Holy Ghost Prep 5, Salesianum 1

The APAC and the Intercounty League crossed paths Thursday afternoon. In a prelude to a possible Flyers Cup Tournament matchup, Holy Ghost Prep, from the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, scored a 5-1 decision over Salesianum which was sailing under the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League banner. Ur was the Firebirds’ seventh straight win.

The result of the non-league encounter, which was played at Grundy Arena in Bristol, will be factored into the calculations the Flyers Cup Committee will use to determine the makeup and seedings for its Class AAA field.

It was the second win for the Firebirds (11-3 in less than 24 hours; they defeated St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night. On Thursday, they picked up where they left off although two of their big guns Brady and Chase Logue, were away on club duty.

Senior Logan Barnes started things off with a shot from the left point that got the better of Sallies goaltender Ryne Dominick and have the hosts the lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening period. Joe Spadaccino it a 2-0 game just 74 seconds later.

The second period was largely a battle of special teams; there were seven penalties called in the period, but the Firebirds got the better of it despite being two men short for 37 seconds at one point.

Brian Kinniry extended the Firebirds’ lead with 6:47 left in the second frame while the teams were skating four on four. The senior spoke of how the Firebirds bounced back after their win Wednesday night.

“I think we all came together as a team he said. “It was a tough game last night with a different atmosphere but we all pushed through.”

The Sallies (12-2) got on the scoreboard with 10:49 left in the third period when Justin Celentino got the puck past Firebird goaltender Matt Salita from in front of the net. It was 3-1 at that point but William Harmar answered for Holy Ghost Prep less than two minutes later and Joseph Kauffman added an insurance goal with 6:47 left in regulation.

“We were going toe to toe with them in the first period,” said Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc, “but then in the second period we kind of slowed down a little bit.

“You’d think that a power play and a five-on-three would give you some advantage but we couldn’t even get a shot on goal. It was not whet we had hoped for but I think we learned a lot today.”

The Firebirds have won five straight games since returning from the National Scholastic Invitational tournament in Jamestown, New York. Assistant coach George Mundy says the tournament was a turning point.

“Since we’ve gotten back from New York the team has played really, really well,” he said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different players, which is good. We’re getting good goaltending our defense has been solid. So, we’re playing really good hockey right now.”

Salesianum 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Logan Barnes (HGP) from Brady Flynn, 12:42; Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 13:56

Second-period goal: Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan and Nate Romer, 10:13

Third-period goals: Justin Celentino (S) from Braeden Graham and Liam Bell, 6:11; William Harmar (HGP) from Kinniry, 8:00; Joseph Kaufmann (HGP) from John Graff, 10:29

Shots: Salesianum 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38; Saves: Ryne Dominick (S) 33, Matt Salita (HGP) 26

Flyers Cup Rankings Debut for ’24-’25

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of rankings for the 2024-25 season., It’s the first major step toward the selection of the field for the Flyers Cup tournament at season’s end. The rankings were determined through a blend of ranking points and observations by committee members.

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
La Salle
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
Salesianum

Class AA

Council Rock South
Haverford High
Pennridge
North Penn
Spring-Ford

Class A

1 West Chester Henderson

2 Garnett Valley

3 Kennett

4 Hershey

5 West Chester East

Girls

1 Avon Grove

2 Downingtown West

3 Conestoga

4 Kingsway

5 West Chester Hendersom

La Salle 6 Hun School 0

The La Salle Explorers went about their business one step at a time Wednesday afternoon. The results were impressive, a 6-0 win over The Hun School in an APAC matchup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Grant LaGreca and Michael Zarzycki scored two goals each as La Salle improved to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 at the midway point in its APAC campaign.

LaGreca, a senior, cited the Explorers’ stick-to-basics approach.

“We’re just trying to focus on playing the right way,” he said. “Focusing on the D-zone, not cheating the game. Just kind of letting the hockey gods reward us with goals and playing good.”

It was LaGreca who got things started when he beat Raider netminder Patrick Donoghue just 45 seconds into the opening period. Zarzycki provided the setup before initiating a three-goal blitz with a shorthanded effort 69 seconds into the second frame. LaGreca followed up with a power-play effort at 4:57 before Zarzycki scored his second goal the game with 1:35 left in the middle period.

Hun School coach Eric Szeker the Raiders (0-2-1, 0-1 in the APAC) was hurt by a slow start.

“We were kind of running in quicksand for a bit there,” he said. “It was only 1-0 after the first. We just couldn’t find our game.

“It is what it is. We’re three games onto the season, we’ve got a young team [there were five underclassmen in the Hun School lineup) so, a lot to learn. We get to play again Friday, so we’re going to reset and look forward to that one.”

