APAC Standings as of 1-10-26

GP Won Lost OTW OTL Pts

Holy Ghost Prep (12-2) 6 6 0 1 0 17

St. Joseph’s Prep (12-4) 4 2 2 0 1 7

Hun School (10-5) 4 2 2 2 2 6

Malvern Prep (4-7-2) 5 2 3 1 0 5

La Salle (3-11) 5 0 5 0 1 1

Wins and losses include all conference games

Teams receive:

3 points for a regulation win

2 points for an overtime or shootout win

1 point for an overtime or shootout loss

0 points for a regulation loss

Upcoming Conference Games

Tuesday 1-13

4:00 St. Joseph’s Prep at Hun School

Wednesday 1-14

Malvern Prep at La Salle

Thursday 1-15

4:00 Holy Ghost Prep at Hun School

Thursday 1-22

4:00La Salle at Hun School

8:30 St. Joseph’s Prep at Malvern Prep

Monday 1-26

St. Joseph’s Prep at Holy Ghost Prep

Wednesday 1-28

La Salle at St. Joseph’s Prep

Tuesday 2-3

4:00 Malvern Prep at Hun School

APAC Semifinals

Wednesday, February 18 at Ice Line

Championship Game

Wednesday, February 25 at home of highest seeded finalist

St. Joseph’s Prep 3 Malvern Prep 2

Adam Charraffi’s goal 4:31 into the third period gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 3-2 win over Malvern Prep Friday at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

It was the seventh straight win for the Hawks, who improved to 12-4 overall and 2-2 in the APAC.

Michael Waslick and Joseph McGonigal gave St. Joseph’s Prep a 2-0 first-period lead before Jake Weingartner scored for the Friars (4-6-2, 2-3).

Pax Hoishik tied the game for Malvern Prep with a power-play goal 7:01 into the second period, which set the stage for Charrafi’s game winner.

Malvern Prep 12 1 0—2

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 0 1—3

First-period goals: Michael Washlick (SJP) from Jake Ely and Adam Charrafi, 1:18; Joseph McGonigal (SJP) from Joseph Darragh and Connor Martin, 3:47; Jake Weingartner (MP) from Paxton Hoishik, 5:16

Second-period goal: Hoishik (MP) from Weingartner and Cole Scabrinsky, 7:01 (pp)

Third-period goal: Charaffi (SJP) from Frank Ely and Bradan Fisher

Shots: Malvern Prep 31, St. Joseph’s Prep 27; Saves: Ryan Caterino (M, 4:31P) 24, Declan Geary (SJP) 29

Holy Ghost Prep 2 Hun School 1

There was an abundance of energy in the air at Grundy Arena Friday night. In the stands, fans were celebrating Holy Ghost Prep’s senior night. On the ice, the Firebirds and The Hun School were leaving nothing to chance.

It was the hosts who prevailed. Chase Logue’s goal 16 seconds into overtime have his side a 2-1 win. Logue weaved his way through traffic from center ice and beat Hun School’s senior goaltender Blake Echternacht who went home with the loss on his record despite being the best player on the ice for most if not all, of the evening.

The result keeps the Firebirds (12-2 overall) atop the APAC standings with a perfect 6-0 conference record. Hun School, which is in the midst of playing five games in eight day, dropped to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the APAC.

Logue describe his game winner.

“I’d been looking for, {an opening} all night,” he said. “I found a lane, trusted my ability, and went in. The guys in the room (Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Gavaghan got the assists) helped me out a lot.

“{Logue} is a phenomenal player,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “I kind of had a conversation with him at the end of last year that coming into this year, he could be the best player in the league. I think he’s started that way, and he’s proven himself.

Holy Ghost Prep dominated the first half of the opening period. The Raiders didn’t record a shot on goal until nine-and-a-half minutes had elapsed. But they recorded the period’s only goal, a power-play effort which came off the stick of Luca Jean with 6:27 remaining in the period. The Firebirds’ Anthony Valeriote was serving a sentence for cross checking at the time.

The Firebirds drew even with 51 seconds left in the middle period when Bill Harmar made a run down the left wing, cut to the net, and beat Echternacht with a backhander.

