The defending Class AAA Flyers Cup champion Friars scored three times in the first period and went on to a 6-2 win over Holy Ghost Prep Wednesday night in a semifinal game at Ice Line.
Matt Harris scored three goals and assisted on another to lead the Friars into next week’s final against St. Joseph’s Prep. That game will be played at Ice Line (date/time TBD).
Holy Ghost Prep 0 0 2
Malvern Prep 3 2 1—6
First-period goals: Hayden Campbell (MP) from Teague Murray, 5:52; Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Matt Harris, 9:39; Harris (MP) from Caiden Canale and Pierre Larocque, 10:08
Second-period goals: Harris (MP) from Brady Doyle, 3:02; Harris (MP) from Larocque: 5:17
Third-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Ciaran Chambers and Shaun Moore, 6:29 (pp); Harris (MP) unassisted, 14:54 (sh/en); Brian Butler (HGP) unassisted, 15:59
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 37, Malvern Prep 31; Saves: Jason Soule (HGP) 18 and Colin Mudrick (HGP) 7, Anthony Perti (MP) 35)
Council Rock South 4 Haverford 1
David Vergules scored three goals as the third-seeded Golden Hawks downed the defending champion and second-seeded Fords Wednesday night in a Flyers Cup Class AA semifinal at Ice Line. Julian Wagenmann recoded two assists for the Golden Hawks, who broke the game open with three goals in the third period.
South will face Pennridge next week in the championship game at Hatfield Ice (date/time TBD).
C.R. South 1 0 3—4
Haverford 1 0 0—1
First-period goals: David Vergules (CRS) unassisted, 3:28; Jagur McClelland (H) from Nate Rabadam, 5:19
Third-period goals: Vergules (CRS) from Julian Wagenmann, 4:00; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Wagenmann, 5:43; Vergules (CRS) from Peter Pereborow and Baize Pepe, 15:09 (en)
Shots: Council Rock South 25, Haverford 27; Saves: Carson Lopez (CRS) 26, Jai Jani (H) 21
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— It was hockey’s equivalent of a first-round knockout. Pennridge scored three times before the contest was nine minutes old and went on to an 8-1 win over Avon Grove Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice Arena.
The top-seeded Rams (20-0-1) will face third-seeded Council Rock South in an all-SHSHL final at this same venue, likely next Monday or Tuesday. Fifth-seeded Avon Grove closed at 14-8-0-1.
As impressive as Pennridge has been this season coach, Jeff Montagna felt his team reached a new level on this night.
“I thought was by far the best game they’ve played all year,” he said. “On the biggest stage. And in the biggest game of their lives up until that moment.”
Andrew Savona the Rams off to a fast start when he beat Justin Mackey in the Red Devils’ net 4:16 into the opening period off a feed from Kevin Pico. Shane Dachowski followed at 8:09 and Pico extended the Rams’ lead just 30 seconds later.
Jack Lowery, who assisted on two of the Rams goals, said the Rams were energized by the fast start. “The past few games we’ve been coming out a little slow,” he said, “and going down early. “We talked in the locker room before this game; the biggest thing is to come out here, score a couple goals fast.
“(Avon Grove is looking up to us. We’re the one seed. We want them chasing us, playing our game and get them off theirs. That’s exactly what we did tonight.”
Savona and Dachowski finished the evening with two goals each. Pico had two assists to go with his goal. A total of six players had multi-point games.
Lowery pointed out that the Rams’ fast-paced style is easier to implement with veteran Ryan Pico in goal.
“We can rely on Ryan every game,” he said. “Every game, no matter what, he’s back there making good saves for us. When you have a goalie like that, you can take some chances.”
Avon Grove’s only goal was a power-play effort off the stick of Brendan Chandler 6:33 into the third period.
The Flyers Cup final and possibly a state championship game are still ahead but Lowery, a senior knows his time with the Rams is drawing to a close. That realization has sharpened his focus.
“These are the last games I’m going to be playing competitively in youth hockey,” he said. “All I want to do is win, that’s all we want to do.”
Avon Grove 0 0 1—1
Pennridge 3 1 1 3—8
First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Kevin Pico, 4:16; Shane Dachowski (P) from Aidan Boyle and Jack Lowery, 8:09; Pico (P) from Tyler Manto, 8:39
Second-period goals: Manto (P) from Dachowski, 11:49 (sh)
Third-period goals: Savona (P) from Pico, 1:32; Brendan Chandler (AG) from Will Gorman, 6:33 (pp); Aeryk Lehrhaupt (P) unassisted, 10:57 (pp); Ryan Schuler (PP) from David, 14:22; Dachowski (P) from Lowery and Schuler,16:24
Shots: Avon Grove 26, Pennridge 39; Saves: Justin Mackley (AG) 31, Ryan Pico (Pr) 25
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— The evening’s festivities didn’t feature an abundance of artistry. The matchup between St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle was a gritty, grind-it-out hockey game between two foes intimately familiar with each other.
