Father Judge 6 St. Joseph’s Prep 2

Father Judge took control of the game with a four-goal outburst in the second period and stunned St. Joseph’s Prep 6-2 Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinal at the Skatium.

Carlos Rowland and Owen Myers each scored twice for the sixth-seeded Crusaders (16-5), who will face La Salle next Thursday in the semifinals while the third-seeded Hawks closed their season at 10-10.

Rowland scored the first goal of the night 7:19 into the opening period. When he scored a second time, 50 seconds into the second frame, the burst. Gavin Culver, Myers, and Joseph Mullen followed with goals in a span of 3 minutes, 6 seconds and 11:16 still to go in the second period Father Judge had a 5-0 lead.

“We weren’t prepared,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “The boys thought they would walk all over Father Judge.”

Jai Perry-Pereira got the Hawks on the scoreboard with 2:18 left in the second session but St. Joseph’s Prep never got any closer.

Myers scored his second goal of the night with 7:09 left in regulation. Michael Washlick added the Hawks’ second goal with 4:49 remaining.

“Judge’s goalie (Christian McDonald) played great,” Giacomin said. He made four unbelievable saves.

“In one-and-done scenarios you have to show up. Father Judge did and that’s why they are moving on. Our goalie played well despite the score as he got no help in the second period.”

Father Judge 1 4 1—6

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Carlos Rowland (FJ) from Gavin Culver, 7:19

Second-period goals: Rowland (FJ) from Jake Proud and Owen Myers, :50; Culver (FJ) from Charles Heron, 2:38; Myers (FJ) from Rowland, 4:54 (sh); Joseph Mullen (FJ) unassisted, 5:44; Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Adam Charaffi, 14:42

Third-period goals: Myers (FJ) unassisted, 9:51; Michael Washlick (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney and Perry-Pereira, 12:11

Shots: Father Judge 44, St. Joseph’s Prep 35 Saves: Christian McDonald (FJ) 33, Declan Geary (SJP) 38

La Salle 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

La Salle is unmistakably in postseason mode. The Explorers scored pocketed two goals in the opening eight minutes Wednesday afternoon and went on to a 7-0 win over St. Joseph’s Prep in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference semifinal at Grundy Arena.

Second-seeded LaSalle (17-4) the two-time defending APAC and Class AAA Flyers Cup champion, will face Holy Ghost Prep, a 4-1 winner over Malvern Prep for the APAC title next Wednesday at Grundy Arena (5 p.m. start). Third-seeded St. Joseph’s Prep will learn Sunday evening where it is seeded for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup.

La Salle’s performance in the semifinal was a study in precision.

Will Gregorio got things started for the Explorers just 4:30 into the first period after the Hawks coughed up the puck inside their own zone allowing Gregorio and open look from the left circle. Luca Staffani made it 2–0 at the 7:55 mark when he put in a rebound of Michael Zarzycki’s shot from the left wing. Grant LaGreca made it 3-0 on a tip-in with 1:10 left in the period.

“I think the boys were really ready to get out here,” Gregorio said. “This was I think the first time we’ve had a full roster; the full team playing. I think we were excited and we were ready to play.”

Nole Donohue extended La Salle’s lead with 5:25 left in the second period. Julian Tarsi added another goal 4:20 into the third period after Donohue’s shot from the left circle was blocked. Daniel Burke and Donohue added additional goals.

The Hawks (10-9) never really got started.
“They totally outplayed is from the start to the finish,” said St. Joseph’s coach David Giacomin. “We didn’t cover anybody in the beginning and got down two or three goals right away. “We’re not built for coming back from three or four-goal deficits. We’re not that type of team.”
The third period was marred by an assortment of eight penalties, four against each team including three misconducts, adding up to 40 minutes. An additional misconduct penalty was rescinded.

La Salle assistant coach P.J. Quinn stressed the importance of maintaining discipline.

