North Penn 6 C.B. South 3

Big games are often decided when winning teams and/or big-time players step up. Such was the case Thursday night as Sam Norton and his North Penn teammates came up big when the moment demanded it.

North Penn scored three straight goals over the second half of the second period to separate themselves from Central Bucks South and went on to a 6-3 win over the Titans in the SHSHL National Division championship game at Hatfield Ice. It was the 21st win in 22 starts this season for the top-seeded Knights, who claimed a SHSHL title for the fourth time in team history. They will be the top seed for the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face Shawnee in the opening round Tuesday night.

For now, the defending Cup and state champions will celebrate with another trophy.

“A win like that is always enjoyable,” Sam Norton said. “It’s a great experience. I’m going to remember it for a while.”

The third-seeded Titans (16-6) struck first when Ryan Montagna finished off a two-on-one during a South power play just 89 seconds into the opening period. It gave his team the lead but North Penn goaltender Andy Norton was unfazed.

“I try to focus on what’s coming next,” he said, “the next shot, I just put it behind me. I really trust my team. I trust they are going to put another one in the net.”

Which Sam Norton did two-and-a-half minutes later to tie the game. Norton followed with his second goal of the night not quite threo minutes after that and Declan Leahy made it a 3-1 game with 3:08 left in the first period.

South however, wasn’t going anywhere. Ryan Frey found the back of the net 3:05 into the second frame and Joey Slobodian tied the game at the 8:30 mark, making the second half of regulation theoretically a new game.

It was time for Sam Norton to step up once more. Twenty-eight seconds after Slobodian’s game-tying effort, Norton completed a hat trick to put North Penn in front for good. Daniel Cabrales followed with a goal with 6:44 left in regulation and Nolan Shingle completed the scoring for the night with exactly five minutes remaining.

“It wasn’t our greatest {game},” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We had some mistakes but we capitalized on some as well. And, when you get to this point in the season and you’re playing a team like that, it’s not going to be perfect.

“I thought the guys worked hard. Even when they came back to tie it at three, nobody panicked. We’ve been in situations like this before and we just keep working through it.”

The Titans worked hard as well against an opponent that leaves an opponent little margin for error.

“We’re proud of our team,” said South coach Josh Sklar. “They battled to the end. You’ve got the two top teams. In the league going at it and sometimes the bounces just don’t go your way.”

Sklar pointed out that competing against the Knights requires going full bore for three full periods.

“Every shift means something,” he said. “Every shift is important. We’re a deep team, but we battled. We tried, we did our best.

• The Titans are seeded sixth in the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face Downingtown East Tuesday night in the first round…. North Penn’s previous SHSHL titles came in 2002, ‘09, and ‘14. The Titans are seven-time champions, their last coming in 2018.

C.B. South 1 2 0—3

North Penn 3 3 0—6

First-period goals: Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Dom Gibson, 1:29 (pp); Samuel Norton (NP) unassisted, 4:01; Norton (NP) unassisted, 6:54; Declan Leahy (NP) from Ismael Cabrales, 12:52

Third-period goals: Ryan Frey (CBS) unassisted, 3;05; Joey Slobodian (CBS) unassisted, 8:30; Norton (NP) unassisted, 8:58; Daniel Cabrales (NP) from Landon Hostetter, 10:16; Nolan Shingle (NP) from I. Cabrales, 12:00

Shots: C.B. South 44, North Penn 22; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 38, Andy Norton (NP) 19

C.B. South 2 C.R. South 0

They set the pace early and didn’t let up.

Central Bucks South defeated three-time SHSHL champion Council Rock South, 2-0, in a National Division semifinal on Wednesday night at Grundy Arena.

Jamison Crouch put the Titans on the board just 36 seconds into the game, with assists from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna.

It would prove to be the only goal the Titans needed, but Ryan Frey added an insurance goal 10 minutes later, also assisted by Slobodrian.

