Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

BRISTOL—The prize was there for the taking and Holy Ghost Prep stepped up and took it Wednesday afternoon. The Firebirds jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period and went on to a 5-2 win over St. Joseph’s Prep in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Grundy Arena.

Byron Hartley delivered three goals for the Firebirds, who wrapped up the APAC regular-season title with the win. The senior, who also picked up an assist, leads all APAC players in scoring with 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 16 games.

“We were ready to battle for first place today,” Hartley said, “and we really wanted to come out and make a statement that this was a bounce-back year.”

St. Joseph’s Prep’s Andrew Centrella (in red) battles for the puck with Holy Ghost Prep’s Michael Connelly (in white). Holy Ghost Prep prevailed 5-2 to clinch the APC regular season title. Photo by Liz Diretto.

Hartley helped get the Firebirds (12-4-1-0 overall, 5-3-1-0 in the APAC) get started when he set up Evan Mudrick for the game’s first goal. Mudrick launched a shot from the high slot that beat Hawk netminder Rocco Bruno at 10:36 of the first period. Carlos Rodriquez made it 2-0 on a breakaway at 12:19 before Hartley made it a 3-0 just 29 seconds into the second frame.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin lamented his team’s ability to take advantage of some early opportunities. “The first five minutes we were awesome,” he said. “We were all over them. We made two mistakes and they put the puck in the net. and we’re down 2-0 and we’re chasing the game.”

The Hawks (11-11 overall, 3-1-0-4 in conference) got on the board thanks to Dominic Fantozzi with 1:14 left in the period.

The Firebirds reasserted themselves however when Hartley scored a shorthanded goal at 7:44 of the third period. Mudrick was serving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the time, the only penalty whistled by referee Eric MIchaels. Jimmy Craig scored for the Hawks with 3:37 remaining before Hartley completed his hat trick by scoring into an empty net with 29 seconds left.

“I know we had a really strong (first) period,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I know we struggled a bit in the second, a little bit of the third but we found a way to win.
“I wasn’t happy that we gave up that many shots. We haven’t given up that many shots in a long time.”

St. Joseph’s Prep’s Paulo Colavita (in red) charges the net as Holy Ghost Prep goaltender Sean Joyce makes the save. Number 88 in white is Holy Ghost Prep’s Brian Butler. Photo by Liz Diretto.

For more photos of this game, contact Liz Diretto HERE

Notes: It was the first APAC game of the season in which St. Joseph’s Prep failed to come away with at least one point. The Hawks will host La Salle to conclude the conference schedule on February 21, two days before the seedings for the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament are announced. The APAC playoffs will take place on February 24 and 26.

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 1—2
Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5
First-period goals: Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Byron Hartley, 10:36; Carlos Rodriguez (HGP) unassisted, 12:19.
Second-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Anthony Spark and James Littley, :29; Dominic Fantozzi (SJP) from Connor Burman, 14:46.
Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Dan Behr, 7:44 (sh); Jimmy Craig (HGP) from Burman and Andrew Centrella, 12:23; Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 15:31.

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 32, Holy Ghost Prep 25; Saves: Rocco Bruno (SJP) 20, Sean Joyce (HGP) 30.

APAC Update 12-30-19

W L OW OL Pts GF GA

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-7) 3 0 0 2 11 17 14

Holy Ghost Prep (8-3) 2 2 1 0 8 19 14

Malvern Prep (5-4) 2 2 0 1 7 22 23

LaSalle (7-7) 0 2 1 0 2 14 9

Games of Sunday, December 29

St. John’s 4, St. Joseph’s Prep 2

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Archbishop Spalding 0

La Salle 4. Bishop Hendricken 3

Games of Saturday, December 28

Hun School 6, St. Joseph’s Prep 0

Bishop Guertin 4, La Salle 3 SO

Game of Friday, December 27

Franklin 3, La Salle 2 (OT)

Game of Monday, December 23

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Malvern Prep 1

Game of Friday, December 21

Holy Ghost Prep 2, St. Josephs Prep 1 OT

Game of Thursday, December 19

La Salle 9, St. Augustine 3

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

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Scoring Leaders GP G. A. Pos

Byron Hartley (HGP) 11 16 10 26

Matt Harris (MP) 8 15 4 19

Jack Constabile (MP) 8 3 13 16

Evan Mudtick (HGP) 10 7 7 14

Anthony Sparo (HGP) 8 4 9 13

Ryan Sambuco (MP) 8 4 9 13

Nathan Benner (L) 9 6 4 10

Braedon Baesher (HGP) 11 8 1 9

Eric Pohl (HGP) 10 3 5 8

Colin Kleiser (L) 6 3 4 7

Listings include results submitted through 12-23 and are subject to revision.

Holy Ghost Prep 4, LaSalle 1

Firebirds win to kick off APAC’s second season
By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD — It was the sort of opener a player dreams about. Byron Hartley scored his team’s first goal and assisted on its next three as Holy Ghost Prep opened its season on Wednesday with a 4-1 Atlantic Prep Conference win over LaSalle at Hatfield Ice.
The victory didn’t erase the pain of the Firebirds’ last-second loss to LaSalle in the Flyers Cup semifinals last March. But it was a promising start to the new season.
“We just wanted to forget about last year,” Hartley said. “What happens in the past stays in the past. We told the younger guys it’s a good thing you guys didn’t know what happened last year because that just helps us get in the (right) mindset.”
Besides centering his team’s number-one line, Hartley wears the captain’s C. “I’m so proud of all of our guys,” he said. “We have a relatively young team this year and I couldn’t be prouder to be the captain and the leader of this team.”
The Firebirds were sharp in the early going but LaSalle netminder Aidan McCabe was sharp as well and kept them at bay until Hartley found the back of the net 5:47 into the opening period.
E.J. Pohl made it a 2-0 game when he added a power-play goal 19 seconds into the second frame and the score was unchanged when the teams left the ice at period’s end
Skating on fresh ice at the start of the third period, the Explorers (0–2, 0-1 APAC) found another gear. With not quite three-and-a-half minutes gone in the period Francis Ford launched a shot from the center of the slot. Firebird goaltender Sean Joyce made the save but Nolan Woudenberg put in the rebound.
It was suddenly a one-goal game with plenty of time remaining but the Firebirds answered back with 5:21 left in the game. Hartley won an offensive right-circle faceoff and drew the puck back to Evan Mudrick who beat McCabe with a one-timer.
Anthony Sparo finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

