Tag: Chase Hannon

La Salle 7 Peters Township 3

La Salle got contributions from all hands Saturday afternoon. The result was a state championship. Seven different players scored goals in the course of a 7-3 win over Peter Township in the Class AAA Pennsylvania Cup championship game at the Robert Morris University Sports Center outside of Pittsburgh.

The win gave the Explorers (16-9-2) their seventh state title, their first since 2019.

“It was a great team effort,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner.

The Explorers broke the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period.

Charlie Kennedy gave La Salle a 1-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first period when he put in a rebound of his own shot from the right point.

Will Tomko tied the game for the Indians early in the second period off an offensive left-circle faceoff.

But La Salle dominated the remainder of the period. Julian Tarsi, Evan Golato, Chase Hannon, and Ryan Desmond scored goals to give the Explorers a 5-1 lead at period’s end.

Peters Township (18-4-1) which came into the game as the defending state champion, drew closer with a pair of goals that made it a 5-3 game with 11:02 still left in regulation but Michael Zarzycki extended La Salle’s lead at the 7:39 mark.

Max Monzo finished the scoring with an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining.

““The boys truly bought in and gave one of their best performances of the season,” Muehlbronner said. “Our senior leadership this season was outstanding.”

Ice chips—La Salle’s previous state titles came in 1998, 2008-09, 2012, 2016, and 2019.

La Salle 2 Holy Ghost Prep 1 OT

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Two hockey teams lifted their games and their sport into the clouds Tuesday night, and brought a full house at Hatfield Ice along for the ride. It was La Salle that emerged victorious, 2-1 in overtime over Holy Ghost Prep in the Class AAA Flyers Cup championship game.

Chase Hannon scored the winning goal 6:19 into overtime to give the top-seeded Explorers (15-9-2) their first Flyers Cup title since 2019 and their 12thoverall. They will face defending champion Peters Township for the Class AAA state title on Saturday in Pittsburgh.

The second-seeded Firebirds finished their season at 18-8. Tuesday’s game brought down the curtain on the career of Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside, who announced his retirement earlier this season

Hannon, a senior, scored both of his team’s goals.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “I lost a Flyers Cup my sophomore year (to Malvern Prep) in overtime, so, to win in overtime was great redemption.”

There was little to choose between the Explorers and the Firebirds through 51 minutes of regulation hockey and six minutes of overtime. La Salle’s Aries Carangi and Holy Ghost Prep’s Colin Mudrick were in top form in their respective nets. Mudrick denied La Salle’s James Carpenter on a backhander from close range early in the second period; it may have been the best save of the net by either goaltender.

John Seravalli gave the Firebirds a 1-0 lead 3:23 into the second period on a shot that came directly off an offensive right-circle faceoff. Hannon answered at the 11:49 mark after recovering a loose puck in the offensive zone.

But both goaltenders were sharp and knew their opposite number was as well. The two netminders embraced on the ice following the game.

Carangi, a senior was gratified he was able to play a part in his team’s win. He wound up winning the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

“My sophomore year, I was a part of that team when we lost in overtime,” he said. “I was out with an injury and it felt like I couldn’t help my team at all.

“So, it felt really good to be out there, and do my job out for the guys and help them get this win today.”

Hannon’s winning goal came on a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that rocketed past Mudrick under the crossbar. He sald he and his teammates were confident going into overtime.

“The mindset was ‘Score a goal,’” he said. “And win. If anyone on our team did it, we were happy about it. It didn’t matter who if we got the job done.”

And it was the Explorers who celebrated at evening’s end, while Whiteside reflected on his team’s effort.

“It’s one of the best games I’ve ever been involved with as a coach,” he said. “Both teams played really well. I thought either team could have won it. I thought our boys responded well and I’m just really proud of the effort our kids gave. 

“I just wish they had a better result, but it was a tremendous high-school hockey game.”