It was Hawks who emerged from the scrum victorious by a count of 2-0 in a Class AAA semifinal Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice.
Jeffrey Hammond scored both goals to propel the third-seed Hawks (10-8-1) into next week’s final against top-seeded Malvern Prep. The junior spoke to the level of familiarity between the Hawks and the Explorers, who are traditional rivals in every sport.
“All the videos of our games are on You Tube,” he said. “All the players and coaches watched a lot of our games, over and over again and we picked out what we needed to do to come out with a win today.”
Hammond said all the preparation paid off. “We definitely came prepared,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. Everyone expected it. Everyone played like they had to to get the job done.”
Hammond gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead 4:27 into the first period when he scored off a scramble in front of the La Salle net, beating Explorer netminder Will Braun. The early goal set the tone.
“We knew going into it that they’ve got the speed,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin said of the Explorers. “They are strong, they like to bang the body.
“I told them as long as we keep them on the outside, don’t give up the little gritty goals, take away the behind the net, we would have a chance.
“We were lucky enough to get two good goals early, and they had to play catchup, which is hard to do.”
Hammond scored a statement goal for the Hawks 8:31 into the second session. With his teammate Nick Storti serving a two-minute sentence for a slashing infraction, Hammond found space on right wing and beat Braun with a wrister.
That was it as far as scoring was concerned, although the game’s emotional temperature remained at a fever pitch.
But try as they might the second-seeded Explorers (8-9-1) couldn’t find a way to sustain momentum in their offensive zone or solve Hawks’ goaltender Rocco Bruno who finished with 26 saves.
“We just couldn’t seem to get any bounces or any momentum going,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “I think the shorthanded goal we gave up really hurt us.
“I think St. Joseph’s Prep played a great game. They were opportunistic. They played a really good game.”
Emotions boiled over in the late going. With 1:38 left in the third period La Salle’s Chase Hannon was called for elbowing before being accessed three additional penalties, resulting in his banishment.
A series of penalties with 36 seconds left resulted in the teams finishing the game with three skaters each on the ice although La Salle had already pulled Braun to add an extra skater.
St. Joseph’s 1 1 0—2
La Salle 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) fro Joey Samango and Christian Short, 4:27
Steve Getsie was drawn to Malvern Prep because of his passion for hockey and lacrosse. By all accounts, it’s been a good fit. The junior defenseman will be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Friars face off against Holy Ghost Prep in the Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinals at Ice Line (6:45 start).
Malvern Prep is the defending Flyers Cup and state champion and recently claimed the APAC title.
Getsie is in his third varsity season, a stay-at-home defenseman who does the little things well and processes a strong work ethic. Not that he didn’t have some adjustments to make at first. Like most newcomers to high school hockey, he had to become comfortable playing with and against players who were bigger, stronger, and older.
“I’m a January ‘05 birthday,” he said, “so I was usually older than most of the kids I played with. My eighth- grade year I was playing with ‘06s, so I was so I was a lot bigger than most of the guys I was playing against, so when I came into high school it was definitely a change to be playing on varsity against seniors that were a lot bigger and stronger than me.”
Getsie prides himself on being a physical player, but he had to tone down that side of his game when he first came to Malvern Prep because of the physical maturity of his teammates and opponents.
”Just because being a younger guy out there was a little bit different,” he said.
But the foundation of Getsie’s game remained unchanged.
“I definitely just played my game of hockey,” he said. “I didn’t come in and try to do something else. I feel like I’ve always been more of a defensive defenseman than an offensive defenseman. Coming to Malvern, I was definitely able to harp on those strengths.
“I would be a physical player, I would block a bunch of shots and a lot of the older guys, when I was a freshman and sophomore, they really respected me for putting my body on the line for the team. So, that was able to help me fit in on the team and that’s kind of my place still, being a defensive defenseman that puts his body on the line and plays for the team.”
The Friars have set a standard of excellence for two seasons now. Many of their players play together at the club level. Getsie says that familiarity breeds success.
“We’ve been together for the last three years, pretty much,” he said. “The star players that are the juniors and senior Jimmy (Jacobs) Pierre (Larocque), (Matt) Harris and Quinn Dougherty, they’ve all been playing on the same team since our freshman and sophomore years, so this has all been over the last three years.
“Just being able to play with each other on Malvern as well as most of those guys playing in the same organization or on the same team elsewhere. I think that has allowed everyone to develop good chemistry the last three years. And then it has helped Malvern develop into the kind of team we are.”
Steve Getsie
Getsie notes that the culture at Malvern Prep encourages unselfishness, and that mindset carries over onto the ice.
