SHSHL Sets Playoff Dates

The start the SHSHL playoffs is just four weeks away.

Six teams will qualify in the National Division. A pair of first-round games is set for Wednesday. February 21 with seeds three and six paired against each other in one matchup and seeds four and five in the other.

The winners will face the top two seeds in semifinal games on Wednesday, February 28 with the championship game set for the following night, Thursday, February 29.

Three teams will qualify for the American Division playoffs, with seeds two and three meeting on Wednesday or Thursday, February 21 or 22 with the winner to face the top seed in the championship game on February 28.

Game dates are subject to revision based on weather and ice-availability issues.

SHSHL Playoffs

National 2/21 Wed: 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 (rink TBD)

2/28 Wed: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 (rink TBD)

2/29 Thu: 1 vs 2 (rink TBD)

American 2/21 Wed or 2/22 Thu: 2 vs 3 (rink TBD)

2/28 Wed: 1 vs 2 (rink TBD)

JV Final 2/21 Wed or 2/22 Thu: 1 vs 2 (rink TBD)

MS AAA – 2/21 or 2/22: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 (rink TBD)

AA – 2/21 or 2/22: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 (rink TBD)

A – 2/21 or 2/22: 1 vs 2 (rink TBD)

AAA & AA Finals: 2/28 or 2/29

SHSHL Update for 1-22-14

National Division W L T OW OL Pts

x Pennridge (14-0-1) 13 0 1 0 0 0 27

x Council Rock South (14-1-0) 13 1 0 0 0 26

x Cent. Bucks South (10-3-1) 10 2 1 0 1 22

Central Bucks East (8-4-1) 8 4 2 0 0 17

North Penn (7-5-0) 7 5 0 0 0 14

Souderton (5-8-0) 5 8 0 3 1 11

Pennsbury (3-10-0) 3 10 0 0 2 8

Cent. Bucks West (2-11-1) 2 11 1 0 1 6

Neshaminy (1-10-2) 1 10 2 0 0 4

Council Rock North (1-12-0) 1 12 0 0 1 3

American Division W L T OW OL Pts

x Plymouth White. (9-3) 8 1 0 1 1 17

x Bensalem (9-2) 7 2 0 1 1 15

Abington (4-5-1) 4 3 0 0 0 8

Wissahickon (2-10) 2 8 0 0 1 4

Springfield (1-10) 1 8 0 0 1 1

x clinched playoff spot

National Division Scoring G A Pts

Kevin Pico (Pr) 23 36 59

Andrew Savona (Pr) 28 26 54

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 22 25 47

Kevin Koles (CRS) 22 22 44

Maxwell Ryon (Soud) 29 12 41

Jake Weiner (CRS) 22 18 40

Blaize Pepe (CRS) 15 21 36

Seth Grossman (Soud) 16 17 33

Corey Kosick (CBE) 18 8 26

Illia Mukhin (CRS) 11 15 26

American Division Scoring G A Pts

Alex Hood (Bens) 43 14 57

Alex Bazylevich (Bens) 10 19 29

Seamus Donofry (Ab) 6 21 27

Dylan Novitski (PW) 16 10 26

David Branigan (PW) 15 11 26

Tim Murphy (PW) 9 15 24

Daniel Guller (PW) 7 16 23

Owen Quinn (Sp) 13 9 22

Jason Segal (PW) 11 11 22

Michael Romano (Ab) 10 9 19

Flyers Cup Rankings

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its second set of rankings for the 2023-24 season. Rankings are based on a team’s on-ice performance and observations of committee members.

The Flyers Cup is an invitational tournament. There are no automatic qualifiers.