“That first goal really set the tone for us,” said Frey, a senior. “We knew we were going to get the first goal, it was just a matter of how. To get it on the first shift was huge. That gave us the momentum and it stuck with us the whole game.

“I thought our D zone was lot better than it usually is. We got pucks out when we needed to. We got traffic in front of their goalie early, that’s how we scored those two goals and overall I thought we played a very good game.”

The teams split in the regular season.

“We knew this was going to be a good game,” Frey said. “We knew we had to get on their goalie early and we did and that’s how we were able to win this one.

“I honestly didn’t think that lead was going to hold up. I thought it was going to be one of those games were we scored, then they scored and back and forth. I’m so glad we won.”

The Golden Hawks pulled goaltender Trey Prozzillo with 2:28 to go in the third period in a last-ditch effort to score, but were thwarted by CB South’s defense.

CB South advances to Thursday night’s final against top seed North Penn, an 11-1 winner over Pennsbury in the other semifinal.

“Winning this game gives us so much confidence,” Frey said. “We have three big wins coming into it. We have momentum and we’re going to go into that game with a lot of energy and hopefully pull out a nice win.”

CB South’s last league title was in 2018.

“It’s always exciting to be playing for a league title,” said CB South goaltender Nathan Napolitano, a junior. “Playing for a championship is always fun.”

The Titans have lost twice to the Knights this season.

“We want to play North Penn again,” Napolitano said. “We gave them two of our not-best efforts so we play them well, and we’ll see what happens.”

The early lead gave him confidence in the team.

“A lead is always easier than trying to keep your team in it,” he said. “When they got the first one, my job got easier.”

CB South 2 0 0—2

CR South 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Jamison Crouch (CBS) from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna, 0:36; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian, 10:32

Shots: CB South 27, CR South 27; Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 27, Trey Petrillo (CRS) 25

C.B. South 2 C.B. East 1

Ryan Frey’s goal with six minutes left in the third period gave Central Bucks South a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Central Bucks Easy Monday night in the opening round of the SHSHL National Division playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Titans (15-5) will face second seed Council Rock South in a semifinal game on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Patriots (6-12-1) will be idle until next week when they will face Conestoga in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup.

It was East who struck first Monday night. Ethan Cenci’s goal 4:43 into the second period gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead. Joey Slobodrian tied the game for South 2:44 into the final period.

Frey’s game winner came off assists from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino.

Nathan Napoliano got the win in goal, making 17 saves. Cameron Young game up big in goal for the Patriots, making 46 saves.

“The team stayed the course,” said South coach Josh Sklar. “Everyone bought into the system and kept pushing.

“We ran into a hot goalie and we just needed to keep shooting and traffic in front.”

Sklar told his players to take a back-to-basics approach.

“We told them to simplify their game,” he said, “and make the smart, easy decision with the puck”

• The Titans are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2018 when they won their last of four straight.

Central Bucks East 0 1 0—1

Central Bucks South 0 0 2—2

Second-period goal: Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Samuel Gottesman and Tyson Cowan, 4:43

Third-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Ryan Frey and John Lord, 2:44; Frey (CBS) from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino 11:00

Shots: C.B. East 18, C.B. South 48; Saves: Cameron Young (CBE) 46, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 17

The Hockey Happenings podcast previewing the Flyers Cup tournament is available HERE

Central Bucks South 4 Pennridge 3

Two teams in transaction crossed paths at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Pennridge is in the midst of defining the roles of characters in this season’s narrative while Central Bucks South took the ice with holes in its lineup.

In the end, it was the Titans who prevailed 4-3 over a Ram team that refused to go away, C.B. South improved to 3-1 on the season, 3-0 in SHSHL National; its only loss has been to La Salle.

Thursday’s win did not come easy. The Titans were without veterans Jamison Crouch and Damien Hauck who were serving suspensions in the wake of an altercation in Wednesday’s win over Neshaminy. Coach Josh Sklar shuffled his deck as a result.