“I thought we came out and got the puck deep and low in their end,” he said. “Pressuring their {defense}. “Our guts performed the first two periods really good; the third period we got a little undisciplined. Which is out of character for us.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 3 1 3—7

First-period goals: Will Gregorio (L) from Grant LaGreca, 4:30; Luca Staffani (L) from Michael Zarzycki and Jake Warner, 7:55; LaGreca (L) from Daniel Burke and Staffani, 15:50

Second-period goal: Nole Donohue from Julian Tarsi and Alex Gibson, 11:25

Third-period goal: Tarsi (L) from Donohue, 4:20; Burke (L) from Declan Kelly, 8:43; Donohue (L) from Alastair St. Hilaire

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 21, La Salle 25; Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 18, Jake Rossi (L) 21

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 Malvern Prep 1 OT

The APAC playoffs are still a ways off, but fans who took in Thursday’s matchup between St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep got a taste of the postseason atmosphere. Cole Gargon’s goal 2:37 into overtime gave the Hawks a 2-1 win that put a damper on the Friars’ Senior Day.

The result assures St. Joseph’s Prep (9-7, 4-3 in the APAC) of a third place in the conference standings with one regular-season conference game remaining against Hun School next Friday. By virtue of the point acquired in the overtime loss, Malvern Prep (3-9, 2-5) will finish fourth, regardless of the result of their regular-season league finale next Wednesday, also against Hun School.

Gargon’s winning goal concluded an overtime session that for most of two minutes played out in the Malvern Prep offensive zone. But a turnover in the neutral zone gave the Hawks their opportunity. They patiently cycled the puck before Frankie Ely deposited it on Gargon’s stick and the sophomore put a shot past Friar goaltender Matt Crawford.

“In overtime, like anything else, it’s a possession game,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “and they possessed it.

“You don’t want to overcommit, you want that one turnover so you can start possessing the game. And, if you watched that play develop, he took the puck out of the (Hawks’) offensive zone; they had a little bit of tired legs and all it needs is one move around a guy and we’re walking in and getting shots.”

The two regulation goals came late in the first period. Jake Weingrtner put the hosts in front when he beat Declan Geary in the Hawk net with 4:03 left in the opening session. The goal came when Michael Castelli was in the box serving a roughing infraction, one of eight penalties called in the first period.

The Hawks responded with an even-strength goal from Bradan Fisher, who beat Crawford from the low slot with 1:27 remaining.

From there. The game evolved into a goaltending dual between Geary and Crawford who between them made 48 saves. Both netminders needed to be in top form.

“It’s always fun playing against {Crawford} Geary said. “We’ve practiced with goalie coaches before. It’s a fun environment with Senior Night. It’s a big one.”

Geary said the pressure of a big game sharpens his focus.

“It’dun,” he said. “I don’t like high-scoring game. I like the low-scoring ones here it’s tight and all that. It’s just fun to compete.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan said his team was looking to keep the momentum going after defeating Hun School two days ago.

“We knew it would be a tough battle with St. Joe’s,” he said. “They’re a physical team, they move the puck well.
“Our guys matched it, our intensity was high, we came up a little short.”

The Friars are assured of hosting the postseason play-in game against Hun School sometime prior to February 19 when the semifinal are scheduled. The winner will face Holy Ghost Prep in one semifinal. St. Joseph’s Prep will face La Salle in the other. Both semifinal games will be played at Grundy Arena. The highest seeded finaliat will host the Founders Cup championship game.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 0 1—2

Malvern Prep 1 0 0 0—1

First-period goals: Jake Weingartner (MP) from House Young, 12:57 (pp); Ben Kersun (SJP) from Bradan Fisher, 15:33

Overtime goal: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely, 2:37

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 28, Malvern Prep 23 Saves: Declan Geary (SJP) 22, Matt Crawford (MP) 26

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La Salle 3 St. Joseph’s Prep 2 OT

Every second counts in a close game. That was borne out Wednesday afternoon when La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep squared off. Grant LaGreca’s goal with nine tenths of a second remaining in overtime gave the Explorers a 3-2 win at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

With time winding down in the three-on-three overtime LaGreca, stationed just inside the St. Josephs Prep blue line, turned his body sideways and flipped the puck toward the net and past Hawk goalkeeper Declan Geary. His post-goal celebration brought him a minor penalty but the goal and the victory stood.

“It was coming down to the wire,” LaGreca said, and {one of his teammates} was saying ‘Shoot it.’ I just threw it at the net and it found its way through.”

