Pennsbury 5, C.B. East 2

HATFIELD—There was no better time than Wednesday night for Pennsbury to get out of a funk. Having lost their last three SHSHL Class AA divisional games games, the Falcons needed to make a statement.

Which they did. Three first-period goals propelled Pennsbury to a 5-2 win over Central Bucks East in a game the Falcons (9-5-1, 5-5-1 in the division) needed badly to stake a claim on a berth in both the SHSHL playoffs and the Flyers Cup tournament. Simply put, there was no margin for error.

Ben Dous, Pennsbury’s captain, had no difficulty articulating the significance of the win. “It’s big,” he said. “We hit a rough patch and it was great. We came out here and I thought we played really well.”

Dous got things started during a power play at the 6:45 mark of the first period when he launched a shot from the high slot that Shane Siegmond tipped past East goaltender Chris McIntyre. Erik Eisler made it a 2-0 game on another power-play effort at 11:39 and Beau Brusulis-Edman added an even-strength goal at 13:55 to put the Patriots (9-4-1-1, 6-4-1-1 in the division) further back on their heels

“We dug ourselves a hole,” said East assistant coach Mike Capps. “Credit Pennsbury, they played their butts off. They played us right, They chipped it by us and went on odd-man breaks. They had a man coming in late because our center wasn’t picking up. They played well, they were well-coached tonight, they deserved to win.”

Joe Machlovitz scored the only goal of the second frame at the 7:37 mark and he and his mates appeared to have things well in hand.

In the third period however, the Patriots’ Sean Gorman made things interesting by scoring his 25th goal of the season off a turnover at the 5:18 mark, He added a second goal with 4:12 left in regulation that forced the Falcons to pay attention down the stretch but Dous added an insurance goal into an empty net with 22 seconds to go.

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley feels his team is back on the right track. We definitely went through a lull there,” he said, “and I think we got some momentum. I think it started with our game against Truman (last Friday’s Pink Out game, a 7-3 win) and it definitely carried over to tonight.”

Ice Chips—Pennsbury had a 37-28 edge in shots but the Patriots outshot the Falcons 25-18 over the last two periods …The SHSHL playoffs will be held the week of February 24, the week before the Flyers Cup. Class AA quarterfinal games will be played on Monday the 24th with semifinals in both classes set for Wednesday the 26th. The championship games in both classes will be played the following night.

Pennsbury 3 1 1—5
C.B. East 0 0 2—2
First-period goals: Shane Siegmond (P) from Ben Dous and Beau Bruslius-Yedman, 6:45 (pp); Eric Eisler (P) from Joe Machlovitz and Dous, 11:39 (pp); Bruslius-Edman (P) from Eisler, 13:55.
Second-period goals: Machlovitz (P) from Siegmond, 7:37.
Third-period goals: Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 5:18; Gorman (CBE) from Aiden Schmidt, 11:48; Dous (P) from Bruslius-Yedman, 15:38 (en);
Shots: Pennsbury 37, CBE 28; Saves: Topher Seiler (P) 30; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 32

Elsewhere: Neshaminy 8, C.B. West 6

Central Bucks East 5, Central Bucks West 0

HATFIELD— Central Bucks East did a lot of things well on Wednesday night. The Patriots strengthened their case for a place in the Class AA Flyers Cup field with a 5-0 win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice in a SHSHL matchup. Sean Gorman scored twice for East, which is now 9-2-1-1 overall and 6-2-1-1 in divisional play. They were ranked 10th in the Flyers Cup power rankings at the start of the week.

Sean Gorman scored twice for the Patriots, but the evening will be remembered for what happened at the other end of the ice, where Chris McIntyre was perfect. He saw 55 shots and turned aside every one of them.

“I don’s think in all my years of coaching I ever saw a team get (55) shots and not win,” said West coach Dave Baun, “let alone lose 5-0.”

The Bucks (6-4-2-1, 3-4-2-0 in the division) didn’t make it easy on McIntyre. Many of their shots were dangerous and several we’re from point-blank range. But the junior was more than equal to the task.

“He was technically superb,” Baun said.

It was Senior Night for both schools but McIntyre didn’t prepare any differently than usual. “I try to be sharp for every game,” he said, “prepare the same for every game, even if I’m not playing. Every game is the same.”

