Tag: La Salle

La Salle 6 Hun School 0

The La Salle Explorers went about their business one step at a time Wednesday afternoon. The results were impressive, a 6-0 win over The Hun School in an APAC matchup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Grant LaGreca and Michael Zarzycki scored two goals each as La Salle improved to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 at the midway point in its APAC campaign.

LaGreca, a senior, cited the Explorers’ stick-to-basics approach.

“We’re just trying to focus on playing the right way,” he said. “Focusing on the D-zone, not cheating the game. Just kind of letting the hockey gods reward us with goals and playing good.”

It was LaGreca who got things started when he beat Raider netminder Patrick Donoghue just 45 seconds into the opening period. Zarzycki provided the setup before initiating a three-goal blitz with a shorthanded effort 69 seconds into the second frame. LaGreca followed up with a power-play effort at 4:57 before Zarzycki scored his second goal the game with 1:35 left in the middle period.

Hun School coach Eric Szeker the Raiders (0-2-1, 0-1 in the APAC) was hurt by a slow start.

“We were kind of running in quicksand for a bit there,” he said. “It was only 1-0 after the first. We just couldn’t find our game.

“It is what it is. We’re three games onto the season, we’ve got a young team [there were five underclassmen in the Hun School lineup) so, a lot to learn. We get to play again Friday, so we’re going to reset and look forward to that one.”

Because of school policy and NJSIAA regulations the Raiders start their season later than the other four APAC schools. But Szeker refused to cite scheduling issues as contributing to Wednesday’s result.

“We’ve been on the ice a couple weeks,” he said, “so, we should have a pretty good idea of what we want to do.

“I think of lot of credit goes to La Salle and [Coach Wally Muehlbronner] and what they have going on over there. They’ve got several lined that can play, they have a lot of good defensemen and a good goalie. We just ran into a good team today.”

Muehlbronner himself gave his team high marks.

“I thought we played well,” he said. “We came out hard, moved the puck well, all four lines played well, the D played well.”

LaGreca said efforts like Wednesday’s allow the veterans on the roster to set a standard for their teammates to emulate.

“All the returning seniors just want to show the younger guys and the new guy how to play the game and how to play the right way,” he said. “Because we’ve been there before.

• Jake Rossi earned the shutout in goal with 20 saves.

Hun School 0 0 0—0

La Salle 1 4 1—6

First-period goals: Grant LaGreca (L) from Michael Zarzycki, :45

Second-period goals:   Zarzycki (L) unassisted, 1:09 (sh); LaGreca (L) from Zarzycki, 4:57 (pp); Zarzycki (L) from Tristan Mitchell and Declan Kelly, 15:25; Alastair St. Hilaire (L) from Noel Donohue and Luca Staffieri 16:58

Third-period goal: Julian Tarsi (L) from Staffieri and Donohue 10:50

Shots: Hun School 20, La Salle 54; Saves: Patrick Donoghue (HS) 48, Jake Rossi (L) 20

La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 2

Jacob Warner’s goal with 8:28 left in regulation proved decisive as La Salle topped Malvern Prep 3-2 Wednesday night in an APAC game at Ice Line.

Grant LaGreca and Nole Donohue also scored goals for the Explorers who improved to 2-1 in conference play and 3-1 overall.

LaGreca’s goal gave La Salle a 1-0 lead with eight seconds remaining in the opening period. Henry Tesoriero tied the game for the Friars (2-2, 1-1 in conference) with 3:40 remaining in the middle period.

Donohue’s goal came with 13:20 left in regulation time off a feed from Declan Kelly and gave the Explorers the lead for good. Warner’s goal extended his team’s lead but Teague Murray scored a power play goal with 6:04 remaining while Alistair St. Hilaire was in the box serving a roughing minor.

From that point on, La Salle goaltender Jake Rossi was resolute in goal despite being under pressure; he made 19 saves in the third period.

 La Salle 1 0 2—3

Malvern Prep 0 1 1—2

First-period goal: Grant LaGreca (L) unassisted, 16:52

Second-period goal: Henry Tesoriero (MP) from Gabe Bedwell and Logan Love, 13:20

Third-period goals: Nole Donohue (L) from Declan Kelly, 3:49; Jacob Warner (L) from Michael Zarzycki, 8:32; Teague Murray (MP) from Cole Scrabinsky, 10:56 (pp)

Shots: La Salle 31, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 38, Matt Crawford (MP) 28

La Salle 3 Wyoming Seminary 2 OT

HATFIELD—A young hockey team found out some things about itself Wednesday afternoon. La Salle got a live-fire test from Wyoming Seminary before the Explorers emerged with a 3-2 overtime win at Hatfield Ice.

