 11:34; Dous (P) from Sieger and Erik Eisler, 12:51.

Second-period goal: Greenstein (NP) from Jared Albano and Luke Van Why, 10:09.

Third-period goals: Josh Kaufhold (NP) from Nathan Oh, 6:51 (pp); Oh (NP) from Albano, 15:56 (en).

Shots; Pennsbury 25, North Penn 33; Saves: Topher Seiler (P) 29, Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 23

Pennridge 6 Central Bucks East 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge served notice Monday night that its ready for the postseason. The Rams were in firm form Monday night during a 6-0 win over Central Bucks East in the opening round of the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

Six different players scored goals for second-seeded Pennridge (12-2-3), which will face North Penn in Wednesday’s semifinals (7:00 at Hatfield Ice. The seventh-seeded Patriots (11-6-2) will be idle until the Flyers Cup tournament begins next week; they’ll face Haverford High in the opening round next Wednesday.

Michael Eissler gave Pennridge a 1-0 lead with 4:12 left in the opening period when he tipped in a rebound of Jeff Manto’s original shot, beating East netminder Chris Mcintyre.

The Rams broke the game open in the second period, scoring five times in a span of 6 minutes, 58 seconds. Bryson Egan, Michael Walker, Manto, Blake Stewart, and Evan Kehoe all scored goals, the last two of which came just 14 seconds apart.

The Rams are unbeaten in their last nine games (7-0-2) Walker, a junior, says he and his teammates are focused on their postseason goals. “We’re kind of looking at every game as just like the next step forward to get to where we want to be,” he said. “We want to win the SHSHL and then obviously go as far as we possibly can in the Flyers Cup. So, this is just a step on the way.”

Walker noted the Rams have found more scoring balance in recent weeks

“In the beginning of the season we were a little one sided,” he said. “The first line was getting a lot of points, but as the season went on, the chemistry got better. Everyone was scoring on every line.”

The Rams are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2008. Walker noted the team is benefitting from the abundance of experience on the roster, as well as the experience of playing together. “With the regular season, working as hard as we did, coming into the postseason and working with each other isn’t as difficult as it seems,” he said. “We just connect.”

The Patriots had trouble coping with Pennridge’s speed for most of the evening and managed just 10 shots on goal in the 48-minute game.

“For the last three or four games we haven’t been on our game,” said East coach Ken Latchum. “Hopefully the Flyers Cup is another new season and we’ll get it going there.”

C.B. East 0 0

Pennridge 1 5

First-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 11:48

Second-period goals: Bryson Egan (P) from Michael Walker, 1:43; Walker (P) from Eric Slater, 2:06; Jeff Manto (P) from Nick Eissler, 5:20; Blake Stewart (P) from Slater and Matt Guinette, 8:27 (pp); Evan Kehoe (P) from Tommy Prichard, 8:41

Shots: C.B. East 10, Pennridge 40; Saves; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 34, Luke Stranik (Pr) 10.

C.B. West 8, North Penn 7

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—If you’re the type of hockey fan who favors an abundance of offense, you would have felt right at home at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Central Bucks West and North Penn took turns finding the back of the net before Chris Trefz’s power-play goal with 1:30 left in the third period gave the Bucks an 8-7 win to bring the curtain down on the Suburban High School Hockey League’s regular season.

The winning goal came on a shot from the top of the right circle that beat North Penn goaltender Andrew Zanoni. The Knights’ Jared Albano was serving a slashing penalty at the time.

“I saw an open look,” Trefz said. “Our game plan was to put pucks on net the whole game. I just put it on and it went in,”

Trefz’s third goal of the game capped a comeback by the Bucks (9-7, 7-4 in SHSHL Class AA), who trailed 4-1 late in the first period before rallying to pick up their seventh win in their last nine games.

“Guys decided to come together,” Trefz said. “Our seniors did a great job of leading us; our goalie, Jeremy Kennard, our captain, Matt McCarthy, and a few other juniors did a great job of getting everybody motivated.

‘We’re doing a great job of buying into (Coach Dave Baun’s) system and we’re looking forward to the playoffs.”

The Knights (10-3-3, 7-2-2) built their early lead on goals from Nathan Oh, Tyler Greenstein, Tony Tuozzo, and Albano.

Joey DeYoung cut into the deficit when he scored for West with 2:40 left in the opening session and Owen Shields followed up with a goal just 12 seconds into the second frame.

