Holy Ghost Prep 3 La Salle 2

The second time was just as sweet. Anthony Valeriote’s goal with 2:50 remaining in regulation gave Holy Ghost Prep a 3-2 win over La Salle Tuesday night at Hatfield Ice and it second straight Class AAA Flyers Cup title

The result sets up a state championship game rematch between the Firebirds (20-4) and defending state champion Seneca Valley, which defeated Peters Township 5-4 Tuesday night in the Penguins Cup Class AAA final.

The title game is set for a 5:00 start Saturday at Ice Line.

Valeriote’s winning goal came on a deflection. Working behind the La Salle net, the senior tried to play the puck in front. His pass was deflected and caromed into the net off the back of Explorer goaltender Anthony Foster.

“I took it literally on the boards behind the net,” Valeriote said. “I was looking for a pass in front and it got redirected and hit him. I was like ‘All right, I’ll take it.’”

Valeriote noted the Firebirds handled the pressure that accompanied being the top-Class AAA team all season long.

“All year we’ve been the guys on top,” he said. “Everyone has been looking up at us and to finish it off and show that we are really the top team, it’s so special.”

The Firebirds were in control of the game early on. Jake Smaron found the back of the La Salle net from close range just 1:18 into the opening period.

Holy Ghost Prep went on to control the flow of the first frame, outshooting the Explorers 12-2. At the other end of the ice, the Firebirds’ defense corps neutralized the Explorers’ offensive chances.

La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster kept his team in the game by making 10 saves in the opening 17 minutes, several them on quality chances.

Foster continued his high-quality work early in the second frame in the second frame by denying Valeriote on a partial breakaway not quite four minutes into the period after Valeriote left the penalty box after serving a holding penalty.

Momentum gradually shifted LaSalle’s way after that and the Explorers (8-14) eventually scored the second period’s only goal. River Carangi beat Firebird netminder Matt Salita with 7:15 left in the period. By period’s end the shot differential was just 17-14 in the Firebirds’ favor, and most of the capacity crowd on hand was expecting a dramatic finale.

They got one. Nate Romer gave the Firebirds the lead with 6:45 left in regulation but Patrick Lunsford tied the game for the second time 58 seconds letter to set up what became a memorable finish.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie saluted the effort of both teams.

“It wasn’t as clean as we would have liked it to be,” he said, “but we knew we were going to get a really good opponent a really good game plan.

“After that first period, they brought it to us.”

A La Salle team that dealt with a sizeable helping of adversity over the course of the season left everything it had on the ice.

“I’m very proud of them,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We worked our tails off this year to get to this point.

“When the APAC semifinals were going on, we were the only team practicing that day. We worked our butts off that day.

“We believed we could get here. We were probably the only ones that believed we could get here an I’m so proud of the effort that they gave. We grew tremendously as a team this year.”

• Chase Louge was named the winner of the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

He said the Firebirds got contributions from up and down the lineup.

“We have a lot of depth and we got it going today,” he said. We just managed to stay on then, we kept going.”

La Salle 0 1 1—2

Holy Ghost Prep 1 0 2—3

First-period goals: Jake Smaron (HGP) from Chase Logue, 1:18

Second-period goals: River Carangi (L) from Nolan Hirshka, 9:45

Third-period goals: Nate Romer (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez, 10:15; Patrick Lunsford (L) unassisted, 13:22; Anthony Valeriote, 14:10 unassisted, (pp)

Shots: La Salle 20, Holy Ghost Prep 34 Saves: Anthony Foster (L) 31, Matt Salita (HGP) 18

La Salle-HGP Rivalry Renews in Class AAA Cup Final

When La Salle and Holy Ghost Prep meet on the ice there is generally something at stake, from an APAC or Flyers Cup title to local bragging rights.

The latest chapter in the rivalry will play out Tuesday night when the fourth-seeded Explorers and the top-seeded Firebirds collide in the Class AAA Flyers Cup final at Hatfield Ice (6:00 start).

Holy Ghost Prep (19-4) is the defending champion while La Salle (8-13) has won 13 Cup titles in its history, more than any other school.

This marks the 10^th time the two schools have met in a Flyers Cup final since 1999; La Salle holds a 6-3 advantage in those games.

As intense as the rivalry is, it is characterized by mutual respect.

La Salle senior forward Luke Baumann is very familiar with the Firebirds.

“Holy Ghost is a great team from top to bottom,” he said. “I have played with or against a lot of their guys in club hockey over the years so I know how talented and competitive they are. They are number two in the state and the number one seed in the Flyers Cup for a reason, and we have a lot of respect for them.

