C.B. South 9 Pennsbury 2

Shoot early and shoot often. That’s been a winning formula for Central Bucks South for some time now and that was the case once more on Thursday night. The Titans tallied 52 shots on goal and nine found their intended target in a 9-2 win over Pennsbury at Hatfield Ice Arena.

“That’s classic C.B. South hockey said assistant coach Josh Sklar. “Put pucks in deep. Go get them, put pucks on net. Go to work. Pressure them all game long.”

Joey Slobodrian found the back of the net twice and seven other players scored one goal each to enable the Titans (12-6, 12-3 in the division) to move into third place in the division standings. The result assures they will be seeded no lower than fourth for the upcoming National Division playoffs.

Senior Ryan Frey assisted on Slobodrian’s game-opening goal 6:23 into the first period before scoring a goal of his own just over five minutes later.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” Frey said, “because we might see {Pennsbury} in the playoffs so getting off to a fast start just shows them we’re the better team.”

Ryan Montagna extended South’s lead to 3-0 before the first period ended.

Shane Gleisner got the Falcons (6-11, 6-10 in the division) on the scoreboard five minutes into the second frame but Slobodrian and Dominic Gibson scored goals 52 seconds apart to assert the Titans’ hold on the proceedings. Jacob Sarver’s goal made it 5-2 with 5:43 still to go in the period but the Falcons’ hopes were dashed when Keith Waldron, Jake Stepp, Jeff Kvecher, and Logan Hood all scored for South.

Both teams lost a player when South’s Sean Cutter and Pennsbury’s Chris Sarver got into a scrap with 10:41 remaining in regulation. Cutter drew a double minor for roughing plus a game misconduct for accumulating four penalties during the game. Sarver was accessed a major penalty for fighting plus am automatic game misconduct.

Both players will serve one-game suspensions but the loss of Sarver, one of the Falcons’ top scorers, will be particularly troublesome when Pennsbury, who is trying to hold on to the division’s final playoff spot, faces division leader North Penn on Wednesday.

“It was not our night,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We played a very poor game in our D-zone and got behind the ball too quick.

“The first three goals were ‘Third guy high’ unmarked That’s simple hockey, you really shouldn’t make the same mistake three times.

“It was not our best. It was a game we would have loved to win. But they executed their game plan and we didn’t.”

Ice chips—Five of the six division playoff qualifiers have been determined. North Penn, Council Rock South, Central Bucks South, Pennridge, and Central Bucks East have all qualified, although seedings have not been finalized. Pennsbury has a three-point edge over Neshaminy for the sixth and final spot. The Falcons and ‘Skins each have two games remaining.

Pennsbury 0 2 0

C.B. South 3 2 4—9

First-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Sean Cutter and Ryan Frey, 6:23; Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian and Alex Cannon, 11:34; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher and Keith Waldron, 15:17

Second-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver, 5:00; Slobodrian (CBS) from Cutter, 7:54; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Logan Hood, 8:46; Jacob Sarver (P) from Logan Weed, 11:17

Third-period goals: Waldron (CBS) from Kvecher and Braxton Lord, 4:42; Jake Stepp (CBS) from Kvecher, 10:56 (pp); Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring, 14:27; Hood (CBS) from Stepp 15:39

Shots: Pennsbury 20, C.B. South 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 43, Ewan McMenemy (CBS) 18

North Penn 5 Council Rock South 3

Samuel Norton did it all for North Penn Wednesday night. The sophomore assisted on the first goal of the night, went on to score three goals himself and helped with a crucial four-minute penalty kill in the third period.

All those elements were part a winning formula as the Knights scored a 5-3 decision in a much-anticipated SHSHL National Division showdown with Council Rock South at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the 11^th straight for the Knights (15-2, 14-2 in the division) and lifted then into first place in the division, three points clear of the Golden Hawks (15-2, 14-1) who have a game in hand and three conference games remaining to North Penn’s two.

North Penn also has the inside lane in the race for the top two seeds in the division playoffs, which provide byes into the semifinals.

“It was definitely on our minds, Norton said.

The teams split four goals in the first frame before Norton’s second goal of the night gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with 8:17 left in the middle period. Jordan Sarne responded for South with a power-play goal, his second goal of the night, to tie the game with 2:19 remaining but Norton put North Penn back in front and completed his hat trick when he scored with 6.7 seconds left in the period during a stretch when the Hawks were trying to kill three consecutive penalties.

