APAC Playoff Dates Announced

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has announced the schedule for the Founders Cup playoffs, which will commence with the play-in game on Monday, February 10 an continue with the semifinals on Wednesday, February 19 and the Founders Cup final on Wednesday, February 26.

La Salle is the two-time defending champion.

Monday, February 10 at Ice Line

(4) Malvern Prep vs. (5) Hun School 3:30

Wednesday, February 19 at Grundy Arena

(2) La Salle vs. (3) St. Josephs Prep 3:10

Play-in Winner vs, Holy Ghost Prep 5:20

Wednesday, February 26 Site and time TBD

Founders Cup Final hosted by highest seeded finalist

Holy Ghost Prep 4 Pringy 2

Holy Ghost Prep overcame a 2-0 first-period deficit to record a 4-2 won over Pingry School Monday afternoon at Grundy Arena.

Tyler Jones and Ethan Cowan scored for Pingry to put the visitors up 2-0 with 6:39 left in the first period.

Brian Kinniry cut the deficit in half for the Firebirds (14-4-2) with 5:45 left in the first frame. Joe Spadaccino and Joseph Kauffmann scored in the second period before William Harmar added a goal in the third.

Matt Salita got the win in goal with 19 saves.

Pingry School 2 0 0—2

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 1—4

Holy Ghost Prep 5 Hun School 1

It was a first step for a team with lofty ambitions for the days to come. Brady Logue scored twice and three other players contributed one goal each as Holy Ghost Prep downed The Hun School 5-1 Friday night at Grundy Arena.

The win gave the Firebirds (13-4-2, 6-2 in the APAC) the APAC regular-season title, but far more importantly, the top seed for the Founders Cup playoffs next month. The result also solidifies Holy Ghost Prep’s position atop the latest Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings.

The Firebirds are 9-1-1 in their last 11 starts. Their captain, senior defenseman Ryan Lippy says cohesiveness has been at the foundation of that record.

“I think coming together as a team in the locker room {has been a factor},” he said. “We’ve been getting more involved as a team. We can bring it together and make it more of a team so everyone can work together better.”

The hosts were in control from the start. Logue scored the first goal of the game 4:10 into the opening period. Joe Spadaccino made a 2-0 with 4:02 left in the period when he stole the puck at center ice and went in alone on Raider goaltender Elliott Wong.

Logue made a big run of his own less during a power play than two minutes into the second frame when he rocketed down the right wing before dishing off to Anthony Valeriote who finished the play.

William Harmar made it a 4-0 affair with 6:33 left in the period before Jake O’ Connell got Hun School (3-10-2, 0-5) on the scoreboard by beating Firebird goaltender Matt Salita through the five-hole.

Logue’s second goal of the night was the only goal of the third period but the final session did not lack for fireworks. There were 12 penalties called in the period, five of them as the result of a scuffle with 9:11 left in regulation that sent three players to the penalty box.

With 2:44 remaining, Hun School’s Justin Bibeau, who assisted on his team’s goal, was called for spearing and was accessed a major penalty plus a game misconduct.

Senior defenseman Joe Kaufmann, the Firebirds’ alternate captain, stressed the importance of he and his teammates maintaining their poise.

“We kept our composure,” he said. “We tried not to get any guys not able to play in the APAC playoffs.”

Hun School coach Eric Szeker was missing half a dozen players from his lineup due to illness but was pleased with the effort he got from the players who were available.

“You can either show up or decide not to,” he said. “We showed up and tried to play our best.

The Firebirds celebrated the win but Kaufmann was quick to point out there’s a long way to go.

“The job’s not done yet,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of games ahead of us. We’ve got to take it one day at a time.”

• Holy Ghost Prep will host the Founders Cup semifinals on February 19. The semifinal results will factor into the Flyers Cup selection/seeding process.

Hun School 0 1 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 1—5

First-period goals: Brady Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Joe Spadaccino, 4:10; Spadaccino (HGP) unassisted, 15:20 (sh)

Second-period goals: Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from Logue, 1:51 (pp); William Harmar (HGP) from Nathan Romer, 10:27; Jake O’ Connell (HS) from Justin Bibeau, 15:07

Third-period goal: Logue (HGP) unassisted, 13:31 (sh)

Shots: Hun School 10, Holy Ghost Prep 44; Saves: Elliot Wong (HS) 39, Matt Salita (HGP) 9

For more information about The Hun School CLICK HERE

For more information aout Holy Ghost Prep CLICK HERE

Holy Ghost Prep 3 The Hill School 3

The Firebirds and the Blues skated to a draw Wednesday afternoon at the Eccleston Rink on the Hill School campus in Pottstown.

