PW 4 Abington 1

It wasn’t a stylish performance. But Plymouth Whitemarsh did enough Thursday night to get across the finish line.

Cooper Kanze scored two goals as the Colonials bested a scrappy Abington team 4-1 in a SHSHL American Division test at Hatfield Ice. The Colonials improved to 7-1 overall and in the division. They trail first-place Hatboro-Horsham by eight points as of Thursday night but also have two games in hand; the two teams have split two meetings against each other.

But the Colonials looked sluggish throughout Thursday night’s affair and Kanze, who is his team’ leading goal scorer with 12, did not mince words.

“Two goals helped,” the sophomore said, “but overall, our whole team needs to play better. We know that. We expect more from each other. Everyone expects more from us.”

Kanze opened the scoring with 4:37 left in the opening period but the best player on the ice was Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, who made 14 saves in the first frame.

That gave the Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-9) an opening to tie the game, which they did when Joseph Widmeier scored in a breakaway 1:54 into the second period.

Morgan Hulitt put the Colonials in front with 3:23 left in the middle period before Kanze and John Zawislak added goals in the third.

While the result will be listed in the records as a decisive, the opinions of some witnesses differed, notably that of Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti.

“Not our best game,” he said. “We know we can play better. I think it’s tough to go in {the locker room} and be upset after a win but I think every guy in this locker room know we can play much better than we showed today.”

Forti stressed the importance of his players staying focused.

“I think focus is the biggest thing,” he said. “We keep talking about it, but we can’t keep having the same conversations over and over, we need to a change.

“I thought our start was okay but we started losing focus throughout the game. we need to stay locked in for three full periods.”

At the other end of the building, Abington coach Ken Brzozowski got three periods worth of effort from the Galloping Ghosts.

“We talked about limiting our mistakes,” he said, “and things we wanted to do. To play three full periods of hockey and not worry about the score.

“We talked about playing as a unit offensively and defensively. Not two on defense, three on offense. We talked about ‘Five offense and five defense and it kind of translated a little it tonight.”

Abington has scored just nine goals all season and four of their nine games have been shortened due to the 10-goal rule. But Brzozowski says his team’s lack of success has not diminished its resolve.

“This team has not quit,” he said. “They have not put their heads down. Every single one of then (there are 21 players on the roster) comes to practice and works hard. Every single one of them comes to the games.

“I just need what we’re doing in practice to translate to the games.”

Abington 0 1 0—1

PW 1 1 2—4

First-period goal: Cooper Kanze (PW) unassisted, 12:23

Second-period goals: Joseph Widmeier (A) unassisted, 1:54; Morgan Hulitt (PW) from Liam Kelly, 13:37

Third-period goals: Kanze (PW) from Dan Guller, 2:20; John Zawislak (PW) fom Hulitt, 14:23

Shots: Abington 7, PW 41

Saves: Matt Evangelist (A) 34, Braydon Campbell (PW) 6

Springfield 7 Abington 0

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—Nether Springfield or Abington are in contention for the SHSHL American Division title but that did not diminish either side’s enthusiasm for the game of hockey.

When the Spartan and the Galloping Ghosts took the ice Friday night at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center, that enthusiasm was on display for all who cared to look.

It was the Spartans who prevailed by a count of 7-0 to record their second win of the year in seven starts, all in divisional play. Gavin McManus scored twice for Springfield while Owen Quinn, Christopher Cahill, Gavin McManus, and Grayson Quinn contributed one goal each.

“I think was our best team game so far,” said Springfield coach Don Quinn. “They really wanted to come out after the New Year and have a strong team effort. We’ve had some individual efforts. But we wanted to really kind of piece it together. We preach about five guys playing offense and five guys playing defense.”

Owen Quinn and Christopher Cahill scored goals in a span of just over three-and-a-half minutes to give the Spartans a two-goal lead with 7:18 left in the first period.

McManus added a goal early in the second period and another early in the third. The junior noted the Spartans’ cohesiveness on the ice.

“We just played as a team tonight,” he said. “We’ve been practicing that a lot. Like passing the puck around a lot, trying to find an open guy.