“We also have not forgotten last year’s championship which was a tough loss for the guys who were there.

“At the same time, we have a lot of younger players who are experiencing this for the first time so it is about balancing that motivation with staying focused on the moment.”

Holy Ghost Prep senior forward Jack Gavaghan is anticipating an intense atmosphere at Hatfield Ice.

“The game is going to have high intensity,” he said. “We know they’ve begun to heat up during February and into March. They’re never a team you can take lightly.

“They’ll grind and come out with a push and we have to match that. La Salle is a team you can’t count out but we know we have what it takes to beat them. We’ll set the tone by matching their intensity and then some. Us being familiar with them will work to our advantage as we know what’s coming. We’ll be ready to go.”

The two teams took different paths to reach the finals. As the defending Cup and now two-time APAC champion, Holy Ghost Prep has amassed 40 victories over the past two seasons.

“I think our depth and experience have helped us be successful the past two years,” Gavaghan said.

“Last year we had a senior heavy group who were a big reason we were able to succeed, but we had younger guys following right behind them in a deep playoff run. This year, a lot of us have experienced what it takes to win a Flyers Cup and how difficult it is to win a state championship. That experience has been a key factor in our success this year and helped lead us back to the Flyers Cup championship.”

The Explorers meanwhile, had an up and down campaign but have played much better hockey since the start of 2026; they’ve won five of their last seven games

“I think our turnaround really comes from everything we went through earlier in the season,” Baumann said. “After losing last year’s Flyers Cup championship and graduating a big senior class, we had a young group that needed time to adjust to varsity hockey, the speed, the physicality, and our system. Early on we took some tough losses, but our coaches never let us get discouraged. They have done an unbelievable job keeping us focused, holding us accountable and putting us in the best position to succeed every day. “

The Explorers tend to pick up their level of play after their annual holiday trip and this season was no exception.

“Even though I was hurt at the time, I noticed a big shift in our team after the Rhode Island tournament at the end of December,” Baumann said. “I was only able to watch the games back at our home rink, but you could clearly see the difference in how we were playing before and after. We were more connected, more confident and playing with a lot more structure and energy. As one of only two seniors, I have seen how much this group has matured. The guys who were part of last year’s loss have helped motivate the younger players and over the last two months we have really come together. From January on we have played much more confident and disciplined hockey and that has shown in our results.”

Class AAA Flyers Cup Finals Preview

Tuesday, March 17

Holy Ghost Prep vs. 3 La Salle 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 19-4

Key players: Matt Salita .914 save %; Chase Logue 29 goals, 6 assists, 35 points; Lucas Gonzalez 11-15-26; Anthony Valeriote 7-16-23

In this tournament: Had a bye in the quarterfinals; def. Malvern Prep 3-2 in overtime in semifinals.

3. La Salle

Record 8-13

Key players: Anthony Foster .923 save %; Thomas Leonards 13 goals, 2 assists, 15 points; Patrick Lunsford 7-1-16; Andrew Frantz 4-9-13

In this tournament: Def. Father Judge 6-2 in quarterfinals; def. St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in semifinals

Ice chips: This marks the 10th time Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle have met in a Flyers Cup final, the third time in the last four years. La Salle has a 6-3 edge in those meetings. The Explorers have won 13 Cups in all, including one in Class AA. The Firebirds have won five, including one in Class AA.

La Salle 6 Father Judge 2

The idea that {insert a postseason tournament here} is a new season is, in most instances, an overused cliché. But it’s a concept that the La Salle Explorers can embrace, particularly after Tuesday night. After a season that featured an abundance of frustration and disappointment, the Explorers put all the pieces together on the biggest stage in local scholastic hockey.

The result was a 6-3 win over Father Judge in the opening round of the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament in front of a full house at Hatfield Ice. The win sends the third-seeded Explorers (7-13) into the semifinals next Thursday, March 12 against St. Joseph’s Prep. Sixth-seeded Father Judge ends its season at 13-10-1.

Junior forward Patrick Lunsford scored two of La Salle’s goals. He noted that the underclassmen in the lineup needed some time to adjust to the Flyers Cup environment.

“I think some of the guys at the beginning had a little bit of the jitters,” he said. “But as the game went on I think we really adapted and it worked out well for us.”

It was the Crusaders who scored first. Nolan Rauch launched a shot from the left point that found its way through a sea of legs all the way to the back of the net, giving Judge the lead with 1:34 remaining in the first period.

It took Lunsford just 13 seconds to answer and the opening period ended deadlocked, in no small measure because of the work La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster who made some quality saves in the opening session.