It was the second consecutive win for the defending APAC and Class AAA Flyers Cup champions to open the new season.

Julian Tarsi delivered the game-winning goal off a centering pass from Declan Kelly with 1:13 remaining in the extra period.

Tarsi liked his team’s mindset against a quality opponent.

“It’s good for us early in the year to play a good team like that,” the senior said. “It’s good to see the boys working hard like that and digging deep. Especially later in the game, find a way to win.”

After a scoreless first frame, Kelly gave the Explorers a 1-0 lead when he found the back of the net 8:01 into the middle period.

James Fitzpatrick answered right back for the Knights (1-3) at the 9:47 mark.

The third period also featured two goals in quick succession. Grant Lagreca gave the hosts the lead, albeit briefly at the 3:03 mark. Colin Donovan responded for the Knights at 5:05 during a power play after the Explorers were flagged for having too many men on the ice.

Jake Rossi got the win in goal, stopping 24 of 26 shots.

“We got some good work in our defensive zone,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “I thought we played pretty well in the D-zone. We’ve been working a lot on that in the practices that we’ve had.”

La Salle lost 11 seniors off last year’s championship team. Those stepping into this year’s lineup are going through a necessary, if sometimes challenging transition.

“For a lot of the newer guys, it’s a different pace than they’re used to,” Muehlbronner said. “That was a good team that we just played, so I’m very pleased. I think that we got better as the game went along and I think the guys learned what they needed to do. We simplified some things and played a good game.”

Tarsi says his younger teammates are moving in the right direction.

“They’ve just got to get adjusted to the system,” he said, “and I think they’ve done a good job of that so far. They’re working hard. I’m excited to see what he future holds for them.”

Tarsi spoke to the responsibility the veterans on the roster have to show their younger teammates the way.

“It’s very important,” he said. “We’re supposed to be the leaders of the team.

“Honesty, coming off a huge loss last year, a devastating loss [in the state championship game] we’ve got to lead these guys back and find a way to get the job done.”

Wyoming Seminary 0 1 1 0—2

La Salle 0 1 1 1—3

Second-period goals: Declan Kelly (L) from Jacob Warner, 8:01; James Fitzpatrick (WS) from Sebastian Bilde, 9:47

Third-period goals: Grant Lagreca (L) from Michael Zarzycki, 3:03; Colin Donovan (WS) from Heil DeSeve and Jagar MacDonald, 5:27 (pp)

Overtime goal: Julian Tarsi (L) from Kelly and Cameron Ross, 3:47

Shots: Wyoming Seminary 26, La Salle 36; Saves: Jonah Boles (WS) 33, Jake Rossi (L) 24

Pine-Richland 5 La Salle 4 OT

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP—La Salle found itself at the bottom of a very deep hole Saturday evening. It was more of a crater.

With just over two-and-a half minutes gone in the second period of the Pennsylvania Cup Class AAA final, the Explorers found themselves trailing Pine-Richland 3-0. They eventually climbed out of the chasm and took a third-period lead, only to see that lead and eventually the game, slip away.

Alexander Versyla scored a goal 7:07 into overtime to give the Rams a 5-4 win at the Skatium. It marked the fourth state title for the Rams (19-5) but their first at the Class AAA level; the first three, in 2006, ’07, and ’19 came in Class AA.

La Salle (23-4) which was seeking its eighth state title was attempting to become the first Class AAA team to successfully defend a state title since the Explorers did it themselves in 2009.

But on Saturday, the Explorers started slowly. Josh Lanyard and Colton Andrighetti scored first-period goals and Lanyard added a second goal 2:34 into the second frame.

La Salle emerged from the abyss one step at a time. Julian Tarsi got his team on the scoreboard 45 seconds after Lanyard’s second goal, and Alistair St. Hilaire added a power-play goal not quite three minutes after that.

When Patrick Brace tied the game with another power-play goal with 4:37 left in the period it was clear momentum was flowing in La Salle’s direction.

LaSalle defenseman Thomas Doucet, who was playing in his final high-school game on Saturday, assisted on both Tarsi’s and Brace’s goals.

