Your Source for High School Hockey
Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference W L OTW OTL Pts
LaSalle (12-3) 5 0 1 0 17
Malvern Prep (6-3) 2 2 0 0 6
St. Joseph’s Prep (5-6) 1 2 1 0 5
Holy Ghost Prep (4-7) 0 4 0 2 2
Teams receive three points for a regulation win, two points for a win in an overtime or shootout, one point for a loss in overtime or shootout
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Gloucester Catholic at Holy Ghost Prep
St. Joseph’s Prep at St. Augustine
The 2019 Suburban High School Hockey League season is set to resume the day after New Year’s.
It was 46 years ago that high-school hockey was introduced to Eastern Montgomery County.
Sometime around the midway point of the 1972-73 season, hockey impresario Walter Jewell withdrew a team that he ran from a league that played at the original Grundy rink in Bristol and moved it to the Wintersport rink on York Road in Willow Grove, which had recently opened, and where a league for high-school age players had been organized.
Jewell’s team, which featured primarily, though not exclusively, Abington players, was actually called the Wintersports. The team won the league championship that first season, defeating a team called the Northeast Sabres 3-2 in the varsity championship game.
The following season, 1973-74, saw the league take a major step forward when most teams began playing under the names of various high schools. Research indicates there were eight teams in the league that year; Abington, Hatboro-Horsham, North Penn, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Lower Moreland, Upper Moreland/Willow Grove, Philmont, and Northeast (the section of Philadelphia, not necessarily the school).
High-school hockey has been a fixture in the area ever since.
Our thanks to Steve Schorr and the Abington hockey alumni for their help and providing much of the information contained in this post.
St. Joseph’s Prep has split its first two games at the National Capital Hockey Tournament; the Purple Pucks Tournament in Washington, D.C.
The Hawks best Archbishop Spalding from suburban Baltimore, 5-0 on Friday and lost a Saturday morning game to St. Ignatius from Chicago, 2-0.
They lost to Bishop O’ Connell of Arlington, Va. 6-2 in their second game Saturday to finish the tournament with a 1-2 record.
The LaSalle hockey team is heading to Rhode Island after Christmas. The Explorers will be making their annual post-Christmas trek to Woonsocket, Rhode Island to compete in the annual Mount St. Charles Academy tournament.
The eight-team tournament gets underway on Thursday, December 27 and runs through Saturday the 29th. The single-elimination tournament features a consolation bracket
I think it comes at a great time every year for guys to get closer together as teammates,” said LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner. It’s our only time when we travel and spend time as a team throughout the season.
“The way the tournament is set up, we play three games, one game a day which is great. there is a lot of downtime where the guys can really get together and grow as a team.”
The tournament features an elite field. “The same eight teams have been going there a long time, Meuhlbronner said.
LaSalle’s first-round opponent will be Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island Thursday night.
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It was a hockey game that featured a bit of everything, including a dramatic finish and an outstanding effort in goal; from the losing goaltender.
Jan Olenginski scored off a faceoff 2:23 into overtime to give LaSalle a 3-2 win over Holy Ghost Prep Friday night at Hatfield Ice in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference matchup between the two longtime rivals.
The goal came off a draw in the circle to the left of Holy Ghost Prep goaltender Sean Joyce. Sam Lipkin drew the puck back to the top of the circle where Olenginski was waiting to launch a shot that beat Firebird netminder Sean Joyce.
“I didn’t really have to do too much,” Olenginski said. “He went right to me and I just shot it.”
LaSalle (10-2, 6-0 in the APAC) dominated the bulk of the last two periods. That the Firebirds were able to take the game to overtime was a testament to Joyce’s efforts in goal. He made 39 saves, two of them on penalty shots.
“He’s a competitor,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “He comes to play every game, that’s all you can ask for. And that just gets our guys going.”
The Firebirds (4-7, 0-6) essentially started the evening with a one-goal advantage. LaSalle’s Eric Ford drew a cross-checking penalty just 59 seconds after the opening faceoff. Colin Costello put his team in front just 11 seconds after that.
Max Levenberg responded for the Explorers with a shot from the right side off a scramble in front with 17 seconds remaining in the period.
In the second period the game turned from physical to chippy. Ten penalties were called in the period but the most significant of them came with 2:21 remaining when the Explorers were awarded a penalty shot when the Firebirds’ Jake Marek was whistled for closing his hand over the puck in the crease.
Lipkin took the penalty shot but Joyce turned his forehander aside.
Andrew Budzynski gave LaSalle it’s first lead with 8:15 left in the third period on a play that Michael Casey started with a move down the right wing. Casey went cross ice to Lipkin who in turn found Casey who deposited the puck in the lower right-hand corner of the net.
