Tag: Flyers Cup

C.R. South 12 Spring-Ford 0

It didn’t take long for Council Rock South to assert its superiority Tuesday night. The Golden Hawks scored goals on their first three shots and five of their first seven en route to a 12-0 rout of Spring Ford in a Class AA Flyers Cup first-round game at Grundy Arena that was called after the second period.

South (22-1), the second seed in the tournament, advances to a quarterfinal game on Thursday against Cherokee at a site and time to be determined

Tuesday’s 12-goal output produced a plethora of impressive numbers. Kevin Koles scored the first goal of the night just 31 seconds after the opening faceoff. He went on to score an additional goal and add five assists for seven points.

“We’ve got to take every game,” the senior defenseman said, “so we know what we’re up against. We can’t take any game lightly because we know we’re going to have tougher competition later down the road, so we’ve got to play every game the same.”

Koles assisted on Nikita Volobuiev’s scoring effort and added a second goal himself to put South up 3-0 just 2:54 into the opening period. Blaise Pepe and Jeremy Rayher added additional goals before the period ended.

 The 15th-seeded Rams did not record their first shot on goal until less than 90 seconds remained in the opening period.

Evan Mostoller assisted on Koles’s first goal and Pepe’s. The senior defenseman noted that postseason success requires that everyone on the roster pitch in.

“You just have to know what your role is on the team,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the [opponent] is not the best team, you’ve just got to play your hardest.”

Mostoller says that one element of a player learning his role and fitting in involves not worrying about making a mistake.

“Play your game,” he said. “Play the way you play.  If you make a mistake, someone will tell you what you did wrong.”

Volobuiev scored two goals to complete a hat trick. Rayher, Jordan Sarne (twice), Jonah Weston, and Jake Weiner all scored goals.

Volobuiev’ second goal made it am 8-0 game with 6:17 left in the period.

Spring-Ford coach Todd Lambart lifted starting goaltender Grant Olson at that point; the junior received a round of applause from the spectators and the South bench as he left the ice after facing 27 shots.

For the Hawks however, the postseason journey continues. Koles and his teammates are aware they’re being targeted by the rest of the tournament field.

“We know everybody’s trying to beat us,” he said. “It’s been like that for the last four years I’ve been in the league.

“We’ve got to stay focused and do what we can.”                                                                                                                                                           

Spring Ford 0 0—0

C.R. South 5 7—12

First-period goals: Kevin Koles (CRS) from Evan Mostoller, :31; Nikita Volobuiev (CRS) from Koles, 1:37; Koles (CRS) unassisted, 2:54; Blaise Pepe (CRS) from Mostoller and Koles, 6:14; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) from Pepe and Koles, 6:45

Second period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Volobuiev, 2:56; Jonah Weston (CRS) from Chase Tovsky and Blaise Pepe, 5:09; Volobuiev (CRS) from Jake Weiner, 10:43; Volobuiev (CRS) from Koles,  10:48;  Rayher (CRS) from Pepe and Tovsky, 11:15; Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Koles and Jackson Mosley, 11:53; Sarne (CRS) from Rayher and Weston, 16:17

Shots: Spring Ford 3, Council Rock South 33; Saves; Grant Olson (SF) 19 and Casey Dunleavy (SF) 2; Trevor Rakszawski 3

Flyers Cup Schedule Tuesday 3-5

Nine games are on this evening’s card

Class AA First Round

Tuesday, March 5

Pennridge 10 Bensalem 2

Downingtown East 3 Central Bucks East 2

Downingtown West 9 Souderton 4

Haverford High 6 North Penn 2

Council Rock South 12 Spring Ford 0

.Cherokee 6 Lower Merion 3

Boyertown 7 Pennsbury 2

Central Bucks South 5 Avon Grove 2

Class AAA Quarterfinal

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Father Judge 1

La Salle 6 Perkiomen Valley 1

La Salle left little doubt Monday night why it is favored to win the Class AAA Flyers Cup championship. The top-seeded and defending champion Explorers scored three goals in each of the first two periods and rolled to a 6-1 win over Perkiomen Valley at Hatfield Ice.

La Salle will face Holy Ghost Prep or Father Judge net Thursday in a semifinal

Dean Carvalho and Grant Lagreca each scored twice for the Explorers (21-3). Patrick Brace, and Ben Falicki also scored goals.

