Pennridge 7 C.R. South 3

Some are of the opinion that a hockey goaltender occupies the most important position in any team sport. Those who hold that view had it reinforced Wednesday night over the course of the Class AA Flyers Cup final.

At evening’s end, the scoreboard at Hatfield Ice indicated that top-seeded Pennridge had defeated second-seeded Council Rock South 7-3 to win its second Cup title in three years. It also indicated that the Golden Hawks had outshot the Rams 52-29 over the course of the 51-minute game.

All this is indicative of the performance Jacob Winton in the Pennridge net. When the Hawks were surrounding him like birds targeting their prey, Winton held firm, even as his team was being outshot 9-1 in the early going.

When the Rams (22-2-2) finally broke through at the other end, on Shane Dachowski’s goal 9:14 into the first period and not incidentally the first goal of the game, the tone of the evening shifted dramatically.

Even after the Golden Hawks’ Chase Tovsky tied the game with 6:43 left in the period the Rams were not deterred. Kevin Pico put Pennridge back in front with 90 seconds left in the opening session and his team never trailed again.

Ilya Kudzinau tied the game for South (24-2) 23 seconds into the second frame but momentum continued to flow in the Rams’ direction. Dachowski and Pico scored goals to give their side a 4-2 advantage.

At that point South coach Joe Houk used his timeout and pulled goaltender Trevor Rakszawski, who had surrendered the four goals on 13 shots. Trey Prozzillo took his place.

At the other end of the ice, Winton remained resolute. He allowed a single goal over the final 33:37 of regulation.

“Making some of those [early] saves kind of set the tone for later in the game,” he said. “I think it just kind of put us in the right mindset going into the second and third periods.”

Houk felt a number of his players’ shots misfired. “We shot just as many pucks over the net as at him,” he said. “We pressured the goalie with less shots last game (in a semifinal win over Boyertown) than we did this game.

“We beat ourselves. I think we’re a better team than them but they got all the bounces tonight, they got the opportunities, and my goaltender was not very strong.”

Winton spoke to the momentum shift that occurred after Dachowski scored the game’ first goal.

“As soon as you score a goal momentum shifts,” he said. “We just kind of kept going from there.”

The Rams did just that. Colin Dachowski’s goal made it a 5-2 game 3:35 into the third period. Ilya Muhkin answered for South and it was a 5-3 game with 8:20 still remaining but Shane Dachowski and Pico closed the door on the Hawks and opened another for themselves; Pennridge will face Penguins Cup champion Thomas Jefferson Saturday at the Skatium in the state championship game (2:00 start).

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna said Wednesday’s win should eliminate any doubt about the credibility of his program.

“We graduated eight really important guys two year ago,” he said. “The team had to listen, for two years, about us being a one-line hockey team. To win again tonight is a complete and total validation of this program.”

Ice chips—Winton was named the Bobby Clarke Award winner as the tournament’ Most Valuable Player. The rest of the All-Tournament team included Shane Dachowki (the tournament’s leading scorer), Colin Dachowski, Pico, and Blaise Pepe and Kevin Coles from Council Rock South.

Council Rock South 1 1 1—3

Pennridge 2 2 3—7

First-period goals: Shane Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona, 9:14; Chase Tovsky (CRS) from Blaize Pepe, 10:17; Kevin Pico (P) from Tyler Manto and Savona, 15:30

Second-period goals: Gavin Nisenzon (CRS) from Ilya Kudzinau :23; Shane Dachowski (P) unassisted, 4:18 (pp); Pico (P) from Shane Dachowski, 13:38

Third-period goals: Colin Dachowski (P) from Ryan Mikulich, 3:35; Ilya Muhkin from Nikita Volbuiev and Kevin Koles, 8:40; Shane Dachowski (P) from Pico and Nick Young, 9:20; Savona (P) from Colin Dachowski, 14:30

Shots: Council Rock South 52, Pennridge 29; Saves: Trevor Rakszawski (CRS) 9 and Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 13, Jacob Winston (P) 49

Hershey 5 Unionville 1

Tyler Lucas and Blake Umberger scored first-period goals in a three-minute span and Hershey went on to defeat Unionville 5-1 Wednesday night in the Class A Flyers Cup final at Ice Line.

