Playoff Updates

Here is the updated playoff schedule for the week of February 24 and beyond

Monday, February 24

APAC Founders Cup Semifinals

4:00 (1) Holy Ghost Prep vs. (4) Malvern Prep at Grundy Arena

4:00 (2) La Salle vs. (3) St. Joseph’s Prep 4:00 at Hatfield Ice

SHSHL Class AA Quarterfinals

Game 1 (1) Central Bucks South vs. (8) Central Bucks West 7:20 at Hatfield ice

Game 2 (4) Neshaminy vs. (5) Central Bucks East 7:20 at Grundy Arena

Game 3 (3) Council Rock South vs. (6) Pennridge 7:20 at Revolution Ice Gardens

Game 4 (2) North Penn vs. (7) Pennsbury 9:00 at Hatfield ice

Wednesday, February 26

APAC Founders Cup Championship Game

Time TBD at home rink of highest-seeded finalist

SHSHL Class AA Semifinals

Semifinals Wednesday, February 26

Winners of Games 1 and 2 6:30 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 3 and 4 8:30 at Hatfield

SHSHL Class A Semifinals

Game 1 (1) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. (4) Truman 7:20 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Game 2 (2) Hatboro-Horsham vs. 3. Wissahickon 9:00 at Rev. Ice Gardens

Thursday, February 27

SHSHL Championship Games

6:30 Class AA Final at Hatfield Ice

8:30 Class A at Hatfield Ice

The 2020 Flyers Cup selection show will air Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on You Tube

Flyers Cup Schedule

Monday, March 2 Class A First round

Tuesday, March 3 Class AA First round

Wednesday, March 4 Class A Quarterfinals; possible NJ/Del QF

Thursday, March 5 Class AA and Class AAA Quarerfinals

Monday, March 9 Class A Semifinals and Girls Play-in

Tuesday, March 10 Possible NJ/Del Quarterfinals

Wednesday, March 11 Class AA and Class AAA Semifinals

Thursday, March 12 Class AA and Class AAA Semifinals

Monday, March 16 NJ/Del and Girls Seemifinals

Tuesday, March 17 Class A Final and Possible Class AA Final

Wednesday, March 18 Class AAA Final and Possible Class AA Final

Thursday, March 19 NJ/Del Final

Friday, March 20. Girls Final

Saturday, March 21 Pa. State Finals at Ice Line

La Salle’s Nathan Benner Skates for His Brother

Nathan Benner’s days as a La Salle College High School hockey player are dwindling to a precious few. The APAC playoffs are ahead followed by the Flyers Cup tournament and perhaps a trip to the state championship. But, at most a month from now, the senior forward will take off his La Salle jersey for the last time.

Benner, who is one of the Explorers’ captains, says his time at La Salle has shaped him as person as well as a hockey player. “It really challenges you,” he said. “Mentally and physically with the hockey, mentally with school. Every week you have tests, you have homework when you get home from school, when you play club hockey (Bennner is skating for the Philadelphia Quakers this year after spending his club career with the Valley Forge Minutemen) you have hockey five days a week, every day on the weekend, balanced with La Sale hockey. Just the values that they stress here, the leadership, the hard work ethic, good character, all in all has definitely made me who I am today.”

Perhaps what Benner treasures most from skating for the Explorers is having his younger brother Jacob in the stands watching his every move.

Jacob Benner is 14 years old and deals with the challenges of Downs Syndrome and Hirschsprung Disease.

Since Nathan started playing hockey the year he turned six, Jacob has been a fixture in the stands whether at a club game or a high-school game.

“He’s been coming to every one of my games from the time I was five years old until now,” Nathan said, “and he memorized everybody’s’ name on the team, everyone’s number, even though we don’t have names on the back of our jerseys.

“When we’re about to leave for a game he’ll go ‘Who do we play today?’ as if he’s on the team, His happiest time is when he comes to watch me play and when he gets to be at the rink.”

sf benner.JPG

Jacob Benner flanked by brother Nathan (right) and father Walter. Photo furnished by La Salle College High School.

On more occasions than not, Jacob Benner is the most enthusiastic La Salle supporter in the building. “He’s the loudest one in the stands,” Nathan says. “He’s always yelling everyone’s name, yelling at the refs, yelling ‘Get into the game.’ Telling us to work harder; he’s always encouraging everyone. Everyone can hear him from the bench and everyone kind of smiles and builds off of what he does from the stands.”

