The idea of teams from the SHSHL and the ICSHL facing each other during the regular season is not new. But last season was the first during which officially scheduled crossover games were utilized by the Flyers Cup Committee and included in the formula that determined rankings and seedings for Flyers Cup participants and would be participants.
That practice will continue this season with 19 crossover games on the schedule. The first two of them are set for Thursday night with Pennsbury facing Perkiomen Valley (7:20 at Grundy Arena) and Lower Merion hosting Neshaminy (8:00 at Skatium). on Friday, Father Judge will face Council Rock South (6:30 at Flyers Skate Zone Northeast).
Twelve of the 14 SHSHL teams will participate.
“We kind of dabbled with the crossovers last year,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. Everyone had one. This year we’re doing two which I think is really smart .
“It’s just good to see some new competition. Competition you could very likely see in the Flyers Cup.”
The evening came down to capitalizing on opportunities while avoiding mistakes. Holy Ghost Prep found the right balance Wednesday night and left Hatfield Ice Arena as the Class AAA Flyers Cup champion.
Chase Logue scored two goals and Jack Unger was superb in goal as the Firebirds bested La Salle 3-1 in front of a full house to win its first Flyers Cup title since 2017 and the fifth in the school’s history.
“It’s amazing,” Logue, a sophomore, said. “To be with those guys in the locker room is a blessing. “
Offensive opportunities were scarce early on as two teams familiar with each other were reluctant to yield space to the opposition.
The second-seeded Explorers (17-8) outshot the top-seeded Firebirds (21-4-1) 7-1 in the early going but Unger stood tall between the pipes. His big save not quite seven minutes into the first period set the tone for the night.
Logue put his team on from 1:27 into the second period when he beat La Salle netminder Jake Rossi from close range.
“I was lucky,” he said. “I just came out and shot it. I put pucks on net and it went it.”
Some 200 feet away, Unger was doing his part to keep Holy Ghost Prep in front, denying Julian Tarsi on a breakaway with 2:25 left in the middle frame to send the Firebirds into the ice cut clinging to the 1-0 lead.
The Explorers however weren’t going away and a Holy Ghost Prep turnover two-and-a-half minutes into the third period gave them an opening. Michael Esmond converted the chance when the Firebirds lost the puck in front of their own net.
But Logue responded with his second goal of the game just 15 seconds later. With 14:15 left in regulation the Firebirds were back in front but the game was still up for grabs.
It was left to Unger to reach out and seized it by the throat, which he did when the Firebird found themselves killing two penalties in the last 7:14 of regulation. The shots seemingly never stopped coming but Unger turned them all away, en route to winning the Bob Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He finished the evening with 29 saves.
Unger, a senior felt that Wednesday’s game was the best of his career.
“I would say for sure,” he said. “Between the atmosphere, the intensity of the game, and what was at stake.
“I was able to lock in and then being able to get the tam to rally around me and especially during that third period.’
The closest he came faltering the stretch came when a shot from La Salle’s La Salle’s Alistair St. Hilaire from the right wing actually got behind him but slid across the crease before going wide of the far post.
“I’m not going to lie, that one really scared me,” Unger said. “But sometimes you need a little bit of luck on your side.”
Joseph Kauffman scored an empty-net goal for Holy Ghost Prep just before the final buzzer.
For La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, whose team was trying to win its 14th Flyers Cup the result was a disappointment but he appreciated the level of play on both sides.
“That was definitely a great high-school hockey game for sure,” he said.
Muehlbronner felt his team did a lot of good things right during its three power-play chances, except score.
“I thought we did well on the power play,” he said. “We moved the puck well. We didn’t bury many pucks, we didn’t get many bounces that we needed.
“But, I think we played a great game, I really do. We carried a large portion of it, but weren’t able to put any in.”
The Firebirds will face Penguins Cup champion Seneca Valley for the Class AAA state title Saturday in suburban Pittsburgh.
The All-Tournament Team included :
G Jack Unger Holy Ghost Prep
D Ryan Lippy Holy Ghost Prep
D Cam Ross LaSalle
F Alistair St. Hilaire
F Chase Lougue HGP
F Brady Logue HGP
La Salle 0 0 1—1
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 2—3
Second-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino, 1:27
Third-period goals: Michael Esmond (L) from Luke Baumann and Alex Gibson, 2:30; Chase Logue (HGP) from Brady Logue and John Gavaghan, 2:45; Joseph Kaufman (HGP) unassisted,16:59 (sh)
Shots: La Salle 30, Holy Ghost Prep 24; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 21, Jack Unger (HGP) 29
Longtime rivals collide Wednesday night in a Flyers Cup finals doubleheader at Hatfield Ice. Here’s a look at the matchups.
