Garnet Valley 7 Avonworth 2

Garnet Valley’s up-tempo offense was on display Saturday afternoon for all the world to see. Nolan Stott and Kevin Walton each scored two goals and each contributed two assists as the Jaguars pounced on Avonworth 7-2 to win the Class A Pennsylvania at the Robert Morris Island Sports Center in suburban Pittsburgh.

It marks the first state championship for Garnet Valley (23-) which finished its season as Central League, Flyers Cup, and state champions.

Head coach Stephane Charbonneau said the state title marked the climax of a long journey that featured contribution from the entire group.

“We all had a job to do,” he said. “We went one by one. We asked our guys ‘What is your job for your team and what are you going to do and what are you going to sacrifice?’

“Everyone had a job to do and these kids are awesome.”

Jake Morrow gave the Jaguars a 1-0 lead 7:18 into the opening period. Cooper Powell answered for the Antelopes at the 9:43 mark but Garnet Valley counterattacked by scoring six unanswered goals.

Kaden Longo’ goal with 3:32 left in the first period put Garnet Valley in front for good. Walton and Stott added goals in the second period and Aiden Delfin, Stott, and Walton in the third to give the Jaguars a 7-1 lead with 4:34 left in the game.

Garrett Stoops stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in goal.

This game marked the 12th straight victory for the East in the state title game.

Garnet Valley 2 2 1—7 23-2

Avonworth 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Jake Morow (GV) fron Nolan Stott,7:18 (pp); Cooper Powell (A) unassisted, 9:43; Kaden Longo (GV) unassisted 14:28;

Second-period goals: Kevin Walton (GV) from Dylan Orr, 4:16; Stott from A.J. Tenhuisen, 6:53

Third-period goals: Aiden Delfin (GV) from Walton, 1:04; Stott (GV) from Walton, 2:32 (pp); Walton (GV from Delfin and Matt Abbonizio, 3:20; Austin Dzadovsky from Connor Ralston 12:26 (sh)

Shots: Garnet Valley 33, Avonworth 26; Saves: Garrett Stoops (GV) 24, Danny Mack (A) 26

North Penn 4 Cathedral Prep 1 NP 21-3

North Penn 0 0 3—4

Cathedral Prep 0 1 0—1

Second-period goal: Tucker Kinnear from Ethan Cunningham and Chris Bruschi, 5:19

Third-period goals: Samuel Norton (NP) unassisted, 2:49 (pp); James Boyle (NP) from Norton and Cole Pluck, 13:21 (pp); Daniel Cabrales (NP), 13:43 unassisted; Nolan Single (NP) 16:17 (en) unassisted

Shots: North Penn 35, Erie Cathedral Prep 27; Saves: Andy Norton (NP) 26, Ian Brown (CP) 31

Garnet Valley 10 WC Henderson 2

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

Garnet Valley 5 WC Henderson 2

Garnet Valley made a statement Friday night in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. Nolan Stott scored two goal and assisted on a third as the Jaguars bested West Chester Henderson 5-2 in an ICSHL matchup at PNY Arena.

The Warriors and the Jaguars took the ice ranked one-two in the current set of Class A Flyers Cup rankings. The Jaguars were without leading scorer Kevin Walton, forward Owen Parker, and top blueliner Matt Abbonizio but their coach Stephane Charbonneau was pleased with the way the players that were available stepped up.

“I don’t schedule around my guys when they go away,” he said. “In believe in who I’ve got. It is what it is.

“I have a very good group of very mature players and they’re ready to step up to the plate.”

The goals started coming early. Kaden Longo got the Jaguars (13-2) on the scoreboard just 59 seconds after the opening faceoff. It took Hunter Haas four-and-a-half minutes to respond for the Warriors (12-3). Haas’s goal came during a power play with the Jaguars’ Nolan Stott in the box serving a roughing minor.

A.J. Tenhuisen, who assisted on Longo’s game-opening goal, got one of his own 5:59 into the middle period to give Garnet Valley a 2-1 lead. Stott made it a 3-1 game when he scored on a breakaway with 1:18 left in the period and then extended his team’s lead with another breakaway goal 3:53 into the third frame.

Andrew Denny drew the Warriors closer when he scored with 6:50 remaining in regulation but Henderson couldn’t get closer. Dylan Orr put the game on ice for the Jaguars when he scored into an empty net with 1:26 remaining.

Charbonneau was especially pleased with his team’s effort inside its own blue line.

“My goalie [Garrett Stoops] was good,” he said. “I told my defense it was the it was the best game of the season they’ve played so far.”

