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Playoff Ponderings-SHSHL

Wednesday, February 21

National Division Quarterfinal

3. Central Bucks South vs. 6. Souderton

7:20 at Hatfield Ice

Winner faces Council Rock South in semifinals on 2-28

Central Bucks South (12-7-1, 12-5-1 in divisional play)

The Titans have been an up-and-down team this season. They enter the postseason having split their last six games.

D.J. Lindenmuth paces the team in scoring with 21 goals and 14 assists for 35 points. Sean Cutter has produced eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points. Dom Varacallo offers a veteran’s presence in goal with an .880 save percentage and a 3.08 GAA. Nathan Napolitano offers an .876 save percentage and a 2.83 GAA.

South split two meetings with Souderton this season.

Souderton (7-11)

The Big Red was third in the division in goals scored with 111 but also surrendered the most, 153. Maxwell Ryon tops the scoring column with 43 goals and 20 assists for 63 points.  Seth Grossman is next with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points while Nick Smith has added 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points.

Connor Paulus took over in goal when his team needed a netminder. His season-long save percentage is .732 and his GAA stands at 8.50 but his level of play has risen impressively since the holiday break,

American Division Semifinal

2. Bensalem vs. 3. Abington

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Winner faces Plymouth Whitemarsh in final on 2-28

Bensalem (12-3, 9-3 in divisional play)

The Owls have attracted a lot of attention this season; they’ve averaged seven goals a game. Alex Hood stands third in the entire SHSHL in scoring with 52 goals and 18 assists for 70 points. Alex Bazylevich has provided 15 goals and 27 assists for 42 points.

Ricky Gonzalez is a premier goaltender, who’s carrying a .901 save percentage and a 3.06 GAA.

Abington (6-9-1, 5-7 in the division)

A young Abington team struggled at time this season but the Galloping Ghosts get a fresh start with the start of the postseason.

Seamus Donofry paces his team in scoring with seven goals and 23 assists for 30 points. Michael Romano is next with 11 goal and nine assists for 20 points.

Matt Evangelist (.864 save percentage, 4.33 GAA)  and Devin Brown (.808/7.33) split time in goal.

Thursday, February 22

National Division Quarterfinal

4. Central Bucks East vs. 5 North Penn

7:10 at Hatfield Ice

Winner faces Pennridge in semifinal on 2-28

Central Bucks East (11-5-2)

The Patriots enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the SHSHL; the went 6-1-2 in their final nine games. They’re 1-0-1 against the Knights this season.

Corey Kosick leads the team in scoring with 26 goals and 12 assists for 38 points. Jaden Young is next with eight goals and six assists for 14 points. Eight players on the roster have accumulated 10 points or more.

 Cole Breen is a force in goal with an .891 save percentage and a 3.51 GAA

North Penn (10-7-1)

After struggling much of last year, the Knights staged a big-time resurgence this season. Nolan Shingle is the top scorer with nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points. Samuel Norton has provided 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points while Cole Pluck has contributed 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points.

Maks-Joseph Harkins, Aidan Quigley, and Ian McAteer all see time in goal. Harkins has the most noteworthy numbers, a .918 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA.

  • Results of the playoffs will not impact Flyers Cup tournament selections/seedings. Abington and Bensalem are both classified ‘AA” for Flyers Cup purposes.

APAC Playoff Update

 A matchup between Holy Ghost Prep and Hun School will kick off the 2024 Founders Cup playoffs.

The fourth-seeded Firebirds will host the fifth-seeded Raiders in a play in game on Tuesday, February 20 at 4 p.m. at Grundy Arena.

The winner will advance to face top-seeded La Salle the following day, February 21, at the Class of 1923 Rink at the University of Pennsylvania as part of a semifinal doubleheader.  The other semifinal game will match Malvern Prep against St. Joseph’s Prep. The semifinal doubleheader will begin at 4:00; which game will be first has not been announced.

The Founders Cup title game is tentatively set for February 28 and will be hosted by the highest seeded finalist.

APAC Update for 2-6-24

                                               W     L    OTW  OTL Pts  GF     GA

La Salle (17-2)                      7     0       0        0    21    31       6 

Malvern Prep (7-6)             3      3      1       1      9     13     15 

Holy Ghost Prep (8-12)       3      4      0       0     9     12    18

St. Joseph’s Prep (12-4)      3      3      1        0     8    19    15

Hun School (3-9)                  0     6      0        1     1      7     28

Scoring (Conference Games)     GP    G     A     Pts. PPG  

Jeremy Jacobs (MP)                      7        5   6    11     1.57

Dan Carvalho (L)                           7         4   5     9     1.29

Jake Schultz (SJP)                        5         3      3      6   1.20

Ryan Levesque (HS)                    5        1       4    5   1.00

Jake McCaw (HGP)                       8         3     3    6    1.00

William Carpenter (L)                  7         1     5    6    0.86

Declan Kelly (L)                            7        1      5     6    0.86

Will Gregorio (L)                           7       1      5     6   0.86

Patrick Brace (L)                           7       3       3    6   0.86 

Tristan Winata (SJP)                   6         5      0     5  0.83

Save Pct (Conference Games)   GP   S      GA  Save Pct.

Jake Rossi (L)                                 7   165    6     .964

Jack Unger (HGP)                         4      72    3     .958

Matt Crawford (MP)                   7       252  15  .940

Julian Arseneault (HS)                4       173  13   .925

Jaccob Aranda (SJP)               6        170    15     .912

Goals Against (Conference Games)

Jack Unger (HGP)   0.84

Jake Rossi (L)          0.86

Matt Crawford (MP) 2.06
Jacob Aranda (SJP)   2.46

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Holy Ghost Prep 3 Hun School 2

Jake McCaw’s goal with 50 seconds left in regulation gave Holt Ghost Prep a 3-2 win Wednesday at Ice Land. It was his second goal of the game and capped a frenzied conclusion to the third period which saw three goals scored in a span of just under seven minutes.

