Pennridge 6 C.B. East 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It was not a good night to be a goaltender. Pennridge and Central Bucks East played 51 minutes of up-and-down hockey Thursday night in a game that a saw saw 83 shots, 10 goals, and two hat tricks before the Rams prevailed 6-4 in at Hatfield Ice.

The win solidified the bulk of the SHSHL National Division playoff bracket. Pennridge (13-4, 8-2 in the division) clinched the second seed and earned a bye into the semifinals.

The Patriots (8-8-1, 4-5-1) will be seeded sixth and will face third seed Pennsbury in a first-round game next Wednesday. Neshaminy and Central Bucks South will face each other in next Wednesday’s other first round game.

Pennridge’s Kevin Pico and C.B. East’s Corey Cosick led the way for their respective sides. Pico delivered three goals himself and assisted on a fourth, while Cosick tallied three goals of his own. Both players had plenty of open ice to work in, albeit at a moderate tempo; there was little physicality on display in part because many of the Rams and Patriots are club teammates.

“I think we’re better when teams don’t play physical,” Pico said. “(The Patriots) are our friends, so we’re not going to play as physical as usual and they’re not going to play as physical.”

Charlie Keiser and Pico traded goals in the first period. Cosick gave East a 2-1 lead 67 seconds into the second frame and shortly thereafter Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his timeout to deliver a motivational address.

“I didn’t like the way they were playing,” he said. “I thought we looked like a team that played the night before (a 9-1 win over Council Rock North) and like they have for a lot of games this year. They were just going through the motions in the first period.”

Then Rams responded. Pico and Andrew Savona scored goals two-and-a-half minutes apart to give the Rams a 3-2 lead. Cosick tied the game for the Patriots with 7:19 left in the period but James Embert and Pico scored goals 44 seconds apart to give the Rams a two-goal lead.

Cosick completed his hat trick with 1:37 left in the period but Pennridge’s Dane Fitchett scored the only goal of the third period. East’s chances were diminished when D.J. Brown was whistled for a check from behind with 7:20 left in the game.

East goaltender Matt Mangiacapre kept his team in the game, he was credited with 52 saves

“We came out strong and matched their tempo,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell., but we took a couple bad penalties in the third period. (Brown) is our top defenseman that was here tonight. It wasn’t intentional, it was just an ill-timed call and an ill-timed play.

“All in all I thought we played a great game. Our goaltender played on his head again.”

Pennridge 1 4 1—6

C.B. East 1 3 0—4

First-period goals: Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Drew Trask, 1:50; Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 10:43

Second-period goals: Corey Cosick (CBE) from Keiser, 1:17; Pico (P) unassisted, 4:16; Andrew Savona (P) from Pico and Colin Dachowki, 6:51; Cosick (CBE) from Stephen DiRugeris, 9:41; James Embert (P)) from Colin Dachowski, 11:25; Pico (P) from Savona and Shane Dachowski, 12:19; Cosick (CBE) unassisted, 15:23

Third-period goals: Dane Fitchett (P) from Savona and Colin Dachowski, 1:59

Shots: Pennridge 58, C.B. East 25; Saves: Jacob Winston (P) 21 Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 52

Quakertown 7 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Officially, Wednesday’s matchup between Quakertown was the regular-season finale for both teams. In reality, it might as well have been a playoff game.

It was the Panthers who prevailed 7-2 in a SHSHL American Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win assures Quakertown (10-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in the division) of a playoff spot. Wissahickon (10-6, 6-6 in the division) comes up short if, as expected, Plymouth Whitemarsh defeats Springfield on Thursday night. Both teams remain eligible for the Flyers Cup tournament.

Kiera Shaw played a huge role in Quakertown’s success. The junior scored two goals, including the game winner.

The first period belonged to Quakertown goaltender Matt Krem, who turned aside 17 of the 18 shots he saw in the opening session. Largely as the result of Krem’s efforts, the teams ended the first frame tied at 1-1. The Trojans’ Danny Hussa and the Panthers’ William Shaw were the goal scorers.

“We’re just so thankful that Matt is great in net,” Kiera Shaw said. “They were beating up on us in the first period so we took it to them in the second and third and got it back.”

The Panthers did just that, albeit with some from the Trojans
Defensive zone breakdowns led to three Quakertown goals in a span of 1 minute, 25 seconds. Cole Slemmer (on a shorthanded effort), Kiera Shaw, and Jack Diliberto were the goal scorers.

“In the second period they got more aggressive,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “They would chip it down below the goal line. That’s bread and butter for them.”

