C.B. South 3 Neshaminy 2

BRISTOL—A hockey team trying to find its way took a big leap forward Thursday night. Aidan Gaffney scored two goals as Central Bucks South surprised previously unbeaten Neshaminy 3-2 Thursday night at Grundy Arena.

It was the first win for the Titans in seven starts this season (1-5-1 overall, 1-1 in Class AA divisional play.

Assistant coach Tyler Skroski noted it was a team win in the truest sense of the term.

“We relied on our older guys, our seniors were coming through,” he said. “Our top players were coming through. That’s a full team win.”

The Titans also got a big contribution from a younger guy; freshman goaltender Jason Magaruh, who was credited with 50 saves.

Dan Kvechner gave South the first lead of the night just 2:28 into the opening period. Jacob Adami responded for the ‘Skins (4-1-1 overall 1-1 in the division) at the 12:50 mark on a shot from the right circle on which Magaruh was screened and it seemed the hosts were getting a handle on things.

But Gaffney put South ahead for the second time just 1:32 into the second period.

“The mindset was just north-and-south hockey,” he said. “We wanted to get pucks in deep and shoot everything we possibly could.”

The Titans skated themselves into a corner at the start of the third period. Kvechner was set off for tripping after 43 seconds. When Justin Montagna was flagged for the same offense at 1:25 South found itself skating two men short. When J.J. Hathaway tied the game for Neshaminy at the 2:22 mark the ‘Skins still had a full minute of power-play time left.

But Magaruh bolstered by his defense corps, held form.

“He’s a young goalie,” Gaffney said. “We’ll always support our goalie no matter what.

Gaffney’s game-winning goal came with 2:20 left in the game off a faceoff.

The ‘Skins enjoyed a 52-36 edge in shots on goal. Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo lamented the fact that an abundance of his team’s shot attempts never got to the net.

“I think that their defense stepped up,” he said. “Not that their goalie didn’t play well. We had trouble getting pucks through to him. We got some shots on, but they blocked a ton of shots.

“I think that was their game plan going in to load up the middle and block shots. We just had trouble getting the pucks through to the goalie.”

Gaffney believes the win will be a springboard for the Titans and give them momentum.

“Definitely,” he said. “It’s definitely a turnaround. “We’re looking to turn it around for the rest of the games and I definitely think we can.”

C.B. South 1 1 1—3

Neshaminy 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Dan Kvechner (CBS) from Matt Crouch, 2:28; Jacob Adami (N) from J.H. Hathaway, 12:50

Second-period goals: Aidan Gaffney (CBS) from Justin Keilman and Aydin Theirolf, 1:32

Third-period goals: Hathaway (N) from Max Gallagher, 2:26 (pp); Gaffney (CBS) from Adam Cusick, 12:40

Shots: C.B. South 36, Neshaminy 52; Saves: Jason Magaruh (CBS) 50, Brian Nelson (N) 33

PA Hockey’s Elite 8

Week 9

Class AAA

Malvern Prep 4-1
North Allegheny 8-1
Holy Ghost Prep 4-1
Baldwin 4-1-2
Peters Township 7-3
St. Joseph’s Prep 2-2
Pine Richland 4-2
Seneca Valley 4-3

Class AA

Franklin Regional 6-1
Haverford 4-1
Thomas Jefferson 7-0
Armstrong 7-0
Downingtown West 3-0
Penn Trafford 5-1
Pennridge 4-0
Council Rock South 3-0-1

Class A

West Chester East 4-0
West Chester Rustin 5-2
Quaker Valley 6-0
Fox Chapel 8-0
Springfield Delco 3-0
Norwin 6-1-1
Radnor 1-0
Westmont Hilltop 5-2/Kiski 5-2

Rankings compiled by Jeff Mauro. In some cases, won-loss records have been updated to reflect results since the rankings were complied.

