Tag: Holy Ghost Prep

Malvern Prep Tops Holy Ghost Prep 6-5

BRISTOL— There weren’t a lot of style points handed out at Grundy Arena Wednesday afternoon. But it was the three points in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference standings that mattered after all.

Kyle Washkalavitch scored two goals and assisted on a third as Malvern Prep got the better of Holy Ghost Prep 6-5 in an APAC matchup. It was a big win for the Friars, who improved to 4-1 overall (2-1 in the APAC). It was the second win for Malvern Prep over the Firebirds this season.

Waskalavitch, a senior left winger, said he and his teammates took the ice with a focused mindset. “We go in with the same mindset every game,” he said, “just to play our absolute hardest. Only worry about the things we control. We just want to make sure we’re playing our best game defensively; that will create our offense.”

The Friars never trailed in the game. Washkalavitch and Charlie Andress scored goals to give them a 2-0 lead with 3:41 left in the opening period.

Evan Mudrick got one back for the Firebirds (4-4, 0-3) with 11 seconds left in the period before Thomas McNulty tied the game 2:27 into the second frame.
Malvern Prep took the lead for good when Matt Harris and Nick Martino scored goals 64 seconds apart to put their team up 4-2 with 8:58 left in the middle period.
The teams spent the rest of the affair trading goals. Mudrick and Byron Hartley each scored twice for Holy Ghost Prep but it wasn’t enough.

Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside had hoped his team would get out of the gate more effectively. “Not a good enough start,” he said. “We were chasing the game. a good effort at the end but you can’t play that way and chase the game like that and expect to come out winning.”

Malvern Prep coach Dave Dorman will take the win. But he noted there are areas where his team needs work, specifically inside its own blue line.
“I think there are definitely some concerns,” he said. “Things we have to clean up in the defensive zone, picking guys up on the backcheck. Our communication is not anywhere near where it needs to be, which is one of the areas were going to focus on moving forward.”

The Friars got a solid effort between the pipes from Dan Dougherty, who finished with 21 saves.

“We trust our goaltender just as much as our goaltender trusts us to go out there and get goals for him,” Washkalavitch said. “We’re a team, it doesn’t matter, he’s going to make saves no matter what. We’ve got to make sure we’re putting it in on the other end.”

Malvern Prep 2 3 1—6
Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 2—5
First-period goals: Kyle Washkalavitch (MP) from Charlie Andress and Andrew Harder, 3:03: Andress (HGP) from Chris Blango, 12:19; Evan Mudrick (HGP) from Eric Mark, 15:49.
Second-period goals: Thomas McNulty (HGP) from Sean Marshall and Richard Spor, 2:27; Matt Harris (MP) from John Dewey, 5:58; Nick Martino (MP) from Andress, 7:02; Byron Hartley (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo and McNulty, 11:51 (pp); Ryan Sambuco (MP) from Washkalavitch, 12:59.
Third-period goals: Mudrick (HGP) from Marshall, 1:55; Waskalavitch (MP) from Harder and Martino, 2:44; Hartley (HGP) unassisted, 8:59.

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Update

W       L   OTW OTL Pts

LaSalle                   4        0     0       0      12

Malvern Prep        1        1     0      0        3

Holy Ghost Prep     0       2     0      0       0

St. Joseph’s             0        2     0      0       0

Wednesday’s game

Malvern Prep at Holy Ghost Prep, 3:30 at Grundy Check back here for a recap

Monday result

LaSalle 6 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

Holy Ghost Prep Splits

Holy Ghost Prep lost to North Allegheny in a. shootout Saturday night after the regulation game finished 1-1 after overtime.

The Firebirds are 2-1 at the National Scholastic Invitational in Jamestown, New York.

 

Holy Ghost Prep defeated Medina, Ohio 6-0 Saturday afternoon

Holy Ghost Prep defeated Upper St. Clair, PA  6-2 on Friday.

 

 

Holy Ghost Prep’s Trip to Upstate New York An Annual Tradition

Come Thursday, the Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds will head north, to Jamestown, New York to compete in this weekend’s National Scholastic Invitational tournament. The weekend-long event will feature some of the finest high-school and prep hockey teams in America.

