The evening came down to capitalizing on opportunities while avoiding mistakes. Holy Ghost Prep found the right balance Wednesday night and left Hatfield Ice Arena as the Class AAA Flyers Cup champion.
Chase Logue scored two goals and Jack Unger was superb in goal as the Firebirds bested La Salle 3-1 in front of a full house to win its first Flyers Cup title since 2017 and the fifth in the school’s history.
“It’s amazing,” Logue, a sophomore, said. “To be with those guys in the locker room is a blessing. “
Offensive opportunities were scarce early on as two teams familiar with each other were reluctant to yield space to the opposition.
The second-seeded Explorers (17-8) outshot the top-seeded Firebirds (21-4-1) 7-1 in the early going but Unger stood tall between the pipes. His big save not quite seven minutes into the first period set the tone for the night.
Logue put his team on from 1:27 into the second period when he beat La Salle netminder Jake Rossi from close range.
“I was lucky,” he said. “I just came out and shot it. I put pucks on net and it went it.”
Some 200 feet away, Unger was doing his part to keep Holy Ghost Prep in front, denying Julian Tarsi on a breakaway with 2:25 left in the middle frame to send the Firebirds into the ice cut clinging to the 1-0 lead.
The Explorers however weren’t going away and a Holy Ghost Prep turnover two-and-a-half minutes into the third period gave them an opening. Michael Esmond converted the chance when the Firebirds lost the puck in front of their own net.
But Logue responded with his second goal of the game just 15 seconds later. With 14:15 left in regulation the Firebirds were back in front but the game was still up for grabs.
It was left to Unger to reach out and seized it by the throat, which he did when the Firebird found themselves killing two penalties in the last 7:14 of regulation. The shots seemingly never stopped coming but Unger turned them all away, en route to winning the Bob Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He finished the evening with 29 saves.
Unger, a senior felt that Wednesday’s game was the best of his career.
“I would say for sure,” he said. “Between the atmosphere, the intensity of the game, and what was at stake.
“I was able to lock in and then being able to get the tam to rally around me and especially during that third period.’
The closest he came faltering the stretch came when a shot from La Salle’s La Salle’s Alistair St. Hilaire from the right wing actually got behind him but slid across the crease before going wide of the far post.
“I’m not going to lie, that one really scared me,” Unger said. “But sometimes you need a little bit of luck on your side.”
Joseph Kauffman scored an empty-net goal for Holy Ghost Prep just before the final buzzer.
For La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, whose team was trying to win its 14th Flyers Cup the result was a disappointment but he appreciated the level of play on both sides.
“That was definitely a great high-school hockey game for sure,” he said.
Muehlbronner felt his team did a lot of good things right during its three power-play chances, except score.
“I thought we did well on the power play,” he said. “We moved the puck well. We didn’t bury many pucks, we didn’t get many bounces that we needed.
“But, I think we played a great game, I really do. We carried a large portion of it, but weren’t able to put any in.”
- The Firebirds will face Penguins Cup champion Seneca Valley for the Class AAA state title Saturday in suburban Pittsburgh.
- The All-Tournament Team included :
G Jack Unger Holy Ghost Prep
D Ryan Lippy Holy Ghost Prep
D Cam Ross LaSalle
F Alistair St. Hilaire
F Chase Lougue HGP
F Brady Logue HGP
La Salle 0 0 1—1
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 2—3
Second-period goals: Chase Logue (HGP) from Joe Spadaccino, 1:27
Third-period goals: Michael Esmond (L) from Luke Baumann and Alex Gibson, 2:30; Chase Logue (HGP) from Brady Logue and John Gavaghan, 2:45; Joseph Kaufman (HGP) unassisted,16:59 (sh)
Shots: La Salle 30, Holy Ghost Prep 24; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 21, Jack Unger (HGP) 29
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