“And then really improved it tonight by keeping the pressure in the offensive zone most of the game.

Grayson Quinn, Mathilde Boccella, and Kellen Warmen added third-period goals for Springfield. Liam Baskin and James Sarsfield split the shutout in goal.

The Spartans limited their foes to just five shots on goal. The Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-8 in divisional play) field perhaps the youngest lineup in the SHSHL. They’ve been shut out six times and 13 if their 16 skaters on Thursday night were underclassmen. But Abington coach Ken Brzozowski is seeing signs of progress.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “We’re going to keep working hard., both in practice and in games. We’ll get there.”

A strong case could be made that Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, himself a sophomore, was one of the premier performers on the ice. He finished with 36 saves.

“He goes out every night and he plays hard,” Brzozowski said. “He’s seeing 40-50 shots a night.

“I really applaud him for keeping his head in the game and keeping his cool. We’re not giving him a whole lot of support on the scoreboard. We’re giving him encouragement in other ways.”

Springfield 2 1 4—7

Abington 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Owen Quinn (S) from John Barr and Grayson Quinn, 6:03; Christopher Cahill (S) from Owen Quinn and Hunter Stock, 9:42

Second-period goal: Gavin McManus (S from John Barr, 2:57

Third-period goal: McManus (S) from Owen Quinn, 2:39; Grayson Quinn (S) from Keegan McClary, 9:10 Mathilde Boccella (S), 10:11; Kellen Warman (S) unassisted, 12:29

Shots: Springfield 43, Abington 5; Saves: Liam Baskin (S) 1 and James Sarsfield (S) 4; Matthew Evangelist (S) 36

SHSHL Playoff Recap 2-21-24

C.B. South 6, Souderton 2

Aidan Linso scored two goals and four other players scored one goal each Wednesday night as the third-seeded Titans bested the sixth-seeded Big Red at Hatfield Ice to earn a place in the National Division semifinals.

Colin Mendham, D.J. Lindenmuth, Sean Cutter, and Ryan Frey all scored for South (13-7-1) which took command in the first period when Linso scored his two goals and Mendham scored in between.

Nathan Napolitano got the win in goal.

Nick Smith and Seth Grossman scored goals for Souderton (7-12).

“We won three periods,” said South coach Shaun McGinty.

Our D-zone play was much better tonight and needs to be as we move forward. We had steady goaltending and capitalized on opportunities. It was a solid effort from both teams and showed the depth of our league.”

The Titans will second-seeded Council Rock South next Wednesday in the semifinals.

Souderton 0 1 1—2

C.B. South 3 1 2—6

First-period goals: Aidan Linso (CBS) from Ryan Frey, :30; Colin Mendham (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 12:11; Linso (CBS) from Mendham, 14:41

Second-period goals: D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Joey Sobodorian, 11:00; Nick Smith (S) from Seth Grossman, 16:48

Third-period goals: Cutter (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher, 1:57; Frey (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 8:12; Grossman (S) from Snith and Max Ryon, 9:03

Shots: Souderton 30, C.B. South 42; Saves: Connor Paulus (S) 36, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 28

Bensalem 3, Abington 0

The second-seeded Owls (13-3) advanced to the American Division championship game with the win over the third-seeded Galloping Ghosts (6-10-1) in Wednesday night’s semifinal at Grundy Arena.

Lucas Gonzalez gave his team a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the opening period. He extended Bensalem’s lead when he scored his second goal of the night with 3:40 left in the third period. Alex Hood added a goal of his own with 16 seconds remaining.

An altercation following Hood’s goal and another following the final buzzer led to five players being accessed a total of 77 minutes in penalties.

Bensalem will face Plymouth Whitemarsh net Wednesday in the American Division finale.

Abington 0 0 0—0

Bensalem 1 0 2—3

First-period goal: Lucas Gonzalez (B) from Alex Hood, 5:17

Third-period goals: Gonzalez (B) from Cole Salayda and Hood, 12:40; Hood (B) unassisted (en)

Abington 10 Wissahickon 2

Call it Mission Accomplished

Abington took the ice against Wissahickon Friday night knowing a win, a tie, or an overtime loss would assure it of a slot in the SHSHL American Division playoffs.