Connor Keiser and Phil McIntyre scored first-period goals to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead. Chris McIntyre signaled what was to come when he denied Jake Lang on a breakaway with just over five minutes left in the period. Lang is the leading scorer in the SHSHL’s Class AA division.

The Bucks had a chance to get back in the game six-and-a-half minutes into the middle period when back-to back penalties to Max Ermigiotti and Marc Green gave them a two-man advantage for 1 minute, 39 seconds. West failed to score however and Keiser added his second goal of the night nine seconds after the second penalty expired to make it a 3-0 game.

Gorman added two goals in the third period. The final shot totals were 55-33. In the Bucks’ favor. West failed to score despite having six power-play chances.

That statistic was a concern to East coach Ken Latchum. “Your goalkeeper makes up for your mistakes,” he said, “and he made up for every one of them.””

With Flyers Cup selection Sunday now three-and-a-half weeks out, Latchum senses his team is getting more focused. “We’re starting to hit a good stride,” he said, “a very good stride. “Tonight they were hyped, they were playing as a team.

“I thought our first period was probably our best period. (Then) we started taking penalties.”
C.B. East 2 1 2—5
C.B. West 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Connor Keiser (CBE) from Ian Treger, 5:24; Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Sean Gorman, 8:22.
Second-period goals: Conner Keiser (CBE) unassisted, 8:31.
Third-period goals: Sean Gorman (CBE) from Max Ermigiotti, 12:21; Gorman (CBE) unassisted,14:06.
Shots: C.B. East 33, C.B. West 55; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 55, Jake Coddington (CBW) 28

Central Bucks East 5, Quakertown 1

WARWICK— Central Bucks East spent much of Friday night shaking off the holiday rust. The Patriots were shorthanded when they took the ice against Quakertown at Revolution Ice Gardens; three players were absent for various reasons. But they had talent available to score a 5-1 win in a SHSHL Class AA matchup.

Sean Gorman delivered a hat trick for East, which improved to 6-1-0-1 overall and 3-1-0-1 in the SHSHL.

The best player on the ice however was wearing a Quakertown uniform. Austin Stoudt’s work in goal kept the Panthers (1-6, 0-3) in the game for two periods plus. The junior finished with 36 saves.

Among the people Stoudt impressed was veteran East coach Ken Latchum, who was impressed with Stoudt’s agility

“He’s a very good goalie,” Latchum said. “Until we started shooting low, you could tell how he spread eagles and moves side to side. He’s a very good goalie.”

Though the Panthers have won just once in seven starts, Stoudt has kept his team competitive many nights, despite facing an average of 48 shots a game.

“He was a rock tonight,” said Quakertown assistant coach Mark Pezzano. “He came up with several big saves that definitely kept us in the game.

Pezzano says that Stoudt’s experience and skill in goal has benefitted a young team that is building a foundation. “Like a franchise quarterback, the goaltender can be the position on which you build a team,” he said. “If you’re goaltender’s not doing well your generally doesn’t do well and Austin has been, like I said, a rock back there. Even in the games we’ve lost, he’s been a solid goaltender.:

The game was scoreless for nearly 12 minutes before Gorman beat Stoudt for the game’s first goal at the 11:45 mark of the opening period. It took the sophomore him just 58 seconds to make it a 2-0 game when he scored off a rebound of Jason Cuckey’s original shot. Aidan Schmidt gave the Patriots a three-goal lead with 1:39 left in a period that saw Stoudt make 21 saves.

Cluckey and Quakertown’s Eric Orzehoski traded goals in the second stanza before Gorman scored his 15^th goal of the season with 5:06 left in the game.

With some vital pieces missing from the lineup, Latchum had to do some mixing and matching.

“It was ‘Next man up,’” he said. Sometimes you’re going to play wing, sometimes you’re going to play center. So, it was just whoever was able to go and wasn’t tired.”

Quakertown 0 1 0

C.B. East 3 1 1—5

First-period goals: Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 11:45; Gorman (CBE) from Jasen Cluckey, 12:43; Aidan Schmidt (CBE) from Cluckey, 14:21.

Second-period goals: Cluckey (CBE) from Ian Tregor, 5:13 (pp); Eric Orzehoski (Q) unassisted, 8:44 (sh).

