The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has set the dates for the Founders Cup playoffs.
The postseason will begin on Monday, February 14 with the fourth-place regular season finisher hosting the fifth-place team.
The winner will advance to the semifinals, which will be staged as a doubleheader at Ice Line on Wednesday, February 16. The championship game will be played on either Wednesday, February 23 or Thursday, December 24 and will be hosted by the highest seeded finalist.
Because of when they are scheduled, the results of the Founders Cup playoffs will factor into the seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament which will be announced on Sunday, February 27.
The complete Founders Cup playoff schedule is as follows: 1st Round – Feb 14th: 4 x 5 play in, Site TBD (Highest Seed)
Semifinals – Feb 16th @ Iceline: 6:45pm & 8:45pm
Championship: Feb 23rd/24th (TBD), hosted by higher seed
The Founders Cup playoffs will mark the conclusion of the APAC’s fourth season. La Salle claimed the first two league titles in 2019 and ’20. Last year’s playoffs were not concluded because of Covid issues.
Riley Frost is a long way from home; some 3,000 miles. The Carlsbad, Calif. native arrived at The Hun School two-and-a-half years ago. Now, he’s a senior and the Raiders’ captain. His passion for hockey runs deep.
“Hockey is kind of in my family,” he said. “Both my dad and my grandpa played hockey and my mom plays ringette (a sport for females that is played on ice and in some aspects, resembles ice hockey). So, it was kind of in my blood.”
One might not think of Southern California as a hockey hotbed but the Los Angeles Blades skated in the Western Hockey League immediately prior to the creation of the Los Angeles Kings when the National Hockey League expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967. San Diego’s hockey history dates back to the 1960s and the present-day San Diego Gulls skate in the American Hockey League.
Following his freshman year of high school however, Frost, who is 17, decided to take another step in his hockey career.
“I realized that I kind of wanted to go further with it,” he said, “and decided to come out to the East Coast. Hun was a great fit for me so I decided to come here.”
Frost says his coach, Ian McNally, significantly influenced his decision to enroll at the school.
“Kind of off that first meeting my family and I kind of really trusted him,” he recalls, “and we really fell in love with the school after that.”
As a boarding student, Frost’s days are full.
“Normally I wake up for classes around 8:00 and start the day off,” he said. And then throughout the day I’ll have a few free periods. That’s really when I get a lot of work done and get in as much schoolwork as I can.
“And then after that, hockey (the team practices daily), then usually after hockey come back, have a little down time, and then study hall starts.”
Boarding students at the school have a mandatory two-hour study hall five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday.
“It’s really great,” Frost said, “because you have a set time every night where everyone is doing work. If you have a buddy in a class, you can go work on a project or whatever together.
Sometimes there are teachers out and about. If you have any questions you can go talk to them. it’s been very nice to have that kind of study hall. When those two hours come down, everyone knows it’s time to dial it in, it’s time to work.”
Frost note that work ethic carries over into the ice. The Raiders navigate a demanding schedule against Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference and Mid-Atlantic Hockey League opposition.
“I kind of like our schedule this year,” Frost said. “It’s definitely gotten more competitive over the years.’
The Raiders stand at 5-5 overall and 1-2-1-0 in the APAC through January 19; they haven’t played a game since December 15 because of Covid issues that have impacted several scheduled opponents.
Frost has scored three goals in nine game and added six assists. McNally cites his contributions to the Hun School hockey program over the course of his career.
“Riley has been a great addition to our team and school since his arrival in 10th grade,” McNally said. “He was a natural selection to wear a “C” this year as he is a glue guy all over campus, in the room and on the bus, in the dorms and in the classroom, and of course with his play on the ice. He is getting the opportunity to put up points this year and is deserving of any accolades that come his way.”
Riley Frost
This is Hun School’s first season in the APAC. Frost has been impressed with the competitive balance among the five conference schools.
“Balance is a good word,” he said. We’re obviously all very competitive people and every game we’re going to come out and we’re going to play our hearts out and that’s really going to be what leads us to hopefully our end goal this season.”
Frost notes how much he, his teammates, and the student-athletes throughout the conference respect the game and respect each other on the ice.
“I think we all recognize that we’re all high-level athletes,” he said, “and obviously, we would like to go as far as we can in our careers and so that level of respect that all the teams have for each other is pretty crucial to our league.”