Trailing 4-2 at the 4:01 mark of the third period, the Trojans got a huge opportunity when Slemmer and his teammate Corbin Cassel drew minor penalties simultaneously, giving the Trojans a two-man advantage for two minutes. Slemmer went on to draw a game misconduct penalty for a verbal outburst; as he left the ice he hurled his stick over the glass behind the Quakertown net.

Instead of capitalizing on the advantage however, the Trojans floundered. Kiera Shaw scored a shorthanded goal at the 5:43 mark and the Panthers maintained control to the wire.

Quakertown’s Lucas Cunnane scored the final two goals of the evening; his second goal came with 3:23 remaining and was scored into an empty net.

“We’ve talked all year about zone time,” said Quakertown coach Keith Krem. “We didn’t win that battle at all in the first period. We got some big saves on the back side and kind of got through the storm.

“They were only running two lines on the other side … we thought they were going to gas out and if we stopped turning pucks over on our exits and started getting pucks in our zone, we’d get our opportunities.”

Shaw credited the Quakertown rooting section for the energy in the building.

“They just really made the atmosphere great tonight,” she said. “Everyone was ready for the game. Everyone really loves the team and wants to keep playing.”

Quakertown 1 3 3—7

Wissahickon 1 10—2

First-period goals: Danny Hussa from Aiden Brooks, 11:04; William Shaw (Q) unassisted, 14:01

Second-period goals: Danny Hussa unassisted, 4:23 (pp); Cole Slemmer (Q) from Jack Diliberto, 11:48 (sh); Kiera Shaw (Q) from Lucas Cunnane 12;52; Diliberto (Q) unassisted, 13:13

Third-period goals: Kiera Shaw (Q) unassisted 5:43 (sh); Cunnane (Q) from William Shaw, 10:42; Cunnane (Q) unassisted, 13:37

Shots: Quakertown 25, Wissahickon 38

Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 23, Fletcher Lynch 31

Flyers Cup Rankings 2-13-23

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Pre[
La Salle
St. oseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Father udge

Class AA

Council Rock South
Conestoga
Pennridge
Avon Grove
Pennsbury

Class A

West Chester East
West Chester Rustin
Marple Newtown
Radnor
Hershey

Girls

Avon Grobe
Downingtown West
Unionville
West Chester East
Kingsway

NJ/Delaware

Salesianum
Cherokee
Eastern
Washington Township
Moorsetown

This is the final set of rankings before the field for the Flyers Cup tournament will be finalized on February 26. The tournament is an invitational event; teams are selected and seeded by the Flyers Cup Committee. There are no automatic bids.

SHSHL Recap for 2-11-23

National Division W L T OTL Pts

C.R. South (14-1-0-1) 8 0 0 1 17

Pennsbury (11-5) 7 2 0 0 14

Pennridge (11-4) 6 2 0 0 12

Neshaminy (10-4-1) 5 2 1 0 11

C.B. South (8-7-0-1) 5 4 0 0 10

C.B. East (8-7-1) 4 4 1 0 9

C.R. North (5-9-1-1) 3 4 1 1 8

C.B. West (5-10-0-1) 3 5 0 1 7

Souderton (5-10-0-1) 3 6 0 0 6

North Penn (5-9-1-1) 1 6 1 1 4

Bensalem (2-13) 1 7 0 0 2

American Division W L T OTL Pts

Abington (14-0-1-1) 10 0 1 1 22

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-6) 6 5 0 0 12

Wissahickon (9-6) 6 5 0 0 12

Quakertown (9-4-1-1) 5 4 1 1 12

Springfield (0-15) 0 11 0 0 0

Teams in bold have clinched SHSHL playoff spots

Philadelphia Blind Hockey works to ensure that every individual who is blind or partially sighted has the opportunity to participate in the sport. Find out more HERE

Scoring

National Division G A Pts

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 27 17 44

Andrew Savona (Pr) 16 22 38

Kevin Pico (Pr) 18 19 37

Max Gallagher (Nesh) 21 10 31

John Stinson (NP) 19 10 29

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 17 12 29

Seth Grossman (Soud) 17 11 28

Aydin Thierolf (CBS) 14 14 28

Jake Weiner (CRS) 18 8 26

Kevin Koles (CRS) 11 15 26

Alex Hood (Ben) 20 5 25

Corey Kosick (CBE) 15 10 25

Andrew Falkenstein (Pb) 5 20 25

American Division G A Pts

Matthew Flynn (PW) 21 19 40

Matt Kramer (Ab) 25 15 40

David Branigan (PW) 11 21 32

Branden McNally (Q) 17 15 32

Ian Heydt (Ab) 13 19 32

Seth Abramson (Ab) 13 17 30

Will Hussa (Wiss) 24 5 29

Sam Paulik (Ab) 16 11 27

Dylan Novitski (PW) 15 12 27

Pat Stelacio (Ab) 15 10 25

La Salle 4 Council Rock South 0

Four different players scored goals as La Salle bested Council Rock South 4-0 Wednesday afternoon in a non-league game at Hatfield Ice.

