APAC Title Game Postponed

Due to compliance with COVID protocols, tonight’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Founders Cup Championship game between LaSalle College High School and Malvern Prep is being postponed.

APAC Update

Here are the current Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference standings as of March 17

Won Lost OTW OTL Pts

Malvern Prep (11-1) 5 1 3 0 21

La Salle (7-4) 6 3 0 0 18

Holy Ghost Prep (5-6) 3 3 0 3 12

St. Joseph’s Prep (3-8) 1 8 0 0 3

Remaining Games

March 22 Holy Ghost Prep vs. Pennsbury 5:30 at Grundy

March 26. La Salle vs St. Joseph’s Prep 7:00 at Skatium

APAC Update 3-16

Standings through 3-8-21

APAC Standings W L OTW OTL Pts

Malvern Prep (10-1) 5 1 2 0 19

Holy Ghost Prep (5-5) 3 3 0 2 11

La Salle (4-4) 3 3 0 0 9

St. Joseph’s Prep (3-5) 1 5 0 0 3

Teams receive: 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime or shootout win, 1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

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Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

Evan Mudrick scored twice as Holy Ghost Prep defeated St. Joseph’s Prep 5-2 Friday tonight in an APAC game at the Skatium.

Anthony Sparo, Mudrick, and Landon Stoudt scored goals to give the Firebirds a 3-0 lead with 2:02 left in the second period.

Christian Short and Connor Burman scored for the Hawks to make it a one-goal game with almost the entire third period still remaining.

Cole Stevens extended the Holy Ghost Prep lead with 2:47 left and Mudrick scored into an empty net with 52 seconds left.

Holy Ghost Prep improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the APAC. The Hawks stand at 2-3 overall and 0-3 in conference.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 2—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Anthony Sparo (HGP) unassisted, 12:41

Second-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Shaun Moore and Luke Panepresso, :31; Landon Stout (HGP) from Shaun Marshall and Moore, 13:58; Christian Short (HGP) from Joseph Samango, 14:27

Third-period goals: Connor Burman (SJP) from Dominic Fantozzi, :12; Carlos Rodriguez (HGP) from Marshall and Cole Stevens, 13:13; Mudrick (HGP) unassisted, 15:08

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 31, St. Joseph’s Prep 41; Saves: Bobby Baehser (HGP) 39, Andrew Custer (SJP) 27

Pennsbury 7, Souderton 4

HATFIELD— Much of the evening was filled with drama, but in the end, Pennsbury continued to reign supreme in the Suburban High School Hockey League. The Falcons scored four goals in the third period Thursday night to overcome stubborn Souderton 7-4 in a SHSHL National/Continental clash at Hatfield Ice.

Pennsbury won its sixth straight game and improved its record to a division-best 7-0-0-1 overall and 5-0 in divisional play. But the winless Big Red (0-7 overall, 0-5 in the division) gave their foes all they wanted and more.

Souderton scored the game’s first goal and led four times, including 4-3 after two periods, before running out of gas in the final stanza.

For Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley, Thursday’s result brought recollections of the teams’ first meeting, a 6-5 Pennsbury win on January 20 in a non-league encounter.

“Some teams just have your number,” Daley said, “and they have ours. “I don’t think their record really reflects how good a team they are.

“They’re young, their goalie (Noah Connor) had an outstanding night. They’ve got a bright future.”

For much of the evening, Souderton’s future was the present. The teams traded goals through the first two periods. Seth Grossman found the back of the net twice for the Big Red to give him 12 goals for the season in just five games. Liam O’ Neill and Tim Alexander also contributed Souderton goals, while Andrew Falkenstein, Logan Doyle, and Evan Eisler all scored for Pennsbury.
In the third period the Falcons stepped on the gas. Reece Millman tied the game at the 3:01 mark before Connor Coyne put his team in front for good at 5:50. Jake McCaw extended Pennsbury’s lead at 11:55 before Eric Eisler added an exclamation point with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

The Falcon outshot the Big Red 16-7 in the final period and 30-10 over the last two. Pennsbury finished with a 38-20 edge in shots.