McCaw opened the scoring for the Firebirds 1:45 into the opening period off and assist from Joseph Kaufmann.

Anthony Prete gave Holy Ghost Prep (6-10, 2-3) a 2-0 advantage 8:04 into the second period with help from Anthony Valeriote and Chris Marshall.

But Raiders (3-7, 0-3) battled back. Charles-Etienne Jett and Justin Laplante scored goals 1 minute, 49 seconds apart with 5:55 left in the third period to tie the game and set up the finish.

The Firebirds outshot the Raiders 51-23 but Julian Arsenault kept Hun School in the game by making 48 saves. Jack Unger stopped 21 shots at the other end.

“I was really proud of the response out of our team today and the way we competed.,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “We are still a work in progress and should’ve won more comfortably given the shot differential, but Hun goalie did a nice job and we have to learn to capitalize on our opportunities. Overall though I was very happy with our game and effort today.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1—3

Hun School 0 0 2—2

First-period goals: Jake McCaw (HGP) from Joseph Kaufmann, 1:45

Second-period goals: Anthony Prete (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Chris Marshall, 8:04

Third-period goals: Charles-Etienne Jett from Ryan Levesque, 9:16 (pp); Justin Laplante from Levesque, 11:05; Jake McCaw (HGP) from Matt Cholaj and Ryan Lippy, 16:10

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 51, Malvern Prep 23, Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 21, Julian Arsenault (HS) 48

Carroll Named Interim Men’s Coach at Arcadia

GLENSIDE – Arcadia University has announced the elevation of Patrick Carroll to the interim position of Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach. Carroll will begin his duties on September 1.

“I would like to thank Brian Granata and (Associate Director of Athletics) Mike Hebenstreit for giving me the opportunity to lead the men’s ice hockey team this season,” Carroll explained. “I hope to make this transition as smooth as possible for all of our players and continue to grow this program during the 2023-24 season.”

Carroll spent last season as the top assistant with the Knights, helping the program reach new heights with its first-ever trip to the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Tournament in just their second season as a varsity program. The team also had three players named All-Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) with Drew Iannucci named MAC Rookie of the Year and to the UCHC All-Rookie Team. 

Prior to his time on Arcadia’s bench, Carroll spent three seasons as the head coach of Temple’s AHCA D1 team, one season as an assistant at fellow UCHC member King’s College, and four years at AHCA D1 Lehigh. 

“Coach Carroll made a strong impression on our program last season and worked diligently to support our student-athletes,” Granata said. “His experiences at Temple, King’s and Lehigh will serve him well as he transitions into this new role at Arcadia. We look forward to the continued development of our program under his leadership.”

Carroll graduated from Slippery Rock with a degree in Communications, where he was a four-year member and captain of the men’s ice hockey program.

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South Fayette 7 Pennsbury 4

 South Fayette scored three goals in just under two minutes late in the third period to score a 7-4 win over Pennsbury in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AA championship game at the Robert Morris Sports Center just outside of Pittsburgh.

Wes Schwarzmiller scored his second goal of the game with 2:57 remaining in regulation to break a 4-4 tie. The game-winning goal came when the senior darted down the left wing and launched a shot from below the circle that caught the top right corner of the net.

Nolan Murphy added an insurance goal for the Lions with 1:33 remaining.

Brayden Imler added an empty-net goal for the Lions (19-3-2) with 1:06 remaining. Allen Schraeder got the win in goal.

Brendan MacAinsh and Justin Marlin scored two goals each for Pennsbury. Each scored once to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first period before South Fayette scored four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead early in the second period.

Marlin scored for the Falcons with 9:38 left in the period before MacAinsh added his second goal to send the two teams into the third period tied 4-4.

“We found ourselves in a pretty familiar situation,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “Down a couple goals midway through the second. We called a timeout and tried to reset the boys and before you know it, we’ve got a tie game going into the third.”

Daley said his team didn’t get as many shot attempts as he would have liked in the late going.”We might have been a little tired, a little fatigued,” he said. “We probably didn’t get as many shots, especially in the third, as I would have liked.”

Pennsbury, which closed the season at 18-7, was making its fourth appearance in a state final.  The Falcons won the Class AA state title in 1985 and lost Class A state championship games in 1993 and 2000.

Pennsbury 2 2 0—4

S. Fayette 3 1 0 3—7

First-period goals: Brendan MacAinsh (P) from Logan Doyle, 3:20; Justin Marlin (P) from MacAinsh 11:20 (sh); Ryan Cirra (SF) from Tyler Brandebura and Jackson Brabdebura, 11:49 (pp); Rtler Brandebura (SF) from Brayden Imler, 12:32 (pp); Brayden Reighard (SF) from Jackson Brandebura, (sh)

Second-period goals: Wes Schwarzmiller (SF unassisted, 2:39; Marlin (P) from MacCainsh, 7:20 (pp) MacAinsh (P) unassisted, 15:59

Third-period goals: Schwarzmiller (SF) from Brady Fleck 14:03, Nolan Mirphy (SF) from Imler, 15:26; Imler (SF) unassisted, 15:52 (en)

Shots: Pennsbury 33, South Fayette 35; Saves: Aaron McDaniel 28, Allen Schrader (SF) 29