Malvern Prep Tops Holy Ghost Prep in APAC Action

By Rick Woelfel

WEST CHESTER—Malvern Prep displayed an abundance of firepower Monday night, Nick Martino scored three goals and assisted on a fourth as the Friars bested Holy Ghost Prep 5-4 Monday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line.

The Friars (2-0, 1-0 in the APAC) hadn’t played a game in nearly three weeks but displayed few, if any signs of rust.

“The guys have been working hard, Martino said. “Everyone’s been putting in the time, putting in the effort. We thought we were prepared for the game.”
Martino got the scoring started with 2:26 left in the opening period when he beat Firebird netminder Sean Joyce from close range off a feed from Kyle Washalavitch.

Holy Ghost Prep (1-2, 0-2) drew even on Jack Kelly’s power-play goal exactly 90 seconds into the second frame but Matt Harris put the Friars back in front at the 8:12 mark before Martino, with Washalavitch’s help, made it a 3-1 game at 12:07.

The Firebirds’ Byron Hartley cut the Malvern Prep lead in half when he scored from a deep angle near the right faceoff circle just 16 seconds into the third period.
The remainder of the period featured an abundance of up-and-down hockey and four goals.

When Ryan Sambuco scored a power-play goal for Malvern Prep at the 2:39 mark and Martino completed his hat trick at 4:16, the Friars appeared to have things well in hand.

But the Firebirds didn’t quit. Colin Costello beat Friar goaltender Dan Dougherty at 5:55 and it was a two-goal game once more with plenty of time on the clock.

The two teams spent most of the rest of the game going end to end, a development that did not entirely please Malvern Prep coach Dave Dorman. “I was very happy for about two-and-a-third periods,” he said, “but then after that, it got a little too lose. I think we got caught up in the emotion of the game, and the fans, but it was still nice to get the win.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside praised his team for continuing to battle even after falling behind. “I thought we played well in the third period,” he said. “I was a good win for Malvern, but I thought we showed a lot of spunk.
“I told the boys ‘I thought that energy in the third period was great, but you need to play three periods to win a hockey game.’ But I like the compete factor in the third period.”

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 3—4
Malvern Prep 1 2 2—5
First-period goal: Nick Martino (MP) from Kyle Washalavitch and Andrew Harder, 13:34
Second-period goals: Jack Kelly (HGP) from Rip Spor and Andrew Serafin, 1:30 (pp); Matt Harris (MP) from Ryan Sambuco, 8:11; Martino (MP) from Washalavitch, 12:07.
Third-period goals: Byron Hartley (HGP) from Serafin, :16; Sambuco (MP) from Andrew Harder and Washalavitch, 2:39 (pp); Martino (M) from Charlie Andress, 4:16; Colin Costello (HGP) from E.J. Pohl and Kelly, 5:55; Serafin (HGP) from Danny Behr, 15:45.
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 26, Malvern Prep 29; Saves: Sean Joyce (HGP) 24, Dan Dougherty (MP) 22.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Malvern Prep.

CLICK HERE to Learn more about Holy Ghost Prep

SHSHL Update

Suburban High School Hockey League Standings (with overall records)

Class 2A

National Division W L T Pts

Neshaminy (2-0-0) 2 0 0 4

Council Rock South (2-1-1) 1 1 1 3

Truman (0-0-2) 0 0 1 1

Pennsbury (0-1-1) 0 0 0 0

Abington (0-1-1) 0 0 0 0

William Tennent (0-3-0) 0 0 0 0

Continental Division W L T Pts

North Penn (2-0-1) 1 0 0 2

Central Bucks South (1-2) 1 0 0 2

Central Bucks East (2-0-1) 1 0 0 2

Pennridge (0-1-1) 0 1 0 0

Central Bucks West (1-1) 0 1 0 0

Souderton (0-2) 0 1 0 0

Class A
American Division W L T Pts

Hatboro-Horsham (2-1-0) 2 1 0 4

Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-2-0) 2 2 0 4

Wissahickon (1-0-1) 1` 0 1 4

Lower Moreland) (2-1-1) 1 1 1 3

Upper Dublin (0-2-0) 0 2 0 0

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SHSHL Scoring Leaders Through 11-16