{The player’ absence} definitely affected us,” he said. “We had a short bench. Everybody’s got to pick up the leash and everybody’s got to do their jobs.”

And so they did. Senior Joey Slobodrian led by example, assisting on the first goal of the night and scoring the second.

“It definitely affected our defense,” he said. “We were out a defenseman and out a forward. But, we got through it. We had two {defensive pairs) so we were kind of tired in the back end.”

Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi have South a 1-0 lead with 1:55 left in the opening period after Ryan Montagna and Slobodrian sent him down the middle of the ice.

Slobodrian made it 2-0 9;18 into the second frame off a scramble in front during a power play that came about when the Rams’ Justin Dinsmore was flagged for roughing.

Down two goals, the Rams (1-1) did not buckle. Landon Bishop went end to end and solved Titan goaltender Nate Neapolitan to make it a 2-1 game with 6:42 left in the period but Owen Fry answered for the Titans 57 seconds later.

When Grant Boyne made it a 4-1 game 75 seconds into the final period the Tirana’s appeared to have things well in hand. But Bishop scored his second goal of the game 2:46 into the period and James Rush made 4-3 with 8:06 still left forcing the titans to battle hard to the finish.

“We kind of let up at the end of the game,” Slobodrian said. Hopefully we’ll do better next game.”

Sklar praised his troops for stepping up and filling holes when needed.

“Playing short, the guys and the girls on the team did good,” he said. “Everyone picked up the slack.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna left the rink feeling satisfied as well.

“I told them I’m really proud of them,” he said. “I have a lot of guys new to varsity hockey. When they got down 4-1 they could have rolled over {but} they just kept coming. They played a very smart, disciplined game.

“They’re going to get better and better.”

C.B. South 1 2 1—4

Pennridge 0 1 2—3

First-period goal: Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi (CBS) from Ryan Montagna and Joey Slobodrian, 15:05

Second-period goals: Slobodrian (CBS) from Dominic Gibson and Ryan Frey, 9:18 (pp); Landon Bishop (P) from Justin Dinsmore and James Rush, 10:18; Owen Frey (CBS) from Gibson, 11:15

Third-period goals: Grant Boyne (CBS) unassisted, 1:15; Bishop (P) from Andrew Engle and Ryan Burke, 2:26; Rush (P) from Colby Booth, 8:54

Shots: C.B. South 36, Pennridge 26; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 23, Andrew Slutsky (P) 32

New Faces Coming to SHSHL as a Familiar Face Returns

Several Suburban Hugh School Hockey League teams will have new faces behind their benches when the 2025-26 season kicks off next month and a familiar face will be returning.

That familiar face is Jeff Montagna, who will be back for his eighth season at Pennridge; he had previously announced his resignation.

Josh Sklar, a former player and assistant coach at Central Bucks South, is taking over for Shuan McGinty, who has stepped down after nine seasons.

Frank Blust, an assistant to Montagna at the club level, will assume command of the program at Central Bucks West, replacing Dave Baun, who is retiring after 20 seasons in charge.

Ryan Uchniat, who directed Souderton for five seasons for five years before stepping away last year, is returning this season, replacing Scott Ryon.

There is one change in the league’s alignment this coming season. Council Rick North will not be part of the National Division. the Indians have formed a combined team with New Hope-Solebury that will compete in the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League.

SHSHL Playoff Update for 2-26-25

National Division Semifinals

At Hatfield Ice

8:00 North Penn (17-2)

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Players to watch: Samuel Norton 30 goals, 27 assists, 57 points; Cole Pluck 32-24-56; Nolan Shingle 20-16-36; Aidan Quigley 1.92 GAA, .924 save percentage; Andrew Norton 2.28 GAA, .901 save percentage

Central Bucks South (16-5)

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Players to watch: Sean Cutter 18 goals, 19 assists, 37 points; Jeff Kvecher 13-22-35; Joey Slobodrian 17-15-32; Dom Gibson 17-15-32 Jake Matkowski 3.75 GAA, .838 save percentage; Nate Napolitano 3.53, .866

Notes: The teams split two regular-season meetings. South won 6-5 on Thanksgiving Eve, November 27, and North Penn prevailed 4-2 on November 11.