The game’s most critical sequence commenced with 13:50 left in the third period. North Penn held a 4-3 lead at that point and Norton had already pocketed his three goals but the Knights’ James Boyle was called for two cross checking penalties, giving South a four-minute power play.

At that point, there were some anxious moments behind the North Penn bench.

“They’ve got probably the best power play in the league,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “With [Jake] Weiner and [Jeremy] Rayher and Sarne and [Daniel] Fillipov, and [Jonah] Weston they have a very talented power-play unit when they go out there.

“We did a great job killing that off.”

The threat did not end however when the extended power play expired. The Hawks outshot the Knights 20-8 in the third period but Aidan Quigley stopped everything headed his way.

Cole Pluck added an insurance goal with 3:31 remaining.

{North Penn} played well tonight,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We did not play our best game but that’s only an excuse. North Penn has got a good team.

“I kept telling everybody ‘Listen. We’re not a 14-0 team. We’ve had a couple wins. But we can’t come and play ‘C’ hockey and expect to win games at the end of the year.

“We knew coming into the game it was going to be a challenge,” Norton said. “I think the North Penn boys really performed. It was a solid team game.”

Ice chips—South won the first meeting between the two teams, 6-3 on November … South stands first in the present Class AA Flyers Cup listings. North Penn is ranked third … With two assists on addition to his goal, Pluck went over the 100-point mark for his high-school career.

Council Rock South 2 1 0—3

North Penn 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Declan Leahy (NP from Cole Pluck and Samuel Norton, :21; Jonah Weston (CRS) from Jake Weiner 8:37; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Weiner 9:01; Norton (NP unassisted, 14:32 (sh)

Second-period goals: Norton (NP) from Leahy and Pluck, 8:43; Sarne (CRS) from Weiner, 14:41 (pp); Norton (NP) from James Boyle and Danial Cabrales, 16:54 (pp)

Third-period goal: Pluck (MP) from Leahy, 13:29 (pp)

Shots: Council Rock South 41, North Penn 34; Saves: Ryan Ayala (CRS) 29 Aidan Quigley (NP) 38

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C.B. East 5 Pennsbury 3

Jaden Young made a big impression Wednesday night. He scored three goals and assisted on a fourth, as Central Bucks East downed Pennsbury 5-3 at Hatfield Ice in a SHSHL National Division matchup with significant postseason implications.

The win moved the Patriots past the Falcons into fifth place in the division standings. It also gave them a sweep of the two-game season series.

Young spoke to the significance of the occasion.

“This game was especially important,” the senior said. “We need to get as many wins as as we can. We need to win the games we need to win.

“In reality, we need to play our game every game regardless of who the competition is.”

Ethan Cenci gave East (7-9, 7-8 in the division) the lead with 2:43 left in the first period when he won a race for a loose puck on the right wing and went on to put a backhander past Falcon goaltender Brendan Millikan. Ben Dempsey made a 2-0 game with 29 seconds left when a rebound of Young’s shot squirted free.

Kevin DeRosa scored for Pennsbury (5-11, 5-10) 2:19 into the second frame but then Young stepped up, scoring two goals 20 seconds apart to give his team a 4-1 lead 3:22 into the period.

Jacob Sarver scored a power play goal for the Falcons with 2:39 left in the period but Pennsbury could get no closer. Young completed his hat trick 1:21 into the third period. Shane Hicks closed out the scoring for Pennsbury with 10:17 left in the game.

East coach Jeff Mitchell said his team’s quick start was huge in light of later stumbles.

“We got great momentum to start the first period,” he said. “We started taking a couple of penalties a let them back into the game; teams make us pay when we go down a man.”

Mitchell noted that Young’s back-to-back goals swung momentum in the Patriots’ direction.

“We doubled up on him within one shift,” he said. “That just goes to show just how big a difference maker {Young} can be.”

Cole Breen got the win in goal, stopping 15 shots along the way. Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley said Breen’s impact on the game was huge.

“We had a lot of great chances in the first period,” he said. “Their goalie had a great night. You just hope you score on some of the chances you worked so hard for. We just couldn’t get them to go in.

