Pennridge 6 Boyertown 3

HATFIELD—A fast start paid big dividends for Pennridge Wednesday night. The Rams jumped in front with two early goals and went on to a 6-3 win over Boyertown at Hatfield Ice Arena as a part of the SHSHL-ICSHL series.

James Rush scored twice for the defending Class AA Flyers Cup and state champions. Shane Dachowski added two goals and two assists as Pennridge improved to 2-1 on the season.

The Rams got off to a fast start. Rush scored off a turnover at center ice, beating Boyertown netminder Tyler Griffith to give his team a 1-0 lead 3:01 into the first frame. He made it a 2-0 game just 18 seconds later.

Logan Brown answered for the Bears (3-2) 8:59 into the period but Dachowski made it a 3-1 game with 1:53 remaining.

“It’s always great to get those early goals,” Rush said. “It gives your team the momentum for the rest of the game and you just try to maintain the lead from that point on.”

The Rams had just 12 skaters a available because of injuries and their coach Jeff Montagna was pleased with how his team stepped up in one of the most anticipated matchups of the interconference challenge series, against an opponent that reached the Flyers Cup semifinals last spring. The Bears were limited to just six shots in the opening period

“I thought we played a tremendous game,” Montagna said. I thought we did a great job in the slot area.

“I told [his team] Thais is a a blueprint for us. The starters scored, everyone else keep the puck out of our net and do the dirty work, the dirty things that not every team wants to do.”

Dachowski and Rush scored goals not quite six minutes apart to increase the Pennridge lead to 5-1 with 7:45 left in the middle period. Joseph Bilotta scored for Boyertown with 5:24 left in the second session and added his second goal of the night with exactly two minutes remaining in the game, Ladan Bishop brought down the curtain when he added a goal with 56 seconds remaining,

Boyertown coach Joe Slowik praised the way his team competed.

“I thought our team competed very well,” he said. “They’re the defending state champs so you’ve got to give them some credit.

“But I thought we competed really well and I thought we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. We turned a lot of pucks over, we didn’t get exits when we should have and definitely weren’t very good in front of either net.”

Rush said the win against a top-tier opponent told the Rams a lot about themselves.

“You get to see what our team is going to look like this year,” he said, “what kind of opponents you can really handle. I think we got a good understanding of how good we will be this year.”

• The win was the first for the SHSHL in the three games that were played through Wednesday night; ICSHL teams won the first two.

Slowik commented on what the crossover games do to promote high-school hockey.

“I love it,” he said. “I think it’s great. When they put this on our schedule, the crossover game, I thought it was great because the only time we play each other is in the Flyers Cup and that’s in March.

“I would like to see maybe even a little more of these crossover games. I think it’s great for high-school hockey here in Pennsylvania.”

Boyertown 1 1 1—3

Pennridge 3 3 1—6

First-period goals: James Rush (P) unassisted, 3:01; Rush (P) Shane Dachowski and Ladan Bishop, 3:19; Logan Brown (B) from Lucas Remick, 8:01; Dachowski (P) from Jared Garber, 15:07

Second-period goals: Dachowski (P) unassisted, 3:28; Ruah (P) from Garber and Dachowski, 9:15; Joseph Bilotta (B) from Evan Kurtas and Riley Berger, 11:36

Third-period goals: Bilotta (B) from Weston Bieber and Jax Drost,15:00 Logan Biahop (P) from Dachowski, 16:06 (pp)

Shots: Boyertown 29, Pennridge 32; Saves: Tyler Griffith (B) 26, Jacob Winston (P) 26

C.B. South 5 Pennridge 4 OT

HATFIELD—For drama, this one was hard to top. J.D. Crouch scored on a shorthanded breakaway just before the overtime-ending buzzer to give Central Bucks South a stunning 5-4 win over Pennridge Thursday night in a SHSHL National Division meeting at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The Titans overcame a 3-0 second-period deficit to post their second consecutive win of the young season. The Rams (1-1) saw a four-point effort from Shane Dachowski go unrewarded; the senior delivered three goals and an assist. And Pennridge goaltender Jacob Winton was credited with 57 saves in the losing effort.