The winner will play North Penn or Central Bucks South for the division title on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host.

North Penn is seeded second for the upcoming Class AA Flyers Cup. South is seeded fifth.

At Grundy Arena

7:30 Council Rock South (18-2)

Coach: Joe Houk

Players to watch: Jake Weiner 41 goal, 19 assists, 60 points; Jeremy Rayher 29-30-59; Jordan Sarne 18-23-41; Trey Prozzillo 2.98 GAA, .880 save percentage

Pennridge (13-7)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Players to watch Shane Dachowski 35 goals, 26 assists, 61 points; James Rush 25-26-51; Jacob Winton 2.50 GAA, .921 save percentage

Notes: Council Rock South won both regular-season meetings, 6-5 on January 8 and 5-2 on February 13 Tonight’s winner plays North Penn or Central Bucks South for the division championship on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host. South is seeded first for the upcoming Class AA Flyers Cup. Pennridge is seeded seventh.

American Division Semifinal

At Hatfield Ice

6:10 (2) Hatboro-Horsham vs (3) Springfield-Montco

Hatboro-Horsham (9-8, 9-7 in the American Division)

Coach: Shane Smith

Players to watch: Vince Graziani 22 goals, 25 assists, 47 points; Nate Nemchinov 27-28-45; Eric Miller 4.97 GAA, .800 save percentage

Springfield (8-8 overall and in the division)

Coach: Don Quinn

Players to watch: Owen Quinn 11 goals, 22 assists, 33 points; Grayson Quinn 14-9-23; Liam Baskin 3.02 GAA, .886 save percentage

Notes: Hatboro-Horsham won three of four regular-season meetings between the two teams. Wednesday’s winner faces top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh for the division Thursday at Hatfield Ice (6:00 start).

Hatboro-Horsham will be the 14^th seed in the upcoming Class A Flyers Cup regardless of how they fare Wednesday or Thursday. Springfield was not selected for the Flyers Cup.

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C.B. South 8 Pennsbury 1

By Amanda Graham

The third-seeded Central Bucks South Titans faced the sixth-seeded Pennsbury Falcons in a SHSHL National Division first-round game Monday night at Hatfield Ice. The Titans came out on top with an 8-1 decision; recording their third consecutive victory over the Falcons.

Jeffrey Kvecher netted the game-winner for South just under two minutes into the second period.

Offense was slow moving to start with the Titans holding a 2-1 shot advantage through the first four minutes. The momentum continued to swing toward the Titans when Brennan Thierolf and AlexCannon found Logan Hood for the goal to take an early lead, 1-0.

A five-minute scoring drought ensued before Pennsbury’s Chris Sarver collected the puck mid-ice and brought it down the right for the shot into the far left of the net to tie the game

Penalty trouble to start the second period found Francis Delucia in the box for the Falcons giving CB South their first power play opportunity. Just three seconds into the advantage Joey Slobodrian and Ryan Frey got the puck to Kvecher for the game-winning power play goal

South found itself in the penalty box twice over a five-minute span in the second period, killing both penalties with ease. The Titans gave up just a single shot to the Falcons over the first two-minute spurt then went on to fire three shots of their own at goalkeeper Brendan Milliken during the second penalty kill.

“This time of year, five-on-five is huge, but special teams and defense is going to win and ultimately it comes down to goaltending,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “Any team with a strong goaltender and special teams, if you’re getting power play opportunities you need to and want to capitalize, but when you’re on the kill is key. We did well tonight and kept them to the perimeter, so I give it up to the boys and they’re doing their job.”

