Holy Ghost Prep 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Three different players scored goals as Holy Ghost Prep downed St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 Wednesday evening at Hatfield Ice in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The second-seeded Firebirds (16-6) will face La Salle in the Founders Cup final next Wednesday at 4 p.m., also at Hatfield Ice. The Hawks fell to 14-6-2. Both teams will learn on Sunday where they will be seeded for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament, which begins the week of March 6.

Brady Baehser paced Holy Ghost Prep with with two goals, giving him 12 in APAC play this season. Kieran Mulholland and Zach Pers also scored for the winning side.

It was also a day that saw Jack Unger turn in a stellar performance in goal. Given the starting nod because veteran Colin Mudrick was unavailable, Unger a sophomore, recorded 18 saves and was the epitome of poise.

Mulholland gave Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead when he beat St. Joseph’s Prep netminder Rocco Bruno on a deflection 8:41 into the opening period. Baehser made it a 2-0 game on a breakaway at the 10:59 mark of the second frame.

“I liked our start,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “We haven’t been starting off games very well of late but today I liked our jump. and we had four lines contributing, which is great.”

Playing with a lead allowed Unger to settle in.

“I think the biggest thing is being able to stay comfortable,” he said. “When we get off to a quick start like that, I’m really comfortable. I know I can trust the forwards, trust the defense. I know that they’ve got my back and I’ve got their backs.”

Unger’s effort earned effusive praise from his coach.

“It was nice to see that from Jack,” Whiteside said. “He’s worked all year and gotten some spots here and there throughout the season, but tonight was a total effort from Jack and our guys just fed off of him.”

Jeffrey Hammond got St. Joseph’s Prep on the scoreboard 6:44 into the third period but the Hawks were stymied much of the night; they managed just 19 shots.

“I think they wanted it more than us today for whatever reason,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “It’s hard to get in the minds of kids (but) they had a lot of jumps, especially in the beginning of the game,

“They wanted it a little bit more than us and they played a really good game.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 1—4

First-period goal: Kieran Mulholland (HGP) unassisted, 8:41

Second-period goal: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Ryan Lippy and Landon Stout, 10:59; Zach Pers (HGP) from Kieran Mulholland and John Seravalli, 14:16 (pp)

Third-period goal: Jeffrey Hammond (HGP) unassisted, 6:44; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli and Mulholland, 11:54;

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 19, Holy Ghost Prep 33; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 29, Jack Unger (HGP) 18

La Salle 5 Hun School 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The La Salle Explorers were in postseason mode Wednesday afternoon. Dean Carvalho scored two goals and assisted on two others as the Explorers downed Hun School 5-1 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The top-seeded Explorers (12-9-2) will host the Founders Cup championship game next Wednesday. They will learn Sunday if they earned the top seed for the Class AAA Flyers Cup. Fifth-seeded Hun School closed its season at 11-13.

For the Explorers, it was an occasion when all the pieces fit.

“It was just the simple things,” Carvalho said. “Like getting pucks in deep, forecheck, get the pucks on net. Those are the things that Coach Wally (Muehlbronner) has been preaching all year. It definitely paid off today.”

Matt Giordano opened the scoring for the Explorers 2:12 into the first frame with a shot from the right point that took an odd bounce and caromed past Raider goaltender Josh Arsenault, Michael Zarzycki made it a 2-0 game with 49.5 seconds left in the opening session.

James Carpenter contributed a goal and two assists to the win. He spoke to the importance of the fast start.

“Obviously, it’s very good to start with a quick 2-0 lead,” he said. “We just worked the puck deep in little areas and outworked them overall.”

Carvalho extended the La Salle lead 5:08 into the second period.

Hun School had a chance to get back in the game with 9:13 left in the middle period when it found itself with a 93-second two-man advantage after the Explorers’ Ryan Warner and Chase Hannon were sent to the box.

But Aries Carangi came up with two quality saves in the La Sale net and a penalty to Josh Sooner eliminated the Raiders’ advantage.

Hun School coach Ian McNally considered calling his timeout prior to the power play but decided against the move. “I said ‘Let’s just leave it, I think they’ll figure it out and score,” he said. “Not only did we not score, we took a penalty. That was a big turning point.”

Carpenter, La Salle’s leading scorer in APAC play, scored his seventh conference goal 1:16 into the final period.

Simon Gregoire got the Raiders on the scoreboard at the 2:43 mark.