As the teams lined up for the ensuing faceoff, Valeriote and the Raiders’ Anders van Raalte engaged. The encounter ended with van Raalte being accessed a major penalty for spearing plus a game misconduct. As a result, the Firebirds started the third period with an extended power play but were unable to capitalize on the advantage and the game remained deadlocked through the balance of regulation. Echternacht and the defense in front of him were the primary reasons why.

“I knew when {Nathaniel Welsh} was taking over Hun School they were going to be really structured defensively,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie, “and they were going to be tough and physical. They’ve got a lot of seniors over there

“Hats off to them. They probably played us the tightest of the teams we’ve played so far this year.

Ritchie praised Echternacht’s work in the Raider net.

“I’ve known him since he was 10 or 11 years old,” he said. “I knew he was going to be formidable in net.”

Welsh has been watching Echternacht’s work all season.

“He stood on his head tonight, all night,” he said.

Welsh praised his team’s effort was frustrated his team’s seven penalties, which resulted in five Firebird power plays. The Raiders had four.

“We played hard both ways tonight,” he said. “And we played a lot of time on the PK. Which is unfortunate. I would have liked a little more five on five, or five on four our way.”

Ice chips—The two teams will have a rematch on Thursday afternoon at Ice Land … Ten Holy Ghost Prep seniors were recognized prior to game time. John Bottgof, one of the 10, got the win in goal.

Hun School 1 0 0 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 0 1—2

First period goal: Luca Jean (HS) from Andrew Darst, 10:33 (pp).

Second-period goal: Billy Harmar HGP unassisted, 16:09

Overtime goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Gavaghan, :16

Shots: Hun School 27, Holy Ghost Prep 43; Saves: Blake Echternacht (HS) 41, John Botthof 26

Knights Embark on Cancer Fight

It was a night when the final score truly didn’t matter. There were four points at stake when North Penn and Souderton squared off on Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice but the focus of the evening was the Knights’ Hockey Fights Cancer effort. The Knights took the ice on Wednesday wearing white sweaters trimmed in purple to commemorate the occasion, which was part of a multipronged effort to promote and raise funds for the fight against cancer.

“We got some contributions from some local businesses, said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. We got their logos put on the backs of the jerseys and were able to get these jerseys made

The North Penn junior varsity will play a Hockey Stops Cancer game of its own on Friday against Father Judge (8:50 at Hatfield) and two North Penn middle-school level teams will take the ice on Sunday against separate opponents.

North Penn assistant coach Frank Stumpo spearheaded the effort. Stumpo is also the North Penn Hockey Club treasurer; his son was diagnosed with cancer in 2024

“It’s incredible,” he said. “We talked about doing this for a couple years. My son was diagnosed with cancer a year-and-a-half ago at age 37. He’s come through it and is very healthy and that was kind of the impetus for us.

“So many of our families, not just on the hockey team but in the community have been affected by cancer. It’s a terrible disease.

“This is an opportunity, and the kids got behind it as well, to give back. We’re trying to play hockey and we’re trying to win hockey games. But we’re developing young men an we’re trying to teach them that’s there’s more to life than just what goes on on the ice so it’s a good opportunity and a wonderful learning experience for them as well.”

North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis saw the event as a teaching moment for his players.

“I think it’s always good to give back,” he said, “and kind of make these kids aware, and the rest of our families aware; everybody’s going to be impacted to some degree by somebody battling cancer or lost somebody to cancer.

“I think if we can do our part to help raise a little bit more awareness, it goes a long way, and hopefully this is something other high-school teams in the area want to participate in as well so we can make it something bigger over the next couple years.”

Hun School 3 La Salle 2 OT

The ending came in the blink of an eye. Devin Espana’s shot off a left circle faceoff exactly halfway through overtime gave The Hun School a come-from-behind 3-2 win over La Salle Wednesday afternoon in an APAC matchup at Hatfield Ice.

The goal came just seven seconds after La Salle’s William Podulka was swept to the penalty box for roughing, giving the Raiders a four-skaters-to-three advantage for the finish.

The Raiders overcame a 2-0 second-period deficit to lift their record to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the APAC. They’ve won seven of their last eight starts. But it took them the entirety of the first two periods to get their skates under them.

“We’ve got to find a way to decide We’ve want to play from the first drop of the puck,” said Hun School coach Nathaniel Welsh. “But when they decide they want to turn it on, it’s a good hockey team.”