Class AAA Final—6:00
1 Holy Ghost Prep (20-4-1)
Coach: John Ritchie
Players to watch: Brady Logue 25 goals, 18 assists, 43 points inc. 6 goals and 2 assists for 8 points in the tournament; Joe Spadaccino 10-17-27, 0-3-3 in the tournament; Brian Kinniry 18-6-24, 1-1-2 in the tournament; Jack Unger 1.74 GAA, .922 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Salesianum 5-2 in the semifinals.
2 LaSalle (17-7)
Coach: Wally Muehlbronner
Players to watch: Nole Donohue 14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points including 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in the tournament; Grant LaGreca 20-5-25, 3-0-3 in the tournament; Julian Tarsi 10-14-24, 0-4-4 in the tournament; Jake Rossi 1.90 GAA, .926 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Devon Prep 7-0 in the quarterfinals and Father Judge 7-2 in the semifinals.
Ice chips: This game marks the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams. The Firebirds won the previous three, including the Founders Cup championship game for the APAC title 6-4 on February 26th.
The Explorers will be trying to win their third consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup and their 13th overall (they’ve also won it once in Class AA). Their 13 overall titles is a record in any classification. Holy Ghost Prep has won four Flyer Cup titles, three times in Class AAA, once in Class AA.
Class AA Final—8:45
1 Council Rock South (22-2)
Coach: Joe Houk
Players to watch: Jake Weiner 43 goals, 21 assists, 60 points, including 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in the tournament; Jeremy Rayher 33-31-64, 4-2-6 in the tournament; Jordan Sarne 18-27-45, 1-3-4 in the tournament; Trey Prozzillo 2.56 GAA; .884 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Owen J. Roberts 10-0 in the quarterfinals and Spring-Ford 7-2 in the semifinals
2 North Penn (19-3)
Coach: Kevin Vaitis
Players to watch: Cole Pluck 24 goals, 33 assists, 57 points; 3 goals in the tournament; Samuel Norton 28-28-53.0-3-3 in the tournament Nolan Shingle 23-18-41, 4-2 in the tournament; Aidan Quigley 1.91 GAA .923 save percentage; Andrew Norton 2.14 GAA .909 save percentage
Ice chips: The teams split two regular-season meetings. The Golden Hawks won the first 6-3 on November 20th, the Knights took the rematch 5-3 on February 5th.
South is seeking its fourth Flyers Cup title and its first since 2012. North Penn is seeking its first Cup.
The blitz came in the late stages of the first period. Four goals in a span of 4 minutes, 19 seconds. When the sequence ended, Garnet Valley had control of the Class A Flyers Cup final. The Jaguars never let go, en route to a 10-2 win over West Chester Henderson Monday night at Ice Line.
The numbers that top-seeded Great Valley (22-2) compiled were impressive to say the least.
Nolan Stott scored three goals and won the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Kevin Walton finished with three goals and two assists; he finished the tournament as its leading scorer with six goals and three assists. Aiden Delfin contributed three goals and an assist as Garnet Valley (22-2) rolled to its 13th consecutive win and into Saturday’s state championship game against Avonworth at 12:45 Saturday afternoon at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex..
“It’s absolutely an unreal feeling,” Stott said. “We’ve worked so hard this year and to win two cups this year (Garnet Valley also won the Central League title) is an unreal feeling.
“I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. I love these boys and I’m so glad I got to do it with them.”
The scoring blitz began with 5:45 remaining in the first frame when Delfin beat Matt Cieslukowski in the Warrior net with a shot from the vicinity of the right faceoff circle. Walton scored a shorthanded goal with 1:16 left in the period the road became more arduous for second-seeded Henderson (16-7) when Dylan Orr and Delfin scored goals nine seconds apart in the period’s final 27 seconds.
The Warriors never recovered. Jake Platz got Henderson on the scoreboard 3:44 into the middle period but the goals kept coming from Garnet Valley, specifically from Stott who scored three consecutive goals in the second period in a span of just under 10 minutes to power the Jaguars to a 7-1 advantage.
“It was a shock to the system at the end of the first period,” said Henderson coach Tom Aughey. “Two goals in nine seconds in the final 27 seconds of the period changed the game completely.”
Aughey said the Jaguars’ greatest asset was their speed.
“They transition the puck so quickly,” he said. “And when they get to the open spot, they’ve got shooters that cam put the puck in the net.”
