Council Rock South 5, Neshaminy 2

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—Starting a game with a two-goal lead would be a significant advantage for any hockey team. That’s essentially the situation Council Rock South found itself in Friday night, and the circumstance Neshaminy had to deal with.

The Golden Hawks scored twice off Neshaminy turnovers before the game was two-and-a-half minutes old and went on to take a 5-2 decision in a SHSHL National-Continental non-league matchup at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Jeremy Purcell gave the Hawks (2-0) the lead just 30 seconds after the opening faceoff, beating Brian Nelson after the ‘Skins (1-1) turned the puck over in deep in their own zone near the right faceoff circle. Gavin Nisenzon made it 2-0 at the 2:22 mark with a shot from between the circles that Nelson initally stopped but the puck trickled over the goal line.

‘It’s the turnovers that are killing us,” said Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo. “I don’t know if we’re just trying to do too much with the puck, but I think we need to simplify the game and stop trying to do too much. It’s too early in the season to overcomplicate things.”

Nolan Geria got the ‘Skins on the board at the 6:44 mark of the first frame off a feed from Robert Seewagen, who was stationed beyond the goal line and found his teammate in the slot.

Both teams had an abundance of chances after that but Nelson and Jimmy Sweeney, his South counterpart, stepped up; they combined for 54 saves, an abundance of them, at both ends of the ice, under duress.

Brennan Wright extended the South lead with a power-play goal 2:24 into the second frame. Seewagen answered for Neshaminy just 55 seconds later but would not score again. When Kyle Boss score for the Golden Hawks with just 26 seconds left in the second session, Sweeney had the same two-goal margin going into the third period that he enjoyed for most of the first.

“I felt like everyone on my team was sharp tonight,” he said. “Everyone played good. I felt like I was a little shaky in the beginning but then I felt like I settled in.”

Sweeney played some of his best hockey in the final period to keep Neshaminy at bay. He made his best save of the night when he denied Max Gallagher from close range with 1:49 left in the period to keep it a two-goal game. It was an effort that left him sprawled on the ice.

“I felt like (his teammates) found their extra gear,” Sweeney said. “Everyone was out there skating as hard as they could.

The only goal of the period came from South’s Douglas Lopez into an empty net with 56 seconds remaining.

• Friday’s game was the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. It will not count in the division standings but will have an impact on seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament. The ‘Skins and the Golden Hawks will meet again on March 17. That game will count in the division standings.

Neshaminy 1 1 0—2

Council Rock South 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from Douglas Lopez, :30; Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) unassisted, 2:22; Nolan Geria (N) from Robert Seewagen, 6:44.

Second-period goals: Brennan Wright (CRS) from Kyle Boss, 2:24 (pp); Seewagen (N) from J.J. Hathaway and Max Gallagher, 3:19; Boss (CRS) from Julian Sarne and Juian Wagenmann, 15:34.

Third-period goal: Lopez (CRS) unassisted, 15:04 (en).
Shots: Neshaminy 31, Council Rock South 30; Saves: Brian Nelson (N) 25, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 29.

Council Rock South 7, Parkland 5

BRISTOL— Six minutes into Tuesday’s second period, Council Rock South’s path to the second round of the Flyers Cup tournament seemed wide open. The Golden Hawks, who were coming off a SHSHL championship game win, held a 6-1 win over Parkland and seemed to be in command.

Instead, sixth-seeded South had to battle to the final buzzer to hold off the 11th-seeded Trojans 7-5 in a Class AA first-round game at Grundy Arena. The Golden Hawks indeed advanced, to Thursday’s quarterfinals against third seed Perkiomen Valley (6:15 at Ice Line) but there were some anxious moments along the way.

The evening got off to an explosive start with three goals in less than five minutes. Bill Harrelson and Jeremy Purcell scored for South before and after a tally from Parkland’s Eric Dennis to give their side a 2-1 lead after just 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Harrelson and Michael Roby added additional goals to give the Golden Hawks a 4-1 lead after one period.

David Mueller extended the Hawks’ lead 4:53 into the second period before Harrelson completed a hat trick at 10:07. Even after Joshua Bower scored for the Trojans with 3:11 left in the middle period, the Hawks were seemingly in control.

