North Penn Hockey Gears Up to Fight Cancer

Join the North Penn Ice Hockey Association as they take the ice to fight cancer.

North Penn will play four (4) games in January to support the American Cancer Society and Hockey Fights Cancer.

Varsity will suit up on Wednesday, January 7^th vs Souderton at 7:20 PM
Junior Varsity will take on Father Judge on Friday, January 9^th at 8:50 PM
Middle School AAA will battle the CB West Bucks on Sunday, January 11^th at 7:50 PM
Middle School A will face off against Quakertown, also on Sunday, January 11^th at 6:25PM
All games will be at Hatfield Ice

Donations can be made directly to the American Cancer Society at: https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/Northpennhockey

This is a great opportunity for North Penn to give back to the community. Hockey Fights Cancer is an initiative aimed at raising awareness and funds for cancer research and support of those affected by cancer. North Penn looks to make this an annual event.

“As an organization, we always strive to be one of the premier high school ice hockey programs, not only with our performance on the ice but some of the things we do within the community,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis. “So far this year, we have support our local veterans, we have organized a leaf pick up for some of the elderly in our community, and next week 12/15 we are delivering toys to those less fortunate at the North Penn Valley Boys and Girls Club. We are excited in January for these Cancer Awareness Games.”

Assistant Coach and Treasurer Frank Stumpo adds “I have been involved with North Penn Ice Hockey for over 25 years from my kids playing to now serving as a coach and a volunteer within the organization. We always look to teach these players some life lessons that are more important than the game of hockey at times. Cancer has most likely impacted all of us at some point in our life and I hope that we are able to raise some money for research and awareness through this game on January 7th.”

PW 7 Springfield 2

They got off to a slow start. But for Plymouth Whitemarsh it became business as usual soon enough. The Colonials overcame a 1-0 first-period deficit and rolled to a 7-2 win over Springfield in a SHSHL American Division matchup at Hatfield Ice.

The winners improved to 6-1 overall and in the division; their only loss came to Hatboro-Horsham, a team Plymouth Whitemarsh is battling for division supremacy.

The Colonials’ big guns had big nights. Blake Ambler scored two goals and added three assists had a four-point night, providing two goals and two assists.

But it took the Colonials some time to get started. Springfield (2-6, 2-5 in the division) got on the scoreboard just 2:21 into the first period on a goal from Lincoln Coleman and the Spartans maintained the lead through the end of the opening frame.

The Colonials woke up in the middle period. Ambler tied the game after just 42 seconds when he tipped in Carson Wooldridge’s shot from the right point and Luke Smith tied the game at the 6:06 mark. Morgan Hulitt and Guller added additional goals two minutes apart late in the period to put their side up 4-1 after 34 minutes.

“It was definitely a slow start,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti. “That’s something we’re trying to work on but we stepped it up in the end and responded well.”

The Colonials continued to apply pressure early in the third period. Ambler and Guller scored goals and with 11:39 left in the third period the Colonials had a 6-1 advantage.

By that point the Spartans, who had just 12 skaters available seemingly exhausted their energy reserves although Kellen Warren added a goal down the stretch.

“We started off playing hard,” said Springfield coach Don Quinn. “We ran out of gas. We’ve got 12 skaters and one player hurt so it’s tough to compete from start to finish, especially against a team that just keeps coming,

“PW hustled from start to finish. You’ve got to match that energy or you give up seven goals.”

Forti notes that having a deep roster gives him a lot of flexibility.

“We have the ability to roll three lines if everyone is playing well,” he said, “and if we need to shore things up, we can go with two lines if we need to or find a new rotation to really motivate the guys.

Guller, the Colonials’ captain, note how the team has evolved from the start of the season.

“I think we’ve evolved tremendously,” he said. “We have a lot of good freshmen coming up this year, for example Carson Wooldridge an Ethan Peskin, two new guys we added to the bench and they’ve made the defensive four a lot stronger.”

Guller takes his role as a leader seriously.

“I’ve been part of this team for four years,” he said. “Throughout the years, I’ve been treated with respect by the upperclassmen so I know it’s the right thing to do the same with our underclassmen.”

Springfield 1 0 1—2

PW 0 4 3—7

First-period goal: Lincoln Coleman (S) from Grayson Quinn, 2:21

Second-period goals: Blake Ambler (PW) from Carson Wooldridge and Morgan Hulitt, :42; Luke Smith (PW) from Jack Condon, 6:06; Hulitt (PW) from Daniel Guller and Ambler, 14:23 (pp); Guller (PW) from Ambler, 16:37

Third-period goals: Ambler (PW) from Guller, 1:10; Guller (PW) from Ambler. 5:21 (sh); Condon (PW) from John Zawslak, 13:45; Kellen Warren (S) from Trent Gardner, 14:06

Shots: Springfield 24, Plymouth Whitemarsh 41; Saves: Emmett Kline (S) 34, Lucas Bennett 22

Hun School 8 Haverford School 3

Zachary Vallee scored four goals as the Raiders bested Haverford School 8-3 Thursday afternoon at Ice Land in a non-league game. Andrew Darst, Anders van Baalte, James Dolanm and Jacob Kelly LePage also scored for Hun School (3-1), which won its third straight.

