Council Rock South 4 Boyertown 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—If a single word could best describe Council Rock South’s performance Thursday night it would be ‘workmanlike.’ Four different players scored goals and Carson Lopez was perfect between the pipes as the Golden Hawks shut out Boyertown 4-0 in a Class AA Flyers Cup quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded South (19-1-0-1) will face Conestoga or Pennsbury in a Monday night semifinal at the same venue. The Hawks will be seeking to return to the finals after losing the title game to Pennridge last spring.

Eighth-seeded Boyertown closed its session at 14-6.

It took South some time to get control of the game. Tyler Griffin in the Boyertown net kept the Hawks at bay for a period and a half. The freshman finished with 45 saves.

Carson Lopez watched Griffith at work when he wasn’t occupied guarding South’s net.

“That goalie is real good,” he said. “He stoned us left and right. Take it from me, he’s going to steal this whole thing if he has a couple years of high school under his belt.”

Griffin made 14 saves in the first period while the Hawks limited their foes to five shots at the other end.

South finally broke through 8:22 into the second frame when Kevin Koles caught iron with a shot and Jake Weiner put in the rebound. Jeremy Rayher made it a 2-0 game at the 10:38 mark and James Diiulio extended his team’s lead when he beat Griffith with six seconds left in the period.

“We’re a grinding team,” Werner said. “That’s what our goals are. The dirty goals are the nice goals.”

Weiner, a freshman, says the Hawks rely more on grit than finesse. “We’re not a flashy team,” he said. “We like playing in the corners and getting dirty.”

Blaize Pepe completed the scoring for the evening when he solved Griffith 7:09 into the third period. It was a win the Hawks had to work for, despite the scoreline.

“I think we made ourselves work for this one,” he said. “We weren’t really focused coming into the game. We’ve got to eliminate that because if we come out like that (in the semifinals) we’ll be going home.”

A victory in a single-elimination tournament would seemingly be cause for celebration, but Lopez, one of four seniors on South’s playoff roster, took a different view.

“I don’t think any of us are enjoying it,” he said. “We definitely thought we should have played a lot better, but we’re definitely ready to go to work on Monday.

Ice chips—South enjoyed a 49-21 edge in shots. The Hawks have won three Class AA Flyers Cup titles, in 2009, ‘11, and ‘12.

Boyertown 0 0 0—0

C.R. South 0 3 1—4

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Kelvin Koles, 8:22; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Illia Mukhin and Weiner, 10:38; James Diiulio, from Koles and Chase Tovsky, 16:54 (pp)

Third-period goal: Blaise Peppe (CRS) from Tovsky (CRS), 7:09

Shots: Boyertown 21, C.R. South 49; Saves: Tyler Griffith (B) 45, Carson Lopez (CRS) 21

Council Rock North 7 Radnor 2

WEST GOSHEN—Things came together for Malvern Prep Monday night. It was certainly the right time. Six different players scored goals as the  Indians downed Radnor 7-2 in a first-round Class A Flyers Cup matchup at Ice Line.

Eleventh-seeded North (6-10-1-1) advances to a second-round game that is tentatively scheduled for Thursday against Strath Haven or Hershey. Sixth-seeded Radnor closes the season at 11-8.

“Honestly it feels good said senior forward Noah Epstein, the Indians’ captain. “It’s a well-deserved win from the whole team.

“I think we finally got something. We’re playing as a team.”

The Indians took advantage of an early power play to take the lead. Nick Hahn scored from between the two circles just 2:26 into the first frame.

The Ramparts had their chances after that but Ian Goldberg made some  quality saves in the North net. Andrew Knight pocketed the equalizer at 11:17 but Goldberg’s work in goal energized his teammates.

“We have a great goaltender,” Epstein said. “Ian is always playing amazing. He makes things easy for us, honestly. He pushes the rebounds out and we get them out for him, He does everything for this team.”

At that point momentum shifted dramatically in the Indians’ direction. Lucas Siomos, Ryan Keil, and Drew Birden scored goals in a span of 2:24 to give North lead at. The end of the first frame. All were on long shots that Radnor netminder James Danner seemed to have a good look at.