Pennsbury 0 2 1—3

C.B. East 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Ethan Cenci (CBE) from David Brown, 14:17; Ben Dempsey (CBE) from Jaden Young and Brown, 16:31 (pp)

Second-period goals: Kevin DeRosa (P) from Chris Sarver, 2:19; Young (CBE) from Gavin Wilmer, 3:02; Young (CBE) from Cenci, 3:22; Jacob Sarver (P) from Chris Sarver, 14:21(pp)

Third-period goals: Young (CBE) unassisted, 1:21; Shane Hicks (P) from DeRosa, 6:43

Shots: Pennsbury 18, C.B. East 28; Saves: Brendan Millikan (CBE) 23, Cole Breen (CBE) 15

C.R. South 9 C.B. South 7

By Karen Sangillo

Council Rock South scored early and often, and it was a good thing for them.

The Golden Hawks struggled to find the net later in the game and escaped with a 9-7 victory over Central Bucks South in Wednesday’s matchup at Grundy Arena.

CR South got out of the gate quickly, scoring three consecutive goals by Jake Weiner, Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley before the Titans’ Jeffrey Kvecher found the cage for their only goal of the period. Rayher and Weiner added one more apiece to give the Golden Hawks a 5-1 advantage at the end of the first.

It looked like a comfortable lead, but it wasn’t. CB South scored four unanswered goals in four and a half minutes to tie it up in the second frame. Peter Herring (on a power play), Sean Cutter, Dominic Gibson and Cutter were the goal scorers for the Titans, whose defense stymied the Golden Hawks for much of the second period.

Weiner finally broke the deadlock with a goal for CR South, and Jordan Sarne added another on a power play to give the Golden Hawks a 7-5 lead after two periods.

Both teams took a lot of shots on goal in the third period, with CR South taking 17 of its 45 and CB South 12 of its 35 in that frame. Both teams struck twice. CR South’s Weiner scored the first goal of the period while the Golden Hawks were shorthanded and Mosley had the last, while CB South’s Ryan Frey scored back-to-back goals in between the two, the first of which was on a power play.

“This was probably the hardest game we’ve played all year,” said Jonah Weston, a senior for CR South. “We got a big lead but then they came back and tied it. When that happened, I knew we’d come back and start playing our game and as soon as the third period started we were right back in there.

“This is definitely a very satisfying win.”

CR South won the first meeting of the year between the two 6-0, on Nov. 14.

“We definitely did not expect that second period,” said Mosley, a senior. “I think we got a little complacent, but we got right back in it and played hard.

“Even when it was tied, we absolutely thought that we were going to win. It was definitely nerve-wracking, though.

“This was the closest game we’ve had all year and definitely a tough one. This was a lesson learned for us. We need to stick to what we do best.”

The Golden Hawks remain undefeated at 14-0 in SHSHL National Division play, They are 15-1 overall

“We think about being undefeated to build on our confidence, but I think that we really want to just stick to the basics and do what we do to get those wins,” Mosley said.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Titans (11-3 in the division, 11-5 overall).

“We started off really slow, but I’m proud of how we came back and battled,” said Cutter, a senior captain for the Titans. “They had a big lead after the first period and I think we had a reality check. The second period we knew what we had to do. We had to play simple hockey and it worked for us.

“When we tied it up (the game was 5-5 in the second period) we had a lot of energy and we were going strong but then I think we fell off what we were working on and that was the end.

“This one hurts a little more than the last time they beat us because we this time we battled back and then we gave it away again. When you play a good team like this, mistakes kill you and that’s what happened to us.

“We made it a real game this time and scoring seven goals against the top team in the league shows what we can do.”

Central Bucks South 1 4 2—7

Council Rock South 5 2 2—9

First-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jagger Smith and Jonah Weston, 1:50; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Jackson Mosley, 6:18; Jackson Mosley (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 6:37; Jeffrey Kvecher (CBS), unassisted, 10:05; Jeremy Rayher (CRS), unassisted, 11:01; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley, 13:54

Second-period goal: Peter Herring (CBS), unassisted, 1:32; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Ryan Frey and Dominic Gibson, 3:18; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 4:11; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Joseph Silobodrian and Jamison Crouch, 5:57; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jake Maurer, 12:39; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley, 13:44

Third-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jonah Weston, 4:06; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 5:59; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 9:15; Jackson Mosley (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 12:49

Shots: Central Bucks South 35, Council Rock South 45; Saves: Jake Matkowski (CBS) 9, Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 38

North Penn 4 Pennridge 3 OT

James Boyle score a power-play goal 1:45 into overtime to give North Penn a come-from behind 4-3 win over Pennridge Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice.

