The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has set the dates for the Founders Cup playoffs.
The postseason will begin on Monday, February 14 with the fourth-place regular season finisher hosting the fifth-place team.
The winner will advance to the semifinals, which will be staged as a doubleheader at Ice Line on Wednesday, February 16. The championship game will be played on either Wednesday, February 23 or Thursday, December 24 and will be hosted by the highest seeded finalist.
Because of when they are scheduled, the results of the Founders Cup playoffs will factor into the seedings for the Flyers Cup tournament which will be announced on Sunday, February 27.
The complete Founders Cup playoff schedule is as follows: 1st Round – Feb 14th: 4 x 5 play in, Site TBD (Highest Seed)
Semifinals – Feb 16th @ Iceline: 6:45pm & 8:45pm
Championship: Feb 23rd/24th (TBD), hosted by higher seed
The Founders Cup playoffs will mark the conclusion of the APAC’s fourth season. La Salle claimed the first two league titles in 2019 and ’20. Last year’s playoffs were not concluded because of Covid issues.
WEST GOSHEN—In its relatively brief lifespan, the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has produced an abundance of memorable moments. The conclusion of Monday’s encounter between Malvern Prep and La Salle ranks with any of them.
Matt Harris scored with 1:08 remaining in overtime to give the Friars a 5-4 win over the Explorers at Ice Line.
La Salle forced the overtime by scoring two goals in the final 1:27 off regulation, one of them shorthanded, but in the end Malvern Prep (10-2, 5-0-1-0 in the APAC) emerged triumphant despite being outshot 60-40.
“I think we just got a little lazy in the (defensive zone),” Harris said of his team’s late-game difficulties. “We saw the time on the clock and thought we had the game secured and in the D-zone just got lackadaisical, not making plays.
“They came out after a timeout and put two in and we were just stunned.”
Malvern Prep (in white) and La Salle battle during Wednesday’s game at Ice Line.
A neutral observer might well have concluded that the Friars’ struggles down the stretch were for reasons other than complacency.
Jimmy Jacobs scored two goals in a span of 1:29 to give his team a 4-2 lead with 10:23 left in regulation. He assisted on his team’s other three goals.
“One thing we’re having trouble with right now is closing out games,” he said. “We’ve got to clean that up. A special (salute) to our goalie (Anthony Perti) for keeping us in it because it could have been a lot worse.”
Dean Carvalho scored the only goal of the first period to give La Salle (5-5, 2-2-0-1) a 1-0 lead.
Harris answered for Malvern Prep early in the second frame before the Explorers’ Jackson Lindmar and the Friars’ Quinn Dougherty traded goals to set up the events of the third period and overtime.
Jacobs scored his first goal on a shot from the top of the left circle 5:08 into the final period, then extended his team’s at 6:37 while La Salle’s Keenan Schneider was in the box for slashing.
Schneider atoned for his error by bringing his team to within a goal with 1:27 left in regulation but with 44 seconds left he was flagged for interference and given a 10-minute misconduct to boot.
The Explorers kept battling however and as the clock ticked down inside 20 seconds Chris Wnek, positioned just to the right of the Malvern Prep net, flipped the puck in on goal, allowing Chase Hannon to tip it past Perti and send the game to overtime.
Paul Quinn was in charge of the Explorers on Monday. Wally Muehlbronner was serving a one-game suspension in the wake of the goings on during his team’s 2-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep last Friday. Muehlbronner was in the building but not permitted behind the bench.
“I thought we had a really good first period,” Quinn said. I thought we got off the gas a little bit after the first.”
Quinn noted how his teams stepped up in the waning moments of regulation.
“They came out and played the way we should,” he said. “They were flying and buzzing. Had we played that way the whole game, I think it would have been a different story.”
Jacobs says Monday’s win is indicative of how the Friars have matured s a team over the course of the season.
“Everyone has found a role now,” he said. “We were shorthanded today, my brother (Jeremy) was missing. People had to step up. They had more shots, but we were able to capitalize. Our goalie played out of his mind.”