The third period saw period saw Walton and Delfin complete their hat tricks. At the other end of the ice. Great Valley’s Garrett Stoops had as relaxing an evening as is possible for a goaltender. He stopped 26 of the 28 shots he saw.
“I definitely think I was focused the whole time,” he said, “no matter what the score was. I always told myself ‘0-0. No matter what.’”
Moments after the final horn, Stoops was experiencing the emotion of the moment.
“It definitely feels pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s something really special, but I knew this team had it in them. We lost two games all year and we 10-0’ed the team we lost to (Haverford) in the Central League championship. I knew we’d come out here hard.”
Garnet Valley goaltender Garrett Stoops makes a save Monday night (Martin Scott photo)
Ice chips: This marked the second Flyers Cup for Garnet Valley. The first came in 1998, also in Class A …Aughey reflected on what Henderson accomplished this season despite coming up short Monday night.
“These kids in our locker room are truly special to our school and to our club,” he said. “It’s been six-plus years since we’ve had a winning season. To make it to the finals of not only the Flyers Cup but also our league playoffs, is something great. The seniors left a mark on our club that we will take forward.”
• The All-Tournament Team included:
Nathan Stott Garnet Valley MVP
Kaden Longo Garnet Valley
Dylan Orr Garnet Valley
Jake Morrow Garnet Valley
Garrett Stoops Garnet Valley
Blake Platz West Chester Henderson
West Chester Henderson 0 1 1—2
Garnet Valley 4 3 3—10
First-period goals: Aiden Delfin (GV) from Kevin Walton and Garrett Stoops, 11:15; Walton (GV) unassisted, 15:44 (sh); Dylan Orr (GV) from Kaden Longo and A.J. Tenhuisen, 16:33; Delfin (GV) from Jake Robinson 16:42
Second-period goal: Jake Platz (WCH) from Declan Dowd and Andrew Denny, 3:44; Nolan Stott (GV) from Longo, 6:08; Stott (GV) from Longo, 13:25; Stott (GV) from Tenhuisen, 16:05
Third-period goals: Walton (GV) unassisted, 3:41 (pp); Walton (GV) from Robinson and Delfin, 5:54; Nick Denadi (WCH) from Cole Navazio, 11:38 (pp); Delfin (GV) from Walton and Robinson, 13:33 (pp)
Shots: WC Henderson 28, Garnet Valley 46; Saves: Matt Cieslukowski (WCH) 36, Garrett Stoops (GV) 26
It’s no surprise that Garnet Valley and West Chester Henderson reached Class A Flyers Cup final (7:00 Monday) at Ice Line. The Jaguars and the Warriors were the top two seeds. Here’s a look at how they got there.
1 Garnet Valley (21-2)
Coach: Stephane Charbonneau
Players to watch: Kevon Walton 36 goals, 23 assists, 59 points, inc. 3 goals and 1 assist in the tournament; Jake Robinson 21-25-46; 2-1-3 in the tournament; Nolan Stott 24-18-42, 1-3-4 in the tournament; Garrett Stoops .909 save percentage, 1.59 GAA
How they got here: Defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-0 in the quarterfinals and West Chester East 2-1 in the semifinals.
2 West Chester Henderson (16-6)
Coach: Tom Aughey
Players to watch: Blake Platz 31 goals, 18 assists 49 points inc. 3 goals and 2 assists in the tournament; Hunter Haas 26-43-49; 4-3 in the tournament; Andrew Dent 4-2-6 in the tournament; Matt Cieslukowski 2.81 GAA, .884 save percentage
How they got here: Defeated Marple-Newtown 7-6 in the quarterfinals and Hershey 7-4 in the semifinals.
Ice chips: The two teams met once during the regular season with Garnet Valley taking a 5-2 bwin on January 31. Nolan Stott paced the Jaguars with two goals and an assist …Garnet Valley won the Class A Flyers Cup in 1998. Henderson claimed the title in 2007. The Jaguars are taking a 12-game winning streak into the finals. The Warriors have won three of their last four.
La Salle’s success this season has been based on the concept of getting contributions from a variety of sources.
Such was the case Thursday night. Grant LaGreca and Noel Donohue each scored two goals and three other players scored on goal each as the Explorers downed Father Judge 7-2 in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice Arena.
Second-seeded La Salle (17-7) will face Holy Ghost Prep next Wednesday at this same venue in a bid to win its third consecutive Flyers Cup, a feat the Explorers last accomplished in 2014 when they claimed the Cup for a fourth consecutive year. Sixth-seeded Father Judge closed the season at 16-6.