In the wake of the layoff, Frost says he and his teammates are gathering themselves for what in effect will be a sprint to the end of the season
“Definitely,” he said. “Trying to dial in all our systems and truly getting that team chemistry going again is going to be essential for us.”
In addition to playing hockey, Frost also plays lacrosse; he’s an attackman and midfielder. He stresses the importance creating a system to manage his time effectively.
“Once you find something that works for you, it really becomes quite simple,” he said. “You have your practice time, you have a little bit of down time and then it’s your schoolwork, getting everything done, making sure you have a good night’s sleep and you’re ready for the next day. I think once you find what works, that’s really important.”
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HAMILTON TOWNSHOP—The impact of the eruption was overwhelming. The Hun School scored three goals in a span of 56 seconds in the second period, added another goal just 36 seconds later, and went on to a 6-1 win over Holy Ghost Prep Friday afternoon in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Land.
With the score tied 1-1 early in the second period and his team on a power play, Brandon Marino launched a shot from the left wing that hit the back of the Firebirds’ net at the 3:48 mark. He scored a second goal on a similar play just 18 seconds later. Don Carney made at 4-1 game at 4:44 when the Firebirds turned the puck over in front of their own net.
The Raiders’ Josh Sosner drew a cross checking penalty at the 5:05 mark but the barrage continued uninterrupted. Seth Kaplan, who had scored the Raiders’ first goa, added a second at 5:20 off another Holy Ghost Prep turnover, this one at the blue line.
“We were laying the body a lot,” Kaplan said. “I think once we do that, we set the tone and kind of understand what we have to do for the rest of the game. “And so, we went out there the first two shifts, laid a lot of hits, and I think that set the tone; we started going from there.”
Kaplan noted the melding of the Raiders’ physical style with their offensive output. “The past couple games we had some struggles scoring,” he said. “And I think game we showed ourselves, showed everybody, that we are able to score, and we’re going to keep putting it in on them and we’re not going to stop.
“We’re just going to keep scoring as much as we can. That’s our game.” Facing a four-goal deficit, the Firebirds called time out and made a goaltender change, replacing Jason Soule with Colin Mudrick. Mark Gall completed the scoring by adding his team’s fifth goal of the period, beating Mudrick at 7:38.
Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside called the Hun School outburst “Five minutes of bad hockey.
“This is not typical of the way we’ve been playing,” he said. “But I really liked the way responded in the third period,” (which was scoreless). They battled and they capitalized on our missed opportunities.”
Just 48 hours after a loss at La Salle, the Raiders (5-3 overall, 1-1-1-0 in the APAC) looked altogether different against the Firebirds (9-2, 1-2-1-0), who saw a six-game winning streak end.
“When we had success the first couple weeks of the season we were confident, physical, and that was a big part of our game,” said Hun School coach Ian McNally. “Then, we played Princeton Day School a couple weeks ago and we got called for so many penalties I think we became a little bit tentative playing that style and kind of reverted away from it.
“Today, the thought was ‘We’ve got to get back to that heavy game we played the first couple weeks.’”
The Raiders had a 29-21 edge in shots. Stephen Chen got the win in goal.
Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 0—1
Hun School 1 5 0—6
First-period goals: Seth Kaplan (HS) from Jake Ovelette, 15:46; Luke Penepresso (HGP) unassisted, 16:43
Second-period goals: Brandon Marino (HS) from Ovelette, 3:48 (pp); Marino (HS) from Elian Estulin, 4:06; Dan Carney (HS) Josh Sosner, 4:44; Kaplan (HS) from Ryan Croddick, 5:20 (sh); Mark Gall (HS) from Estulin and Marino, 7:38
A new day is dawning at The Hun School. Come Thursday afternoon at the stroke of 4, at the Ice Land Skating Center in Hamilton Township, N.J, the Raiders will embark on their first season of conference play in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. St. Joseph’s Prep will provide the opposition.
The Raiders started their season this past weekend in Western Pennsylvania at the Shady Side Academy tournament where they won three of four games.
Hun School is no stranger to the schools in the APAC, it has competed regularly against conference members in non-league games in seasons past. They are also members, along with La Salle, in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League.
Ian McNally, Hun School’s veteran coach, is familiar with the APAC’s history. “When they started this league, I kind of knew what it was,” he said, “but I caught up last year with (La Salle coach Wally Muhelbronner) more about it.”
McNally, who played college hockey at Princeton, says that membership in the APAC makes the regular season more meaningful.