Holy Ghost Prep 4 Hun School 1

The journey wasn’t easy at times. But, in the end, Holy Ghost Prep got the result it wanted Wednesday afternoon, a 4-1 decision over The Hun School in an APAC encounter at Ice Land.
With the win, the Firebirds, who have won eight of their last nine starts improved to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the APAC. They’ll conclude conference play with a rematch against the Raiders next Friday.

The visitors jumped in front early on. Joe Spadaccino scored a power-play goal 3:30 into the opening period.

But the remainder of the first frame was challenging for both sides, a study in old-time hockey. There were 12 penalties called in the opening session.

“It didn’t seem like there was much flow to the game early on,” said Hun School coach Eric Szeker.

The visitors had the better of the play over the first two periods but were stymied repeatedly by Patrick Donoghue in the Hun School net. The senior finished with 51 saves. The Raiders are just 2-8-2 on the season (0-3 in the APAC) but Donoghue and Elliot Wong have been sold in goal all season.

“I think the one really nice thing is we have two really good goalies,” Szeker said. “I never worry about who is going between the pipes for us. They work hard, they’re best friends in the locker room, and they push each other every day.”

Anthony Valeriote extended Holy Ghost Prep’s lead 35 second into the third period but the Raiders responded a minute-and-a-half later when the Firebirds coughed up the puck directly in front of their own net, making it a one-goal game once more.

Brian Kinniry extended his team’s lead when he scored with 11:39 left in the third frame and then delivered an insurance goal with 2:01 remaining.

Spadaccino didn’t play in the last two periods but was proud of the way his teammates were able to get past the challenging first frame.

“It shows that no matter what gets in our path, we just keep on fighting,” he said. “We try to get to the end goal of winning.”

Firebird goaltender Matt Salita stopped 14 of the 15 shots he saw, earning praise from his coach John Ritchie.

“I thought Salita did a great job in net for a sophomore,” Ritchie said. “Those are tough games for goalies, only facing 15 shots dispersed throughout the game with power plays for them and stretches where he wasn’t seeing pucks.”

The Firebirds are listed first in the Class AAA Flyers Cup rankings that were released on Monday, but Ritchie says his team will need contributions from the entire lineup to reach its potential.

“We have a couple guys on our roster that carry the weight of this team on their backs game in and game out,” he said. “I know what to expect from them, so it’s just about getting all 20 guys, or all 18 skaters, to pull the rope in the same direction.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 3—4

Hun School 0 0 1—1

First-period goals: Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Brady Logue, 3:30 (pp)

Third-period goals: Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from Chase Logue and Brady Logue, :35; Luke Rassler (HS) unassisted, 2:03; Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Logan Barnes and Colin Bara, 5:21; Kinniry (HGP) from Barnes and Santino Tiberio, 14:59

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 55, Hun School 15; Saves: Matt Salita (HGP) 14, Patrick Donoghue (HS) 51

Holy Ghost Prep 5, Salesianum 1

The APAC and the Intercounty League crossed paths Thursday afternoon. In a prelude to a possible Flyers Cup Tournament matchup, Holy Ghost Prep, from the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference, scored a 5-1 decision over Salesianum which was sailing under the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League banner. Ur was the Firebirds’ seventh straight win.

The result of the non-league encounter, which was played at Grundy Arena in Bristol, will be factored into the calculations the Flyers Cup Committee will use to determine the makeup and seedings for its Class AAA field.

It was the second win for the Firebirds (11-3 in less than 24 hours; they defeated St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday night. On Thursday, they picked up where they left off although two of their big guns Brady and Chase Logue, were away on club duty.

Senior Logan Barnes started things off with a shot from the left point that got the better of Sallies goaltender Ryne Dominick and have the hosts the lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening period. Joe Spadaccino it a 2-0 game just 74 seconds later.

The second period was largely a battle of special teams; there were seven penalties called in the period, but the Firebirds got the better of it despite being two men short for 37 seconds at one point.

Brian Kinniry extended the Firebirds’ lead with 6:47 left in the second frame while the teams were skating four on four. The senior spoke of how the Firebirds bounced back after their win Wednesday night.

“I think we all came together as a team he said. “It was a tough game last night with a different atmosphere but we all pushed through.”

The Sallies (12-2) got on the scoreboard with 10:49 left in the third period when Justin Celentino got the puck past Firebird goaltender Matt Salita from in front of the net. It was 3-1 at that point but William Harmar answered for Holy Ghost Prep less than two minutes later and Joseph Kauffman added an insurance goal with 6:47 left in regulation.

“We were going toe to toe with them in the first period,” said Salesianum coach Brian LeBlanc, “but then in the second period we kind of slowed down a little bit.