The Explorers (3-11, 0-5) took a 1-0 lead 4:50 into green second frame when Andrew Frantz delivered a power-play goal on a shot from the left point. River Carangi made it 2-0 with 7:04 left in the period on a setup from Nick Mantellino on a play that built up from behind the Hun School net.

At that point, the Explorers seemed to have the upper hand. But the Zachary Vallee scored for the Raiders off a La Salle breakdown with 1.9 seconds left in the period and the complexion of the game changed at that point; following the break for the post-second period ice cut Hun School returned for the third period riding a fresh wave of energy.

“It really feel like can beat anybody,” said veteran defenseman Andrew Darst, “and the key right now is figuring out how to get a good start on the road. Coming off the bus after an hour-long bus ride. Just getting a good start and getting ahead in the beginning.”

In a very real sense, the start of the third frame was a new beginning for the Raiders. Zachary Vallee tied the game with 4:19 left in the regulation to set the stage for the finale.

“Our first two operations weren’t great,” Welsh said. “Getting off the bus ride we weren’t really ready to play, but in the third period, we hit our stride a little bit.”

The Explorers seemingly had the better of things at the start of the extra period but Podulka’s penalty set up the visitors with an offensive zone faceoff and the Raiders took advantage of what La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner indicated was one in a series of critical errors.

“It’s definitely a disappointing loss,” he said. “We lost that game the way I look at it. All three goals directly resulted from us not doing something or doing something we shouldn’t have done.

“The penalty {that set up the winning goal} was not a smart penalty. And we didn’t pick up on the backcheck on the other two goals.”

Hun School 0 1 1 1—3

La Salle 0 2 0 0—2

Second-period goals: Andrew Frantz (L) from Liam Greenwalt and Nick Mantellino,4:50 (pp); River Carangi (L) from Mantellino, 9:56; Jimmy Dolan (HS) from Devin Espana, 16:59

Third-period goal: Zachary Vallee (HS) from Jacoby Kelly-LePage and Luca Jean, 12;41

Overtime goal: Espana (HS) from Andrew Darst and Vallee, 2:30 (pp)

Shots: Hun School 25, La Salle 28; Saves: Elliot Trottier (HS) 23, Daniel Trainor (L) 22

SHSHL Update 1-5-26

National Division W L T OTW OTL SOW SOL Pts

Council Rock South (11-1) 8 1 0 – – – – 32

North Penn (10-0) 7 0 0 – – – – 28

Central Bucks South (7-3) 6 2 0 – – – 24

Pennsbury (7-3) 5 3 0 – – – – 20

Central Bucks East (4-5) 4 6 0 1 – – – 15

Souderton (3-5) 3 4 0 1 1 – – 12

Pennridge (3-4-1) 3 4 0 – – 2 – – 14

Neshaminy (2-7) 2 6 0 1 – – – 7

Central Bucks West (0-11) 0 10 0 – – – – 0

American Division W L T OTW OTL SHW SOL PTS

Hatboro-Horsham (11-1) 10 1 0 – – – – 40

Plym. Whitemarsh (7-1) 7 1 0 – – – – 28

Wissahickon (3-5) 3 5 0 1 – – – 11

Springfield (2-7) 2 6 0 – – – – 8

Abington (0-8) 0 8 0 – 1 – – 1

Check out the Hockey Happenings podcast

Scoring All League Scheduled Games

National Division GP G A Pts

Jake Weiner CRS 11 32 12 44

Shane Gleisner Pb 10 26 10 36

Max Ryon Sou. 8 16 13 29

Samuel Norton NP 9 10 13 23

Chris Silvotti NP 10 10 12 22

Jackson Kelly Soud 8 11 10 21

Jordan Sarne CRS 10 7 14 21

Landon Bishop Pr 7 11 9 20

Dominic Gibson 9 10 10 20

Shane Hicks Pb 9 7 12 19

American Division GP G A Pts

Vincent Graziani HH 12 22 23 45

Nate Nemchinov HH 10 18 17 35

Bill Moffa HH 12 11 16 27

Daniel Guller PW 8 7 20 27

Luca Staffieri HH 11 13 13 26

Reid Rochestie HH 12 7 12 19

Blake Ambler PW 7 7 11 18

Aiden North HH 12 5 12 19

Grayson Quinn Spr. 9 13 3 16

Flyers Cup Rankings 12-29-25

The Flyers Cup Committee has released its first set of rankings for the 2025-26 season. Rankings are based on game results and observations by committee members.