It marks the first time a team from the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League has won a Flyers Cup championship. The Trojans were finalists last season but fell to West Chester East in the championship game. They’ve reached the finals on three other occasions.

Ryan Dhawan and Brady Cox added third-period goals for the Trojans (21-4) who advance to Saturday’s state championship game.

Lucas opened the scoring for third-seeded Hershey 8:46 into the opening period. Umberger followed with a power-play goal at the 11:20 mark.

Ryan Dhawan, who assisted in Umberger’s goal, added one of his own 3:01 into the third period.

Alex Tomasewicz got ninth-seeded Unionville (10-12) on the scoreboard with 9:48 left in the game before Cox added an insurance goal with 5:17 remaining.

Tucker Valoczki scored am empty-net goal with five seconds remaining.

Unionville 0 0—1

Hershey 2 0 3—5

Second-period goals: Tyler Lucas (H) from Kyle Koss, 8:46; Blake Umberger (H) from Ryan Dhawan and Matt Dalkiewicz, 11:40;

Third-period goals: Dhawn (H) from Umberger and David Maishm 3:01; Alex Tomasewicz (U) unassisted, 7:12; Brady Cox (G) from Dhawan and Dalkiewicz, 11:43; Tucker Valoczki (H) unassisted, 16:55

Shots: Unionville 29, Hershey 23; Saves: Zach Tomaszewicz (U) 18, Alexander Placeres 28

Flyers Cup Class AAA/AA Finals Preview

Wednesday, March 20

Class AAA Final

La Salle vs. 2. Malvern Prep

6:00 at Hatfield Ice

La Salle (22-3)—The defending champion Explorers are trying for their 13^th Flyers Cup title, an achievement that would expand on their all-time record of 12 , the most of any school in any classification.

Head coach Wally Muehlbronner has been on the winning side in a final on 10 occasions.

This year’s team bested Perkiomen Valley 5-1 and Holy Ghost Prep 5-2 to reach the finals.

Seven different players have scored goals in the two Flyers Cup games. Grant Lagreca has two goals and two assists. Dean Carvalho has scored three goals while James Carpenter has provided two goal and an assist.

Malvern Prep (11-8)

The Friars have claimed 10 Flyers Cup titles, second only to La Salle on the all-time list. Victories over Devon Prep 8-0 and St. Joseph’s Prep 3-1 put them in the finals.
Ten different Malvern Prep players have scored goals in the tournament. Jeremy Jacobs leads the way with a goal and three assists. Aidan Kelly has added a goal and two assists.

This marks the third meeting of the season between the two teams. La Salle won the two regular-season meetings.

11-22 La Salle 4 Malvern Prep 1

1-17 La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 0

Class AA Final

Pennridge vs. 2 Council Rock South

8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Pennridge 21-2-2

The top-seeded Rams claimed the Class AA Flyers Cup and state titles in 2022 and reached the Cup finals last season.

This year’s team reached the finals with wins over Bensalem 10-2, Downingtown East 5-1 and Downingtown West 10-1

The Rams feature one of the most explosive lines that has ever skated for any area high-school team. Shane Dachowski has six goals and five assists for 11 points in three Cup games. Kevin Pico has five goals and five assists for 10 points, while Andrew Savona has provided four goals and four assists for eight points.

Council Rock South 24-1

The second-seeded Golden Hawks are seeking their fourth Flyers Cup. The previous three came in 2009, ’11, and ’12.

This year’s squad reached the finals with wins over Spring-Ford 12-0, Cherokee 7-1, and Boyertown 3-1. Kevin Koles is the team’s top tournament scorer with three goal and nine assists for 12 points. Blaise Pepe has accumulated three goal and five assists for eight points, while Jake Weiner has provided five goals and two assists for seven points.

This marks the fourth time the Ram and Golden Hawks have faced one another this season.

12-13 Pennridge 7 Council Rock South 3

2-7 Council Rock South 8 Pennridge 7

2-29 Council Rock South 7 Pennridge 2*

*For the SHSHL National Division championship

Downingtown West 6 Avon Grove 4

Ava Thomas scored four goals and assisted on another as Downingtown West downed Avon Grove 6-4 Monday night in the 15^th edition of the girls’ Flyers Cup championship game at PNY Arena.

