North Penn Knights Making Noise

Thanksgiving is still over a week away but North Penn is already attracting a lot of attention.

The Knights are unbeaten in four starts after a 6-2 win over Downingtown West last Friday night in a game that was part of the SHSHL-ICSHL crossover series. They’re 3-0 in SHSHL National Division play with a trip to Council Rock South awaiting on Wednesday night (7:20 at Grundy Arena).

The Knights are scoring a lot of goals; they’re averaging 8.5 goals per game while allowing just 1.5 goals per contest. The lineup features some of the division’s early season scoring leaders.

Sophomore Samuel Norton has scored five goals and added seven assists for 12 points. Senior Cole Pluck has accumulated 12 points by scoring three goals and adding nine assists. Junior Nolan Shingle has scored seven goals and added three assists for 10 points while junior James Boyle has accumulated 10 points of his own by scoring six goals and adding four assists.

“We’ve played well,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “With the team we have now we know we’re going to be able to put up a number of goals but we keep preaching strong defense and we’ve got great goaltending.”

Boyle, who epitomizes the offensive-oriented defenseman, says he and his teammates are taking good practice habits into games.

“I think it’s our preparation,” he said. “Good practices twice a week. Making sure we’re prepared before games helps us to get off to get off to good starts in games.”

Two years ago, North Penn won just five games and missed out on the postseason. Boyle was part of that 2023 team and says the memories of that disappointing campaign are a motivating force this season.

“Going through that, a season where we weren’t winning too much, made everyone want to be able to play and battle back,” he said. “We wanted the chance to and try to win it all this year.”

Last year, the Knights won 13 games and returned to both the SHSHL playoffs and the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament. Vaitis has bigger goals in mind this year and wants his players to understand what it takes to attain those goals.

“Thinking toward end of February and March, what does it take to be playing at [a high level]?” he said. “It’s strong defense, good goaltending, and getting scoring from all three lines. And that’s where we’re going; we’re getting scoring from multiple guys, it’s not just our top three.

“Last year was a great step for us, getting back into the Suburban League playoffs getting back into the Flyers Cup tournament but we want to do more than that this year, right? We obviously want to continue to play our best hockey at the end of the year; the goal has always been the Suburban League championship and the Flyers Cup that’s what the goal has been for the 15 years I’ve been here. we’re going to keep working and try to get better.”

C.B. East 3 North Penn 2

The storm struck suddenly, seemingly without warning. Corey Kosick and Jaden Young scored goals 32 seconds apart in the opening moments of the third period as Central Bucks East overcame a one-goal deficit to post a 3-2 win over North Penn Thursday night in a SHSHL National Division quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice.

Young scored two goals for the fourth-seeded Patriots (12-5-2) who will face top-seeded Pennridge in next Wednesday’s semifinal round. Fifth-seeded North Penn (10-8-1) will wait and see where it is seeded for the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament.

But both teams will pay a toll for their efforts Thursday night. An altercation following the final buzzer involved several players from both teams. As this story was being written, the two referees were reviewing video of the incident and adjudicating penalties. If fighting penalties and/or misconducts are accessed, the players involved will be suspended.

The incident did not diminish the performance of East goaltender Cole Breen. The Patriots were outshot 41-19 but Breen, for the most part, kept the Knights at bay with 39 saves.

Breen said the key was maintaining his concentration.

“Mainly just focusing on every shot at a time,” he said “Worrying about myself and doing my job. The team got it done also.”

The two teams held each other scoreless for nearly all of two periods before Nolan Shingle beat Boyle from close range to give the Knights 1-0 advantage with 1:32 left in the second frame.

At that point, North Penn seemingly had the upper hand.

“For the first two period I thought we absolutely controlled the play,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, “and did everything we wanted.

“Their goalie was playing great, we were getting chances, we just couldn’t put it behind him.”

But early in the third stanza, things changed, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

First, Kosick went in on North Penn goaltender Aidan Quigley and found the back of the net just 49 seconds into the period. Thirty-two seconds later it was Young’s turn; the junior gave his team a lead it would not relinquish.