LaSalle (white uniforms) and Holy Ghost Prep (blue) line up for Wednesday’s opening faceoff. Courtesy of Holy Ghost Prep

LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner saw some things he liked in the loss. “Of the three games we’ve played so far, obviously the score isn’t what we wanted, but I think it’s the best we’ve played so far,” he said. “ I definitely see some positives. It was a loss but there were definitely some positives. It clearly points out how far we’re going to have to go We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us as a team.”
Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside praised his players’ work ethic. “They’ve been working really hard,” he said. “In preseason ands getting ready for this game and getting ready for the season. We had all four lines going, all four lines contributing in one way or another. It was just fun to watch.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2—4
LaSalle 0 0 1—1
First-period goal; Byron Hartley (HGP) from Evan Mudrick and Anthony Sparo, 5:47
Second-period goal; Eric Pohl (HGP) from Hartley and Luke Panepresso, :19 (pp)
Third-period goals: Nolan Woudenberg (L) from Francis Ford, 3:26; Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Hartley, 10:39; Sparo (HGP)) from Hartley and Collin Keiser, 14:29 (en)
Shots; Holy Ghost Prep 21, LaSalle 22; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 21, Aidan McCabe (L) 17
Records: Holy Ghost Prep (1-0, 1-0 APAC); LaSalle (2-1, 0-1)

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LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep to Meet for APAC Title

FINAL LASALLE 6 HOLY GHOST PREP 3

LaSalle wins Founders Cup

The on-ice rivalry between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep is as intense as it is mutually respectful. On Wednesday, the Explorers and the Firebirds will collide one more time, for the inaugural Founds Cup, symbolizing the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference. Game time will be 4:00 at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded LaSalle comes into the final with a mark of 19-6 after defeating St. Joseph’s Prep 3-1 in the semifinals on Monday. Sam Lipkin, who captured the APAC scoring title, leads the way with 13 goals for 32 points in 10 conference games (including the semifinal). He’s joined by linemates Daniel Sambuco (14 goals, 15 assists and Michael Casey (nine goals, 18 assists). The trio are the top three scorers in the conference. Aidan McCabe is the likely starter in goal.

The third-seeded Firebirds (8-12) bested Malvern Prep 4-1 in their semifinal. Byron Hartley has recorded 15 goals in conference play plus six assists for 21 points. Sean Joyce will be in goal.

LaSalle won all three regular-season meetings between the two teams, 5-1, 3-2 in overtime, and 6-3.

Both teams will move on to the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament.

Holy Ghost Prep and St. Joseph’s Prep will play for the APAC junior varsity championship Thursday at Grundy Arena. Game time will be 3:30

For more information about the schools in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference click below

LaSalle College High School

Holy Ghost Preparatory School

St. Joseph’s Preparatory School

Malvern Preparatory School

Holy Ghost Prep 5, St. Joseph’s Prep 3

PHILADELPHIA—Byron Hartley scored the winning goal 1:13 into the third period and Holy Ghost Prep went on to defeat St. Joseph’s Prep 5-3 Monday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

The win was the first for the Firebirds in eight conference starts and moved them into third place in the standings; they improved to 7-11 overall and 1-7 in the APAC with three of those conference losses coming in overtime or a shootout.

The Hawks dropped to 6-16 overall and 2-6 in league play with one of those wins coming in a shootout (over Holy Ghost Prep). They sit in fourth place in the standings with five points.

Michael Urbani and Mark Stahl gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 2-0 lead 6:46 into the first period when they scored goals 99 seconds apart. Urbani’s goal came on a power play.

Colin Costello got the Firebirds on the scoreboard just six seconds after Stahl’s goal before goals from Alex D’Angelo and Aidan Mulholland put them up 3-2 with 3:49 left in the opening session.

Stahl tied the game for the Hawks with his second goal of the game 5:40 into the second stanza and the game remained deadlocked until Hartley put Holy Ghost Prep in front 1:15 into the third period. The power-play goal cane while the Hawks were two men short. Harley scored into an empty net with 26 seconds left in regulation.

Holy Ghost Prep 3 0 2—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 1 0

First-period goals: Michael Urbani (SJP) from Evan Cassidy and Vincent Borgesi, 5:07 (pp); Mark Stahl (SJP) from Urbani and Nick Corrado, 6:46; Colin Costello (HGP) from Byron Hartley and Andrew Serafin, 6:52; Alex D’Angelo (HGP) unassisted, 8:13; Aidan Mulholland (HGP) unassisted, 12:11.

Second-period goal: Stahl (SJP) from Matt Moresco and Brody Piourde, 5:40.

Third-period goals: Hartley (HGP) from Jake Marek, 1:15 (pp); Hartley (HGP) from Evan Mudrick

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 29, St. Joseph’s Prep 25