But while La Salle was clearly the dominant team on the ice, the title of Most Outstanding Player for the evening belonged to Perkiomen Valley goaltender Peter Neveil. The sophomore registered 50 saves in the course of an evening that saw the Explorers outshoot the Vikings 66-10.

“The kid was unbelievable,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “we were all wondering, ‘Who is this guy?’

“He made some great saves and did a nice job controlling rebounds.

Lagreca got a look at Neveil from close range.

“He played really good,” the junior said. “We got frustrated at some points because we just wanted to score but he played a heck of a game and kept it close.”

Thanks in large part to Neveil’s efforts it was a 1-0 game in the closing minutes of the first period. Dean Carvalho’s goal at the 3:58 mark gave La Salle the lead but Neveil was impregnable after that until Carvalo and Patrick Brace scored goals 18 seconds apart to put the Explorers up 3-0 with 1:24 left in the opening session. By period’s end, La Salle outshot the eighth-seeded Vikings (11-8-1) 22-5.
Mason McCabe scored Perkiomen Valley’s only goal 3:01 into the second session but La Salle continued to dominate play; by period’s end the shot differential was 40-6.

Lagreca spoke of the importance of he and his teammates maintaining their focus.

“You don’t want to get into bad habits,” he said. “We just want to keep working hard and playing as a team and that will continue to get us success.”

Muehlbronner gave the evening mixed reviews.
“In the end, we got the job done,” he said. “I wasn’t thoroughly pleased with our performance. There are a lot of things we’ve been working on that we kind of got away from a little bit. We’ve got to get back to just playing a hard, simple game.”

• La Salle is seeking it 13th Flyers Cup championship, the most of any school in tournament history.

Perkiomen Valley 0 1 0—1

La Salle 3 3 0—6

First:  Dean Carvalho (L) from Julian Tarsi and Alistair St. Hilaire, 3:58; Carvalho (L) from Logan Dicus, 15:36; Patrick Brace (L) from Charlie Kennedy and Ryan Wiley, 15:54

Second Mason McCabe (PV) from Travis Moscariello, 3:01; Grant Lagreca (L) from James Carpenter, 3:32; Ben Falicki (L) from Lagreca, 12:00; Lagreca (L) unassisted, 16:25

Shots: Perkiomen Valley 10, La Salle 56; Saves: Peter Neveil (PV) 50 Jake Rossi (L) 9

Malvern Prep 8 Devon Prep 0

Brady Doyle scored two first-period goals in a span of two-and-a-half minutes and the Friars rolled to the 8-0 shutout win over the Tide Monday night at Ice Line in a Class AAA Flyers Cup first-round game.

Second-seeded Malvern Prep broke the game open with five goals in the second frame. Aidan Kelly, Jonathan Holt, Colin Inskeep, Jeremy Jacobs, and Recce Hanna all scored for the Friars (10-8,) who will face St. Joseph’s Prep next Thursday in the semifinals.

Devon Prep 0 0 0—0

Malvern Prep 3 5 0—8

First-period goals: Brady Doyle (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 4:13; Doyle (MP) from Jacobs, 6:36 (pp); Aidan Kelly (MP)  unassisted, 15:54

Second-period goals: Jonathan Holt (MP) from Andrew Starck and James Young, 1:14; Colin Inskeep (MP) from Caiden Canale and Kelly, 3:17; Canale (MP) from Teague Murray and Kelly, 6:08; Jacobs (MP) unassisted, 9:05 (pp); Reece Hanna (MP) unassisted,  11:31

Shots; Devon Prep 10, Malvern Prep 66; Saves: Aidan Wright (DP) and Grant Gale (DP) 54, Matt Crawford (MP) 10

St. Joseph’s Prep 5 Salesianum 3

Five different players scored goals and Jacob Aranda made 41 saves as the third-seeded Hawks scored the 5-3 win over the sixth-seeded Sallies Monday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup quarterfinal at the Skatium.

Michael Castelli, Tristan Winata, Gareth McDonald, Frankie Ely and Shane O’Neill all scored for St. Joseph’s Prep (16-6) which will meet Malvern Prep in next Thursday’s semifinals.

Monday’s game saw the two teams combine for five goals in the third period.