Third-period goal: Goman (CBE) unassisted, 10:54

Shots: Quakertown 20, C.B. East 41; Saves: Austin Stoudt (Q) 36, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 19.

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Hockey Happenings sat down with Eric Tye, the President of the Flyers Cup Committee, to discuss the 2020 Flyers Cup. The countdown is underway to the 41st edition of the tournament, which is scheduled to begin March 2.

Check out our podcast at www.buzzsprout.com/213400.

Central Bucks East 4, Pennridge 1

HATFIELD— Central Bucks East and Pennridge came into Friday night’s Suburban High School Hockey League matchup shorthanded. The Patriots were without leading scorer Sean Gorman who was serving a suspension. The Rams were minus goaltender Ryan Pico (3.43 GAA) who was absent.

It was East that earned the decision, 4-1 at Hatfield Ice to improve to 5-1-0-1 overall and 2-1-0-1 in SHSHL Class AA play. The Rams slipped to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in league play. It was their second loss in a 24-hour span; they dropped a 5-1 decision to Council Rock South on Wednesday.

Pennridge actually had a 36-31 edge in shots but junior Chris McIntyre was sharp in the East net.

“I think he’s the best in the league,” said Central Bucks East assistant coach Mike Capps. He works very hard at it. He keeps us in every game.”

The Patriots gave McIntyre some breathing room when Bogen Borodenko beat Pennridge netminder Jacob Gilbert at the 6:31 mark of the first period. Aiden Schmidt, Phil McIntryre, and Borodenko added goals in a span of 4:45 to give East a 4-0 lead with 6:17 left in the second session.

None of the goals were Gilbert’s fault. The freshman was making his first varsity appearance and more than acquitted himself well by stopping 27 shots.

“I thought he would play well,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “I didn’t know if (the setting) would be too big for him. They were legit goals, there were no softies.”

The Rams had two big opportunities to get back in the game. The first occurred with 1:18 left in the second period when the Patriots’ Connor Keiser drew a five-minute major penalty plus a game misconduct for a hit on Pennridge’s Dane Fichett. The Rams’ power play sputtered however and they never mounted a serious threat during the man advantage.

Pennridge got another chance at the 4:28 mark of the third period when the Patriots’ Max Ermigiotti received a major penalty for head contact plus a game misconduct. The Rams scored a goal during the subsequent power play when Jack Lowery found the net at the 6:25 mark but that was his team’s only serious chance during two extended power plays.

“With a lot of new guys, we really haven’t had a chance to work on that with a lot of the things we’ve had to do,” Montagna said, “I just told them, we’ve got to be better. For as well as we played, we just gave away opportunities there.”

C.B. East 1 3 0—4

Pennridge 0 0 1—1

First-period goal: Bogen Borodenko (CBE) from Matt Cipriano and Aiden Schmidt, 6:31.

Second-period goals: Schmidt (CBE) from Phil McIntyre (CBE) and Tyler Godown, 4:58; McIntyre (CBE) from Schmidt and Ian Treger, 7:37; Borodenko (CBE) from Schmidt and McIntyre, 9:43.

Third-period goal: Jack Lowery (P) from Conrad Frisch, 6:25 (pp).

Shots: Central Bucks East 31, Pennridge 36; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 35, Jacob Gilbert (P) 27

Elsewhere:

Holy Ghost Prep 2, St. Joseph’s Prep 1 OT—Brady Baesher scored in overtime to give the Firebirds the win over the Hawks at the Class of 1923 Arena. The two teams traded goals in the second period.

North Penn 4, Central Bucks East 3 OT

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK—North Penn and Central Bucks East made a bit of hockey history Wednesday night. The Knights and the Patriots engaged in the first regular-season overtime game in Suburban High School Hockey League history.

Ryan Cunningham scored with a slapshot from just off the left circle 2:08 into the five-minute overtime to give the Knights a 4-3 win. The goal came off a right-circle faceoff. Tyler Greenstein sent the puck across the ice to Cunningham, who rocketed the puck past Patriot goaltender Chris McIntyre.

Prior to Wednesday night the Knights (1-1, 1-0 in league play) had a bit of experience with three-on-three overtime.

“We did a scrimmage game with C.B. West,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, “and we played the last five minutes of that with the three-on-three. We got to get a little exposure to it. A lot of the kids have played travel hockey and they do it in travel hockey now.”