Trefz’s first goal of the game 6:32 into the middle period not only tied the game but sent Nick Ebbinghaus, North Penn’s starting goaltender, to the bench.

The teams traded goals the rest of the way.

All told, 10 Bucks and 11 Knights got onto the scoresheet. Trefz had two assists to go with his hat trick. Lang provided three assists along with his goal. Nelson scored twice for North Penn and added an assist, while Oh contributed two assists along with his goal.

The Knights enjoyed a 46-29 shot advantage but Kennard withstood the barrage and finished with 39 saves.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis was pleased with much of what he saw. “We’re doing a lot of good things,” he said. “We’ve got to keep building on that. There are things we’ve got to clean up a little bit. We’ll talk about them Monday and be ready to go.

Notes: The SHSHL quarterfinals are set for Monday. North Penn will be seeded third in the field of eight, the Bucks will be seeded fourth.

North Penn 4 2 1—7

C.B. West 2 3 3—8

First-period goals: Nathan Oh (MP) unassisted, 2:54; Jake Lang (CBW) from Pavel Serhiayenka and Chris Trefz, 7:15; Tyler Greenstein (NP) from Josh Kaufhold and Jake Nelson, 8:58; Tony Tuozzo (NP) from Jared Albano and Ryan Cunningham, 11:13 (pp); Albano (NP) from Oh and Eric Sarbacker, 12:51; Joey DeYoung (CBW) from Ben Morris, 13:20.

Second-period goals: Owen Shields (CBW) from DeYoung, :12; Trefz (CBW) from Lang and Serhiayenka, 6:32; Trefz (CBW) from Kyle Burton and Lang, 7:04; Jake Nelson (NP) from Albano and Oh, 10:01; Thomas Boyle (MP) from Albano, 12:42.

Third-period goals: Kyle Burton (CBW) from Evan Hee and Trefz, 4:02; Nelson (NP) from Greenstein and Chase Mueller, 9:33; Dan Poliak (CBW) from Keith Orlando, 10:21; Trefz (CBW) from Lang, 14:30 (pp).

Shots: North Penn 46, C.B. West 29; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 8 and Andrew Zanoni (NP) 13; Jeremy Kennard (CBW) 39.

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Neshaminy 4, C.B. West 2

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Neshaminy picked up a big win Thursday night, and made a statement in the process. Rob Seewagen scored two goals and added an assist as Neshaminy bested Central Bucks West 4-2 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win lifted Neshaminy to 5-3-2 in the SHSHL’s Class AA standings (7-4-3 overall) and tied it for fourth place in the standings with one league game remaining for both teams, Neshaminy would own the tiebreaker over the Bucks (8-7, 6-4) if the teams end the season tied.

‘”It’s good to get a win against a quality team like this heading right into the playoffs,” said Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo.

Neshaminy made it clear from the opening faceoff that it meant business. Seewagen set up Joey DeMatteo for the evening’s first goal 7:25. Seewagen made a move down the middle of the ice and circled behind the Bucks’ net before sending a pass out front to DeMatteo, who beat Jeremy Kennard with a backhander. Seewagen made it 2-0 at the 12:40 mark when he scored on a shot from the left wing.

“We needed to send a message right away,” Seewagen said. “We needed them to realize this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk for them.”

Jake Lang got West on the board just 15 seconds into the second period before tying the game on a power play at the 6:01 mark while Brian McGrady was in the box serving a tripping minor.

In the midst of it it all, Neshaminy goaltender Steve Glik was holding his ground; after two periods he had made 31 saves. He finished with 44.

Thomas Gallagher scored what proved to be the winning goal on a shot from the deep right wing 2:12 into the third period. Seewagen extended his team’s lead with a power-play goal at the 10:50 mark. Lang was in the box for holding at the time, one of four penalties West took in the final period. Reese Dalzell and Joey DeYoung drew simultaneous penalties with 3:21 left, leaving West two men short for two minutes and thwarting its comeback effort.

“I thought we played a good game,” said West coach Dave Baun. “A few of our youthful mistakes were obvious early on; we gave the puck away a few times and they scored because they have good finishers on that team. But when the game settled down, five on five, I was very happy with the way that we played.”