Dachowski was at the forefront of the game’s penultimate sequence; he had a clear path to the net when he was taken down by the Titans’ Sean Cutter, who was called for tripping with 9.6 seconds remaining in the five-minute overtime. allowing the Rams to put an extra skater on the ice. Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna’s lobbying effort for a penalty shot was unsuccessful.

Crouch got control of the puck off the ensuing offensive right-circle faceoff and headed for the other end of the ice, hoping to win the race against time.

“It was kind of just a lucky bounce,” he said. “I chipped it of the wall and the [defensemen] stepped and gave me all the time. There was not much time on the clock so I just had to shoot it. I heard my teammates on the bench yelling to shoot it, so I just ripped it.”

After a scoreless first period, it was the Rams, who took command in the second frame with a goal from Shane Venner followed by a pair from Dachowski to build a three-goal advantage. But Dominic Gibson and Joey Slobodrian scored goals for the Titans 51 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game with 3:41 left in the period.

Dachowski and Slobodrian traded goals before the second period ended; Gibson tied the game with 6:19 left in regulation.

Pennridge started the overtime with a four-skaters-to-three advantage after the Titans’ Logan Hood was flagged for interference with 42 seconds left in regulation but the Rams couldn’t take advantage.

South coach Shaun McGinty celebrated his team’s comeback.

“That’s a never-give-up attitude,” said. “That’s a team effort. [62] shots to 36, obviously, we’re getting the shots and controlling that end of the game. But [Winton] is an unbelievable goaltender. They obviously have guys that are going to do damage when they have the puck.

“Dachowski is a phenomenal player and he’s just going to do what he does.”

Montagna credited his team for its effort, Winton in particular.

“Jacob was obviously unbelievable in net,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about our team tonight. They played a phenomenal game. I’m proud of them, I really am.

C.B. South 0 3 1 1—5

Pennridge 0 4 0 0—4

Second-period goals: Shane Venner (P) from Kaden Gunning, 2:00; Shane Dachowski (P) unassisted, 4:42; Dachowski (P) from James Rush, 11:02; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher and Sean Cutter, 12:28 (pp); Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Cutter, 13:19; Dachowski (P) from Rush, 14:43; Slobodrian (CBS) from Logan Hood and Jake Stepp, 16:02

Third-period goal: Gibson (CBS) from Slobodrian, 10:41

Overtime goal: J.D. Crouch (CBS) unassisted, 0:00

Shots: C.B. South 62, Pennridge 36; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 32, Jacob Winton (P) 57

Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 Hatboro-Horsham 6

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The start of a new hockey season marks a new beginning. That was especially so for Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh, who squared off Thursday night in an SHSHL American Division matchup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The Colonials, who qualified for the Class A Flyers Cup tournament a year ago, were playing their first game for new coach Vince Forti.

The Hatters are returning to pure status in the SHSHL this season, meaning that every player on the roster is Hatboro-Horsham High School student which in turn makes the team eligible once more for postseason play.

But the Hatters took the ice minus goaltender Eric Miller, who was absent due to a concussion. Connor Smith, a defenseman by trade, stepped in in Miller’s place and gave a solid effort and made a number of quality saves, but the Colonials overcame an early 2-0 deficit and went on to post an 11-6 win.

Blake Ambler paced Plymouth Whitemarsh with four goals: he assisted on two others. Chris London delivered three goals and Daniel Molony two. Cooper Kanze, a freshman playing in his first high-school hockey game, added a goal and two assists.

“It was fun,” Kanze said. “I like the challenge. It’s way different from middle school, but way more fun.”

Vincent Graziano and Nathan Nemchinov scored goals 37 seconds apart to give Hatboro-Horsham a two-goal lead with 4:15 left in the opening period.

But the Hatters lost Reid Rochestie to a game misconduct penalty during an altercation and momentum shifted in the Colonials’ direction.

Ambler cut the deficit in half at the 2:15 mark before Kanze pushed the puck past Smith just as the buzzer sounded to end the period.

