Council Rock South 11, Council Rock North 4

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—The evening’s recipe featured hockey with an ample helping of tradition. After a year’s hiatus, Council Rock North and Council Rock South resumed their Thanksgiving Eve series Wednesday night.

The teams did not meet last year because North did field a varsity hockey team last season and because the SHSHL schedule did not begin until January. Thus, Wednesday’s meeting was something of a reunion, for the players, and for the fans who packed Revolution Ice Gardens for the occasion.

The more-experienced Golden Hawks had control of the game by late in the first period and rolled to an 11-4 win to claim the Rock Cup. But the fact that the two teams were sharing a sheet of ice was cause for celebration.

“It’s great,” said South captain Matt Constantini. “I missed it a lot. The fans were amazing. It’s just great to be out here for my senior year and Covid is somewhat gone.”

The flow of the game resembled that of a boxing match in which the champion has to work hard to dispatch the underdog but is not at serious risk of defeat.

The Indians (1-2, 0-1 in divisional play) actually took an early lead with a shorthanded goal. Wilton Pasch was in the box serving an interference penalty when his teammate Lucas Siomos sent the puck the length of the ice toward the Golden Hawks’ crease. South goaltender Carson Lopez muffed the puck and North’s Karson Grainey was on hand to put it behind him just 1:43 into the opening period.

The Golden Hawks (3-0-1, 1-0 in the division) soon returned fire with four goals in a span of 10 minutes, 22 seconds. David Vergules scored twice in between goals from Julian Wagenmann and Gavin Nisenzon.
South extended its lead in the second frame. Julian Sarne, and Nisenzon scored goals to give the Hawks a 6-1 advantage 4:50 into the period.

Zach Weisman scored for North at the 8:39 mark, but Vergules, Constantini, Kevin Koles, and Chase Trovsky rattled off four goals in a span of span of less than four minutes before Grainey scored for the Indians with 30 seconds remaining in the period.

“I think what you saw was a team that was established,” said North coach Greg McDonald, “and a team (North) that was throwing haymakers and trying to find it. But we weren’t organized, they were, and they outlasted us.”

North’s Nick Hahn and Vergules traded goals in the third period.

Vergules left the building with four goals and an assist. NIsenzon and Grainey also finished with two goals.

The Golden Hawks enjoyed a 54-28 advantage in shots. Ian Goldberg stood tall in the North net, making 43 saves.

South coach Joe Houk praised the Indians’ effort. “They got that first goal,” he said, “And then we kind of knuckled down. I think it kind of caught the guys off guard. They had a system as to what they were going to do, but they had a short bench so they kind of ran out of juice after we scored the second or third goal.”

C.R. North 1 2 1—4

C.R. South 4 6 1—11

First-period goals: Karson Grainey (CRN) unassisted, from Lucas Siomos, 1:43 (sh); Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Sam Cherkassky, 4:07 (pp); David Vergules (CRS) from Nolan O’Brien, 9:39; Vergules (CBS) from Wagenmann and Evan Mostoller, 12:30; Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Matt Constantitni, 14:29

Second-period goals: Julian Sarne (CRS) unassisted, 1:08; Nisenzon (CRS) from Chase Trovsky, 4:50; Zach Weissman (CRN) from Grainey, 8:39; Vergules (CRS) from Wagenmann and Constanrini, 9:06; Constantitni (CRS) from Nisenzon and Vergules, 9:54; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Phillip Mayo and Sarne, 11:38; Trovsky (CRS) from Cherkassky and Blaize Pepe, 12:57; Grainey (CRN) unassisted, 16:30

Third-period goals: Nick Hahn (CRN) from Grainey and Jackson Mosley, 3:51; Vergules (CRS) from Wagenmann and Constantini, 9:46

Shots: Council Rock North 28, Council Rock South 54; Saves: Ian Goldberg (CRN) 43, Carson Lopez (CRS) 24

In other games on Wednesday:

Neshaminy 6, Pennsbury 3

Holy Ghost Prep 9, Father Judge 2

Central Bucks East 2, Central Bucks West 1

North Penn vs. Central Bucks South

Pennridge vs. Souderton

Hatboro-Horsham vs. Upper Moreland

William Tennent vs. Archbishop Wood

Malvern Prep vs. Cardinal O’Hara cancelled

William Tennent 4, Council Rock North 3

WARWICK—Persistence and resolve paid off for William Tennent Wednesday night. Down by two goals entering the third period, the Panthers rallied for a 4-3 win over Council Rock North in. Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA encounter at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Tom Hartenstein’s goal with 52 seconds left in regulation capped a three-goal third frame as the Panthers squared their league record at 1-1 (3-2 overall).

Tennent’s resurgence came after coach Nick D’Aurizio gave his troops a talking to after the second period.

‘We challenged the guys and they responded,” he said. “That’s what being a high-school coach is all about, or just a coach in general. Challenging guys when you’re not getting the results that you want and challenging guys to be better than the status quo.”

Hartenstein’s goal came off a deflection in front of the North net; he deposited the puck over the left shoulder of North netminder Rex Goldberg.

”I think this win was one of (our) most important wins,” the senior said. “This was a team very similar to ours and they’re in our division. We really needed that to get ahead of them.”