A pileup in front of the La Salle net with 4:09 remaking precipitated a tag-team bout that saw all 10 skaters on the ice receive roughing penalties. Carvalho scored into an empty net with 2:30 remaining.

Hun School 0 0 1—1

La Salle 2 1 2—5

Firsts-period goals: Matt Giordano (L) from Grant LaGreca, 2:12; Michael Zarzycki (L) from Giordano and Dean Carvalho, 16:11

Second-period goals: Carvalho (L) from James Carpenter, 5:08

Third-portion goals: Carpenter (L) from Carvalho and Cam Ross, 1:16; Simon Gregoire (HS) from Ryan Levesque, 2:43 Carvalho (L) from Carpenter, 14:30

Shots: Hun School 35, La Salle 35; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 30, Aries Carangi (L) 34

SHSHL Playoff Preview

Wednesday, February 22

National Division at Grundy Arena

Central Bucks East vs. Pennsbury 7:20

Pennsbury

Coach Ryan Daley

Record: 12-5, 8-2 in divisional play seed 3

Key players:

Brendan Macainsh 31 goals, 17 assists 48 points

Andrew Falkenstein 6 goals, 22 assists, 28 points

Justin Marlin 14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points

Central Bucks East

Coach: Jeff Mitchell

Record: 8-8-1-0, 4-5-1-0 in the division seed 6

Key players

Corey Kosick 18 goals, 10 assists, 28 points

Stephen DiRugueris 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points

Matt Mangiacapre .910 save percentage, 3.40 GAA

This season

12-1 Pennsbury 6 C.B. East 3

12-21 Pennsbury 6 C.B. East 1

Neshaminy vs. Central Bucks South 9:00

Neshaminy

Coach: Matt DeMatteo

Record: 11-5-1-0,6-3-1-0 in the division; seed 4

Key players:

Max Gallagher 23 goals, 11 assists, 34 points

Nolan Geria 9 goals, 15 assists, 24 points

J.J. Hathaway 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points

Central Bucks South

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Record: 9-7-0-1, 6-4 in the division; seed 5

Key players:

Aydin Thierolf 15 goals, 14 assists, 29 points

D.J.Lindenmuth 9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points

Colin Mendham 8 goals, 10 assists, 18 points

This season

12-1 Neshaminy 6 C.B. South 4

12-21 Neshaminy 2 C.B. South 1

Winners advance to semifinals on February 1 vs. # 1 Council Rock South and #2 Pennridge

American Division at Hatfield Ice

Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Quakertown 8:45

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Coach : Dave Cox

Record: 11-6, 7-5 in divisional play seed 2

Key players:

Matt Flynn 26 goals, 20 assists 46 points

David Branigan 12 goals, 25 assists, 37 points

Chris Maslij 2.86 GAA

Quakertown

Coach: Keith Krem

Record: 10-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in divisional play seed 3

Key players:

Branden McNally 17 goals, 15 assists, 32 points

Will Shaw 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points

Matt Krem 2.79 GAA

This season

12-7 PW 7 Quakertown 5

12-16 Quakertown 5 PW 2

1-25 PW 3 Quakertown 2

Winner advances to championship game on March 1 vs. #1 Abington

APAC Playoff Preview

Wednesday, February 22 at Hatfield Ice

La Salle vs. The Hun School 4 p.m.

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Record: 11-9-2, 6-2 in the APAC (seed 1)

Key players:

James Carpenter, 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points

Evan Golato, 7 goals, 2 assists, 9 points;

Dean Carvalho, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points;

Ryan Desmond, 2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points;

Aries Carangi .910 save percentage, 1.66 GAA

Jake Rossi .904 save percentage 0.93 GAA

The Hun School

Coach: Ian McNally

Record: 11-12, 3-5 in the APAC (seed 4)

Key players:

Justin LaPlante 6 goals, 9 assists 15 points

Ryan Levesque 5 goals 8 assists, 13 points

Elian Estulin 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points

Brendan Marino 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points

Stephen Chen .899 save percentage, 3.61 GAA

Julian Arsenault .899 save percentage, 3.76 GAA

This season:

12-14 La Salle 3 Hun School 1

2-1 La Salle 5 Hun School 2

Holy Ghost Prep vs. St. Joseph’s Prep 6:15 p.m.