Seewagen, who transferred to Neshaminy from Holy Ghost Prep, feels he and his teammates are primed for postseason success. “I wasn’t here last year,” he said, “but they made a big step and got in the playoffs. Now, were not just going to the playoffs because we’re going to the playoffs. We’re going to the playoffs to win. It feels good when you’re playing with your brothers and having a good time out there.”

Notes: Neshaminy will finish the regular season against Truman next Wednesday while the Bucks close against North Penn the same evening …West finished with a 48-26 advantage in shots.
Neshaminy 2 0 2—4
C.B. West 0 2 0—2
First-period goals: Joey DeMatteo (N) from Rob Seewagen, 7:25; Seewagen (N) from BRian McGrady, 12:40.
Second-period goals: Jake Lang (CBW) from Chris Trefz, :15; Lang (CBW) from Pavel Serhiayenka, 6:01 (pp).
Third-period goals: Thomas Gallagher (N) from Phillip Oseredzuk and Joey Buddy, 2:12; Seewagen (N) unassisted, 10:50.
Shots: Neshaminy 28, C.B. West 46; Saves Steve Glik (N) 44, Jeremy Kennard (CBW) 24

Central Bucks South 7, Council Rock South 2

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK—It took a while for Central Bucks South to get into the flow of things Wednesday night. Thirty-two minutes of playing time to be exact.

After skating through two sluggish periods at Revolution Ice Gardens Wednesday night, the Titans found themselves locked in a 2-2 tie with Council Rock South. The four-time defending Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA champions erupted for five goals in the final stanza and went on to a 7-2 win that was more taxing than satisfying.

Reis Braccio, Colin Abbonizio, D.J. Loverdi, Harry McLaughin, and Dominic Patrone all scored third-period goals for the Titans, who improved to 11-3-1 overall and 9-0-1 in league play.

The win was their fifth straight, but C.B. South coach Shaun McGinty was not in a celebratory mood.

“I’m not happy at all,” he said. “(C.R. South) did a great job, Joe (Houk) did a great job coaching. I’m sure they stuck to their game plan … We weren’t ready.”

The Titans outshot the Golden Hawks (6-7-2, 3-5-2) 54-10. Brett Magloff, Council Rock South’s junior goaltender, was stellar for two periods and then some, he finished the evening with 50 saves.

“We kind of had a game plan coming in,” Houk said. “We wanted to make sure that as long as he was seeing everything, we were good.
The Golden Hawks took a 1-0 when Matt Constantini scored the only goal of the first period at 12:46, a period that saw the Titans outshoot their foes 17-6.

“We were getting the shots on net,” Abbonizio said, “But we couldn’t bury them. We’ve got to finish those shots.”

Nick Klein tied the game for the Titans 25 seconds into the second period, but Bill Harrelson put the Golden Hawks back in front at 2:38 with a shot from the left wing that caromed off the near post and somehow found its way across the goal line.

When Matt Milanesi scored for the Titans at 5:46 the two teams were even once more and stayed that way until the third-period barrage that saw the Titans score five times in a span of 11:24. The last two came when they were shorthanded.

“I thought we stuck to it,” Houk said, “with us getting the puck deep and taking their lanes away. They were getting a little bit frustrated but then they scored those two shorthanded to put the nail in the coffin.”

McGinty stated aloud what was obvious to onlookers, the Titans need to step up their game with the postseason now less than two weeks away.

“They need to do better,” he said. “We’ve got Pennridge next week (in a game that could decide the regular-season championship) and then we’ve got SHSHL (playoffs) and then we’ve got the Flyers Cup and it’s just not going to work. We got lucky tonight to finally turn it on at the end.”

C.B. South 1 1 5—7å

C.R. South 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Matt Constantini (CRS) unassisted, 12:46

Second-period goals: Nick Klein (CBS) from Ryan Gingras and Dominic Patrone, :25; Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Andrew Darling, 2:38; Matt Milanesi (CBS) from Dominic Liberta and Parone, 5:46.

Third-period goals: Reis Braccio (CBS) from Colin Abbonizio, 3:10; Abbonizio (CBS) from Braccio, 7:35; D.J. Loverdi (CBS) from Braccio and Abbonizio, 10:24; Harry McLaughlin (CBS) unassisted, 10:53 (sh); Patrone (CBS) from McLaughlin, 14:34 (sh).

Shots: C.B. South 57, C.R. South 10; Saves: Mason Moyer (CBS) 8, Brett Magloff (CRS) 50.

