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Monday, March 16
Class A Final
Tuesday, March 17
Class AAA Final
Class AA Final
Thursday, March 19
Girls Final
It was an ending fit for a classic. Chase Logue’s goal 6:58 into overtime gave Holy Ghost Prep a 3-2 win over Malvern Prep Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
Top-seeded and defending champion Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) will move on to face La Salle in Tuesday’s championship game at this same venue. La Salle was a 4-1 winner over St. Joseph’s Prep in Thursday’s other semifinal.
The game-winning goal exemplified excellence. The Firebirds’ Lucas Gonzalez made a dash down the left wing and beat a Friar player to a loose puck along the wall at the Malvern Prep blue line. Gonzalez sent a backhand pass cross the ice and found Logue midway between the two circles. Logue unleashed a forehander that beat Malvern Prep goaltender Ryan Caterino.
{Gonzalez} made a great pass,” Logue said. “I saw a chance to go to the net, just took my chance and shot it, and it went in”
For the Firebirds, it was a narrow escape.
The fourth-seeded Friars, who closed their season at 6-12-2, struck first when Andrew Starck beat Holy Ghost Prep netminder Matt Salita 2:20 into the first period.
That opening goal set the tone for the evening.
“I think they were prepared,” Holy Ghost Prep defenseman and captain Chris Marshall said of the Friars. “They were ready to go. Their guys were fired up. They gave us a hell of a game.”
Jake Smaron tied the game for the Firebirds 12:32 into the first frame, but James Young’s solo effort put the Friars up 2-1 2:34 into the middle period.
Logue scored the last goal of regulation with 1:35 left in the second period.
The fact the Firebirds never led in the game until Logue’s game winner was not due to a lack of effort. The victors held a 25-14 advantage in shots over the last two periods of regulation plus overtime. That regulation ended in a deadlock was due in large measure to Caterino’s work in the Friar net; the senior logged 35 saves in his final high-school game,
Sudden-death overtime began with the teams changing ends (thus dealing with long changes) and a regulation-period length 17 minutes on the clock.
Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie had some instructions for his troops prior to the start of overtime.
“We needed to adjust offensive zone possession,” he said. “They were releasing a guy and taking a cycle off every time.
“We were trying to create some low-to-high chances, with our {defense} because they were just clogging the middle.
“So the biggest thing was keeping our guys steady and controlling our emotions. I think the experience of last year helped us.”
In the end the Firebirds moved on. But the Friars’ effort resonated with everyone in the building.
“This was a resilient group of seniors that held this team together,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “It makes a difference when you have a good senior group, and they were the glue of this team.
“I thought we brought our best effort tonight. Taking Ghost to overtime in a Flyers Cup game; you couldn’t ask more from the boys. I’m proud of where we were tonight.”
Malvern Prep 1 1 0 0—2
Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 0 1—3
First-period goals: Andrew Starck (MP) from Jake Weingartner and Pax Hoishik, 2:29; Jake Smaron (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 12:32
Second-period goals: James Young (MP) unassisted, 2:34; Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez, 15:25
Overtime goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Gonzalez 6:58
Shots: Malvern Prep 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38 Saves: Ryan Caterino (MP) 35; Matt Salita (HGP) 25
Thursday, March 12
Coach: John Ritchie
Record: 18-4
Key players: Matt Salita .956 save %; Chase Logue 27 goals, 6 assists, 33 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-12-23; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23
In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals
4. Malvern Prep
Coach: Bill Keenan
Record: 6-11-2
Key players: Ryan Corrado .908 save % Jake Weingartner 7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points, Pax Hoishik 7-10-17; Logan Love 4-3-7
In this tournament: Def. Devon Prep 6-4 in quarterfinals
2. St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 3. La Salle 6:30 at Ice Line
2. St. Joseph’s Prep
Coach: Charlie Van Kula
Record:17-7
Key players: Declan Geary .929 save %; Cole Gargon 16oals, 13 assists, 29 points; Bradan Fisher 11-14-25; Michael Washlick 9-11-20
In this tournament: Def. Salesianum 8-0 in quarterfinals
Coach: Wally Muehlbronner
Record: 7-13
Key players: Anthony Foster .918 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 6-8-14; Andrew Frantz 4-8-12
In this tournament; Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals
Ice chips: The four APAC schools in this year’s semifinals have won 14 consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup titles and 17 of the last 18. All told, La Salle has win 13 Flyers Cups (including one in Class AA), Malvern Prep 10, Holy Ghost Prep 5 (one in Class AA) and St. Joseph’s Prep 1.