Jacob’s support never wavers, regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard. “Just seeing him cheer me on and watching the games is one of the best things,” Nathan said. “Whether we win or lose, he’s always telling me ‘Good game.’ He loves watching me play no matter how I play and it’s always great to have that.”

Two years ago, Jacob decided he wanted to get on skates himself and began taking lessons at Hatfield Ice. Kati Link was his first instructor. He’s still at it and hopes to play hockey himself one day Nathan drives his brother to his skating lessons, swimming lessons, and other activities.

“At first it was very hard,” Nathan said of his brother’s first efforts on skates, “but he’s able to stand up now, he’s able to move around, and the smile on his face when he skates is one of the best thigs to look at. He always wears my hockey jersey when he goes on the ice and he loves it.”

Nathan Benner says spending time with his only sibling has altered his outlook on and off the ice. “For me, it’s kind of just helped me all around in life with maturing, leadership qualities, about being a good role model,” he said, “because I know my brother wants to model himself off of what I do. I have to be a good role model for him. Even if I do bad things, or say bad words, he models off that so I really have to be watching and be mindful of how I’m acting, because he’s always watching me and acting as if I would act.”

The 2020 Flyers Cup selection show will air Sunday, February 22 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on You Tube

SHSHL Playoff Pairings

The game sites and times for Monday’s Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA quarterfinals have been set.

Quarterfinals Monday, February 24

Game 1 (1) Central Bucks South vs. (8) Central Bucks West 7:20 at Hatfield

Game 2 (4) Neshaminy vs. (5) Central Bucks East 7:20 at Grundy

Game 3 (3) Council Rock South vs. (6) Pennridge 7:20 at Revolution Ice Gardens

Game 4 (2) North Penn vs. (7) Pennsbury 9:00 at Hatfield

Semifinals Wednesday, February 26

Winners of Games 1 and 2 6:30 at Hatfield

Winners of Games 3 and 4 8:30 at Hatfield

Finals Thursday, February 27

6:30 at Hatfield

The Class A semifinals will be played as a doubleheader at Revolution Ice Gardens on Wednesday, February 26

Game 1 (1) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. (4) Truman 6:30

Game 2 Wissahickon vs. Hatboro-Horsham 8:20

(This game matches the second and third seeds. As of Friday morning the deedings had not been finalized)

Finals Thursday, February 27

8:30 at Hatfield

APAC Playoff Semifinals Set

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference playoffs will get underway on Monday with a pair of semifinal games.

Top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep will host fourth seed Malvern Prep in a 4:00 game at Grundy Arena. The other Monday semifinal will match St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle. The site and time of that game will depend on the result of Friday’s regular season finale between the Hawks and the Explorers. The winner will be the second seed and the loser third.

If La Salle wins, the semifinal will be played at Hatfield Ice with a 4:10 scheduled start. If the Hawks prevail, the semifinal will be played at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena with a 4 p.m. start (LATE UPDATE)

The Founders Cup championship game will be played Wednesday, February 26 with the site and time to be determined.

The results of the Founders Cup playoffs will not impact the seedings for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament, which will be announced Sunday night.

Neshaniny 11, Abington 1

WARWICK—Neshaminy had things pretty much its own way Wednesday night. The ‘Skins scored four goals in just under six minutes and went on to an 11-1 win over Abington in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA game at Revolution Ice Gardens that was halted following the second period via the 10-goal mercy rule.

The result was not unexpected. Neshaminy (11-3, 9-2 in divisional play) is assured of a top-four seed at worst in next week’s SHSHL playoffs and is seemingly in line for a high seed in the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament. The Galloping Ghosts, who have 15 underclassmen on their roster, slipped to 3-13 overall and 2-9 in the division; each team has one regular-season game remaining.

Thursday’s meeting was something of a bridge between two eras of SHSHL history. Neshaminy knew its share of sorrows before taking giant strides forward this season and last. And while Abington has struggled in recent seasons, the Galloping Ghosts have a rich historical legacy that is tied to the origins of the league. Abington won the championship in the SHSHL’s inaugural reason in 1974 and went on to win the first three league titles and four of the first five. There was no Flyers Cup tournament in those days but the Galloping Ghosts claimed two state titles as well.