But then came the third period and the Trojans, who reached the Flyers Cup finals in 2013, didn’t roll over over. First, Alexander Doe scored a goal with 8:18 remaining in regulation. Then Dennis, the Trojans’ leading scorer, pocketed his second goal of the night during a power play with 6:30 left and then completed his own hat trick with 1:45 remaining.

After having a comfortable lead, the Golden Hawks found themselves hanging on.

“We made a lot of bad turnovers in the neutral zone,” Harrelson said, “and it ended up costing us, I think. We need to control the puck, get in deep, play our game really because (Parkland) knocked us off it a lot. We started losing our heads and taking bad penalties (four in the third period and five of the six in the game) and it was killing us. But we pulled out the win.”

The issue was settled with Michael Roby scored an empty net goal for South with 27 seconds remaining. But South coach Joe Houk remarked that his team will have to play better to have hopes of claiming a fourth Flyers Cup title.

“What we did last week (in the SHSHL final) we did not do this week,” he said. “We’ll have to regroup a little bit. It’s just the little things that make a difference and we didn’t do them tonight.”

Parkland coach Chad Loomis lamented his team’s slow start. “That was definitely our downfall,” he said. “I think we had a hard time just marching their intensity and adjusting to their game.
“We had an opportunity to take a little break (after the second period) and talk about it and make the necessary adjustments. We just kind of ran out of time.”

Parkland 1 1 3—5
Council Rick South 4 2 1—7
First-period goals: Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Brennen Wright and Antii Autere, 2:45 (pp); Eric Dennis (P) from Joshua Bower, 4:12; Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from David Mueller, 4:47; Harrelson (CRS) from Andrew Darling and Purcell, 9:40; Michael Roby (CRS) from Autere and Douglas Lopez, 12:01.
Second-period goals: Mueller (CRS) unassisted, 4:53; Harrelson (CRS) from Roby and Purcell, 10:07; Bower (P) from Alexander Doe and Dennis, 12:49 (pp)
Third-period goals: Doe (P) from Zachary Averill and Hunter Dolan, 7:42; Dennis (P) unassisted, 9:30 (pp); Dennis (P) from Luke Yocum, 14:15; Roby (CRS) from Autere, 15:33 (en).
Shots: Parkland 29, CRS 25; Saves: Vincent Bylick (P) 18, JImmy Sweeny (CRS) 24

A Bit of Hockey History

Hockey Happenings has received some new verified historical information. Consequently, this article has been revised.

Central Bucks South, which will face Council Rock South for the SHSHL Class AA title tonight at Hatfield Ice (6:30) is trying to win a league title for the eighth time.

The Titans previously won titles in 2005 ’12, ’13, and four straight form 2015-18. That Germantown Academy also claimed four straight titles from 1998-2001, the last four of the 11 recorded SHSHL championships in their history. That is an all-time record

Council Rock South’s only SHSHL title as a distinctly separate entity came in 2010. Before the Council Rock School District opened its second high school, Council Rock won SHSHL titles in 1984, ’87, ’88, ’89, 90′ ’91 and ’97. The Indians’ five consecutive titles from 1987-91 is a record.

Most Championships

Germantown Academy 11

Central Bucks South 7

Council Rock 7

Abington 6

Wissahickon and Plymouth Whitemarsh will meet Thursday night for the SHSHSL Class A title. The Trojans, who are the defending champions, also won SHSHL Class A titles in 2006, 2010, and 20015 and possibly 2003 (the historical record is unclear).

Plymouth Whitemarsh, which was part of the SHSHL in 1973-74, claimed its only title in Class A in 2008-09

The documentation of the history of the SHSHL is an ongoing effort. Anyone with information on the history of the league is urged to contact us HERE or contact Commissioner Kenny Haas.

We are still seeking definitive answers to the following questions.

* The teams that won the Class AA championships in 1996 and 2007.

* The team that won the Class A titles in 2003 and 2004.

Please feel free to contact is if you have information that would help us resolve these questions (clippings, game programs, notes, etc).