Radnor’s Ryan Carr and North’s Jackson Accardi traded goals in the middle period. Jesse Schaff and Siomos scored found the back of the net in third, though Danner picked up his level of play in the last two periods.

Goldberg enjoyed the opportunity to play with a lead. “I was feeling pretty confident,” he said. “I really didn’t have to do much in the third. I just knew if I played well, they’d play well too.

C.R. North 4 1 2—7

Radnor 1 1 0—2

First-period goals: Nick Hahan (CRN) from Jackson Accardi, 2:36 (pp); Andrew Knight (R) unassisted, 11:17; Lucas Siomos (CRN) from  Dan Maglathlin and Zach Weissman, 13:35; Ryan Keil from Maglathlin, 15:13 (pp); Drew Borden (CRN) from Hahn, 16:50

Second-period goals: Ryan Carr (R) from Knight, 13:04; Accardi (CRN) from Brody’s Capaldi, 14:27

Third-period goals: Jesse Schaff (CRN) from Weissman (CRN)  and Maglathlin, 3:18; Siomos (CRN) unassisted, 13:28

Shots: C.R. North 32, Radnor 29; Saves: Ian Goldberg (CRN) 27, James Danner (R) 25

Council Rock South 4 Pennsbury 2

BRISTOL—The defense never rested. And at evening’s end, Council Rock South was rewarded for its defensive work with a 4-2 win over Pennsbury in the SHSHL National Division championship game before a packed house at Grundy Arena.

Thursday’s win gave the top-seeded Golden Hawks (17-1-0-1) the third SHSHL title in their history. The previous two came in 2010 and 2020.

Third-seeded Pennsbury fell to 14-6. Three of the Falcons’ defeats have been at the hands of the Hawks.

Not that the victors had an easy time of it. The game plan was to contain the Falcons’ Brendan Macainsh, who came into the game with 38 goals. He finished with two more but the Hawks were able to neutralize the Falcons’ high-flying attack to come extent; many of Pennsbury’s shot attempts were from long range or outside the faceoff dots; the Falcons finished with just 22 shots on goal to South’s 40.

The Hawks congratulate each other after Thursday’s 4-2 over Pennsbury for the SHSHL NAtional Division title

Hawks’ netminder Carson Lopez was in good form, but got plenty of help from his blue-line corps.

“(Pennsbury) likes to stretch the ice out a lot,” Lopez said, “So, about halfway through the game, we told our defense ‘Enough with the pinch and start backing off. Play in the neutral zone.’ And it worked.”

South defenseman and captain Kevin Koles said the key to the win involved giving the Falcons and Macainsh as few opportunities as possible.

“Limiting them to (22) shots was very crucial,” he said. “We had to stop one of their best players. They obviously played him a lot and we locked him down. He only had two goals on us.

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley noted his team needed more chances than it got.

“We only had 22 shots,” he pointed out, “And we’re used to putting 15 a period up. “They played us very, very well. But, we didn’t quit.”

Chase Trovsky scored a pair of first-period goals to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead after the first frame.

It appeared a clock malfunction might have cost South a third goal.  A scramble in the Falcons crease was in progress in the waning seconds of the period and the puck wound up in the net but the buzzer failed to sound. After a lengthy consultation, the goal was disallowed.

Joseph Weston extended South’ lead with a goal at the 8:02 mark of the second period.

Macainsh got Pennsbury on the board with 3:42 left in the middle period when his shot from the deep right-wing corner caught Lopez by surprise.

Macainsh briefly made it a one-goal game 5:20 into the third period when he scored a power-play goal after the Hawks were caught with too many men on the ice.

It took Blaize Pepe just 48 seconds to respond for the Hawks however and Lopez was impregnable the rest of the way.

Koles said he and his teammates knew how dangerous the Falcons were after Pennsbury scored eight goals against Pennridge on Wednesday in the semifinals.

“We heard about what happened yesterday,” he said, “and how they beat Pennridge. So, we knew what we had to do coming into the game, and that’s what we did.”

Ice chips—Both teams will be back at Grundy Arena on Tuesday for first-round Class AA Flyers Cup games. The top-seeded Hawks will face number-16 Spring Ford at 8:15 while the fifth-seeded Falcons will face number-12 Abington at 6:15.

