La Salle 4, Holy Ghost Prep 1

BRISTOL—Few things are more impressive or imposing than a goaltender standing tall. Aidan McCabe did just that for La Salle Wednesday afternoon to help the Explorers successfully defend its Founders Cup title. The senior netminder stopped 30 of the 31 shots he saw as La Salle bested Holy Ghost Prep 4-1 at Grundy Arena to retain the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.

The Explorers (15-13), who have won six of their last seven games will carry an abundance of momentum with then into next Thursday’s opening round of the Class AAA Flyers Cup where they are seeded second behind the Firebirds (15-5-1).

LaSalle captains Nathan Benner (L) and Ryan Ferry accept the Founders Cup from APAC Commissioner Jim Britt (photo by Liz Diretto)

Holy Ghost Prep, the top seed in the APAC playoffs, had the better of the play in the early going; at one time they had an 8-1 edge in shots, but McCabe kept them at bay and the second-seeded Explorers broke through at the 5:15 mark when David Kimmel took a shot from the left point, a single stride inside the blue line that beat Firebird netminder Sean Joyce. Keenan Schneider made it 2-0 with 56 seconds left in a period that saw McCabe make 13 saves.

“We had a good warmup,” McCabe said, “and we were doing a good job of keeping the shots to the outside so I could see the puck and track it in.”

Senior forward Ryan Ferry, one of La Salle’s captains, said McCabe’s early efforts energized his teammates. “McCabe has been good all year,” he said. “I expect nothing less.”

The Firebirds took advantage of an extended power play to score the only goal of the second period after the Explorers’ Chris Wnek and Kimmel drew back-back-penalties. Byron Hartley took a shot from the right circle that Dan Behr tipped past McCabe at the 11:15 mark.

But that was all the offense the hosts could generate. No one was more impressed with McCabe’s performance than Holy Ghost Prep assistant coach John Seravalli, who took charge behind the bench in the absence of Gump Whiteside, who missed the game because of illness.

“He made every good save,” Seravalli said. “He kept his rebounds intact. They blocked shots when we got shots off and he made great saves.”

David Brunner extended LaSalle’s lead with a goal at the 8:28 mark of the third period. Schneider scored his second goal of the game into an empty net with 25 seconds remaining.

Ferry noted that it took time for this year’s team to meld. “We just got closer as a team,” he said. “We had a lot of young kids on our team this year, a loot of seniors that were on JV last year so we didn’t know each other that well. We got a lot closer, started understanding how to play with reach other, and got s lot more chemistry.”

Ice Chips—La Salle will face Roman Catholic next Thursday in its Flyers Cup opener while the Firebirds will go against Bishop Shanahan. The Firebirds had a 31-25 edge in shots.

La Salle 2 0 2—4
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 0—1
First-period goals: Collin Keiser (L) unassisted, 5:15 (sh); Keenan Schneider (L) from David Kimmel, 15:04.
Second-period goal: Dan Behr (HGP) from Byron Hartley and Evan Mudrick, 11;15 (pp)
Third-period goals: David Bruner (L) from Collin Keiser, 8:28; Schneider (L) unassisted, 15:35 (en).
Shots: La Salle 25, Holy Ghost Prep 31; Saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 30, Sean Joyce (HGP)) 21

La Salle 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 4 SO

HATFIELD— For anyone with a healthy appetite for hockey, Friday night’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference matchup between St.Joseph’s Prep and La Salle was the ultimate buffet. It took a shootout to decide matters, with Nolan Woudenberg’s goal in the bottom of the third round giving the Explorers a 5-4 win.

Before that, the audience at Hatfield Ice had the chance to sample a bit of everything, close checking, first-rate goaltending, and some outstanding individual efforts.

“It was an awesome game to be a part of,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “Like I’ve said many times, I think this division is very evenly matched and what you get that day is hopefully great hockey. I think both sides played hard and it was a great game.”

The result Haden impact on the APAC standings. The Explorers improved to 9-12 overall and 1-2-2-1 in conference play. The Hawks are now 10-10 overall and 3-0-0-4 in conference; they’ve taken at least one point from all seven league games.

The result could have have an impact on the Flyers Cup power rankings as well. The Hawks were ranked first, the Explorers second at the start of the week. A new set of rankings will be released on Monday.

All eight of Friday night’s regulation goals came in the last two periods after a scoreless first frame that featured an abundance of close checking as the players on both teams searched in vain for a patch of open ice to work in.

