Tag: Ben Yuter

Plymouth Whitemarsh 4, Hatboro-Horsham 3

 

WARWICK— It has been said by some observers that a hockey goaltender plays the most demanding position in any team sport. Playing the position well, in fact, at all, requires a unique mindset.

Friday’s Suburban High School Hockey League matchup between Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh offered a strong thesis to support that argument.

Aidan Keogh gave the Colonials a 4-3 win with 1:09 left in overtime when he stole the puck at the Hatter blue line and went in alone to score the winning goal.

It was the Colonials’ second win over the Hatters in eight days; thy were victorious 13-3 last Friday.

The storyline at Revolution Ice Gardens revolved around the two goaltenders, the Colonials’ Ben Yuter and Hatboro-Horsham’s Joe Gambino. Between them they faced 65 shots and made 58 saves. Gambino stopped 35 shots, Yuter 23. Both made some truly remarkable saves.

Plymouth Whitemarsh assistant coach Chris Zawislak was in charge behind the bench, filling in for the absent Josh Aiello.

“I thought both goaltenders played a great game today,” he said. “I saw their goaltender make at least three or four saves that kept them in the game as we made one of our big pushes in the second period, and especially in the third period … our goaltender came up huge.”

Each team scored a goal in each regulation period. The Hatters (6-2, 1-2 in the American Division) took a 3-2 lead 1:37 into the third frame when Alex Howieson beat Yuter from just inside the right faceoff circle. But with 2:23 left in regulation, the Colonials (6-1, 3-0) answered. Keogh took the puck behind the Hatboro-Horsham net and found Dean Keller in front who in turn deposited the puck behind Gambino to draw his team even.

Yuter had to come up big once more when his teammate Colin Franzoni drew a high sticking penalty with 1:17 left in regulation. The abbreviated power play was constricted further when the Hatters’ Nick Long was sent to the box himself with 11 seconds of regulation time remaining. As a result of all this, the Colonials spent some early portions of the overtime with four skaters to three advantage. Franzoni came close to ending the game he hit a post some 100 seconds into the five-minute session.

Both teams went three on three with 2:11 remaining before Keogh’s solo effort brought down the curtain on an entertaining evening of hockey.

Yuter enjoyed being tested by a quality opponent in the Hatters and facing a quality opposing goaltender in Gambino. “I’m always on my A game,” he said, “It’s just a reason to want it even more. We all just feed off of each other’s energy. When we’re able to score off a goaltender like that, it really just pumps us up. He’s an amazing goaltender, he had some really quality saves out there.”

Hatboro-Horsham coach Gianni Lafratta summed up the evening. “Both goalies stood on their heads,” he said. “At times they had support of all five teammates, at times they had to call their own shots.

“ It’s definitely not a game you want to lose, but definitely a tight battle and a better response to last week’s loss

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 1 1 1—4

Hatboro-Horsham 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goals: Seth Lerner (HH) from Marcus Soucy, 4:23; Aidan Keogh (PW) from Jake Weikel, 13:46.

Second-period goals:  Aidan Esack (HH) from Tarek Elsabbagh and Ziyad Elsabbagh, 6:49; Dean Keller (PW) from Logan Westerfer and Ben Lubas, 9:36.

Third-period goals: Alex Howieson (HH from Esack and Ziyad Elsabbagh, 1:34; Keller (PW) from Keogh, 13:37.

Overtime goal: Keogh (PW) unassisted, 3:51.

Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 39, Hatboro-Horsham 26; Saves: Joe Gambino (HH) 35, Ben Yuter (PW) 23.

 

Other scores: Pennsbury 9, Council Rock North 1

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Father Judge 2

 

Plymouth Whitemarsh 7, Wissahickon 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—On some nights, a single occurrence can turn a hockey game on its axis and send it in an entirely new direction. So it was at Hatfield Ice Wednesday night.

Leading by a goal in the waning moments of the second period but facing a two-man disadvantage, Plymouth Whitemarsh not only successfully killed both penalties but scored a shorthanded goal to boot and went on to a 7-4 win over previously unbeaten Wissahickon in a Suburban High School Hockey League American Division encounter.

Colin Franzoni and Dean Keller scored two goals each and Ben Yuter made 33 saves in goal but the win was made possible in large part by what happened late in the middle period and early in the third.

Keller had just scored a goal to put the Colonials up 4-3 when, with 2:08 left in the middle period, Franzoni was sent to the box for high sticking. With 51 seconds left in the period Desmond Brock was corralled for a hooking infraction, leaving Plymouth Whitemarsh two men short for 46 seconds.

As the clock wound down inside the final half minute of the period the Colonials iced the puck. Two Trojans headed back to retrieve it but the Colonials’ Jake Weikel got to the puck first behind the Wissahickon net and spotted Franzoni waiting in front. The junior proceeded to put the puck past Trojan netminder Michael Henderson with nine seconds left in the period.

“I just busted all the way (down the ice) Franzoni said. “(Weikel) got the open pass, I shot it and it went in.”

Franzoni’s second goal of the game didn’t mean the Colonials (7-3, 4-3 SHSHL American) could rest easy. Dan Glazer scored for Wissahickon (6-1-2, 4-1-2) 56 seconds into the third period to bring the Trojans within a goal at 5-4. But Gavin Mulligan and Keller scored goals at 6:14 and 12:26, respectively, to give the Colonials some insurance.

The winners were outshot 37-24 but Yuter, a junior, was on top of his game. He said the key was maintaining his concentration. “Just staying intense the whole time and just watching every shot in,” he said,”and just seeing where everyone is, and just playing every shift like it’s my last.”

After losing a 13-8 shootout to Lower Moreland last Thursday, Yuter said it was important for he and his mates to step up Wednesday night.

“It was very important,” he said, “because we’ve always had a big rivalry against Wissahickon. They’re undefeated (prior to Wednesday) and we just need to show them what’s up and who is boss in this league.”

That issue won’t be settled until season’s end but Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington acknowledged Plymouth Whitemarsh was the superior team on this occasion.

“They were outworking us over and over,” he said. “We weren’t adjusting; they were collapsing on us and we weren’t adjusting.”

Harrington acknowledged his team still has some work to do.  “We looked real sluggish,” he said. “A couple guys were under the weather, they were game time decisions, but no excuses. They’re were outworking us and the one-on-one battles, they won a lot of them.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 3 2—7
Wissahickon 2 1 1—4
First-period goals: Colin Franzoni (PW) from Ben Lucas, 9:10; Bryan Gary (W) from Sean Gary, 9:31; Peter Troy (PW) from Dean Keller, 15:06; Sean Gary (W) from Bryan Gary and Nick Hussa, 15:36 (pp).
Second-period goals: Aidan Keith (PW) from Troy, 5:43; Bryan Gary (W) from Sean Gary, 11:55; Keller (PW) unassisted, 12:29; Franzoni (PW) from Jake Weikel, 15:49 (sh).
Third-period goals: Dan Glazer (W) from Ty Schaffer, :56; Gavin Mulligan (W) from Desmond Brock, 6:14; Keller (PW) from Franzoni, 12:26.
Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 24, Wissahickon 37; Saves: Ben Yuter (PW) 33, Michael Henderson (W) 17

By Rick Woelfel