Thomas Leonards and John Greenwalt added goals in the second period to extends La Salle’s lead. The Explorers seemed to grow more comfortable with each shift.

“I think they definitely settled in a little bit,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “They started to make some better decisions with the puck and we started to get a little rhythm going.

Mathew Jones and Luke Bauman extended. the Explorers’ lead with goals early in the third period. Jake Proud added a power-play goal for Judge with 4:42 left to remind the Explorers they had to keep concentrating, but Nolan Hirska answered with a power-play goal of his own to complete the scoring.

The only negative on the La Salle side of the scoresheet was the eight minor penalties the Explorers took.

“We were in the box way too much,” Muehlbronner said.

But there will be another game to play, and the Flyers Cup title is still within reach.

Lunsford, despite whatever doubts he may have had, has always had faith in his teammates and coaches.

“I had belief in the team,” that we would get here,” he said, “and we’ve gotten to this point. We’ve just got to keep going.”

• St. Joseph’s Prep, the second seed in the tournament, bested seenth-seeded Salesianum 8-0 in another quarterfinal game on Tuesday

Father Judge 1 0 1—2

La Salle 1 2 3—6

First-period goals: Nolan Rauch (FJ) from Jake Proud. 15:26; Patrick Lunsford (L) from Bill Podulka, 15:39

Second-period goals: Thomas Leonards (L) from Andrew Frantz and John Greennwalt, 3:00; Greenwalt (L) unassisted, 14:27 (pp)

Third-period goals: Matthew Jones (L)from Luke Bauman and Matt Martin, 2:08; Lunsford (L) from Padilla, 9:11; Proud (FJ) from Rauch and Gavin Culver, 12:18 (pp); Nolan. Hirshka (L) from Thomas Leonards, 14:36 (pp)

Shots: Father Judge 34, La Salle 36; Saves: Jonathan Dilliplane (FJ) 30, Anthony Foster (L) 32

Malvern Prep 2 La Salle 0

The pieces all fit for Malvern Prep Wednesday afternoon. And once connected, they formed a route to a very big win.

House Young scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and Andrew Starck added an empty-netter in the final minute as the Friars bested La Salle 2-0 in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference play-in game at Hatfield Ice.

Fifth-seeded Malvern Prep (5-10-2), which had lost eight straight games, will advance to next Wednesday’ APAC semifinals where it will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep (5:30 at Ice Line). Fourth seed La Salle (6-13) will now sit until the Class AAA Flyers Cup Tournament begins in approximately three weeks.

Senior defenseman Logan Love said he and his Friar teammates came into Wednesday’s game in need of a lift.

“We’ve been really down in the dumps the past couple games,” he said. “We had a good practice Monday and that really helped going into this game.”

Senior forward Pax Hoishik, who assisted on Starck’s goal, said the key to the win was he and his teammates working hard for a full 51 minutes.

“Especially in the games we lost, we always played on or two periods,” he said, “and obviously, it showed that that’s not enough.

“We came out tonight and everyone was ready before the game which was another thing we needed to work on; we got it done and played a full three.

Young’s goal came off large scrum in front of La Salle goaltender Anthony Foster. Young delivered his shot from the inside edge of the left circle and put the puck in the left side of the net. Foster was hampered by the traffic in front and had little if any chance to deny him.

“A big thing for our team is getting one,’ Hoishik said, “and then hemming them in. Obviously, that’s what we did. We were able to keep them in their zone for a majority of the game.”

At the other end of the ice, Ike Matoney was perfect, making 26 saves in the Friar net. The sophomore has played sparingly this but came up big on this occasion.

“He hasn’t had many games this year,” Hoishik said, “but we wanted to give him a test and he performed the way we were hoping. It was good to see that.”

For La Salle, it was another blow in what has been a disappointing season.

“We were outplayed for the first two periods,” said Explorer head coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We didn’t have a whole lot of jump. It certainly wasn’t the way we’ve been playing of late. We’ve been playing a lot better with a lot more tempo and a lot more consistency throughout the lineup.

“We just didn’t have any sustained pressure, not a lot of great opportunities.”

• The win was Malvern Prep’s first since December 17…Next Wednesday’s other semifinal will match second seed Hun School and third seed St. Joseph’s Prep at 3:30 at Ice Line.

Malvern Prep. 0 1 1—2

La Salle 0 0 0—0

Second-period goal: House Young (MP) from Jake Weingartner, 9:38 (pp)

Third period goal: Andrew Starck (MP) from Pax Hoishik, 16:11

Shots; Malvern Prep 30, La Salle 26; Saves: Ike Matoney (MP) 26, Anthony Foster (L) 28

APAC Playoffs at Hand

The APAC Founders Cup playoffs begin Wednesday afternoon with a play-in game featuring fourth-seeded La Salle hosted fifth-seeded Malvern Prep. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Hatfield Ice.