Pennsbury 0 1 1_2

C.R. South 2 1 1—4

First-period goals: Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Blaize Pepe, 8:03; Tovsky (CRS) from Kevin Koles and Pepe, 16:37;

Second-period goals: Jonah Weston (CRN) from Bobby Gilbert and James Diiulio, 8:02; Brendan Macainsh (P) unassisted, 13:18

Third-period goals: Macainsh (P) from Chris Sarvere, 5:20; Pepe (CRS) unassisted, 6:08

Shots: Pennsbury 22. Council Rock South 35; Saves: Aaron McDaniel (P) 31; Carson Lopez (CRS) 20

SHSHL Playoff Update

Wednesday, March 1

National Division Semifinals

Council Rock South vs. Neshaminy

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Council Rock South (15-1-0-1)

Coach: Joe Houk

How the Hawks got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. Blaize Pepe and Jake Weiner lead the team in scoring, each with 30 points. Pepe has produced 13 goals and 17 assists for while Weiner has scored 21 goals and provided 9 assists. Kevin Koles is next with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points. Goaltender Carson Lopez is one of the area’s best.

Neshaminy (12-5-1)

Coach: Matt DeMatteo

How the ‘Skins got here: Defeated Central Bucks South 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Max Gallagher scored three goals and assisted on another. Nolan Geria provided two goals and two assists. Gallagher has 26 goals and 12 assists for 38 points. Geria has contributed 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points.

This season:

Pennridge vs. Pennsbury

8:30 at Hatfield Ice

Pennridge (13-4)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

How the Rams got here: Via a bye in the quarterfinals. The defending National Division, Class AA Flyers Cup and state champions are paced by Kevin Pico who has collected 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points. Andrew Savona has added 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points while Shane Dachowski has contributed 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points.

Pennsbury (13-5)

Coach Ryan Daley

How the Falcons got here: Defeated Central Bucks East 6-4 in the quarterfinals., Brendan Macainsh delivered a pure hat trick and added two assists; he has 34 goals and 19 assists for 53 points this season, including the quarterfinal. Andrew Falkenstein has provided 6 goals and 26 assists for 32 points while Justin Marlin has contributed 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points. Falkenstein (4) and Marlin (3) had seven assists between them in the quarterfinal.

This season:

11-3 Pennsbury 6 Pennridge 3

1-12 Pennridge 11 Pennsbury 4

What comes next: Wednesday’s winners play for the National Division title on Thursday. The highest seeded finalist will host. All four semifinalists will compete in the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament.

American Division Championship Game

Abington vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh

7:20 at Hatfield Ice

Abington (15-0-1-1)

Coach: Ken Brzozowski
How the Galloping Ghosts got here: Earned a place in the final as the regular-season division champion. Matt Kramer leads the team in scoring with 26 goals and 19 assists for 45 points, Ian Heydt has added 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points. Sam Abramson has contributed 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points while Sam Paulik has provided 18 goals and 14 points for 32 points. Sam Nemec will start in goal.

Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-6)

Coach: Dave Cox

How the Colonials got here: Defeated Quakertown 7-2 in the semifinal. Matt Flynn and Dylan Novitski each scored two goals in the win. Flynn added two assists. Flynn has scored 28 goals this season and added 22 assists for 50 points, David Branigan has added 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points. Chris Maslij will start in goal.

This season:

11-3 Abington 8 Plymouth Whitemarsh 5

1-5 Abington 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 1

1-26 Abington 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3

What come next: Both finalists will compete in the Flyers Cup tournament, Abington in Class AA, Plymouth Whitemarsh in Clsss A

SHSHL Recap 2-20-23

Final Regular Season Standings

National Division         W      L      T   OTL  Pts

C.R. South (15-1-0-1)   9       0      0      1     19

X Pennridge (13-4)      8      2      0       0      16

Pennsbury (12-5)         7      2      0      0       14

Neshaminy (11-5-1)     6      3      1      0       13

C.B. South (9-7-0-1)    6       4      0      0      12

C.B. East (8-8-1)           4      5      1      0       9

C.R. North (5-10-1-1)    3     5      1     1       8

C.B. West (5-11-0-1)    3      6      0      1      7

Souderton (5-11-0-1)      3    7     0       0    6

Bensalem (3-13)           2       7      0      1      5

North Penn (5-10-1-1)    1     7      1      1     4

X Pennridge finishes second on the basis of having defeated Pennsbury in their second meeting, which was the game that counted in their divisional records