“Over intermission [before the third period] we devised some of our plan,” Young said. “We knew we had to [apply] pressure to turn some of the momentum and gain an advantage, and that’s what we did.”

“They had two quick goals there,” Vaitis said, “on two quick shifts unfortunately.”

Young’s second goal was a shorthanded effort that came at the 6:24 mark and made it a 3-1 game.

North Penn got an opportunity when the Patriots’ Patrick O’Brien drew a cross-checking penalty with 4:26 to go. Down two goals at that point, Vaitis considered lifting Quigley.

“I thought about it,” Vaitis said. “We were getting a lot of good chances on the power play. We were hoping we were going to be able to capitalize on one there.”

With the North Penn net empty, Samuel Norton scored the Knights’ second goal with 64 seconds left in regulation.

The final buzzer served as a match that set off the subsequent fireworks.

“Not a smart play by us, by any means” Vaitis said. “Unfortunately, for us, if we get selected, our next game would be in the Flyers Cup and we’re probably going to be missing some guys for that.

“But there’s no need for that. We’ve got to be smarter and skate away from it.”

Central Bucks East Jeff Mitchell knows he will be without at least one player for the National Division semifinal; Carter Keiser was sent to the locker room 7:36 into the third period when he received his fourth penalty.

Mitchell would like to see the SHSHL utilize the four-person officiating system for playoff games.

“I don’t fault anybody [if] a kid looks at another kid the wrong way, or somebody feels like they’re wronged,” he said. “I get it. I was 18 once too.

“An eye for an eye, I’m all for it obviously, but I think we need a little bit more supervision … when it comes to situations like this.”

This story will be updated as more information become available

North Penn 0 1 2—2

C.B. East 0 0 3—3

Second-period goals: Nolan Shingle (NP) from John Stinson and James Boyle, 15:28

Third-period goals: Corey Kosick (CBE) from Dave Brown, :49; Jaden Young (CBE) unassisted, 1:21; Young (CBE) 6:24 (sh); Samuel Norton (NP) from Cole Pluck and Joe Savotti, 15:56

Shots: North Penn 41, C.B. East 19 Saves: Aidan Quigley (NP) 16, Cole Breen (CBE) 39

North Penn 5 C.B. East 5

Call it a playoff preview, a preview punctuated by controversy. In the end, North Penn and Central Bucks East skated to a 5-5 overtime draw Friday night in a SHSHL National Division skirmish at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

The emotions of the two sides following the final buzzer were a study in contrast.

The Patriots (10-4-2) overcame a 4-1 second-period deficit but also had two goals disallowed. The Knights (8-7-1) benefitted from the awarding of a goal but failed to hold their three-goal advantage before rallying down the stretch to force the deadlock.

East’s Corey Kosick and North Penn’s James Boyle each had two-goal performances. But their efforts were overshadowed by the controversy, which emerged in opening seconds of the second period with North Penn holding a 3-1 lead.

A scramble on front of the East net saw Patriot goaltender seemingly deny the Knights’ Samuel Norton and play moved to the other end of the ice where Kosick put the puck behind North Penn netminder Ian McAteer, apparently making it a one-goal game.

At that point, the two officials huddled and ruled that Norton’s shot had actually crossed the goal line. North Penn was awarded a goal, thus Kosick’s effort did not count and instead of trailing 3-2 the Patriots found themselves down 4-1.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis shared the explanation he received from the officials.

“The puck went in,” he said. [The official on the goal line] didn’t see it, the top ref did but let the play continue. Sure enough, they ended up scoring on it but you’ve to back to [the previous play.]”

East got off the canvas however. Jaden Young and Charlie Keiser scored goals before the second period ended and Kosick tied the game with a power-play goal. 1:23 into the third frame. It was East’s third power-play tally of the game.

Gavin Widmer put East in front at 5-4 off a setup from Young at the 5:51 mark.
The Patriots appeared to add a sixth goal off the stick of Kyle McIntyre with 3:09 left in regulation but the goal was disallowed when it was ruled the net was dislodged.

Meanwhile, Cole Breen in goal held the Knights at bay for virtually all of the last two periods but Norton scored his second goal of the game on a deflection with 1:37 left in regulation and that’s the way the evening finished.