The goal counted and the Colonials rolled on from there, scoring eight times in the second period in a span of 9 minutes, 46 seconds.

Nemchinov scored his second goal of the night for the Hatters to tie the game at 3-3 with exactly 10 minutes left in the middle period but the Colonials responded with seven unanswered goals.

“We got off to a bit of a slow start, Forti said. But we stuck together as a team and really picked it up and came out with a solid win.”

Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith praised his son Connor’s effort in goal.

“I thought he did a hell of a job,” He said. With [38] shots on net and he made some big saves. Unfortunately, we ended up on the losing end of the deal, but we have a lot to build on.”

Hatboro-Horsham 2 2 2—6

Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 8 1—11

First-period goals: Vincent Graziani (HH) unassisted, 12:08; Nathan Nemchinov (HH) unassisted, 12:45; Blake Ambler (PW) from Ryan Jagher, 14:59; Cooper Kanze (PW) from Ambler, 0:00

Second-period goals: Daniel Moloney (PW) from Chris London and Julian Zawislak, 5:06; Nemchinov (HH) from Evan Snow, 7:00; Chris London (PW) unassisted, 7:49; London (PW) from Luke Smith, 7:58; Ambler (PW) from Smith, 8:47; Ambler (PW) from Kanze and Smith, 10:40; Molony (PW) unassisted, 12:42; Daniel Guller (PW) from Ambler, 14:07; Ryan Campbell (PW) from Morgan Hulitt, 14:52; Joseph Mangin (HH) Darius Graziani, 16:37

Third-period goals: Victor Wilkins (HH) unassisted, 2:24; Kanze (PW) from Guller and Ambler, 3:57; Darius Graziani (HH) from Vincent Graziani, 6:31

Shots: Hatboro-Horsham 30, Plymouth Whitemarsh 38; Saves: Connor Smith (HH) 27, Julian Lucks (PW) 24

C.B. South 10 C.B. West 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It took Central Bucks South some time to get started Wednesday night. But momentum kept building in the course of the Titans’ season-opening 10-2 win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Leading just 1-0 after the opening period and 4-0 after the second, South put the game away with a four-goal spurt in a span of 3:03 early in the third period.

The Titans got contributions from many hands. Jeff Kvecher delivered a six-point night, scoring two goals and assisting four others. Ryan Montagna scored three goals and added an assist. Logan Hood added a goal and two assists while Keith Waldron generated three assists of his own.

Sean Cutter, the Titans’ captain, found his way onto the scoresheet with a goal and an assist.

“I thought we played pretty solid,” he said. “We started off slow, we definitely have stuff to clean up. But, I’m not disappointed. I think we’re going to have a strong season.”

West goaltender Isaac Mays his team in the game for two periods. The Bucks (0-1) were outshot 18-3 in the first frame and 64-18 for the game.

Anthony Dowd scored both goals for the Bucks, both of them coming in the third period.

The Bucks are one of youngest teams in the SHSHL but they made up for their lack of experience with a sustained effort.

“We’re young and we lack some experience,” said West coach Dave Baun, “but we play hard and you can’t really teach that. That’s a good baseline.

“If we play hard, we just gave to add one or two elements to our performance every game. If we do that, we’ll get better and the next time we play them, it will be a different game.”

South coach Shaun McGinty. “We had our shots, we had our chances [in the first period],” he said. “But with the first game you know nerves, anxiety, whatever you want to call it, the kids are going to play a little flat before they start settling in.

“After the first period we gave them a little talking to. Our D-zone was not what it should be. Then they were able to clean it up in the second and start to put it together. So, all in all it was a good showing by us, a step in the right direction.”

• The Titans carried pink stripes on their helmets to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month [October). The mother of one of South’s players is cancer patient.

“It as meaningful not just for [Cutter’s teammate] but for the team,” Cutter said. “I think it shows the character of the team and what we stand for.”

