Plymouth Whitemarsh 8, Wissahickon 3

HATFIELD— The celebration resembled ine that traditionally follows the presentation of the Stanley Cup. The Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials completed their climb to the summit Thursday night with an 8-3 win over Wissahickon in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class A championship game.

A large and enthusiastic audience at Hatfield Ice looked on as the top-seedbed Colonials won for the 18th time in 19th starts. Dean Keller and Luke Weikel each scored twice to help their teammates capture the second SHSHL title in school history; the first came in 2009.

“It feels fantastic,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello. “This has been not just a long season coming (but) a lot of years coming.

“These guys have trained day in and day out … I’m just so proud of our players.”
Wissahickon (10-9) built a 3-1 lead by the 2:19 mark of the second period on goals from Ty Schiff, Alex Carrozza, and Nicholas Hussa, but the Trojans never scored again.

Jack Mishkin, Keller, and Ben Lubas scored goals in a span of 2:59 to give the Colonials a 4-3 lead and additional goals from Aidan Keogh sand Jake Weikel made it a 6-3 game before the period ended. Luke Weikel added both his goals in the third period.

The Colonials were just as effective inside their own zone, keeping Bryan Garry, Wissahickon’s top offensive threat, off the scoresheet.

“They did a good job of that,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington. “We made some mistakes like (allowing breakaway opportunities).”

Harrington said penalties took his team out of its rhythm. “When you’re killing or on the power play, it distrusts everything,” he said. “They kind of messes up your flow, We weren’t able to play our third line that much.”

Keller, the Plymouth Whitemarsh captain, reflected on winning a championship.”It means everything,” he said. “The last four years we’ve really been working hard. We’ve been starting in August, just getting ready for games like these and its great that it finally paid off.”

Wissahickon goaltender Chris Shea became was involved in an altercation after they final buzzer and received a major penalty and a game misconduct. That brings with it an automatic one-game suspension.
Ice chips—Both teams will begin Flyers Cup play on Monday night. The Colonials,, who are seeded eighth, will face Lower Dauphin in an 8:45 game at Ice Line. Wissahickon, the 11th seed, will take on Unionville at 6:45 at the same rink.
Wissahickon 2 1 0—3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 5 2—8
First-period goals: Ty Schiff from Nicholas Hussa, 3:25 (pp); Dean Keller (PW) from Conlan Carpenter, 6:06; Alex Carrozza unassisted, 6:46.
Second-period goals: Nicholas Hussa from Schiff and A.J. Pounds. 2:19 (pp); Jack Mishkin (PW) from Zach Spera, 6:16 (pp); Keller (PW) from Mishkin, 8:21; Ben Lukas (PW) from Aidan Keogh and Jake Weikel, 9:15; Keogh (Pw) from Keller, 13:53; Jake Weikel (Pe) from Keller, 15:26.
Third-period goals: Luke Weikel (PW) from Matt Flynn, 4:48; Luke Weikel from Jake Weikel, 13:56.

Plymouth Whitemarsh 13, Hatboro-Horsham 3

HATFIELD—Plymouth Whitemarsh took the ice Friday night immersed in a cauldron of emotion. Senior Colin Franzoni was in uniform in the wake of the recent death of his mother from. On this night, the rink was his sanctuary, his teammates his support system.

It was somehow fitting that Franzoni scored the first goal of the game just 18 seconds after the opening faceoff. The Colonials went on to score seven goals in the first period and went on to a 13-3 win in a game that was halted via the 10-goal mercy rule with 3:40 remaining in the third period.

The win lofted Plymouth Whitemarsh to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Suburban High School Hockey League’s American Division. The loss was the first after five wins for the Hatters, who were opening their conference schedule.

There were some impressive numbers on the scoresheet. Aidan Keogh scored three goals for the Colonials and added five assists. He has now compiled 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in six games. Jake Weikel also had a had trick and three assists. Luke Weikel provided two goals and two assists. Dean Keller scored twice.

Franzoni added a second goal himself but what was most memorable about the evening was how his teammates supported him.

Keller is the Colonials’ captain. “It was obviously a tough week,” he said. “We lost someone who was really close to us and we put it all out on the ice for them and I’m proud of every one of (his teammates). It was just a great overall team win.”

Keller describes the Colonials as a close-knit group. “This is one of the closest hockey teams I’ve ever played on,” he said. I’m happy to say that; this is one of the best years of my life.”

It was an emotional evening for Colonial coach Josh Aiello. Prior to the game the Colonials’ middle-school team practiced and visited the varsity dressing room and the Plymouth Whitemarsh junior varsity team took the ice following the varsity contest.

“It’s pretty cool being involved with this team,” Aiello said. “Because they’re really young men, it’s not like they’re children. I guess technically by age they are, but they’re very nature for their age. They’re very goal oriented and if anything happens, they have each other’s backs. It’s a great group and I’m privileged to be involved.”