The win lifted North Penn to 14-2 overall and 13-2 in divisional play. The Knights trail Council Rock South by one point in the division standings with three games remaining although South has a game in hand.

What’s there to say about Mr. Boyle,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “One of the top players in the league, one of the top if not maybe the top defensemen in the league the guy brings it every game He lives for these games.”

The winning goal came North Penn enjoying a four-skaters-to-three advantage after the Rams’ Nick Young received a double-minor penalty 62 seconds into the extra session. There were 18 penalties called in the game, 11 against the Rams

Declan Laehy tied the game for North Penn with 1:33 left in regulation after the Rams’ Nathan McKean gave Pennridge (10-5, 9-5) a 3-2 lead with four seconds left in the middle period.
Daniel Cabrales and Samuel Norton added goals for North Penn. Shane Dachowki and Nolan Shaw scored for Pennridge.

Andrew Norton got the win in goal, stopping 38 shots en route.

The loss was Pennridge’s fourth one-goal setback of the season.

“We deserved better,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “I just told these guys we’re four plays away from being a [one-loss hockey team].’

North Penn 1 1 1 1—4

Pennridge 2 1 0 0—3

C.B. South 4 Pennridge 3

In some aspects, mid-January is the most difficult part of the high-school hockey season. The postseason is still a month away and the players are feeling the grind of the long campaign, particularly if they also play club hockey.

Amidst this atmosphere, Pennridge and Central Bucks South squared off Thursday night at Hatfield Ice in a SHSHL National matchup with potentially long-range implications.

It was the Titans who ground out 4-3 win. Ryan Frey and Jeff Kvecher scored goals 40 seconds apart early in the third period to give South its 11^th victory of the season against five setbacks (11-2 in divisional play).

The Rams, who are listed fifth in the newest Class AA Flyers Cup rankings, slipped to 10-4 overall and 9-4 in the division.

It marked the second time the Titans have bested the Rams; the first was a 5-4 overtime win on November 7. In Kvecher’s view, the caliber of the opponent made Thursday’s win particularly satisfying.

“That’s a tough team,” he said of Pennridge. “They put a lot of pressure on us. They have some great guys that can wheel and we did a great job of shutting them down.

“We also sent a message to the league, and the Flyers Cup, that we’re a top team.”

Thursday game came 72 hours after many of the participants completed a full weekend of club tournament play, a circumstance that required an enhanced level of focus.

“Everyone had to dig deep,” Kvecher said. “Everyone was tired, everyone’s legs were tired. We dug deep and we were able to get the win.”

The Titans once more had to come from behind. Pennridge’s Nolan Shaw delivered the only goal of the first period, a power-play effort 3:51 after the opening faceoff that came while South’s Joe Slobodrian was serving a two-minute sentence.

Kvecher and Slobodrian scored power-play goal two-and-a-half minutes apart to give South the lead 5:09 onto the second period before Ryan Burke tied the game for the Ram three-and-a-half minutes later.

Ryan Frey put the Titans in front for good 49 seconds into the final period. Kvecher extended his team’s lead just 40 seconds later and the insurance proved valuable and necessary; Josh Kelly scored for Pennridge with 8:14 remaining. But Jake Matkowski in the South net and his mates in front of him stood tall the rest of the way.

Josh Sklar was in charge behind the Titan bench Thursday night, replacing the absent Shaun McGinty. He said his team had the energy it needed in the third period.

“They definitely had a little more spring in their step, a little more energy,” he said. “They brought the energy all game long but toward the end [two third-period goals] pushes the boys to finish the game out.”

The Titan had a 47-25 edge in shots. Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna says the Titans’ up-tempo style regularly gives his team problems.

“C.B. South is a bad matchup for us,” he said. “They’ve always been a bad matchup for us. They’re deep, they’re good defensively.