The second-seeded Whippets become the first girls’ team since 2019 to successfully defend a Flyers Cup title when Unionville won the last of five straight.

It’s the second Cup title for the Whippets, who also claimed it in 2021.

Thomas, a junior, and a member of the U.S. Women’s U18 National Team, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for the third time in her career. She also led the tournament in scoring with six goals and four assists in two games.

Thomas and Maddison Vitali scored goals to give the Whippets a 2-0 lead at the 7:21 mark of the first period.

Lilly Schindler and Skylar Greene answered for top-seeded Avon Grove before the period ended.

Thomas gave her team the lead for good 3:49 into the second period and then added a shorthanded effort at 11:25 before Choloe Bogusch made it a 5-2 game with 2:23 left in the period.

Emmy Sullivan drew the Red Devils closer 2:31 into the the third period. Avon Grove had a chance to make it a one-goal game with 8:13 left but the apparent goal was disallowed due to a penalty.

Thomas scored her fourth goal of the game with 3:48 remaining before Avon Grove’s Kiera Post completed the scoring with 2:11 left in the game.

Downingtown West 2 3 1—6

Avon Grove 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Ava Thomas (DW) from Riley Sagers, 4:14; Maddison Vitali (DW) from Thomas and Grace Goodman, 7:21; Lily Schindler (AG) unassisted, 8:13; Skylar Greene (AG) from Maggie Sullivan and Emmy Sullivan, 9:38

Second-period goals: Thomas (DW) from Vitali, 3:49; Thomas (DW), 11:25 (sh); Choloe Bogusch (DW) unassisted, 13:37

Third-period goals: Emmy Sullivan (AG) unassisted, 2:31; Thomas (DW) from Sagirls 12:16; Kiera Post (AG) from Molly Tursi 13:49

Shots: Downingtown West 30, Avon Grove 28; Saves: Violet Clarke (DW) 24, Ella Hydutsky (AG) 24.

This story will be updated

Flyers Cup Class A Final Tuesday 3-19

Hershey vs. Unionville, 7:45 at Ice Line

Hershey (19-4)—The third-seeded Trojans earned a first-round bye before scoring wins over Springfield-Delco and Garnet Valley to reach the finals. Senior Ryan Dhawan has a goal and three assists for four points in the two games. Sophomore Blake Umberger and senior Kyle Kloss have each collected two goals and an assist for three points.

The Trojans are trying to become the first team from the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League to win a Flyers Cup title.

Unionville (10-11)—The ninth-seeded Longhorns Longhorns recorded wins over Plymouth Whitemarsh, three-time defending champion West Chester East, and Marple Newtown to reach the finals. Junior Cole Blackurn has scored five goals and added four assists for nine points in three Flyers Cup games. Senior Anthony Kulp has added seven assists in the tournament plus a goal of his own for eight points.

Unionville won the Class A Flyers Cup title in 1995.

Flyers Cup Girls Finals

Monday, 3-18

Avon Grove vs. Downingtown West 7:00 at PNY Arena

Avon Grove (19-1)—The Lady Red Devils are seeking their first Flyers Cup title. Skylar Campanile leads the team in scoring with 34 goals and 29 assists for 63 points. Skylar Green has collected 17 goals and 29 assists. for 46 points.

The Red Devils shut out Conestoga 10-0 in the semifinals. Lilly Schindler scored three goals and added four assists. Campanile scored two goals and added four assists.

Downingtown West (5-11)—The Whippets are trying to become the first girls’ team since 2019 to successfully defend a Flyers Cup championship. They also won the title in 2021. Ava Thomas has played in just nine high-school games this season while representing the U.S. as a member of the U-18 national team but has amassed 23 goals and eight assists for 31 points. She’s a two-time Flyers Cup MVP.

The Whippets bested West Chester Henderson 6-5 in the semifinals. Thomas scored two goal and added three assists. Kyla Mellinger provided four assists.

This marks the 15th time the Flyers Cup tournament has crowned a girls’ champion. The girls’ tournament was first contested in 2009. The tournament was not completed in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Unionville has won the most titles with nine.