All told, Abington has won six SHSHL titles of one sort or another, the last of them the second of back-to-back Class AA crowns in 2004. That trails only Germantown Academy (11), Central Bucks South (8) and possibly Council Rock (six documented titles and a possible seventh) on the all-time list.

That a history that Abington coach Ken Brzozowski wants his team to embrace. “I shared that with the tonight,” he said, “and hopefully that will mean something to them.

“For us, we’ve got little goals. Next year, to improve our record, compete for a playoff spot. And then from there, maybe try to restore some of that glory that Abington had in the past.

“We’ve got a few kids that have some talent, we mix in some hard work, and maybe we can get back to that point.”

Jacob Helms scored two goals for Neshaminy while nine other players scored one goal each.

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo urged his team to maintain its focus. “You start to get into a lack of team play,” he said, “where everybody wants to skate up and try and get on the scoresheet. That leads to bad habits, which (Thursday) night against Council Rock South could come back to hurt us.”

Griffin Carpenter scored the Abington goal with 1:12 left in the second period.

The ‘Skins outshot the Galloping Ghosts 35-3. Abington didn’t record its first shot on goal until 2:05 remained in what turned out to be the final period.

Neshaminy, which has won four straight and five of its last six, closes the regular season against Council Rock South on Thursday while Abington finishes against Quakertown on Friday.

Neshaminy 7 4 x—11

Abington 0 1 x—11

First-period goals: J.J. Hathaway (N) unassisted, 1:21; Joseph Hornung (N) from Joey DeMatteo, 2:25; Michael Knipple (N) from Nolan Geria, 5:14; Jacob Helms (N) from Hathaway, 5:59; DeMatteo (N) from Noah Seawagen, 8:23; Geria (N) from Hathaway, 12:32 (pp); Helms (N) from DeMatteo and Knipple, 14:15.

Second-period goals: Thomas Gallagher (N) from Ryan McColgan, 4:09; Matt Buchinski (N) from Gallagher, 4:50; Noah Seawagen (N unassisted, 7:38; Horning (N) unassisted, 7:38; Griffin Carpenter (A) from Joe Stelacio and Tom Rourke, 14:18.

Shots: Neshaminy 35, Abington 3; Saves; Brian Nelson (N) 0 and Andy Nau (N) 2; Sam Nemec (A) 24

By Rick Woelfel

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SHSHL Update for 2-17-20

Game results through 2-19

Standings

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

C.B. South (13-0-0-1) 12 0 0 0 24

North Penn (12-3-0-0) 11 1 0 0 22

C.R. South (10-6-0-0) 10 1 0 1 21

Neshaminy (11-4-0-0) 9 3 0 0 18

C.B. East (9-4-1-1) 6 4 1 1 14

Pennridge (10-6-0-0) 7 5 0 0 14

Pennsbury (10-5-1-0) 6 5 1 0 13

C.B. West (7-6-2-1)) 4 6 2 0 10

Souderton (3-11-1-1) 3 7 1 1 8

William Tennent (5-10-0-1) 3 8 0 1 7

Abington (4-13-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Quakertown (2-13-1-0) 1 9 1 0 2

Council Rock North (1-15-0-0) 0 12 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-1-0-0) 12 0 0 0 22

Hatboro-Horsham (11-5-0-1) 6 5 0 1 13

Wissahickon (9-8-0-0) 6 6 0 0 12

Truman (3-13-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Lower Moreland (3-14-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game.

The shootout will not be used

Scoring Through 2-17

Class AA G A Pts

Michael Roby (CRS) 26 15 41

Jake Lang (CBW) 24 17 41

Chris Trefz (CBW) 12 29 41

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 18 22 40

Antii Autere (CRS) 14 22 36

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 17 19 36

Robert Seewagen(Nesh) 21 14 35

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 13 20 33

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 14 18 32

Sean Gorman (CBE) 26 4 30

Colin Abbonizio (CBS) 15 14 29

Justin Carrelli (WT) 21 7 28

Class A G A Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW) 23 31 54

Jake Weikel (PW) 33 20 53

Dean Keller (PW) 20 22 42

Alex Howieson (HH) 20 18 38

Luke Weikel (PW) 17 20 37

Bryan Gary 21 15 36

Nicholas Hussa 26 8 34

Seth Lerner (HH) 19 12 31

Robert DiCostra (Tr) 16 14 30

Colin Franzoni (PW) 14 13 27

Aidan Esack (HH) 11 15 26

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 17 1.34

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 554 21 1.82

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 524 28 2.56

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 628 34 2.60

Ryan Pico (Pr) 720 40 2.67

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 726 41 2.71

Save Percentage MP Sh Svs Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 259 242 .934