Starting Friday, the Firebirds will play a minimum of three games and perhaps as many as five, but as Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside explains, there’s much more to the trip than what happens on the ice. The trip provides an opportunity for the players and coaches to strengthen their connections to one another.

The Firebirds have made the trip to upstate New York in each of Whiteside’s 10 seasons at the school and were making the trip before he arrived.

“Holy Ghost Prep is a special place,” Whiteside said, “and we’re a family. And I think this trip really brings it all together, both on the ice and off the ice and kind of brings everybody together as a group and kind of shakes off any cobwebs if you will. Especially from our new players to be a part of the process.

The trip allows players and coaches to spend quality time together away from the rink. “It really does,” Whiteside said, “from the bus ride to the team bonding experience to the lodging that we have with the players. We have a lot of down time between games so we kind of so some teambuilding stuff, and spend a lot of time getting to know one another.

“It really helps out, especially some the younger guys, some of the freshmen and sophomores and new players that are part of our program. We just kind of bond and come together as a team.”

Whiteside says there is an atmosphere of mutual respect among the teams competing in the event. “We love the other coaches that are up there,” he said, “and I know the parents enjoy it very much so it kind of brings everything together.”

Whiteside notes that the tournament is an opportunity for his veteran players to step into leadership roles and mentor their younger teammates. “We go up there every year expecting to win the tournament,” he said, “and we expect our leaders to play a big part in that. Being away from campus for a couple days kind of makes people grow and develop as student-athletes and it’s an experience for everybody.”

 

 

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.

 

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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.”

 

 

 

LaSalle Beats Holy Ghost Prep

Friday night marked the beginning of a new era in scholastic hockey in the Delaware Valley. At 7:38 p.m. the referee dropped the puck to begin the matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep, the inaugural game of the new Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.
A large, emotionally engaged crowd was on hand at Grundy Arena for the event.

The players on both sides rose to the occasion, particularly the Explorers, who got two goals from sophomore Sam Lipkin on the way to a 5-1 win.

Lipkin scored the first goal in APAC history at the 9:15 mark of the first period, beating Firebird netminder Sean Joyce. Brandon Leer made it a 2-0 game on a power-play goal at 13:19.

Lipkin said the Explorers (3-0 overall) were buoyed by their quick start. “Any game in this league can be important,” he said. “I think we just played really good overall.”

The Firebirds (0-1) hurt themselves in the first period by taking four minor penalties; Leer’ goal came while they were two men short.

“You don’t want to work on your penalty kill all that much in the first period,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside. “But we battled through, we got a couple scrapes and a couple bruises from it, but it’s a learning experience.”

It took the Firebirds just 10 seconds to respond to Leer’s goal. Byron Hartley scored to make it a one-goal game.

Michael Casey extended LaSalle’s lead when he scored at 9:54 of the middle period before Lipkin and Daniel Sumbuco scored goals in the third. The line featuring Lipkin, Casey, and Sambuco combined for nine points.

“We’re missing some key guys tonight (because of club commitments),” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner, “so we needed a good push out of that top line that we had and then I think the other two lines did a great job. The fast start helped us and helped us settle in a little bit too.”

Whiteside looked at Friday’s game as a learning experience for his young team, which also had some players away on club duty.

“I was really happy with our group,” he said. “If you lose 10 seniors, it’s tough, but I love the makeup of our team. We’re going to be a good team.”

Notes: LaSalle had a 33-19 edge in shots. All APAC games will have a winner. If a game is tied after 48 minutes of regulation, a five-minute overtime will be played followed by a shootout if needed. The game was officiated by one referee and two linesmen.

 

LaSalle 2 1 2—5

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 0—1

First-period goals: Sam Lipkin (L) from Daniel Sambuco and Michael Casey, 9:15; Brandon Leer (L) from Ryan Ferry and Andrew Budzynski, 13:19 (pp); Byron Hartley (HGP) from Alex D’Angelo, 13;29 (sh).

Second-period goal: Michael Casey (L) from Sambuco and Lipkin, 9:54.

Third-period goals: Lipkin (L) from Sambuco and Casey, 6:23; Sambuco L) unassisted, 14:58.

Shots: LaSalle 33, Holy Ghost Prep 19; saves: Aidan McCabe (L) 18; Sean Joyce (HGP) 28.

 

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Previews

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is set to kick off it’s inaugural season this week.