Nolan Woudenberg opened the scoring for La Salle at 11:23 of the middle period. Jake Hannon made a 2-0 game just 28 seconds later but the Hawks got tallies from Paulo Colavita and Dominic Fantozzi in a 29-second pan to draw even with 2:45 left in the period.

The third period was dominated by special teams. The first three of the four goals in the period came on power plays.

The Hawks’ Michael Urbani and the Explorers’ Woudenberg traded goals early on before Andrew Centrella scored on a shot from the right circle to give the Hawks a 4-3 lead with 11:34 left in the game. David Kimmel tied the game for La Salle with 6:44 left in regulation.

The Explorers got a break when the Hawks’ Nick Storti drew an elbowing penalty with 45 seconds left in regulation, one which allowed LaSalle to start the overtime period with a man advantage.

Both goaltenders came up big in the extra session. The Explorers’ Aidan McCabe denied the Hawks’ Matthew Moresco and St. Joseph Prep’s Andrew Custer got the better of Woudenberg. Either play could have ended matters. In the end, Woudenberg provided the winning effort in the shootout.

“It’s a step forward for us,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. It would have been nice to win in regulation but it was similar to our last game against them. Two pretty evenly matched teams.”

McCabe spoke to the nature of the rivalry between the Explorers and the Hawks. “It’s definitely an easy game to get up for,” he said, and to stay motivated through the whole game. And once you know it’s going into overtime, it’s even easier to focus on. We were able to get the win in the shootout, which is nice.”

Ice Chips—The Explorers won the first meting between the two teams, 4-3 in overtime, on November 20. The two teams will close the regular season against each other on the evening of February 21 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 2 2 0 (1)—4
La Salle 0 2 2 0 (2)—5
Second-period goals: Nolan Woudenberg (L) from Chase Hannon and Jack Armstrong, 11:23 (pp); Jake Hannon (L) from Colin Keiser and David Kimmel, 11:51; Matthew Moresco (SJP) from Paulo Colavita, 13:44; Dominic Fantozzi (SJP) from Jimmy Craig, 14:15.
Third-period goals: Michael Urbani (SJP) from Jeffrey Hammond and Craig, 1:29 (pp); Woudenberg (L) from Hannon and Armstrong, 2:32 (pp); Andrew Centrella (SJP) from Hammond and Craig, 5:26 (pp); Kimmel (L) from Keenan Schneider, 10:16.
Shootout goals: SJP: Ben Briskin; L: Max Maddalo and Woudenberg
Shots: SJP 25, La Salle 26; Saves: Andrew Custer (SJP) 22, Aidan McCabe (L) 21

Elsewhere

Holy Ghost Prep 3, St. Augustine 0—The Firebirds bested the Hermits Friday in a non-league game. Landon Stoudt and Anthony Sparo scored in the first period to give the Firebirds a 2-0 lead. Luke Panepresso added an empty net goal in the third period. Sean Joyce made 25 saves in goal.

Check out the Hockey Happenings podcast

La Salle 4, St. Joseph’s Prep 3 (shootout)

PHILADELPHIA— Wednesday’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game between La Salle and host St. Josephs Prep was divided into two distinct segments.

The first lasted 39 minutes and change and saw the teams score two goals apiece but settle nothing. The conclusion encompassed the remainder of regulation, overtime, and a shootout and featured an abundance of drama before a shootout goal from Max Maddalo that gave the Explorers a 4-3 win at the University of Pennsylvania’s recently refurbished Class of ’23 Arena. Moments earlier, Jimmy Craig scored for the Hawks with nine tenths of a second remaining in regulation to force overtime.

With the win, La Salle’s record improved to 3-3 overall, and 0-1-1-0 in the APAC). It was a win the visitors badly needed. Just as there are crossroads fights in professional boxing, Monday’s affair was a crossroads game of sorts for the Explorers, though the season is still young.

“The question we’re asking right now is who are we as a team?” said La Salle head coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We’re still trying to figure it out. We have so many new faces here. I think we will figure it out, but we haven’t yet.”

Nolan Woudenberg score two of La Salle’s regulation goals but the Explorers; number-one star was indisputably Aidan McCabe who made 27 saves over the course of regulation and overtime plus three more in the shootout. The Hawks (2-1 overall and in the APAC) outshot the Explorers 30-17.

“Our defense kept the shots to the outside, the senior said. “There were a couple times where they got shots from the slot, but I was able to make some saves and keep us in it and we wound up getting it done in the shootout.”