All three players involved in the play, along with Olenginski, are sophomores.
“A lot of those guys that are sophomores now had a year to play together here , to know the way we want them to play when they’re playing for LaSalle,” said Explorer coach Wally Meuhlbronner. “I think the best quality about them is that they’re unselfish and they work hard and play together well.”
Alex D’Angelo tied the game for Holy Ghost Prep with 6:31 remaining off a feed from Jack Kelly.
Before overtime however, the Firebirds to weather another storm. With les than two minutes left in regulation, Lipkin found himself on a breakaway for the Explorers when Kelly threw his stick along the ice at him. This time it was Olenginski who took the penalty shot but again, Joyce proved impenetrable.
LaSalle finished with a 42-22 edge in shots.
Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 1 0—2
LaSalle 1 0 1 1—3
First-period goals: Colin Costello (HGP) from Eric Pohl and Evan Mudrick, 1:10 (pp); Max Levenberg (L), 15:43.
Third-period goals: Andrew Budzynski (L) from Sam Lipkin and Michael Casey, 7:49; Alex D’Angelo (HGP) from Jack Kelly, 9:29.
Overtime goal: Jan Olenginski (L) from Lipkin, 2:23.
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 22, LaSalle 42; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 39, Aidan McCabe (L) 20
To learn more about LaSalle College High School CLICK HERE
To learn more about Holy Ghost Prep CLICK HERE
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge and Central Bucks East tested themselves against each other Thursday night. It was the Rams who passed the test and left Hatfield Ice with a 6-2 win in a Suburban High School Hockey League encounter.
Eric Slater scored three goals for the Rams (4-1-1, 3-1 in SHSHL Class AA) but the story of the evening was his team’s ability to keep the Patriots under constant pressure.
Slater and Matt Guinette scored goals to give the Rams a 2-0 first period lead but the most interesting numbers on the scoreboard were the shot totals that read 20-0 in favor of Pennridge.
“Good defense started in our offensive zone,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “and with guys being in position where they can attack the puck and still be in good defensive positions if we do turn the puck over.
“That first period was as well as we’ve put together all year.
Ken Latchum, East’s veteran coach, said the pressure took a toll on his troops, who dropped their first decision of the season.. “They pressured us,” he said, “and their feet never stopped moving. They didn’t glide once.
“Those guys, even their third line, were just full of pressure. Those guys just motored and that’s what I want these guys to learn. You’ve got to motor.”
The Patriots (5-1-1, 2-1) didn’t get their first shot on goal until 29 seconds into the second period when they were on a power play. Slater gave the Rams a 3-0 lead 4:51 into the middle period by skating up the middle of the offensive zone and weaving his way through traffic.
“He’s lethal,” Montagna said. “You give him an inch, he’s lethal and you add that shot that his his offensive ability and it’s almost impossible to shut him down.”
Slater, who had two assists to go with his three goals, now has 16 goals and four assists in his team’s six games. He said he focuses on finding open ice. “I’ve always tried to,” he said. “It helps playing with teammates that open up so much space for me.”
Rob Kern solved Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick with 6:13 left in the middle session. The score stayed that way to the end of the period but Frankie Rota and Slater (while his team was shorthanded) scored third-period goals to make it a 5-1 game with 7:43 remaining in regulation.
East’s Nick Locastro and the Rams’ Conrad Fisch traded goals to finish the scoring.
The Rams had a 36-9 edge in shots.
C.B. East 0 1 1—2
Pennridge 2 1 3—6
First-period goals: Eric Slater (P) from Blake Stewart, 9:55; Matt Guinette (P) unassisted, 14:33.
Second-period goals: Slater (P) unassisted, 4:51; Rob Kern (CBE) from Nick Locastro and Sean Gorman, 9:47.
Third-period goals: Stewart (P) from Frankie Rota and Slater, 2:20; Slater (P) unassisted, 8:17 (sh); Locastro (CBE) from Phil McIntyre and Owen Connor, Conrad Fisch (P) from Slater.
Shots: C.B. East 9, Pennridge 36
BRISTOL— There weren’t a lot of style points handed out at Grundy Arena Wednesday afternoon. But it was the three points in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference standings that mattered after all.
Kyle Washkalavitch scored two goals and assisted on a third as Malvern Prep got the better of Holy Ghost Prep 6-5 in an APAC matchup. It was a big win for the Friars, who improved to 4-1 overall (2-1 in the APAC). It was the second win for Malvern Prep over the Firebirds this season.