Ely and O’Neill scored goals for the Hawks in a four-minute span after Lleyton DeMasters scored a goal to bring Salesianum within a goal at 3-2 with 7:55 left in regulation. Ely’s goal came 23 seconds later and O’Neill followed with a goal with 3:40 remaining.

Salesianum 0 1 2—3

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 1 3—5

First-period goal: Michael Castelli (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney, 3:55,

Second-period goals: Tristan Winata (SJP) from Brayden Collins, 2:35; Connor Davis (S) unassisted, 14:09

Third-period goals: Gareth McDonald (SJP) from Caden Kelly and Sweeney, 2:07; Lleyton DeMasters (S) from Nate Bellopede, 9:05; Frankie Ely (SJP) from Collins, 9:28; Shane O’Neill (SJP) from Winata and Ely, 13:20; Bellopede (S) from Braeden Graham and Nick Labuono

Shots: Salesianum 44, St. Joseph’s Prep 41; Saves Luke Bordely (S) 36, Jacob Aranda (SJP) 41

Unionville 5 P-W 2

The bigger the stakes, the more missed opportunities and mistakes hurt. Plymouth Whitemarsh learned that season the hard way in its Flyers Cup opener against Unionville Monday night.

 The Longhorns turned in in a methodical workmanlike performance over the eighth-seeded Colonials en route to a 5-2 win in a Class A first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

The eighth-seeded Colonials closed their season at 13-5 The ninth-seeded Longhorns (9-11) advance to play top seed and three-time defending champion West Chester East Thursday night at Ice Line at a time to be determined.

Plymouth Whitemarsh found itself in a hole early on. Anthony Kulp beat Colonial netminder Julian Lucks from the left circle just 24 seconds after the opening faceoff.

The Colonials also hurt themselves with penalties. Jason Segal was called for boarding just 1:25 into the opening period, and picked up the 10-minute misconduct that went with it. Segal’s teammate Tim Murphy drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 3:36 and this time Unionville struck; Alex Tomaszewicz made it a 2-0 game with a power-play goal at the 4:40 mark.

Michael Ta scored twice in the second frame to give the Longhorns a 4-0 lead but the Colonials kept battling; indeed they outshot the Longhorns 31-24. But they were unable to solve Unionville goaltender Zach Tomaszewicz until the third period. By that point, Cole Blackburn tallied the Longhorn’s fifth goal 3:21 into the final session.

Charlie Spause finally got Plymouth Whitemarsh on the scoreboard at the 5:27 mark. Issac Mishkin added a shorthanded effort with 1:20 left in the game.

Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Dave Cox noted that his team battled to the finish despite the steep uphill climb it faced.

“We dug ourselves a hole early,” he said. “We found some momentum and really could have capitalized on the chances that we got.”

After Spause’s goal. Cox wished for just a little more time.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “especially for our seniors. I couldn’t be more proud of our leadership group, our senior group.”

Cox said the heart his team displayed will leave him with warm memories of the 2023-24 season.

“Especially [The SHSHL American Division final],” he said. “We never stopped playing. When these guys get going and they band together, it’s truly the most honorable thing for a coach.”

Although they were the home team, the Colonials wore their alternate red jerseys, styled after those of the Montreal Canadians, instead of the customary white. The jerseys are early nominees for the Most Impressive Uniforms in the tournament,

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 2

Unionville 2 2 1—5

Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 2

First period goals: Anthony Kulp (U) from Cole Blackburn, :24; Alex Tomaszewicz (U) from Riley Andrews,4:40 (pp)

Second-period goals: Michael Ta (U) from Tomaszewicz, 8:45; Ta (U) from Corrado Ditoro, 16:04

Third-period goals:  Blackburn (U) from Tripp Young and Kulp, 3:21; Charlie Spause (PW) from Tim Murphy, 11:33 Issac Mishkin (PW) from Jason Segal, 15:40

Shots: Unionville 24, P-W 31; Saves: Zach Tomaszewicz 29, Julian Lucks (PW) 19

Flyers Cup Schedule-Monday, March 4

Seven first-round games will kick off the 45th Flyers Cup Tournament Monday night

Class AAA Quarterfinals

La Salle 6 Perkiomen Valley 1

Malvern Prep 8 Devon Prep 0

St. Joseph’s Prep 5 Salesianum 3

The fourth quarterfinal: .4 Holy Ghost Prep vs. 5. Father Judge i scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 at Grundy Arena.