Patrick Brace and Tim Whittock gave the Explorers a 2-0 first-period lead; Declan Kelly and Dean Carvalho added goals in the final period.

The Explorers improved to 10-8-2. The Golden Hawks dropped to 13-3 with one of their defeats coming in overtime.

Council Rock South 0 0 0—0

La Salle 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Grant LeGreca, 2:54; Tim Whittock (L) from Max Monzo, 4:13

Third-period goals: Declan Kelly (L) from Ryan Warner and Ryan Desmond, 10:12 (pp); Dean Carvalho (L) from Owen Quinn, 12:55

Shots: C.R. South 23m LaSalle 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41< Aries Carangi 23

SHSHL Update 2-8-2023

National Division W L T OTL Pts

*C.R. South (13-2-0-1) 7 0 0 1 15

*Pennsbury (11-4) 7 2 0 0 14

*Neshaminy (10-3-1) 5 1 1 0 11

Pennridge (10-4) 5 2 0 0 10

C.B. East (8-5-1) 4 2 1 0 9

C.B. South (7-7-0-1) 4 4 0 1 9

C.R. North (4-9-1-1) 3 4 1 1 8

C.B. West (5-10-0-1) 3 5 0 1 7

Souderton (5-9-0-1) 3 6 0 0 6

Bensalem (2-12) 1 6 0 0 2

North Penn (4-9-1-1) 0 6 1 1 2

American Division W L T OTL Pts

*Abington (13-0-1-1) 10 0 1 1 22

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-6) 6 5 0 0 12

Quakertown (8-4-1-1) 5 4 1 1 12

Wissahickon (8-6) 5 5 0 0 10

Springfield (1-13) 0 10 0 0 0

• Clinched playoff spot

SHSHL Announces Playoff Dates

The Suburban High School Hockey League has set its schedule for its upcoming playoffs.

The postseason will commence on Wednesday, February 22 with two National Division first-round games featuring the third-place finisher against the sixth seed and the fourth seed facing the fifth seed.

Those games will at Hatfield Ice and Grundy Arena, with game times and sites to be determined.

The winners will advance to semifinal games on Wednesday, March 1 at Hatfield Ice and Grundy Arena against the first and second seeds, both of whom have opening-round byes.

The championship game will be played on Thursday, March 2 at either Hatfield or Grundy with a scheduled start time of 7:20.

The American Division playoffs will feature just three teams. The second and third seeds will meet on Thursday, February 23 at Hatfield at 7:10. The winner will face the top seed in the division championship game on Wednesday, Match 1 at 7:20 at Hatfield Ice.

Council Rock South 5 Pennridge 3

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Flyers Cup tournament is just over a month away, but Council Rock South and Pennridge offered a preview on Wednesday night.

The Golden Hawks and the Rams demonstrated why they are serious Class AA Flyers Cup contenders before the Hawks emerged with a 5-3 win in front a of a full house in the Blue Rink at Hatfield ice.

The win lifted South to 12-1-0-1 on the season and 6-0-0-1 in SHSHSL National Division play. The Hawks are listed third in the current Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

The loss dropped Pennridge 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the division. The Rams stand fourth in the Flyers Cup rankings.

The opening period saw the teams combine for five goals in a span of 8 minutes, 48 seconds.
Evan Mostoller started it off for the Golden Hawks just 1:52 with a shot along the ice from the right point that eluded Pennridge netminder Jacob Gilbert. Jake Weiner made it a 2-0 game at the 3:34 mark.

Dane Fitchett got the Rams on the scoreboard at 4:47 and Shane Dachowski tied the game at 10:13 but Illia Mukhin answered for South 27 seconds later via bad bounce and the Hawks never trailed again.

At period’s end Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna made a goaltender change, inserting Jacob Winton between the pipes.

“He allowed us to regain our equilibrium,” Montagna said. “He did exactly what you need him to do when you come into that situation. It is not an easy spot for a sophomore playing his fourth varsity game.”

Winton and South’s Carson Lopez were virtually impregnable most of the rest of the way. Lopez did not yield another goal while Winton was steadfast until Mukhin and Chase Tovsky scored goals 42 seconds apart to give South a 5-2 lead with 6:42 left in the third period.