AAA

La Salle (APAC)
Malvern Prep (APAC)
St. Joes Prep (APAC)
Salesianum (ICSHL)
Father Judge (ICSHL)

Pennridge (SHSHL)
Council Rock South (SHSHL)
Boyertown (ICSHL)
Central Bucks South (SHSHL)
Downingtown West (ICSHL)

West Chester East (ICSHL)
Garnet Valley (ICSHL)
Marple Newtown (ICSHL)
Lower Dauphin (CPIHL)
Penncrest (ICSHL)

Girls

Avon Grove (ICSHL)
Downingtown West (ICSHL)
West Chester Henderson (ICSHL)
Kingsway (ICSHL)
Conestoga (ICSHL)

C.B. East 6 Pennsbury 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It was a game both teams needed. For Central Bucks East and Pennsbury, Thursday night’s encounter was essentially a pre-playoff game.

It was the Patriots who prevailed. Jaden Young scored two goals and four other players added one goal each in East’s 6-1 win that solidified its quest for a SHSHL National Division playoff spot.

The result lifted the Patriots to 7-4-1 on the season and put them in fourth place in the division standings, one point ahead of North Penn, which has a game in hand. East is unbeaten in its last three starts.

Pennsbury dropped to 3-9 on the season, putting the Falcons three points behind sixth-place Souderton, which defeated Neshaminy Thursday night and now occupies the sixth and final playoff spot.

Despite missing three players due to injuries and club duty, the Patriots had the necessary ingredients for a winning recipe. Chief among them was a commitment to sharing the puck.

“We had a lot of good production out of everybody tonight,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell. “Even out of Line Three, they were kind of taking care of business and did a good job to get us an overall win tonight.”

Corey Kosick’s goal, which came at the 7:34 mark of the first frame, gave East a 1-0 advantage. David Brown, with Kosick’s help, made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal just 39 seconds into the middle period. Gavin Wilmer’s shot from the right point made it a 3-0 game with 6:19 left in the period before Young added his first goal of the game with 59 seconds left.

The Falcons, who were also missing several players because of club duty, got on the scoreboard on Chris Sarver’s goal 61 seconds into the third period.

Young responded with his second goal of the game at the 6:05 mark and Ethan Cenci put a wrap on the evening with 1:08 remaining.

Young had an assist to go with his two goals while Alex Wilson contributed two assists.

Mitchell noted that his players have been more focused on the task at hand during their unbeaten streak.

“I think we’ve got our lines kind of settled for the rest of the season,” he said. “So, we’re starting to see some good chemistry with everybody and everybody’s kind of buying into the same page.

“So, we’re seeing a lot of good things out of pretty much all three lines right now. So, we hope it continues.”

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley praised the work of East netminder Cole Breen, who finished with 30 saves.

“[Breen] had a great game,” he said. “We had our fair share of chances but he was tough to crack.

“I liked the way we played for the most part but a few mistakes ended up in our net, and with the performance they were getting from their net those mistakes are hard to come back from.”

Pennsbury 0 0 1—1

C.B. East 1 3 2—6

First-period goal: Corey Kosick (CBE) from Jaden Young, 7:34

Second-period goals: David Brown (CBE) from Kosick, 1:21 (sh); Gavin Wilmer (CBE) from Alex Wilson and Sam Gottesman, 6:19; Young (CBE) from Wilmer, 16:01

Third-period goals: Chris Sarver (P) unassisted, 1:01; Young (CBE) from Wilson, 6:05; Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Drew Trask and Charlie Keiser, 15:52

Shots: Pennsbury 31, C.B. East 27 Saves: Aaron McDaniel (P) 21, Cole Breen (CBE) 30