A New Chapter is Unfolding at The Hun School

With the arrival of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference season, a new era of Hun School hockey has begun.

Nathaniel Welsh is now the man behind the Raiders’ bench, having taken over for Eric Szeker last week. His team hadn’t played a game since until it defeated St. Joseph’s Prep 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday at the University of Pennsylvania’s historic Class of 1923 Rink.

Welsh, who played midget hockey for former Hun School coach Ian McNally and was later an assistant coach there, says the transition has been a smooth one.

“Eric Szeker was a phenomenal coach,” he said, “and had, very, very close personal ties with a lot of them. He recruited a lot of those player and coached a lot of those players as the JV assistant and the varsity head coach (Szeker was beginning his third season as head coach when he resigned).

“It’s a tough thing to change a coach at any point and it’s a very tough thing to change a coach a week or two into a season but there hasn’t been a missed beat, there hasn’t been a missed practice, there hasn’t been a slowdown. I give all of the athletes credit for continuing to show up and continuing work just as hard for each other, and for the common goal of winning some games.

In terms of Xs and Os, Welsh is making only minor tweaks.

“Eric and I have a very similar philosophy on how the game of hockey is played and on how we approach coaching it,” he said. “We’ll make a minor tweak or two to our forecheck, but as to the philosophy of how we run practice and how we run the team, it’s pretty much the same and that was one of the great things about coaching with him.

“We had the same values and the same core ethos we were trying to impart to the players so that doesn’t change.”

Due to a combination of school policy and NJSIAA regulations, the Raiders take to the ice later than the four other APAC schools. But they are making up for lost time. They’ll be on the ice five days a week between now and the holiday break and will be participating in the 31st Purple Puck Tournament in Springfield, Virginia between Christmas and New Year’s.

“I think the first couple of games is always a tough thing because we’re playing schools that have practiced and played for a month or two ahead of us,” Welsh said, “so I think it’s a disadvantage for the first game or two, having three weeks of practice vs. two months and five games. But, once we get going, it’s an easier thing to do because it’s a routine that all the players get into. We play three times a week, we practice twice a week. We’re on the ice five times a week and it’s easier to keep the momentum once you get going.

“So we’ve got to find our footing but then I think it’s easier to continue with it in that rapid-shot fashion we do for three months.”

Holy Ghost Prep 4 La Salle 0

Holy Ghost Prep kept up its winning ways Wednesday afternoon. Four different players scored goals as the Firebirds bested La Salle 4-0 in an APAC encounter at Hatfield Ice.

Holy Ghost Prep (6-1 overall) has now won six straight decisions and stands a perfect 4-0 in the APAC.

Senior Jake Smaron scored one goal and assisted on another.

“It’s been a big change this year,” he said. “A lot of guys graduated but I think we’ve come together as a group really well. Especially in these early months, which you usually don’t see a lot.

“We’ve been pretty efficient with the way we scored. A lot of gritty goals I would say.”

The scoreless first period saw the Firebirds and La Salle (1-6, 0-4) battle on even terms. But the Explorers’ goal-scoring drought continued.

“We’re definitely making progress,” said La Salle coach Wally. Muehlbronner. “We’ve just got to find a way to score some goals.

“We had some really good opportunities in the first period. The goalie (Matt Salina) made some nice saves. We just had to find a way to get one past him.”

Chase Logue gave Holy Ghost Prep the lead 4:17 on a solo effort 4:17 into the second frame.

Smaron made it 2-0 with 3:51 left in the period when a loose puck eluded La Salle netminder Anthony Foster in the goal mouth and Smaron tucked it in the net.

“I’m a bit of a grinder they say?” Smaron said. “But sometimes, to get the puck in the net, it’s not going to be the most flashy. You’ve just got to get it in sometimes. That’s what we did today.”

Smaron, a defenseman, is in his second season as a full-time varsity player; he was a swing player as a sophomore. He commented on how his role has evolved over the course of his career.

“I kind of played as a little more of a goal scorer on JV,” he said. “But I’ve really accepted my role on varsity as kind of a leader and helping the younger guys.

“I’m not much of a flashy player but getting the puck in the net is kind of my thing.”

Lucas’s Gonzalez and Billy Harmar scored goals 88 seconds apart early in the third period to allow the Firebirds to build on their lead. Foster was lifted for Danny Trainor midway through the period.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie is pleased to see his team getting production from a variety of sources. “We’re getting production from our top three lines,” he said. “Any time you can get scoring from any line, it’s always a positive.”

Ritchie notes the advantages of having a deep roster.

“It’s harder to match against when you have depth,” he said. “Last year we had a really elite player that I think most teams tried to zero in on and he was still able to produce. But, this year, we’ve got those top guys but {scoring] could come from anyone up front.”

Holy Ghost Prep. 0 2 2—4

La Salle 0 0 0—0

Second-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) unassisted, 4:17; Jake Smaron (HGP) from Sean Devine, 13:09

Third-period goals: Lucas Helms (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Anthony Valeriote, 1:44; Billy Harmae (HGP)) from Lucas Helms and Smaron, 3:12

Shotas: Holy Ghost Prep 25, La Salle 30Holy Ghost Prep kept up its winning ways Wednesday afternoon. Four different players scored goals as the Firebirds bested La Salle 4-0 in an APAC encounter at Hatfield Ice.