The result kept the Explorers (11-6, 5-2 in the APAC) in the running for the conference regular-season title although their ray of hope is growing dim. La Salle trails Holy Ghost Prep by one point in the APAC standings with one conference game remaining. The Firebirds have the tiebreaker if the teams finish deadlocked.

Michael Zaezycki gave La Salle a 1-0 lead off a setup from Noel Donohue with 1:20 left in the first period. Donohue made it a 2-0 game with 9:13 left in the second stanza.

At that point the Hawks (8-7, 3-3) who had just 14 skaters and a goaltender on hand, seemed to be at a disadvantage. But they took the ice in the third period with what seemed to be a renewed sense of energy.

It took just 73 seconds for Patrick Sweeney to make it a one-goal game. Noah Stuhl followed up with 11:42 remaining in regulation.

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner felt the second period was his team’ best. But momentum shifted after the intermission and ice cut.

“When they got that first one it gave them the momentum that they needed,” Muehlbronner said. “I think we were kind of on our heels a little bit but we managed to come out on top which is what matters the most.”

Ironically in this matchup of rivals, there were no penalties called until La Salle’s Will Gregorio was sent off for slashing with 7:20 left in regulation. The next came 1:08 into overtime when the Hawks’ Frankie Ely was flagged for tripping, giving the Explorers a four-skaters-to-three advantage.

Just s Ely’s penalty expired, Donohue seemingly gave La Salle the win when he launched a rocket from the right wing that beat Geary. But goal was immediately disallowed on the grounds the net had become dislodged.

The countdown to the dramatic finish ensued from there.

Although the Hawks came up short on the scoreboard, St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin was impressed with the effort his team have him.

“I was very proud of the effort our boys put out,” he said. They really paid attention to detail and fought back. It was a tough way to lose but being so shorthanded it was nice to see us compete.”

Jake Rossi got the win in goal, making 27 saves along the way.

“I think {Rossi} was very calm in goal,” Muehlbronner said. “I think that helped keep the guys focused on just trying to get our game back. I do think the seniors did a good job.”

La Salle 1 1 0 1—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 2 0—2

First-period goal: Michael Zarycki (L) from Nole Donohue, 15:40

Second-period goal: Donohue (L) Julian Tarsi and Michael Esmond, 7:47

Third-period goals: Patrick Sweeney (SJP) unassisted, 1:13; Noah Stuhl (SJP) from Adam Charrafi, 5:18

Overtime goal: Grant LaGreca (L) from Julian Tarsi, 4:59

Shots: La Salle 38, St. Joseph’s Prep 29; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 27, Declan Geary (SJP) 35

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St. Joseph’s Prep Hoping for a 3-Peat at Purple Puck Tournament

The Purple Puck Tournament has been a fixture on the St. Joseph’s Prep schedule for well over a decade. This year, the Hawks will make the trip to Washington D.C. as the two-time defending champion of the Prep Division.

They’ll open tournament play on Friday against Loyola High School from Montreal, On Saturday, they’ll face Archbishop Spalding from Annapolis, Md. and St. Ignatius.

The tournament field also includes Paul VI from Ashburn, Va. from and Gonzaga College High School, the tournament host.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin says the trip offers his team a number of benefits.

“It’s a time to get away from [the Philadelphia area],” he said. “and play some different teams. They get to stay and room together. So, it’s more of a bonding issue for us. Usually the tighter a team is going own the home stretch, the better you’re going to play.”

Giacomin says the Hawks will be tested against elite competition.

“I think this year is going to be a lot stronger than it was last year and the year before,” he said. “This year they have Loyola in Quebec, which we played probably seen or eight years ago and it was a very tough game. they also have St. Ignatius out of Cleveland who has won the state championship there something like 12 years in a row.

So, it’s going to be more of a challenge for is on the ice but one that we look forward to.”

Giacomin said one purpose of the trip is to build team chemistry that will been something to build on come the postseason.

“Hopefully, down the stretch the kids are fresh and enjoy being around each other a little bit more,” he said, “and play their best hockey come the end of the season.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Malvern Prep 1

PHILADELPHIA—Cole Gargon stepped up for St. Joseph’s Prep in a big way for Sr. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon. The sophomore scored three of his team’s goals as the Hawks bested Malvern Prep 4-1 in an APAC encounter at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Arena.