C.B.West 0 0 2—2

C.B. South 1 3 6—10

First-period goal: Jeff Kvecher (CBS) from Keith Waldron, 9:20

Second-period goals: Logan Hood (CBS) from Peter Herring, 1:51; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Kvecher, 3:38; Alexander Cannon (CBS) from Herring, 4:53

Third-period goals: Sean Cutter (CBS) from Hood, 2:35; Kvecher (CBS) from Waldron and Montagna, 4:11; Joe Slobodrian (CBS) from Hood, 5:21; Hood (CBS) from Cutter, 5:38; Anthony Dowd (CBW) unassisted, 7:09; Montagna (CBS) from Kvecher, 7:42; Montagna (CBS) from Kvecher and Waldron, 7:58; Dowd (CBW) from Zane Sanders, 10:24

Shots: C.B. West 18, C.B. South 64 Saves: Isaac Mays (CBW) 54, Nate Napolitano (CBS) 16

Pennridge 7 Thomas Jefferson 5

HAVERFORD TMomentum TOWNSHIP—Momentum in a hockey game is often fleeting, and can shift at a moment’s notice. There are occasions however, when momentum shits can prove decisive. So it was for Pennridge on Saturday afternoon.

On two occasions, the flow of the game shifted in the Rams’ favor, allowing them to prevail 7-5 over Thomas Jefferson in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AA championship game at the Skatium.

It’s the second time in three seasons the Rams (23-2-2) have claimed a state title. They bested the Jaguars in overtime two years ago.

Kevin Pico finished his final high-school game with a goal and three assists.

“I’m happy now,” he said. “I’m sad it’s my last high-school game, but I’m happy we got it done, especially with this group and how much we had to fight through to get here, everything we had to play through, and all the adversity we had to go through to get here. It feels great right now.”

Saturday’s Rams-Jaguars rematch required that Pennridge play from behind at the start. Jake Strock beat Jacob Winston with the first shot of the game 27 seconds in. Scotty Allan made it a 2-0 game with a power-play goal at the 6:03 mark and Pennridge goaltender Jacob Winton seemed off his game.

At that point, Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his timeout. He said he was confident his team would rebound.
“We knew with the firepower we throw out there, we were going to be fine,” he said. “Jacob was off the first couple shots and we knew he would settle down.

The Ram were looking for a momentum shift. It got one when Colin Dachowki scored his team’s first goal 10:59 into the period.

“The goal Colin scored changed the whole game,” Montagna said.

Andrew Savona and Pico scored goals to give Pennridge a 3-2 lead 4:32 into the second period. But the Jaguars responded with goals from Lucas Blose and Nathan Weiss to take a 4-3 lead at the 7:26 mark.

Just over a minute later there was another momentum shift in Pennridge’s favor, with repercussions that reverberated the rest of the afternoon.

With 8:26 left in the period, Winton collected a centering pass from Thomas Jefferson’s Andrew Oliver and froze the puck. Strock, arriving late to the scene, took a poke at Winton with his stick and was accessed a five-minute major penalty for spearing plus a game misconduct, leaving the Jaguars to go the rest of the way minus their leading regular-season scorer.

It took Savona just 12 seconds to tie the game. James Rush put Pennridge in front for good with 5:29 left in the period and scored his second goal of the game 4:09 into the third frame, Pennridge’s third goal in a span of 12:23 of playing time.

Liam Mahoney made it a one-goal game once more with 10:24 still remaining, but Shane Dachowski scored his second goal of the game with 8:04 left.

Savona noted the impact the spearing call on Strock had on the game.

“It was difficult,” he said, “but it was just huge for us. It gave us a lot of momentum. We were able to get two goals.

Thomas Jefferson 2 2 1—5

Pennridge 1 4 2—7

First-period goals: Jake Strock (TJ) from Ryder McGuirk and Andrew Oliver, :27; Scotty Allan (TJ) unassisted, 6:03 (pp); Colin Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona and Kevin Pico, 10:59

Second-period goals: Shane Dachowski (P) from Kevin Pico and James Rush, 1:45 (pp); Pico (P) from Nick Young, 4:32; Lucas Blose (TJ) from Nathan Weiss, 5:39; Weiss (TJ) from Allan, 7:26; Savona (P) from Colin Dachowski, 8:46 (pp); Rush (P) from Savona, 11:31(pp)

Third-period goals: James Rush (P) from Josh Kelly 4:09; Liam Mahoney (TJ) 6:36; Shane Dachowski (P) from Pico, 8:56

Shots: Thomas Jefferson 48, Pennridge 33 Saves: Ronald Porupsky (P) 26, Jacob Winton (P 43

Pennridge 7 C.R. South 3

Some are of the opinion that a hockey goaltender occupies the most important position in any team sport. Those who hold that view had it reinforced Wednesday night over the course of the Class AA Flyers Cup final.