Malvern Prep won a record five straight Cups from 2001-05.
Hershey 7 West Chester East 1
The top-seeded Trojans scored four goals in the first period and went on to a 7-1 win over the fourth-seeded Vikings in a Class A Flyers Cup semifinal Tuesday night at Ice Line. Blake Umberger and Callan Peterson scored twice each for Hershey. Bryce Erwin, Cameron Kertulis, and Brady Cox also scored for Hershey, which won this tournament two years ago.
Cole Pariseault scored the only goal for the fourth-seeded Vikings in the third period.
West Chester East 0 0 1—1
Hershey 4 1 2—7
Penncrest 5 Kennett 2
Trailing 1-0 in the first period, the second-seeded Lions reeled off five straight goals to post a Class A semifinal win at Ice Line Tuesday night.
Keane Naugle, Nash Grant, and Benett Sullivan scored goals before the first period ended. Christian Vernacchio and Sebouh Flett added goals in the second.
Luke Ganly and Lucas Mott scored goals for the third-seeded Blue Demons
Kennett 1 0 1—2
Penncrest 3 2 0—5
Class AA Quarterfinals
Boyertown 5 Pennsbury 3—The 10th-seeded Falcons held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but fell to the second-seeded Bears at Ice Line. Shane Gleisener, Connor Gray, and Francis DeLucia scored for Pennsbury
Council Rock South 3 vs. Central Bucks South 1
Downingtown West 6 Central Bucks East 2—Alex Wilson and Ethan Cenci scored for the 13th Patriots in the loss to the fifth-seeded Whippets at Ice Line. Graziani scored twice for the Hatters. Joey Magnin also scored.
North Penn 6 Owen J. Roberts 3
Class A Quarterfinals
Penncrest 9 Garnet Valley 0
Kennett 8 Hatboro-Horsham 3— Thord-seeded Kennett built a 6-0 lead over the sixth-seeded Hatters at Ice Line.
Hershey 4 West Chester Henderson 3
West Chester East 6 Marple Newtown 2
Wednesday March 4
Girls Quarterfinals
West Chester East 10 Conestoga 3
Lower Merion 10 Radnor 0
Downingtown West 10 Radnor 0
Tuesday, March 3
Class AAA Quarterfinals
La Salle 6 Father Judge 2 see story for details
Malvern Prep 6 Devon Prep 4—Ryan Jacobs scored two goals as the fourth-seeded Frairs bested the fifth-seeded Tide at Ice Line to earn a spot in the semifinals against top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep. James Young, Cole Scarbinsky, Pax Hoishik, and William McCullough all scored for Malvern Prep. Ryan Caterino made 25 saves in goal.
St. Joseph’s Prep 8 Salesianum 0—Cole Gargon scored twice and six other players added one goal each as the second-seeded Hawks shut out the seventh-seeded Sallies at the Skatium. Aiden Quinn, Connor Martin, Frankie Ely, Cole Sullivan, Bradan Fisher, and Vincent Burnett all scored for the Prep, which will face La Salle in next Thursday’s semifinals. Declan Geary earned the shutout in goal.
“I thought we played with incredible speed and that really opened up our offense,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie van Kula. We knew Salesianum was going to be a good test. In the past we may have let our foot off the gas a bit, but I am proud of how our guys stayed dialed in, stayed positive, and played for one another.”
Class AA First Round
Owen J, Roberts 7 Avon Grove 5
Central Bucks South 4 Downingtown East 3—Ryan Montagna’s goal with 11:03 left in regulation proved to be the game winner as the sixth-seeded Titans outlasted 11th seed Downingtown East at Hatfield Ice. It was Montagna’s third goal of the game. He also added three assists.
Pennsbury 8 Haverford 5—Jacob Sarver scored three goals an added an assist an Shane Gleisner provided two goals and three assists as the 10th-seeded Falcons bested seventh seed Haverford at the Skatium to advance to the quarterfinals.
Council Rock South 6 Spring-Ford 3—Jake Weiner scored five goals for the third-seeded Hawks, two in the third period
Boyertown 12 Souderton 2—Maxwell Ryon and Matthew Ceoss scored for the 15th-seeded Indians in the loss to the second-seeded Bears at Ice Line.
North Penn 9 Shawnee 2—the top-seeded and defending champion Knights scored four goals in the first period and went on to the win over the 16th-seeded Renegades. Samuel Norton, Gabriel Dunn, Nolan Shingle, and Chris Silvotti each scored twice. Derek Lugara also scored for North Penn which will face Owen J. Roberts in the quarterfinals.