The outcome left East coach Jeff Mitchell exasperated.

“I’m very upset at the officiating tonight,” he said. “I don’t really have any kind of excuse for them … It was pretty brutal.”

On the plus side, Mitchell noted his team’s performance over the last month; the Patriots are 5-0-2 in their last seven starts.

“Everybody’s kind of working as a team,” he said. “We’ve got some lines kind of figured out. It takes time to kind of jell together as a team and we’re getting a lot of production out of our top guys, but we’ve got some underclassmen that are shining too and they’re coming up into the ranks.

Vaitis expressed concern about his team’s in ability to hold a three-goal lead.

“I thought we had a couple penalties we probably wish we didn’t take,” he said. They had [three] power-play goals that I think gave them more life.

“They’re a good team. If you give them opportunities on the man advantage, they’re going to take advantage of it.”

Ice chips: The point East received in the standings for the tie assures the Patriots will finish no worse than fourth. If they win their two remaining regular-season games they could possibly finish third.

North Penn will finish fifth or sixth. If the Knights finish fifth, they will likely face the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs.

North Penn 3 1 1 0—5

C.B. East 1 2 2 0—5

First-period goals: Cole Pluck (NP) from Chase Kelly Del Ricci and Samuel Norton, 5:18; James Boyle (NP) from Nolan Shingle, 10:16 (pp); Corey Kosick (CBE) from Ethan Cenci, 12:52; Boyle (NP) from Shingle, 14:13 (pp)

Second-period goals: Norton (NP) from Chris Seward, :25; Jaden Young (CBE) from Gavin Widmer, 5:27 (pp); Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Kosick, 12:59 (pp);

Third-period goals: Kosick (CBE) from David Brown, 1:23 (pp); Widmer (CBE) from Young, 5:51; Norton (NP) from Del Ricci and Pluck, 14:23

Shots: North Penn 38, C.B. East 41; Saves: Ian McAteer (NP) 36, Cole Breen (CBE) 33

C.B. East 2 North Penn 1

Even in December, points are precious. Which is Friday’s matchup between North Penn and Central Bucks East, which closed out the pre-Christmas portion of the SHSHL schedule, was so significant.

It was the Patriots who prevailed on this occasion. Charlie Keiser and Alex Wilson scored goals 51 seconds apart midway through the second period to give East a 2-1 win at Hatfield Ice.

Despite being outshot 34-15 the Patriots improved to 6-3 as the SHSHL National Division schedule hit the halfway point. North Penn (6-3) got a goal from Cole Pluck with 1:53 left in the middle period but couldn’t solve Cole Breen the rest of the way.

Breen finished with 33 saves, 15 of them in the third period.

East’s goalie played outstanding,” said North Penn coach Kevon Vaitis. “Hats off to him. We didn’t play well enough in the second period and we didn’t do enough to generate quality scoring chances.”

C.B. East 0 2 0—2

North Penn 0 1 0

Second-period goals: Charlie Keiser (CBE) from Ethan Cenci, 9:29 (pp); Alex Wilson (CBE) unassisted, 10:20; Cole Pluck (NP), 15:07

Shots: C.B. East 15, North Penn 34; Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 33, Maks-Joseph Harkins (NP) 13)

NP Ice Hockey Toy Drive is an Annual Tradition

The North Penn Hockey Club is once again conducting a toy drive in support of the North Penn Valley Boys and Girls Club, and its efforts to serve needy families in the North Penn area.

Those interested in participating are asked to Venmo North Penn Ice Hockey at @NPHockey with a donation.

North Penn Ice Hockey will match up to $500 of the donations. The club will utilize the donations to purchase toys for children ages 5-12 and gift cards to local grocery stores for those in need.

They will be delivered to the Boys and Girls Club on Monday, December 18.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis says the toy drive in part of North Penn Ice Hockey’s ongoing effort to serve its community.

“We look at it as we’re one community here,” he said, “and if there is an opportunity for us to help out those less fortunate right now, those going through some difficult times, we want to lend a hand.