American Division                   W      L      T      OTL    Pts

Abington (15-0-1-1)                10       0     1        1      22

X Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-6) 7        5     0        0      14

Quakertown (10-4-1-1)           6        4    1        1       14

Wissahickon (9-7)                    6       6     0        0        12

Springfield (0-16)                     0      12     0      0           0

Plymouth Whitemarsh finishes second on the basis of having won the season series with Quakertown

Scoring

National Division                G           A          Pts

Kevin Pico (Pr)                     24         25        49

Brendan Macainsh (Pb)     31         17        48

Andrew Savona (Pr)           16         22        38

Max Gallagher (Nesh)       23         11        34

Seth Grossman (Soud)      19          13        32

John Stinson (NP)               20         11        31

Shane Dachowski (Pr)       17         12         29

Aydin Thierolf (CBS)          15          14        29

Blaise Pepe (CRS)              12          16        28

Corey Kosick (CBE)            18          10        28

Andrew Falkenstein (Pb)   6           22        28

Jake Weiner (CRS)             19           8         27

Kevin Koles (CRS)              11           16        27

Alex Hood (Ben)                 21          6          27

American Division     G            A         Pts

Matthew Flynn (PW)   26          20           46

Matt Kramer (Ab)         26         19           45

David Branigan (PW)   12          25          37

Will Hussa (Wiss)          26         7            33

Ian Heydt (Ab)               13        20          33

Sam Abramson (Ab)       14         19        33

Sam Paulik (Ab)              18          14       32

Branden McNally (Q)     17         15        32

Danny Hussa (Wiss)      18         11         29

Pat Stelacio (Ab)            18        11         29

Dylan Novitski (PW)      15       12          27

SHSHL Recap for 2-11-23

National Division         W      L      T   OTL  Pts

C.R. South (14-1-0-1)   8       0      0      1     17

Pennsbury (11-5)         7      2      0      0       14

Pennridge (11-4)          6      2      0       0     12

Neshaminy (10-4-1)    5       2      1      0     11

C.B. South (8-7-0-1)    5       4      0      0     10

C.B. East (8-7-1)           4      4      1      0      9

C.R. North (5-9-1-1)    3       4      1     1       8

C.B. West (5-10-0-1)   3      5      0      1      7

Souderton (5-10-0-1)     3       6     0      0    6

North Penn (5-9-1-1)    1      6      1      1     4

Bensalem (2-13)           1       7      0      0      2

American Division                   W      L      T   OTL    Pts

Abington (14-0-1-1)                10       0     1       1       22

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-6) 6        5     0        0      12

Wissahickon (9-6)                    6       5     0        0       12

Quakertown (9-4-1-1)             5        4    1        1       12

Springfield (0-15)                     0      11     0      0         0

Teams in bold have clinched SHSHL playoff spots

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Scoring

National Division                G           A          Pts

Brendan Macainsh (Pb)     27          17        44

Andrew Savona (Pr)           16         22        38

Kevin Pico (Pr)                    18          19        37

Max Gallagher (Nesh)        21         10        31

John Stinson (NP)               19         10          29

Shane Dachowski (Pr)        17         12         29

Seth Grossman (Soud)       17          11        28

Aydin Thierolf (CBS)          14          14        28

Jake Weiner (CRS)              18           8         26

Kevin Koles (CRS)              11           15        26

Alex Hood (Ben)                  20          5          25

Corey Kosick (CBE)            15          10         25

Andrew Falkenstein (Pb)    5            20        25

American Division        G            A            Pts

Matthew Flynn (PW)    21        19            40

Matt Kramer (Ab)         25          15          40

David Branigan (PW)    11       21             32

Branden McNally (Q)     17         15         32

Ian Heydt (Ab)               13        19          32

Seth Abramson (Ab)      13        17          30

Will Hussa (Wiss)          24         5           29

Sam Paulik (Ab)              16         11        27

Dylan Novitski (PW)      15       12           27

Pat Stelacio (Ab)            15         10          25

La Salle 4 Council Rock South 0

Four different players scored goals as La Salle bested Council Rock South 4-0 Wednesday afternoon in a non-league game at Hatfield Ice.