Cunningham’s goal came on a play that was executed as designed. “We work on specific plays like that,” the junior defenseman said. “For specific moments in overtime and on the power play and it happened to work out pretty well.”

Goals came fast and furious early on. Greenstein and Josh Kaufhold scored first-period goals for North Penn and East’s Sean Gorman scored in between. The three goals came in a span of just 48 seconds. Phil McIntyre tied the game for the Patriots just 23 seconds into the second stanza.

After that, the game turned into a goaltending dual between McIntyre and North Penn’s Nick Ebbbinghaus, both of whom were first rate. McIntyre finished with 45 saves.

Mike Capps filled in behind the Patriot bench for Ken Latchum, who was absent.

“(McIntyre) could be the best in in the league,” Capps said. He’s a young guy, only a junior. A very good player. We’re lucky to have him.”

With seven minutes left in the middle period the Patriots just missed taking the lead when Matt Cipriano’s blast from the top of the slot eluded Ebbinghaus but the referee on the play ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

Luke Van Why gave North Penn a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal 4:33 into the final period before the Patriots with his second goal of the game at the 9:36 mark.

After a one-sided loss to Holy Ghost Prep in their season opener, Vaitis said Wednesday’s win was a big step forward for the Knights. “It was very important for us,” he said. It was our first league game of the season. We only get to play these guys once. We played them last year to a real close game and we knew with a bunch of the guys coming back they were going to be a tough team.”

There would not have been a shootout had the teams played a full five minutes of overtime. The game would have been considered a tie.

North Penn 2 0 1 1—4

C.B. East 1 1 1 0—3

First-period goals: Tyler Greenstein (NP) from Josh Kaufhold, 8:50 (pp); Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 9:27; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein, 9:38.

Second-period goal: Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Bogden Borodenko, :23.

Third-period goals: Luke Van Why (NP) from Thomas Boyle, 4:33; Gorman (CBE) from Jasen Cluckey, 9:36 (sh).

Overtime goal: Ryan Cunningham (NP) from Greenstein and Van Why, 2:08.
Shots: North Penn 46, C.B. East 22; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 19, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 42

Pennridge 6 Central Bucks East 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge served notice Monday night that its ready for the postseason. The Rams were in firm form Monday night during a 6-0 win over Central Bucks East in the opening round of the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

Six different players scored goals for second-seeded Pennridge (12-2-3), which will face North Penn in Wednesday’s semifinals (7:00 at Hatfield Ice. The seventh-seeded Patriots (11-6-2) will be idle until the Flyers Cup tournament begins next week; they’ll face Haverford High in the opening round next Wednesday.

Michael Eissler gave Pennridge a 1-0 lead with 4:12 left in the opening period when he tipped in a rebound of Jeff Manto’s original shot, beating East netminder Chris Mcintyre.

The Rams broke the game open in the second period, scoring five times in a span of 6 minutes, 58 seconds. Bryson Egan, Michael Walker, Manto, Blake Stewart, and Evan Kehoe all scored goals, the last two of which came just 14 seconds apart.

The Rams are unbeaten in their last nine games (7-0-2) Walker, a junior, says he and his teammates are focused on their postseason goals. “We’re kind of looking at every game as just like the next step forward to get to where we want to be,” he said. “We want to win the SHSHL and then obviously go as far as we possibly can in the Flyers Cup. So, this is just a step on the way.”

Walker noted the Rams have found more scoring balance in recent weeks

“In the beginning of the season we were a little one sided,” he said. “The first line was getting a lot of points, but as the season went on, the chemistry got better. Everyone was scoring on every line.”

The Rams are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2008. Walker noted the team is benefitting from the abundance of experience on the roster, as well as the experience of playing together. “With the regular season, working as hard as we did, coming into the postseason and working with each other isn’t as difficult as it seems,” he said. “We just connect.”

The Patriots had trouble coping with Pennridge’s speed for most of the evening and managed just 10 shots on goal in the 48-minute game.

“For the last three or four games we haven’t been on our game,” said East coach Ken Latchum. “Hopefully the Flyers Cup is another new season and we’ll get it going there.”