La Salle `1 1 2 0—4
Malvern Prep 0 2 2 1—5
First-period goal: Dean Carvalho (L) from Max Monzo and Gavin O’Connell, 9:00
Second-period goals: Matt Harris (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs, 2:10; Jackson Lindmar (L) from Patrick Brace, 5:55; Quinn Dougherty (MP) from Jacobs and Harris, 11:41
Third-period goals: Jacobs (MP) from Harris and Pierre Larocque, 5:08; Jacobs (MP) from Larocque and Dougherty, 6:37 (pp); Keenan Schneider (L) from Chris Wnek and Ryan Desmond, 15:33; Chase Hannon (L) from Wnek and Max Maddalo, 16:44 (sh)
Overtime goal: Harris (MP) from Dougherty and Jacobs, 3:52
Shots: La Salle 60, Malvern Prep 40; Saves: Will Braun (L) 35, Anthony Perti (MP) 56
For more about La Salle College High School CLICK HERE
Jeremy Jacobs scored 2:21 into overtime to give Malvern Prep a 4-3 win over Holy Ghost Prep Thursday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Line as the Friars celebrated Senior Night.
Caiden Canale, Aidan Kelly, and Jimmy Jacobs also scored for Malvern Prep (9-2, 5-0 in the APAC) which tightened its hold on first place in the APAC standings.
Sean Marshall scored for the Firebirds (9-7, 1-4-1-0 in conference) with 1:39 left in regulation to force overtime.
Canale opened the scoring for the Friars 2:34 into the first period before Brian Butler tied the game for Holy Ghost Prep with a power-play goal at the 4:14 mark. Kelly’s goal with 40 seconds left in the opening session gave the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Michael Holt tied the game for Holy Ghost Prep with 4:30 left in the middle period.
Jimmy Jacobs put Malvern Prep in front for the third time with 5:52 remaining in the third period before Marshall’s goal necessitated overtime.
“It was a big night for our team,” said Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan. “We were playing our second game since December 15 and we knew we had to come ready to play.
“(Holy Ghost Prep) is a good team, they get pucks deep and crash the net and it was good to see them get the win, especially for our seniors.”
Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 1 0—3
Malvern Prep 2 0 1 1—4
First-period goals: Caiden Canale (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 2:34; Brian Butler (HGP) unassisted, 4:12 (pp); Aidan Kelly (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs, 16:20
Second-period goal: Michael Holt (HGP) from Colin Moore, 12:30
Third-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) unassisted, 11:08; Sean Marshall (HGP) from Moore and Ciaran Chambers, 14:21
Overtime goal: Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Pierre Larocque, 2:21
Shots; Holy Ghost Prep 31, Malvern Prep 34
Saves: Jason Soule (HGP) 30, Anthony Perti (MP) 28
The first set of Flyers Cup rankings for the 2021-22 season have been released. The rankings are based on results, records, and the opinions of members of the Flyers Cup Committee, who observe games either in person or virtually.
AAA
Malvern Prep (APAC)
Holy Ghost Prep (APAC)
La Salle College High School (APAC)
St. Joes Prep (APAC)
Father Judge (ICSHL PCL)
AA
Pennridge (SHSHL Continental)
Downingtown West (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Haverford High (ICSHL Central)
Council Rock South (SHSHL National)
Neshaminy (SHSHL National)
A
West Chester East (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Springfield (ICSHL Central)
Hershey (CPIHL)
West Chester Rustin (ICSHL Ches-Mont)
Plymouth Whitemarsh (SHSHL American)
SJ/DE
Salesianum (ICSHL PCL)
Shawnee (SJHSHL)
Eastern (SJHSHL)
Kingsway (SJHSHL)
Moorestown (SJHSHL)
Cherokee (SJHSHL)
Girls
West Chester Henderson (ICSHL National)
Downingtown West (ICSHL National)
Avon Grove (ICSHL National)
Unionville (ICSHL American)
Conestoga (ICSHL American)
Radnor (ICSHL American)
The first installment of the Hockey Happenings podcast featuring Rick Woelfel and Flyers Cup Committee President Eric Tye is now live.
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WEST GOSHEN—The rest of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is looking up at Malvern Prep. The Friars are a perfect 4-0 in conference play after a 7-2 win over The Hun School Wednesday evening at Ice Line and have defeated each of their conference opponents once.
Wednesday’s win wasn’t an easy one, at least not at first. The teams traded goals twice in an opening period that ended in a 2-2 deadlock. The hosts went on to score five goals over the last two periods.
Jimmy Jacobs and Matt Harris contributed two goals each Jacobs added three assists and Harris two.