SHSHL Update for 2-17-20

Game results through 2-19

Standings

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

C.B. South (13-0-0-1) 12 0 0 0 24

North Penn (12-3-0-0) 11 1 0 0 22

C.R. South (10-6-0-0) 10 1 0 1 21

Neshaminy (11-4-0-0) 9 3 0 0 18

C.B. East (9-4-1-1) 6 4 1 1 14

Pennridge (10-6-0-0) 7 5 0 0 14

Pennsbury (10-5-1-0) 6 5 1 0 13

C.B. West (7-6-2-1)) 4 6 2 0 10

Souderton (3-11-1-1) 3 7 1 1 8

William Tennent (5-10-0-1) 3 8 0 1 7

Abington (4-13-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Quakertown (2-13-1-0) 1 9 1 0 2

Council Rock North (1-15-0-0) 0 12 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-1-0-0) 12 0 0 0 22

Hatboro-Horsham (11-5-0-1) 6 5 0 1 13

Wissahickon (9-8-0-0) 6 6 0 0 12

Truman (3-13-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Lower Moreland (3-14-0-0) 3 9 0 0 6

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game.

The shootout will not be used

Scoring Through 2-17

Class AA G A Pts

Michael Roby (CRS) 26 15 41

Jake Lang (CBW) 24 17 41

Chris Trefz (CBW) 12 29 41

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 18 22 40

Antii Autere (CRS) 14 22 36

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 17 19 36

Robert Seewagen(Nesh) 21 14 35

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 13 20 33

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 14 18 32

Sean Gorman (CBE) 26 4 30

Colin Abbonizio (CBS) 15 14 29

Justin Carrelli (WT) 21 7 28

Class A G A Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW) 23 31 54

Jake Weikel (PW) 33 20 53

Dean Keller (PW) 20 22 42

Alex Howieson (HH) 20 18 38

Luke Weikel (PW) 17 20 37

Bryan Gary 21 15 36

Nicholas Hussa 26 8 34

Seth Lerner (HH) 19 12 31

Robert DiCostra (Tr) 16 14 30

Colin Franzoni (PW) 14 13 27

Aidan Esack (HH) 11 15 26

Goals Against MP GA GAA

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 17 1.34

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 554 21 1.82

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 524 28 2.56

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 628 34 2.60

Ryan Pico (Pr) 720 40 2.67

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 726 41 2.71

Save Percentage MP Sh Svs Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS) 608 259 242 .934

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 726 448 407 .908

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)554 216 195 .903

Ryan Pico (Pr) 720 400 360 .900

Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 628 302 268 .887

Topher Seiler (Pb) 519 359 318 .886

SHSHL Update

Class AA W L T OTL Pts

C.B. South 9-0-0-1) 7 0 0 0 14

Neshaminy (8-3-0-0) 6 2 0 0 12

North Penn (6-2-0-0) 5 0 0 0 10

C.R. South (5-4-0-0) 5 1 0 0 10

C.B. East (7-2-1-1) 4 2 1 1 10

Pennsbury (8-2-1-0) 4 2 1 0 9

C.B. West (6-2-2-1)) 3 2 2 0 8

Souderton (3-8-1-1) 3 4 1 1 8

William Tennent (4-6-0-1) 2 5 1 0 5

Pennridge (5-5-0-0) 2 4 0 0 4

Abington (2-8-0-0) 1 5 0 0 2

Quakertown (1-8-1-0) 0 5 1 0 1

Council Rock North (1-10-0-0) 0 7 0 0 0

Class A W L T OTL Pts

Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-1-0-0) 7 0 0 0 14

Wissahickon (7-6-0-0) 5 4 0 0 10

Hatboro-Horsham (9-2-0-1) 4 1 0 1 9

Lower Moreland (1-9-0-0) 1 4 0 0 2

Truman (0-11-0-0) 0 6 0 0 0

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game. The shootout will not be used

Check out the latest edition of the Hockey Happenings podcast. Rick Woelfel and Eric Tye count down to the 2020 Flyer Cup.

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook pageor stop in and check us out!