C.B. East 0 0

Pennridge 1 5

First-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 11:48

Second-period goals: Bryson Egan (P) from Michael Walker, 1:43; Walker (P) from Eric Slater, 2:06; Jeff Manto (P) from Nick Eissler, 5:20; Blake Stewart (P) from Slater and Matt Guinette, 8:27 (pp); Evan Kehoe (P) from Tommy Prichard, 8:41

Shots: C.B. East 10, Pennridge 40; Saves; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 34, Luke Stranik (Pr) 10.

Central Bucks East 2, Abington 2

WILLOW GROVE—As is the case with most high-school hockey games, there were moments of brilliance mixed with a miscalculation or two. When the final buzzer sounded, Central Bucks East and Abington had skated to a 2-2 draw Thursday night at Wintersport Arena in front of an audience that had turned out in large part to celebrate the Galloping Ghosts’ Senior Night festivities.

Perry Carpenter, playing in his final true home game, tied the game for Abington with 7:14 left in the third period when he scored off a left-wing faceoff that he himself took. His laser-like shot beat East goaltender Chris McIntyre in a matchup of the two players who, it could be argued, were the best on the ice for their respective sides.

“Our defenseman shot it,” Carpenter said, “and it got tipped. One of my wingers shot it with his backhand and I just shot it, hoping to get a scoring opportunity.”

Jeff Carp had given the Patriots a 2-1 led when he beat Mason Large in the Abington net on a shot from the right circle at the 5:03 mark of the third frame.

Carpenter’s goal, his 17^th of the season, kept Abington’s Suburban High School Hockey League playoff hopes alive. The Galloping Ghosts now stand at 3-7-4 overall and 2-5-3 in the Class AA standings for seven points with one league game remaining.

The tie allowed the Patriots to pick up a point; they now carry a mark of 9-4-2 overall and 5-4-1 in league play and have what would appear to be a firm hold on a playoff spot.

The player with the biggest smile at the end of the night was likely McIntyre. The sophomore netminder hadn’t played in a game since before Christmas for medical reasons but returned to action Wednesday in a 5-1 won over Truman. He came into the week with a goals-against average of 2.60 and a league-best save percentage of .912 before recording 25 saves Thursday night.

“It feels great to be back on the ice,” he said. “I was on the ice all week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. It feels great. I enjoy it a lot.”

McIntyre said he only had to deal with a minimal amount of rust as he prepared for a return to game competition. “A little bit on Monday,” he said, “but that was it, and I kind of got back into it.”

Sean Gorman put East up 1-0 7:50 in to a first period that saw McIntyre make three superb saves. Ryan Gosselin tied the game for Abington 5:13 into the second frame.

The Galloping Ghosts lost senior defenseman Elijah Coston at the 8:53 mark of the second period after a tussle with East’s Max Ermigliotti earned him a double minor plus a misconduct and a game misconduct.

Large, who, along with Carpenter and Coston, was part of an eight-member senior class that was honored before the game, was as sharp as McIntyre, and finished with 26 saves.

Central Bucks East 1 0 1—2

Abington 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Sean Gorman (CBE) from Rob Kern and Shane West, 7:50.

Second-period goal: Ryan Gosselin (A) unassisted, 5:13 (pp).

Third-period goals: Jeff Carp (CBE) from Nick Locastro, 3:33; Perry Carpenter (A) unassisted, 8:46.

Shots: C.B. East 28, Abington 27; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 25, Mason Large (A) 26.

C.B. South Stops C.B. East

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK— As the clock counts down to the Suburban High School Hockey League’s annual holiday break, the upper-echelon teams are beginning to emerge.

Central Bucks South continues to be the measuring stick for the 12 teams in the SHSHL’s Class AA Division. But the Titans got all they wanted from Central Bucks East Wednesday night before prevailing 3-2 over the Patriots in an entertaining scrap at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Reis Braccio scored a goal and assisted on two others as South (6-2, 5-0 SHSHL) won its sixth straight. But the Patriots (5-2-1, 2-2) made a statement as well and served notice they are a team to be reckoned with.

“That’s what we just told them in there,” said East assistant coach Jim Stampler. “That was a good gut check after what happened to us last week (a 6-2 loss to Pennridge last Thursday).”

The Titans started out strong. Alex Glushek put in a rebound of D.J. Loverdi’s one-timer from the left point to put his team in from 2:19 into the first period. Ryan Gingras scored from the left point himself on a power play at 6:33 to make it 2-0 and South was seemingly in control.