“Right when we got that third goal, we were pretty confident going into the rest of the game,” he said

Indeed, the Explorers took their only lead of the game on James Carpenter’s shorthanded goal 1:53  into the third period and as time wound down the Rams were dealing with the clock as much as their opponent.

But, in Doucet’s words, La Salle “Just didn’t get our bounces in the end.”

Lanyard tied the game with 1:37 left in regulation, setting the stage for an overtime session that saw both teams generate quality chances.

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner was quick to credit the Rams.

“I thought Pine-Richland played a hell of a game,” he said, “The opportunities that they had, they capitalized on.”

Muehlbronner credited his team for overcoming the early 3-0 deficit.

“I think we showed a tremendous amount of character,” he said. “We came back and ended up taking a 4-3 lead. They scored an opportunistic goal to tie it up and took advantage of their opportunities.

“Going to overtime, anything can happen.”

Pine-Richland 2 1 1 1—5

La Salle 0 3 1 0—4

First-period goals: Josh Lanyard (PR) from Ben Baileys and Cullen Campbell 5:57; Colton Andrighetti (PR) from Zachary Howard, 12:06

Second-period goals: Lanyard (PR) from Campbell and Adam Proctor, 2:34; Julian Tarsi (L) from Thomas Doucet and Alastair St. Hilaire, 3:19; St. Hilaire (L) unassisted, 6:12 (pp); Patrick Brace (L) from Doucet and Cam Ross, 12:23

Third-period goals: James Carpenter (L) from Logan Dicus, 1:53 (sh); Lanyard (PR) from Campbell, 15:23

Overtime goal: Alexander Versyla (PR) from Noah Taggart, 7:07

Shots: Pine Richland 34, La Salle 26; Saves: Brett Sudac (PR) 22, Jake Rossi (L) 29

State Championship Preview

This marks the 48th year that Pennsylvania has crowned a scholastic ice hockey champion. In 1975 the first state tournament brought together six teams from across the Commonwealth.  Baldwin defeated Churchill in the first state championship game. Richland, Erie McDowell, Springfield-Delco and Bishop Neumann were also in the field.

The Flyers Cup tournament was launched in 1980; a year later, Archbishop Carroll became the first Flyers Cup champion to win a Pennsylvania Class AAA state title. While the Flyers Cup was a single-class tournament at the time, the state tournament crowned Class AAA and Class AA champions from 1976-88 (There was no state tournament in 1978, nor in 2020).

In 1989, the state tournament added a third classification (Class A).

Two years later, the Flyers Cup adopted a three-class format and the state championship became a matchup of the Flyers Cup and Penguins Cup champions in each classification.

 Saturday’s schedule at the Skatium in Haverford Township is as follows:

All three games will be streamed on the Flyers Cup YouTube Channel

Class A

11:00     Hershey (20-3-1) vs. Chartiers Valley (23-0)

The Trojans, who are competing in their first final. are paced by Blake Umberger who has scored 17 goals and added 25 assists for 42 points. Kyle Kloss has scored 17 goals if his own and added 19 assists for 36 points.

Chartiers Valley is trying for its second state title. The first came in 1986 as a Class AA team. Noah Callander leads the Colts in scoring with 30 regular-season goals and 14 assists for 44 points. Brady Narin has contributed 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points

Class AA

2:00   Pennridge (22-2-2) vs. Thomas Jefferson (20-2)

This game is a rematch of the 2022 title game, which saw the Rams prevail 4-3 in overtime.

Kevin  Pico has scored  40 goals for the Rams this season under the SHSHL umbrella and added 56 assists for 96 points. Andrew Savona has collected 42 goals and added 41 assists for 83 points. Shane Dachowski has provided 37 goal and 42 assists for 79 points.

The Jaguars, who won three consecutive state titles from 1998-2000 are paced by Jake Stock who scored 19 regular-season goals and added 26 assists for 45 points. Andrew Oliver added 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points.

Class AAA

5:00     La Salle (23-3) vs. Pine-Richland 18-5

The Explorers are trying to become the first team to successfully defend a Class AAA state title since they themselves did so in 2009. They’ve won eight state title, seven of them at the AAA level. Dean Caravalho has scored 20 goals and added 11 assists for 31 points. Patrick Brace has added 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points.

Pine-Richland won back-to-back AA state titles in 2006-07. The Rams are led by Zachary Howard who scored 17 regular-season goals and added 14 assists for 31 points. Cullin Campbell is next with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points.