Ice chips: Besides Carangi, the All-Tournament team included Hannon and Thomas Doucet from La Salle and Seravalli, Brady Baehser, and Ciaran Chambers from Holy Ghost Prep.

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 0 0—1

La Salle 0 1 0 1—2

Second-period goals: John Seravalli (HGP) from Shaun Moore, 3:23; Chase Hannon (L) unassisted, 11:49

Overtime goal: Hannon (L) from Evan Golato and Ryan Desmond 6:19

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 35, La Salle 35; Saves; Colin Mudrick (HGP) 33, Aries Carangi (L) 34

La Salle 7 Holy Ghost Prep 3

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— La Salle’s big guns came up big when it mattered most. The line of Chase Hannon, Evan Golato ands Ryan Desmond combined for four goals and five assists as the Explorers bested Holy Ghost Prep 7-3 Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference’s Founders Cup Championship Game in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice.

The win gives the Explorers (13-9-2) their third outright championship in the APAC’s five-year history; they shared a fourth.

La Salle will be the top seed in the Class AAA bracket of the Flyers Cup tournament, which begins next week. The Explorers have a bye  into the semifinals and will face either Malvern Prep or Father Judge the week of March 13.

Hannon spearheaded his team’s effort on Wednesday  by scoring three goals. Golato added a goal and an assist while Desmond contributed four assists.

Hannon said the key to the win was taking care for the basics.

“Our game plan was to get pucks deep and get on them,” he said. “I think we did that, and it clearly worked for us.”

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner considered Wednesday’s game his team’s best start-to finish effort of the season.

“I think we had really good focus,” he said. “The guys really played hard, they came to play tonight.”

La Salle capitalized on a Firebird turnover to score the game’s first goal. Chase Hannon corralled the lose puck in the neutral zone, found space and weaved his way trough three opponents to beat Jack Unger with a forehander from the leading edge of the left circle 4:12 into the opening session.

The Firebirds drew even when the Explorers’ Evan Golato (roughing) and Ryan Desmond (tripping) drew back-to back penalties, giving Holy Ghost Prep a two-man advantage for 46 seconds. It took Landon Stout just 14 seconds to score the tying goal off a rebound of Brady Baehser’s original shot at the 9:20 mark.

The second period produced an abundance of offensive fireworks and a total of seven goals, five of them from the Explorers.

Evan Golato put La Salle in from just five seconds into the period with a shot from the left point. Hannon scored his second goal of the game during a power play at 3:57.

 Baehser answered for the Firebirds with a power-play goal of his own at 5:37 but Hannon completed his hat trick just 17 seconds later. John Seravalli’s goal cut the Explorer lead to 4-3 with 3:27 left in the period but Will Gregorio and Charlie Kennedy scored for La Salle before the period ended.

Evan Mudrick replaced Unger in the Firebird net following Kennedy’s goal.

Tim Whitock scored the only goal of the third period at the 8:10 mark. He cited his team’s veteran experience as a factor in the win.

“Senior leadership I guess,’ he said. “Got to get the younger guys going. Do whatever you can.”

For Holy Ghost Prep (16-7) which has yet to win an APAC title, the loss was a disappointing end to the conference season.

“It was not one of our best efforts,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “I thought we didn’t execute very well. Our structure wasn’t there the whole game. There were some things we did really well but it wasn’t a total team effort.

Ice chips—The Firebirds are seeded second for the Class AAA Flyers Cup and will face seventh-seeded Cardinal O’Hara in a quarterfinal game at Grundy Arena Monday night.