The Titans put up two more unanswered goals through the final six minutes of the period to take a 4-1 lead. Theirolf found the net first thanks to the help of Kvecher to make it a 3-1 game with 5:52 on the clock. As time wound down in the period, Keith Waldron found Cutter from behind the net to cushion the Titans lead by three at 4-1.

South came into the final period hungry for more wasting nearly no time at all before netting their next goal. Frey collected the puck immediately off the face off and brought it down ice swiftly for the unassisted goal just five seconds into play. Nearly three minutes later the Titans struck again this time with Thierolf finding the stick of Jack Stepp to make it a five-goal game, 6-1.

Too many players on the ice for the Titans put the Falcons up a man for another two-minutes, but once again the special teams unit and goalkeeper shined preventing any attempt at a comeback. Dominic Gibson saw his time to shine with 8:07 on the clock. He collected the loose puck off the initial blocked shot for the unassisted rocket into the back of the net making it a 7-1 game.13 Cutter finished off the scoring for CB South collecting his second goal of the game thanks to the help of #46 Frey making the final score 8-1.

“{Pennsbury} is well coached, and they have some higher level players and their goalie is a good goaltender,” McGinty said. “They’re a scary team for sure. I always worry about ourselves and want to keep within our systems. We jumped up early and they tied it quickly. It’s playoffs and we call it second season.

“So, first game of the second season guys are going to be nervous so you definitely get those nerves out, but as we started to settle in we got our shots on net. Overall it was a good team win with a lot of scoring tonight. We got Nathan [Napolitano] in net, so it was good to get him some shots. Hats off to Pennsbury they’re a good team,” said head coach McGinty.

The Titans now look ahead to their next opponent in the playoffs facing nearby foe North Penn at Hatfield Ice this Wednesday.

“It will be our third game against them, we won the first one in overtime and lost the second 4-2. It’s a great rivalry,” McGinty said. “We do a Thanksgiving game with them. It couldn’t be better for the kids. This is both of our home rinks. We’re all looking forward to it and all these guys know each other, so it’s a good thing for high school hockey,” stated McGinty.

First Period: Logan Hood (CBS from Brennan Thierolf and Alexander Cannon, 12:12; Christopher Sarver (P) unassisted, 07:24

Second Period: Jeffrey Kvecher (CBS) from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Frey, 15:08 (pp); Brennan Thierolf (CBS) from Jeffrey Kvecher, 05:52; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Keith Waldron, 00:31

Third Period: Ryan Frey (CBS) unassisted, 16:55; Jake Stepp (CBS) from Brennan Thierolf, 13:25; Dominic Gibson (CBS) unassisted, 08:07; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Ryan Frey, 03:55

Shots: Pennsbury 20, CB South 33; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 25, Nate Napolitano (CBS) 19

SHSHL Playoffs Kick Off Monday

The SHSHL playoffs kick off Monday night with two national Division first-round games. Council Rock South, which has a bye into the semifinals, is the two-time defending National Division champion.

Pennridge enters the postseason as the defending Class AA Flyers Cup champion and state champion, having claimed those distinctions twice in the last three seasons. The Rams last won the SHSHL title in 2022. C.B. East’s last title cane in 2011

Central Bucks South’s last SHSHL National title came in 2018 when the Titans completed a run of four consecutive league titles, six in seven seasons, and seven in nine seasons. Pennsbury, which won the Class AA Flyers Cup title in 2023 won the SHSHL National title in 2021.

North Penn last won an SHSHL title in 2014.