The win lifted St. Joseph’s Prep (5-1, 3-1 in the APAC) into a three-way tie for the top spot in the conference standings but the Hawks have a game in hand over Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle, the teams they are tied with.

The hosts had to play from behind. After a scoreless first frame Gabe Bedwell gave the Friars (2-5, 1-3) the lead 6:50 into the second people when he put in a rebound of Matt Barbacane’s shot.

Gargon tied the game with a power-play goal at the 7:56 mark and put his team ahead for good 86 seconds later when he weaved his way through traffic front of the net and beat Malvern Prep goaltender Riley Doyle.

Gargon completed his hat trick six minutes into the third period before Frank Ely, who missed some time after being helped off the ice with an injury early in the first period finished the scoring with 2:08 left in the game.

Afterwards, Gawk coach David Giacomin credited Gargon and his linemates for their effort.

“Their line played well,” he said. “It was tough being without Frankie Ely for a while because of the injury but once he came back it was nice to be able to get that line back.”

Giacomin noted his team had some ups and downs over the course of the afternoon.

“The first 10 minutes of the game we played really well,” he said. “Then they took it to us a bit and won the board battle and all that stuff and it took us a little while to get back into it.”

Giacomin said the break for an ice cut between the second and third periods helped the Hawks regain their focus.

“Today it was well needed,” he said. The second period was not a pretty period to watch. There were a lot of scrums, there wasn’t much up-and-down skating. We had to get them back to doing what we were supposed to do.”

The Friars were limited to just 15 shots on goal.

“We’ve been stressing moving through the ice, good zone entry, and getting shots on net,” aid Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We weren’t able to get much traffic today.

“Overall, I thought our effort was there for a period-and-a-half and then it tailed off.”

Malvern Prep 0 1 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 2 2—4

Second-period goals: Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Matt Barbcane and Paton Hoishak, 3:50 (pp); Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely, 9:04; Gargon (SJP) unassisted, 10:30 (pp)

Third-period goals: Gargon (SJP) from Michael Castelli and Ely, 6:00; Ely (SJP) unassisted, 14:52

Shots: Malvern Prep 15, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: Riley Doyle (MP) 21, Declan Geary (SJP) 14

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St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Holy Ghost Prep 3

St. Joseph’s Prep and Holy Ghost Prep came out running and gunning on Wednesday. The Hawks never stopped and built leads of 3-0 and 4-1 en route to a 6-3 win in an APAC shootout at Grundy Arena.

Adam Charrafi and Cole Gargon each scored two goals for the Hawks, who now stand at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Jai Perry Pereira and Thomas Ely also scored for St. Joseph’s Prep, which won its third straight after opening the season with a loss to La Salle.

Charrafi put the Hawks in front 8:52 into the first period when he beat Jack Unger in the Firebird net. Gargon made it a 2-0 game five-and-a-half minutes later before setting up Charrafi’s second goal of the game 3:34 into the second frame.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin was elated with the game’ up-temp pace.

“I was very pleased with the pace of play,” he said. “we played very quickly and got a nice early lead on them and knew they were going to push back, which they did.

“It was nice to play a game with two fast teams going up and down the ice.”

Anthony Valerie scored for Holy Ghost Prep (5-2, 1-2 in conference) on a power-play effort with 7:09 left in the middle period. but Thomas Ely answered for St. joseph’s Prep to extend the Hawks’ lead to 4-1 with 5:30 remaining in the period.

Before the period ended the Firebirds made a charge. Brian Kinniry and Lucas Gonzalez scored goals in a span of 2 minutes, 5 seconds to make it a 4-3 game with 2:59 still left in the second frame.

But the Firebirds could not solve Declan Geary again; he finished the game with 31 saves.
Jai Perry Pereira and Gargon added goals in the closing moments to widen the final margin.

“I was extremely impressed with the way we played in the third period,” Giacomin said. “We really played a smart game and continued to skate hard and got excellent goaltending.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie said his team was undone by a slow start.