The Skatium itself is celebrating its history. One of the oldest high-school hockey facilities in Pennsylvania, it is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

Flyers Cup Class AAA/AA Finals Preview

Wednesday, March 20

Class AAA Final

  1. La Salle vs. 2. Malvern Prep

 6:00 at Hatfield Ice

La Salle (22-3)—The defending champion Explorers are trying for their 13th Flyers Cup title, an achievement that would expand on their all-time record of 12 , the most of any school in any classification.

Head coach Wally Muehlbronner has been on the winning side in a final on 10 occasions.

This year’s team bested Perkiomen Valley 5-1 and Holy Ghost Prep 5-2 to reach the finals.

Seven different players have scored goals in the two Flyers Cup games. Grant Lagreca has two goals and two assists. Dean Carvalho has scored three goals while James Carpenter has provided two goal and an assist.

Malvern Prep (11-8)

The Friars have claimed 10 Flyers Cup titles, second only to La Salle on the all-time list. Victories over Devon Prep 8-0 and St. Joseph’s Prep 3-1 put them in the finals.
Ten different Malvern Prep players have scored goals in the tournament. Jeremy Jacobs leads the way with a goal and three assists. Aidan Kelly has added a goal and two assists.

This marks the third meeting of the season between the two teams. La Salle won the two regular-season meetings.

11-22 La Salle 4 Malvern Prep 1

1-17 La Salle 3 Malvern Prep 0

Class AA Final

  1. Pennridge vs. 2 Council Rock South

8:45 at Hatfield Ice

Pennridge 21-2-2

The top-seeded Rams claimed the Class AA Flyers Cup and state titles in 2022 and reached the Cup finals last season.

This year’s team reached the finals with wins over Bensalem 10-2, Downingtown East 5-1 and Downingtown West 10-1

The Rams feature one of the most explosive lines that has ever skated for any area high-school team. Shane Dachowski has six goals and five assists for 11 points in three Cup games. Kevin Pico has five goals and five assists for 10 points, while Andrew Savona has provided four goals and four assists for eight points.

Council Rock South 24-1

The second-seeded Golden Hawks are seeking their fourth Flyers Cup. The previous three came in 2009, ’11, and ’12.

This year’s squad reached the finals with wins over Spring-Ford 12-0, Cherokee 7-1, and Boyertown 3-1. Kevin Koles is the team’s top tournament scorer with three goal and nine assists for 12 points. Blaise Pepe has accumulated three goal and five assists for eight points, while Jake Weiner has provided five goals and two assists for seven points.

This marks the fourth time the Ram and Golden Hawks have faced one another this season.

12-13 Pennridge 7 Council Rock South 3

2-7    Council Rock South 8 Pennridge 7

2-29 Council Rock South 7 Pennridge 2*

*For the SHSHL National Division championship

La Salle 5 Holy Ghost Prep 2

It wasn’t a stylish effort. But La Salle got the job done, nonetheless.

Five different players scored goals as the Explorers recorded a 5-2 decision over Holy Ghost Prep Thursday night in a Class AAA Flyers Cup semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded La Salle (22-3) will attempt to successfully defend its title next Wednesday when it faces second-seeded Malvern Prep at this same venue (6:00 start).

Fourth-seeded Holy Ghost Prep closed its season at 12-14.

It was not a smooth trip for the Explorers, who spent a good amount of time killing penalties, they were whistled for 10.

Ryan Wiley put La Salle in front with a goal at the 12:18 mark of the opening period. He spoke to the importance of avoiding penalties.

“We’ve got to keep our minds mentally and stay out of the box,” he said. “We’ve got to stay away from the stupid stuff and just work our tails off to get to this point.”

James Carpenter extended La Salle’s lead with a shorthanded goal 1:36 into the second frame. A.J. Prete answered for the Firebirds three minutes after that, but Patrick Brace and Will Gregorio scored goals before the period ended to seemingly put the Explorer in command.

Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie blamed himself for his team’s sluggish start.

“Ultimately it falls on me,” he said. “I’m the head coach and I felt they were not prepared and the other team was. That’s on my shoulders.

At this point in the season, we’ve played then four times (La Salle has won all four meetings). I know what I’ve got in that locker room and we know what they’ve got in their locker room.

“It’s on me. I’m the one that’s got to stand up and shoulder the blame.

With seven minutes left in regulation, the Firebirds made their last stand when Caine Bickel tucked a shot inside the right post behind La Salle netminder Jake Rossi.