Seth Lerner, Tarek Elsbbagh, and Ben Lerner scored the Hatboro-Horsham goals.

Hatboro-Horsham 1 2 0—3

Plymouth Whitemarsh 7 3 3—13

First-period goals: Colin Franzoni (PW) from Zach Spera, :18; Jake Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh, 1:29; Seth Lerner (HH) from Alex Howieson and Nick Maslij, 2:13; Jake Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh and Luke Weikel, 2:37; Dean Keller (PW) from Conor Keogh, 4:58 (pp) Aidan Keogh (PW) from Jake Weikel, 10:50; Luke Weikel (PW) from Jake Weikel and Keogh, 12:21; Keller (PW) unassisted, 12:32.

Second-period goals: Tarek Elsabbah (HH) from Seth Lerner, 1:19; Jake Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh and Conlan Carpenter, 2:21; Ben Lerner (HH) unassisted, 8:29 (sh); Franzoni (PW) from Keller, 14:03 (pp); Spera (PW) from Dean, 14:21.

Third-period goals: Aidan Keogh, from Luke Weikel and Spencer Reilly, 3:48 (pp); Aidan Keogh (PW) from Jake Weikel, 10:49; Luke Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh, 12:20.

Game called at 12:20 of the third period.

Additional Score

Holy Ghost Prep 7, Glenbrook South, Illinois 3—Byron Hartley scored two goals as the Firebirds prevailed in the opening round of the National Scholastic Invitational in Jamestown, N.Y.

SHSHL Scoring Leaders

Here are the leading scorers in the Suburban High School Hockey League through Saturday, November 10

Player Games Played Goals Assists Points

Brian Garry Wissahickon 2 4 5 9

Dean Keller PW 3 2 7 9

Louis Gamburg UD 2 5 4 9

Colin Franzoni PW 3 4 4 8

Jake Weikel PW 3 5 3 8

Tyler Greenstein NP 2 5 2 7

Colin Peppelman LM 2 6 1 7

Sean Garry Wiss 2 5 2 7

Michael Janora CRN 1 6 1 7

Brayden Gyza UM/AW 2 4 3 7

Note: Janora and Gyza play for teams that are not playoff eligible

New Hope-Solebury Hockey Team Making History

Wins have been tough to come by for the New Hope-Solebury hockey team this season. The Lions took the ice against Plymouth Whitemarsh Wednesday night having won just twice in six starts (1-4 in the SHSHL’s Class A Division).

They had just 10 skaters in uniform plus goaltender Devin Brock. And once again they came out on the short end. Dean Keller’s hat trick propelled the Colonials to an 8-6 win at Hatfield Ice.

“The challenge for us is that we’re a small school,” says New Hope-Solebury coach Jeff Garvin. “We have a limited amount of players, a small roster. In my mind, for us to really compete you need three full lines and in a lot of games we’re playing with 10 players. By the third period, our team usually runs out of gas.

But our kids always put in a good effort and play hard, and at the end of the day, I’m glad they’re having fun.”

Garvin’s coaching background includes a stint as an assistant at LaSalle High. About half his players play club hockey. Brock is a virtual novice and had never played in goal prior to this fall.

“Without him, we wouldn’t have a team,” Garvin says.

Brock played a bit of hockey when he was in elementary school but essentially gave up the game at age 10. Today his primary sport is lacrosse; he’s an attackman.

But he grew up idolizing Hall of Famer goaltender3 Martin Brodeur and one thing led to another.

“I loved (Brodeur),” Brock says. “I loved the Devils and watching him growing up was really awesome.”
When he stepped on the ice for the Lions this season, Brock found that his expectations of what his job entailed didn’t always match reality. “(Playing in goal) is so much harder than I thought,” he says “It’s really hard to get used to moving around, but I’m not scared of the puck. It’s not as scary as you think. A lot of people are scared. But it’s a really difficult position to play.”

New Hope-Solebury’s future on the ice is uncertain. There are five seniors on this year’s squad, including Brock and while at one time there was a middle-school team, there were no replacements available when the middle schoolers (who are now freshmen and sophomores) stepped up to the varsity level.

But the players on this year’s roster, 14 in all, have made history.

“I don’t know if we’re going to have enough guys to replace them,” Garvin says. “I’d love to see us have a team next year, but it might be one and done for now.”

The Colonials scored three times on their first six shots and led 4-1 after the first period. Chris Braun and Michael Janora scored twice each for the Lions.

Keller has scored 23 goals for the Colonials this season. He was tied for third in the Class A Division in goals heading into Wednesday night.

Plymouth Whitemarsh is now 2-8 and 2-7 in the division.

New Hope-Solebury 1 2 3—6

Plymouth Whitemarsh 4 2 2—8

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