At evening’s end, the scoreboard at Hatfield Ice indicated that top-seeded Pennridge had defeated second-seeded Council Rock South 7-3 to win its second Cup title in three years. It also indicated that the Golden Hawks had outshot the Rams 52-29 over the course of the 51-minute game.

All this is indicative of the performance Jacob Winton in the Pennridge net. When the Hawks were surrounding him like birds targeting their prey, Winton held firm, even as his team was being outshot 9-1 in the early going.

When the Rams (22-2-2) finally broke through at the other end, on Shane Dachowski’s goal 9:14 into the first period and not incidentally the first goal of the game, the tone of the evening shifted dramatically.

Even after the Golden Hawks’ Chase Tovsky tied the game with 6:43 left in the period the Rams were not deterred. Kevin Pico put Pennridge back in front with 90 seconds left in the opening session and his team never trailed again.

Ilya Kudzinau tied the game for South (24-2) 23 seconds into the second frame but momentum continued to flow in the Rams’ direction. Dachowski and Pico scored goals to give their side a 4-2 advantage.

At that point South coach Joe Houk used his timeout and pulled goaltender Trevor Rakszawski, who had surrendered the four goals on 13 shots. Trey Prozzillo took his place.

At the other end of the ice, Winton remained resolute. He allowed a single goal over the final 33:37 of regulation.

“Making some of those [early] saves kind of set the tone for later in the game,” he said. “I think it just kind of put us in the right mindset going into the second and third periods.”

Houk felt a number of his players’ shots misfired. “We shot just as many pucks over the net as at him,” he said. “We pressured the goalie with less shots last game (in a semifinal win over Boyertown) than we did this game.

“We beat ourselves. I think we’re a better team than them but they got all the bounces tonight, they got the opportunities, and my goaltender was not very strong.”

Winton spoke to the momentum shift that occurred after Dachowski scored the game’ first goal.

“As soon as you score a goal momentum shifts,” he said. “We just kind of kept going from there.”

The Rams did just that. Colin Dachowski’s goal made it a 5-2 game 3:35 into the third period. Ilya Muhkin answered for South and it was a 5-3 game with 8:20 still remaining but Shane Dachowski and Pico closed the door on the Hawks and opened another for themselves; Pennridge will face Penguins Cup champion Thomas Jefferson Saturday at the Skatium in the state championship game (2:00 start).

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna said Wednesday’s win should eliminate any doubt about the credibility of his program.

“We graduated eight really important guys two year ago,” he said. “The team had to listen, for two years, about us being a one-line hockey team. To win again tonight is a complete and total validation of this program.”

Ice chips—Winton was named the Bobby Clarke Award winner as the tournament’ Most Valuable Player. The rest of the All-Tournament team included Shane Dachowki (the tournament’s leading scorer), Colin Dachowski, Pico, and Blaise Pepe and Kevin Coles from Council Rock South.

Council Rock South 1 1 1—3

Pennridge 2 2 3—7

First-period goals: Shane Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona, 9:14; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Blaize Pepe, 10:17; Kevin Pico (P) from Tyler Manto and Savona, 15:30

Second-period goals: Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Ilya Kudzinau :23; Shane Dachowski (P) unassisted, 4:18 (pp); Pico (P) from Shane Dachowski, 13:38

Third-period goals: Colin Dachowski (P) from Ryan Mikulich, 3:35; Ilya Muhkin from Nikita Volbuiev and Kevin Koles, 8:40; Shane Dachowski (P) from Pico and Nick Young, 9:20; Savona (P) from Colin Dachowski, 14:30

Shots: Council Rock South 52, Pennridge 29; Saves: Trevor Rakszawski (CRS) 9 and Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 13, Jacob Winston (P) 49

C.R. South 3 Boyertown 1

One of the unique elements of the Flyers Cup tournament is the finality of it. All season long there is another game or another round of playoffs to nurse the pain of defeat.