The Galloping Ghosts went out and took care of business, posting a 10-2 win at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

The win lifted Abington to 5-3 in American Division play and 6-5 overall. More importantly. The Galloping Ghosts will join Plymouth Whitemarsh in the divisional playoffs on February 21 or 22 with the championship game set for February 28. The seeds of the three teams are still to be determined.

Wissahickon dropped to 2-11 overall and 2-9 in the division.

Leading 2-1 after the first frame, the Galloping Ghost broke the game open with six goals in the middle period against a young Wissahickon team that had just nine players in uniform.

Sam Abramson led the way for the victors with a four-goal effort. Shane Meltzer and Devin Bates added two goals each; Jude Large and Ben Biko also scored goals.

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski took advantage of the score line to give his younger skaters some extra ice time.

“It gave us the opportunity to play our third and fourth lines a little bit more,” he said. “It’s great to see them get some ice time. They’re working hard in practice. So, getting some real game opportunity experience is important.”

Officially earning a spot in the postseason with four regular-season games remaining will give Brzozowski’s troops a chance to refocus.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Brzoowski said. “Being able to make the playoffs again and have the opportunity to get some experience. Once you get there, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Dryden Jaisle and Nolan Pounds scored goals for Wissahickon. Jaisle’s effort gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the first period but Wissahickon was undermined by its youth and lack of manpower.

Trojan coach James Rumsey says his young team has had to grow up quickly.

“We have no seniors,” he said, “nobody graduating, so all these kids are going to be playing with us for the next two years at minimum.

“It’s definitely a young team, definitely a good group. We lost one of our guys to juniors this year and just another for the same reason. We have a little less players but a lot of heart.”

Wissahickon 1 1 0—2

Abington 2 6 2—10

Abington 7 Plymouth Whitemarsh 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Galloping Ghosts are still rolling along. Pat Stelacio delivered a hat trick that helped Abington overcome a 2-1 first-period deficit and go on to a 7-2 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh Wednesday at Hatfield Ice night to claim its second consecutive SHSHL American Division championship.

The win marks the eighth time Abington (16-0-1-1) has won a SHSHL title of some sort and marks the 50th anniversary of its first. The Galloping Ghosts claimed the first three SHSHL titles from 1974-76 and won another championship in 1978. They won back-to-back National Division titles in 2003-04 before taking the American Division title last season.

The historical significance of Wednesday night’s win was not lost on Abington coach Ken Brzozowski.

“That’s exactly what I talked to the boys about,” he said. “We talked about that with our players before the game. That wasn’t lost on them as well., that they had a chance to really cement themselves as one of the best teams that came out of Abington.

“We’ve won back-to-back championships but we lost the (American Division) championship three years ago by one goal to a very good Wissahickon team. So, these players have been at this level for three years in a row.”

Stelacio transferred to Abington at the urging of an older brother. Those have been the best two years of my life,” he said.

The Colonials (12-7) jumped in front on a goal from Dylan Novitsky 10:04 into the opening period. Jordan Heydt answered for Abington two-and-a-half minutes later before Novitsky scored a power-play goal with 61 seconds remaking in the period.

The goal came just seven seconds after Abington’s Ian Heydt received a two-minute sentence for hooking.

It would prover to be the Colonials’ last hurrah.

Matt Kramer tied the game for Abington 7:28 into the middle period on a shot from the right circle off an offensive zone draw.

Stelacio put Abington in front with a shorthanded effort with 6:11 left in the period in a prelude to a surge that saw Stelacio, Steven Dorn, and Ian Heydt all beat Colonial netminder Chris Maslij in the final 1:59 of the second session. Heydt’s a shot from the left wing hit the back of the net just before the buzzer sounded. At that point, Abington was home free.

“They jumped quick,” Stelacio said. “They got two. It was 2-1 and we bounced back. We just ran from there. That was amazing.”

Stelacio recalls watching his brother play for the Galloping Ghosts before he enrolled at Abington. “I came to the games,” he recalled. “I completely wanted to be part of this experience, all the energy they had. It was great I really wanted a part of that.”