“I say this every time we play them; they’re going to get a lot of shots on us by design … We changed defensively how we were going to do things. I thought we did a really good job defensively keeping pucks out of dangerous area. But, they’re a tough team to play.”

Pennridge 1 1 1—3

C.B. South 0 2 2—4

First-period goal: Nolan Shaw (P) from Nick Young and Landon Bishop, 3:51 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jeff Kvecher (CBS) from Ryan Frey and Joe Slobodrian, 2:34 (pp); Slobodrian (CBS) from Frey, 5:09; Ryan Burke (P) from Shane Dachowki and Jared Garber, 8:42.

Third-period goals: Frey (CBS) from Dominic Gibson and Jamison Crouch, :49; Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring and Ryan Montagna, 1:29 (); Josh Kelly (P) from James Rush and Dachowski, 8:46

Shots: Pennridge 25, C.B. South 47; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 43, Jake Matkowski (CBS) 22

C.R. South 6 Pennridge 5 OT

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—There was little to choose between Council Rock South and Pennridge Wednesday night. The contest was not decided until its final seconds.

Jeremy Rayher’s shortanded goal with three seconds left in overtime gave South a 6-5 win at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Rayher’s goal, his 16^th of the season, concluded the first meeting of the year between the Golden Hawks and the Rams. The two teams split four games a year ago with South prevailing in the SHSHL National Division championship game before falling to the Rams in the Class AA Flyers Cup finale.

Ironically, Rayher and Pennridge goaltender Jacob Winton are club hockey teammates.

“I was chirping at him during [club team] practice all week,” Rayher said. “I missed him [Tuesday].

“He made a couple saves but there was no pressure. I played it like he was a regular goalie and made a move and tucked it in.”

Both teams had moments of brilliance and moments that were something less. The Hawks (11-1 overall, 10-0 in the division) used goals from Daniel Filippov and Jake Weiner to build a 2-0 lead 83 seconds into the second period but squandered their advantage by surrendering a pair of shorthanded goals to Shane Dachowski that tied the game with 9:58 remaining in the second frame.

“The two shorties really killed us,” said South coach Joe Houk. “Nobody ever scores shorthanded goals against us and they got two of them. It was mental breakdowns there.”

The goals came fast and furious for the reminder of the period. Jordan Sarne have the Hawks a 3-2 lead for a time but Dachowski and James Rush scored goals one minute, 14 seconds apart to give Pennridge (9-3, 8-3) its first and only lead of the night at 4-3 with 4:54 left in the period.

Weiner’s second goal of the night tied the game with 2:20 left in the second session before Jonah Weston put South in front once more 5:01 into the third. Nick Young tied the game for the Rams off a turnover with 4:45 left in regulation.

Winton and Trey Prozzillo, his South counterpart, had some difficult moments during the course of the evening but both stepped up in overtime. The Rams got a power-play chance when the Hawks’ Jagger Smith was flagged for hooking with 1:52 left in the extra session, giving the Rams a four-skaters-to-three advantage. Rayher’s game-deciding goal came an offensive right-wing faceoff and an ensuing scramble in front of the net. Houk told his team to be aggressive even though it was shorthanded.

“I told them ‘Don’t sit back,’” he said. “Because if the puck goes out of the [South defensive zone] it’s a one-on-one or two-on-two. It’s not a four-on-three. We looked like the ones who were on the power play.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna celebrated his team’s effort, and the way it has rebounded from a shutout loss to north Penn si days before Christimas.

“I’m proud of the way we played tonight, he said. “All I asked of these guys before the game was to compete.

“We were outclassed [against North Penn.] I didn’t think we showed up. And to come out against our biggest rival tonight, come back from 2-0 down and play as well as we did and have opportunities to win the game, that’s all I can ask for.

• South had a 47-38 advantage in shots … The Rams’ three losses have come against Central Bucks South, North Penn and Council Rock South. Two of the three have come in overtime.

