New Faces Coming to SHSHL as a Familiar Face Returns

Several Suburban Hugh School Hockey League teams will have new faces behind their benches when the 2025-26 season kicks off next month and a familiar face will be returning.

That familiar face is Jeff Montagna, who will be back for his eighth season at Pennridge; he had previously announced his resignation.

Josh Sklar, a former player and assistant coach at Central Bucks South, is taking over for Shuan McGinty, who has stepped down after nine seasons.

Frank Blust, an assistant to Montagna at the club level, will assume command of the program at Central Bucks West, replacing Dave Baun, who is retiring after 20 seasons in charge.

Ryan Uchniat, who directed Souderton for five seasons for five years before stepping away last year, is returning this season, replacing Scott Ryon.

There is one change in the league’s alignment this coming season. Council Rick North will not be part of the National Division. the Indians have formed a combined team with New Hope-Solebury that will compete in the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League.

Keystone State Games Rosters

Hockey players from throughout the Commonwealth will converge at Penn State University next weekend for the Keystone State Games. Round robin play will take place at Pegula Ice Arena next Friday and Saturday, July 25-26. The gold and bronze medal games will be played on Sunday, July 27.

Games will be played in five divisions: 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U, and 19U (female) with teams representing four regions in the state.

Listed below are the U16 and U18 rosters for the South region, which encompasses the five-county Philadelphia area.

18U

1 Aiden Mott G

2 David Brown D

3 Brett Linker D

4 Aiden Paster D

5 Michael Snyder D

6 Jake Stepp D

7 Wim van Rossum D

8 Sean Cutter F

9 Shane Dachowski F

10 Declan Dowd F

11 Thomas Ely F

12 Ryan Frey F

13 Grady Jones F

14 Socrates Kelly F

15 Mason McCabe F

16 Lucas Mott F

17 Kevin Pico F

18 Cole Pluck F

19 Reed Surak F

30 Jacob Rotwitt G

16U

1 Nate Napolitano G

2 Seth Bender D

3 Aiden Collins D

4 Gabriel Dunn D

5 Aiden North D

6 Sean Tobin D

7 John Wagner D

8 Ryan Christie F

9 Joseph Darrah F

10 Malakye Johnson F

11 AJ Marazzacco F

12 Sean Scott F

13 Gavin Tietz F

14 Dean Venner F

15 Delan Wilson F

16 Alex Wilson F

17 Connor Boland F

18 Kamren Wetherell F

19 Dominic Gibson F

30 Peter Neveil G

Hockey Happenings is looking for contributing writers for the upcoming hockey season. If you’d like more information, e-mail is at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

Pluck Looks Back on North Penn’s State Championship Win

It’s been not quite a week now since Cole Pluck and his North Penn teammates left the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center in procession of the Class AA Pennsylvania Cup after a 4-1 won over Erie Cathedral Prep.

The state-title game marked the conclusion of a remarkable senior season for Pluck, who finished with 27 goals and 37 assists for 64 points. He provided five goals and two assists in three Flyers Cup games to share the top of Class AA division pyramid in both goals and scoring but it could be argued his most significant contribution of the season came late in the state final.

Going into the third period, North Penn trailed, 1-0 having had a an apparent game-tying goal waved off late in the second period because the net was dislodged. Sam Norton drew his team even however with a power-play goal 2:49 into the final session. Norton’s goal the Knights a fresh surge of energy as momentum swung in their direction.

“We were all excited to get one on the board,” Pluck said, “especially after one was waved off. And yeah, it swung the momentum our way. And then we had more energy.”

As the clock wound down inside the four-minute mark the Knights got control of the game with two quick goals. Pluck assisted on James Boyle’s effort with 3:36 left in regulation. Daniel Cabrales extended his team’s lead just 19 seconds later.

{Cathedral Prep} didn’t know what to do at that point Pluck recalled.

Nolan Single added the final goal to put the finishing touches on a season that saw North Penn win 21 of 24 starts. At one point, they won 13 consecutive games.

After dropping their opener, the Knights won three straight, outscoring their opponents 30-6. Pluck said it was about then he and his teammates realized they had the potential to do something special.

“I would say after the first couple games when we were just blowing teams out,” he said.

“We knew we were going to be a good team coming into it. But we didn’t know we would make it this far for sure. we definitely didn’t know that we’d win states.”

Pluck, who is hoping to play college club or junior hockey next season, notes that North Penn’s roster blended youth and experience. Of the 25 players on the Knights’ Flyers Cup roster, 11 were underclassmen, including four freshmen.

“The younger kids aren’t afraid to show what the can do on the ice,” he said. “The older kids, they have confidence and don’t have a problem with them showing what they can do.’