With 48.2 seconds remaining in the game emotions boiled over and a scrum erupted along the boards near the Council Rock South bench. Four players were penalized.

South’s Blaize Pepe received a roughing minor plus a major penalty for fighting. Lopez, the only goaltender the Hawks had dressed, was penalized for leaving his crease and banished for being the third man in a fight.

The Rams lost Dachowski via a fighting major and a game misconduct and Andrew Savona for being a third man in.

What followed was the unique circumstance of the Golden Hawks playing with a three-goal lead and defending an empty net, since they had no one available to replace Lopez in goal. It took just nine seconds for Kevin Pico to score into the empty net to make it a two-goal game.

That turned out to be the last goal of the evening but the fireworks weren’t over; with 10 seconds left in the game Weiner and Gavin Nisenzon drew misconduct penalties for the Golden Hawks.

The late-game histrionics overshadowed Lopez’s work in the South net; he finished with 41 saves.

“He gives confidence to the team,” said South’s Ilya Kudzinau. “It gives us the confidence to push back. It’s really nice to have a goalie like that.”

Montagna noted his team was in the game up to the last.

“We outplayed that team for long stretches,” he said. “We had odd-man rush after odd-man rush but we couldn’t finish.”

In the end, the Rams were unable to get the better of Lopez.

“We know what Carson is,” Montagna said. “We got to him early and he settled in and made big save after big save for them.”

South coach Joe Houk noted his team picked up the pace in the third period.

“I thought we outplayed them in the third period,” he said. “We loved the puck better. We had more opportunities. They had a lot of power plays but they couldn’t (convert).

“Like I told the guys, a good team finds way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”

Council Rock South 3 0 2—5

Pennridge 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Evan Mostoller (CRS) from Bobby Gilbert and Illia Mukhin, 1:52; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Kevin Koles, 3:34; Dane Fitchett (P) from Nate McKean and Andrew Lizak, 4:47; Shane Dachowski (P) from Kevin Pico, 10:13; Mukhin (P) unassisted, 10:40

Third-period goals: Mukhin (CRS) from Weiner and Ilya Kudzinau, 9:36; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Koles, 10:18 (sh); Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 16:21

Shots: Council Rock South 40, Pennridge 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41, Jacob Gilbert (P) 8 and Jacob Winton (P) 27

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Flyers Cup tournament is just over a month away, but Council Rock South and Pennridge offered a preview on Wednesday night.

The Golden Hawks and the Rams demonstrated why they are serious Class AA Flyers Cup contenders before the Hawks emerged with a 5-3 win in front a of a full house in the Blue Rink at Hatfield ice.

The win lifted South to 12-1-0-1 on the season and 6-0-0-1 in SHSHSL National Division play. The Hawks are listed third in the current Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

The loss dropped Pennridge 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the division. The Rams stand fourth in the Flyers Cup rankings.

Dane Fitchett got the Rams on the scoreboard at 4:47 and Shane Dachowski tied the game at 10:13 but Illia Mukhin answered for South 27 seconds later via bad bounce and the Hawks never trailed again.

At period’s end Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna made a goaltender change, inserting Jacob Winton between the pipes.

With 48.2 seconds remaining in the game emotions boiled over and a scrum erupted along the boards near the Council Rock South bench. Four players were penalized.
South’s Blaize Pepe received a roughing minor plus a major penalty for fighting. Lopez, the only goaltender the Hawks had dressed, was penalized for leaving his crease and banished for being the third man in a fight.

The Rams lost Dachowski via a fighting major and a game misconduct and Andrew Savona for being a third man in.

That turned out to be the last goal of the evening but the fireworks weren’t over; with 10 seconds left in the game Weiner and Gavin Nisenzon drew misconduct penalties for the Golden Hawks.

The late-game histrionics overshadowed Lopez’s work in the South net; he finished with 41 saves.

“He gives confidence to the team,” said South’s Ilya Kudzinau. “It gives us the confidence to push back. It’s really nice to have a goalie like that.”

Montagna noted his team was in the game up to the last.

“We outplayed that team for long stretches,” he said. “We had odd-man rush after odd-man rush but we couldn’t finish.”

In the end, the Rams were unable to get the better of Lopez.

“We know what Carson is,” Montagna said. We got to him early and he settled in and made big save after big save for them.”

South coach Joe Houk noted his team picked up the pace in the third period.

“I thought we outplayed them in the third period,” he said. “We loved the puck better. We had more opportunities. They had a lot of power plays but they couldn’t (convert).