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: Gump Whiteside

Record: 15-6, 4-2-1-1 in the APAC (seed 2)

Key players:

Brady Baehser 10 goals, 9 assists, 19 points

Kieran Mulholland 9 goals, 6 assists, 15 points

John Seravalli 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points

Landon Stout 4 goals 5 assists, 9 points

Shaun Moore 2 goals 7 assists, 9 points

Colin Mudrick .844 save percentage, 4.01 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: David Giacomin

Record: 14-5-2, 3-4-1-0 in the APAC (seed 3)

Key players: Joe Samango 11 goals, 4 assists, 15 points

Jeffrey Hammond 4 goals, 10 assists 14 points

Tristan Winata 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points

Rocco Bruno.921 save percentage, 2.59 GAA

Ajay White .882 save percentage, 2.79 GAA

This season

11-16 St. Joseph’s Prep 3 Holy Ghost Prep 2 OT

1-9 St. Joseph’s Prep 8 Holy Ghost Prep 4

The Founders Cup Championship Game will be played on Wednesday March 1

It will be hosted by the highest-seeded finalist

SHSHL Recap 2-20-23

Final Regular Season Standings

National Division W L T OTL Pts

C.R. South (15-1-0-1) 9 0 0 1 19

X Pennridge (13-4) 8 2 0 0 16

Pennsbury (12-5) 7 2 0 0 14

Neshaminy (11-5-1) 6 3 1 0 13

C.B. South (9-7-0-1) 6 4 0 0 12

C.B. East (8-8-1) 4 5 1 0 9

C.R. North (5-10-1-1) 3 5 1 1 8

C.B. West (5-11-0-1) 3 6 0 1 7

Souderton (5-11-0-1) 3 7 0 0 6

Bensalem (3-13) 2 7 0 1 5

North Penn (5-10-1-1) 1 7 1 1 4

X Pennridge finishes second on the basis of having defeated Pennsbury in their second meeting, which was the game that counted in their divisional records

American Division W L T OTL Pts

Abington (15-0-1-1) 10 0 1 1 22

X Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-6) 7 5 0 0 14

Quakertown (10-4-1-1) 6 4 1 1 14

Wissahickon (9-7) 6 6 0 0 12

Springfield (0-16) 0 12 0 0 0

Plymouth Whitemarsh finishes second on the basis of having won the season series with Quakertown

Scoring

National Division G A Pts

Kevin Pico (Pr) 24 25 49

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 31 17 48

Andrew Savona (Pr) 16 22 38

Max Gallagher (Nesh) 23 11 34

Seth Grossman (Soud) 19 13 32

John Stinson (NP) 20 11 31

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 17 12 29

Aydin Thierolf (CBS) 15 14 29

Blaise Pepe (CRS) 12 16 28

Corey Kosick (CBE) 18 10 28

Andrew Falkenstein (Pb) 6 22 28

Jake Weiner (CRS) 19 8 27

Kevin Koles (CRS) 11 16 27

Alex Hood (Ben) 21 6 27

American Division G A Pts

Matthew Flynn (PW) 26 20 46

Matt Kramer (Ab) 26 19 45

David Branigan (PW) 12 25 37

Will Hussa (Wiss) 26 7 33

Ian Heydt (Ab) 13 20 33

Sam Abramson (Ab) 14 19 33

Sam Paulik (Ab) 18 14 32

Branden McNally (Q) 17 15 32

Danny Hussa (Wiss) 18 11 29

Pat Stelacio (Ab) 18 11 29

Dylan Novitski (PW) 15 12 27

La Salle Seeking APAC Laurels

With the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference playoff at hand, La Salle is where it accustomed to being; at the top of the standings. The Explorers win two of the APAC’s first four titles and were in position to play for a third before the 2021 championship game was cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic.

The 2023 playoff semifinals are set for Wednesday and the Explorers will face The Hun School to open the doubleheader at Hatfield Ice (4:00 start). The second game, scheduled for. 6:15 start, will match second seed Holy Ghost Prep and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep.

The Explorers claimed the APAC regular-season title with a 6-5 win over Holy Ghost Prep. Senior defenseman and captain Chase Hannon missed that game with a knee injury, but celebrated along with his teammates.

“We got the job done,” he said. “Everyone was ready to go, there was excitement in the locker room, I kind of new from the start get it done

La Salle, as usual, started the season slowly, winning just one of its first five games but picked up the pace from there. The Explorers will take an 11-9-2 record into Wednesday’s semifinal. They’ve won four of their last five starts and six of their last eight.