Pierre Larocque, Quinn Dougherty, and Jeremy Jacobs also scored goals as Malvern Prep advanced to 7-2 overall.
“We came out a little slow,” Jimmy Jacobs said, “but once we got the first one, we started clicking. I think overall our speed was able to beat their physicality.
“I think we just used our speed to win some of the puck battles and also had to step up and be more physical.”
Pierre Larocque and Quinn Dougherty scored first-period goals for Malvern Prep while Josh Ovelette and Mark Gall countered for the Raiders,
Jimmy Jacobs put his team in front for good 2:17 into the middle period. Harris extended his team’s lead with 33 seconds left in the session.
The outcome was still in doubt entering the third frame but when Jacobs scored his second goal just 53 seconds in, the Raiders (5-5 overall, 1-2-1-0 in the APAC) seemingly had depleted their energy reserves.
It was Malvern Prep’s second game in 24 hours; the Friars dropped a Mid-Atlantic Prep League game to Lawrenceville 5-4 on Tuesday after holding a 4-1 lead.
Raider head coach Ian McNally said his team had an off day all around. “We just didn’t have it,” he said. “We never had it for a second. We had a pretty devastating loss yesterday and you could tell it took its toll.
“As soon as we got down one or two it was pretty hard to motivate to try to claw back a little bit.”
The Raiders are now off until after the holidays. McNally it was important for his players to prove themselves to each other over the first half of the season.
‘We’re in a good spot,” he said. “I wish we had won more than we have but I think the important part of the first half is kind of prove to each other and give yourself confidence like ‘Hey, if we can do this, we can actually win a bunch of games here.’”
Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenen is pleased to be at the top of the standings at the holiday break but knows his team his still evolving.
“You can’t expect anything better from our team,” he said, “going 4-0 in the APAC early. But hey, it’s a long season and we know that going into the second half it’s a completely different game. Teams get refocused and over the break and they get ready for playoffs and the Flyers Cup.
“So, our message is we’ve got to stay dialed in, we’ve still got the task at hand, and we’ve got to execute.”
Hun School 2 0 0—2
Malvern Prep 2 2 3—7
First-period goals: Pierre Larocque (MP) unassisted, 4:34; Josh Ovelette (HS) from Seth Kaplan, 8:15; Quinn Dougherty (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs and Jimmy Jacobs, 10:06 (pp); Mark Gall (HS) unassisted, 14:39
Second-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 2:17; Matt Harris (MP) from Aidan Kelly, 16:27
Third-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Harris, :53; Harris (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs, 5:36 (pp); Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Harris, 12:03 (sh)
Shots: Hun School 33, Malvern Prep 42; Saves: Stephen Cheng (MP) 26 and Jack Borek (MP) 9, Anthony Perti (MP) 21
Jeremy Jacobs scored his third goal of the game with 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation as the Friars bested the Hawks Friday night at the Skatium. The Friars scored four goals in the third period to record their third APAC win without defeat.
Joseph Samango recorded a hat trick for the Hawks who are now 0-1-0-2 in conference play
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 2 3—5
Malvern Prep 1 1 4—6
First-period goal: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Matt Harris and Jeremy Jacobs, 5:01 (pp)
Second-period goals: Garrett McDonald (SJP) from Declan Pierce and Tristan Wanata, 4:47; Harris (MP) from Pierre Larocque, 11:01; Jeffrey Hammond (SJP) from Liam Mooney, 11:34
Third-period goals: Joseph Samanago (SJP) from Mooney, 1:25; Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Travis Buckley and Jonathan Holt, 7:49; Samango (SJP) from Hammond and Dante Passio, 8:34; Jeremy Jacobs (MP) from Jack Sharer, 9:19; Larocque (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 10:52; Samango (SJP) unassisted, 15:34; Jeremy Jacobs (MP) unassisted. 16:54.
Shots: Malvern Prep 45, St. Joseph’s Prep 35; Saves: Anthony Perti 30 (MP) Rocco Bruno (SJP) 39
Deaglan Kelly’s hat trick propelled St. Augustine Prep to a 5-2 win over Malvern Prep Wednesday night at Ice Line. Christian Rapattoni and Jackson Vailo also scored for the winners.
Jimmy Jacobs and Matt Harris scored for the Friars.
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