12.19.18-CBSvsCBEDNK_0991 C.B. South’s Braccio looks to shoot against C.B. East Wednesday night. Connor Kelser is defending on the play; Chris McIntyre is the goaltender. South won the SHSHL game 4-2.

Photo: Dara N. King

But Sean Gorman scored a power-play goal of his own with 1:08 left in the period and it was a one-goal game the fact that The Patriots were outshout 11-2 in the first frame.

Braccio said he and his teammates might have had a loss of focus after their quick start. “There shouldn’t be,” he said, “but I guess we just got too comfortable and we just let our foot off the gas. Now, we’ve learned from that …not to take our foot off the gas pedal.”

South coach Shaun McGinty conceded his troops might have gotten caught up in their own success at the start. “We changed what we were doing or the kids started getting too confident too early,” said. “It was only 2-0. Yeah, we were outshooting them by quite a bit but I think the kids kind of got ahead of themselves.”

With 3:55 left in the second period the Patriots; arc Green was sent to the box for tripping. The Bucks scored off the ensuing faceoff with Braccio beating East goaltender Chris McIntyre.

But East responded almost immediately or, more specifically, Gorman did, forcing a turnover at his own blue line and going end to end on a breakaway. South netminder Oscar Levin made the initial save but Gorman put in the rebound with 1:07 left in the period.

East had the momentum at the state of the third period as well but midway through the final session, momentum shifted. McIntyre made some big saves for the Patriots to keep the margin at one goal before Matt Milanesi scored insurance goal for the Titans with 1:19 remaining. The sequence started seconds earlier when the Titans won a faceoff deep in their own zone to prevent East from lifting McIntyre for an extra skater.

The sophomore finished with 32 saves.

C.B. South 2 1 1—4

C.B. East 1 1 0—2

First-period goals: Alex Glushek (CBS) from D.J. Loverdi, 2:19; Ryan Gingras (CBS) from Reis Braccio, 6:33 (pp); Sean Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 14:52 (pp).

Second-period goals: Braccio (CBS) from Colin Abbonizio, 11:09 (pp); Gorman (CBE) unassisted, 14:53

Third-period goals: Matt Milanesi (CBS) from Braccio, 14:41.

Shots: C.B. South 36, C.B. East 14; Saves: Oscar Levin (CBS) 12, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 32.

Pennridge Downs Central Bucks East

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge and Central Bucks East tested themselves against each other Thursday night. It was the Rams who passed the test and left Hatfield Ice with a 6-2 win in a Suburban High School Hockey League encounter.

Eric Slater scored three goals for the Rams (4-1-1, 3-1 in SHSHL Class AA) but the story of the evening was his team’s ability to keep the Patriots under constant pressure.

Slater and Matt Guinette scored goals to give the Rams a 2-0 first period lead but the most interesting numbers on the scoreboard were the shot totals that read 20-0 in favor of Pennridge.

“Good defense started in our offensive zone,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “and with guys being in position where they can attack the puck and still be in good defensive positions if we do turn the puck over.

“That first period was as well as we’ve put together all year.

Ken Latchum, East’s veteran coach, said the pressure took a toll on his troops, who dropped their first decision of the season.. “They pressured us,” he said, “and their feet never stopped moving. They didn’t glide once.

“Those guys, even their third line, were just full of pressure. Those guys just motored and that’s what I want these guys to learn. You’ve got to motor.”

The Patriots (5-1-1, 2-1) didn’t get their first shot on goal until 29 seconds into the second period when they were on a power play. Slater gave the Rams a 3-0 lead 4:51 into the middle period by skating up the middle of the offensive zone and weaving his way through traffic.

“He’s lethal,” Montagna said. “You give him an inch, he’s lethal and you add that shot that his his offensive ability and it’s almost impossible to shut him down.”

Slater, who had two assists to go with his three goals, now has 16 goals and four assists in his team’s six games. He said he focuses on finding open ice. “I’ve always tried to,” he said. “It helps playing with teammates that open up so much space for me.”

Rob Kern solved Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick with 6:13 left in the middle session. The score stayed that way to the end of the period but Frankie Rota and Slater (while his team was shorthanded) scored third-period goals to make it a 5-1 game with 7:43 remaining in regulation.