Scoring

Class AA G A Pts

Jake Lang (CBW) 23 17 40

Robert Seewagon(Nesh) 20 13 33

Chris Trefz (CBW) 10 21 31

Michael Roby (CRS) 18 8 26

Tyler Greenstein (NP) 8 17 25

Antii Autere (CRS) 7 18 25

Beau Brusius-Yedman (Pb) 11 13 24

Dominic Patrone (CBS) 11 13 24

Reece Millman (Pb) 14 9 23

Josh Kaufhold (NP) 11 11 22

Sean Gorman (CBE) 20 1 21

Erik Eisler (Pb) 8 13 21

Justin Carrelli (WT) 14 7 21

Colin Abbonizio (CBS) 13 8 21

Class A G A Pts

Aidan Keogh (PW) 15 24 39

Jake Weikel (PW) 21 14 35

Alex Howieson (HH) 19 14 33

Dean Keller (PW) 17 13 30

Luke Weikel (PW) 14 14 28

Seth Lerner (HH) 15 11 26

Aidan Esack (HH) 10 13 23

Nichols Hussa 17 5 22

Tarek Elsabbagh (HH) 10 10 20

Goals Against

Class AA MP GA GAA

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS)36112 1.60

Mason Moyer (CBS) 48016 1.60

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 42820 2.24

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 53425 2.25

Ryan Pico (Pr) 43231 3.44

Class A MP GA GAA

Ben Yuter (PW 41024 2.81

Joe Gambimo (HH)388 32 3.96

Save Percentage

Class AA MP Shots Saves Sv Pct.

Mason Moyer (CBS) 480 230 214 .930

Chris McIntyre (CBE) 534 339 314 .926

Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 361 151 139 .921

Ryan Pico (Pr) 432 271 240 .886

Brian Nelson (Nesh) 428 168 148 .881

Class A MP Shots Saves Save Pct

Joe Gambino (HH) 388 291 259 .890

Ben Yuter (PW) 410 182 158 .868

Central Bucks South 6, Council Rock South 3

HATFIELD—The atmosphere inside the building was a reasonable facsimile of that at a late-round Flyers Cup game. And with good reason, for both central Bucks South and Council Rock South have presented their credentials as legitimate contenders for the Class AA Flyers Cup title.

On this night, it was the Titans who prevailed, 6-3. Matt Milanesi and Colin Abbonizio each scored twice as C.B. South (9-0-0-1 overall, 7-0 in league play) remained atop the SHSHL’s Class AA Division.

In the sometimes-rambunctious atmosphere at Revolution Ice Gardens the Titans’ experience proved to be an asset. They had 12 seniors in their lineup to the Golden Hawks’ four.

“I’ve been playing South hockey for four years,” Milanesi said. “I knew what to do. (Coach Sean McGinty) tells us to do the same stuff every game, ‘Come out, move the puck, get shots on net’ and that’s what I keep telling our underclassmen. That’s what we need to do each game.”

The Golden Hawks (5-4, 5-1) had the better of the play in the opening minutes but Mason Moyer in the C.B. South net kept them at bay before Dominic Patrone and David Kiecher scored goals om a span of 1:41 to give the Titans a 2-0 lead 7:54 into the period.

Jeremy Purcell cut the lead in half when he scored for the Golden Hawks at 9:54 but matters ground to a halt after the first period when play was delayed for several minutes while a number of spectators were removed.

The Titans, who started the second stanza with a full two-minute power play, immediately seized the momentum when Milanesi scored after just 55 seconds. Douglas Lopez answered for the Hawks at 1:43 but Milanesi scored his second goal of the game at 7:49 to make it a 4-2 game and the scored stayed that way to period’s end.

The Titans got off to another fast start in the third frame when Abbonizio scored at the 1:02 mark.

By this point, the game had gotten more physical and gradually became a parade to the penalty box; there were 13 penalties called in the final period after three were whistled in the first period and one at the end of the second. The game’s last 14 penalties were evenly divided.

The Golden Hawks suffered the biggest loss when, with 7:12 left in the game, Jimmy Sweeney, their goaltender, received a five-minute major penalty for high sticking plus a game misconduct for taking a poke at the Titans’ Nathan Fiveitz.

Michael Tobey scored a shorthanded goal for the Golden Hawks when put in a rebound of a Derek Steudler slapshot at 11:59 to make it a 5-3 game but Abbonizio finished the evening by scoring into an empty net with 1:10 remaining.

The start-and-stop nature of the third period left Joe Houk, the Golden Hawks’ veteran coach, perplexed.

“You’ve got two good teams,” he said. “Go out there and let them play …. You come down to the last 10 minutes of the game and you’ve got your two top players sitting in the box … “But they’re a good team. They beat us tonight, we weren’t on our A game.”

C.B. South 2 2 2—6

C.R. South 1 1 1—3

First-period goals: Dominic Patrone (CBS) from Aydin Thierolf and Connor Gaffney, 6:13; David Kucher (CBS) from Matt Milaesi, 7:54 (pp); Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from Brennan Wright, 9:54.