Jeff Mauro has written a book on the history of the Pennsylvania state high school hockey championship. To find out more and order a copy CLICK HERE

Holiday Hockey Returns

Hockey on Thanksgiving Eve is a longstanding tradition in the Philadelphia area. That tradition was disrupted in 2020 because of the pandemic but is back this year; Wednesday’s schedule includes nine games involving area teams.

At Hatfield 1

7:00 North Penn vs. Central Bucks South

9:00 Pennridge vs. Souderton

At Bucks County Ice Sports Center

7:00 Upper Moreland at Hatboro-Horsham

9:00 William Tennent vs. Archbishop Wood

At Revolution Ice Gardens

7:00 Council Rock North vs. Council Rock South

8:50 Central Bucks East vs. Central Bucks West

At Grundy Arena

7:20 Pennsbury vs. Neshaminy

7:30 Holy Ghost Prep vs. Father Judge

At Ice Line

7:40 Malvern Prep vs. Cardinal O’Hara

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APAC Update for 11-15-21

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Standings

(Overall records through 12-1)

W L OTW OTL Pts

Malvern Prep (5-1) 2 0 0 0 6

Holy Ghost Prep (4-1) 1 1 1 0 5

St. Joseph’s Prep (2-2-1) 0 0 0 1 1

Hun School (3-1 ) 0 0 0 0 0

La Salle (1-4) 0 2 0 0 0

This Week

Tuesday: Christian Brothers Academy 5, La Salle 1

Wednesday:

Holy Ghost Prep 9 vs. Father Judge 2

Friday: Gonzaga 2, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

Hun School at Sewickley Academy Tournament Through Sunday

Hockey Happenings is looking for reliable individuals to provide video clips of APAC games. If you’re interested or would like more information, please contact us at rwoelfel2103@gmail.com

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)

COLMAR, Pa. – The Arcadia University women’s ice hockey team fell to Worcester State, 3-2, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at Hatfield Ice Arena. The Lancers scored two third-period goals to send the game to the extra frame, before they scored the game-winner in overtime.

First-year forward Ariel Williamson scored the first goal in program history for the Knights. The Rome, N.Y. native found the top corner of the goal in the second period to put the Knights on the board for the first time.

WORCESTER STATE 3, ARCADIA 2 (OT)
HOW IT HAPPENED

After neither team found the back of the net in the first period, Williamson scored just over four minutes into the second period to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Karahkwenhawe White converted on the power play in the second period to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. Williamson tallied her second point of the day with an assist on White’s goal.
Worcester State scored its first goal with less than four minutes to go in the third period. The Lancers tied it with a minute and a half left to send the game to overtime.
The Lancers scored the game-winner 1:41 into overtime after a pass in front was tipped past Arcadia goaltender Sophia Szelag.

Arcadia Teams Fall

Aurora Men 6, Arcadia 3—James Spaagaren scored two goals, including the first in program history, but the Knights fell 6-3 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game at Hatfield Ice. Carson Asper also scored for the Knights (0-2) to tie the game at 3-3 before Aurora took command with three goals.

Lucas Brine made 38 saves in goal while taking the loss.

Worcester State Women 5, Arcadia 0—The Arcadia women’s hockey team opened its inaugural season Saturday evening with a 5-0 loss to Worcester State at Hatfield Ice. Arcadia coach Kelsey Koelzer, a Hatboro-Horsham High and Princeton grad, made history by officially becoming the first African American woman to coach an NCAA hockey team.

Arcadia Women Ready for Debut

History is being made this weekend at Hatfield Ice as the Arcadia Knights open their inaugural season of NCAA Division III women’s hockey. The Knights will face off against Worcester State Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 12:15.

For Head Coach Kelsey Koelzer, the start of the regular season concludes nearly two years of preparation.

“It’s exciting,” she said, a little nerve wracking. Just seeing all of our hard work and seeing the progress that we’ve made. But overall, it’s really exciting.

“It’s nice to start to get into game play. It was 690-some days from the time that I got hired to when our players even moved on campus. And even then, once you get there, you don’t start to get working with them until the first week of October, so there’s another month. And even now, we’ve been all practice for the last three or four weeks.
So, to get to actually play some games and get into kind of crunch time is really exciting.”