Ice Chips—Abington is seeded 12^th for the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face fifth-seeded Pennsbury on Tuesday at 6:15 at Grundy Arena. The Colonials are the ninth seed in Class A and will face eighth-seeded Penncrest Monday at 7:00 at the Skatium.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 0 0—2

Abington 1 5 1—7

First-period goals: Dylan Novitsky (PW) from Matt Flynn, 10:04; Jordan Heydt (A) from Ian Heydt and Ryan Portner, 12:42; Novitsky (PW) from. Conlan Carpenter, 15:59

Second-period goals: Matt Kramer (A) from Ian Heydt, 7:28; Pat Stelacio (A) from Ian Heydt, 10:49 (sh); Stelacio (A) from Griffin Carpenter, 15:01; Steven Dorn (A) from Sam Paulik, 15:58; Ian Heydt (A) from Jordan Heydt, 16:59

Third-period goal: Stelacio (A) from Sam Abramson and Carpenter, 9:53 (pp)

Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 21, Abington 40; Saves: Chris Maslij (PW) 33, Sam Nemec (A) 19

SHSHL Playoff Update

Wednesday, March 1

National Division Semifinals

Council Rock South vs. Neshaminy

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Council Rock South (15-1-0-1)

Coach: Joe Houk

How the Hawks got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. Blaize Pepe and Jake Weiner lead the team in scoring, each with 30 points. Pepe has produced 13 goals and 17 assists for while Weiner has scored 21 goals and provided 9 assists. Kevin Koles is next with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points. Goaltender Carson Lopez is one of the area’s best.

Neshaminy (12-5-1)

Coach: Matt DeMatteo

How the ‘Skins got here: Defeated Central Bucks South 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Max Gallagher scored three goals and assisted on another. Nolan Geria provided two goals and two assists. Gallagher has 26 goals and 12 assists for 38 points. Geria has contributed 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points.

This season:

Pennridge vs. Pennsbury

8:30 at Hatfield Ice

Pennridge (13-4)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

How the Rams got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. The defending National Division, Class AA Flyers Cup and state champions are paced by Kevin Pico who has collected 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points. Andrew Savona has added 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points while Shane Dachowski has contributed 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points.

Pennsbury (13-5)

Coach Ryan Daley

How the Falcons got here: Defeated Central Bucks East 6-4 in the quarterfinals., Brendan Macainsh delivered a pure hat trick and added two assists; he has 34 goals and 19 assists for 53 points this season, including the quarterfinal. Andrew Falkenstein has provided 6 goals and 26 assists for 32 points while Justin Marlin has contributed 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points. Falkenstein (4) and Marlin (3) had seven assists between them in the quarterfinal.

This season:

11-3 Pennsbury 6 Pennridge 3

1-12 Pennridge 11 Pennsbury 4

What comes next: Wednesday’s winners play for the National Division title on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host. All four semifinalists will compete in the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament.

American Division Championship Game

Abington vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh

7:20 at Hatfield Ice

Abington (15-0-1-1)

Coach: Ken Brzozowski
How the Galloping Ghosts got here: Earned a place in the final as the regular-season division champion. Matt Kramer leads the team in scoring with 26 goals and 19 assists for 45 points, Ian Heydt has added 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points. Sam Abramson has contributed 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points while Sam Paulik has provided 18 goals and 14 points for 32 points. Sam Nemec will start in goal.

Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-6)

Coach: Dave Cox

How the Colonials got here: Defeated Quakertown 7-2 in the semifinal. Matt Flynn and Dylan Novitski each scored two goals in the win. Flynn added two assists. Flynn has scored 28 goals this season and added 22 assists for 50 points, David Branigan has added 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points. Chris Maslij will start in goal.