Second-period goals: Milanesi (CBS) from Patrone, :55 (pp); Douglas Lopez (CRS) from Antii Autere and Michael Roby, 1:43; Milanesi (CBS) from Patrone and Nathan Fiveitz, 7:49.

Third-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) from Kuecher and Gingras, 1:02; Toby (CRS) from Lopez and Wright, 11:59 (sh); Abbonizio (CBS) from Fiveitz and Brian Keilman, 14:50 (en).

Ahots: C.B. South 37, Council Rock South 30; Saves: Mason Moyer (CBS) 27, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 28 and Carson Lopez (CRS) 4.

Flyers Cup Schedule for Wednesday, March 6

Class AA First Round

Downingtown East 4 Council Rock South 1

Parkland 6, Neshaminy 4——See story on this site

Pennridge 6, Garnet Valley 5—The fourth-seeded Rams trailed 5-4 going into the third period, but Eric Slater and Frankie Rota scored goals to secure the win over the 13th-seeeded Jaguars.

North Penn 9, Pennsbury 5—The fifth-seeded Knights scored five goals in the second period to dispatch the 12th-seeded Falcons at Hatfield Ice

Conestoga 5 Perkiomen Valley 1

Haverford 7 Central Bucks East 1

Boyertown 4 Central Bucks West 0

Downingtown West 5 Central Bucks South 2

Quarterfinals will be Monday, 3/11

Class AAA Quarterfinals

Holy Ghost Prep 9 Father Judge 5

St. Joseph’s Prep 4, Cardinal O’Hara 0

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services. We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but owner, Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

Central Bucks South 7, Council Rock South 2

By Rick Woelfel

WARWICK—It took a while for Central Bucks South to get into the flow of things Wednesday night. Thirty-two minutes of playing time to be exact.

After skating through two sluggish periods at Revolution Ice Gardens Wednesday night, the Titans found themselves locked in a 2-2 tie with Council Rock South. The four-time defending Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA champions erupted for five goals in the final stanza and went on to a 7-2 win that was more taxing than satisfying.

Reis Braccio, Colin Abbonizio, D.J. Loverdi, Harry McLaughin, and Dominic Patrone all scored third-period goals for the Titans, who improved to 11-3-1 overall and 9-0-1 in league play.

The win was their fifth straight, but C.B. South coach Shaun McGinty was not in a celebratory mood.

“I’m not happy at all,” he said. “(C.R. South) did a great job, Joe (Houk) did a great job coaching. I’m sure they stuck to their game plan … We weren’t ready.”

The Titans outshot the Golden Hawks (6-7-2, 3-5-2) 54-10. Brett Magloff, Council Rock South’s junior goaltender, was stellar for two periods and then some, he finished the evening with 50 saves.

“We kind of had a game plan coming in,” Houk said. “We wanted to make sure that as long as he was seeing everything, we were good.
The Golden Hawks took a 1-0 when Matt Constantini scored the only goal of the first period at 12:46, a period that saw the Titans outshoot their foes 17-6.

“We were getting the shots on net,” Abbonizio said, “But we couldn’t bury them. We’ve got to finish those shots.”

Nick Klein tied the game for the Titans 25 seconds into the second period, but Bill Harrelson put the Golden Hawks back in front at 2:38 with a shot from the left wing that caromed off the near post and somehow found its way across the goal line.

When Matt Milanesi scored for the Titans at 5:46 the two teams were even once more and stayed that way until the third-period barrage that saw the Titans score five times in a span of 11:24. The last two came when they were shorthanded.

“I thought we stuck to it,” Houk said, “with us getting the puck deep and taking their lanes away. They were getting a little bit frustrated but then they scored those two shorthanded to put the nail in the coffin.”

McGinty stated aloud what was obvious to onlookers, the Titans need to step up their game with the postseason now less than two weeks away.

“They need to do better,” he said. “We’ve got Pennridge next week (in a game that could decide the regular-season championship) and then we’ve got SHSHL (playoffs) and then we’ve got the Flyers Cup and it’s just not going to work. We got lucky tonight to finally turn it on at the end.”

C.B. South 1 1 5—7å

C.R. South 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Matt Constantini (CRS) unassisted, 12:46

Second-period goals: Nick Klein (CBS) from Ryan Gingras and Dominic Patrone, :25; Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Andrew Darling, 2:38; Matt Milanesi (CBS) from Dominic Liberta and Parone, 5:46.