Waskalavitch, a senior left winger, said he and his teammates took the ice with a focused mindset. “We go in with the same mindset every game,” he said, “just to play our absolute hardest. Only worry about the things we control. We just want to make sure we’re playing our best game defensively; that will create our offense.”
The Friars never trailed in the game. Washkalavitch and Charlie Andress scored goals to give them a 2-0 lead with 3:41 left in the opening period.
Evan Mudrick got one back for the Firebirds (4-4, 0-3) with 11 seconds left in the period before Thomas McNulty tied the game 2:27 into the second frame.
Malvern Prep took the lead for good when Matt Harris and Nick Martino scored goals 64 seconds apart to put their team up 4-2 with 8:58 left in the middle period.
The teams spent the rest of the affair trading goals. Mudrick and Byron Hartley each scored twice for Holy Ghost Prep but it wasn’t enough.
Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside had hoped his team would get out of the gate more effectively. “Not a good enough start,” he said. “We were chasing the game. a good effort at the end but you can’t play that way and chase the game like that and expect to come out winning.”
Malvern Prep coach Dave Dorman will take the win. But he noted there are areas where his team needs work, specifically inside its own blue line.
“I think there are definitely some concerns,” he said. “Things we have to clean up in the defensive zone, picking guys up on the backcheck. Our communication is not anywhere near where it needs to be, which is one of the areas were going to focus on moving forward.”
The Friars got a solid effort between the pipes from Dan Dougherty, who finished with 21 saves.
“We trust our goaltender just as much as our goaltender trusts us to go out there and get goals for him,” Washkalavitch said. “We’re a team, it doesn’t matter, he’s going to make saves no matter what. We’ve got to make sure we’re putting it in on the other end.”
Malvern Prep 2 3 1—6
Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 2—5
First-period goals: Kyle Washkalavitch (MP) from Charlie Andress and Andrew Harder, 3:03: Andress (HGP) from Chris Blango, 12:19; Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Eric Mark, 15:49.
Second-period goals: Thomas McNulty (HGP) from Sean Marshall and Richard Spor, 2:27; Matt Harris (MP) from John Dewey, 5:58; Nick Martino (MP) from Andress, 7:02; Byron Hartley (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo and McNulty, 11:51 (pp); Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Washkalavitch, 12:59.
Third-period goals: Mudrick (HGP) from Marshall, 1:55; Waskalavitch (MP) from Harder and Martino, 2:44; Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 8:59.
Two former Ridley High School hockey players were convicted Friday in a Montgomery County courtroom of charges stemming from an on-ice brawl during a Flyers Cup quarterfinal game against Central Bucks West in March of 2017
19-year old Brock Anderson of Morton and 20-year old Jake Tyler Cross of Secane were convicted of simple assault and conspiracy to commit simple assault, both misdemeanors.
Both were sentenced to one year probation and 100 hours of community service. A third defendant, 19-year old Ryan Anthony Gricco of Swarthmore, also a former Ridley hockey player, was acquitted of a conspiracy charge. The jury deadlocked on an assault charge against Gricco, he could be retried.
The incident occurred with 7:12 left in the third period of a Class 2A Flyers Cup quarterfinal on March 9, 2017 at Hatfield Ice. Central Bucks West was leading 7-1 at the time; the game was terminated at that point. Several Central Bucks West players were injured in the incident
Rick Woelfel and North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis discuss the Athletes Helping Athletes hockey showcase .
Catch it HERE
Also, catch our conversation with former Hatboro-Horsham High and Princeton standout and current NWHL all-star Kelsey Koelzer at the same link.
The scholastic hockey season kicks off Wednesday with the Athletes Helping Athletes tournament’s opening-night doubleheader.
Revolution Ice Gardens will serve as the venue as North Penn faces Souderton in the 7:20 opener, followed by a 9:05 matchup between Central Bucks East and 2018 Flyers Cup finalist Central Bucks South.
The Wednesday’s games and the tournament itself figure to be competitive, tournament organizer Eric Tye says results are secondary to a greater cause.
“Hockey is the last thing the coaches and myself worry about,” he said. “It’s taking care of special-needs athletes. We have honorary captains for every game. The teams take the kids into the locker room, it’s just an awesome sight.”
Tye, who has only one hand, has had a decades-long stint in hockey as a player, coach, and administrator. He conceived the idea of the tournament, which, with the support of AHA founder Rick Leonetti, is now in its fifth year.
“We started in Year One with four teams,” Tye said. “In Year Two we went to six teams and now we’re at eight teams. I think last year we raised almost $17,000.
The tournament will feature 16 games between Wednesday and October 26. All will be played at Revolution Ice Gardens.
On Friday, October 12, the Flyers Alumni will take the ice against Team AHA which will feature local coaches.
Hockey Happenings 