Holy Ghost Prep had one more opportunity with two-and-a-half minutes left and its own net empty when Jake McCaw caught iron with shot from the left wing.

Carpenter added an empty-netter for the Explorers with 55 seconds left.

“We did a lot of little things right,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner, “We did a great job killing a lot of penalties.”

Muehlbronner praised the work his team did while shorthanded.

“Our penalty kills have been strong,” he said. “We did a good job with that. And I think we did a good job getting back to our game plan when we weren’t in the box. Keeping it simple, and we had some good opportunities that we scored on.

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1—2

La Salle 1 3 1—5

First-period goal: Ryan Wiley (L) unassisted, 12:18

Second-period goals: James Carpenter (L) from Grant LaGreca, 1:36 (sh); A.J. Prete (HGP) from Art Myers and Caine Bickel, 4:39; Patrick Brace (L) from Thomas Doucet and Cameron Ross, 8:54; Will Gregorio (L) unassisted, 14:08

Third-period goals: Bickel (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote, 9:56; Carpenter (L) unassisted, 15:05

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 19, La Salle 37; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 32, Jake Rossi (L) 17

La Salle 6 Perkiomen Valley 1

La Salle left little doubt Monday night why it is favored to win the Class AAA Flyers Cup championship. The top-seeded and defending champion Explorers scored three goals in each of the first two periods and rolled to a 6-1 win over Perkiomen Valley at Hatfield Ice.

La Salle will face Holy Ghost Prep or Father Judge net Thursday in a semifinal

Dean Carvalho and Grant Lagreca each scored twice for the Explorers (21-3). Patrick Brace, and Ben Falicki also scored goals.

But while La Salle was clearly the dominant team on the ice, the title of Most Outstanding Player for the evening belonged to Perkiomen Valley goaltender Peter Neveil. The sophomore registered 50 saves in the course of an evening that saw the Explorers outshoot the Vikings 66-10.

“The kid was unbelievable,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “we were all wondering, ‘Who is this guy?’

“He made some great saves and did a nice job controlling rebounds.

Lagreca got a look at Neveil from close range.

“He played really good,” the junior said. “We got frustrated at some points because we just wanted to score but he played a heck of a game and kept it close.”

Thanks in large part to Neveil’s efforts it was a 1-0 game in the closing minutes of the first period. Dean Carvalho’s goal at the 3:58 mark gave La Salle the lead but Neveil was impregnable after that until Carvalo and Patrick Brace scored goals 18 seconds apart to put the Explorers up 3-0 with 1:24 left in the opening session. By period’s end, La Salle outshot the eighth-seeded Vikings (11-8-1) 22-5.
Mason McCabe scored Perkiomen Valley’s only goal 3:01 into the second session but La Salle continued to dominate play; by period’s end the shot differential was 40-6.

Lagreca spoke of the importance of he and his teammates maintaining their focus.

“You don’t want to get into bad habits,” he said. “We just want to keep working hard and playing as a team and that will continue to get us success.”

Muehlbronner gave the evening mixed reviews.
“In the end, we got the job done,” he said. “I wasn’t thoroughly pleased with our performance. There are a lot of things we’ve been working on that we kind of got away from a little bit. We’ve got to get back to just playing a hard, simple game.”

• La Salle is seeking it 13th Flyers Cup championship, the most of any school in tournament history.

Perkiomen Valley 0 1 0—1

La Salle 3 3 0—6

First:  Dean Carvalho (L) from Julian Tarsi and Alistair St. Hilaire, 3:58; Carvalho (L) from Logan Dicus, 15:36; Patrick Brace (L) from Charlie Kennedy and Ryan Wiley, 15:54

Second Mason McCabe (PV) from Travis Moscariello, 3:01; Grant Lagreca (L) from James Carpenter, 3:32; Ben Falicki (L) from Lagreca, 12:00; Lagreca (L) unassisted, 16:25

Shots: Perkiomen Valley 10, La Salle 56; Saves: Peter Neveil (PV) 50 Jake Rossi (L) 9

La Salle 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 0

Once they got their arms around the APAC championship, La Salle never let go. The Explorers scored four times the first period and went on to a 10-0 win over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference championship game at Hatfield Ice.

The win gave La Salle (20-3) its fourth outright Founders Cup title in the APAC’s six-year history; they’ve also shared a fifth.