SHSHL Update for 1-8-24

National Division W L T OW OL Pts

Pennridge (12-0-1) 11 0 1 0 0 0 23

Council Rock South (12-1-0) 11 1 0 0 0 22

Cent. Bucks South (8-3-1) 8 2 1 0 1 18

Central Bucks East (6-4-1) 6 4 1 0 0 13

North Penn (6-4-0) 6 4 0 0 0 12

Souderton (4-6-0) 4 6 2 2 0 9

Pennsbury (3-8-0) 3 8 0 0 2 8

Neshaminy (2-6-2) 1 7 2 0 0 4

Cent. Bucks West (1-10-1) 1 10 1 0 1 4

Council Rock North (1-10-0) 1 10 0 0 0 2

American Division W L T OW OL Pts

Bensalem (8-1) 6 1 0 1 1 15

Plymouth White. (7-2) 6 1 0 1 1 13

Abington (3-4-1) 3 2 0 0 0 6

Wissahickon (2-9) 2 7 0 0 1 4

Springfield (1-9) 1 8 0 0 1 1

National Division Scoring G A Pts

Andrew Savona (Pr) 24 22 46

Kevin Pico (Pr) 15 30 45

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 18 20 38

Kevin Koles (CRS) 17 20 37

Jake Weiner (CRS) 21 16 37

Blaize Pepe (CRS) 14 17 31

Maxwell Ryon (Soud) 18 10 28

Illia Mukhin (CRS) 10 13 23

Corey Kosick (CBE) 16 6 22

Gavin Nisenon (CRS) 11 11 22

Seth Grossman (Soud) 13 9 22

American Division Scoring G A Pts

Alex Hood (Bens) 34 12 46

Tim Murphy (PW) 8 15 23

Dylan Novitski (PW) 15 8 23

David Branigan (PW) 12 10 22

Seamus Donofry (Ab) 5 17 22

Alex Bazylevich (Bens) 7 15 22

Daniel Guller (PW) 7 15 22

Owen Quinn (Sp) 13 8 21

Jason Segal (PW) 11 9 20

Michael Tomano (Ab) 9 8 17

Pennridge 3 C.B. East 3

The bubble of invincibility that has surrounded the Pennridge Rams all season long burst Thursday night.

Ethan Cenci’s goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation gave Central Bucks East a 3-3 draw with the Rams at Hatfield Ice. It was the first blemish of the season for Pennridge, which now stands 11-0-1 in the SHSHL National Division and 12-0-1 overall.

Pennridge took a 2-1 lead into the third period but Jaden Young tied the game for East with 4:19 left in regulation off a Pennridge breakdown.

The Rams seemingly dodged a bullet when Tyler Manto beat Cole Breen with a rocket from the left circle with 2:11 remaining to put his team back in front. It was Manto’s second goal of the game.

But just 30 seconds later, he was sent to the box for roughing, giving the Patriots a power play. With 5.8 seconds showing on the clock, Manto’s teammate Shane Dachowski was whistled for cross checking, giving East a two-man advantage and, more importantly, the offensive zone faceoff it needed to set up the game-tying goal which came off a scramble in front of Pennridge netminder Jacob Winton.

Dachowski’s penalty also allowed the Patriots to start the overtime with a four-skater-to-three advantage.

Pennridge had seemingly more opportunities during the extra five minutes but the clock struck zero with the two teams and seemingly headed in opposite directions.

For the Patriots (6-3-1 overall and in the division) it was a result that felt like a win.

“I can’t explain how proud I am of the boys,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell, “for just sticking there at the end.

“We pretty much had a good momentum on the bench the entire game. It started to get a little chippy at the end of the second, getting into the third. We started to lose our way a little bit but the boys banded together.

We had pretty much production from all three lines. Not so much points, but getting the puck out and maintaining great possession. And Cole kept everything out he should have.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna minced no words while accessing the performance of his own team.

“We were terrible tonight,” he said. “We took penalties that cost us, but when you play the way we did and let them hang around the way we did, it was only a matter of time.

“We did not deserve to win that game. Period. It was as bad as we’ve been all year. And it’s as angry as I’ve been all year.”

Pennridge 2 0 1—3

C.B. East 1 0 2—3

First-period goals: Corey Kosick (CBE) unassisted, 5:24; Andrew Savona (P) from Colin Dachowki and Kevin Pico, 5:49; Tyler Manto (P) from Colin Dachowki, 16:56

Third-period goals: Jaden Young (CBE) from Drew Trask and Ryan Gergen, 12:41; Tyler Manto (P) from James Embert, 14:49; Ethan Cenci (CBE) unassisted, 15:59

Shots: Pennridge 36, C.B. East 25; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 22, Cole Breen (CBE) 33

Souderton 6 Pennsbury 5 OT

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Two precious points. That’s what was at stake when Pennsbury and Souderton laced up their skates at Hatfield Ice Wednesday night.