The stakes are starkly different come March. Win or go home. And on Thursday night, Boyertown and Council Rock South made it clear they didn’t want to go home.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed, 3-1 in a Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice. Second-seeded South (24-1) will face top-seeded Pennridge next Wednesday at 8:45 at this same venue in what is expected to be a scintillating final.

Third-seeded Boyertown closes the season at 20-3.

Thursday’s game wasn’t bad as an appetizer.

The Hawks had the better of the play offensively but encountered a hot goaltender in Tyler Griffith who recorded 41 saves, few of which were of the routine variety.

“That’s kid’s probably the best goaltender we’ve seen all year,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We got [44] shots today, they were quality shots. He was phenomenal.

“And people warned me about him ‘If he’s hot, he’s going to steal a game from you.’ But, we persevered, we dug deep, and we survived to play next week.”

Largely due to Griffin’s efforts (16 saves) the first period was scoreless, and it was the Bears who grabbed the evening’s first lead when Noah Cutillo beat Trevor Rakszawski 1:19 in to the second frame. Jake Weiner answered for South at the 6:31 mark.

The score remained deadlock to period’s end. By that point, the Hawks had a 32-13 shot advantage.

As the teams took the ice for the third period following an ice cut, the enormity of the moment hung in the air.

“Their goaltender had a solid game,” said South’s Evan Mostoller. “I’ll give him that. But we just had to find that back of the net.”

Mostoller did just that from outer edge of the right circle 4:31 into the final period.

“It’s may last year here and I kind of want to make a run to states and everything,” he said. I’ve been in the Flyers Cup three times now …. This the year I think we’re going to make it.

As the clock counted down the Bears found themselves stymied by not only Rakszawski but the defense in front of him; Boyertown managed but our shots in the third period.
South’s final goal, which came with 38 seconds remaining, was credited to Gavin Nisenzon when he was pulled down from behind in the Boyertown defensive while skating toward an empty net; the referee on the play awarded goal.

Boyertown 0 1 0—1

C.R. South 0 1 2—3

Second-period goals: Noah Cutillo (B) from Luke Hennessy, 1:44; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Nikita Volobuiev, 6:31

Third-period goals: Evan Mostoller (CRS) from

Peter Pereborow and Blaise Pepe, 4:31; Gaven Nisenzon (CRS) unassisted, 16:22

Shots: Boyertown 20, Council Rock South 44; Saves: Tyler Griffith (B) 41, Trevor Rakszawski, 19

C.R. South 12 Spring-Ford 0

It didn’t take long for Council Rock South to assert its superiority Tuesday night. The Golden Hawks scored goals on their first three shots and five of their first seven en route to a 12-0 rout of Spring Ford in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Grundy Arena that was called after the second period.

South (22-1), the second seed in the tournament, advances to a quarterfinal game on Thursday against Cherokee at a site and time to be determined

Tuesday’s 12-goal output produced a plethora of impressive numbers. Kevin Koles scored the first goal of the night just 31 seconds after the opening faceoff. He went on to score an additional goal and add five assists for seven points.

“We’ve got to take every game,” the senior defenseman said, “so we know what we’re up against. We can’t take any game lightly because we know we’re going to have tougher competition later down the road, so we’ve got to play every game the same.”

Koles assisted on Nikita Volobuiev’s scoring effort and added a second goal himself to put South up 3-0 just 2:54 into the opening period. Blaise Pepe and Jeremy Rayher added additional goals before the period ended.

The 15th-seeded Rams did not record their first shot on goal until less than 90 seconds remained in the opening period.

Evan Mostoller assisted on Koles’s first goal and Pepe’s. The senior defenseman noted that postseason success requires that everyone on the roster pitch in.