“Previous to the Mid-Atlantic League, we were just playing a selection of games,” he said. “Just schedule 20 games and you play them. It’s great, but it’s hard to get up for everything for the kids. Sometimes there wasn’t the same amount of emphasis put on playing well and getting the win each time.
“I think that was the goal, to try to have our schedule be all meaningful games. We’d go play Malvern on a Wednesday afternoon but for either team, it wasn’t necessarily the biggest game of the year. So, we’ll have those same games and they’ll all be more meaningful and impactful. I think for the kids, it’s a big benefit to feel like there’s (three) points on the line each game.”
The Hun School is unique among the APAC membership. It is the first coeducational school in the conference and has boarding students. Also, the school starts its hockey season later than the other conference members to avoid having it overlap with fall sports. But it is committed to putting a quality hockey team on the ice while remaining committed to academic excellence.
“We’re not looking to be a hockey factory,” McNally said, “but we do have strong hockey kids and have a competitive hockey team, so having likeminded schools to play against, it means something. It was a pretty easy ‘Yes’ for us (to joining the APAC) and I hope it was an easy ‘Yes’ for them to want us in the league as well.”
A number of Hun School players are presently playing club hockey but some played other sports for their school this fall.
“Half our team has been here but not been playing hockey,” McNally said. Some of them played football or soccer for Hun or ran cross country.
So, not only are we catching up that way but there’s kids that haven’t played since whenever they last played at their home. Maybe when they left in August or whatever so we’ll see.
“I think we’ll be fine and the difference I think for us is once we start, we skate every day so we’ll probably catch up, in terms of hours on the ice, pretty quick.”
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The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference beginning its fourth season with The Hun School joining Holy Ghost Prep, La Salle, and St. Joseph’s Prep. Each team will play eight conference games this season.
Holy Ghost Prep
Coach: Gump Whiteside (13th season)
Last year: 7-7, 3-3-0-3 in APAC
Key players: Sr. Brian Butler (D); Sr. Colin Moore (D); Sr. Luke Panepresso (D); Sr. Sean Marshall (F); Jr. Brady Baesher (F); Jr. Landon Stout (F); Jr. Shaun Moore (F); Jr. Kieran Mulholland (F)
There is veteran experience on the blue line with veterans Butler, Moore, and Panepresso. Baesher, a first-team all-conference selection a year ago, is being counted on up front along with Stout, Marshall, Moore, and Mulholland, who will provide experience and quickness.
Whiteside is also expecting to get contributions from a talented group of underclassmen.
The Hun School
Coach: Ian McNally (11th season)
Last year: 0-3
Key players: Sr. Jack Borek (G); PG Nick Dimatos (D); Sr. Christian Clover (D); Sr. Riley Frost (F)
Outlook: The Raiders are the newest members of the APAC. They won’t begin on-ice practices until November 8 and won’t play a game until Thanksgiving Weekend. Damatos, a post grad, is an offensive-minded defenseman. Clover is more of the stay-at-home mold. Frost is being counted on up front after not playing much hockey the last two years because of Covid and injuries while Borek is experienced in goal.
“It will be interesting to see what we actually have here,” McNally said. “We were only able to play a few games over the course of one week last year so were never able to see what are new players were actually capable of. Anyone who was a part of our team two seasons ago will return much older and presumably bigger, faster and stronger. I think there is the potential to have a pretty strong season this year, but we will learn a lot about our identity over these first weeks.
La Salle
Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (24th season)
Last year: 10-5, 6-3 APAC; conference co-champions
Key players: Jr. Aries Carangi (G), So. Willum Braun (G), Sr. Gavin O’Connell (D), Jr. Chase Hannon (D), Sr. Daniel Whittock (F), Sr. Keenan Schneider (F), Sr. Max Maddalo (F), Sr. Chris Wnek (F)
Outlook: La Salle returns 13 players from a team that shared the APAC and reached the Class AAA Flyers Cup final.The lineup features experience and balance. Carangi saw quality time in goal a year ago and O’ Connell and Hannon are solid on the blue line. Whittock, Schneider, Maddalo, and Wnek all have demonstrated ability to put the puck in the net. The Explorers will be trying to keep a streak alive; they shared the first two APAC titles before sharing the crown last year.
“We’re excited to hit the ice,” Muehlbronner said.