Patrick Brace and Tim Whittock gave the Explorers a 2-0 first-period lead; Declan Kelly and Dean Carvalho added goals in the final period.

The Explorers improved to 10-8-2. The Golden Hawks dropped to 13-3 with one of their defeats coming in overtime.

Council Rock South 0 0 0—0

La Salle 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Grant LeGreca, 2:54; Tim Whittock (L) from Max Monzo, 4:13

Third-period goals: Declan Kelly (L) from Ryan Warner and Ryan Desmond, 10:12 (pp); Dean Carvalho (L) from Owen Quinn, 12:55

Shots: C.R. South 23m LaSalle 44; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 41< Aries Carangi 23

C.R. South, Pennridge Set for Key SHSHL Matchup

It shapes up as the most significant game of the year in the SHSHL, and one of the league’s most meaningful regular-season games of recent years.
Council Rock and Pennridge will square off Wednesday night in a game that is likely to have a profound impact on the SHSHL’s National Division standings and the Class AA Flyers Cup rankings.

Game time is 7:20 in the Blue Rink at Hatfield Ice. The game will also be streamed on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel.

It’s the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Pennridge won the first meeting 7-4 on December 15 in a game that counted toward the Flyers Cup rankings but not in the division standings.

Here’s how the teams match up for Wednesday’s game.

Council Rock South (11-1-0-1, 5-0-0-1 in the National Division)

Coach: Joe Houk

Leading scorers: Blaize Pepe 13 goals 12 assists 25 points

                              Kevin Koles 9/13/22

                              Jake Weiner 15/6/21

Goaltender: Carson Lopez .915 Save percentage 2.16 GAA

Pennridge (10-3, 5-1 in the National Division)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Leading scorers: Andrew Savona 16 goals 22 assists 38 points

                              Kevin Pico 16/18/34

                              Shane Dachowski 16/12/28

Goaltender: Jacob Gilbert .870 Save percentage 3.76 GAA

Council Rock South 5 Holy Ghost Prep 4

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—There was an air of anticipation in the building when Holy Ghost Prep and Council Rock South took the ice at Revolution Ice Gardens Monday night.

The matchup brought together two teams who are legitimate Flyers Cup contenders in their respective classes; the Firebirds in Class AAA and the Golden Hawks in Class AA.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed on this occasion overcoming am early 2-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win.

Monday’s game was also a meeting of two of the area’s most respected coaches. Joe Houk has been at Council Rock South for 17 seasons. Gump Whiteside has been at Holy Ghost Prep for 15 seasons and spent eight years at Germantown Academy before that.

Both Houk and Whiteside have won scores of games and have Flyers Cup and state titles on their resumes. They share a passion for the game of hockey—and a mutual respect that goes back to when they played against each other in their high-school days.

“Joe’s a pro,” Whiteside. “Quite honestly, he’s been a mentor to me. I’ve coached Joe for many, many, many, many years and he’s always been a pro,

“He always approaches it the right way. He doesn’t have an ego it’s not about him. It’s about his players.

“And you could see it tonight. He had his team prepared. Joe is the ultimate pro, the ultimate mentor, and quite honestly a great guy.”

Whiteside noted the tenaciousness Houk’s teams regularly bring to the rink. 

“They play with grit,” he said.”

Houk similar sentiments.

“Gump is a good guy, a good human being,” he said. “He brings such a good quality of the sport to the game.

“He’s a man of character. And he cares about the kids. It’s not ‘Win at all costs’ with him. It’s more about development and hopefully, you move some of those kids on.

“He’s just a good guy. He’s a good guy for the sport.”

• Jake Weiner scored a pair of goals 45 seconds apart that turned a 2-2 standoff into a 4-2 South lead and the Golden Hawks never trailed again.

The win was South’s 11th of the season against two defeats with one of the losses coming in overtime.

Houk said going against a team the Firebirds said a lot about his own team’s potential for success.