Here’s a look at how the Friars and the Explorers got to this point.

Malvern Prep

Coach: Bill Keenan

Record: 4-10-2, 2-6 in the APAC

Key players: Sr. Jake Weingartner 7 goals, 11 assists 18 points; Sr. Pax Hoishik 6-9-15; Sr. Ryan Caterino 2.66 GAA, .912 save %

La Salle

Coach: Wally Muehlbronner

Record: 6-12, 3-5 in APAC

Key players: Fr. Thomas Leonards 11 goals, 2 assists, 13 points: Patrick Lunsford 4-8-12; So. Andrew Frantz, 4-7-11; Jr. Anthony Foster 2.94 GAA, .913 save pct.; So. Danny Trainor 1.59, .920

This season:

11-26 Malvern Prep 2 La Salle 0

1-14 La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 2

Wednesday’s winner will face top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep next Wednesday in one half of a semifinal doubleheader at Ice Line. The other half of that doubleheader will match second-seeded Hub School and third seed Joseph’s Prep.

St. Joseph’s Prep 3 La Salle 2

St. Joseph’s Prep used two third-period goals to post a 3-2 win over La Salle Wednesday evening in an APAC game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

The win lifted the hosts to 14-5 on the season and 4-3 in conference.

Two of the Hawks’ three goals came while they were shorthanded.

Cole Gargon scored what proved to be the winning goal with 6:16 remaining in the third period. It came in the aftermath of a skirmish that sent five players to the penalty box and left St. Joseph’s Prep shorthanded.

Matthew Jones opened the scoring when he gave the Explorers (5-12, 2-6) a 1-0 lead 8:22 into the second period. Adam Charaffi tied the game for the Hawks with 6:38 remaining in the period while his teammate Michael Castelli was in the box serving a hooking penalty.

James Fratantuono put the Hawks in front for the first time 9:25 into the third period. Gargon extended his team’s lead when he beat La Salle goaltender Dylan Brown 1 minute 19 seconds later.

William Paulka scored for La Salle with 4:19 left in regulation to complete the scoring.

Declan Geary made 23 saves in goal in his winning effort.

“We relied heavily on Declan to make some big saves for us,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. “”Hats off to La Salle, who battled hard all game.

“We have not been doing ourselves many favors lately with how we have shown up for games and its apparent. That’s on me. The road only gets harder from here with ther playoffs around the corner.”

St. Joseph’s Prep will conclude its conference schedule next Wednesday at Holy Ghost Prep in a game that was originally scheduled for this past Monday. La Salle, which has two non-conference games remaining on its schedule, will play in the APAC play-in game as either the fourth or fifth seed on a date to be determined.

La Salle 0 1 1

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 2

Second-period goal: Matthew Jones (L) from Roman Tkach and Matthew Martin, 8:22; Adam Charrafi (SJP) from Frank Ely and Jake Ely, 10:22 (sh)

Third-period goals: James Fratantuono (SJP) from Noah Stuhl, 9:25; Cole Gargon (SJP) from Bradan Fisher, 10:44 (sh); William Podulka (L) from Owen Reinhart and Jones, 12:41;

Shots: La Salle 25, St. Joeph’s Prep 37; Saves: Dylan Brown (L) 34, Declan Geary (SJP) 23

Lunsford Maturing at La Salle

Patrick Lunsford is at home at La Salle, in the classroom and on the ice. The junior forward is in the midst of his first season of varsity hockey.

A Blue Bell resident, Lunsford was pointed toward La Salle at a young age.

“A lot of my family went to La Salle,” he said. “It was a very popular school at my grade school (St. Helena), and it was great for me so, that’s what made me go to La Salle.”
Like three of the other four schools in the APAC, La Salle’s student body is all male. Lunsford cites the upside to that environment.

“It really helps us focus,’ he said. “And, there’s the brotherhood. You just become so close with your classmates. It’s a really great opportunity. You just do a lot of things with your classmates; the classes. You make so many friends. It’s a great way to expand your friendships and just meet so many new people.”

Lunsford says he adjusted relatively quickly to La Salle’s academic demands.

“It was very different from grade school,” he said. “But, within the first couple weeks of my freshman year, I did very well. I did a great job adapting to the time management. You’ve just got to tackle your work early and if you get it in early, you’ll excel.

I think the kids at the schools around here, they get it and they understand so, everyone does a great job with schooling.