The two points at stake would enhance the winner’s status in the fight for a SHSHL National Division playoff spot and hopefully attract the notice of the Flyers Cup Committee.

It took overtime to settle the issue. Seth Grossman’s goal 2 minutes, 40 seconds into the extra session gave the Big Red a 2-1 win. It was Souderton’s second-one goal win over the Falcons this season; the first was a 9-8 decision on November 15.

Both sides took something away from the evening. Since the game went to overtime each team got a point in the standings with the Big Red (4-6) getting an extra point for the win.

Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat left no doubt as to the significance of those two precious points.

“Huge,” he said. Pennsbury is playing great hockey. We’re locked in with them in the standings [Off Wednesday’s result, Souderton is one point ahead of the Falcons with a game in hand]. We’re taking it one game time but [the playoffs] are the end goal. That’s where we’re hoping to be at the end of the year.”

Max Ryon scored two goals and added an assist for the Big Red and four of Ryon’s teammates also scored goals, but the most important player on the ice in Souderton colors was goaltender Connor Paulus. A junior who only started playing hockey as a freshman, and a first-year goaltender to boot, Paulus came up big on a night when his team needed him, he finished with 26 saves.

“He excelled,” Uchniat said. “He win this game for us.”

Paulus said he put the pads on because his team needed a goaltender.

“I think I’m getting a feel for it,” he said.

Grossman saluted his goaltender’s effort.

“[Paulus] been making extreme strides in his play throughout the season,” he said. “He’s been getting better each game. I think you could see this game, he stood on his head. He really bailed us out a couple times.”
Paulus’s effort also drew raves from Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. [Paulus] was playing out of his mind,” he said. “It was a very special game for him.”

The Falcons (3-8) appeared to have the momentum late in the second frame when Souderton, which was leading 4-3 at the time, drew two penalties 39 seconds apart, giving Pennsbury a two-man advantage.

The Falcons made the most of the opportunity; Logan Doyle and Jason Fowler scored power-play goals 33 seconds apart to give Pennsbury a 5-4 lead with 2:20 left in the period.

But the Falcons could not solve Paulus again. Ryon tied the game with 4:30 left in regulation to set up the finish.

Fittingly enough, he made of his best saves when he denied Chris Sarver 59 seconds into overtime.

For the Falcons, the defending Class AA Flyers Cup champions, it was another case of ‘Almost.’ Four of their eight losses have come by one goal.

“Truly the record doesn’t reflect the talent of our team,” Daley said. “We’ve definitely improved since the beginning of the season. We’re a couple plays away from having six wins.”

Pennsbury 2 3 0 0—5

Souderton 2 2 1 1—6

First-period goals: Chris Sarver (P) unassisted, 7:12; Jackson Kelly (S) from Nick Smith, 8:52; Max Ryon (S) from Matt Malagna, 10:50; Stephen Grosscup (P) from Shane Gleisner and Kevin Derosa, 16:20

Second-period goals: Marcus Roberts (P) from Evan Eisler and Derosa, 5:10; Matthew Cross (S) from Ryon and Pierceson Egan, 6:07 (pp) Smith (S) unassisted, 12:03; Logan Doyle (P) from Sarver and Jason Fowler, 14:07 (pp): Fowler (P) from Doyle, 14:40 (pp)

Third-period goal: Ryon (S) unassisted, 12:30

Overtime goal: Seth Grossman (S) from Smith, 2:40

Shots: Pennsbury 31, Souderton 25; Saves: Aaron McDaniel (P) 19, Connor Paulus (S) 26