Despite the loss Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat took away an abundance of positives. “That’s a good team there,” he said of the Falcons. “You look at their stats and everything. They’re balanced, they get scoring contributions from a lot of different players.”

The scoresheet confirmed Uchniat’s impressions; Pennsbury’s seven goals were scored by seven different players.

The Big Red went into the game without defensemen Jaden Garick and Ben Fadden and lost another blueliner during the game.

“Pennsbury wore is down,” Uchniat said.

The Falcons meanwhile have much to reflect on after Thursday’s win. “We didn’t get the start we wanted,” Daley said. “We pride ourselves on being a fast team, with a lot of offense, a lot of shots. That first period we had 10 shots and let up the first goal, just the complete opposite of what we were trying to do.”

Pennsbury 1 2 4—7

Souderton 2 2 0—4

First-period goals: Seth Grossman (S) from Rodney Reiff and Tim Alexander, 7:26; Andrew Falkenstein (P) unassisted, 9:41; Liam O’ Neill (S) from Matt Malagna, 12:10.

Second-period goals: Logan Doyle (P) from Justin Marlin, 1:20; Grossman (S) from Jamie Avaria O’ Keefe, 5:05 (sh); Evan Eisler (P) from Eddie Bossler, 6:33; Alexander (S) unassisted, 8:42.

Third-period goals: Reece Millman (P) from Shane Siegmund and Brendan MacAinsh, 3:01; Connor Coyne (P) unassisted, 5:50; Jake McCaw (P) from Reese Picker, second assist unavailable, 11:55; Eric Eisler (P) from Colin Michalak and Bossler, 15:30.

Shots; Pennsbury 38, Souderton 20; Saves: Marek Jorgenson (P) 16, Noah Connor (S) 31

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SHSHL Update for 2-23-21

National/Continental W L T OTL Pts.

Pennsbury (6-0-0-1) 4 0 0 0 8

Pennridge (6-1) 4 1 0 0 8

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

Central Bucks South (2-2-1) 2 0 0 0 4

North Penn (3-3-1-0) 2 2 0 0 4

Council Rock South (3-1-0-2) 1 1 0 1 3

Central Bucks East (2-2-1-1) 0 2 0 1 1

Central Bucks West (0-5) 0 3 0 0 0

Souderton (0-6) 0 4 0 0 0

American Division W L T OTL Pts.

Wissahickon (6-1) 6 1 0 0 12

Abington (5-1) 5 1 0 0 10

Hatboro-Horsham (3-2-1-1) 2 2 1 1 8

Plymouth-Whitemarsh (4-2-0-1) 3 2 0 1 7

Truman (3-3) 3 4 0 0 6

William Tennent (1-3-1-0) 2 3 1 0 5

Quakertown (0-6-0-1) 0 6 0 1 0

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National/Continental Scoring GP G A Pts

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 7 8 10 18

Adam Bostock (CBE) 6 8 8 16

Thomas Gallagher (Nesh) 6 8 6 14

Robert Seewagen (Nesh) 7 8 5 13

Aeryk Lehrhaupt (Pr) 7 10 3 13

Shane Siegmund (Pb) 7 5 7 12

Blake Stewart (Pr) 7 6 6 12

Nolan Geria (Nesh) 7 7 3 10

J.J. Hathaway (Nesh) 7 2 8 10

Seth Grossman (Soud) 4 10 0 10

Andrew David (Pr) 7 4 6 10

American Division Scoring GP G A Pts

Bryan Garry (Wss) 7 28 12 40

Nick Hussa (Wiss) 6 8 14 22

Jeremy McCartney (Tr) 7 9 11 20

Joe Stelacio (Ab) 6 6 10 16

Justin Carrelli (WT 6 9 5 14

Matthew Kramer (Ab) 5 8 5 13

Luke Weikel (PW) 6 6 7 13

James Gallagher (Tr) 7 6 6 12

Alex Howieson (HH) 7 8 4 12

Aidan Keough (PW) 6 5 7 12

Antony Pagliei (Q) 7 7 5 12

Eric Orzehoski 7 5 7 12

Dominic Fantozzi Reflects on His Years at St. Joseph’s Prep

Most high school students will acknowledge that the beginning of high school brings with it an assortment of challenges. That was certainly true in Dominic Fantozzi’s case.