Class A First Round

Unionville 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh 2

Lower Dauphin 9 Radnor 7

7. Penncrest 5 Palmyra 4

6. Springfield-Delco 3 West Chester Henderson 2 OT

All Flyers Cup games will be streamed LIVE on the Flyers Cup YouTube Channel

La Salle’s Carvalho Primed for APAC Finale

La Salle senior Dean Carvalho knows all about the rivalry between the Explorers and St. Joseph’s Prep. The two schools have been competing against each other since the Philadelphia Catholic League was founded in 1920.

“I think just the level of [competition] between both schools and just the will to win, has just grown over the many years we’ve been competing against them in hockey and many other sports,” he said. “The will to win is there.”

The rivalry between the Explorers and the Hawks will be renewed on Wednesday afternoon when the two schools meet for the Founders Cup and the championship of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference (4:00 at Hatfield Ice). La Salle is the defending champion and has won three conference titles in five seasons while sharing another.

Carvalho sees the rivalry as mutually respectful, albeit intense.

“I think the respect is there, definitely,” he said.” We look forward to those games. In some ways, they’re a lot more fun than playing other schools because it’s a rivalry. It just makes the game that much more intense and the speed that much higher so I think it’s fun for everybody.”

Dean Carvalho

The Explorers own two wins over the Hawks this season, most recently a 5-3 win on February 14 that saw La Salle enter the third period trailing 3-0. Carvalho says the team regrouped during the post-second period ice cut.

“I think we just came together as a team and just realized how we needed to play,” he said. “Things we were doing wrong and what we needed to improve on. I think that period we came out really focused as a team, ready to play. We scored one and kept it rolling and things worked out at the end.”

Carvalho led the APAC in scoring, with six goals and six assists for 12 points (1.5 ppg) during the conference season. He enters Wednesday’s final with 16 goals and 11 assists in all competitions (22 games). He notes the Explorers are team that can and must rely on scoring balance to be successful.

“I think it’s huge,” he said. “One of our strengths as a team is the amount of depth that we have. We have four lines, probably more than four lines that can play, and more than six defenseman that can play. So, there’s never a weak link on the ice and that that reflects the success we’ve had this season so far. I think it’s really important because there’s never that weak link.”

St. Joseph Prep’s McDonald Focused on APAC Final

Wednesday’s APAC championship game for the Founders Cup (4:00 at Hatfield Ice) will be a moment in history for St. Joseph’s Prep. It will mark the Hawks’ first appearance in the final in the APAC’s six –year history.

That’s something Gareth McDonald, a senior defenseman with the Hawks, was well aware of when he spoke of what a victory would mean.

“It would mean a lot,” he said. “I know the APAC is a young league but there’s not a lot of teams in the league so we certainly should be in the championship game more often.”

The Hawks dropped two decisions to the Explorers this season. The second, on February 14 was particularly difficult to digest. St. Joseph’s Prep led 3-0 after two periods before surrendering five goals in the third, one of them into an empty net.

“I think we got a little too comfortable,” McDonald said. “We’ve just got to prove this year that we can beat them. And even after the championship game, because we’re going to have to play them in the Flyers Cup too (St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle could meet in the Class AAA Flyers Cup finals). We’ve got to prove to them that we can beat them, and to ourselves.”

Gareth McDonald/photo by Joe Mancini

The rivalry between the Hawks and the Explorers does not lack for intensity, but McDonald is quick to point is quick to point out it is also characterized by mutual respect.

“We play against La Salle more on a personal level than if we play against other schools,” he said. “Not because of how we don’t like each other but because we’re friends with kids on the other team. It feels more on a personal level, to prove that we’re better than them.

“We respect La Salle a lot and I’m sure they give us that same kind of respect.”

As high-energy as Wednesday’s matchup promises to be, McDonald says it’s essential for he and his teammates to keep their emotions in check.

“We’re going to have to be very stale emotionally,” he said. “We can’t get down, even if they go up a goal or two.  Or, if we go up a goal or two, we’ve got to stay comfortable, keep playing our game. There’s no reason to [lose focus], regardless of anything that happens.”

McDonald admits that a loss in Wednesday’s final would leave a sour taste, even with the Flyers Cup still to come.

“It’s almost worthless getting to the game and not winning it,” he said. we want to finish the job.”