Player GP G A Pts

Coleman Peppelman 4 12 3 15

Tyler Greenstein NP 3 7 4 11

Michael Janora CRN 2 11 1 12

Dean Keller PW 4 3 9 12

Tyler Greenstein NP 3 7 4 11

Colin Franzoni PW 4 6 4 10

Louis Gamburg UD 3 6 4 10

Brian Garry Wiss 2 4 5 9

Jake Weikel PW 4 6 3 9

Nathan Oh NP 3 3 5 8

Robert Seewagen Nesh 2 4 4 8

Aidan Keogh PW 4 6 2 8

Adam Bostock LM 4 3 5 8

Logan Hurwitz CRS 4 5 2 7

Bill Harrelson CRS 4 2 5 7

APAC Celebrates Opening Night

The prevailing mindset at Grundy Arena Friday night, both before and after LaSalle’s 5-1 win over Holy Ghost Prep, was one of satisfaction.

The result of the game mattered of course, but there was a lot more to the evening than that result

A lot of people but in a lot of effort to make the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference a reality and seeing that vision become a reality on the ice was obviously satisfying to the responsible parties.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for years,” said LaSalle coach Wally Muehlbronner, “and to finally pull it together, I think it’s going to be a great thing for all the schools involved.”

Friday’s game drew a large and enthusiastic audience to Grundy Arena. Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside enjoyed the evening despite his team taking the loss.

“This is great,” he said. “The environment we had here tonight, both teams competing really hard, “LaSalle worked hard. I thought we worked hard, this was just a great atmosphere. This is what high-school hockey in the Delaware Valley is all about. Two great teams, two great schools, and I wish we could play like this every night.”

Holy Ghost Prep captain Tom McNulty enjoyed the atmosphere as well. “It was a great atmosphere tonight,” the senior defenseman said. “We had a big (turnout), the whiteout (from Holy Ghost Prep supporters) was awesome. Our fans were really into it.”

McNulty pointed out that the four APAC schools (Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, Malvern Prep, St. Joseph’s Prep) will benefit from going against each other on a regular basis. “I think it will be really good,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of time for improvement. Playing these better teams, we’re going to become better; we’re going to just keep picking it up from there.”

APAC Commissioner Jim Britt was on hand for Friday’s opener. Britt coached at Holy Ghost Prep and later helped launch the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. He was approached last spring about heading up the APAC.

“(The four league schools) had come together and reached a great discussion point,” he said, “to try to organize, celebrate, to help grow the game of high-school hockey in the Philadelphia area.

Britt was elated at the atmosphere of Friday’s game and the enthusiasm of both the participants and fans.

“The turnout tonight is indicative of the kind of enthusiasm that is possible, that is out there,” he said. Someone said earlier that it’s like a Flyers Cup playoff game already and this is only the first game of the conference. So, it’s really neat to see.”

AHA Showcase About More Than Hockey

The Athletes Helping Athletes Showcase has become a fixture in local hockey circles. For the eight teams involved, (Central Bucks South, Central Bucks East, Father Judge, North Penn, Souderton, William Tennent, Hatboro-Horsham, Archbishop Wood) it is an opportunity to tune up for the season to come.

But it also an opportunity to promote the Athletes Helping Athletes effort as AHA founder Rick Leonetti explains.

“When the (AHA) kids come in here, I know they’re excited to be here,” Leonetti said Monday night. “I know the teams are excited to have them all which is even more beneficial. The parents get to sit back and watch the kids (participate in a ceremonial puck drop) and be a part of the team.

“Some of the teams let the let kids go into the locker room before the game. It’s an exciting thing because the kids get to do something typical.

“We have some high-school kids coming tonight that will host them and sit with them and talk to them. Whether they’re into the hockey games or not, the girls that are here tonight will sit with them and talk to them about everything under the sun.”

The showcase is now in its fifth season. North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis has brought his team to the showcase since Year Two.

“There are a few of my players that have been here since we started,” he said. “It just something that shows them that there’s more to ice hockey. Having some of these athletes here and cheering us on up against the glass, it’s really a thrill for them and it’s a great experience for us to kind of give back to them.”

The tournament will continue at Revolution Ice Gardens through October 26.