Pluck said there was no resentment among the veterans about losing ice time to younger teammates.

“I don’t think anybody had a problem,” he said. “we just all wanted to win.”

In the end the depth on the roster was a big reason for the Knights’ success.

“It was a huge factor,” Pluck said. “We all contributed.”

North Penn 4 Erie Cathedral Prep 1

The game was up for grabs. North Penn stepped up and took it.

James Boyle and Daniel Carbrales scored third-period goals 19 apart Saturday afternoon to snap a 1-1 tie and propel the Knights to 4-1 win over Erie Cathedral Prep in the Pennsylvania Class AA hockey championship game at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center.

It was the first state hockey championship for North Penn (22-3) in the school’s history and the third state championship for the Suburban High School Hockey League in four years: Pennridge won Class AA titles in 2022 and ’24.

There was little to choose between the two teams for the first two periods. The Raiders’ Tucker Kinnear delivered the only goal in that span, 5:19 into the second frame.

With 4:52 left in the period the Knights briefly appeared to have scored the tying goal. Cathedral Prep goaltender Ian Brown denied Norton on a wraparound before Derek Lugera put in the rebound. The apparent goal was disallowed however when it ruled was the net had come off its moorings prior to the puck crossing the goal line.

During the post-second period ice cut, North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis reassured his players.

“I told them we’ve just got to keep moving the puck,” he said, “keep playing our game and our chances are going to come.”

At the start of the third period, Samuel Norton stepped up. With the Ramblers’ Charlie McBrier in the box serving an interference penalty, Norton, a sophomore made a dash down the right wing and beat Brown to tie the game 2:49 into the period.

As the clock wound down, momentum seemed to be shifting in North Penn’s direction. Boyle drove that point home with emphasis with 3:36 left in the game when he found the back of the net with a one-timer from the left point. It was a power-play goal; the Raiders were playing a man down after being caught with too many men on the ice.

Just 19 seconds later Cabrales scored a goal of his own to tighten the Knights’ hold on the game,

Nolan Shingle the evening with a goal into an empty net with 43 seconds remaining.

Vaitis said sened early on this could be a special season.

“At the beginning of the season when we met with them for the first time, we knew with the team we were going to have and the talent we were going to have what we were capable of doing,” he said. “We believed in them and it was a matter of them understanding of they were able to put the work in, just how special the season could be for them.”

North Penn 0 0 4—4

Cathedral Prep 0 1 0—1

Second-period goal: Tucker Kinnear from Ethan Cunningham and Chris Bruschi, 5:19

Third-period goals: Samuel Norton (NP) unassisted, 2:49 (pp); James Boyle (NP) from Norton and Cole Pluck, 13:24 (pp); Daniel Cabrales (NP), 13:43 unassisted; Nolan Single (NP) 16:17 (en) unassisted

Shots: North Penn 35, Erie Cathedral Prep 27; Saves: Andy Norton (NP) 26, Ian Brown (CP) 31

Pennsylvania State Championship Schedule

Saturday 3-22

At Robert Morris University Neville Island site

Class A

12:45 Garnet Valley 7 Avonworth 2 Final

Class AA

3:30 North Penn vs Cathedral Prep

Class AAA

6:15 Holy Ghost vs Seneca Valley

A video stream will be available at:

Www.tenband.tv

North Penn Takes Flyers Cup AA Final

The game was hanging in the balance. With 4 minutes, 26 seconds gone in the third period of Wednesday’s Class AA Flyers Cup final, second-seed North Penn was holding a 3-2 lead over top-seeded Council Rock South.

But the Knights’ Sam Norton was sitting in the penalty box, having been assessed a minor penalty for high sticking and the Golden Hawks, who were preparing to embark on a two-minute power play, seemed to have momentum flowing their way.

But appearances were deceiving.

Instead of taking a conservative stance, the Knights stayed in an up-tempo mode and were rewarded with a shorthanded goal from Cole Pluck exactly 60 seconds into their supposed penalty kill.

Pluck’s effort led to four additional goals in the third period as North Penn pulled away to an 8-2 to claim the first Flyers Cup in school history. North Penn (20-3) will face Erie Cathedral Prep on Saturday in the Class AA State championship game in suburban Pittsburgh.

Pluck finished with two goals and two assists.

“This feel great he said. “The best moment of my life, so far.”

Pluck described his second goal, which altered the entire texture of the game.

“{C.R. South} needed a goal and were pressing up,” he said. “The {defenseman} just stepped up and I went around him.”

Pluck says the Knights are comfortable playing up-tempo hockey in shorthanded situations.

“We like to try to play offense on the kill sometimes,” he said.