“Like I told the guys, a good team finds way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”

Council Rock South 3 0 2—5

Pennridge 2 0 1—3

Third-period goals: Mukhin (CRS) from Weiner and Ilya Kudzinau, 9:36; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Koles, 10:18 (sh); Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 16:21

Shots: Council Rock South 40, Pennridge 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41, Jacob Gilbert (P) 8 and Jacob Winton (P) 27

C.R. South, Pennridge Set for Key SHSHL Matchup

It shapes up as the most significant game of the year in the SHSHL, and one of the league’s most meaningful regular-season games of recent years.
Council Rock and Pennridge will square off Wednesday night in a game that is likely to have a profound impact on the SHSHL’s National Division standings and the Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

Game time is 7:20 in the Blue Rink at Hatfield Ice. The game will also be streamed on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel.

It’s the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Pennridge won the first meeting 7-4 on December 15 in a game that counted toward the Flyers Cup rankings but not in the division standings.

Here’s how the teams match up for Wednesday’s game.

Council Rock South (11-1-0-1, 5-0-0-1 in the National Division)

Coach: Joe Houk

Leading scorers: Blaize Pepe 13 goals 12 assists 25 points

Kevin Koles 9/13/22

Jake Weiner 15/6/21

Goaltender: Carson Lopez .915 Save percentage 2.16 GAA

Pennridge (10-3, 5-1 in the National Division)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Leading scorers: Andrew Savona 16 goals 22 assists 38 points

Kevin Pico 16/18/34

Shane Dachowski 16/12/28

Goaltender: Jacob Gilbert .870 Save percentage 3.76 GAA

Council Rock South 5 Holy Ghost Prep 4

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—There was an air of anticipation in the building when Holy Ghost Prep and Council Rock South took the ice at Revolution Ice Gardens Monday night.

The matchup brought together two teams who are legitimate Flyers Cup contenders in their respective classes; the Firebirds in Class AAA and the Golden Hawks in Class AA.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed on this occasion overcoming am early 2-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win.

Monday’s game was also a meeting of two of the area’s most respected coaches. Joe Houk has been at Council Rock South for 17 seasons. Gump Whiteside has been at Holy Ghost Prep for 15 seasons and spent eight years at Germantown Academy before that.

Both Houk and Whiteside have won scores of games and have Flyers Cup and state titles on their resumes. They share a passion for the game of hockey—and a mutual respect that goes back to when they played against each other in their high-school days.

“Joe’s a pro,” Whiteside. “Quite honestly, he’s been a mentor to me. I’ve coached Joe for many, many, many, many years and he’s always been a pro,

“He always approaches it the right way. He doesn’t have an ego it’s not about him. It’s about his players.

“And you could see it tonight. He had his team prepared. Joe is the ultimate pro, the ultimate mentor, and quite honestly a great guy.”

Whiteside noted the tenaciousness Houk’s teams regularly bring to the rink.

“They play with grit,” he said.”

Houk similar sentiments.

“Gump is a good guy, a good human being,” he said. “He brings such a good quality of the sport to the game.

“He’s a man of character. And he cares about the kids. It’s not ‘Win at all costs’ with him. It’s more about development and hopefully, you move some of those kids on.

“He’s just a good guy. He’s a good guy for the sport.”

• Jake Weiner scored a pair of goals 45 seconds apart that turned a 2-2 standoff into a 4-2 South lead and the Golden Hawks never trailed again.

The win was South’s 11^th of the season against two defeats with one of the losses coming in overtime.

Houk said going against a team the Firebirds said a lot about his own team’s potential for success.

“If we can at that sustained level we played at tonight,” he said. “The physical part of it, keeping things simple, keeping things to the outside, getting the opportunities on transition. I thought we controlled the whole game (but) they’re good. They’ve got some really, really good skill players. They move the puck well. They’re a good team. They’re going to go far too.”

Brady Baehser scored three goals for the Firebirds, who saw their record drop to 13-6.

“We got up 2-0 and that’s when we started to take them lightly,” he said. “And we just fell apart.”
Baehser said the defeat highlighted the importance delivering a solid effort from the start to finish of each game.”

“We’re a very talented team and we think we can win games based off that. But that outworked us all night, all three periods and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 0—4

Council Rock South 2 3 0—5

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Patrick Slook and John Seravalli, 1:03; Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 5:18; Blaize Peppe (CRS) unassisted, 8:39; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Gavin Nisenson, :41

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Illia Muckhin, 3:19; Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 4:04; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 8:26 (pp); Joseph Diiulio (CRS) from Weiner and Pepe, 12:04; Baehser (HGP) from Stout, 12:35 (pp)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 27, Council Rock South 41; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 36 Carson Lopez (CRS) 23