“You just have to know what your role is on the team,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the [opponent] is not the best team, you’ve just got to play your hardest.”

Mostoller says that one element of a player learning his role and fitting in involves not worrying about making a mistake.

“Play your game,” he said. “Play the way you play. If you make a mistake, someone will tell you what you did wrong.”

Volobuiev scored two goals to complete a hat trick. Rayher, Jordan Sarne (twice), Jonah Weston, and Jake Weiner all scored goals.

Volobuiev’ second goal made it am 8-0 game with 6:17 left in the period.

Spring-Ford coach Todd Lambart lifted starting goaltender Grant Olson at that point; the junior received a round of applause from the spectators and the South bench as he left the ice after facing 27 shots.

For the Hawks however, the postseason journey continues. Koles and his teammates are aware they’re being targeted by the rest of the tournament field.

“We know everybody’s trying to beat us,” he said. “It’s been like that for the last four years I’ve been in the league.

“We’ve got to stay focused and do what we can.”

Spring Ford 0 0—0

C.R. South 5 7—12

First-period goals: Kevin Koles (CRS) from Evan Mostoller, :31; Nikita Volobuiev (CRS) from Koles, 1:37; Koles (CRS) unassisted, 2:54; Blaise Pepe (CRS) from Mostoller and Koles, 6:14; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Pepe and Koles, 6:45

Second period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Volobuiev, 2:56; Jonah Weston (CRS) from Chase Tovsky and Blaise Pepe, 5:09; Volobuiev (CRS) from Jake Weiner, 10:43; Volobuiev (CRS) from Koles, 10:48; Rayher (CRS) from Pepe and Tovsky, 11:15; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Koles and Jackson Mosley, 11:53; Sarne (CRS) from Rayher and Weston, 16:17

Shots: Spring Ford 3, Council Rock South 33; Saves; Grant Olson (SF) 19 and Casey Dunleavy (SF) 2; Trevor Rakszawski 3

Unionville 5 P-W 2

The bigger the stakes, the more missed opportunities and mistakes hurt. Plymouth Whitemarsh learned that season the hard way in its Flyers Cup opener against Unionville Monday night.

The Longhorns turned in in a methodical workmanlike performance over the eighth-seeded Colonials en route to a 5-2 win in a Class A first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

The eighth-seeded Colonials closed their season at 13-5 The ninth-seeded Longhorns (9-11) advance to play top seed and three-time defending champion West Chester East Thursday night at Ice Line at a time to be determined.

Plymouth Whitemarsh found itself in a hole early on. Anthony Kulp beat Colonial netminder Julian Lucks from the left circle just 24 seconds after the opening faceoff.

The Colonials also hurt themselves with penalties. Jason Segal was called for boarding just 1:25 into the opening period, and picked up the 10-minute misconduct that went with it. Segal’s teammate Tim Murphy drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 3:36 and this time Unionville struck; Alex Tomaszewicz made it a 2-0 game with a power-play goal at the 4:40 mark.

Michael Ta scored twice in the second frame to give the Longhorns a 4-0 lead but the Colonials kept battling; indeed they outshot the Longhorns 31-24. But they were unable to solve Unionville goaltender Zach Tomaszewicz until the third period. By that point, Cole Blackburn tallied the Longhorn’s fifth goal 3:21 into the final session.

Charlie Spause finally got Plymouth Whitemarsh on the scoreboard at the 5:27 mark. Issac Mishkin added a shorthanded effort with 1:20 left in the game.

Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox noted that his team battled to the finish despite the steep uphill climb it faced.

“We dug ourselves a hole early,” he said. “We found some momentum and really could have capitalized on the chances that we got.”

After Spause’s goal. Cox wished for just a little more time.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “especially for our seniors. I couldn’t be more proud of our leadership group, our senior group.”

Cox said the heart his team displayed will leave him with warm memories of the 2023-24 season.

“Especially [The SHSHL American Division final],” he said. “We never stopped playing. When these guys get going and they band together, it’s truly the most honorable thing for a coach.”