Today, Fantozzi is a senior at St. Joseph’s Prep and one of the captains of the Hawks’ hockey team. But as he prepared to enter high school Fantozzi, a Haverford Township resident, found himself at a proverbial fork in the road, deciding whether to continue in public school by attending Haverford High or enrolling at the Prep. When he chose the latter, he knew his life was going to change. Fortunately, he had hockey teammates to help show him the way.

“When I was in the eighth grade I was on a team with a couple kids from the Prep that were freshmen,” Fantozzi recalled, “and they told me just to get ready; ‘It’s going to be very hard but we all got through it. You’re going to struggle at first (but), you’re going to get through it.’ So, they just kept pushing me along and supporting me along the way.”

Thanks to the support of his club-hockey teammates, Fantozzi had a sense of what he was in for when he began his freshman year at the Prep. But he found the environment to be challenging nonetheless.

“It was very difficult,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. We had to take Latin my freshman and sophomore years and that was really hard.

“I never knew how to study before, I never really had to and then I came to Prep; it was like a slap in the face. I had to learn really quick how to study and time management, and get all my work done before I had practice and games.”

Fantozzi who also plays baseball at the Prep (he’s considering playing club hockey or baseball in college) found himself studying nightly during the week rather than socializing with friends

“I chose to stay home and study,” he said, “because I knew in my first month at the Prep if I slacked off on any little bit I would be in big trouble by the end of the week with all my work. So, it was a little tough in the beginning … But in the end, it’s worth it in my opinion.”

Fantozzi notes that the St. Joseph’s Prep faculty encourages students to reach out for help if they’re struggling.

“They want us to come to them right away, meet with them and take extra time to focus on what we need help with,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been hearing since my first day, freshman year; ‘If you need help, come see me. That’s what I try to do and it really helped a lot.”

Fantozzi admits he was hesitant to approach his teachers for extra help at first, but eventually overcame his reluctance. “Once you do it, it’s so much more worth it in the end,” he said. “It’s intimidating at first, but once teachers keep saying it and you really see your grade and realize you need help, it becomes your only option.
“I struggled my freshman year in World History and my teacher (Jason Zazyczny) was amazing. He was no nice. He became the principal the next year, he was the old principal before that. He was a great guy and he was the one who made me realize (the importance of asking) for help. Because they’re not going to bite, (the faculty) is going to be real nice about it and help you.”

As a captain, Fantozzi is being counted on for leadership. How he goes about providing it depends on the circumstances.

“I try to be vocal,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s not always there. But when I’m passionate about something like during a game or with a big game coming up, I’m always going to be there, trying to get the boys hyped for the game, getting ready for the game.

“There will be times when I don’t know what to say and there will be times I know exactly what to say.”

As one of the veteran leaders of a young hockey team, Fantozzi recognizes setting a positive tone for his teammates. “I think the biggest thing for this team is most of them are young,” he said. “So, me and the captains and all the seniors need to set an example.

“The first day of practice all these kids were questioning whether they’d be good or not and I told them ‘Don’t think like that. Keep practicing and once we all fit together, the wins will come.”

The Hawks have had some ups and downs this season; they’ve dropped their first two Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference games (A third, against Malvern Prep was postponed on February 22). But Fantozzi is confident better days are ahead.

“It’s been a little bit of a struggle,’ he said, “because we can’t really get everyone together. Because we’re only in school twice a week, and one of the days that we have practice, nobody is even in school, so it’s harder to get everyone to the rink.
“We haven’t clicked yet. But I feel like once everybody gets together and we can start practicing and playing more, we’ll start clicking a lot better.”

For more about St. Joseph’s Prep Click Here:

Chris Blango Embracing His Time at Malvern Prep

During his time at Malvern Prep, Chris Blango has become an accomplished hockey player. But the school has shaped him in an abundance of other ways as well.

So, despite having the option to continue his hockey career at a New England prep school, the senior defenseman chose to remain with the Friars.