East’s Nick Locastro and the Rams’ Conrad Fisch traded goals to finish the scoring.
The Rams had a 36-9 edge in shots.

C.B. East 0 1 1—2
Pennridge 2 1 3—6
First-period goals: Eric Slater (P) from Blake Stewart, 9:55; Matt Guinette (P) unassisted, 14:33.
Second-period goals: Slater (P) unassisted, 4:51; Rob Kern (CBE) from Nick Locastro and Sean Gorman, 9:47.
Third-period goals: Stewart (P) from Frankie Rota and Slater, 2:20; Slater (P) unassisted, 8:17 (sh); Locastro (CBE) from Phil McIntyre and Owen Connor, Conrad Fisch (P) from Slater.
Shots: C.B. East 9, Pennridge 36

Central Bucks East 6, Neshaminy 3

They’re doing it quietly, but the Central Bucks East Patriots are off to a solid start in the Suburban High School Hockey League. Freshman Sean Gorman scored two goals as East stayed unbeaten with a 6-3 win over Neshaminy Monday night at Revolution Ice Gardens.

The Patriots have won four straight after a season-opening tie and are 2-0 in the SHSHL Class 2A league standings
East coach Ken Latchum was elated at his team’s effort but was particularly enthused about his third line; Richard Kaczmarczyk (goal), Dan Tori (two assists), and Brendan Lynch (goal) combined for four points.

“The third line made me ecstatic,” Latchum said. “They were our best line. They played awesome”
The first period started with a shootout, a flurry of four goals, two each way, in a span of just 3:35. Robert Seewagen got things started for Neshaminy (2-1-1, 2-1 in the league) when he sped up the center of the ice and beat East goaltender Matt Oganowski with a shot from four strides inside the blue line just 63 seconds after the opening faceoff. Owen Connor answered for the Patriots from the high slot at 2:32. Seewagen scored his second goal on a power-play effort at 3:25 but Jason Cluckey tied the game for East just 15 seconds later.

The Patriots added two goals late in the period, from Kaczmarcyzk at 14:12 and Gorman on a two-on-one situation at 15:33. They extended their lead in the second frame on goals from Lynch at 5:20 and Gorman at 12:41.

Connor noted that he and his teammates did the little things well. “We played our positions really well,” he said. “We got the puck in deep and applied a lot of pressure.”

The Patriots were swarming all around Neshaminy goaltender Steven Glik. Neshaminy assistant coach Mike McColgan, filling in for the absent Matt DeMatteo, said his team didn’t give their netminder a lot of help, particularly in the first period. “We didn’t knock guys down in front of the net,” he said. “We just kind of let them have a free hand. The goaltender had three shots he didn’t really see, three goals.

“We had a lack of energy on our forecheck. It really wasn’t buzzing at all for us tonight.”

Brett Nelson scored the goal of the game for Neshaminy at the 9:07 mark of the third period.

The Patriots had a 39-23 advantage in shots. Both goaltenders were sharp after the run-and-gun first period. Oganoswski finished with 20 saves, including a sensational stop on Neshaminy’s Joey DeMatteo in the third period while Glik, one of the premier netminders in the area, finished with 33 saves.

Latchum was pleased to get a quality effort from his entire lineup. “You need three lines to play,” he said. You want to win, you need three lines.”

By Rick Woelfel

Neshaminy 2 0 1—3

C.B. East 4 2 0—6

First-period goals: Robbie Seewagen (N) unassisted, 1:03; Owen Connor (CBE) unassisted, 2:32; Seewagen (N) from Joseph DeMatteo, 3:25 (pp); Jason Cluckey (CBE) unassisted, 3:40; Richard Kaczmarczyk (CBE) from Nick Locastro and Dan Tori, 14:12; Sean Gorman (CBE) from Connor Kelser and Rob Kern, 15:33.

Second-period goals: Brendan Lynch (CBE) from Tori and Chris Mangiacapre, 5:20; Gorman (CBE) from Kern and Cluckey, 12:41.

Third-period goal: Brett Nelson (N) from Josh Haines, 9:07.

Shots: Neshaminy 23, C.B. East 39; Saves, Steven Glik (N) 33, Matt Oganowski (CBE) 20.

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