Bensalem 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3

When a goaltender steps up, a lot of people notice. So it was at Hatfield Ice Monday night.

Ricky Gonzalez made 53 saves in the Bensalem net and his teammates played inspired hockey in front of him as the Owns overcame a 3-2 third-period deficit to post a 5-3 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SHSHL American Division finale.

Alex Hood scored four goals for the third-seeded Owls (14-3) who claimed the first SHSHL title in school history but it was the senior netminder Gonzalez who was the difference in the game.

Bensalem, which had only 10 skaters available due to suspensions, was outshot 56-21.

“I have no words right now, said Bensalem coach Bill Hood. “I’m very proud of these kids.

“Obviously, we had a short bench; we had three kid suspended. And these kids, all year long, they just never quit.”

Gonzalez credited his teammates for their support.

“If it wasn’t for Alex and my brother (Lucas Gonzalez) and the rest of the team it wouldn’t have even been close,” he said. Everybody stood their ground tonight and we came up with the victory.

Gonzalez spent much of the evening under heavy incoming fire but being busy is to his liking.

“It gives me so much confidence,” he said. “Seeing that (shot total) up there, but there were three (Colonial goals) on 40 shots. In the third period, that kept me going.

Justin Borne got the Owls going with the evening’s first goal 5:09 into the opening frame, David Branigan and Blake Ambler responded for the top-seeded Colonials (13-4) to give their side a 2-1 lead with 2:06 left in the opening session.

Hood and Branigan traded goals in the second period, leading to Hood’s game-tying goal 2:24 into the final period.

Hood’s game winner, which came at the 7:49 mark, came off a dash down left the left wing. His shot along the ice beat Plymouth Whitemarsh goaltender Julian Lucks inside the right post and immediately caromed back into play. The referee on the play immediately blew his whistle and signaled a goal.

Hood later put an exclamation point on the game by scoring into an empty net just before the final buzzer.

Still later, he could be found in his team’s dress room, hugging the championship trophy with all the energy at his command and reflecting on what he and his teammates have accomplished.

“It’s a big family,” he said. “we’ve battled through the past three years. Everybody counted us out. It doesn’t matter how far down we are, we found a way today.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox was unavailable following the game.

Ice chips: Both teams will compete in the Flyers Cup. Plymouth Whitemarsh will gave Unionville in a Class A first-round game on March 4. Bensalem will go against Pennridge in a Class AA first-round game on March 5.

Bensalem 1 1 3—5

Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 1 0—3

First period goals: Justin Rapone (B) from Matt Rowan and Brandon Stahl, 5:09; David Branigan (PW) from Jason Yoder, 8:19; Blake Ambler (PW) from Chris London, 14:54

Second-period goals: Alex Hood (B) unassisted, 8:55; Branigan (PW) from Dylan Novitsky, 10:56

Third-period goals: Hood (B) unassisted, 2:24; Hood (B) unassisted, 7:49; Hood (B) from Rowan, 16:59 (en)

Shots: Bensalem 21, PW 56 Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 53, Julian Lucks (PW) 16

PW 3 Bensalem 2

BRISTOL—Plymouth Whitemarsh and Bensalem dressed to impress Thursday night. The Colonials and the Owls took the ice at Grundy Arena looking to impress each other and future opponents well as members of the Flyers Cup Committee charged with constructing that tournament field.

In that sense, the evening was an all-around success.

Blake Ambler’s goal 3:59 into the third period gave Plymouth Whitemarsh a 3-2 win and, for the time being, first place in the SHSHL’s American Division.

The Colonials and the Owls have split two meetings this season; Bensalem prevailed 4-3 in overtime on December 7, and Thursday’s matchup was just as crisply played; each team had an abundance of opportunities and the flow of the game was interrupted by two just penalties, one of which was not enforced because it occurred as a goal was being scored.

The goaltenders were the stars of the evening. Winning netmimder Julian Lucks made 22 stops, a number of them requiring extraordinary effort. His counterpart at the other end of the ice, Rick Gonzalez was even busier, making 38 saves and standing firm against near constant incoming fire, notably in the third period when the Owls, who had only 11 skaters dressed, were running on fumes.

Bensalem (9-2, 7-2 in divisional play) got off to a hot start when Alex Hood beat Lucks from left wing just 13 seconds after the opening faceoff. Hood made it 2-0 with 1:40 left in the period before David Branigan went top shelf for the Colonials with 13 seconds remaining to make it a one goal game.

Chris London scored for Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-3, 8-1 in the division) with 19 seconds left in the second session, setting up what figured to be a scintillating final chapter.

Lucks described himself as ready for whatever came his way.

“I talked to my team,” he said. “They helped me cool down and just stay rested.”

Rest was a luxury the Owls could not afford.

“I liked our start,” said Bensalem coach Bill Hood. “We jumped out on them pretty well at the beginning of the game.”