With the end of his scholastic hockey career fast approaching, Blango reflects on what Malvern Prep has meant to him.

“I started at Malvern in sixth grade,” he said. “What kind of led me there was obviously athletics but also the academics. The academics are vigorous.

“It challenges you both in the classroom and in my case, on the ice. So, I think it was the perfect spot for me.”

Blango says the curriculum at Malvern Prep is designed to teach students to think independently and accept the consequences of their decisions.

“It’s really up to you,” he said. “If you miss school and have to make up an assignment, or something like that, the teacher is not going to beg you to make it up. You kind of have to reach out and ask; it’s very independent in that aspect.”

Blango notes that effective time management is important to a student’s academic success.

“(The faculty) don’t really hold your hand through it,” he said.” “It’s all based upon you and how you manage your time effectively for yourself to make sure you get all your schoolwork done and make sure you’re thriving in your sport.”

Blango was chosen the Friars’ captain by his teammates. His leadership style might best be described as a blend of actions and words.

“Mostly I lead by example,” he said. “I’m not really the most talkative guy. I’m pretty shy when you first get to know me.

‘But if I have to get the boys going or whatnot before a big game, I ‘ll do that; just kind of make sure everyone’s dialed in when they lose focus, or pick people up when they’re not having the best day.”

In a 2021 season unlike any other in memory, Blango is embracing the task of keeping his teammates concentrating on the task at hand.

“Getting everybody to kind of be friends with everybody, get along really well, and kind of keep their focus on the season,” he said, “and not letting their thoughts wander and whatnot.

“It’s huge because we don’t know if we’re going to be able to play another game, or anything about the future, until we actually are on the ice.”

After three non-league wins, the Friars opened APAC play with a 4-0 win over La Salle on Feb 3. Blango says this year’s team is shaping up as a close-knot group.

“I feel as though the seniors this year, not just me bust as a group, they’ve really helped everybody get dialed in,” he said, “and the young kids aren’t really afraid to make a mistake. Because they know that if they do make a mistake we won’t be yelling and screaming at them in their ear. We’ll be right there picking them up and encouraging them to keep going and try to keep playing the way they play, because we have some talented freshmen and talented sophomores so if we don’t hold them back by yelling and screaming at them, we’ll have a very successful year.”

In a few months’ time Blango will leave Malvern Prep and continue his journey into adulthood. He’s like to play junior hockey, and college hockey after that. He will take with him the life lessons he has learned at Malvern Prep.

I think Malvern has taught me countless lessons and has really shaped me as the person that I am today, being independent, responsible.”

Before, I was a little hesitant on reaching out to teachers and stuff for extra help if I wasn’t in class or if I didn’t understand the topic and the Upper School at Malvern has really forced me to do that, and its helped me out tremendously. I have the utmost confidence going into my adulthood.”

For more information about Malvern Prep CLICK HERE

Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 1

HAVERFORD TOWNSHP— The 2021 Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds are becoming renowned for their fast starts. For the third consecutive game, a big first period propelled the Firebirds to a win, a 5-1 decision over St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night in an Atlantic Prep Conference game at the historic Skatium.

Michael Connelly Anthony Sparo scored first-period goals to give their team a 2-0 advantage at the 9:17 mark of the first period and the Firebirds (3-0 overall, 2-0 in the APAC) continued to step on the gas the rest of the way, outshooting the Hawks (2-1, 0-1) 40-14.

In its three games, the Firebirds have scored seven first-period goals.

“There’s a lot of really good chemistry here,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside, “and guys really like playing with each other. That’s nice to see.”

On this occasion, the chemistry was evident up and down the lineup. Patrick McAneny, centering the fourth line, scored on goal and assisted on another. The senior spoke to his team’s fast start.

“It’s just hard work,” he said, “getting on pucks quick, putting the puck behind (the opponent) and going to work, getting the puck to the net.”

Due to the pandemic, the 2021 scholastic hockey season in Eastern Pennsylvania will last less than three months, even for championship-level teams. But McAneny noted that he and his teammates are pouring a full season’s helping of emotional energy into the abbreviated schedule.