Third-period goals: Reis Braccio (CBS) from Colin Abbonizio, 3:10; Abbonizio (CBS) from Braccio, 7:35; D.J. Loverdi (CBS) from Braccio and Abbonizio, 10:24; Harry McLaughlin (CBS) unassisted, 10:53 (sh); Patrone (CBS) from McLaughlin, 14:34 (sh).

Shots: C.B. South 57, C.R. South 10; Saves: Mason Moyer (CBS) 8, Brett Magloff (CRS) 50.

SHSHL Standings Through Games of 1-4-19

Here is how the standings shape up in the Suburban High School Hockey League going into the week.

Class 2A

National Division W L T Pts

C.R. South (5-2-2) 2 1 2 5

Abington (3-3-2) 2 1 1 4

Neshaminy (3-4-1) 2 3 0 4

Pennsbury (3-4-2) 2 3 0 4

Truman (2-5-2) 1 3 1 3

William Tennent (3-6) 1 4 0 2

Continental Division W L T Pts

C.B. South (6-2-1) 5 0 1 11

North Penn (6-2-2) 5 1 1 11

Pennridge (5-1-1) 4 1 0 8

C.B. East (5-2-1) 2 2 0 4

C.B. West (3-5) 1 3 0 2

Souderton (1-9) 0 6 0 0

Class A

American Division W L T Pts

Wissahickon (6-0-2) 4 0 2 10

Hatboro-Horsham (5-3-1) 3 3 1 7

Lower Moreland (5-1-3) 3 1 1 7

Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-3) 3 3 0 6

Upper Dublin (3-6) 0 6 0 0

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Council Rock South 5, Neshaminy 1

WARWICK—The calendar has turned to January. And, as predictably as an appearance of the full moon, Council Rock South is rounding into form.

Four unanswered third-period goals enabled the Golden Hawks to pull away from Neshaminy 5-1 Wednesday night in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class 2A matchup at Revolution Ice Gardens. Five different players scored goals as South improved to 2-1-1 in league play and 5-2-2 overall. The Hawks have three wins and a tie in their last five starts dating back to Thanksgiving Eve. Neshaminy dropped to 3-4-1 and 2-3.

“It’s good when you get contributions from everybody,” said South coach Joe Houk. “That’s the key to everything. That’s all different lines too. The third line was we had was basically a line of (junior varsity) guys.”

Andrew Stoychev led the way for South with a goal and two assists. His goal 30 seconds into the third period provided to be the game winner. Logan Hurwitz also had a three-point night; three assists.

Despite the fact that there were several junior varsity players in the South lineup, Stoychev said all the pieces fit.

“Both our teams work together,” the senior said. “We saw what was happening with all of our lines, we know how to play with each other and we just make stuff work out.”
The game was scoreless for virtually all of the first two periods. Neshaminy’s Zach MacNamee broke the scoreless deadlock when he beat South netminder Jimmy Sweeney from close range with just 52 seconds left in the second session.

It took only 22 seconds for John Hearn to deliver the equalizer, a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

Stoychev put South in front for good 30 seconds into the final period. Billy Harrelson, Cameron Schwartz, and Kenny Duffield followed with goals of their own over the next 7:42.

“We came out flat,” said Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo. “The biggest thing for us I think is that we turned too many pucks over in transition and we did a poor job getting the puck out of the zone. And when you let that team keep the puck in, and sustain pressure, sooner or later the puck is going to go in your net.”

Notes—South had a 21-16 wedge in shots. The game featured just three minor penalties.

Neshaminy 0 1 0—1

C.R. South 0 1 4—5

Second-period goals: Zach MacNamee (N) from Brett Nelson, 15:08; John Hearn (CRS) from Logan Hurwitz and Andrew Stoychev, 15:30.

Third-period goals: Stoychev (CRS) from Hurwitz and David Mueller, :30; Billy Harrelson (CRS) from Jimmy Purcell, 3:45; Cameron Schwartz (CRS) from Sam Cherkassky and Julian Wagenmann, 5:01; Kenny Duffield (CRS) from Hurwitz and Stoychev, 8:12.

Shots: Neshaminy 16, Council Rock South 21; Saves: Steven Glik (N) 16, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 15