C.R. South 1 3 1 1—6

Pennridge 0 4 1 0—5

First-period goal: Daniel Fillipov (CRS) from Peter Pereborow and Jake Weiner, 13:50 (pp)

Second-period goals: Weiner (CRS) from Pereborow, 1:23; Shane Dachowski (P) unassisted, 3:10; Dachowski (P) from Jared Garber and Nick Young, 7:02 (sh); Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Peterborow, 8:37 (pp); Dachowksi (P) from Josh Kelly and Landon Bishop, 10:52; James Rush (P) from Kelly, 12:06; Weiner (CRS) from Wesley Mallon, 14:40 (pp)

Third-period goals: Jonah Weston (CRS) from Sarne, 5:01; Young (P), unassisted, 12:15

Overtime goal Rayher (P) from Filippov, 4:57

Shots: C.R. South 47, Pennridge 38; Saves: Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 33, Jacob Winton (P) 41

Baskin at Home in Goal for Spartans

Two year ago, Springfield-Montco was eager to launch its hockey program and become part of the Suburban High School Hockey League. But the Spartans were without a goaltender. So, Liam Baskin, who was a sophomore at the time stepped up, to play arguably the most . demanding position to be found in any team sport.

“They asked if anyone was willing,” Baskin said. “I’d always wanted to play it so I said ‘You know what? I’ll give it a shot’ and that’s how I got here.”

Baskin is a senior now but still isn’t quite sure what appealed to him about being in goal.

“[His teammates] say I’m crazy,” he said. “When I started playing hockey I kind of got the interest in one day being a goaltender but the expense getting the equipment and what not wasn’t practical so I started as a skater and then this opportunity came and I was like ‘I’ll take a shot at it.’”

In years past some SHSHL teams have had to look outside their student bodies for goaltender and thus became ineligible for league and Flyers Cup play. But Baskin’s presence in goal allowed the Spartans to remain pure; i.e. they could be full-fledged members of the SHSHL and play a complete league schedule. He takes pride in stepping up for his team in its time of need.

“It feels good,” he said. “It also put a lot of pressure on me the first year because I was the only goaltender. Last year another one of our skaters was that he was willing to take on the role too, so we now have two goaltenders. “The first year there was a lot of pressure on me and I think knowing now I can do better now that I know the position better. I can serve them better in net.”

Baskin picks up the finer points of his position by watching goaltenders at other levels of the sport.

“Like positioning around the crease,” he said. “I see they like to play at the top a lot. I also watch them when they move a little bit, they stay square to the puck. That’s what I’ve mainly picked up.”

Unlike many high-school players, Baskin does not play club hockey although at one time he skated with the Hatfield Ice Dogs.

“I like to focus on high school and improving myself here instead of going to games every weekend,” he said. “I try to make sure I’m ready for practice each week and ready for each game.”

Baskin enjoys the camaraderie he experiences playing high-school hockey, with his teammates and with other Springfield students as well.

“It’s just being able to play hockey with this group of guys,” he said, “and them also seeing them and talking about it in school and especially now; other people in our school are willing to come out to the games and what not That’s a really cool experience.”

Springfield 7 Abington 0

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—Nether Springfield or Abington are in contention for the SHSHL American Division title but that did not diminish either side’s enthusiasm for the game of hockey.

When the Spartan and the Galloping Ghosts took the ice Friday night at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center, that enthusiasm was on display for all who cared to look.

It was the Spartans who prevailed by a count of 7-0 to record their second win of the year in seven starts, all in divisional play. Gavin McManus scored twice for Springfield while Owen Quinn, Christopher Cahill, Gavin McManus, and Grayson Quinn contributed one goal each.

“I think was our best team game so far,” said Springfield coach Don Quinn. “They really wanted to come out after the New Year and have a strong team effort. We’ve had some individual efforts. But we wanted to really kind of piece it together. We preach about five guys playing offense and five guys playing defense.”

Owen Quinn and Christopher Cahill scored goals in a span of just over three-and-a-half minutes to give the Spartans a two-goal lead with 7:18 left in the first period.

McManus added a goal early in the second period and another early in the third. The junior noted the Spartans’ cohesiveness on the ice.

“We just played as a team tonight,” he said. “We’ve been practicing that a lot. Like passing the puck around a lot, trying to find an open guy.

“And then really improved it tonight by keeping the pressure in the offensive zone most of the game.

Grayson Quinn, Mathilde Boccella, and Kellen Warmen added third-period goals for Springfield. Liam Baskin and James Sarsfield split the shutout in goal.

The Spartans limited their foes to just five shots on goal. The Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-8 in divisional play) field perhaps the youngest lineup in the SHSHL. They’ve been shut out six times and 13 if their 16 skaters on Thursday night were underclassmen. But Abington coach Ken Brzozowski is seeing signs of progress.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “We’re going to keep working hard., both in practice and in games. We’ll get there.”