It was the second APAC title for La Salle defenseman Doucet who noted the second championship felt just as good as the first.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Probably a little bit better. It gets a little bit better every year, I love this.”

The Hawks, who were appearing in an APAC final for the first time, dropped to 15-6.

Next up for both teams is the Class AAA Flyers Cup.

It was Patrick Brace got things started for La Salle on Monday when he beat Jacob Aranda from close range 7:11 into the opening period. Alex Fusaro made it a 2-0 game just 72 seconds later, and Michael Zarzycki and Will Capenter added additional goals before the first frame ended.

La Salle senior Dean Carvalho said the seeds for the fast start were planted earlier this week.

“I think it was the practices we had this past weekend, Sunday and Monday,” he said. “We knew it was going to be tough going into the game. Our last game (the semifinal win over Holy Ghost Prep) we didn’t start out the way we wanted to, so we did what we needed to do going into this game. I think we got that done”

For the Hawks (15-6) the first-period blitz proved overwhelming.

“We know what the makeup of that team is,” said St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin. “They’re big, strong, fast kids. “We tried to warn the kids that the first five or six minutes were going to be important; protect our zone, move the puck quickly Not letting them [penetrate] the zone. Unfortunately they scored three goals from right in front of the net. You can’t give that stuff up.”

Carvalho scored the only goal of the second period at the 7:19 mark. Prior to the final period, Giacomin made a goaltender change, inserting Declan Geary in Aranda’s place.

The Explorers didn’t miss a beat, as Julian Tarsi and Charlie Kennedy found the back of the net.

Carvalho felt the Explorers’s edge in experience had a significant impact on what happened on the ice.

“It was huge,” he said. Almost half our team went through it last year and just the experience of being in. That environment with a lot of people here, and a lot of pressure. I think it really helps out.”

Ice chips¸—La Salle will face Perkiomen Valley Monday night in the Flyers Cup quarterfinals while the Hawks will go against Salesianum.

St.Joseph’s Prep 0 0 0—0

La Salle 4 1 2—7

First-period goals: Patrick Brace (L) from Ryan Wiley and Charlie Kennedy, 7:11; Alex Fusaro (L) Fromm Michael Zarzycki, 8:23; Zarzycki (L) from Fusaro and Cameron Ross, 11:50; Will Carpenter (L) from Grant LaGreca, 15:50

Second-period goal: Dean Carvalo (L) from Julian Tarsi, 7:19

Third-period goals: Tarsi (L) from Brace, 8:48; Kennedy (L) from Will Gregorio, 9:29

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 21, La Salle 40 Saves: Jacob Aranda (SJP) 25 and Declan Geary (SJP) 7. Jake Rossi (L) 21

Playoff Ponderings—APAC

Wednesday, February 28 4:00 at Hatfield Ice

Founders Cup Championship Game

  1. La Salle (19-3) vs. 3. St. Josephs Prep (15-5)

      How they got here:

       St. Joseph’s Prep defeated Malvern Prep 3-2 in the semifinals. La Salle defeated Holy Ghost Prep 3-1

Against each other:

La Salle won the first of two meetings this season, 3-1 on November 15, then overcame a 3-0 third-period deficit to post a 5-3 win on February 14.

La Salle

The Explorers have been part of every Founders Cup final in history. They claimed the APAC title in 2019, ’20, and ’23. They were declared co-champions along with Malvern Prep in 2021 when the final came was cancelled due to Covid. They lost the title game to the Friars in 2022.

Dean Carvalho leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in all competitions He also led the APAC in regular-season scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points. Patrick Brace has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 point in all competitions; 4-4-8 in APAC games including the playoff semifinals. Goaltender Jake Rossi come into the final with a .938 save percentage and a 1.60 GAA.

St. Joseph’s Prep

This marks the first time the Hawks have appeared in the APAC championship game in the conference’s six-year history. Brayden Collins leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points. He has three goals and three assists for six points in conference play. John Lynch, who scored a game-tying goal in the third period of the semifinal win over Malvern Prep, now has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in all competitions. Jake Shultz was the Hawks’ top scorer against APAC foes, contributing four goals and three assists for seven points; 7-5-12 overall. Jacob Aranda is the likely starter in goal. He comes into the final with an .891 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA.

What comes next:

Both teams will move on to the Class AAA Flyers Cup.

La Salle is the defending champion and number-one seed and will face Perkiomen Valley on March 4. St. Joseph’s Prep is seeded third in the tournament and will face Salesianum the same evening.