La Salle’s previous Founders Cup titles came in 2019 and ‘20, the APAC’s first two seasons. They shared the title with Malvern Prep two years ago when the Founders Cup final wasn’t played because of the pandemic.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2—3

La Salle 1 5 1—7

First-period goals: Chase Hannon (L) unassited, 4:12; Landon Stout (HGP) from Brady Baehser and John Seravalli, 9:20 (pp)

Second-period goals: Evan Golato (L) from Ryan Desmond, :05 Hannon (L) from Desmond and Golato, 3:57 (pp); Baehser (HGP) from Landon Stout and X, 11:23; Hannon (L) from Desmond, 11:40; Seravalli (HGP) unassisted, 13:33; Will Gregorio (L) from Desmond, 14:29 (pp); Charlie Kennedy (L) rom Max Monzo and Tim Whitock, 16:42

Third-period goals: Whitock (L) from Thomas Doucet, 8:10

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 40, La Salle 45 Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 26 and Colin Mudrick (HGP) 14; Aries Carangi (L) 37

La Salle Seeking APAC Laurels

With the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference playoff at hand, La Salle is where it accustomed to being; at the top of the standings. The Explorers win two of the APAC’s first four titles and were in position to play for a third before the 2021 championship game was cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic.

The 2023 playoff semifinals are set for Wednesday and the Explorers will face The Hun School to open the doubleheader at Hatfield Ice (4:00 start). The second game, scheduled for. 6:15 start, will match second seed Holy Ghost Prep and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep.

The Explorers claimed the APAC regular-season title with a 6-5 win over Holy Ghost Prep. Senior defenseman and captain Chase Hannon missed that game with a knee injury, but celebrated along with his teammates.

“We got the job done,” he said. “Everyone was ready to go, there was excitement in the locker room, I kind of new from the start get it done

 La Salle, as usual, started the season slowly, winning just one of its first five games but picked up the pace from there. The Explorers will take an 11-9-2 record into Wednesday’s semifinal. They’ve won four of their last five starts and six of their last eight.

Hannon is elated with how he and his teammates have responded after a slow start to the campaign.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “In the beginning, we weren’t too hot but we came together as a team, we all bought it for one goal. It’s been showing We’ve been doing well.”

Hannon said some juggling of the lineup contributed to the Explorers’ turnaround.

”We found guys that are going to get the job done, doing what coach wants,” he said, “and we just kind of bought in, listening to Coach (Wally Muehlbronner). We found our success doing that.”

La Salle 6 Morristown Beard 1

By Matt Millevoi 

The La Salle College High School Explorers skated away with a six to one victory over Morristown Beard Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Ice. La Salle entered the afternoon coming off a tie the night before against Del Barton and was looking to get back on track. Starting the season with a disappointing 1-3-1 record going into Wednesday’s matchup, the Explorers knew they had to make a statement. 

               From start to finish, La Salle was dominant. La Salle had a season high 48 shots on net compared to Beard’s 23. The commanding shot differential led to an end of gave score of 6-1 in the Explorers’ favor.

“It’s a sign that we are starting to play the right way” Explorers head coach Wally Muehlbronner said. They controlled every facet of the ice. Whether it was faceoffs, or keeping the puck in the offensive zone, Beard could not keep up.”  

               All players for the Explorers played well, but it was the seniors that shined brighter than the rest. Four of their six goals came off the sticks of seniors including two from Chase Hannon while also tallying an assist. The senior line of Evan Golato, Ryan Desmond and Chase Hannon rarely spent time in their own zone and constantly creating golden opportunities for the Explorers. 

               Even though they lost the game, Morristown Beard had plenty of scoring opportunities including nine minutes and 23 seconds with a man advantage. With all this time on the power play, Beard could not get the puck by senior goaltender Aries Carnagi who stood on his head the whole game. Carnagi recorded 22 saves on 23 shots. Another reason that Morristown struggled on the power play was La Salle’s demanding pressure and perseverance in their defensive zone. This pressure led to a shorthanded goal by senior forward Ryan Desmond with 4:52 left in the first period.

“We had a tough game yesterday against Del Barton as we tied, but we were in our d-zone a lot and we are playing much better in our defensive zone,” Muehlbronner said. 

               La Salle’s next tilt is against rival school Malvern Prep on Monday, December 12th at 5:15 P.M. at Hatfield Ice. Last time these teams played it was La Salle coming out on top with 4-3.