Central Bucks East 5, Central Bucks West 0

HATFIELD— Central Bucks East did a lot of things well on Wednesday night. The Patriots strengthened their case for a place in the Class AA Flyers Cup field with a 5-0 win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice in a SHSHL matchup. Sean Gorman scored twice for East, which is now 9-2-1-1 overall and 6-2-1-1 in divisional play. They were ranked 10th in the Flyers Cup power rankings at the start of the week.

Sean Gorman scored twice for the Patriots, but the evening will be remembered for what happened at the other end of the ice, where Chris McIntyre was perfect. He saw 55 shots and turned aside every one of them.

“I don’s think in all my years of coaching I ever saw a team get (55) shots and not win,” said West coach Dave Baun, “let alone lose 5-0.”

The Bucks (6-4-2-1, 3-4-2-0 in the division) didn’t make it easy on McIntyre. Many of their shots were dangerous and several we’re from point-blank range. But the junior was more than equal to the task.

“He was technically superb,” Baun said.

It was Senior Night for both schools but McIntyre didn’t prepare any differently than usual. “I try to be sharp for every game,” he said, “prepare the same for every game, even if I’m not playing. Every game is the same.”

Connor Keiser and Phil McIntyre scored first-period goals to give the Patriots a 2-0 lead. Chris McIntyre signaled what was to come when he denied Jake Lang on a breakaway with just over five minutes left in the period. Lang is the leading scorer in the SHSHL’s Class AA division.

The Bucks had a chance to get back in the game six-and-a-half minutes into the middle period when back-to back penalties to Max Ermigiotti and Marc Green gave them a two-man advantage for 1 minute, 39 seconds. West failed to score however and Keiser added his second goal of the night nine seconds after the second penalty expired to make it a 3-0 game.

Gorman added two goals in the third period. The final shot totals were 55-33. In the Bucks’ favor. West failed to score despite having six power-play chances.

That statistic was a concern to East coach Ken Latchum. “Your goalkeeper makes up for your mistakes,” he said, “and he made up for every one of them.””

With Flyers Cup selection Sunday now three-and-a-half weeks out, Latchum senses his team is getting more focused. “We’re starting to hit a good stride,” he said, “a very good stride. “Tonight they were hyped, they were playing as a team.

“I thought our first period was probably our best period. (Then) we started taking penalties.”
C.B. East 2 1 2—5
C.B. West 0 0 0—0
First-period goals: Connor Keiser (CBE) from Ian Treger, 5:24; Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Sean Gorman, 8:22.
Second-period goals: Conner Keiser (CBE) unassisted, 8:31.
Third-period goals: Sean Gorman (CBE) from Max Ermigiotti, 12:21; Gorman (CBE) unassisted,14:06.
Shots: C.B. East 33, C.B. West 55; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 55, Jake Coddington (CBW) 28

Pennridge 6 Central Bucks East 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge served notice Monday night that its ready for the postseason. The Rams were in firm form Monday night during a 6-0 win over Central Bucks East in the opening round of the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

Six different players scored goals for second-seeded Pennridge (12-2-3), which will face North Penn in Wednesday’s semifinals (7:00 at Hatfield Ice. The seventh-seeded Patriots (11-6-2) will be idle until the Flyers Cup tournament begins next week; they’ll face Haverford High in the opening round next Wednesday.

Michael Eissler gave Pennridge a 1-0 lead with 4:12 left in the opening period when he tipped in a rebound of Jeff Manto’s original shot, beating East netminder Chris Mcintyre.

The Rams broke the game open in the second period, scoring five times in a span of 6 minutes, 58 seconds. Bryson Egan, Michael Walker, Manto, Blake Stewart, and Evan Kehoe all scored goals, the last two of which came just 14 seconds apart.

The Rams are unbeaten in their last nine games (7-0-2) Walker, a junior, says he and his teammates are focused on their postseason goals. “We’re kind of looking at every game as just like the next step forward to get to where we want to be,” he said. “We want to win the SHSHL and then obviously go as far as we possibly can in the Flyers Cup. So, this is just a step on the way.”

Walker noted the Rams have found more scoring balance in recent weeks

“In the beginning of the season we were a little one sided,” he said. “The first line was getting a lot of points, but as the season went on, the chemistry got better. Everyone was scoring on every line.”

The Rams are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2008. Walker noted the team is benefitting from the abundance of experience on the roster, as well as the experience of playing together. “With the regular season, working as hard as we did, coming into the postseason and working with each other isn’t as difficult as it seems,” he said. “We just connect.”

The Patriots had trouble coping with Pennridge’s speed for most of the evening and managed just 10 shots on goal in the 48-minute game.

“For the last three or four games we haven’t been on our game,” said East coach Ken Latchum. “Hopefully the Flyers Cup is another new season and we’ll get it going there.”

C.B. East 0 0

Pennridge 1 5

First-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 11:48

Second-period goals: Bryson Egan (P) from Michael Walker, 1:43; Walker (P) from Eric Slater, 2:06; Jeff Manto (P) from Nick Eissler, 5:20; Blake Stewart (P) from Slater and Matt Guinette, 8:27 (pp); Evan Kehoe (P) from Tommy Prichard, 8:41

Shots: C.B. East 10, Pennridge 40; Saves; Chris McIntyre (CBE) 34, Luke Stranik (Pr) 10.

Pennridge Downs Central Bucks East

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Pennridge and Central Bucks East tested themselves against each other Thursday night. It was the Rams who passed the test and left Hatfield Ice with a 6-2 win in a Suburban High School Hockey League encounter.

Eric Slater scored three goals for the Rams (4-1-1, 3-1 in SHSHL Class AA) but the story of the evening was his team’s ability to keep the Patriots under constant pressure.