“This past weekend, a bunch of us went over and we were raking leaves at an over-55 community, helping some of the elderly who can’t get out there or can’t afford to pay somebody to rake their leaves up.

“I think we’re teaching these kids to give back to the community. We’re fortunate with the situation we’re in; we’re able to play ice hockey, it’s not the cheapest sport. So, if we can give back a little and help those less fortunate or having a difficult time right now, we’re willing to do it.”

For more information about the toy drive, contact Vaitis at kevinvaitis@comcast.net

Pennridge 7 North Penn 0

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The Pennridge Ram just keep rolling along. Andrew Savona’s three goals and two assists led the way as the Ram bested North Penn 7-0 Friday night in a SHSHL National Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.

The win was the fourth straight without a blemish for Pennridge, which came into the season off an appearance in the Class AA Flyers Cup finals last March and seemingly hasn’t lost a beat

The formula for this year’s success however includes different elements from a year ago when the Rams were one of the area’s most potent offensive juggernauts.

Senior Colin Dachowski is Pennridge’s captain. He notes the Rams are employing a more workmanlike, grind-it-out-style this season.

“That’s the style we have to play,” he said. “Grind every team out, wear them down.”

Which is more or less how Friday’s game played out. Pennridge had the better of the play in the first period but could only solve North Penn netminder Ian McAteer once; Shane Dachowski found the net at the 5:40 mark, but North Penn (2-1) outshot the Rams 10-9 in the opening session.
Kevin Pico and Savona added goals in the middle period but the game was still competitive until the third frame when Savona scored twice, before and after a tally from Josh Kelly, in a span of five minutes, nine seconds to make it a 6-0 game halfway through the period.

Dachowski said he and his teammates have adapted to the new approach.

“I think everyone understands their role,” he said, “and we know the scorers and we know the grinders. We just go by that.”

Savona stressed the importance of the veterans in the lineup showing the way for their less-experienced teammates.
“It’s a big deal,” he said. “We want to be leaders on this team and have them follow us along and work hard and keep going.”

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis had reason to be optimistic at evening’s end. The Knights played hard at both ends of the ice and made the Rams work for their chances until using up their energy reserves in the third period.

“We came out in the first period and I think we were kind of taken by surprise a little bit,” Vaitis said. “They’ve got a lot of talent on that team and they jumped on us early with some pressure.

“But, we hung with them, we continued to battle back. It was 1-0 after the first and we were doing all the things we needed to do, playing some good hockey.”

Vaitis cited McAteer for keeping his team in the game; the sophomore finished with 36 saves.

“We’ve got three goalies on the team and all three are very capable goalies at the varsity level,” he said. “It was Ian’s job tonight and he played really well for us.”

North Penn 0 0 0—0
Pennridge 1 2 4—7

First-period goal: Shane Dachowski (P) from Andrew Savona, 5:40

Second-period goals: Kevin Pico (P) from Savona and Dachowski, 6:29; Savona (P) from Dachowski and James Rush, 8:25 (pp)

Third-period goals: Savona (P) from Dachowski, 3:11; Josh Kelly (P) from Nolan Shaw, 5:16 (sh); Savona (P) from Tyler Manto, 8:20; Rush (P) from Pico and Manto, 12:06

Shots: North Penn 18, Pennridge 43; Saves: Ian McAteer(NP) 36, Jacob Winton (P) 18

Blind Hockey Event to Kick Off Scholastic Season

The Philadelphia Blind Hockey 3 on 3 Blind Awareness Tournament will serve as the unofficial curtain raiser for the scholastic hockey season. It will also exemplify the power of the game of hockey to give back to the communities it touches.

Nine high-school teams will converge at Hatfield Ice on Thursday night. North Penn will be one of them.

Kevin Vaitis, the Knights’ head coach, notes the positive impact hockey has on the community at large.

“We are always looking for ways that we as an organization can give back to the community,” he said. “We do volunteer work, organize a toy drive for those in our community, and help run learn-to -play programs for future ice hockey players at North Penn.

“When we were asked to participate in this event, this was a no-brainer. To give the players an opportunity to see what kind of impact they can make when we all come together for a common cause is truly an unforgettable moment that these kids will remember for a long time. We thank (Flyers Cup President Eric Tye) and the members of Blind Hockey Awareness for including us and we look forward to a great evening and raising a lot of money for a wonderful cause.”