SHSHL Update for 1-2-24

National Division W L T OW OL Pts

Pennridge (12-0) 11 1 0 0 0 22

Council Rock South (10-1-0) 9 1 0 0 0 18

Cent. Bucks South (7-3-1) 7 2 1 0 1 16

North Penn (6-3) 6 3 0 0 0 12

Central Bucks East (6-3) 6 3 1 0 0 8

Pennsbury (3-8) 3 7 0 0 1 7

Souderton (3-6) 3 6 2 1 0 7

Neshaminy (2-6-2) 1 6 2 0 0 4

Cent. Bucks West (1-9-1) 1 9 1 0 0 4

Council Rock North (0-10) 0 10 0 0 0 0

American Division W L T OW OL Pts

Plymouth White. (6-2) 6 1 0 0 1 13

Bensalem (6-1) 6 1 0 1 1 13

Abington (3-4-1) 2 4 1 0 0 5

Wissahickon (2-2) 2 7 0 0 1 4

Springfield (0-9) 0 5 0 0 1 1

National Division Scoring G A Pts

Andrew Savona (Pr) 23 22 45

Kevin Pico (Pr) 15 29 44

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 18 20 38

Kevin Koles (CRS) 16 18 34

Jake Weiner (CRS) 16 14 30

Blaize Pepe (CRS) 11 15 26

Maxwell Ryon (Soud) 16 9 25

Corey Kosick (CBE) 15 6 21

Gavin Nisenon (CRS) 11 9 20

Seth Grossman (Soud) 8 12 20

American Division Scoring G A Pts

Alex Hood (Bens) 29 11 40

Dylan Novitski (PW) 13 8 21

Daniel Guller (PW) 7 14 21

David Branigan (PW) 10 10 20

Jason Segal (PW) 11 9 20

Tim Murphy (PW) 6 12 18

Alex Bazylevich (Bens) 5 13 18

Seamus Donofry (Ab) 4 14 18

Michael Tomano (Ab) 9 8 17

Daniel Hussa (Wiss) 14 2 16

Lucas Gonzaalez (Bens) 4 12 16

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Inaugural Flyers Cup Rankings

Hi Folks,

Hockey Happenings has been on an unscheduled hiatus the past week. We’re glad to mark our return with a belated set of Flyers Cup rankings. Kudos to the members of the Flyers Cup Committee for their efforts.

Flyers Cup Rankings as of 12-18-23

Class AAA

La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum
Father Judge

Class AA

Pennridge
Council Rock South
Downingtown West
Boyertown
Central Bucks South

Class A

West Chester East
Penncrest
Garnet Valley
Marple Newrown
Lower Dauphin

Girls

Avon Grove
Downingtown West
West Chester Henderson
Kingsway
Conestoga

Rankings determined by the Flyers Cup Committee based on game results and observations by committee members. The Flyers Cup is an invitational tournament; there are no automatic bids.

C.B. East 2 North Penn 1

Even in December, points are precious. Which is Friday’s matchup between North Penn and Central Bucks East, which closed out the pre-Christmas portion of the SHSHL schedule, was so significant.

It was the Patriots who prevailed on this occasion. Charlie Keiser and Alex Wilson scored goals 51 seconds apart midway through the second period to give East a 2-1 win at Hatfield Ice.

Despite being outshot 34-15 the Patriots improved to 6-3 as the SHSHL National Division schedule hit the halfway point. North Penn (6-3) got a goal from Cole Pluck with 1:53 left in the middle period but couldn’t solve Cole Breen the rest of the way.

Breen finished with 33 saves, 15 of them in the third period.

East’s goalie played outstanding,” said North Penn coach Kevon Vaitis. “Hats off to him. We didn’t play well enough in the second period and we didn’t do enough to generate quality scoring chances.”

C.B. East 0 2 0—2

North Penn 0 1 0

Second-period goals: Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Ethan Cenci, 9:29 (pp); Alex Wilson (CBE) unassisted, 10:20; Cole Pluck (NP), 15:07

Shots: C.B. East 15, North Penn 34; Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 33, Maks-Joseph Harkins (NP) 13)