“If we can at that sustained level we played at tonight,” he said. “The physical part of it, keeping things simple, keeping things to the outside, getting the opportunities on transition. I thought we controlled the whole game (but) they’re good. They’ve got some really, really good skill players. They move the puck well. They’re a good team. They’re going to go far too.”

Brady Baehser scored three goals for the Firebirds, who saw their record drop to 13-6.

“We got up 2-0 and that’s when we started to take them lightly,” he said. “And we just fell apart.”
Baehser said the defeat highlighted the importance delivering a solid effort from the start to finish of each game.”

“We’re a very talented team and we think we can win games based off that. But that outworked us all night, all three periods and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 0­—4

Council Rock South 2 3 0—5

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Patrick Slook and John Seravalli, 1:03; Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 5:18; Blaize Peppe (CRS) unassisted, 8:39; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Gavin Nisenson, :41

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Illia Muckhin, 3:19; Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 4:04; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 8:26 (pp); Joseph Diiulio (CRS) from Weiner and Pepe, 12:04; Baehser (HGP) from Stout, 12:35 (pp)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 27, Council Rock South 41; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 36 Carson Lopez (CRS) 23

Council Rock South 5 Central Bucks South 2

Council Rock South 5 Central Bucks South 2

BRISTOL— Starting a game with a four-goal advantage is a big edge for a hockey team. Council Rock South was essentially in that situation Thursday night.
The Golden Hawks scored four unanswered goals in the first period and went on to a 5-2 in over Central Bucks South at Grundy Arena.

The win lifted the Golden Hawks to 10-1-0-1 overall and their 5-0-0-1 mark in divisional play kept them in control of their own destiny in the SHSHL National Division chase.

Both teams came to the rink with lineups liberally sprinkled with junior varsity call ups necessitated by injuries and suspensions and it was Council Rock South which found its equilibrium first with its veterans leading the way.

Blaize Pepe scored the Golden Hawks’ first goal with 5:35 left in the opening period. Kevin Koles made it 2-0 just 61 seconds later and Jake Weiner extended his team’s lead 52 seconds after that with his team’s third goal in a span of 1 minute, 53 seconds.

Koles scored his second goal of the game with 47.3 seconds left in the period leaving the Titans (7-6-0-1, 4-3 in the division) in a very deep hole.

The second period was something of a fresh start for Central Bucks South, including a goaltender change; Jason Magaruh replaced Dom Varacallo in goal.

The Titans cut the deficit in half the middle period courtesy of Michael Nemec and Aydon Thierolf but could come no closer.

“(Council Rock South) is a good team,” said Central Bucks South coach Shaun McGinty. “They capitalized in the first period. We lost 4-0 in the first period, won 2-0 in the second period, and we lost 1-0 (on an empty net goal from Gavin Nisenzon) in the third period.

“We were giving chances (In the first period); a good team is going to capitalize and South is a good team.”

Council Rock South coach Joe Houk acknowledged how difficult it was for his team to stay focused after its strong start.

“It’s kind of hard when you get up to 4-0 he said. “You’ve got to find a way to sustain that level of play. When you get up 4-0 you can’t back off.

(Central Bucks South) is a good team. They’ve got some good players on that team and you can’t let them back in the game.”

Golden Hawks forward Bobby Gilbert praised his team’s effort 

“It was a very hard game,” he said. “Everybody was battling hard, the playoffs are coming up. We seemed to dig more deep though, and we got the job done.”

C.B. South 0 2 0—2

C.R. South 4 0 1—5

First-period goals: Blaize Pepe (CRS from Daniel Filippov, 11:25; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Jake Weiner and Jeremy Rayher, 12:26; Weiner (CRS) from Koles and Pepe, 13:18 (pp); Koles (CRS) from Jordan Sarne, 16:13

Second-period goals: Michael Nemec (CBS) from Aydin Thierolf and Justin Keilman, 3:52; Thierolf (CBS) from Colin Mendham, 11:05 (pp)

Third-period goal: Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Koles 16:13 (en)

Shots: C.B. South 31, C.R. South 30; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 7 and Jason Magaruh (CBS) 18, Carson Lopez (CRS) 29