Council Rick North (1-5, 0-4) took a 3-1 lead after two periods on goals from Wyatt Pasch, Colin Kiefer, and Vlad Litvinov. Kiefer and Litvinov both scored on second-period power play; the Indians needed just 20 seconds of power play time to score the two goals. Anthony Catalo got Tennent on the board with a goal in the first period.

Goldberg meanwhile was magnificent in goal. He made 24 saves over the first two periods and finished the 48-minute game with 41 saves.

“He did a heck of a job tonight said North assistant coach Mike Epstein. We were outshot two to one (actually 45-25) but yet we were in the game until the last 30 seconds of the game.”

Tennent started its comeback when Matthew Castan scored 5:50 into the third period. Zach Devor tied the game at the 11:49 mark to set up the finale.

Through it all, Tennent goaltender Trey Smith was stalwart. So was the defense in front of him which limited the Indians to five shots in the third period.

Hartenstein had two assists to go with his game-winning goal. He says part of the Panthers’ early season success can be attributed to the youth in the lineup. “The fact that they don’t have a JV team, that they’re playing varsity right now is really impressive,” he said. “They’re really stepping it up. I’m proud of them, they’re doing their part.

Council Rock North 1 2 0—3

William Tennent 1 0 3—4

First-period goals: Wyatt Pasch (CRN) from Noah Epstein and Jude Hollister,m 6:57; Anthony Cattalo (WT) from Tom Hartenstein, 15:37.

Second-period goals: Colin Kiefer (CRN) from Vlad Litvinov and Epstein, 6:29 (pp); Litvinov (CRN) from Wilton Pasch, 13:20 (pp).

Third -period goals: Matt Castan (WT) from Jonathan Kreider, 5:50; Zach Devor (WT) from Hartenstein, 11;49; Hartenstein (WT) from Kreider, 15:08.

Shots: Council Rock 25, William Tennent 45; Saves: Rex Goldberg (CRN) 41, Wyatt Smith (WT) 22.

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Other scores

Hun School 6, La Salle 3

Princeton Day 6, St Joseph’s Prep 3

Pennridge 9, Upper Dublin 2,

C.B. South 10, Souderton 0

If you’re interested in coverage ion your tournament or other hockey events contact us HERE at Hockey happenings

North Penn 8 CR North 4

By Rick Woelfel

North Penn scored three goals in a 21-second span midway through the second period and went on to beat Council Rock North 8-4 Friday night in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class 2A crossover game at Hatfield Ice.

Jake Nelson scored three goals and added an assist for the Knights, who improved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Continental Division, Andrew Galetta and Nathan Oh scored two goals each.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis shuffled his lines Friday night and the juggling paid off. “We mixed it up to try to get a little bit more offense up front,” he said. “Andrew Galetta is a special player and then Nate Oh and Jake Nelson, we’ve had them together a few games now and they’ve really clicked together.”

The Knights built a 3-0 first-period lead on two goals from Nelson with a talley from Galetta in between. The last two goals came on power plays. The margin could have been greater but Rex Goldberg made 14 saves in the period to keep the Indians (3-3-1, 1-2-1 SHSHL National Division) in the game.

“I thought the goaltending held up very well in the first period,” said North coach Chris Gallagher. “If it weren’t for (Goldberg) it could have been 6-0 in the first period. He stood on his head; he played a great game for us.”

William Sohn got the Indians on the scoreboard at the 7:35 mark of the middle period but the Knights Brooke the game open less than a minute later. Galetta scored his second goal of the game at the 8:09 mark before Oh scored back-to-back goals at 8:18 and 8:30 to give North Penn a 6-1 lead.

The Indians kept battling however and got back in the game before the period ended on goals from Cavan Tully, Brandon Simonides, and Harrison Treiman, the latter on a power play.

North had a two-man advantage to start the third period but Zac Herman drew a boarding penalty just 28 seconds into the third session to reduce that advantage. The teams traded minor penalties after that before George Boyle scored for North Penn during a four-on-three power play at the 2:23 mark. Nelson completed his hat trick with 5:41 left in the game.

“We had new lines,” he said. “I had new players out there with me. We did what we had to do, and we got it done.”

Council Rock North 0 4 0—4
North Penn 3 3 2—8
First-period goals: Jake Nelson (NP) from Tyler Greenstein and Nathan Oh, 5:36; Andrew Galetta (NP) from Nelson, 14:29 (pp); Nelson (NP) from Jared Albano, 15:58 (pp).
Second-period goals: William Sohn (CRN) from Brandon Simmonds and Ian Rice, 7:35; Galetta (NP) assist unavailable, 8:09; Nathan Oh (N) from George Boyle, 8:18; Oh (NP) from Thomas Boyle, 8:30; Cavan Tully (CRN) from Dan Guest, 9:09; Simmonds (CRN) from Tully, 10:10; Harrison Treiman (CRN) from Simmonds, 14:54 (pp).
Third-period goals: George Boyle (NP) from Thomas Boyle and Josh Kaufhold, 2:23 (pp); Nelson (NP) from Oh, 10:19.
Shots: Council Rock North 34, North Penn 48; Saves: Rex Goldberg (CRN) 40, Andrew Zanoni (N)) 30.
Records: Council Rock North (3-3-1, 1-2-1 SHSHL National Division); North Penn (4-2, 2-2 Continental Division)

12-8-17