The final period of Wednesday’s matchup was a distinctly separate entity than the first two, which saw Jake Weiner score twice for the Golden Hawks (22-3) and Pluck and Norton match him for North Penn. Daniel Cabrales gave North Penn a 3-2 lead 5:56 into the second frame and the Knights took the lead into the break for the post-second-period ice cut.

“We talked to them between the periods,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We said we knew we had to come out and take it. They weren’t going to give it to us. {He told his team} we’ve got to come out and finish this game. And that’s exactly what we did, we dominated that third period.”

Pluck’s shorthanded goal gave North Penn a 4-2 lead. Norton followed with his second goal of the night with 7:40 remaining as South slowly unraveled; Nolan Shingle, Declan Leahy and Luke Haftel added goals for North Penn in the closing minutes, all of them coming on power plays; there were nine penalties called in the third period five of them against South. North Penn’s Thomas Sprague and South’s Luke Ralston were each drew simultaneous minors and misconducts as part of the emotional overload down the stretch.

South coach Joe Houk gave full credit to the Knights.

“They were the better team tonight,” he said. “We ran out of gas. We have it everything we had.

‘We’ve said three out of the last four years ‘We’ll be back here next year. But we can’t get over that hump.”

• The All-Tournament Team, selected by the Flyers Cup Committee included:

G Andy Norton North Penn

D Jake Maurer Council Rock South

D James Boyle North Penn

F Sam Norton North Penn

F Cole Pluck North Penn

F Jake Weiner Council Rock South

Norton, a sophomore, was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“It’s a great feeling to know I was the MVP,” he said, “but without the whole team, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.”

Norton said winning the Flyers Cup title marked the completion of a season-long journey.

“We had a big goal from the start,” he said, “but completing it and getting ahold of this trophy, it’s unreal.”

Of the 25 players on North Penn’s Flyers Cup roster, only three were seniors and 11 were underclassmen.

North Penn 2 1 5—8

C.R. South 1 1 0—2

First-period goals; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Wesley Mallon, :54; Cole Pluck (NP) from James Boyle, 1:56; Samuel Norton (NP) from Norton, 6:50

Second-period goals; Weiner (CRS) from Jonah Weston and Jagger Smith, 3:34; Daniel Cabrales (NP) from Declan Leahy, 5:56

Third-period goals: Pluck (NP) from Boyle, 5:36 (sh); Norton (NP) from Pluck, 9:40 Nolan Shingle (NP) from Pluck, 13:14 (pp) Leahy (NP), unassisted, 14:05 (pp); Luke Haftel (NP) from Derek Lugura, 14:40 (pp)

Shots and saves unavailable

Flyers Cup Cup Class AAA and AA Finals Preview

Longtime rivals collide Wednesday night in a Flyers Cup finals doubleheader at Hatfield Ice. Here’s a look at the matchups.

Class AAA Final—6:00

1 Holy Ghost Prep (20-4-1)

Coach: John Ritchie

Players to watch: Brady Logue 25 goals, 18 assists, 43 points inc. 6 goals and 2 assists for 8 points in the tournament; Joe Spadaccino 10-17-27, 0-3-3 in the tournament; Brian Kinniry 18-6-24, 1-1-2 in the tournament; Jack Unger 1.74 GAA, .922 save percentage

How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Salesianum 5-2 in the semifinals.

2 LaSalle (17-7)

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Players to watch: Nole Donohue 14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points including 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in the tournament; Grant LaGreca 20-5-25, 3-0-3 in the tournament; Julian Tarsi 10-14-24, 0-4-4 in the tournament; Jake Rossi 1.90 GAA, .926 save percentage

How they got here: Defeated Devon Prep 7-0 in the quarterfinals and Father Judge 7-2 in the semifinals.

Ice chips: This game marks the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams. The Firebirds won the previous three, including the Founders Cup championship game for the APAC title 6-4 on February 26th.

The Explorers will be trying to win their third consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup and their 13^th overall (they’ve also won it once in Class AA). Their 13 overall titles is a record in any classification. Holy Ghost Prep has won four Flyer Cup titles, three times in Class AAA, once in Class AA.

Class AA Final—8:45

1 Council Rock South (22-2)

Coach: Joe Houk

Players to watch: Jake Weiner 43 goals, 21 assists, 60 points, including 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in the tournament; Jeremy Rayher 33-31-64, 4-2-6 in the tournament; Jordan Sarne 18-27-45, 1-3-4 in the tournament; Trey Prozzillo 2.56 GAA; .884 save percentage

How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Spring-Ford 7-2 in the semifinals

2 North Penn (19-3)

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Players to watch: Cole Pluck 24 goals, 33 assists, 57 points; 3 goals in the tournament; Samuel Norton 28-28-53.0-3-3 in the tournament Nolan Shingle 23-18-41, 4-2 in the tournament; Aidan Quigley 1.91 GAA .923 save percentage; Andrew Norton 2.14 GAA .909 save percentage

Ice chips: The teams split two regular-season meetings. The Golden Hawks won the first 6-3 on November 20^th, the Knights took the rematch 5-3 on February 5^th.