C.R. South 3 Boyertown 1

One of the unique elements of the Flyers Cup tournament is the finality of it. All season long there is another game or another round of playoffs to nurse the pain of defeat.

The stakes are starkly different come March. Win or go home. And on Thursday night, Boyertown and Council Rock South made it clear they didn’t want to go home.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed, 3-1 in a Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice. Second-seeded South (24-1) will face top-seeded Pennridge next Wednesday at 8:45 at this same venue in what is expected to be a scintillating final.

Third-seeded Boyertown closes the season at 20-3.

Thursday’s game wasn’t bad as an appetizer.

The Hawks had the better of the play offensively but encountered a hot goaltender in Tyler Griffith who recorded 41 saves, few of which were of the routine variety.

“That’s kid’s probably the best goaltender we’ve seen all year,” said South coach Joe Houk. “We got [44] shots today, they were quality shots. He was phenomenal.

“And people warned me about him ‘If he’s hot, he’s going to steal a game from you.’ But, we persevered, we dug deep, and we survived to play next week.”

Largely due to Griffin’s efforts (16 saves) the first period was scoreless, and it was the Bears who grabbed the evening’s first lead when Noah Cutillo beat Trevor Rakszawski 1:19 in to the second frame. Jake Weiner answered for South at the 6:31 mark.

The score remained deadlock to period’s end. By that point, the Hawks had a 32-13 shot advantage.

As the teams took the ice for the third period following an ice cut, the enormity of the moment hung in the air.

“Their goaltender had a solid game,” said South’s Evan Mostoller. “I’ll give him that. But we just had to find that back of the net.”

Mostoller did just that from outer edge of the right circle 4:31 into the final period.

“It’s may last year here and I kind of want to make a run to states and everything,” he said. I’ve been in the Flyers Cup three times now …. This the year I think we’re going to make it.

As the clock counted down the Bears found themselves stymied by not only Rakszawski but the defense in front of him; Boyertown managed but our shots in the third period.
South’s final goal, which came with 38 seconds remaining, was credited to Gavin Nisenzon when he was pulled down from behind in the Boyertown defensive while skating toward an empty net; the referee on the play awarded goal.

Boyertown 0 1 0—1

C.R. South 0 1 2—3

Second-period goals: Noah Cutillo (B) from Luke Hennessy, 1:44; Jake Weiner (CRS) from Nikita Volobuiev, 6:31

Third-period goals: Evan Mostoller (CRS) from

Peter Pereborow and Blaise Pepe, 4:31; Gaven Nisenzon (CRS) unassisted, 16:22

Shots: Boyertown 20, Council Rock South 44; Saves: Tyler Griffith (B) 41, Trevor Rakszawski, 19

Flyers Cup Schedule Thursday 3-14

Thursday, March 14

Class AAA Semifinals

La Salle 5 Holy Ghost Prep 2

Malvern Prep 3 St. Joseph’s Prep 1—Teague Murray and James Young scored first-period goals and the second-seeded Friars went on to beat the third-seeded Hawks Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Ice Line.

Henry Tesoriero also scored for Malvern Prep (11-8) which will meet La Salle in the final.

Tristan Winata scored for St. Joseph’ Prep (16-7)

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

Malvern Prep 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Teague Murray (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs and Jonathan Holt, 12:11 (pp); James Young (MP) from Logan Love, 13:47

Third-period goals: Henry Tesoriero (MP) unassisted, 15:25 (en); Tristan Winata (SJP) unassisted. 16:09

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 36, Malvern Prep 35; Saves: Jacob Aranda (SJP) 32; Matt Crawford (MP) 35

Class AA Semifinals

Penneidge 10, Downingtown West 1—

The top-seeded Rams scored six goals in the first period and rolled to the win over the fourth-seeded Whippets in a Class AA semifinal Thursday night at Hatfield Ice.

Shane Dachowswki scored four goals for Pennridge (21-2-2) and added an assist. Nolan Shaw provided two goals. Kevin Pico, Josh Kelly, Tyler Manto, and Andrew Savona all scored goals.

Joseph Butter scored for Downingtown West (18-5)

Downingtown West 0 1 0

Pennridge 6 2 2

Council Rock South 3 Boyertown 1

Championship games will be played Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 19, and 20.