Monday, March 2
Class AA First Round
Central Bucks East 6 Conestoga 3—Trailing 3-2 after two periods, the 13th-seeded Patriots scored four goals in the third and stunned the fourth-seeded Pioneers Monday night at Ice Line. Evan Asimmakopoulos scored what proved to be the winning goal with 13:44 left in regulation. Ethan Cenci extended the lead with a power-play goal with 12:18 left and added an empty-net goal with 21 seconds remaining.
Cole Kleindienst, Morris Ostrobrod and Samuel Gottesman also scored for East whih will face North Penn or Shawnee in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Downingtown West 6 vs. Pennridge 2—Fifth-seed Downingtown West broke the game open Monday night with three second-period goals and built a 5-0 third-period lead before Ryan Burke and Lanndon Bishop scored for the 12th-seeded Rams, who closed the season at 6-12-1.
Class A First Round
Garnet Valley 2 Palmyra 1
West Chester Henderson 6 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3 see story for details
Marple Newtown 5 West Chester Rustin 1
Hatboro-Horsham 10, Radnor 0 see story for details
Big games are often decided when winning teams and/or big-time players step up. Such was the case Thursday night as Sam Norton and his North Penn teammates came up big when the moment demanded it.
North Penn scored three straight goals over the second half of the second period to separate themselves from Central Bucks South and went on to a 6-3 win over the Titans in the SHSHL National Division championship game at Hatfield Ice. It was the 21st win in 22 starts this season for the top-seeded Knights, who claimed a SHSHL title for the fourth time in team history. They will be the top seed for the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face Shawnee in the opening round Tuesday night.
For now, the defending Cup and state champions will celebrate with another trophy.
“A win like that is always enjoyable,” Sam Norton said. “It’s a great experience. I’m going to remember it for a while.”
The third-seeded Titans (16-6) struck first when Ryan Montagna finished off a two-on-one during a South power play just 89 seconds into the opening period. It gave his team the lead but North Penn goaltender Andy Norton was unfazed.
“I try to focus on what’s coming next,” he said, “the next shot, I just put it behind me. I really trust my team. I trust they are going to put another one in the net.”
Which Sam Norton did two-and-a-half minutes later to tie the game. Norton followed with his second goal of the night not quite threo minutes after that and Declan Leahy made it a 3-1 game with 3:08 left in the first period.
South however, wasn’t going anywhere. Ryan Frey found the back of the net 3:05 into the second frame and Joey Slobodian tied the game at the 8:30 mark, making the second half of regulation theoretically a new game.
It was time for Sam Norton to step up once more. Twenty-eight seconds after Slobodian’s game-tying effort, Norton completed a hat trick to put North Penn in front for good. Daniel Cabrales followed with a goal with 6:44 left in regulation and Nolan Shingle completed the scoring for the night with exactly five minutes remaining.
“It wasn’t our greatest {game},” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We had some mistakes but we capitalized on some as well. And, when you get to this point in the season and you’re playing a team like that, it’s not going to be perfect.
“I thought the guys worked hard. Even when they came back to tie it at three, nobody panicked. We’ve been in situations like this before and we just keep working through it.”
The Titans worked hard as well against an opponent that leaves an opponent little margin for error.
“We’re proud of our team,” said South coach Josh Sklar. “They battled to the end. You’ve got the two top teams. In the league going at it and sometimes the bounces just don’t go your way.”
Sklar pointed out that competing against the Knights requires going full bore for three full periods.
“Every shift means something,” he said. “Every shift is important. We’re a deep team, but we battled. We tried, we did our best.
• The Titans are seeded sixth in the Class AA Flyers Cup and will face Downingtown East Tuesday night in the first round…. North Penn’s previous SHSHL titles came in 2002, ‘09, and ‘14. The Titans are seven-time champions, their last coming in 2018.
C.B. South 1 2 0—3
North Penn 3 3 0—6
First-period goals: Ryan Montagna (CBS) from Dom Gibson, 1:29 (pp); Samuel Norton (NP) unassisted, 4:01; Norton (NP) unassisted, 6:54; Declan Leahy (NP) from Ismael Cabrales, 12:52
Third-period goals: Ryan Frey (CBS) unassisted, 3;05; Joey Slobodian (CBS) unassisted, 8:30; Norton (NP) unassisted, 8:58; Daniel Cabrales (NP) from Landon Hostetter, 10:16; Nolan Shingle (NP) from I. Cabrales, 12:00
Shots: C.B. South 44, North Penn 22; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 38, Andy Norton (NP) 19
They set the pace early and didn’t let up.