Game time will be a new experience for all 19 players on Koelzer’s roster. None have ever played college before; in fact 18 of the 19 are freshmen. But all have taken on the challenge of helping build a startup program.

“It’s not for everyone,” Koelzer said, “but you kind of (sort) that out in the recruiting process as well. The players know that not every day is going to go our way. And you have a lot of adjustments to make.

“We needed players that could pick things up quickly and know that they’re going to be picking up minutes from the beginning and have to just roll with the punches and be okay with making mistakes and getting out there the very next shift.

“So, I think there is a slightly different mindset because the players don’t get to hide behind upperclassmen. They all kind of have to pick it up at the same time and help each other and really just roll with our bumps and bruises.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 5, Father Judge 1

St. Joseph’s Prep 5, Father Judge 1

Liam Mooney scored two goals and three other players scored one goal, each as the Hawks opened the season with a win over the Crusaders Wednesday evening at the Class of 1923 Rink.

Matthew Giuliani, Jeffrey Hammond, and Mooney all scored in the first period to give the hosts a 3-0 lead, Cathal Dowd scored in the second period and Mooney added his second goal in the third.

Rocco Bruno and Ajay White split time in goal.

Father Judge 0 1 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 3 1 1—5

SHSHL Sets Alignment for 2021-22

A total of 17 varsity teams will skate under the Suburban High School Hockey League banner this season. Eleven Class AA teams and six Class A squads will be in the fold when the 2021-22 season commences on Wednesday, November 3.

There will be some changes in the makeup of the league; Council Rock North will return to the Class AA sector. Bensalem will skate in Class AA this season while Truman, which was a Class A team a year ago, will not field a varsity team this winter.

The Class AA National Division will include defending champion Pennsbury, along with Neshaminy, Council Rock South, Council Rock North, and Bensalem. The Continental Division will encompass North Penn, Souderton, Central Bucks East, Central Bucks West, and Central Bucks South.

The American Division will feature the league’s Class A schools, including defending champion Wissahickon, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Hatboro-Horsham, Quakertown, William Tennent, and Abington.

Malvern Prep Wins State Title

Jack Constabile scored two goals and Quinn Dougherty and Jimmy Kirk added one each as Malvern Prep defeated North Allegheny 4-2 Saturday evening in the Class AAA Pennsylvania Cup championship game at the UPMC Sports Complex In suburban Pittsburgh.

It marks the third time the Friars (15-1) have won a state title; the previous two came in 1990 and 2004.

Nate Spak opened the scoring for North Allegheny (16-6-1) when he found the back of the net 3:17 into the first period. Quinn Dougherty tied the game for the Friars with a shorthanded goal at the 7:09 mark.

“I thought that was probably a huge goal,” Dougherty said. “We were down 1-0, we were on a penalty kill, things weren’t really going out way.

“Then we scored on the penalty kill and that just gave us a bunch of life because it was. a hard-work goal and it just showed we weren’t going to quit right away.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan said Dougherty’s goal was the turning point in the game.

“We were down 1-0, we end up on a penalty and there’s a chance would go down 2-0,” he said. “We were able to put one in the back of the net to make it a 1-1 game and then a couple seconds later, Jack scores a goal and it changed the whole momentum of the game. We were able to settle down a little bit and get into our rhythms and our game plan and play through the rest of the game.”

Constabile put his team in front for good at 7:35 before scoring his second goal of the game at 9:31 to put Malvern Prep up 3-1 after one period.Malvern Prep’s Jimmy Kirk and the Tigers’ Connor Chi exchanged goals in the second frame to complete the scoring.

Anthony Perti got the win in goal

Malvern Prep 3 1 0—4

North Allegheny 1 1—2

First-period goals: Nate Spak (NA) 3:17; Quinn Dougherty (M) 7:09 (sh); Jack Constabile (MP) 7:35; Constabile (MP) 9:38;

Second-period goals Jimmy Kirk (MP); Connor Chi (NA) 2:39

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