The Flyers tournament is an invitational event. There are no automatic bids.

Class AAA

Holy Ghost Prep
St. Joseph’s Prep
Malvern Prep
La Salle
Father Judge

Class AA

North Penn
Council Rock South
Conestoga
Owen J. Roberts
Central Bucks South

Class A

Kennett
Penncrest
Hershey
Hatoro-Horsham
Palmyra

Girls

Avon Grove
Conestoga
Downingtown West
West Chester East
Radnor

St. Joseph’s Prep Set for Purple Puck Tournament

The National Capital Hockey Tournament, more familiarly known as the Purple Puck Tournament, is a longstanding holiday tradition.

Now in its 31^st year the tournament is hosted by Gonzaga Prep and brings some of the scholastic and prep school teams to the Washington, D.C. area each year. This year’s event begins on Saturday, December 27 and runs through Monday, December 29.

For St. Joseph’s Prep, the Purple Puck event is a regular fixture on the schedule. The Hawks have had considerable success there; they’ve won championships in two of the last three seasons. Senior Ben Kurson is the Hawks’ captain.

“The Purple Puck Tournament is very competitive. Teams come from all over the country and test our team every year. It is always a challenge, but I am very confident in our group this year. “

Kurson has fond memories from the Purple Puck Tournament; he played on championship-winning teams as a freshman and sophomore

“I remember really looking up to the upperclassmen,” he said, “seeing how they played for each other, and how they treated the younger players. I hope as a senior, in my last Purple Puck Tournament, I can similarly do this for our team.”
Kurson says the experience of being on the road as a group for a long weekend builds team cohesiveness.

“This tournament greatly helps to develop team chemistry. Eating meals together, traveling to the games together, and briefly living together all contribute to working well on the ice. Also, our team has a tradition of doing Secret Santa at this tournament. This has always been my favorite off ice activity, and is always very funny to see what people get for each other.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula says the weekend offers his team a lot of benefits, including testing it in a tournament setting.

“The round robin is only three game, but you do have to perform well to make it to the championship rounds,” he said. “Regardless of what’s on the line, it’s a unique situation, learning how to play {in a tournament setting}.

“That’s one aspect, but I think equally as important is the time together as a group.”

In addition to the Hawks’ varsity, one of their junior varsity teams will also be part of the tournament and several sub-varsity players will be on the trip even though they may not dress for games.

“I think it’s important for all of us to be together as a group,” Van Kula said. “Especially with the nature of our sport, it’s so rare to have even one individual team all together at once but certainly to draw the whole program together is a valuable eperience.

Kurson says the Hawks find out a lot about themselves over the course of the weekend. ”I think as a team we learn a lot. When we play so many games in such a short period of time, it gives us the ability to tweak something and directly implement it in the same day. In comparison, we usually play one game a week, so we have to wait a whole week to change what we learned. “

• The Hawks will not be the only APAC team in this year’s field. The Hun School will also be part of the event. The other three conference teams will also be involved in tournaments this weekend. La Salle will travel to Providence for a four-team event involving Christian Brothers-affiliated institutions while host Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will take part in the Friars Faceoff

Nemchinov Making a Big Impact at H-H

After a season of great success, one that included a division championship and a Flyers Cup victory, Hatboro-Horsham is picking up where it left off.

Heading into the Christmas break, The Hatters sit atop the SHSHL’s American Division with a 10-1 divisional record (11-1 overall).

Last year’s version of the Hatters won 12 games, captured the division tile, and won a Flyers Cup game for the first time in school history which only whetted their appetite for more.

Senior forward Nate Nemchinov summed up his team’s approach.

“We always play with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We play to win, we don’t take anything got granted, and we play every game like a playoff game.”

Nemchinov scored for goals Friday night as the Hatters overwhelmed Wissahickon 13-3 at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. It’s the fifth time this season one of their game has been shortened due to the 10-goal rule.

Nemchinov spoke to the importance of the players staying focused in one-sided games.