Central Bucks East 2, Abington 2

WILLOW GROVE—As is the case with most high-school hockey games, there were moments of brilliance mixed with a miscalculation or two. When the final buzzer sounded, Central Bucks East and Abington had skated to a 2-2 draw Thursday night at Wintersport Arena in front of an audience that had turned out in large part to celebrate the Galloping Ghosts’ Senior Night festivities.

Perry Carpenter, playing in his final true home game, tied the game for Abington with 7:14 left in the third period when he scored off a left-wing faceoff that he himself took. His laser-like shot beat East goaltender Chris McIntyre in a matchup of the two players who, it could be argued, were the best on the ice for their respective sides.

“Our defenseman shot it,” Carpenter said, “and it got tipped. One of my wingers shot it with his backhand and I just shot it, hoping to get a scoring opportunity.”

Jeff Carp had given the Patriots a 2-1 led when he beat Mason Large in the Abington net on a shot from the right circle at the 5:03 mark of the third frame.

Carpenter’s goal, his 17^th of the season, kept Abington’s Suburban High School Hockey League playoff hopes alive. The Galloping Ghosts now stand at 3-7-4 overall and 2-5-3 in the Class AA standings for seven points with one league game remaining.

The tie allowed the Patriots to pick up a point; they now carry a mark of 9-4-2 overall and 5-4-1 in league play and have what would appear to be a firm hold on a playoff spot.

The player with the biggest smile at the end of the night was likely McIntyre. The sophomore netminder hadn’t played in a game since before Christmas for medical reasons but returned to action Wednesday in a 5-1 won over Truman. He came into the week with a goals-against average of 2.60 and a league-best save percentage of .912 before recording 25 saves Thursday night.

“It feels great to be back on the ice,” he said. “I was on the ice all week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. It feels great. I enjoy it a lot.”

McIntyre said he only had to deal with a minimal amount of rust as he prepared for a return to game competition. “A little bit on Monday,” he said, “but that was it, and I kind of got back into it.”

Sean Gorman put East up 1-0 7:50 in to a first period that saw McIntyre make three superb saves. Ryan Gosselin tied the game for Abington 5:13 into the second frame.

The Galloping Ghosts lost senior defenseman Elijah Coston at the 8:53 mark of the second period after a tussle with East’s Max Ermigliotti earned him a double minor plus a misconduct and a game misconduct.

Large, who, along with Carpenter and Coston, was part of an eight-member senior class that was honored before the game, was as sharp as McIntyre, and finished with 26 saves.

Central Bucks East 1 0 1—2

Abington 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Sean Gorman (CBE) from Rob Kern and Shane West, 7:50.

Second-period goal: Ryan Gosselin (A) unassisted, 5:13 (pp).

Third-period goals: Jeff Carp (CBE) from Nick Locastro, 3:33; Perry Carpenter (A) unassisted, 8:46.

Shots: C.B. East 28, Abington 27; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 25, Mason Large (A) 26.

Hatboro-Horsham 6, Lower Moreland 5

WARWICK— Hatboro-Horsham and Lower Moreland kicked into overdrive Friday night. The Hatters and the Lions played run-and-gun hockey most of the evening before the Hatters emerged with a 6-5 win in a Suburban High School Hockey League American Division matchup at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Ben Lerner scored two goals for the Hatters who improved to 7-4-1 overall and squared their divisional record at 4-4-1. Marcus Soucy provided a goal and two assists.

Hatboro-Horsham coach Gianni Lafratta praised Soucy’s work with the puck. “He put the pressure on,” Lafratta said, “he created opportunities for his teammates. It was everything we preach; put pressure on the puck carrier, make them make mistakes, and we go the other way.”

Five different Hatboro-Horsham players scored goals and 10 Hatters got onto the scoresheet.

Adam Bostock delivered a hat trick for the Lions (7-2-3, 4-2-3) who were without Coleman Peppelman, the SHSHL’s leading scorer, who was away on club duty.

The first period was, to say the least, up tempo. It was Bostock who got the scoring started, 3:25 into the period. It was the first of five goals in the first frame, which ended with the Hatboro-Horsham holding a one-goal advantage. Seth Lerner, Aidan Esack and Ben Lerner scored for the Hatters before Bostock added a second goal for the Lions.

