Tag: Matt DeMatteo

North Penn 4, Neshaminy 3

HATFIELD—Call it a postseason preview. Two of the top teams in the Suburban High School Hockey League shared the stage at Hatfield Ice Thursday night and the evening lived up to expectations. Thomas Boyle scored a power-play goal with 58.5 seconds left in regulation to hand the Knights a 4-3 win in the only regular-season meeting of two teams that figure to be SHSHL and Flyers Cup contenders.

The game-winning goal came when Boyle put in a rebound of Luke Van Why’s slapshot from the left point. “I didn’t think it was going to go in,” Boyle said. “I was so excited I had something left at the end of the game.”

It was a night when special teams play proved decisive. Five of the game’s seven goals, including all four of North Penn’s, came on power plays. Kevin Vena and Adam Brock kept a tight rein on the proceedings by whistling 19 penalties.

“We take as lot of pride in our power play,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, “getting it in, setting it up. We had four power-play goals so it goers to show you that the work we put in on the power play can be the difference in a game like tonight’s and it was.”

North Penn’s Josh Kaufhold and Neshaminy’s Robert Seewagen traded goals in the first period and that was all the scoring until the third frame.

Neshaminy (7-3, 5-2 in league play)) squandered an opportunity late in the second session when it failed to score during a two-man advantage that last for 1 minute, 41 seconds (two seconds of which carried over into the third period).

“I thought the power play played fairly well except for the five-on-three,” said Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo. “The five-on-three we just couldn’t get our rhythm for once reason or other. We weren’t moving the puck well on that and I think that was kind of a turning point for us.”

Tyler Greenstein gave North Penn (6-2, 5-0) the lead for the second time when he scored at the 3:04 mark of the third period. Thomas Gallagher tied the game for Neshaminy 47 seconds later.

Greenstein scored his second goal of the game on a shot from the left point at 5:45 before Neshaminy drew even on Nolan Geria’s effort with help from Matt Bunchinski at 9:45.

The Knights scored their three third-period goals on just four shots; they were outshot 26-15. At the other end, Nick Ebbinghaus recorded 23 saves.

It would not be a surprise to see these two teams meet again when the stakes are higher. “No doubt, we’ll definitely see these guys,” DeMatteo said. “We’ll see them in the playoffs hopefully, we’ll see them in the Flyers Cup.”

Ice Chips—North Penn is ranked fourth in this week’s Class AA Flyers Cup power rankings while Neshaminy is listed fifth. Seewagen’s goal was his 20th of the season.

Neshaminy 1 0 2—3
North Penn 1 0 3—4
First-period goals: Josh Kaufhold (NP) unassisted, 2:39 (pp); Robert Seewagen (N) unassisted, 7:24 (pp).
Third-period goals: Tyler Greenstein (NP) unassisted, 3:01 (pp); Thomas Gallagher (N) from Daniel McColgan, 3:31; Greenstein (NP) from Thomas Boyle, 5:45 (pp); Nolan Geria N) from Matt Buhiiski, 9:04; Boyle (NP) from Greenstein and Luke Van Why, 15:02 (pp).
Shots: Neshaminy 26, North Penn 15; Saves: Brian Nelson (N) 11, Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 23.

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services.  We do a range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page   or stop in and check us out.

Central Bucks South 7, Neshaminy 3

HATFIELD— For roughly a decade now, Central Bucks South has set the standard against which the rest of the Suburban High School Hockey League is measured. On Thursday night, the Titans showed they still hold that distinction although it took them some time to do so.

Matt Buchinski, Nolan Geria, and Joey DeMatteo propelled Neshaminy to a 3-0 first-period lead. But the Titans woke up and scored five consecutive goals in the second period before adding two more in the third.

The 7-3 victory that resulted put South alone at the top of the SHSHL Class AA standings at 4-0 (6-0-0-1 overall). It was a win that didn’t come easily after the slow start but what transpired at Hatfield Ice Thursday night will serve as a primer for March, when both the Titans and the ‘Skins (6-2, 5-1) figure to be legitimate Flyers Cup contenders.

If there was a single moment that triggered the comeback, it might have been at the 7:02 mark of the first period following Geria’s goal when South coach Shaun McGinity called the only timeout he was permitted and delivered what would best be termed an inspirational address.

“I don’s think they deliberately came unprepared,” McGinity said of his troops. “I don’t think they overlooked Neshaminy. I don’t think they overlooked anybody or through anybody. Neshaminy has got firepower. (The Titans) just didn’t come ready to play.”

It took a while for McGinty’s message to sink in; DeMatteo put his team up 3-0 with 3:58 to play in the period.

But in the second frame, the Titans got rolling. Colin Abbonizio scored just 37 seconds into the period. Matt Milanesi made it a 3-2 game at the 3:18 mark off a feed from Dominic Patrone to complete a lovely session of tic-tac-toe. Goals from Abbonizio and Patrone followed before Abbonizio completed a hat trick at the 13:25 mark to give South a 5-3 lead.

All five goals came at even strength.
Patrone scored on a shorthanded effort 1:47 into the third period before Ryan Gingras scored a power-play goal with 8:33 left in the game.

“A lot of the (comeback effort) was from the coaches,” Abbonizio said. “They really kept us in it. We just went out there and played our game and we got seven goals.”

The Titans are young in spots this season but Abbonizio, the team’s captain, says the newcomers are taking their cues from the veterans. “The younger guys are always listening,” he said. “They’re willing to take whatever they can get from the older guys. I think their cooperation could contribute to us really going a long way.”

Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo noted his team couldn’t sustain its early momentum. “We had them on the ropes,” he said. “We were up 3-0 in the first period and the guys were playing the game plan. They switched some things up and we just adapt as well as I’d hoped.”

Despite the loss, the ‘Skins proved they belong on the list of the SHSHL’s upper-echelon teams. “Neshaminy’s a great team,” Abbonizio said. “They’re a great team and that’s something that we’ve told these guys. That was a playoff game right there.”

Neshaminy 3 0 0—3
C.B. South 0 5 2—7
First-period goals: Matt Buchinski (N) from Joey DeMatteo, 2:43; Nolan Geria’s (N) unassisted, 7:02; DeMatteo (N) unassisted, 12:02.
Second-period goals: Colin Abbonizio (CBS) from Brian Keilman and Matt Milanesi, :37; Milanesi (CBS) from Dominic Patrone, 3:18; Abbonizio (CBS) from David Kutcher, 4:53; Patrone (CBS) from Milanesi, 10:06; Abbonizio (CBS) from Stephen McMillan, 13:25.
Third-period goals: Patrone (CS) from Keilman, 1:47 (sh); Ryan Gingras (CBS) from Patrone, 7:27 (pp).
Shots: Neshaminy 22, C.B. South 30; Saves: Brian Nelson (N) 23, Evan Moyer (CBS) 19