Henderson coach Tom Aughey saw Friday’s matchup as a battle of Titians.

“It was a tough battle between two top teams,” he said. “One team took advantage of their chances, one team did not.

“We played a little slow and laid back tonight. To win against Garnet Valley you need to be aggressive an aggressive all the time. Hopefully, we can earn our chance to see them again.”

• Garnet Valley has now won four straight and seven of its last eight. Henderson saw a three-game winning streak snapped.

Garnet Valley 1 2 2—5

WC Henderson 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Kaden Longo (GV) from Nolan Stott and A.J. Tenhuisen, :59; Hunter Haas (H) from Declan Dowd 5:35 (pp)

Second-period goals: Tenhuisen (GV) from Ryan McGhee and Jeremy Hyczka, 11:01; Stott (GV) from Jake Morrow, 15:42

Third-period goals: Stott (GV) from Jake Robinson, 1:53; Andrew Denny (H) from John Gordon and Haas, 8:10; Dylan Orr (GV) unassisted, 15:34 (en)

Goaltenders: Garrett Stoops (GV), Matt Cieslukowski (H) (shot totals unavailable)

Garnet Valley 12 Springfield-Delco 5

ASHTON—Springfield-Delco and Garnet Valley came out with all engines firing Friday night. What transpired was not an artistic masterpiece but hockey fans who prefer an abundance of scoring left Ice Works satisfied in the wake of the Jaguars 12-5 Central League win.

The goal-scoring barrage started early when Springfield’s Jake Heston beat Garnet Valley goaltender Garrett Stoops just seven seconds after the opening faceoff. Jake Robinson responded for the Jaguars three-and-a-half minutes later and the fireworks display continued unabated.

By the time the first period ended, eight goals had been scored and the Jaguars (2-0) had a 6-2 lead. They stayed in control the rest of the way.

Kaden Longo paced the Jaguars with a hat trick. He also added an assist. A.J. Tenhuisen scored twice and seven other players scored one goal each.

Heston scored twice for the Cougars (1-2).

It was a tough night to be a goaltender. Springfield’s Aidan Fifti saw 40 shots while Garrett Stoops, his Garnet Valley counterpart, had to deal with 31.

Garnet Valley assistant coach Pat Conway thought his team performed well after an uncertain start.

“We were a little sloppy in the first period,” he said, “but we kind of brought back together, started passing the puck and moving the puck around. Letting their practice take over and capitalize on being a team.”

Conway noted the importance of his players remaining committed to the team concept.

“Once they get back into a grove of realizing we got that lead because we were playing like a team and they get back on track playing as a team, it works out a lot better,” he said.

Garnet Valley defenseman Nolan Stott scored a shorthanded goal in the closing seconds of the first period and later added an assist. He was admittedly surprised by his team’s margin of victory.

“I thought it would be way closer,” he said. “In the last couple years, all the games have been close so I thought it would have been closer but the boys came together today. We really rallied against them and worked as a team and got the job done.”

Stott spoke to the importance of getting off to a fast start in the Central League race.

“It means everything to get a fast start,” he said. “Get on the horse early, let the other teams know we’re not here to mess around and we want this league.”

Springfield coach Dan Dilbeck said the evening was another step in his team’s development.

“We have a young team that’s still trying to figure some things out,” he said. “We’re still trying to jell together as a team and sometimes we just get outworked. And that’s what we have to figure out.

Springfield 2 1 2—5

Garnet Valley 6 3 3—12

First-period goals: Jake Heston (S) unassisted, :07; Jake Robinson (GV) from Kevin Walton and Evan Reilly, 3:40; Kaden Longo (GV) from A.J. Tenheuisen, 5:05; Chase Robinson (GV) unassisted, 10:35; Heston (S) from Cole Kuzmick and Mason Stallings, 14:06; Tenhuisen (GV) from Longo , 14:42; Reilly (GV) from Robinson and Walton, 15:41; Nolan Stott, GV unassisted,16:53 (sh)

Second-period goals: Stallings (S) from Ben Wyant, :07 Owen Parker (GV) unassisted, 11:58; Walton (GV) from Stott and Matt Abbonizio, 13:58; Tenhuisen (GV) from Stott, 16:20

Third-period goals: Brett Rosser (S) from Kuzmick, 5:10; Longo (GV) from Reilly, 5:44; Longo (GV) from Stott and Parker, 11:50; Ryan McGhee (GV) from Tenhuisen; Brendan Becker (S) from Joseph Clifford, 13:14

Shots: Springfield 31, Garnet Valley 40; Saves: Aidan Fifti (S) 28, Garrett Stoops (GV) 26

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