Bostock tied the game 2:08 into the second period on a brilliant move up the middle of the ice through the Hatter defense before beat netminder Joe Gambino.

But with Peppleman absent and only eight skaters available, Lower Moreland coach Gus Scalfitti had to make some adjustments. “I rotated the guys,” he said, “but we definitely were missing a big, big chunk of our offense.”

Ben Lerner scored his second goal of the game to put the Hatters up 4-3 just 25 seconds after Bostock completed his hat trick. By period’s end the Hatters held a 6-4 lead.

The key stretch of the third period came early on when the Hatters were able to kill consecutive penalties. Gambino made three big saves in a stretch of half a minute to kill off the first one.

The junior said he was able to refocus while his team was shorthanded. “You can’t worry about it,” he said. “You’ve just got to fight and keep playing.”

Tyler Scolnick scored for Lower Moreland with 4:51 left in the game to set up a wild finish. The Lions swarmed the net in the waning seconds before the final buzzer came to the Hatters’ rescue.

“I think for most of the game, we had control,” Lafratta said. “(At the finish) We got out of hand in our own defensive zone, scrambled, not doing the things we needed to do to support our goaltender.”

By Rick Woelfel

Hatboro-Horsham 3 3 0—6

Lower Moreland 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Adam Bostock (LM) from Vincenzo DeMaio and Simon Pezalla, 3:25; Seth Lerner (HH) from Marcus Soucy, 5:17; Aidan Esack (HH) unassisted, 5:53; Ben Lerner (HH) from Seth Lerner and Alex Howieson, 7:58; Bostock (LM) from Devin Green, 12:10.

Second-period goals: Bostock (LM) unassisted, 2:08; Ben Lerner (HH) from Kyle Mullen, 2:33; Green (LM) from Alex Silverman, 5:51; Howieson (HH) from Vince Tarsi and Sayvion Jones, 7:08; Tarek Elsabash (HH) unassisted, 7:43.

Third-period goal: Tyler Scolnick (HH) from Bostock and Green, 11:09.

Shots: Hatboro-Horsham 31, Lower Moreland 23; saves: Joe Gambino (HH) 18, Jacob Lungin (LM) 25

The most significant stretch of the high-school hockey season is straight ahead. The Suburban High School Hockey League and the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference are in the final weeks of the regular season.

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North Penn 5, Central Bucks West 3

It took the North Penn Knights a while to get going Wednesday night. But once they got their engines going it was full speed ahead.

Jake Nelson, Tony Tuozzo and Jake Albano scored third-period goals to propel North Penn to a 5-3 non-league win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice. The win extended North Penn’s winning streak to five games and improved its record to 8-2-3 overall. The result will not count in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA standings but will factor into the seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament in March. The Knights and the Bucks (6-6) will play their league game against each other on February 20 to conclude the regular season.

The first three goals of Wednesday’s affair were of the shorthanded variety. Chris Trefz started things off for West at 5:54 of the first period when he scored off a two-on-one situation following a turnover at the West blue line. The goal came while the Bucks’ Matt McCarthy was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

Pavel Serhiayenka, who assisted on Trefz’s goal, scored one himself with 2:17 left in the opening period on another shorthanded situation, one that arose when the Bucks drew a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Serhiayenka put in a rebound of Jake Lang’s original shot off a two-one-one situation; North Penn goaltender Andrew Zanoni could not be faulted on either goal.

The Knights got on the board exactly two minutes into the second frame on Ryan Cunningham’s shorthanded effort.
Roughly three minutes after that the pace of the game picked up, which worked to North Penn’s advantage. Jared Albano tied the game at the 12:47 mark of the middle period, the first even-strength goal of the game.

Jake Nelson put the Knights in front with a power-play goal just 21 seconds into the final period. Lang responded for the Bucks with a power-play goal of his own at 4:12, but the Knights had the upper hand from there.

“I thought (North Penn) played hard,” said West coach Dave Baun. “They played well, they played hard, they skate hard. But, the game that they play isn’t our game.

“Puck movement is our game. And when our team can move the puck well and skate hard without it, like we did in the first period and half of the second, then we’re a good team. But, as the guys get tired, they sort of lose it a little bit and they default into some other game that isn’t our game.”