“I think it’s kind of the history of Malvern hockey,” he said, “whether we were a top team or not. The seniors, and the older guys before those guys, kind of set (the standard) to always be a leader for the team and not a self-centered guy.
“As well as at Malvern, we kind of have that theme of brotherhood and I’ve definitely seen that come out on the team as well the school in total just going through Covid. Everyone has come together and we’re all like a family so, I feel like in the environment we have on our team, nobody plays for themselves and they all want what’s best for the team.”
The Friars are focused on successfully defending the Class AAA Flyers Cup, something that hasn’t happened since 2014.
“The mindset is ‘Take advantage of what we have,’” Getsie said. “We have another really good team this year and all of us would love to win it again. We’ve been practicing and we’re making sure we’re staying primed, staying in the atmosphere and mindset of hockey. We’re going to hit the ice on Wednesday and play like we left off last game.”
Keenan Schneider is looking forward to the Flyers Cup tournament.
The La Salle senior forward will be counted on to play a significant role when the Explorers face off against St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night in a Class AAA semifinal (6:00 at Hatfield Ice).
The Flyers Cup tournament is the highlight of the scholastic hockey season and teams, players, and coaches alike embrace it. But the tournament might mean more to Schneider than most. Just two days before Thanksgiving he suffered a shoulder injury in a game against Christian Brothers Academy. In its aftermath, Schneider thought his season and La Salle career might be at an end.
“In the heat of the moment, in the back of my head, I was thinking at it was the end of my high-school career,” he said, “and all could think about was just watching my team play on the sidelines while was out for the season. But thankfully, I got a lot of tests done, I’ve been through rehab the past four or five months. Every day I still have to work on it, my shoulder, and I’m just staying positive and keeping my strength up in my shoulder so I can prevent a further injury from happening.
It was during this period that Schneider’s teammates and in fact the entire La Salle community rallied around him. That support mean a lot to him.
“It’s one of the most important things,” he said. “The most important things about a team is sticking together. And making sure everyone is on the same page. When I got hurt, my teammates, my coaches and even some teachers were just praying for me and hoping for the best. And they were just saying “Keep your head high, it will all work itself out.”
Keenan Schneider (provided by Erin Schneider)
Schneider was able to return to the lineup and finished the APAC season with five goals and two assists. The Explorers wound up losing the Founders Cup final to Malvern Prep.
The Flyers Cup tournament offers a fresh start. The Explorers will have had a two week break before taking the ice for their semifinal, which has given Head Coach Wally Muehlbronner and his players time to do some fine tuning in practice.
“This is the most practices we’ve had in a while,” Schneider said, “because of our game schedule, and dealing with (club) and stuff.
“Basically right now, we’re just going over our system, we’re just focusing on what our game is and what we need to do to be successful.”
Schneider, who has played approximately 85 games this season between his high school and club teams, is using the break to recharge mentally and physically.”
“I just try to stay calm and collected,” he said. ”I try to balance out (his hockey commitments) fairly evenly and just take care of my body as I get some days of rest. I just love the game so nothing can really bring me down that much where I can’t play.
“I’m always wanting to play and always wanting to compete. And basically, just mentally staying focused on what the goal is, and that’s winning the Flyers Cup.”
Schneider’s four years of high school coincide with the APAC’s first four seasons. “The APC is probably one of the most competitive leagues I have ever played in,” Schneider said. If you don’t come out with your A game, any team can beat anyone.
“That’s the best part about it, just how each team is competitive. Every team is good enough to beat the others. It’s always the team that shows up is the one that wins.”
Schneider cites the respect that the conference’s players and coaches display on the ice.
“Our coach and I believe every other coach, they all stress the fact to respect the game,” he said. “Every school wants to respect not only themselves but each other and who they play, to keep the game just a game and not let emotions fall though.
“I think every school is pretty respectful of each other and every school has the same goal. It can get very competitive and that’s why our league is so much more disciplined because we have that level of respect for each other.”
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Pennsbury Falcons typically don’t wait for things to happen. Their up-tempo style on ice is one of the keys to their success; they are capable of putting a string of goals together in a hurry.
That trend continued Tuesday night. The Falcons scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-3 win over Owen J. Roberts in a Class A first-round Flyers Cup encounter at Hatfield Ice.
Senior defenseman Reece Millman says the Falcons’ fast-paced stole is a good fit. “Hockey is all about momentum,” he said. “If you can score goals and build upon it, then you’re just going to score more goals. So, it’s nice to know that we have the ability to do it. It’s not something that happens out of the blue.
So, when we are down, it’s nice to know. Everybody knows that we can bury goals quickly.”