“We were unfocused to start the game,” he said. “St. Joe’s took it to us and we dug too deep of a hole for ourselves to get out of. I didn’t think we started playing decent hockey until halfway through the second period and by that point it was too late.”

Ritchie said the Hawks prevailed in part because of their work ethic.

“They outworked us and deserve to win,” he said. “We make too many excuses, and at the end of the day we have to be able to execute on a consistent basis against the teams in our league.”

The Firebirds have dropped their last two conference games.

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 2 2—6

Holy Ghost Prep 0 3 0—3

First-period goals: Adam Charrafi (SJP) from Frank Ely, 8:52; Cole Gargon (SJP) unassisted, 14:19

Second-period goals: Charrafi (SJP) from Gargon, 3:34 (pp); Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from John Gavaghan and Brady Logue, 9:51 (pp); Thomas Ely (SJP) from Bradan Fisher and Noah Stuhl, 11:30; Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Joseph Kaufmann, 11:56; Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Logue, 14:01

Third-period goals: Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Michael Washlick, 15:47; Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely, 16:40

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 37, Holy Ghost Prep 34; Saves: Declan Geary (sjp) 31, Jack Unger (HGP) 31

St. Joseph’s Prep 4 Haverford School 1

St. Joseph’s Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit and went on to defeat The Haverford School 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon at the Class of 1923 Rink in a non-league game.

Henry Cagliuso gave the Fords the lead with 4:57 left in the first period bur Caden Kelly tied the game for the Hawks with one minute left in the second session. Jai Perry-Pereira put his team in front with 7:43 left in the game before Frank Ely and Tristan Winata added goals in the final minute.

The Hawks (1-1) outshot the Fords 47-12 but Ike Matoney kept Haverford in the game with his work in goal.

“We played pretty well,” said Hawks coach David Giacomin. “We dad great puck movement and pressure. Haverford packed it in defensively and their goalie was awesome.”

La Salle 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

Once they got their arms around the APAC championship, La Salle never let go. The Explorers scored four times the first period and went on to a 10-0 win over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference championship game at Hatfield Ice.

The win gave La Salle (20-3) its fourth outright Founders Cup title in the APAC’s six-year history; they’ve also shared a fifth.

It was the second APAC title for La Salle defenseman Doucet who noted the second championship felt just as good as the first.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Probably a little bit better. It gets a little bit better every year, I love this.”

The Hawks, who were appearing in an APAC final for the first time, dropped to 15-6.

Next up for both teams is the Class AAA Flyers Cup.

It was Patrick Brace got things started for La Salle on Monday when he beat Jacob Aranda from close range 7:11 into the opening period. Alex Fusaro made it a 2-0 game just 72 seconds later, and Michael Zarzycki and Will Capenter added additional goals before the first frame ended.

La Salle senior Dean Carvalho said the seeds for the fast start were planted earlier this week.

“I think it was the practices we had this past weekend, Sunday and Monday,” he said. “We knew it was going to be tough going into the game. Our last game (the semifinal win over Holy Ghost Prep) we didn’t start out the way we wanted to, so we did what we needed to do going into this game. I think we got that done”

For the Hawks (15-6) the first-period blitz proved overwhelming.

“We know what the makeup of that team is,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “They’re big, strong, fast kids. “We tried to warn the kids that the first five or six minutes were going to be important; protect our zone, move the puck quickly Not letting them [penetrate] the zone. Unfortunately they scored three goals from right in front of the net. You can’t give that stuff up.”

Carvalho scored the only goal of the second period at the 7:19 mark. Prior to the final period, Giacomin made a goaltender change, inserting Declan Geary in Aranda’s place.

The Explorers didn’t miss a beat, as Julian Tarsi and Charlie Kennedy found the back of the net.

Carvalho felt the Explorers’s edge in experience had a significant impact on what happened on the ice.

“It was huge,” he said. Almost half our team went through it last year and just the experience of being in. That environment with a lot of people here, and a lot of pressure. I think it really helps out.”

Ice chips¸—La Salle will face Perkiomen Valley Monday night in the Flyers Cup quarterfinals while the Hawks will go against Salesianum.