Hannon is elated with how he and his teammates have responded after a slow start to the campaign.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “In the beginning, we weren’t too hot but we came together as a team, we all bought it for one goal. It’s been showing We’ve been doing well.”

Hannon said some juggling of the lineup contributed to the Explorers’ turnaround.

”We found guys that are going to get the job done, doing what coach wants,” he said, “and we just kind of bought in, listening to Coach (Wally Muehlbronner). We found our success doing that.”

Quakertown Primed for SHSHL Postseason

Four years encompasses the span of a high-school hockey player’s career. The past four years also encompass the history of the Quakertown hockey program.

The current edition of the Panthers first took the ice for the 2019-20 season. On Wednesday night, they will face off against Plymouth Whitemarsh in a SHSHL (8:45 at Hatfield Ice). The winner will face defending champion Abington for the division title next Wednesday, March 1.
The upcoming playoff game is a milestone for the program, but coach Keith Krem is happiest for the players.

“There’s guys on this team that have gotten to play four years, Including Krem’s son Matt),” he said. “They got to experience the rougher side of it, now they’re getting to see the success side of it.

“It’s cool. In the high-school game, the kids transition through some really key years. You get to see them both as hockey players and human beings. That’s cool more than anything.”

Krem spoke to the goals he had when he launched the program.

“I think I wanted the kids to have success and be confident in the team they were on,” he said, “and more than anything, to be able to have fun representing the community.

“We’re checking off all those boxes. The winning is a cool thing, but more than anything I wanted these guys to be able to represent the school and be proud of it That’s always been the goal and I think obviously, they’re doing that pretty well.”

SHSHL Playoff Pairings Announced

Pairings and game times have been finalized for the first leg of the Suburban High School Hockey League playoffs.

Two first-round National-round National Division games are set for Wednesday, February 22 along with the single American Division semifinal.

Wednesday 2-22

National Division

(3) Pennsbury vs (6) C.B. East 7:20 at Grundy

(4) Neshaminy vs. (5) C.B. South 9:00 at Grundy

(1) Council Rock South and (2) Pennridge have first-round byes
Semifinals March 1

Championship game March 2

American Division

(2) Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. (3) Quakertown 8:45 at Hatfield Ice

(1) Abington has a first-round bye

Championship game March 1

Pennridge 6 C.B. East 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—It was not a good night to be a goaltender. Pennridge and Central Bucks East played 51 minutes of up-and-down hockey Thursday night in a game that a saw saw 83 shots, 10 goals, and two hat tricks before the Rams prevailed 6-4 in at Hatfield Ice.

The win solidified the bulk of the SHSHL National Division playoff bracket. Pennridge (13-4, 8-2 in the division) clinched the second seed and earned a bye into the semifinals.

The Patriots (8-8-1, 4-5-1) will be seeded sixth and will face third seed Pennsbury in a first-round game next Wednesday. Neshaminy and Central Bucks South will face each other in next Wednesday’s other first round game.

Pennridge’s Kevin Pico and C.B. East’s Corey Cosick led the way for their respective sides. Pico delivered three goals himself and assisted on a fourth, while Cosick tallied three goals of his own. Both players had plenty of open ice to work in, albeit at a moderate tempo; there was little physicality on display in part because many of the Rams and Patriots are club teammates.

“I think we’re better when teams don’t play physical,” Pico said. “(The Patriots) are our friends, so we’re not going to play as physical as usual and they’re not going to play as physical.”

Charlie Keiser and Pico traded goals in the first period. Cosick gave East a 2-1 lead 67 seconds into the second frame and shortly thereafter Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna used his timeout to deliver a motivational address.

“I didn’t like the way they were playing,” he said. “I thought we looked like a team that played the night before (a 9-1 win over Council Rock North) and like they have for a lot of games this year. They were just going through the motions in the first period.”

Then Rams responded. Pico and Andrew Savona scored goals two-and-a-half minutes apart to give the Rams a 3-2 lead. Cosick tied the game for the Patriots with 7:19 left in the period but James Embert and Pico scored goals 44 seconds apart to give the Rams a two-goal lead.

Cosick completed his hat trick with 1:37 left in the period but Pennridge’s Dane Fitchett scored the only goal of the third period. East’s chances were diminished when D.J. Brown was whistled for a check from behind with 7:20 left in the game.