The 14th-seeded Wildcats (10-10-0-1) took a 2-1 lead in a goal from Brady Callahan 3:32 into the second period but the third-seeded Falcons (12-4-1) responded in a big way. Logan Doyle, Brendan Macainsh, Reece Picker and Andrew Falkenstein scored goals in a span of 4 minutes, 16 seconds to give Pennsbury a 5-2 lead.
Riley Vitullo scored for the Wildcats with 1:46 left in the middle period but Macainsh answered for Pennsbury just 16 seconds later. The teams traded goals in the third period.
“I’m never too worried about our offense,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “Which is nice right? You’re not too worried about half of your game.
“I’m always a little worried about our defense, but I’m veery happy with out offensive ability.”
Whatever concerns Daley might have had about his team’s play inside its own blue line were alleviated by the work of Aaron McDaniel in goal. The sophomore has done some of his best late in the season. On Tuesday night he stopped 17 of the 20 shots he saw.
“This is his first year starting,” Daley said. “He got to be the backup last year (on a SHSHL championship team). I think he learned a lot from our senior goaltender last year; how to put together a playoff run. This second half of the season, he’s been stellar.”
Pennsbury will face fifth-seeded Avon Grove in a Thursday quarterfinal. The site and time of that game will be announced on Wednesday.
O.J. Roberts 1 2 0—3
Pennsbury 1 5 1—7
First-period goals: Shane Siegmund (P) from Reece Millman, 14:29; Sean Kavanagh (OJR) from Charlie Davis and Ethan Bochanski, 16:18
Second-period goals: Brady Callahan (OJR) from Davis and Andrew Watson, 3:32; Logan Doyle (pp) from Siegmund and Brendan Macainsh, 8:14; Macainsh (P) from Doyle and Justin Marlin, 10:53; Reece Picker (P) from Macainsh, 11:59; Andrew Falkenstein (P) from Millman,14:59; Riley Vitullo (OJR) unassisted, 15:14; Macainsh (P) from Evan Eissler and Millman, 15:30;
Third-period goals: Millman (P) from Eissler, 4:25
HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A fast start is advantageous for any hockey team, particularly in the crucible that is the Flyers Cup tournament.
Council Rock North got off to as fast start Monday night and never looked back. The Indians scored three times in the first period and went on to a 7-3 win over Penncrest in a Class A Flyers Cup first-round game at Hatfield Ice.
Eighth-seeded North (10-7) will face fourth-seeded Hershey Thursday at Ice Line in a quarterfinal game. The 12th-seeeded Lions closed at 5-10.
The Indians have been a potent offensive force all season and that didn’t change on Wednesday.
Karson Grainey gave his team a 1-0 lead with 4:08 left in the opening period. Wilton Pasch, the only senior in the North lineup, made it a 2-0 game at the 2:54 mark and Noah Epstein added a power play goal with 2.9 seconds left in the first frame.
North coach Greg McDonald spoke to the importance of the fast start.
“You don’t know who is on the other side,” he pointed out. “If the boys are excited, and they’re jumping, and they get some goals, it kind of lets you settle some things down early.”
Kain Walker scored a power-play goal for Penncrest 7:22 onto the second session but Lucas Siomos answered for the Indians with exactly five minutes left in the period.
There were five goals scored in the third period, among them Pasch’s second of the night. North was never in jeopardy of losing the lead.
Goaltender Ian Goldberg saw to that, making 33 saves. The freshman credited the defense in front of him.
“We moved the puck good out of the one,” he said, “and covered the net good.”
McDonald was please that his troops maintained their composure to the final horn. “What (the coaching staff) keeps talking about is it’s not about this game,” he said. It’s not about Game One, it’s not about Penncrest. It’s part of the ride and I think when you can bring that concept to the guys on the bench, it doesn’t make it feel like it’s so urgent. It’s not all here and I think it allows them to get a little bit more perspective and get back to just playing hockey.”
Penncrest 0 1 2—3
C.R. North 3 1 3—7
First-period goals: Karson Grainey (CRN) unassisted, 12:52; Wilton Pasch (CRN) from Jackson Mosley, 14:06; Noah Epstein (CRN) from Ryan Keil and Nick Hahn, 16:59 (pp).
Second-period goals: Kain Walker (P) from Tyler Conn and Quentin Baker, 7:22 (pp); Lucas Siomos (CRN) from Hahn, 12:00.
Third-period goals: Van Evans (P) from Walker, 3:10; Pasch (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey (pp), 5:25; Jackson Accardi (CRN) from Jesse Schaff, 6:00; Eddie Morroni (P) from Colin Curran, 15:17; Hahn (CRN) from Mosley and Grainey,16:59.
Shots: Penncrest 36, C.R. North 45; Saved: Fiona Walker (P) 38, Ian Goldberg (CRN) 33
Jeff Mauro has written a book on the history of the Pennsylvania state high school hockey championship. To find out more and order a copyCLICK HERE
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