“It’s more of a sprint,” he said, “rather than a marathon, and we just know that every game matters. We’ve only got what, eight to 10 games. Every game is important. Every game has to be a win.”

Kieran Mulholand and Brian Butler also scored for Holy Ghost Prep.

“It was just a good team effort,” Whiteside said. “I thought our (defense) got better as the game went on. Bit hats off to St. Joe’s Prep. They play you tough every time.”

Dom Fantozzi delivered the Hawks’ only goal during a power play with 2:17 left in the third period.

Despite the loss, St. Joseph’ Prep coach David Giacomin was pleased with the way his team competed. “I was proud of the way we played,” he said. “Obviously, it was not the right outcome and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but that’s a good team we faced. They’re fast, they look like they’ve been playing together for a little while. They did a great job.”

Andrew Custer made 35 saves in the Hawks’ net in the losing effort.

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 1—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Michael Connelly (HGP) unassisted, 3:05; Anthony Sparo (HGP) from E.J. Pohl, 9:17.

Second-period goals: Kieran Mulholland (HGP) from Evan Mudrick and Anthony Sparo, 1:45; Brian Butler (HGP) from Patrick McAnAneny, 12:47.

Third-period goals: Dom Fantozzi (HGP) from Christian Short and Matt Moresco, 13:43 (pp); McAneny (HGP) from Sparo and Colin Moore, 15:09.

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 40, St. Joseph’s Prep 14; Saves: Bobby Baehser (HGP) 13 Andrew Custer SJP) 35

To learn more about St. Joseph’s Prep CLICK HERE

To learn more about Holy Ghost Prep Click Here

SHSHL Update 1-27-21

National/Continental Divisions W L T OTL Pts

Pennsbury (2-0-0-1) 1 0 0 0 2

Central Bucks East (2-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Council Rock South (2-0) 0 0 0 0 0

Neshaminy (1-1) 0 0 0 0 0

North Penn (1-1) 0 0 0 0 0

Central Bucks South (0-3) 0 0 0 0 0

Central Bucks West (0-1) 0 0 0 0 0

Souderton (0-2) 0 0 0 0 0

Pennridge (1-1) 0 1 0 0 0

American Division W L T OTL Pts

Wissahickon (3-0) 3 0 0 0 6

Abington (2-1) 2 1 0 0 4

Truman (2-1) 2 1 0 0 4

Hatboro-Horsham (2-2) 2 2 0 0 4

William Tennent (1-1) 1 1 0 0 2

Quakertown (0-1-0-1) 0 1 0 1 1

Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-2-0-1) 0 2 0 1 1

How the standings work: In the National/Continental Division each team plays four if its opponents twice and the other four once. When teams meet twice, the second meeting only counts in the divisional standings. While the first meeting is not included in the division standings it is factored into the Flyers Cup rankings.

In the American Division, each team plays its opponents twice and both games count in the division standings.

National/Continental Scoring GP G A Pts

Adam Bostock (CBE) 2 7 5 12

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 3 4 4 8

Connor Keiser (CBE) 2 2 4 6

Robert Seewagen (Nesh) 2 3 2 5

J.J. Hathaway (Nesh) 2 0 4 4

Shane Siegmund (Pb) 3 2 2 4

Phil McIntyre (CBE) 2 3 1 4

Seth Grossman (Soud) 1 4 0 4

Blake Srewart (Pr) 2 2 2 4

American Division Scoring GP G A Pts

Bryan Garry (Wss) 3 14 4 18

Nick Hussa (Wiss) 3 4 7 11

Alex Howieson (HH) 4 6 4 10

Matt Kramer (Ab) 3 5 2 7

Jeremy McCartney (Tr) 3 1 6 7

Frank Rosenberry (WT) 2 5 1 6

Joe Stelacio (Ab) 3 0 6 6

Daniel Glazer 3 4 2 6

Vince Tarsi (HH) 4 3 3 6

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Call for an appointment at 215-616-0609 or e-mail them at allsmilesfamilydentistry@verizon.net. You can also find them on line at www.allsmileslansdale.com.

That’s All Smiles Family Dentistry of Lansdale