Flyers Cup Update 3-8-24

41 teams began play in the Flyers Cup tournament four days ago. 33 have been eliminated. Here’s what’s ahead.

Tuesday, March 12

Class AA Semifinals

Marple Newtown vs. Unionville 6:15 at Ice Line

Garnet Valley vs. Hershey 8:30 at Ice Line

Wednesday, March 13

Girls Semifinals

Avon Grove vs. Conestoga 6:45 at PNY

Downingtown West vs. West Chester Henderson 5:00 atPNY

Thursday, March 14

Class AAA Semifinals

Holy Ghost Prep vs. La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Gray

St. Joseph’s Prep vs. Malvern Prep 7:45 Ice Line 1

Class AA Semifinals

Downingtown West vs. Pennridge 8:45 at Hatfield Gray

Boyertown vs. Council Rock Smith 8:30 at Hatfield Blue

Championship games will be played Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 18, 19, and 20.

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Father Judge 1

In the brightest of spotlights, a troupe of young hockey players blossomed into maturity and did so with dramatic suddenness.

Holy Ghost Prep erupted for four goals in the first period Tuesday night and went on to post a 5-1 win over Father Judge in a Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinal in front of a full house at Grundy Arena.

The fourth-seeded Firebirds (12-13) will face top seed and defending champion La Salle in a semifinal that is scheduled for March 14. Fifth-seeded Judge, which won the Catholic League title, closes with a 15-4-2.

A.J. Prete scored twice for the Firebirds. Fittingly enough, his goals were the first and last of the evening. Prete reflected on how things came together Tuesday night after a regular season that was filled with ups and downs, including a loss to the Crusaders.

“We came into this game with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We got on them early, that was out plan and we got the job done. Couldn’t be happier.”

Prete’s first goal came just 65 seconds after the opening faceoff; he beat Judge goaltender Aidan Childs from just inside the right circle.

The Firebirds really got control of the game in the closing minutes of the first frame when Jake McCaw’s power-play goal was followed by Joseph Kaufmann’s even-strength goal two-and a-half minutes later and Joe Spadaccino’s shorthanded effort just 33 seconds after that.

With 2:49 left in the opening session, Holy Ghost Prep had a four-goal advantage.

Prete said he and his teammates were determined to get off to a fast start.

“We knew what they were going to come with,” he said. “We knew they were going to try to bully us around a little bit with physicality. We just kind of reversed it on them.”

The second period saw the Crusaders do their best to assert themselves physically. But they managed just one goal, Owen Myers’ power-play effort at the 7:55 mark.

Neither team shied away from them physical side of the game. Referees Terrence Johnson and Laura White called 12 minor penalties and found a balance that allowed for physical play while still maintaining order.

“All the credit in the world to Father Judge,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “They’re a very, very tough team with a lot of seniors. They play a very heavy game but I was how our guys, giving up a little bit of size and a little bit of strength, I was happy how they executed. It seemed to come together tonight”

Prete added an insurance goal for the Firebirds with 2:20 left in the game.

Ice chips—The other Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal will match second seed Malvern Prep and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep.

WE STAND CORRECTED—In our original post, we stated that no APAC team in the conference’s six-year history had ever lost. Flyers Cup game to a non-conference foe. In fact, Father Judge defeated Malvern Prep in the quarterfinals in 2020.

Father Judge won a Class AA Flyers Cup and a state championship in 1993 and a Class AAA Flyers Cup in 2000 as a member of the Lower Bucks County League.

We regret the error.

Father Judge 0 1 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 4 0 1—5

First-period goals: A.J. Prete (HGP) from Caine Bickel and Anthony Valeriote, 1:05; Jake McCaw (HGP) from Matthew Cholaj and Brian Kinniry, 11:00 (pp); Joseph Kaufmann (HGP) unassisted, 13:33; Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Mike Holt, 14:11 (sh)

Second-period goal: Owen Myers (FJ) unassisted, 7:55 (pp)

Third-period goal: Prete (HGP) from Bickel, 13:50

Shots: Father Judge 24, Holy Ghost Prep 30; Saves: Aidan Childs (FJ) 25, Jack Unger (HGP) 23