Although they were the home team, the Colonials wore their alternate red jerseys, styled after those of the Montreal Canadians, instead of the customary white. The jerseys are early nominees for the Most Impressive Uniforms in the tournament,

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 2

Unionville 2 2 1—5

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 2

First period goals: Anthony Kulp (U) from Cole Blackburn, :24; Alex Tomaszewicz (U) from Riley Andrews,4:40 (pp)

Second-period goals: Michael Ta (U) from Tomaszewicz, 8:45; Ta (U) from Corrado Ditoro, 16:04

Third-period goals: Blackburn (U) from Tripp Young and Kulp, 3:21; Charlie Spause (PW) from Tim Murphy, 11:33 Issac Mishkin (PW) from Jason Segal, 15:40

Shots: Unionville 24, P-W 31; Saves: Zach Tomaszewicz 29, Julian Lucks (PW) 19

Council Rock South 7 Pennridge 2

Late in the second period, Thursday night’s SHSHL National Division championship game was still up for grabs. Council Rock South and Pennridge were deadlocked at 2-2. The Golden Hawks had had the better of the play to that point, but the Rams made it clear they weren’t going anywhere.

Then Jake Weiner took matters into his own hands. The sophomore scored off a feed from Illia Mukhin on a play that originated from behind the Pennridge net to give South the lead, one it would never give up. Four additional goals followed in the third period as the Hawks rolled to a 7-2 win in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice.

Weiner scored four goals and assisted on another to lead second-seeded South (21-1) to its second consecutive division crown. It marks the first time in six years a National Division team has made a successful title defense. The top-seeded and defending-champion Rams fell to 18-2-2 with both defeats coming to South who have won two of three meetings this season.

Weiner was quick to point out that his five-point night wasn’t a solo effort.

“The boys came out flying too,” he said. “It wasn’t just me, it was all them. Hitting, forechecking. They played great.”

Both coaches viewed Weiner’s tie-breaking goal as the turning point in the game.

“The big goal I thought was that third goal,” said South coach Joe Houk. “Going into the intermission it was really, really big and we knew we had to come out in [the third period] and either get the first goal or first couple and see what happened.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna blamed himself for his team’s defeat.

“I flat out cost us the game,” he said. “It’s a 2-2 game, I put the wrong combination out there. The, scored, it took the life completely out of us.

“I flat out cost is the game. I feel terrible for the kids. It was my fault.”

Council Rock South played a great game, they played a phenomenal game. But, I can’t do that to our team.”

Senior Blaize Pepe scored one of South’s third-period goals. Even as the Hawks extended their lead in the third period, Pepe was wanting more.

“We were all over them all game,” he said. “We knew we were the better team and we knew we were going to wear them down and that’s what happened. We pumped in three quick and knew we just had to play good defense after we got that fifth and sixth goals.”

Houk said Thursday’s win was the high point of his team’s season in terms of performance.

“I thought it was probably the best game they played all year,” he said. “They stayed out of the box. The referees really did a good of letting us play at both ends.”

• The Rams and the Golden Hawks will be the first and second seeds respectively in the Class AA Flyers Cup which begins on Tuesday. Pennridge will face Bensalem at Hatfield Ice (8:30) while South will go against Spring Ford at Grundy Arena (6:00) … This year’ championship is the third for South in school history. The first came in 2010.

Council Rock South 1 2 4—7

Pennridge 1 1 0—2

First-period goals: Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from James Diiulio and Ilya Kudzinau, 2:03; Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 5:31

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Gavin Nisenzon and Evan Mostoller, 3:09 (pp); Pico (P) from Andrew Savona, 5:15 (pp); Weiner (CRS) from Illia Mukhin, 14:47

Third-period goals: Jake Maurer (CRS) from Weiner and Nikita Volobuiev :52; Blaize Pepe (CRS) from Chase Tovsky, 2:20; Weiner (CRS) from Kevin Koles and Mukhin, 11:21; Weiner (CRS) from Peter Pereorow, 14:25

Shots: C.R. South 47, Pennridge 22 Saves: Trevor Rakszawski (CRS) 20, Jacob Winton (P) 40