“Our coach (Shane Smith) I great at rotating the lines, keeping us in the game and making sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.”

Nemchinov has 18 goals and 17 assists so far this season for 35 points. He’s second in the division in scoring behind teammate Vincent Graziani (20-21—41). He speaks to the importance of the veterans on the roster helping the younger plyers feel at ease.

“We make them comfortable at practice,” he said. “We give them tips. We’re always letting them know how they can improve. We play a team game and give them ice time. They play as much as the veterans do.”

Nemchinov notes how the team has evolved since the start of the season.

“In the beginning of the year, we were playing a little bit selfish at times,” he said, “and we were getting ahead of ourselves in {one-sided games.} But, we’ve learned to move the puck and it’s going to help us a lot when we play more competitive games.”

Nemchinov himself has been on skates as long has he can remember.

“On my first birthday there was somebody who played hockey there,” he said, “and my dad started playing. He got me {into hockey} and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Last year marked the second time Hatboro-Horsham has won an SHSHL title, the first came in 2018.

The Hatters were one of the founding members of the SHSHL in 1973-74. The club played its games at the old Wintersport rink in Willow Grove, often late on Friday nights.

Nemchinov and his teammates respect those who came before them.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We carry on the legacy. We know how hard those guys worked and we want to work just as hard, if not harder.”

PW 4 Abington 1

It wasn’t a stylish performance. But Plymouth Whitemarsh did enough Thursday night to get across the finish line.

Cooper Kanze scored two goals as the Colonials bested a scrappy Abington team 4-1 in a SHSHL American Division test at Hatfield Ice. The Colonials improved to 7-1 overall and in the division. They trail first-place Hatboro-Horsham by eight points as of Thursday night but also have two games in hand; the two teams have split two meetings against each other.

But the Colonials looked sluggish throughout Thursday night’s affair and Kanze, who is his team’ leading goal scorer with 12, did not mince words.

“Two goals helped,” the sophomore said, “but overall, our whole team needs to play better. We know that. We expect more from each other. Everyone expects more from us.”

Kanze opened the scoring with 4:37 left in the opening period but the best player on the ice was Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, who made 14 saves in the first frame.

That gave the Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-9) an opening to tie the game, which they did when Joseph Widmeier scored in a breakaway 1:54 into the second period.

Morgan Hulitt put the Colonials in front with 3:23 left in the middle period before Kanze and John Zawislak added goals in the third.

While the result will be listed in the records as a decisive, the opinions of some witnesses differed, notably that of Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti.

“Not our best game,” he said. “We know we can play better. I think it’s tough to go in {the locker room} and be upset after a win but I think every guy in this locker room know we can play much better than we showed today.”

Forti stressed the importance of his players staying focused.

“I think focus is the biggest thing,” he said. “We keep talking about it, but we can’t keep having the same conversations over and over, we need to a change.

“I thought our start was okay but we started losing focus throughout the game. we need to stay locked in for three full periods.”

At the other end of the building, Abington coach Ken Brzozowski got three periods worth of effort from the Galloping Ghosts.

“We talked about limiting our mistakes,” he said, “and things we wanted to do. To play three full periods of hockey and not worry about the score.

“We talked about playing as a unit offensively and defensively. Not two on defense, three on offense. We talked about ‘Five offense and five defense and it kind of translated a little it tonight.”

Abington has scored just nine goals all season and four of their nine games have been shortened due to the 10-goal rule. But Brzozowski says his team’s lack of success has not diminished its resolve.

“This team has not quit,” he said. “They have not put their heads down. Every single one of then (there are 21 players on the roster) comes to practice and works hard. Every single one of them comes to the games.

“I just need what we’re doing in practice to translate to the games.”

Abington 0 1 0—1

PW 1 1 2—4

First-period goal: Cooper Kanze (PW) unassisted, 12:23

Second-period goals: Joseph Widmeier (A) unassisted, 1:54; Morgan Hulitt (PW) from Liam Kelly, 13:37

Third-period goals: Kanze (PW) from Dan Guller, 2:20; John Zawislak (PW) fom Hulitt, 14:23

Shots: Abington 7, PW 41

Saves: Matt Evangelist (A) 34, Braydon Campbell (PW) 6