Holy Ghost Prep will also field a team in the tournament. Senior forward Mike Holt, the Firebirds’ captain feels it’s important that he be in the lineup.

“As a captain, I feel like there was definitely a need to step up and let our guys know what we’re all about at Ghost,” he said. “Although a big part of what we do is trying to win and things like that, another big part of it is giving back to the community and I feel like I needed to set that example for my teammates.

“I feel like it’s going to be a great opportunity not just to show my teammates but to show everybody in the awareness that needs to be set for blind hockey.”

Holt, as well as the other players who will skate in the tournament, had a chance to try on the reduced-vision goggles the players will wear on the ice.

“It was definitely a unique experience,” Holt said, “but I think one of the things we took away from it was really realizing what these guys and girls playing blind hockey, or with any kind of disability, go through, not just in hockey but in everyday life, every single day.

“I think it’s important that we raise awareness and we kind of feel what they have to go through. I think it’s really important that we were able to get that experience and so having had that experience we are definitely pumped up to raise awareness and to participate.”

North Penn captain Joey Silvotti, a senior forward, has also tried on the goggles.

“It was challenging,” he said. “When I put the goggles on, I started to think how hard it must be for these players who go through this every day. It made me look forward to being able to participate in the fundraiser event. Myself along with my team and the other teams that night, we want to do everything we can to make it a great night for all those players that are a part of the Blind Hockey Awareness program.”

Besides North Penn and Holy Ghost Prep, the tournament will also include Pennridge, Central Bucks South, Haverford, Malvern Prep, Springfield-Delco, Father Judge, and Penncrest.

Player introductions begin at 6:00 and the first games will kick off at 6:25.

Schedule Set for Philadelphia Blind Hockey Benefit

The schedule has been announced for the Philadelphia Blind Hockey 3 on 3 Blind Awareness tournament. The event is set for Thursday, October 26 at Hatfield Ice beginning at 6 p.m. with pre-tournament introductions. Nine high-school teams will play in the tournament, which will feature three-on-three cross-ice games (three skaters and a goaltender).

The players will be wearing goggles to simulate visual impairment; goaltenders will be blindfolded.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Philadelphia Blind Hockey, which is staging the tournament in conjunction with the Flyers Cup Committee.

The nine schools will be divided into three pools of three teams each. The schedule is as follows:

6:25 Holy Ghost Prep vs. Central Bucks South

Pennridge vs. Father Judge

Malvern Prep at North Penn

6:55 Haverford vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Father Judge vs. Penncrest

Springfield (Delco) vs. Malvern Prep

7:25 Central Bucks South vs. Haverford

Penncrest vs. Pennridge

North Penn vs. Springfield-Delco

For more information about the tournament, go to the Flyers Cup You Tube Channel

Golden Hawks Open With a Win

Council Rock South got its season off to an impressive start Wednesday night. The Golden Hawks scored four goals in the first period and went on to a 6-1 win over North Penn in a SHSHL non-league curtain raiser at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Julian Sarne and Kevin Koles scored two goals apiece as the Golden Hawks picked up where they left after a 2020-21 campaign that saw then reach the SHSHL Class AA final.

Sarne got his team on the board 9:11 into the first frame off a feed from Koles on a play that started behind the North Penn net. Matt Yothers answered back for the Knights just 64 seconds later but Sarne scored his second goal at the 11:16 mark and the Golden Hawks rolled on from there. Koles made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 11:16 when North Penn got caught in a line change and Bobby Gilbert extended his team’s lead two seconds before the period ended.

Sarne, a senior, stressed the importance of the fast start. “I think it was very important that we came out buzzing today,” he said. “We need a good start to the season. We’ve got to kick it off great. It’s our senior year. We just needed a win in the books.”

Koles scored his second goal 4:24 into the second session and Matt Constanini completed the scoring at 14:36.