Central Bucks South defeated three-time SHSHL champion Council Rock South, 2-0, in a National Division semifinal on Wednesday night at Grundy Arena.
Jamison Crouch put the Titans on the board just 36 seconds into the game, with assists from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna.
It would prove to be the only goal the Titans needed, but Ryan Frey added an insurance goal 10 minutes later, also assisted by Slobodrian.
“That first goal really set the tone for us,” said Frey, a senior. “We knew we were going to get the first goal, it was just a matter of how. To get it on the first shift was huge. That gave us the momentum and it stuck with us the whole game.
“I thought our D zone was lot better than it usually is. We got pucks out when we needed to. We got traffic in front of their goalie early, that’s how we scored those two goals and overall I thought we played a very good game.”
The teams split in the regular season.
“We knew this was going to be a good game,” Frey said. “We knew we had to get on their goalie early and we did and that’s how we were able to win this one.
“I honestly didn’t think that lead was going to hold up. I thought it was going to be one of those games were we scored, then they scored and back and forth. I’m so glad we won.”
The Golden Hawks pulled goaltender Trey Prozzillo with 2:28 to go in the third period in a last-ditch effort to score, but were thwarted by CB South’s defense.
CB South advances to Thursday night’s final against top seed North Penn, an 11-1 winner over Pennsbury in the other semifinal.
“Winning this game gives us so much confidence,” Frey said. “We have three big wins coming into it. We have momentum and we’re going to go into that game with a lot of energy and hopefully pull out a nice win.”
CB South’s last league title was in 2018.
“It’s always exciting to be playing for a league title,” said CB South goaltender Nathan Napolitano, a junior. “Playing for a championship is always fun.”
The Titans have lost twice to the Knights this season.
“We want to play North Penn again,” Napolitano said. “We gave them two of our not-best efforts so we play them well, and we’ll see what happens.”
The early lead gave him confidence in the team.
“A lead is always easier than trying to keep your team in it,” he said. “When they got the first one, my job got easier.”
CB South 2 0 0—2
CR South 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Jamison Crouch (CBS) from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna, 0:36; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian, 10:32
Shots: CB South 27, CR South 27; Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 27, Trey Petrillo (CRS) 25
The North Penn Express kept rolling on Wednesday night. Chris Silvotti delivered three goals and three assists while Samuel Norton and James Boyle delivered two goal=s each as the Knights routed Pennsbury 11-1 in a SHSHL National Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
Top-seeded North Penn (21-1) will host third seed Council Rock South in Thursday’s final (6:10 start)13-6-1.
Pennsbury (13-6-1) the fourth seed, will move on to the Flyers Cup and prepare to face Haverford High Tuesday night.
It didn’t take long Wednesday night for North Penn and Silvotti in particular to get rolling. Silvotti scored twice with a goal from Daniel Cabrales in between to give North Penn a 3-0 10:01 into the first period. Shane Gleisner scored what would be Pennsbury’s only goal with 4:55 left in the opening session but James Boyle and Silvotti answered before the period ended.
Samuel Norton scored twice in a span of 2:23 early in the second frame and Declan Leahy, Boyle, and Liker Haftl added additional goals before the contest was halted via the 10-goal rule with 4:28 left in the third period.
The Knights accumulated 52 shots on goal
“The boys played really well tonight,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “That’s a a very good Pennsbury team and they played us tough twice earlier in the year. We knew we had to play our A game tonight and I thought we played really well in all zones of the ice.”
Vaitis says his team will have to step up against the Titans Thursday night.