This season:

11-3 Abington 8 Plymouth Whitemarsh 5

1-5 Abington 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

1-26 Abington 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3

What come next: Both finalists will compete in the Flyers Cup tournament, Abington in Class AA, Plymouth Whitemarsh in Clsss A

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

SHSHL Recap for 2-11-23

National Division W L T OTL Pts

C.R. South (14-1-0-1) 8 0 0 1 17

Pennsbury (11-5) 7 2 0 0 14

Pennridge (11-4) 6 2 0 0 12

Neshaminy (10-4-1) 5 2 1 0 11

C.B. South (8-7-0-1) 5 4 0 0 10

C.B. East (8-7-1) 4 4 1 0 9

C.R. North (5-9-1-1) 3 4 1 1 8

C.B. West (5-10-0-1) 3 5 0 1 7

Souderton (5-10-0-1) 3 6 0 0 6

North Penn (5-9-1-1) 1 6 1 1 4

Bensalem (2-13) 1 7 0 0 2

American Division W L T OTL Pts

Abington (14-0-1-1) 10 0 1 1 22

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-6) 6 5 0 0 12

Wissahickon (9-6) 6 5 0 0 12

Quakertown (9-4-1-1) 5 4 1 1 12

Springfield (0-15) 0 11 0 0 0

Teams in bold have clinched SHSHL playoff spots

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Scoring

National Division G A Pts

Brendan Macainsh (Pb) 27 17 44

Andrew Savona (Pr) 16 22 38

Kevin Pico (Pr) 18 19 37

Max Gallagher (Nesh) 21 10 31

John Stinson (NP) 19 10 29

Shane Dachowski (Pr) 17 12 29

Seth Grossman (Soud) 17 11 28

Aydin Thierolf (CBS) 14 14 28

Jake Weiner (CRS) 18 8 26

Kevin Koles (CRS) 11 15 26

Alex Hood (Ben) 20 5 25

Corey Kosick (CBE) 15 10 25

Andrew Falkenstein (Pb) 5 20 25

American Division G A Pts

Matthew Flynn (PW) 21 19 40

Matt Kramer (Ab) 25 15 40

David Branigan (PW) 11 21 32

Branden McNally (Q) 17 15 32

Ian Heydt (Ab) 13 19 32

Seth Abramson (Ab) 13 17 30

Will Hussa (Wiss) 24 5 29

Sam Paulik (Ab) 16 11 27

Dylan Novitski (PW) 15 12 27

Pat Stelacio (Ab) 15 10 25

Abington 7 Quakertown 2

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—It’s the nature of hockey that teams will skate a portion of each game shorthanded. Abington and Quakertown were shorthanded before Friday’s SHSHL American Division game even began.
Abington was down five players because of injuries and illness while the Panthers had just nine skaters dressed.

The Galloping Ghosts made the most of what they had, rolling to a 7-2 win at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

Ian Heydt and Sam Paulik each scored two goals in the winning effort, which pushed Abington to 11-0-1 overall and 10-0-1 in divisional play;

Quakertown dropped to 7-4-1 overall and 6-4-1 in the division.

The Panthers sit in second place in the division, eight points behind the Galloping Ghosts.

The win was Abington’s second in three tries against Quakertown this season. The third, a 2-2 tie on December 23 is the only blemish on Abington’s record. The Galloping Ghosts scored a 5-4 win over the Panthers on December 9.

Abington got off to a fast start. Owen Adamski and Paulik scored goals to give their team a 2-0 lead 4:56 into the opening period.

“It’s always good to get a good first step in the game,” Paulik said, “and try to get one in the net quick to set the momentum of the game.”

Quakertown answered when Jack Diliberto beat Abington netminder Sam Nemec at the 9:16 mark. Lucas Cunnane tied the game 2:58 into the second session. But that was all the Panthers could manage as the lack of numbers caught up to them. Abington scored the last seven goals of the evening.

“I don’t think we gave up a ton of big plays in terms of breakaways and things like that,” Quakertown coach Keith Krem said. “But, there’s a lot in front of the paint, right in front of the net, that’s where they scored. They didn’t score from the outside, they scored from right in front of the net.”

Back-to-back goals from Heydt plus a tally from Matt Kramer gave Abington a 5-2 lead after the second period. Paulik and Griffin Carpenter added goals in the third.

Abington came into the season with high expectations and Carpenter, the Galloping Ghosts’ captain says for the most part, those expectations have been met.

“I’d say we came up to expectations,” he said. “We started off hot, and we keep going.”