South coach Joe Houk was pleased with the win, but offered a qualifier. “It’s good to get off to a fast start.” he said. “I thought we didn’t play our best game. We were very sloppy, we had a couple selfish players, and stuff like that, But I thought overall, we did a good job.”

Houk said he was concerned about his team maintaining its focus in the late going. “I thought the flow of the game was okay,” he said. “But, when we get games like that, we get real complacent and we start doing stupid stuff. But, we haven’t had a lot of time together yet. By we’ll work on it. We’ll get back at it at practice on Monday.”

The evening’s unsung hero was North Penn goaltender Nick Crist who faced a barrage of 62 shots and stopped 56 of them. It was the junior’s first varsity game.

“He did a great job for us,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. Sixty-two shots and six goals. “He kept is in it. It could have been worse.”

Vaitis noted that the evening was a learning experience for a young team. “We have some young players that got some quality minutes tonight,” he said, “and we’re going to look to kind of grow and build upon that.”

North Penn 1 0 0—1

C.R. South 4 2 0—6

First-period goals Julian Sarne (CRS) from Kevin Koles, 9:11; Matt Yothers (NP) from Justin Yothers, 10:15; Sarne (CRS) from Sam Cherkassky, 11:16; Koles (CRS) unassisted, 12:55; Bobby Gilbert (CRS) from Cherkassky, 15:58

Second-period goals: Koles (CRS) from Blaize Peppe, 4:24; Matt Constantini (CRS) from Koles, 14:36

Shots: North Penn 21, C.R. South 62; Saves: Nick Crist (NP) 56, Carson Lopez (CRS) 20

SHSHL Playoff Recap 3-29-21

Council Rock South 7, North Penn 0

Blaize Pepe scored three goals to lead Council Rock South to a 7-0 over North Penn Monday night in a SHSHL National/Continental playoff game at Grundy Arena. Julian Wagenmann, Brennan Wright, Julian Sarne, and Jeremy all scored goals for the third-seeded Golden Hawks who will face second-seeded Central Bucks South in a Wednesday semifinal at Hatfield Ice (6:30 start).

Jimmy Sweeney earned the shutout in goal, stopping 34 shots.

Sixth-seeded North Penn (5-6-1-1) will be idle until it begins play in the Flyers Cup tournament next week.

North Penn 0 0 0—0

C.R. South 2 3 2—7

First-period goals: Blaize Pepe (CRS) from Kyle Schneider, 3:22; Jeremy Purcell (CRS) from Kyle Boss and Julian Sarne, 9:59

Second-period goals: Julian Wagenmann (CRS) from Andrew Darling, 6:25; Pepe (CRS) from Chase Tovsky and Doug Lopez, 8:40; Nrennan Wright (CRS) from Kevin Koles and Tovsky, 12:05

Third-period goals: Sarne (CRS) from Lopez and Sam Cherkassky 9:13; Pepe (CRS) from Purcell, 13:49

Shots: North Penn 34, C.R. South 33; Saves: Jon Boyles (NP) 26, Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 34

Pennridge 4, Neshaminy 2

Four different Pennridge players scored goals as Pennridge downed Neshaminy 4-2 Monday night in a SHSHL first-round National/Continental playoff game at Hatfield Ice.
Andrew Savona’s goal with 1:52 gone in the opening period gave Pennridge (8-4) a 1-0 lead). Jacob Hems tied the game for Neshaminy (6-6-1) with 6:18 left in the period.

The Rams took the lead for good in the second period on goals from Jeff Manto and Aeryk Lehrhaupt.

Mike Duke scored a power-play goal for the ‘Skins 1:28 into the third period, but Jack Lowery provided insurance for the Rams with 5:42 remaining in regulation.

Neshaminy outshot the Rams 50-41. Pennridge goaltender Ryan Pico was credited with 48 saves.

Pennridge will face top-seeded Pennsbury on Wednesday in the semifinals (7:20 at Grundy Arena).

Neshaminy 1 0 1—2

Pennridge 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Kevin Pico, 1:52; Jacob Helms (N) unassisted, 9:42

Second-period goals: Jeff Manto (N) from Aeryk Lehrhaupt, 5:44; Lehrhaupt (P) from Aidan Boyle and Manto, 11:01