Pennridge (12-7, 11-7 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Players to watch Shane Dachowski 32 goals, 25 assists, 57 points; James Rush 24-24-48; Jacob Winton 2.58 GAA, .918 sae percentage

Central Bucks East (10-8-1, 10-7-1 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Mitchell

Players to watch: Alex Wilson 14 goals, 6 assists, 20 points; Jaden Young 10-6-16; Cole Breen 4.06 GAA, .875 save percentage

The winner will play top-seeded Council Rock South on Wednesday in the semifinals

Central Bucks South (15-5, 15-3 in National Division)

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Players to watch: Sean Cutter 16 goals, 19 assists, 35 points; Jeff Kvecher 12-21-33; Jake Matkowski 3.75 GAA, .838 save percentage; Nate Napolitano 3.81, .859

Pennsbury (7-12, 6-12 in National Division)

Coach: Ryan Daley

Players to watch: Chris Sarver 11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points; Shane Hicks 14-17-31; Brendan Milliken 5.71 GAA, .810 save percentage.

The winner will play second-seeded North Penn on Wednesday in the semifinals

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C.B. South 9 Pennsbury 2

Shoot early and shoot often. That’s been a winning formula for Central Bucks South for some time now and that was the case once more on Thursday night. The Titans tallied 52 shots on goal and nine found their intended target in a 9-2 win over Pennsbury at Hatfield Ice Arena.

“That’s classic C.B. South hockey said assistant coach Josh Sklar. “Put pucks in deep. Go get them, put pucks on net. Go to work. Pressure them all game long.”

Joey Slobodrian found the back of the net twice and seven other players scored one goal each to enable the Titans (12-6, 12-3 in the division) to move into third place in the division standings. The result assures they will be seeded no lower than fourth for the upcoming National Division playoffs.

Senior Ryan Frey assisted on Slobodrian’s game-opening goal 6:23 into the first period before scoring a goal of his own just over five minutes later.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” Frey said, “because we might see {Pennsbury} in the playoffs so getting off to a fast start just shows them we’re the better team.”

Ryan Montagna extended South’s lead to 3-0 before the first period ended.

Shane Gleisner got the Falcons (6-11, 6-10 in the division) on the scoreboard five minutes into the second frame but Slobodrian and Dominic Gibson scored goals 52 seconds apart to assert the Titans’ hold on the proceedings. Jacob Sarver’s goal made it 5-2 with 5:43 still to go in the period but the Falcons’ hopes were dashed when Keith Waldron, Jake Stepp, Jeff Kvecher, and Logan Hood all scored for South.

Both teams lost a player when South’s Sean Cutter and Pennsbury’s Chris Sarver got into a scrap with 10:41 remaining in regulation. Cutter drew a double minor for roughing plus a game misconduct for accumulating four penalties during the game. Sarver was accessed a major penalty for fighting plus am automatic game misconduct.

Both players will serve one-game suspensions but the loss of Sarver, one of the Falcons’ top scorers, will be particularly troublesome when Pennsbury, who is trying to hold on to the division’s final playoff spot, faces division leader North Penn on Wednesday.

“It was not our night,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We played a very poor game in our D-zone and got behind the ball too quick.

“The first three goals were ‘Third guy high’ unmarked That’s simple hockey, you really shouldn’t make the same mistake three times.

“It was not our best. It was a game we would have loved to win. But they executed their game plan and we didn’t.”

Ice chips—Five of the six division playoff qualifiers have been determined. North Penn, Council Rock South, Central Bucks South, Pennridge, and Central Bucks East have all qualified, although seedings have not been finalized. Pennsbury has a three-point edge over Neshaminy for the sixth and final spot. The Falcons and ‘Skins each have two games remaining.

Pennsbury 0 2 0

C.B. South 3 2 4—9

First-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Sean Cutter and Ryan Frey, 6:23; Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian and Alex Cannon, 11:34; Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher and Keith Waldron, 15:17

Second-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver, 5:00; Slobodrian (CBS) from Cutter, 7:54; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Logan Hood, 8:46; Jacob Sarver (P) from Logan Weed, 11:17

Third-period goals: Waldron (CBS) from Kvecher and Braxton Lord, 4:42; Jake Stepp (CBS) from Kvecher, 10:56 (pp); Kvecher (CBS) from Peter Herring, 14:27; Hood (CBS) from Stepp 15:39

Shots: Pennsbury 20, C.B. South 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 43, Ewan McMenemy (CBS) 18

C.R. South 9 C.B. South 7

By Karen Sangillo

Council Rock South scored early and often, and it was a good thing for them.