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 726 448 407 .908

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)554 216 195 .903

Ryan Pico (Pr) 720 400 360 .900

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 628 302 268 .887

Topher Seiler (Pb) 519 359 318 .886

APAC Update for 2-12-20

Standings through 2-12 W L OW OL Pts GF GA

Holy Ghost Prep (14-4-1) 5 3 1 0 17 32 24

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-11) 3 1 0 4 13 25 24

LaSalle (12-13) 2 3 2 1 11 29 29

Malvern Prep (7-8) 2 5 2 0 10 44 45

Teams receive:

3 points for a regulation win

2 points for an overtime or shootout win

1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

0 points for a regulation loss

Check out our Hockey Happenings podcast with hosts Rick Woelfel and Eric Tye HERE

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Scoring Leaders Games G A Pts

Byron Hartley (HGP) 18 21 13 34

Matt Harris (MP) 15 19 11 30

Jack Constabile (MP) 15 6 20 26

Ryan Sambuco (MP) 15 9 15 24

Evan Mudrick (HGP) 16 11 9 20

Anthony Sparo (HGP) 17 8 11 19

Dave Kimmel (La) 20 10 7 17

Jimmy Craig (SJP) 16 6 11 17

Nolan Woudenberg (La) 19 10 5 15

Keenan Schneider (La) 20 4 11 15

Andrew Centrella (SJP) 16 2 13 15

Nathan Benner (La) 20 9 6 15

Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) 14 8 6 14

Braedon Barsher (HGP) 19 12 2 14

Check out our Flyers Cup podcast

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Stop in an check us out or please visit our Facebook page

SHSHL Update 2-9-20

SHSHL Standings as of 2-8-2020

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

C.B. South 12-0-0-1) 10 0 0 0 20

North Penn (11-2-0-0) 10 0 0 0 20

C.R. South (8-5-0-0) 8 2 0 0 16

Neshaminy (9-3-0-0) 7 2 0 0 14

C.B. East (9-3-1-1) 6 3 1 1 14

Pennridge (9-6-0-0) 6 5 0 0 12

C.B. West (7-4-2-1)) 4 4 2 0 10

Pennsbury (8-5-1-0) 4 5 1 0 9

Souderton (3-10-1-1) 3 6 1 1 8

William Tennent (4-9-0-1) 2 7 0 1 5

Abington (3-11-0-0) 2 7 0 0 4

Quakertown (2-11-1-0) 1 8 1 0 2

Council Rock North (1-14-0-0) 0 11 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (14-1-0-0) 10 0 0 0 20