A strong case could be made that Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, himself a sophomore, was one of the premier performers on the ice. He finished with 36 saves.

“He goes out every night and he plays hard,” Brzozowski said. “He’s seeing 40-50 shots a night.

“I really applaud him for keeping his head in the game and keeping his cool. We’re not giving him a whole lot of support on the scoreboard. We’re giving him encouragement in other ways.”

Springfield 2 1 4—7

Abington 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Owen Quinn (S) from John Barr and Grayson Quinn, 6:03; Christopher Cahill (S) from Owen Quinn and Hunter Stock, 9:42

Second-period goal: Gavin McManus (S from John Barr, 2:57

Third-period goal: McManus (S) from Owen Quinn, 2:39; Grayson Quinn (S) from Keegan McClary, 9:10 Mathilde Boccella (S), 10:11; Kellen Warman (S) unassisted, 12:29

Shots: Springfield 43, Abington 5; Saves: Liam Baskin (S) 1 and James Sarsfield (S) 4; Matthew Evangelist (S) 36

P-W 6 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Coaches in all sports talk a lot about remaining disciplined. Plymouth Whitemarsh was in a winner in that department Thursday night and eventually prevailed on the scoreboard.

Blake Ambler scored two goals and assisted on another as the Colonials prevailed over Wissahickon 6-2 in a SHSHL American Division matchup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The win kept Plymouth Whitemarsh unbeaten at 8-0 overall and most importantly, head and shoulders above the rest of the division with a 7-0 mark.

The key moment of the game came with 4:49 left in the second period just moments after Logan Discus scored a goal to left the Trojans (5-4, 5-3 in the division) into a 1-1 tie.

Discus and one of the Colonials exchanged pleasantries and what began as pushes and shoves evolved into a skirmish in front of the Plymouth Whitemarsh bench. When the dust had settled, the Trojans found themselves without Aiden Brooks and Joseph Gambino, two of their top four scorers. The Colonials were minus Charles Spause but also were granted a five-minute power play.

Ambler’s first goal of the night came with 49 seconds left in the second frame when he carefully put the puck to the right of Wissahickon netminder Fletcher Lynch to give his team a lead it would hold for the balance of the evening.

Ryan Jagher made it a 3-1 game 2:39 into the final period. Logan Honeycutt scored for the Trojans two minutes and change later to make it a one-goal game once more but the Colonials answered emphatically with three goals in a span of 4 minutes, 41 seconds and left their opponents in their wake.

“With the holiday break you could tell there was a little bit of rust, aid Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti. “But, I think halfway through the second, we started picking it up and getting back to our game. And, I think it showed by the end result.

Forti credited his team for the way it moved the puck.

“I would say that’s been one of our strengths all season,” he said. “Our puck movement has been great. We try to work on it a lot at practice but {the players} deserve a lot of credit too because they’ve been really good about that.”

Wissahickon coach James Rumsey said the altercation impacted his team’s cohesion.

“We have too small a team to lose two people,” he said. “Especially key people. That hurt us a lot. But we felt good for the time we were playing. We had a close game the whole time up until then.”

Ambler noted the importance of the Colonials maintaining their composure following the altercation.

“If we started brawling and fighting everyone, then it would just turn into penalty after penalty, after penalty” he said. “You wouldn’t be able to do anything, you wouldn’t be playing hockey. You’ve just got to play hockey if you want to go out and win.”:

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 1 4—6

Wissahickon 0 1 1—2

First-period goals Daniel Molony (PW) from Daniel Guller, 13:51

Second-period goals: Logan Discus unassisted, 12:11; Blake Ambler (PW) from Luke Smith and Chris Londen, 16:11 (pp)

Third-period goals: Ryan Jagher (PW) from Londen, 2:39; Logan Honeycutt unassisted, 4:54; Guller (PW) from Smith and Ambler, 9:16; Cooper Kanzee (PW) unassisted, 9:30; Ambler (PW) from Londen and Kanzee, 13:57

Shots: Plymouth-Whitemarsh 49, Wissahickon 26; Saves: Julian Lucks (PW) 24, Fletcher Lynch 40