Tuozzo, a freshman, scored what proved to be the winning goal for the Knights 9:06 into the third period during a scramble that developed at the doorstep of West goaltender Anthony Kennard. The goal came while Lang was in the box for the Bucks serving a double minor (tripping/unsportsmanlike conduct).

“(Tuozzo) has played well all season for us,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “He’s sort of moved up, playing with Albano and (Nathan) Oh the last couple games and he’s contributed, gone out there and worked hard, done the things that we’re asking him to do, and he got rewarded with the game winner tonight.”

Tuozzo said he’s making the adjustment to varsity hockey. “After a couple games I kind of got used to it,” he said. “I know where I should be, know where not to go and stuff like that. It’s very different.”

Albano scored his second goal of the evening for the Knights with 3:57 left in the game to provide insurance.

North Penn had a 47-21 edge in shots. West goaltender Jeremy Kennard made 42 saves. the loss snapped a four-game West winning streak.

C.B. West 2 0 1—3

North Penn 0 2 3—5

First-period goals: Chris Trefz (CBW) from Pavel Serhiayenka, 5:54 (sh); Serhiayenka (CBW) from Jake Lang, 14:43 (sh).

Second-period goals: Ryan Cunningham (NP) from Nathan Oh, 2:00 (sh); Jared Albano (NP) from Tony Tuozzo, 12:07.

Third-period goals: Jake Nelson (NP) from Tyler Greenstein, :21 (pp); Lang (CBW) from Serhiayenka and Trefz, 4:12 (pp); Tuozzo, from Albano, 4:06; Albano (NP) unassisted, 12:53.

Shots: C.B. West 21, North Penn 47; Saves: Jeremy Kennard (CBW) 42, Andrew Zanoni (NP) 18.

Records: Central Buck West (6-6), North Penn (8-2-3)

Neshaminy 6, Abington 2

BRISTOL‑ The point has come in the Suburban High School Hockey League season, when points are becoming precious. Neshaminy picked up two important points in the standings Thursday night.

Rob Seewagen scored three goals and added a pair of assists to propel his team to a 6-2 win over shorthanded Abington at Grundy Arena that was last seen heading for the exit at the final buzzer to beat the approaching snow.

The win lifted Neshaminy to 4-4-2 overall and 3-3-1 in league play. Seewagen himself leads his team in scoring with 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points.

The sophomore got things started by scoring the game’s first goal 1:57 into the first and assisting on Jacob Helms’s effort 62 seconds later.

“A lot of these kids I’ve grown up with,” Seewagen said. “Not only on the ice are we clicking, but in the locker room we’re really tight, we have a really good bond.”

Seewagen said the size of the squad lends to and increases the significance of the closeness of the group. “We don’t have a lot of guys,” he said. “On any given night, we only 13-14 guys, including the goalie. It’s definitely difficult when you’re out there every other shift, but when we’re that close like that, every shift you’re out there you’re playing for each other.”

The Galloping Ghosts (3-5-2, 2-3-1) got back in the game for a time when consecutive penalties to Joey DeMatteo (cross checking) and Joey Buday (tripping) gave them a two-man advantage for 56 seconds.

Neshaminy was able to kill one penalty buy not the second; Tommy Rourke scored the power-play goal at the 6:12 mark of the period, only to see DeMatteo answer back at 8:53.

Abington took the ice down four skaters and one backup goaltender for various reasons. Coach Ken Brzozowski said he team is still evolving. “We work hard in practice,” he said. “We’re missing a little bit of that translation from what we do I practice to the games. I think one we can get that to click we’ll continue to be competitive at the (Class AA level).”

Seewagen and Helms scored second-period goals for Neshaminy in a span of just 50 seconds.

Perry Carpenter, Abington’s top sniper, scored to make it a 5-2 with 4:07 left in the middle period before Seewagen completed his hat trick 6:44 into the third.

Abington 1 1 0—2

Neshaminy 3 2 1—6

First-period goals: Rob Seewagen (N) from Joey DeMatteo, 1:57; Jacob Helms (N) from Seewagen, 2:59; Tommy Rourke (A) from Joe Stelacio and Elijah Coston, 6:24 (pp); DeMatteo (N) from Joseph Hornung, 8:53.
Second-period goals: Seewagen, from Charles Potash, 7:15; Helms (N) from Potash and Seewagen, 8:05; Perry Carpenter (A) from Elijah Coston, 11:53.

Third-period goal: Seewagen (N) unassisted, 6:44