Wissahickon (8-6-0-0) 6 4 0 0 12

Hatboro-Horsham (10-4-0-1) 5 4 0 1 11

Truman (2-12-0-0) 2 8 0 0 4

Lower Moreland (1-13-0-0) 1 8 0 0 2

Scoring

Class AA G A Pts

Jake Lang (CBW) 24 17 41

Michael Roby (CRS) 25 15 38

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 16 21 37

Robert Seewagen(Nesh) 21 13 34

Antii Autere (CRS) 12 21 33

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 15 17 32

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 14 18 32

Chris Trefz (CBW) 10 22 32

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 12 17 29

Colin Abbonizio (CBS) 15 14 29

Sean Gorman (CBE) 24 4 28

Class A G A Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW) 22 29 51

Jake Weikel (PW) 28 19 47

Alex Howieson (HH) 20 18 38

Dean Keller (PW) 19 19 38

Luke Weikel (PW) 17 20 37

Seth Lerner (HH) 19 12 31

Nicholas Hussa 24 6 30

Robert DiCostra (Tr) 15 13 28

Bryan Gary 17 10 27

Aidan Esack (HH) 11 15 26

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 17 1.34

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 506 20 1.90

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 476 22 2.22

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 678 37 2.62

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 580 34 2.82

Ben Yuter (PW) 538 32 2.86

Ryan Pico (Pr) 672 40 2.86

Save Percentage

MP Shots Saves Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 259 242 .934

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 678 444 407 .917

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 506 212 192 .906

Ryan Pico (Pr) 672 380 340 .895

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 580 298 264 . 886

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 476 191 169 .885

SHSHL Update for 2-3-20

SHSHL Standings as of 2-3-20

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

C.B. South 11-0-0-1) 9 0 0 0 18

North Penn (9-2-0-0) 8 0 0 0 16

Neshaminy (9-3-0-0) 7 2 0 0 14

C.R. South (6-4-0-0) 6 1 0 0 12

C.B. East (9-2-1-1) 6 2 1 1 14

Pennridge (8-5-0-0) 5 4 0 0 10

Pennsbury (8-4-1-0) 4 4 1 0 9

C.B. West (6-4-2-1)) 3 4 2 0 8

Souderton (3-9-1-1) 3 5 1 1 8

Abington (2-10-0-0) 1 7 0 0 2

William Tennent (4-8-0-1) 2 6 0 1 5

Quakertown (2-9-1-0) 1 6 1 0 3

Council Rock North (1-13-0-0) 0 10 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-1-0-0) 9 0 0 0 18

Wissahickon (8-6-0-0) 6 4 0 0 12

Hatboro-Horsham (10-4-0-1) 5 3 0 1 11

Lower Moreland (1-12-0-0) 1 7 0 0 2

Truman (1-12-0-0) 1 7 0 0 2

Scoring

Class AA G A Pts

Jake Lang (CBW) 24 17 41

Robert Seewagen(Nesh) 21 13 34

Chris Trefz (CBW) 10 22 32

Michael Roby (CRS) 20 11 31

Antii Autere (CRS) 11 18 29

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 13 16 29

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 11 18 29

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 12 16 28

Sean Gorman (CBE) 24 4 28

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 13 14 27

Class A G A Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW) 18 26 44

Jake Weikel (PW) 22 16 38

Alex Howieson (HH) 20 18 38

Seth Lerner (HH) 19 12 31

Dean Keller (PW) 17 14 31

Nicholas Hussa 24 6 30

Luke Weikel (PW) 15 14 29

Bryan Gary 17 10 27

Aidan Esack (HH) 11 14 25

Tarek Elsabbagh (HH) 11 10 21

Flyers Cup Power Rankings for 2-3-20

Rankings are based on game results, analytics, and on-site observations. For more information, go to the Flyers Cup tournament web site HERE

This is the finals et of rankings prior to the announcement of the final field, which will occur on Sunday, February 23rd at 7 p.m. Eastern Time

Class AAA

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-0-0-4)
Holy Ghost Prep (7-3-0-0)
La Salle (6-3-0-1)
Malvern Prep (6-4-0-0)
Father Judge (12-5-0-0)

Class AAA

Central Bucks South (11-0-0-1)
Haverford High (14-1-0-0)
Perkiomen Valley (11-2-0-0)
North Penn (9-2-0-0)
Downingtown West (9-5-0-1)
Neshaminy (9-3-0-0)
Council Rock South (6-3-0-1)
Central Bucks East (9-2-1-1)
Boyertown (9-5-1-1)
Parkland (13-0-2-0)

Class A

West Chester East (13-1-0-0)
Springfield Delco (11-3-0-2)
Unionville (9-5-1-0)
West Chester Bayard Rustin (9-5-0-2)
Palmyra (15-2-0-1)
Hershey (13-2-1-2)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-1-0-0)
Strath Haven (10-3-0-1)
Lower Dauphin (12-6-0-0)
West Chester Henderson (5-8-1-1)

N.J/Del

Eastern (13-2-3-0)
Salesianum (8-6-1-1)
Appoquinimink (12-1-0-2)
Moorestown (8-5-5-0)
St. Mark’s (13-1-1-1)

Girls

Bux-Mont Catholic (12-1-0-0)
Unionville (8-3-0-2)
Avon Grove (9-3-0-1)
West Chester East (3-8-0-0)