Tag: hockey

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

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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

  1. Holy Ghost Prep
  2. St. Joseph’s Prep
  3. Malvern Prep
  4. La Salle
  5. Father Judge

Class AA

  1. North Penn
  2. Council Rock South
  3. Conestoga
  4. Owen J. Roberts
  5. Central Bucks South

Class A

  1. Kennett
  2. Penncrest
  3. Hershey
  4. Hatoro-Horsham
  5. Palmyra

Girls

  1. Avon Grove
  2. Conestoga
  3. Downingtown West
  4. West Chester East
  5. 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 31st 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

Malvern Prep to Host Friar Faceoff

Malvern Prep will be hosting a four-team holiday tournament at Ice Line the weekend after Christmas. The inaugural Friar Faceoff will involve host Calvert Hall from Towson, Md. Devon Prep, and Holy Ghost, which is stepping on place of DeMatha, which was scheduled to participate but had to step away.

The round-robin format will see each team play once on Saturday night. December 27 and twice the following day with the championship game set for Monday afternoon, December 29.

“We’ve been trying to get a tournament off the ground for a couple years now,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We were able to get four team this year, hopefully we’ll build on to to it, but it’s an opportunity for us to keep the boys on the ice.

“Devon, Holy Ghost, and Calvert Hall are quality schools, so it’s going to be good competition and we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s like.”

Saturday, December 27

Rink 1 – Back-to-Back Games

  • 4:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Malvern Prep vs. Devon Prep
  • 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM: Calvert Hall vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Sunday, December 28

  • 10:00 AM – 11:45 AM (Rink 1): Malvern Prep vs. Holy Ghost Prep
  • 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM (Rink 3): Devon Prep vs. Calvert Hall

Rink 1 – Back-to-Back Games

  • 4:00 PM – 5:45 PM: Malvern Prep vs. Calvert Hall
  • 6:00 PM – 7:45 PM: Devon Prep vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Monday, December 29

Holy Ghost Prep 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Anthony Valeriote and Mason Thomas scored goals as the Firebirds bested the Hawks Wednesday evening at the Class of 1923 Rink at the University of Pennsylvania.

The win lifted Holy Ghost Prep to 7-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the APAC.

Valeriote opened the scoring for the Firebirds with 1:33 remaining in the opening period. Thomas extended his team’s lead 2:49 into the second frame.

Jake Ely scored for the Hawks (5-4, 1-2 in the APAC) with 2:49 left in regulation.

“I don’t think today was either team’s best game,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “I would expect the next game to be much higher energy with probably gigher stakes.

“We’ll take the win but I though overall our game was pretty flat today.”

The Hawks have lost four straight after a 5-0 start.

“Another tough one for us today,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. “I’m sounding like a broken record but putting together a full 51 minutes continues to plague us.

“However, I hope the third period showed our guys we can compete with anyone.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 1—2

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 01—1

First-period goal: Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from Chase Logue, 15:27

Second-period goal: Mason Thomas (HGP) from Chris Marshall, 2:49

Third-period goal: Jake Ely (HGP) from Michael Washlick and Bradan Fisher, 14:53

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 20, St. Joseph’s Prep 20

Saves: Matt Salita (HGP) 19, Bruno Mainardi and Declan Geary (SJP) 18

SHSHL Update 12-17-25

National Division              W    L   T  OTW OTL    SOW    SOL    Pts

Council Rock South (10-1)   8     1   0    –        –         –           –        32

North Penn (8-0)                6     0   0   –       –          –            –         24

Central Bucks South (6-3)      5      2    0      –         –      –    –        20

Pennsbury (6-3)                 4     3   0   –    –            –            –       16

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

Souderton (3-3)                  3      3   0     1    1          –           –       12

Pennridge   (2-4-1)             2     4   0  –     –  2           –            –   10

Neshaminy (2-6)                2     5   0    1    –           –            –         7

Central Bucks West (0-7)  0    8   0    –     –           –           –          0                                 

American Division          W    L    T    OTW     OTL   SHW   SOL   PTS

Hatboro-Horsham (9-1)  8    1     0     –            –         –          –       32

Plym. Whitemarsh (5-1)  6    1     0     –           –         –          –       24

Springfield (2-6)                2    5     0          –      –           –                  8

Wissahickon (3-4)            3   4      0    1          –        –          –           11  

Abington (0-8)                  0    7    0      –           1       –          –             1

Scoring                         

 National Division                      GP    G     A      Pts

Jake Weiner CRS                         10     29    12  41

Shane Gleisner   Pb                    9      22    10   32

Max Ryon Sou.                             5      11    9    20

Shane Hicks Pb                              8      7     11     18

Jordan Sarne   CRS                       9     7   11     18 

Chris Silvotti NP                          8       9     9     18

Landon  Bishop Pr                       6     9      7      18

James Rush Pr                             8    12     4       16

Dominic Gibson                           8     9      6      15

Samuel Norton NP                      7     7      8      15

American Division         GP      G     A    Pts

Vincent Graziani HH      10      19   17    36

Daniel Guller       PW      7        7     18    25

Nate Nemchinov HH      8        11   13    24

Bill Moffa   HH                10         8   13    21

Luca Staffieri HH            9         10    9     19

Blake Ambler      PW       6       7      11   18

Grayson Quinn Spr.       8       13    3       16