“You’d think that a power play and a five-on-three would give you some advantage but we couldn’t even get a shot on goal. It was not whet we had hoped for but I think we learned a lot today.”

The Firebirds have won five straight games since returning from the National Scholastic Invitational tournament in Jamestown, New York. Assistant coach George Mundy says the tournament was a turning point.

“Since we’ve gotten back from New York the team has played really, really well,” he said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different players, which is good. We’re getting good goaltending our defense has been solid. So, we’re playing really good hockey right now.”

Salesianum 0 0 1—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 1 2—5

First-period goals: Logan Barnes (HGP) from Brady Flynn, 12:42; Joe Spadaccino (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 13:56

Second-period goal: Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Jack Gavaghan and Nate Romer, 10:13

Third-period goals: Justin Celentino (S) from Braeden Graham and Liam Bell, 6:11; William Harmar (HGP) from Kinniry, 8:00; Joseph Kaufmann (HGP) from John Graff, 10:29

Shots: Salesianum 27, Holy Ghost Prep 38; Saves: Ryne Dominick (S) 33, Matt Salita (HGP) 26

Explorers, Firebirds Win at Spring Mountain

La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 0

Three different players scored goals as La Salle bested Malvern Prep 3-0 Wednesday night in the opening game of the Atlantic Prep Athletic conference doubleheader at Spring Mountain Adventures.

The game was scoreless for almost two periods. Cameron Ross put the Explorers (8-5, 4-2 in the APAC) in front with 11 seconds left in the second period. Nole Donohue extended La Salle’s lead with 6:28 remaining in regulation and Grant LaGreca completed the scoring with 1:20 remaining.

Jake Rossi earned the shutout in goal with 13 saves. Matt Crawford stopped 23 shots for the Friars, who slipped to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in conference.

Malvern Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 0 1 2—3

Second-period goals: Cameron Ross (L) from John Greenwalt 16:49

Third-period goals: Nole Donohue (L) from Alistair St. Hillaire, 10:32; Grant LaGreca (L) unassisted, 15:40

Shots: Malvern Prep 13, La Salle 26 Saves: Matt Crawford (MP) 23, Jake Rossi (L) 13

Holy Ghost Prep 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Brady Logue scored three goals and assisted on another as Holy Ghost Prep downed St. Joseph’ Prep 5-1 Wednesday night in the second half of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference doubleheader at Spring Mountain Adventures.

The Firebirds improved to 10-3 on the season and 4-2 in the APAC while the Hawks dropped to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play.

Logue scored his first goal with one second remaining in the first period to give Holy Ghost Prep the lead. Patryk Oszer made it a 2-0 game 3:37 into the second period before Logue extended his team’s lead with a power-play goal with 43 seconds remaining.

Logue completed his hat trick 32 seconds into the third period and Joe Spadaccino made it a 5-0 game with 12:33 left in regulation.

Cole Gargon scored for St. Joseph’s Prep with 10:13 remaining.

Jack Unger earned the shutout in goal for Holy Ghost Prep by stopping 23 shots.

“It’s always difficult to judge the quality of a game when there are external factors like rink size and weather affecting the outcome,” said Holy Ghosy Prep coach John Ritchie, “but our guys had fun and it was good to get a win for eding decision down the road.

“The conditions were most difficult for the goalies. I was happy with how Unger handled the condtions.”

Holy Ghost Prep 1 2 2—5

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

First-period goal: Brady Logue (HGP) unassisted, 16:59

Second-period goals: Patryk Oszer (HGP) from Nathan Romer, 3:37; Logue (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Joe Spadaccino, 16:17

Third-period goals: Logue (HGP) from Joseph Kauffman, :32 (pp); Spadaccino (HGP) from Logue and Lucas Gonzalez, 4:27; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Frankie Ely, 6:47

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 24, St. Joseph’s Prep 23; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 23, Bruno Mainardi (SJP) 19

APAC Update 12-27-24

W L OTW OTL Pts

St Joseph’s Prep (6-2) 3 1 0 0 9

Holy Ghost Prep (9-3) 3 2 0 0 9

La Salle (5-5) 3 2 0 0 9

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

Hun School (1-6-1) 0 2 0 0 0

Scoring—APAC Games Only GP G A Pts PPG

Brady Logue HGP 5 5 7 12 2.40

Cole Gargon SJP 4 5 1 6 1.67

Grant LaGreca La Salle 5 7 1 8 1.60

Michael Zarzycki La Salle 5 4 3 7 1.40

Frank Ely SJP 4 1 4 5 1.25

Chase Logue HGP 5 3 3 6 1.20

Anthony Valeriote HGP 5 3 2 5 1.00

Teague Murray MP 4 3 1 4 1.00

Goals Against Min. GA GAA

Declan Geary SJP 204 9 2.25

Jake Rossi La Salle 253 12 2.42

John Botthoff HGP 102 5 2.50

Matt Crawford MP 153 9 3.00

Save Percentage Shots GA Save Pct.