Slater and Matt Guinette scored goals to give the Rams a 2-0 first period lead but the most interesting numbers on the scoreboard were the shot totals that read 20-0 in favor of Pennridge.

“Good defense started in our offensive zone,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “and with guys being in position where they can attack the puck and still be in good defensive positions if we do turn the puck over.

“That first period was as well as we’ve put together all year.

Ken Latchum, East’s veteran coach, said the pressure took a toll on his troops, who dropped their first decision of the season.. “They pressured us,” he said, “and their feet never stopped moving. They didn’t glide once.

“Those guys, even their third line, were just full of pressure. Those guys just motored and that’s what I want these guys to learn. You’ve got to motor.”

The Patriots (5-1-1, 2-1) didn’t get their first shot on goal until 29 seconds into the second period when they were on a power play. Slater gave the Rams a 3-0 lead 4:51 into the middle period by skating up the middle of the offensive zone and weaving his way through traffic.

“He’s lethal,” Montagna said. “You give him an inch, he’s lethal and you add that shot that his his offensive ability and it’s almost impossible to shut him down.”

Slater, who had two assists to go with his three goals, now has 16 goals and four assists in his team’s six games. He said he focuses on finding open ice. “I’ve always tried to,” he said. “It helps playing with teammates that open up so much space for me.”

Rob Kern solved Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick with 6:13 left in the middle session. The score stayed that way to the end of the period but Frankie Rota and Slater (while his team was shorthanded) scored third-period goals to make it a 5-1 game with 7:43 remaining in regulation.

East’s Nick Locastro and the Rams’ Conrad Fisch traded goals to finish the scoring.
The Rams had a 36-9 edge in shots.

C.B. East 0 1 1—2
Pennridge 2 1 3—6
First-period goals: Eric Slater (P) from Blake Stewart, 9:55; Matt Guinette (P) unassisted, 14:33.
Second-period goals: Slater (P) unassisted, 4:51; Rob Kern (CBE) from Nick Locastro and Sean Gorman, 9:47.
Third-period goals: Stewart (P) from Frankie Rota and Slater, 2:20; Slater (P) unassisted, 8:17 (sh); Locastro (CBE) from Phil McIntyre and Owen Connor, Conrad Fisch (P) from Slater.
Shots: C.B. East 9, Pennridge 36

Central Bucks East 6, Neshaminy 3

They’re doing it quietly, but the Central Bucks East Patriots are off to a solid start in the Suburban High School Hockey League. Freshman Sean Gorman scored two goals as East stayed unbeaten with a 6-3 win over Neshaminy Monday night at Revolution Ice Gardens.

The Patriots have won four straight after a season-opening tie and are 2-0 in the SHSHL Class 2A league standings
East coach Ken Latchum was elated at his team’s effort but was particularly enthused about his third line; Richard Kaczmarczyk (goal), Dan Tori (two assists), and Brendan Lynch (goal) combined for four points.

“The third line made me ecstatic,” Latchum said. “They were our best line. They played awesome”
The first period started with a shootout, a flurry of four goals, two each way, in a span of just 3:35. Robert Seewagen got things started for Neshaminy (2-1-1, 2-1 in the league) when he sped up the center of the ice and beat East goaltender Matt Oganowski with a shot from four strides inside the blue line just 63 seconds after the opening faceoff. Owen Connor answered for the Patriots from the high slot at 2:32. Seewagen scored his second goal on a power-play effort at 3:25 but Jason Cluckey tied the game for East just 15 seconds later.

The Patriots added two goals late in the period, from Kaczmarcyzk at 14:12 and Gorman on a two-on-one situation at 15:33. They extended their lead in the second frame on goals from Lynch at 5:20 and Gorman at 12:41.

Connor noted that he and his teammates did the little things well. “We played our positions really well,” he said. “We got the puck in deep and applied a lot of pressure.”

The Patriots were swarming all around Neshaminy goaltender Steven Glik. Neshaminy assistant coach Mike McColgan, filling in for the absent Matt DeMatteo, said his team didn’t give their netminder a lot of help, particularly in the first period. “We didn’t knock guys down in front of the net,” he said. “We just kind of let them have a free hand. The goaltender had three shots he didn’t really see, three goals.

“We had a lack of energy on our forecheck. It really wasn’t buzzing at all for us tonight.”

Brett Nelson scored the goal of the game for Neshaminy at the 9:07 mark of the third period.

The Patriots had a 39-23 advantage in shots. Both goaltenders were sharp after the run-and-gun first period. Oganoswski finished with 20 saves, including a sensational stop on Neshaminy’s Joey DeMatteo in the third period while Glik, one of the premier netminders in the area, finished with 33 saves.

Latchum was pleased to get a quality effort from his entire lineup. “You need three lines to play,” he said. You want to win, you need three lines.”

By Rick Woelfel

Neshaminy 2 0 1—3

C.B. East 4 2 0—6

First-period goals: Robbie Seewagen (N) unassisted, 1:03; Owen Connor (CBE) unassisted, 2:32; Seewagen (N) from Joseph DeMatteo, 3:25 (pp); Jason Cluckey (CBE) unassisted, 3:40; Richard Kaczmarczyk (CBE) from Nick Locastro and Dan Tori, 14:12; Sean Gorman (CBE) from Connor Kelser and Rob Kern, 15:33.

Second-period goals: Brendan Lynch (CBE) from Tori and Chris Mangiacapre, 5:20; Gorman (CBE) from Kern and Cluckey, 12:41.

Third-period goal: Brett Nelson (N) from Josh Haines, 9:07.

Shots: Neshaminy 23, C.B. East 39; Saves, Steven Glik (N) 33, Matt Oganowski (CBE) 20.

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