“They knocked us out of the league playoffs last year so it would be nice to win and get some revenge for that game this year,” he said. “However they are a very good team so we need to repeat our performance tomorrow night if we want to win again. We have to be ready. “
Pennsbury 1 0 0—1
North Penn 5 3 3—11
First-period goals: Chris Silvotti (NP) from Derek Lugara and Declan Leahy; 1:43; Daniel Cabrales (NP) unassisted, 4:34; Silvotti (NP) from Chase Kelly Del Ricci and Declan Willison, 10:01; Shane Gleisner (NP) from Francis DeLucia, 12:05; James Boyle (NP) from D. Cabrales and Silvotti, 14:13; Silvotti (NP) frim Lugara, 15:45
Second-period goals: Samuel Norton (NP) from Nolan Shingle, 3:07 Norton (NP) from Ismael Caabrales 3:30; Leahy (NP) from Silvotti and D. Cabrales, 14:07
Third-period goals: Boyle (NP) from Silvotti, 1:57; Luke Haftel (NP) from Gabriel Dunn and Boyle, 12:32; Landon Hostetter (NP) from Tyler Evans and Milo Little, 15:23
Shots: Pennsbury 27, North Penn 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 41, Aidan Quigley (NP) 26
If you’re a hockey fan who likes to see lots of goals, Grundy Arena was the place be Monday night. Pennridge and Pennsbury put on a fireworks display that featured seven first-period goals before the Falcons, who overcame an early 2-0 deficit, pulled away to an 8-4 win in the opening round of the SHSHL National Division playoffs.
Fourth-seeded Pennsbury (13-5-1) will face top-seeded North Penn in a Wednesday semifinal. The fifth-seeded Rams (6-11-1) will be off until they face Downingtown West in the opening round of the Flyers Cup.
The barrage of goals started early on. James Rush scored a pair of goals four-and-a-half minutes apart to put Pennridge up 2-0 7:33 into the opening period.
Shane Hicks woke up the Falcons when he scored two goals in a span of to tie the game. Jacob Sarver put Pennsbury in front with 5:09 remaining before Ryan Burke tied the game for the last time.
Hicks completed a hat trick with a power-play goal with 1:07 left in the period and Shane Gleisner extended the lead 54 seconds into the second period.
Rush completed his own hat Trick with a power-play goal of his own 3:24 into the second period but Pennridge would not score again.
Connor Gray and Sarver added goals for Pennsbury in the second period and Hicks scored his fourth goal of the game late in the third.
“I love the way we played tonight,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start nut we responded really well and never looked ack.
“After getting the goal support, we committed to our systems, particularly in the {defensive} zone.”
Pennridge 3 1 0—4
Pennsbury 4 3 1—8
First-period goals: James Rush (Pr) from Kaden Gunning and Landon Bishop, 3:01; James Rush (Pr) unassisted, 7:33; Shane Hicks (Pb) from Jacob Sarver, 9:03; Hicks (Pb) from Shane Gleisner and Sarver, 10:56; Sarver (Pb) from Jaxon Pinto. 11:51; Ryan Burke (Pr) from Dean Venner, 13:36; Hicks (Pb) from Gavin Schlotter and Sarver, 15:53 (pp);
Second-period goals: Gleisner (Pb) unassisted, :54; Rush (Pr) from Bishop and Venner, 3:24 (pp); Connor Gray (Pb) from Schlotter and Francis DeLucia, 9:59; DeLucia (Pb) from Hicks, 13:39
Third-period goals: Hicks (Pb) unassisted, 15:48
Shots: Pennridge 28, Pennsbury 29; Saves: Andrew Slutsky (Pr) 21, Brendan Milliken (Pb) 24
Ryan Frey’s goal with six minutes left in the third period gave Central Bucks South a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Central Bucks Easy Monday night in the opening round of the SHSHL National Division playoffs at Hatfield Ice.
The third-seeded Titans (15-5) will face second seed Council Rock South in a semifinal game on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Patriots (6-12-1) will be idle until next week when they will face Conestoga in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup.
It was East who struck first Monday night. Ethan Cenci’s goal 4:43 into the second period gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead. Joey Slobodrian tied the game for South 2:44 into the final period.
Frey’s game winner came off assists from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino.
Nathan Napoliano got the win in goal, making 17 saves. Cameron Young game up big in goal for the Patriots, making 46 saves.
“The team stayed the course,” said South coach Josh Sklar. “Everyone bought into the system and kept pushing.
“We ran into a hot goalie and we just needed to keep shooting and traffic in front.”
Sklar told his players to take a back-to-basics approach.
“We told them to simplify their game,” he said, “and make the smart, easy decision with the puck”
• The Titans are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2018 when they won their last of four straight.
Central Bucks East 0 1 0—1
Central Bucks South 0 0 2—2
Second-period goal: Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Samuel Gottesman and Tyson Cowan, 4:43
Third-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Ryan Frey and John Lord, 2:44; Frey (CBS) from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino 11:00
Shots: C.B. East 18, C.B. South 48; Saves: Cameron Young (CBE) 46, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 17
The Hockey Happenings podcast previewing the Flyers Cup tournament is available HERE
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