Abington hasn’t lost a game since the first round of last year’s Class AA Flyers Cup tournament. Carpenter doesn’t consider the 12-game unbeaten streak to be a burden.

“I don’t feel like it,” he said. “I feel like we can just keep going and keep winning.”

Quakertown 1 1 0—2

Abington 2 3 2—7

First-period goals: Owen Adamski (A) from Brian Murdoch, 3:41; Sam Paulik (A) from Griffin Carpenter, 4:56; Jack Diliberto (Q) from Josh Tolchin, 9:16

Second-period goals: Lucas Cunnane (Q) from Cole Slemmer, 2:58; Ian Heydt (A) from Sam Abramson and Matt Kramer, 4:56 (pp); Heydt (A) from Kramer, 8:53; Kramer (A) from Abramson, 15:10

Third-period goals: Paulik (A) from Seamus Donofry, 2:49; Carpenter (A) from Heydt, 111:58 (pp)

Shots:Quakertown 39, Abington 46; Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 39, Sam Nemec (A) 37

Abington 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

HATFIELD TWNSHIP— With their halo of invincibility having disintegrated, Abington took the ice Thursday night with a renewed sense of purpose.

And it showed. Three goals in four-and-a-half minute span late in the first period left the Galloping Ghosts in command on the way to a 5-1 SHSHL American Division win over Plymouth Whitemarsh at Hatfield Ice Arena.

It was the first start for Abington (9-0-1, 8-0-1 in the division) since it sustained the only blemish on its record, a 2-2 standoff with Quakertown two days before Christmas. Thursday’s result allowed the Galloping Ghosts to leave that game far behind them.

“It was very important to start fast,” said senior forward Jordan Heydt. “This is arguably the most important game of the season. It solidifies us for a really good chance at first place, taking about the playoff bracket for this year (which will include three teams).

“(The regular-season champion) having a first-round-bye is huge.”

Abington has built its record despite the fact that two of its top scorers, Pat Stelacio and Matt Kramer remain sidelined with injuries. That has led some line juggling and other adjustments.

“We really have to have our players step up,” Heydet said. “We have to have our assistant captain, captain, and even the freshmen, they all have to step up.

“They all have to play their roles. They don’t have to do a lot, but they just have to play the system and play like they know how to play.”

Griffin Carpenter gave Abington a 1-0 lead 10:25 into the first period off a feed from Sam Abramson. Heydt made it a 2-0 game at the 11:53 mark, and Sam Paulik gave his team a three-goal advantage when he scored during a power play with 2:01 left in the period.

Playing their third game in three nights, the Colonials (6-4, 5-3 in the division) found themselves trying to dig out of a deep hole.

“We’ve done it before,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox. “But tonight, it just wasn’t there. Our third game in three days, I think started to take its toll.”

The Colonials’ Conlan Carpenter beat Abington netminder Sam Nemec on a power-play effort 1:16 into the middle period. But that was all he and his teammates could manage.

Heydt and Abramson added goals for Abington in the third period.

“We came out with energy tonight,” said Abington coach Ken Brzozowski. “We kind of knew it was a big matchup, they’d been winning some games, they’re right behind us in the standings.

“We knew if we could come out of here with a win, it would really put us in a good spot for the rest of the year.”

• Ice Chips— The two teams will play again in a non-league game at the Wells Fargo Center on January 18 to celebrate both teams’ Senior Nights. Face-off time is now set for 7 p.m.; the Senior Night celebration will precede the opening faceoff.

Abington 3 0 2—5

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 0—1

First-period goals: Griffin Carpenter (A) from Sam Abramson, 10:25; Jordan Heydt (A) from Sean Doyle and Seamus Donofry, 11:53; Sam Paulik (A) from Donofry and Devin Bates, 14:59 (pp).

Second-period goal: Conlan Carpenter (PW) from Dylan Novitsky, 1:16 (pp)

Third-period goals: Heydt (A) from Paulik. 4:17; Abramson (A) unassisted, 5:37

Shots: Abington 39, PW 20; Saves: Sam Nemec (A) 19, Chris Maslij (PW) 33