Jake Rossi La Salle 157 12 .924

John Botthoff HGP 64 5 .922

Matt Crawford MP 94 9 .904

Declan Geary SJP 93 9 .903

HGP-Malvern Prep Matchup About Much More Than Hockey

Thursday’s Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference matchup between Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will be about much more than what happens on the ice.

For the third year in succession, the hockey community is coming together for RTS Awareness Night and highlight the fight against Rubnenstein Taybi Syndrome, a genetic disorder. Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan and his wife Sarah joined the fight when they learned their son Connor, who will turn 5 in January, was afflicted with RTS.

Connor is the youngest of the Keenans’ three children. His brother JJ is 10, his sister Olivia is 8.

Proceeds from Thursday’s game (6:45 puck drop at Ice Line) will go to support the families of children dealing with the disorder.

“This is our third annual RTS Awareness Night,” Keenan said. “It’s a great night to come together as a community and raise awareness not only for RTS but those affected with rare diseases.

“Sometimes life is bigger then sports or a hockey game. We are grateful for the community that surrounds us and the support they provide to Connor and our family.”

“We look forward to continuing this event for many years to come. The past two years we played against St. Joseph’s Prep and this year Coach Ritchie without hesitation willingly said Holy Ghost would participate. It is a great sign of strength in why we play in this league because again it’s more than just a game.”

St. Joseph’s Prep 6 Holy Ghost Prep 3

St. Joseph’s Prep and Holy Ghost Prep came out running and gunning on Wednesday. The Hawks never stopped and built leads of 3-0 and 4-1 en route to a 6-3 win in an APAC shootout at Grundy Arena.

Adam Charrafi and Cole Gargon each scored two goals for the Hawks, who now stand at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Jai Perry Pereira and Thomas Ely also scored for St. Joseph’s Prep, which won its third straight after opening the season with a loss to La Salle.

Charrafi put the Hawks in front 8:52 into the first period when he beat Jack Unger in the Firebird net. Gargon made it a 2-0 game five-and-a-half minutes later before setting up Charrafi’s second goal of the game 3:34 into the second frame.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin was elated with the game’ up-temp pace.

“I was very pleased with the pace of play,” he said. “we played very quickly and got a nice early lead on them and knew they were going to push back, which they did.

“It was nice to play a game with two fast teams going up and down the ice.”

Anthony Valerie scored for Holy Ghost Prep (5-2, 1-2 in conference) on a power-play effort with 7:09 left in the middle period. but Thomas Ely answered for St. joseph’s Prep to extend the Hawks’ lead to 4-1 with 5:30 remaining in the period.

Before the period ended the Firebirds made a charge. Brian Kinniry and Lucas Gonzalez scored goals in a span of 2 minutes, 5 seconds to make it a 4-3 game with 2:59 still left in the second frame.

But the Firebirds could not solve Declan Geary again; he finished the game with 31 saves.
Jai Perry Pereira and Gargon added goals in the closing moments to widen the final margin.

“I was extremely impressed with the way we played in the third period,” Giacomin said. “We really played a smart game and continued to skate hard and got excellent goaltending.”

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie said his team was undone by a slow start.

“We were unfocused to start the game,” he said. “St. Joe’s took it to us and we dug too deep of a hole for ourselves to get out of. I didn’t think we started playing decent hockey until halfway through the second period and by that point it was too late.”

Ritchie said the Hawks prevailed in part because of their work ethic.

“They outworked us and deserve to win,” he said. “We make too many excuses, and at the end of the day we have to be able to execute on a consistent basis against the teams in our league.”

The Firebirds have dropped their last two conference games.

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 2 2—6

Holy Ghost Prep 0 3 0—3

First-period goals: Adam Charrafi (SJP) from Frank Ely, 8:52; Cole Gargon (SJP) unassisted, 14:19

Second-period goals: Charrafi (SJP) from Gargon, 3:34 (pp); Anthony Valeriote (HGP) from John Gavaghan and Brady Logue, 9:51 (pp); Thomas Ely (SJP) from Bradan Fisher and Noah Stuhl, 11:30; Brian Kinniry (HGP) from Joseph Kaufmann, 11:56; Lucas Gonzalez (HGP) from Logue, 14:01

Third-period goals: Jai Perry-Pereira (SJP) from Michael Washlick, 15:47; Gargon (SJP) from Frank Ely, 16:40

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 37, Holy Ghost Prep 34; Saves: Declan Geary (sjp) 31, Jack Unger (HGP) 31