Here is a look at all four teams.

 

St. Joseph’s Prep

Head coach: David Giacomin (sixth season)

Last year: 26-4-1; Flyers Cup and Pennsylvania state Class 3A champions

Key players: Sr. Troy Stefano (GK); Sr. Dan McGill (GK); Sr. Nick Ciampitti (D); Sr. Nick Corrado (D); Jr. Mike Urbani (D); Sr. Evan Cassidy (F); Sr. Owen Kelly (F); Sr. Austin Amato (F)

Outlook: The Hawks lost their top two lines from last year to graduation so some retooling will likely be necessary. But this should still be a formidable group.

“We hope to be a speed driven team that will play hard in all three zones,” Giacomin says. “It probably will take time to see who we truly will be. Depth will play a big role this year.”

 

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: Gump Whiteside (10th season)

Last year: 19-6

Key players: Jr. Sean Joyce (GK); Sr. Tom McNulty (D); Sr. Andrew Serafin (D); Sr. Alex D’Angelo (F); So. E.J. Pohl (F); So. Evan Murdick (F)

Outlook: The Firebirds feature a blend of senior leadership and young talent after reaching the Flyers Cup finals a year ago. Joyce, a first-year starter in goal, will be a key to this team’s success.

 

LaSalle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner (21st season)

Last year: 14-10

Key players: Jr. Aidan McCabe (GK); Sr. Zach Baker (D)

Outlook: The Explorers will likely field the most experienced team in the league; 15 players return from what was a young team a year ago. Muehlbronner likes the balance in his lineup. Goaltender McCabe will be a lynchpin.

 

Malvern Prep

Coach: Dave Dorman (fifth season)

Last year: 13-7-1

Key players: Sr. Dan Dougherty (GK); So. Chris Blango (D); So. Jack Constabile (D); Sr. Charlie Andress (F); Sr. Nick Martino (F); So. Kenny Connors (F); Sr. Kyle Washkalavitch (F); So. Ryan Sambuco (F)

Outlook: A young Friars squad reached the Flyers Cup semifinals a year ago; nine freshmen saw varsity time last year; a number of those returnees are expected to fill key roles this season. Dougherty offers a veteran presence in goal.

 

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Counting Down to the Debut of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference

A new era is dawning in Philadelphia-area scholastic hockey as the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference prepares to open its 20-18-19 season.

The new league features four schools, St. Joseph’s Prep, Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, and Malvern Prep, all with rich hockey traditions. Collectively, they have won 23 Flyers Cups, 21 of them in Class 3A, including the last eight, 11 of the last 12, and 16 of the last 18.

The caliber of hockey in the new league promises to be superb.  David Giacomin, the head coach at St. Joseph’s Prep, the defending Flyers Cup champion, says the four schools were looking to go against good competition on a regular basis.

“I think the big thing for all four of the schools was, we wanted to play in league where it was very competitive for everybody,” he said. “We wanted to compete against a stronger schedule. We’ll play each other three times apiece plus the (non-league game), we formed an agreement with the schools in South Jersey to play them so we’re playing the same type of teams to make this a very even playing field, but it’s giving the best competition that we could possibly find in the area on a consistent basis.”

The foundation the APAC runs much deeper however. Hockey at each of the member schools is a full-fledged varsity sport and the administrations at all four institutions are committed to fitting their respective hockey programs into their school’s educational philosophy.

“it’s run through the school,’ Giacomin said. “Everything goes through them, we have the full support of the Prep community and the full backing of the entire school. So, it’s super important. It doesn’t really mean that much for hockey itself, but it means more for the kids, to be able to turn around and say ‘I play for my school’ and it is a sponsored school sport where you’re getting the full backing of your community. That means the most to them.”

The majority of the league schedule will be played in the afternoon, which Giacomin believes will stimulate student attendance at the games.

“Looking at the way we’re doing it now, if we’re able to bring kids right from the school, immediately after school and starting the game at four o’ clock, that frees them up to do all their studies in the evening,” he said. “So, we’re hoping this format is going to work to our advantage and to be able to bring a lot of the student body in.”
Holy Ghost Prep and LaSalle will play the first APAC league game in history, Friday, November 2 at 7:30 at Grundy Arena.

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