St.Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 4 1 2—7

First-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Ryan Wiley and Charlie Kennedy, 7:11; Alex Fusaro (L) Fromm Michael Zarzycki, 8:23; Zarzycki (L) from Fusaro and Cameron Ross, 11:50; Will Carpenter (L) from Grant LaGreca, 15:50

Second-period goal: Dean Carvalo (L) from Julian Tarsi, 7:19

Third-period goals: Tarsi (L) from Brace, 8:48; Kennedy (L) from Will Gregorio, 9:29

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 21, La Salle 40 Saves: Jacob Aranda (SJP) 25 and Declan Geary (SJP) 7. Jake Rossi (L) 21

St. Josephs Prep 6 Hun School 5

When the final buzzer sounded at the Skatium Friday night, a full range of emotions was on display. Satisfaction, albeit mixed with a healthy dose of concern behind one bench, disappointment and frustration at the other.

John Lynch’ goal just before the buzzer gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 6-5 APAC win over The Hun School.

Lynch’s game winner came amidst a flurry in front of the Hun School net. The referee on the goal line signaled a goal a split second before the buzzer sounded although Raider coach Eric Szeker and his players vigorously disagreed with the call.

The winning goal capped a third period that saw the teams combine for five goals, four of them in a span of 5 minutes, 37 seconds that left the teams deadlocked at 5-5 with 10:56 left in regulation.

The win allowed the Hawks (14-4, 4-3 in the APAC) to leapfrog past Holy Ghost Prep into third place in the conference standings. The Hawks will take second place with a win over La Salle in their APAC finale on Wednesday.

The Friars dropped to 4-10 and concluded conference play at 1-7 but Lynch, one of four St. Joseph’s Prep seniors who was recognized on Senior Night, insisted he and his teammates weren’t overlooking their foe.

“We didn’t take them lightly at all,” he said. “We beat them pretty good the first time (7-2) [but] we knew they’re a good team.

“We could have played better today. We weren’t expecting the game to turn out like this. But we did what we could and we didn’t fall back.

“It was a back-and-forth game the whole time and were came out with the victory.”

Neither team ever led by more than a single goal. Offensive opportunities were abundant. Jake Beck delivered a hat trick for the Raiders. Cole Gargon found the back of the net twice for the Hawks.

There were more offensive opportunities than St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin would have preferred.

“You give up five goals in a hockey game, that’s not going to win anything,” he said. “We were lucky to get a bounce and a couple things went our way and we were able to pull it out. A win is a win, I guess. [But] we’ve got some stuff to clean up.”

The result was a bitter-tasting medicine for Szeker and his players to swallow. A young and injury-riddled Raider squad has played its best hockey of the season this week; it came into Friday’s game off an overtime win over Malvern Prep on Wednesday, Hun School’s first APAC win of the season.

But Szeker is pleased with how his troops have continued to battle despite the loss of several veterans, including captain Ryan Levesque,

“When you’re missing four or five guys that play a lot of hockey, it’s tough,” he said. “But, our guys have stepped up, everyone’s giving us everything, and it’s showing out there.”

Ice chips: The result means the APAC playoff pairings are finalized. Holy Ghost Prep will finish fourth and host Hun School in a play-in game. The winner will face La Salle in one semifinal game on February 21. St. Joseph’s Prep and Malvern Prep will meet in the other.

Hun School 1 1 3—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 2 3—6

First period goals: Michael Castelli (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney and Thomas Ely, 11:54; Jake Beck (HS) from Justin Laplante, 15:05

Second-period goals: Cole Gargon (SJP) from Calum Hartnell, 1:54 (pp); Beck (HS) from Luke Rassier and Charles-Etienne Jett, 5:38 (pp); Beck (HS) from Brendan Marino, 15:18

Third-period goals: Jake Schultz (SJP) from Ben Kersun, :27 (sh); Joachim Neverdahl (HS) from Aidan Shine, 3:26 (pp); Gargon (SJP) from Garett McDonald and John Lynch, 4:49; Caden Kelly (SJP) from Castelli, 5:26; Jack Neckritz (HS) unassisted, 6:04; Lynch (SJP) from Hartnell and Caden Kelly, 0:00 Shots: Hun School 27, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: P.J. Angotti (HS) 19, Jacob Aranda (SJP) 2