South is seeking its fourth Flyers Cup title and its first since 2012. North Penn is seeking its first Cup.

CR South 7 Spring-Ford 2

Council Rock South got off to a fast start Thursday night and never really slowed down.

Jeremy Rayher scored twice in the first period and the Golden Hawks went on to a 7-2 win over Spring-Ford Thursday night at Hatfield Ice Arena. Top-seeded South (22-2) will try to win its fourth Flyers Cup next Wednesday night when it faces North Penn (8:45 at Hatfield Ice).

Spring-Ford, the 12^th and last seed in the tournament, closed its season at 12-10-1 after winning two games to reach the semifinal round.

Rayher got his team on the scoreboard with 3:23 left in the opening and added a second goal with 57 second left. Those goals, his third and fourth of the tournament, set tone for the evening.

Rayher, a senior, spoke to the importance of the fast start.

“We all knew what my sophomore year with Pennsbury,” he said (the Hawks lost to the Falcons in the Flyers Cup semifinals).

“I just want that ring, everyone on the team wants that ring, so we all just came out hard, we came out with a mindset to win this game.

“We all just took it to them. We hit hard, we got a lot of shots on net. The goalie gave up lots of rebounds and we capitalized on them.”

Koen Gregg scored for the Rams 3:25 into the middle period to make it a 2-1 game but Daniel Filippov answered of South at the 6:34 mark.

The Hawks broke the game open when Jonah Weston, Rayher, and Jackson Mosley all scored goals in a span of 2 minutes, 39 seconds early in the third period. The balance of the period saw Spring-Ford’s Nathan Riley and the Hawks’ Peter Pereborow trade goals.

“We got a little rocky in the second period,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We let them get a real crappy goal, but o thought all in all our puck pursuit was there.

“Maybe a little too much individual play. We got away from our game plan a little bit there.”

But Houk was able to get his troops refocused during the break for the post-second period ice cut.

“I thought we outplayed them from start to finish,” hGoukouk Houk said. “We really didn’t give them much room to breathe.”

Spring-Ford coach Tom Kisela reflected on his first season behind the Rams’ bench.

“For me, this whole season begins and ends with the players,” he said. As a first-year head coach, sometimes ir can take time to establish a culture, but not with these guys. Right from the start, I knew these wanted someone to come in and push them to get better every day.

“For us, having the incredibly successful season we had is a combination of diversity and the lessons learned throughout the year.”

Spring-Ford 0 1 1—2

C.R. South 2 1 4—7

Flyers Cup Schedule Thursday 3-13

Class AAA Semifinals at Hatfield Ice Arena

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Salesianum 2

La Salle 7 Father Judge 2

Class AA Semifinals at Hatfield Ice Arena

6:15 1 Council Rock South 7 Spring-Ford 2

8:45 2 North Penn Downingtown East 3

Finals Schedule

Class A Monday, March 17

TBD Garnet Valley vs WC Henderson at Ice Line

Girls Tuesday, March 18

6:00 Avon Grove vs Downingtown East at PNY Arena

Class AA Wednesday, March 19 at Hatfield Ice

8:45 North Penn vs Council Rock South

Class AAA Wednesday, March 19 at Hatfield Ice

6:00 Holy Ghost Prep vs La Salle

Upcoming Flyers Cup Schedule 3-8-25

Tuesday March 10

Class A Semifinals at Ice Line

6:30 1 Garnet Valley vs 4 Wet Chester East

8:30 2 West Chester Henderson vs 6 Hershey

Wednesday March 11

Girls Semifinals at PNY

6:00 1 Avon Grove vs 4 West Chester Henderson

7:45 2 Downingtown West vs 3 Conestoga

Thursday, March 12

Class AAA Semifinals at Hatfield Ice Arena

6:00 1 Holy Ghost Prep vs 5 Salesianum

8:30 2 La Salle vs 6 Father Judge

Class AA Semifinals at Hatfield Ice Arena

6:15 1 Council Rock South vs 12 Spring-Ford

8:45 2 North Penn vs 3 Downingtown East

Finals Schedule

Class A Monday, March 17

Class AA Monday, March 17 or Wednesday, March 19

Class AAA Wednesday, March 19

Girls Tuesday, March 18