Eventually however the Owls were hurt by a lack of numbers.

“We had a short bench,” Hood said. “I think the second period we kind of took a step back. They made their push then.”

That trend continued in the third period when Plymouth Whitemarsh outshot Bensalem 13-4.

Colonial coach Dave Cox celebrated the win.

“This is a true team victory,” he said. “We love it. We’ve been waiting for this rematch since we lost to them the first time.

We know in order to be the team we want to be we have to go through tough teams like this. Hats off to Bensalem. They may have tired bodies but they’re always there.”

Ice chips—The Colonials and the Owls will face each other a third time next Thursday night at Grundy. Both teams are assured of being part of the three-team SHSHL American Division playoffs; as of now the Colonials would be seeded first, the Owls second.
The Colonials are eligible for the Class A Flyers Cup tournament, the Owls are classified Class AA

P-W 1 1 1—3

Bensalem 2 0 0 —2

First-period goals: Alex Hood (B) from Alex Bazylevich, :13; Good (B) from Bazylevich and Nick Gambino. 15:20; David Branigan (PW) from Daniel Guller, 16:47

Second-period goal: Chris London (PW) from Blake Ambler and Luke Smith, 16:41

Third-period goal: Ambler (PW) from London, 3:59

Shots: Plymouth Whitemarsh 41, Bensalem 24; Saves; Julian Lucks (PW) 22, Ricky Gonzalez (B) 38

Bensalem 4 P-W 3 OT

Plymouth Whitemarsh and Bensalem have moved to the head of the pack in the SHSHL’s American Division. On Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, they began finding out about each other.

Alex Hood’s goal 1:38 into overtime gave the Owls a 4-3 win in what is shaping up as an entertaining season-long series. Thursday’s game was the first of three meetings between the two teams.

The result pushed Bensalem to 5-1 overall and in the division; the Owls have been perfect since an opening-night loss to Wissahickon. They came from behind three times on Thursday.

The Colonials (4-2 overall) lost for the first time in five league starts.

Alex Baylevich set up the winning goal when he put the puck on net from his post at the right point. Hood was on hand to score his second goal of the game and his 22^nd of the season. He also contributed two assists to his team’s cause.

Hood described the winning goal.

“All three of their kids were puck watching,” he said, “so I went backdoor. [Baylevich] found me like he always does. Tic tac toe in the back of the net.”

Both teams came into Thursday’s encounter at less than full strength. The Colonials had three regulars out of the lineup including two front-line centers. For their part, the Owls had only eight skaters available. That circumstance forced their coach Bill Hood to do some juggling.

“We had a lot of penalties (8) which hurt,” he said. “But we’ve got kids that play very high level club hockey so they’re used to this kind of pace.”

The scoring started early. David Branigan put Plymouth Whitemarsh in front just 55 seconds into the first period. Hood tied the game at the 2:21 mark.

Jason Segal put the Colonials back in front with 44 seconds left in the middle period and Plymouth Whitemarsh seemed to have the upper hand heading into the third frame, but the momentum shifted dramatically when Cole Salayda tied the game with a shorthanded with 12:13 left in regulation.

Tim Murphy gave Plymouth Whitemarsh the lead for the last time with a one timer from the high slot with 6:33 remaining.

But that wasn’t enough; Lucas Gonzalez poked in a rebound with 4:01 left to kick off the mad dash to the finish line.

Ricky Gonzalez in the Bensalem net might have made the biggest contribution to his team’s win. He finished with 32 saves, many of them difficult.

“Ricky’s been a rock all year,” Bill Hood said. “He definitely gives us confidence back there. We take some risks at times defensively and he’s always back there.”

The loss was a tough one for the Colonials but their coach Dave Cox took a pragmatic view.

“We knew coming in that Bensalem was going to be a tough opponent,” he said, “and I believe it was a good test of our character and what we need to work on.

“I’m proud of our boys for faced the adversity. We had a very short bench tonight, A lot of the boys were playing with different linemate pairs and that took some adjusting to, and our power-play wasn’t working well but they worked hard every shift. Overtime losses are never easy, but we look forward to seeing this team a couple more times.”

Bensalem 1 0 2 1—4

P-W 1 1 1 0—3
First-period goals: David Branigan (PW) unassisted, :55; Alex Hood (B) from Cole Salayda and Brandon Stahl. 2:21;

Second-period goal: Jason Segal (PW) from Tim Murphy and Daniel Molony, 16:16

Third-period goals: Salayda (B) from Lucas Gonzalez and Hood, 4:47 (sh); Murphy (PW) from John Zawislak and Molony, 10:27; Gonzalez (B) from Justin Rapone and Hood, 12:59

Overtime goal: Hood (B) from Alex Baylevich, 1:38

Shots: Bensalem 25, Plymouth Whitemarsh 35; Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 32; Julian Lucks (PW) 21