Because of school policy and NJSIAA regulations the Raiders start their season later than the other four APAC schools. But Szeker refused to cite scheduling issues as contributing to Wednesday’s result.

“We’ve been on the ice a couple weeks,” he said, “so, we should have a pretty good idea of what we want to do.

“I think of lot of credit goes to La Salle and [Coach Wally Muehlbronner] and what they have going on over there. They’ve got several lined that can play, they have a lot of good defensemen and a good goalie. We just ran into a good team today.”

Muehlbronner himself gave his team high marks.

“I thought we played well,” he said. “We came out hard, moved the puck well, all four lines played well, the D played well.”

LaGreca said efforts like Wednesday’s allow the veterans on the roster to set a standard for their teammates to emulate.

“All the returning seniors just want to show the younger guys and the new guy how to play the game and how to play the right way,” he said. “Because we’ve been there before.

• Jake Rossi earned the shutout in goal with 20 saves.

Hun School 0 0 0—0

La Salle 1 4 1—6

First-period goals: Grant LaGreca (L) from Michael Zarzycki, :45

Second-period goals: Zarzycki (L) unassisted, 1:09 (sh); LaGreca (L) from Zarzycki, 4:57 (pp); Zarzycki (L) from Tristan Mitchell and Declan Kelly, 15:25; Alastair St. Hilaire (L) from Noel Donohue and Luca Staffieri 16:58

Third-period goal: Julian Tarsi (L) from Staffieri and Donohue 10:50

Shots: Hun School 20, La Salle 54; Saves: Patrick Donoghue (HS) 48, Jake Rossi (L) 20

Flyers Cup Eligible Announced

The Flyers Cup Committee has released a list of 54 teams who are eligible for invitations to the 46^th annual Flyers Cup Tournament.

The 54 teams will skate in four divisions.

The list of eligible teams is as follows.

Girls (7)

Avon Grove

Conestoga

Downingtown West

Pennridge

Radnor

West Chester East

West Chester Henderson

Class A (19)

Council Rock North

Garnet Valley

Harriton

Hatboro-Horsham

Hershey

Kennett

Marple Newtown

Moorestown

Palmyra

Penncrest

Plymouth Whitemarsh

Radnor

Springfield-Delco

Springfield Montco

Strath Haven

Unionville

WC East

WC Henderson

Wisshickon

Class AA (18)

Abington

Avon Grove

Boyertown

Central Bucks East

Central Bucks South

Central Bucks West

Conestoga

Council Rock South

Downingtown East

Downingtown West

Haverford

Kingsway

Lower Merion

North Penn

Pennridge

Pennsbury

Souderton

Spring-Ford

Class AAA (10)

Devon Prep

Father Judge

Haverford School

Holy Ghost Prep

La Salle

Malvern Prep

Owen J. Roberts

Perkiomen Valley

Salesianum

St. Joseph’s Prep

The size of the Flyer Cup field will be at the committee’s discretion. There are no automatic bids.

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Steve Mackell Takes the Reins at APAC

A new era is dawning in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference this season. Steve Mackell, a longtime coach and administrator, is beginning his first season as the APAC’s commissioner.
He replaces Jim Britt, who served as the commissioner in the conference’s first six years of existence.

Mackell played high-school hockey at Cardinal O’Hara and junior hockey with the Quakers before playing for a year at West Chester State.

He began his coaching career alongside Jim McCrossin at Malvern Prep and later served as the Friars’ head coach. He also spent time behind the bench with the Quakers and Junior Flyers before joining Atlantic District player development staff.

“I’ve admired what the APAC mission was about”, Mackell said, “I know the schools, I know a lot of the coaches and the administrators from those schools and was really excited to be offered this opportunity.”

Mackell noted the unique stature that hockey is afforded at the five APAC member schools, Holy Ghost Prep, La Salle, Malvern Prep, St. oseph’s Prep, and Hun School.

“I think the common thread is hockey is recognized as a varsity sport in each of the schools,” he said. It’s run by the administration through the athletic director as well as the coaches.

“To be a varsity sport and have the backing of the school I think is paramount to being successful.”

Mackell points out the APAC’s success on the ice is coupled with a commitment to academic excellence.

“What the APAC has done in the [six] years they’ve been in existence is create a very competitive environment,” he said. “All those schools are academically challenging and I think they draw a lot of the same type student-athletes into the sport. They’ve been able to create a very high level of competitiveness through their individual scheduling at the schools as well as through the APAC scheduling.”

Since the APAC made it’ debut for the 2018-19 season, conference schools have won six consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cups. All told, they’ve won 24, including the last 13 in succession.

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.