The Golden Hawks struggled to find the net later in the game and escaped with a 9-7 victory over Central Bucks South in Wednesday’s matchup at Grundy Arena.

CR South got out of the gate quickly, scoring three consecutive goals by Jake Weiner, Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley before the Titans’ Jeffrey Kvecher found the cage for their only goal of the period. Rayher and Weiner added one more apiece to give the Golden Hawks a 5-1 advantage at the end of the first.

It looked like a comfortable lead, but it wasn’t. CB South scored four unanswered goals in four and a half minutes to tie it up in the second frame. Peter Herring (on a power play), Sean Cutter, Dominic Gibson and Cutter were the goal scorers for the Titans, whose defense stymied the Golden Hawks for much of the second period.

Weiner finally broke the deadlock with a goal for CR South, and Jordan Sarne added another on a power play to give the Golden Hawks a 7-5 lead after two periods.

Both teams took a lot of shots on goal in the third period, with CR South taking 17 of its 45 and CB South 12 of its 35 in that frame. Both teams struck twice. CR South’s Weiner scored the first goal of the period while the Golden Hawks were shorthanded and Mosley had the last, while CB South’s Ryan Frey scored back-to-back goals in between the two, the first of which was on a power play.

“This was probably the hardest game we’ve played all year,” said Jonah Weston, a senior for CR South. “We got a big lead but then they came back and tied it. When that happened, I knew we’d come back and start playing our game and as soon as the third period started we were right back in there.

“This is definitely a very satisfying win.”

CR South won the first meeting of the year between the two 6-0, on Nov. 14.

“We definitely did not expect that second period,” said Mosley, a senior. “I think we got a little complacent, but we got right back in it and played hard.

“Even when it was tied, we absolutely thought that we were going to win. It was definitely nerve-wracking, though.

“This was the closest game we’ve had all year and definitely a tough one. This was a lesson learned for us. We need to stick to what we do best.”

The Golden Hawks remain undefeated at 14-0 in SHSHL National Division play, They are 15-1 overall

“We think about being undefeated to build on our confidence, but I think that we really want to just stick to the basics and do what we do to get those wins,” Mosley said.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Titans (11-3 in the division, 11-5 overall).

“We started off really slow, but I’m proud of how we came back and battled,” said Cutter, a senior captain for the Titans. “They had a big lead after the first period and I think we had a reality check. The second period we knew what we had to do. We had to play simple hockey and it worked for us.

“When we tied it up (the game was 5-5 in the second period) we had a lot of energy and we were going strong but then I think we fell off what we were working on and that was the end.

“This one hurts a little more than the last time they beat us because we this time we battled back and then we gave it away again. When you play a good team like this, mistakes kill you and that’s what happened to us.

“We made it a real game this time and scoring seven goals against the top team in the league shows what we can do.”

Central Bucks South 1 4 2—7

Council Rock South 5 2 2—9

First-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jagger Smith and Jonah Weston, 1:50; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Jackson Mosley, 6:18; Jackson Mosley (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 6:37; Jeffrey Kvecher (CBS), unassisted, 10:05; Jeremy Rayher (CRS), unassisted, 11:01; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley, 13:54

Second-period goal: Peter Herring (CBS), unassisted, 1:32; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Ryan Frey and Dominic Gibson, 3:18; Dominic Gibson (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 4:11; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Joseph Silobodrian and Jamison Crouch, 5:57; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jake Maurer, 12:39; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher and Jackson Mosley, 13:44

Third-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jonah Weston, 4:06; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 5:59; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 9:15; Jackson Mosley (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 12:49

Shots: Central Bucks South 35, Council Rock South 45; Saves: Jake Matkowski (CBS) 9, Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 38