East goaltender Matt Mangiacapre kept his team in the game, he was credited with 52 saves

“We came out strong and matched their tempo,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell., but we took a couple bad penalties in the third period. (Brown) is our top defenseman that was here tonight. It wasn’t intentional, it was just an ill-timed call and an ill-timed play.

“All in all I thought we played a great game. Our goaltender played on his head again.”

Pennridge 1 4 1—6

C.B. East 1 3 0—4

First-period goals: Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Drew Trask, 1:50; Kevin Pico (P) unassisted, 10:43

Second-period goals: Corey Cosick (CBE) from Keiser, 1:17; Pico (P) unassisted, 4:16; Andrew Savona (P) from Pico and Colin Dachowki, 6:51; Cosick (CBE) from Stephen DiRugeris, 9:41; James Embert (P)) from Colin Dachowski, 11:25; Pico (P) from Savona and Shane Dachowski, 12:19; Cosick (CBE) unassisted, 15:23

Third-period goals: Dane Fitchett (P) from Savona and Colin Dachowski, 1:59

Shots: Pennridge 58, C.B. East 25; Saves: Jacob Winston (P) 21 Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 52

Quakertown 7 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Officially, Wednesday’s matchup between Quakertown was the regular-season finale for both teams. In reality, it might as well have been a playoff game.

It was the Panthers who prevailed 7-2 in a SHSHL American Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win assures Quakertown (10-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in the division) of a playoff spot. Wissahickon (10-6, 6-6 in the division) comes up short if, as expected, Plymouth Whitemarsh defeats Springfield on Thursday night. Both teams remain eligible for the Flyers Cup tournament.

Kiera Shaw played a huge role in Quakertown’s success. The junior scored two goals, including the game winner.

The first period belonged to Quakertown goaltender Matt Krem, who turned aside 17 of the 18 shots he saw in the opening session. Largely as the result of Krem’s efforts, the teams ended the first frame tied at 1-1. The Trojans’ Danny Hussa and the Panthers’ William Shaw were the goal scorers.

“We’re just so thankful that Matt is great in net,” Kiera Shaw said. “They were beating up on us in the first period so we took it to them in the second and third and got it back.”

The Panthers did just that, albeit with some from the Trojans
Defensive zone breakdowns led to three Quakertown goals in a span of 1 minute, 25 seconds. Cole Slemmer (on a shorthanded effort), Kiera Shaw, and Jack Diliberto were the goal scorers.

“In the second period they got more aggressive,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “They would chip it down below the goal line. That’s bread and butter for them.”

Trailing 4-2 at the 4:01 mark of the third period, the Trojans got a huge opportunity when Slemmer and his teammate Corbin Cassel drew minor penalties simultaneously, giving the Trojans a two-man advantage for two minutes. Slemmer went on to draw a game misconduct penalty for a verbal outburst; as he left the ice he hurled his stick over the glass behind the Quakertown net.

Instead of capitalizing on the advantage however, the Trojans floundered. Kiera Shaw scored a shorthanded goal at the 5:43 mark and the Panthers maintained control to the wire.

Quakertown’s Lucas Cunnane scored the final two goals of the evening; his second goal came with 3:23 remaining and was scored into an empty net.

“We’ve talked all year about zone time,” said Quakertown coach Keith Krem. “We didn’t win that battle at all in the first period. We got some big saves on the back side and kind of got through the storm.

“They were only running two lines on the other side … we thought they were going to gas out and if we stopped turning pucks over on our exits and started getting pucks in our zone, we’d get our opportunities.”

Shaw credited the Quakertown rooting section for the energy in the building.

“They just really made the atmosphere great tonight,” she said. “Everyone was ready for the game. Everyone really loves the team and wants to keep playing.”

Quakertown 1 3 3—7

Wissahickon 1 10—2

First-period goals: Danny Hussa from Aiden Brooks, 11:04; William Shaw (Q) unassisted, 14:01

Second-period goals: Danny Hussa unassisted, 4:23 (pp); Cole Slemmer (Q) from Jack Diliberto, 11:48 (sh); Kiera Shaw (Q) from Lucas Cunnane 12;52; Diliberto (Q) unassisted, 13:13

Third-period goals: Kiera Shaw (Q) unassisted 5:43 (sh); Cunnane (Q) from William Shaw, 10:42; Cunnane (Q) unassisted, 13:37

Shots: Quakertown 25, Wissahickon 38

Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 23, Fletcher Lynch 31