Malvern Prep
Coach: Bill Keenan (third season)
Last year: 15-1, 5-1-3 in APAC; conference co-champions, Class AAA Flyers Cup and Pennsylvania State Champions
Key players: Sr. Anthony Perti (G); Jr. Brandon Novabilski (G); Sr. Quinn Dougherty (D); Sr. Travis Buckley (D); Jr. Steven Getsie (D); So. Brady Doyle (D); So. Jack Sharer (D); Sr. Matt Harris (F); Sr. Pierre Larocque (F); Jr. Jimmy Jacobs (F); So. Jeremy Jacobs (F);
Outlook: Much of last season’s Flyers Cup and state championship team returns and lineup is deep and talented, led by Perti and Harris, who were first-team all-conference selections last season. They’ll be joined by the likes of Dougherty and Buckley on defense along with Larocque up front.
The Friars will be trying to become the first Class AAA team in 13 years to successfully defend both the Flyers Cup and state titles.
“We are excited to get back to playing hockey,” Keenan said. “We have a good group of leaders returning as well as some younger guys filling in some gaps in the lineup. We are ready to get out there and compete and to have fun.”
St. Joseph’s Prep
Coach: David Giacomin (ninth season)
Last year: 4-10, 1-8 in APAC
Key players: Jr. Rocco Bruno (G); So. Ajay White (G); Sr. Nick Sorti (D); Sr. Declan Pierce, Sr. Michael Ahearn (D); Sr. Christian Short (D); Jr. Dante Passio (D); Jr. Jeffrey Hammond (F); Jr. Joey Samango (F); Sr. Quinn Egan (F); Sr. Charlie Maratea (F); Sr. Liam Mooney (F)
Outlook: The Hawks’ biggest strength will be in goal, where veteran Bruno and White will share responsibilities, and on defense. There is a veteran presence on the blue line in Pierce, Ahearn, and Short, and up front with Hammond and Mooney.
The Hawks often found themselves shorthanded last year in terms of numbers, which led them running out of gas late in games. Giacomin anticipates having more depth on hand this season and is looking for the added manpower to allow his team to play at a quicker pace in all three zones.
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The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference will be a five-team alliance for 2021-22. The Hun School from Princeton, N.J. will join Malvern Prep, Holy Ghost Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep, and two-time defending champion La Salle for the upcoming season.
Ian McNally is the Raiders’ hockey coach. “We’re excited to join the league,” he said. “We have competed with each of the APAC school programs for several years now and it will only improve the level of competition in our games when implications on standings, stats, playoff seeds and everything else that comes with league play are introduced. I think we share a common understanding of scholastic athletics with the APAC member schools and so we have strong existing relationships with the other coaches and athletics offices.”
Tracey Arndt is the Co-Director of Athletics at The Hun School. “The Hun School of Princeton is grateful for the opportunity for our Ice Hockey team to join the APAC this season,” she said. “This is a top-notch ice hockey league with likeminded schools that will allow us to compete at a high level throughout the year. We look forward to the competition with such respected programs.”
The Hun School is no stranger to the other conference members, having regularly competed against them in non-league games.
“The APAC was founded with the belief that exceptional schools and scholastic hockey could thrive side by side in a competitive league that values sportsmanship, academic distinction and a quality Spirit,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “The Hun School is a welcomed addition to strengthening our rivalries, traditions and desire for excellence.”
La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner is enthusiastic about the Raiders coming on board. “La Salle is very excited to have Hun School join the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference,” he said. “Hun has had a long history of great competition versus the founding APAC schools. Their commitment to competing at a high level further strengthens the conference.”
St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin is looking forward to competing against the Raiders. “St Joseph’s Prep is extremely excited to welcome The Hun School into the APAC,” he said. They are a great school and we can’t wait to compete for years to come.”
Bill Keenan is the head coach at Malvern Prep, the reigning Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champions. “We are excited to have The Hun School join the APAC this upcoming season. It is great to have another quality, competitive team join our league. We are looking forward to competing against them this season.”
APAC institutions have been successful at the highest levels of scholastic hockey, competing at national tournaments and capturing every Class AAA Flyers Cup and Class AAA Pennsylvania State Championship since 2017. Last year’s postseason was not completed. La Salle and Malvern Prep were scheduled to meet in the Founders Cup final but that game was eventually cancelled because of Covid issues. Malvern Prep went on to win the Flyers Cup and the state championship.
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