The game was closer than the final score seemingly indicted. Judge trailed 2-1 after one period was close enough to be a threat, trailing 4-2 early in the third before the Explorers put the game away.
Michael Zarzycki got thing started for La Salle when he beat Crusader goaltender Christian McDonald 3:32 into the first period. But Chris Ferrero responded for Judge with a power-play goal at the 8:49 before Donohue’s effort with 1:14 remaining put La Salle in front for good.
The Explorers extended their lead in the second period on goal from Declan Kelly and Alex Gibson.
Jake Pound made thing more interesting when he scored for Judge just 14 seconds into the final period but LaGreca answered at the 2:21 mark.
Donohue and LaGreca once more added additional goals.
“We started slow,” LaGreca said, “but we stuck to our system, listened to what our coaches had for the game plan, but we played the right way in the end.”
LaGreca said the Explorers stayed patient when it counted.
“We know we can’t look past anyone.” he said. “We’ve got to stay patient and keep shooting pucks on net.”
Council Rock South got off to a fast start Thursday night and never really slowed down.
Jeremy Rayher scored twice in the first period and the Golden Hawks went on to a 7-2 win over Spring-Ford Thursday night at Hatfield Ice Arena. Top-seeded South (22-2) will try to win its fourth Flyers Cup next Wednesday night when it faces North Penn (8:45 at Hatfield Ice).
Spring-Ford, the 12th and last seed in the tournament, closed its season at 12-10-1 after winning two games to reach the semifinal round.
Rayher got his team on the scoreboard with 3:23 left in the opening and added a second goal with 57 second left. Those goals, his third and fourth of the tournament, set tone for the evening.
Rayher, a senior, spoke to the importance of the fast start.
“We all knew what my sophomore year with Pennsbury,” he said (the Hawks lost to the Falcons in the Flyers Cup semifinals).
“I just want that ring, everyone on the team wants that ring, so we all just came out hard, we came out with a mindset to win this game.
“We all just took it to them. We hit hard, we got a lot of shots on net. The goalie gave up lots of rebounds and we capitalized on them.”
Koen Gregg scored for the Rams 3:25 into the middle period to make it a 2-1 game but Daniel Filippov answered of South at the 6:34 mark.
The Hawks broke the game open when Jonah Weston, Rayher, and Jackson Mosley all scored goals in a span of 2 minutes, 39 seconds early in the third period. The balance of the period saw Spring-Ford’s Nathan Riley and the Hawks’ Peter Pereborow trade goals.
“We got a little rocky in the second period,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We let them get a real crappy goal, but o thought all in all our puck pursuit was there.
“Maybe a little too much individual play. We got away from our game plan a little bit there.”
But Houk was able to get his troops refocused during the break for the post-second period ice cut.
“I thought we outplayed them from start to finish,” hGoukouk Houk said. “We really didn’t give them much room to breathe.”
Spring-Ford coach Tom Kisela reflected on his first season behind the Rams’ bench.
“For me, this whole season begins and ends with the players,” he said. As a first-year head coach, sometimes ir can take time to establish a culture, but not with these guys. Right from the start, I knew these wanted someone to come in and push them to get better every day.
“For us, having the incredibly successful season we had is a combination of diversity and the lessons learned throughout the year.”
When it mattered most, West Chester East found another gear. Leading 4-3 going into their third period of their Class A Flyers Cup semifinal against Hershey, the Warriors scored twice in a seven-minute span and went on to post a 7-4 win at Ice Line.
Second-seeded Henderson (16-6) will face top-seeded Garnet Valley in the Cup final Monday at Ice Line (time TBD). The Warriors previously won the Cup in 2007.
Andrew Denny led the scoring blitz for the Warriors scoring four goals. Three other players scored one goal each, among them Declan Herr, who also contributed a pair of assists. Hunter Haas and Nick DeNardi also chipped in two assists apiece. Haas wound up leaving the game early in the second period with an apparent lower-body injury.
Fans who favor an abundance of scoring got their wish early on; there were five goals scored in the first period. Denny staked his team to a 2-0 lead, his first goal coming 4:53 into the opening frame and his second not quite seven minutes later during a power play.
But the sixth-seeded Trojans (14-8-1), who took the ice as the defending Class A Flyers Cup and state champions, were quick to respond. Bryce Erwin and Lucas scored goals 90 seconds apart to tie the game, albeit briefly.