No one was more impressed with McCabe’s performance then St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “I thought we were the better team today,” he said. “Not by much, but I think of the opportunities we had right in front of him. He stood on his head and made some unbelievable saves where we had pinpoint shots. Maybe if they were one-timers instead of catch and shoot he doesn’t get to those but he made every save that he had. He had to in the big moments. That was the game right there for them.”

Woudenberg and the Hawks’ Joseph Samango traded second-period goals. Maddalo gave the Explorers a 2-1 lead 2:49 into the third frame before Michael Urbani tied the game for the Hawks at the 7:05 mark, Woundenberg scored his second goal of the game with 3:20 left in the period to set the state for the finish of regulation and all that came after.

McCabe noted the pace of play picked up in the late going. “I think the game started out really slow,” he said, “and it gradually picked up and it gradually slowed own again until the last nine minutes.

“And then we got back to the mindset of just getting pucks to the net,” he said, “and just shooting because we knew we would be able to score.”

LaSalle 0 1 2 0 (1)—4

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 2 0 (0)—3

Second-period goals: Nolan Woudenberg (L) unassisted, 8:26; Joseph Samango (SJP) from Jimmy Craig, (second assist unavailable) 11:43

Third-period goals: Max Maddalo (L) from Nate Benner and Ryan Ferry, 2:49; Michael Urbani (SJP) unassisted, 7:05; Woudenberg (L) unassisted 12:40; Craig (SJP) from Andrew Centrella, 15:59;

Shootout Goal: Maddalo (L)

Shots: LaSalle 17, St. Joseph’s Prep 30; Saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 27, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 14

By Rick Woelfel

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LaSalle Shuts Out Malvern Prep 4-0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The eruption came without warning. For one period and part of another, LaSalle and Malvern Prep battled on even terms. But the Explorers took over the game by scoring four goals in a span of 5 minutes, 18 seconds in the second period.

Neither team scored thereafter and LaSalle left Hatfield Ice Friday night as 4-0 winners.

Four different players scored goals for the Explorers, who stand at 5-2 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, having defeated every other team in the league once.

Sophomore Daniel Sambuco scored LaSalle’s first goal at the 7:10 mark of the second frame with help from Michael Casey and Sam Lipkin. Casey made it a 2-0 game with Sambuco’s help at 9:15 and Fabrizio Mazzarelli extended the lead just 39 second later. Eric Ford finished the scoring at 12:28.

Sambuco, who leads the APAC in scoring with three goals and five assists for eight points in three conference games, said he and his mates on the Explorers’ top line took things up a notch in the second period. “We started running some quick passes and two-on-ones,” he said, “and started driving more pucks to the net That was just our game plan from there on out, put everything to the net.”

LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner was pleased to get production from four lines, particularly in the early going. “We were rolling four (lines) right out of the gate,” he said, “and we switched up a little bit and and kind of got the Sambuco line out there every third (shift) and I think that got them energized a little bit more.”

At the other end of the ice, LaSalle goaltender Aidan McCabe stopped all 19 shots he saw. His best effort came two-and-a-half minutes into the third period when he turned aside Chris Blango’s slapshot from just inside the blue line.

McCabe noted that the effort of the defense corps in front of him expanded his comfort zone. “It allows me to be really confident in the net,” the junior said. “They keep the shots to the outside which lets me see the puck. So I just try to do my job.”

The loss was the first for Malvern Prep after three wins (1-1 in the APAC). Friar coach Dave Dorman saw the evening as another step in the maturation of his young team.

Danie”It was a very typical LaSalle-Malvern Prep hockey game,” he said. “For our younger guys it was baptism by fire. Not the result we want but you know what? That’s part of the learning process, the maturation process for these younger kids.”

Notes—Sambuco’s cousin Ryan, also a sophomore, was in uniform for Malvern Prep. The hitting was intense but clean; there was just five penalties called by referee Eric Michaels, three to LaSalle and two to Malvern Prep, and one of the Malvern penalties was a bench minor for too many men on the ice.
Malvern Prep 0 0 0—0
LaSalle 0 4 0—4
Second-period goals: Daniel Sambuco (L) from Michael Casey and Sam Lipkin, 7:10: Casey (L) from Sambuco, 9:15; Fabrizio Mazzarelli (L) from Ryan Walsh and David Kimmel, 9:54; Eric Ford (L) from Jan Olenginski, 12:28.
Shots: Malvern Prep 19, LaSalle 32; Saves: Dan Dougherty (MP) 28, Aidan McCabe (L) 19.

To find out more about Malvern Prep CLICK HERE

To learn more about LaSalle College High School CLICK HERE

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