Like his peers, Lunsford has become adept at managing his time successfully.

“It’s hard,” he said. “But at the same time, La Salle does such a great job of giving you time throughout the day and time after school to get your work done. We don’t have the same classes every day. We have them every other day. So, we have two days to get our homework in, which is very huge with sports, and all the kids have outside activities.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone. Time management, it is a struggle sometimes, but if you can get your work in, you’ll be just fine. That’s worked out great for me.”

Lunsford says the curriculum at La Salle teaches students to make independent decisions.

“My grade school did a really great job of preparing me for things like that in high school,” he said, “and it funneled into La Salle very well for me.”

From a hockey perspective is part of a team that began the season young in terms of age and more importantly varsity experience. They found themselves navigating a steep learning curve early on but recorded their two first two APAC wins of the season heading into Wednesday’s scheduled game at St. Joseph’s Prep.

“{Varsity hockey} is very different from the jayvee level,” Lunsford said. “The first couple games took some really getting used to, but over time I think myself and all my teammates, we’ve done a great job.

“The passing, the hitting, everything. It’s just a different level but I think we’ve done a really great of adapting to that.”

La Salle 5 The Hun School 0

Thomas Leonards delivered a hat trick a La Salle shut out The Hun School 5-0 Thursday evening in an APAC game at Pro Skate.

It was the second consecutive conference win for the Explorers and boosted their record to 5-11 overall and 2-5 in the APAC. Hun School dropped to 11-8 overall an 3-4 in conference. Thursday’s loss was the first time this year the Raiders have been shut out.

La Salle took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from River Carangi and Roman Tkach.

Leonards took over in the second period, with a goal 1:51 into the period and a second goal with 6:24 remaining during a power play. Leonards completed the hat trick 22 seconds into the third period. Danny Trainor earned the shutout in goal.

La Salle 2 2 1—5

Hun School 0 0 0—0

First-period goals:

Second-period goals:

Third-period goal:

Shots: La Salle 26, Hun School 18 Saves: Danny Trainor (L) 18. Chase Kishler (HS) 21

La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 2

It’s been a tough season for the La Salle Explorers in some respects as a young team tries to find its way. But months of toil and sweat came to fruition Wednesday evening. Andrew Frantz’s power-play goal with 1:52 left in the third period gave La Salle a 3-2 win over Malvern Prep at Hatfield Ice.

It was the first APAC victory for the Explorers (4-11, 1-5 in conference) who had suffered two one-goal losses in APAC play prior to Wednesday when their efforts were at last rewarded.

Senior forward Matt Martin assisted on two of La Salle’s goals, including the game winner.

“{The win} means a lot,” he said. “It feels good to finally get a win after all the work we’ve been putting in at practice.”

The winning goal came off an offensive zone draw after the Friars’ Andrew Starck was called for tripping with 1:57 remaining in regulation. The Explorers won the ensuing faceoff and Frantz found the puck on his stick at the point- before launching a shot past Malvern Prep goaltender Ryan Caterino.

The third period did not lack for drama. La Salle’s Quinn Leonards and Starck traded second-period goals to send the game into the final stanza deadlocked at 1-1. Pax Hoishik put Malvern Prep (4-8-2, 2-4 in conference) with 7:11 left in regulation but Leonards answered for the Explorers with 4:55 left to set up the stretch run.

La Salle junior Patrick Lunsford savored the thrill of victory.

“It feels so good,” he said. “We’ve put in so much work all year. We’ve come up just short in so many games, it feels so great to {get the win}.”

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan observed that APAC games offer little margin for error.

“We know APAC games are going to be tight,” he said. “We outshot them in the game (43-33). “The late penalty in the third hurt us. They got a good offensive draw out to their point for a shot on net; they got a bounce.”

It was the second consecutive one-goal loss for the Friars; they fell to St. Joseph’s Prep 3-2 last Friday.

“When we have leads in the game we’ve got to find a way to hold the lead,” Keenan said. “And when we’re down in games, we’ve got to find a way to put on pressure and get pucks to the net,”

Malvern Prep 0 1 1—2

La Salle 0 1 2—3

Second-period goals: Quinn Leonards (L) from Matthew Jones, 6:21; Andrew Starck (MP) from Jake Weingartner, 16:38

Third-period goals: Pax Hoishik (MP) from Weingartner, 9:49; Leonards (L) from Greenwalt and Matthew Martin, 12:05; Andrew Frantz (L) from Martin and Greenawalt, 15:08 (pp)

Shots: Malvern Prep 43, La Salle 33 Saves: Ryan Caterino (MP) 30, Anthony Foster (L) 41