The Warriors retook the lead on Declan Herr’s goal with 48 seconds remaining in the opening period only to see Brady Cox tie the game for the second time with 8:09 left in the second frame. Blake Platz, the Warriors’ senior captain, put his team ahead for the third time with just 14 seconds left in the middle period. As it turned out, his goal put his team in front for good.
Going into the third period, the game was still up for grabs but Denny altered that equation when he scored his third goal 31 seconds into the period. Anthony Barthol followed with a goal of his own at the 6:59 mark
“Coming out in the third period we pretty much put two up quick,” Platz said, “and then shut them down.”
Platz said he and his teammates stuck to fundamentals down the stretch after regaining the lead.
“The biggest thing in high-school hockey that I see is playing defensively sound, getting the puck out, and taking care of your D-zone,” he said. “Once that happens, if you’ve got pretty good forward lines, you can take care of the game.”
Henderson coach Tom Aughey felt the game was being played on even terms until the decisive third period.
“Coming out of the ice cut you could tell our boys really wanted it more,” he said. “They really wanted it more than anything else they could have right now.”
Hershey 2 1 1—4
WC Henderson 3 1 3—7
First-period goals: Andrew Denny (WCH) from Hunter Haas, 4:53; Denny from Haas, 11:47 (pp); Bryce Erwin (H) unassisted, 13:42; Tyler Lucas (H) from Cole Umberger, 15:12; Declan Herr (WCH) from Nick DeNardi, 16:12
Second-period goals: Brady Cox (H) from Umberger, 8:51; Blake Platz (WCH) from Miles Donnelly, 16:46
Third-Period goals: Andrew Denny (WCH) from Platz and DeNardi, :31; Anthony Barthol (WCH) from Herr, 6:59; Owen Hulays (H) from Erwin, 9:05; Denny (WCH) unassisted, 15:46 (sh), (en)
Shots: Hershey 24, WC Henderson 45; Saves: Alex Placeros ((H) 38, Matt Cieslukowski 20
In the Flyers Cup atmosphere, pressure and mistakes are magnified. So it was Tuesday night.
Kaden Longo’s goal off a turnover with 48 seconds left in the second period proved decisive as Garnet Valley prevailed over West Chester East 2-1 in a Class A semifinal at Ice Line.
The top-seeded Jaguars (21-2) will take a 12-game winning streak into Monday’s championship game against West Chester Henderson (at Ice Line, time TBD) where they will attempt to win their second Flyers Cup title; their first came in 1998. Fourth-seeded West Chester East closed its season at 11-10.
The winning goal came off a miscue when the Vikings coughed up the puck to the left of their goaltender Cameron Chandler and Longo was able to coral the puck and tuck it in the net.
“I think being alert out there really helps us,” Longo said. Having our head up. We have a great group of forwards, a great group of defensemen, we have good chemistry out there.
“I think, crashing the net, everything just worked out.”
The Vikings started the scoring when Konrad Finnin beat Garrett Stoops with the first shot of the game 2:10 into the opening period. Longo responded 10:30 into the opening frame during a power play with a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle.
Neither team could find the back of the net after that until Longo’s game winner but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Jaguars outshot the Vikings 46-31 but Chandler kept the Jaguars at bay
“We knew it was going to be a strong battle with these guys,” said Garnet Valley coach Stephane Charbonneau. “They all know each other. Everybody knows everybody.
“They started strong but we kept battling and working hard and chipping the puck out. Finish our checks, stay out of the box; that was very important for us.”
There were just six penalties called in the game, West Chester East was assessed four of them and Viking coach Eric Wolf felt that having to kill four penalties cost his team in the late going.
“It wasn’t lack of effort that lost this game,” he said. “We were fighting an uphill battle against one, sometimes two teams, so it’s tough. It’s hard to penalty kill for that long. It takes a lot out of your guys.
Wolf praised his netminder’s work; Chandler finished with 44 saves. A strong case could be made that he was the best player on the ice
“He was going to have to be the best player on the ice for us to win this game,” Wolf said. “We told him that coming into the is tournament. If we were going to be here in the end, he would have to be our best player.”
West Chester East 1 0 0—1
Garnet Valley 1 1 0—2
First-period goals: Konrad Finnin (WCE) from Sean Farrell, 2:10; Kaden Longo (GV) from Nolan Scott and A.J. Tenhuisen, 10:30 (pp)
Second-period goal: Longo (GV) Matt Abbonizio, 16:12
Shots: West Chester East 31, Garnet Valley 46; Saves: Cameron Chandler (WCE) 44, Garrett Stoops (GV) 30
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