Pennsbury 4 Pennridge 3

Elite players have a way of taking over a game. Shane Gleisner did just that Thursday night.

The Pennsbury senior delivered three goals, including the game winner, as the Falcons bested Pennridge 4-3 in a SHSHL National matchup at Hatfield Ice.

Gleisner took the ice Thursday night as the National Division’s leading scorer. He now has 34 goals and 16 assists for 50 points in divisional games; 39-19-58 overall, which puts atop him both scoring lists for both goals and points

Being his team’s primary offensive force is a role Gleisner has grown into over the course of his four varsity seasons.

“When I was a freshman, sophomore, and junior, I was working my way up to be the guy,” he said. “It feels good to be relied on. Now that I’m a senior, I’d say I’ve worked out all the mistakes I used to make, so I’m finally ready to be the goal-scoring guy.”

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley cited Gleisner’s impact.

“He’s had a phenomenal year so far,” Daley said. He was a big role player the year we won the Flyers Cup (2023) and we could tell the best was yet to come with him.

“He just filled into that body, got big, got fast, with one of the hardest shots you’ll see in this league.”

Gleisner’s talents allow the Falcon to employ the up-tempo style Daley prefers.

“That’s kind of been what we’ve tried to have as our calling card the last few years,” Daley said. “This year, we’ve finally got kind of the right pieces again to have that explosive offense, stretch the ice a little bit, get those odd-man rushes.”

Pennsbury (10-4-1, 8-4-1 in the division) had to play from behind early on. The Rams (5-8-1, 5-8), who had just 10 skaters dressed, took a 1-0 lead on Landon Bishop’s goal 3:32 into the opening period. Gleisner tied the game 2:04 into the second frame and after Shane Hicks put the Falcons in front at 9:18 they never trailed again.

Gleisner extended his team’s lead with 5:03 remaining in the period but Pennridge, which had just 10 skaters dressed, refused to go away.

James Rush made it a one-goal game 18 seconds into the final period but Gleisner responded when he finished a solo breakaway 25 seconds later. Even then the Rams refused to yield. Dinsmore made it a 4-3 game with 13:36 still remaining and Pennsbury goaltender Brendan Milliken made some big saves down the stretch to keep his team in front.

“We lost to the best goal scorer in the league this year,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “And that’s the way it goes sometimes. He did a great job, he finished the chances he had to. We kept fighting back and came up a little bit short tonight.”

Pennsbury 0 3 1—4

Pennridge 1 0 2—3

First-period goal: Landon Bishop (Pr) from Justin Dinsmore, 3:32

Second-period goals: Shane Gleisner (Pb) from Francis DeLucia, 2:04; Shane Hicks (Pb) from Jake Sarver, 9:18; Gleisner (Pb) from Connor Gray, 11:57

Third-period goals: James Rush (Pr) from Ryan Burke, 2:42; Gleisner (Pb) unassisted, 3:07; Dinsmore (Pr) from Rush, 3:24

Shots: Pennsbury 25, Pennridge 27: Saves: Brendan Milliken(Pb) 24, Andrew Slutsky (Pr) 21

Pennridge 7 C.R. South 5

It was a game that featured a little bit of everything. In the end, it was one of the SHSHL’s biggest upsets of recent years.

Pennridge overcame two-goal deficits on three occasions and used five third-period goals to stun Council Rock South 7-5 Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice. The Rams, who started the season by losing five of their first six games, are 4-2-1 in their last seven starts. Wednesday’s win, which was achieved with just 11 skaters and a goaltender lifted them to 5-7-1 overall (5-7 in SHSHL National).

“They deserved that tonight,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna,” because of how much better they’ve gotten this year.

“To be down 2-0, 4-2, and 5-3 and keep coming back, with a short bench and everything. I’m glad they could finish this one, because they’ve come so close against good teams. They deserve this one. I’m just so happy for them right now.”

There was little indication early on that the Rams would prevail. The Golden Hawks (12-2, 9-2) took a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from Jordan Sane and Allen Pruning. Sarne’s goal, just 52 seconds into the game, came on an assist from Jake Weiner that made Weiner the all-time leading scorer in school history.

Landon Bishop scored for Pennridge 6:40 into the second frame and Hames Rush tied the game seven minutes later.

By that point, tempers were flaring and the officials were busy; Rush’s goal came on a power play.

Sarne scored twice in the final 2:08 to give his team a two-goal advantage heading into the final period.

Bishop made it 4-3 on a partial breakaway 4:03 into the third period, bowling over South goaltender Troy Prozzillo in the process. Sarne made it a 5-3 game 74 seconds later but South would not score again. Rush scored his second goal of the game exactly two minutes later and Colby Booth tied the game 8:08 left on a play to that featured considerable traffic in the crease. The scuffle that followed saw Weiner banished after receiving his fourth penalty of the game.

Bishop’s game winner came with 3:40 left in regulation. The junior finished with three goals and five points. Ryan Burke scored into an empty net with three seconds remaining.

“It feels amazing,” Bishop said. “Coming out and beating the second-place team in the league, knowing that only North Penn has beaten them? It’s amazing.”

Bishop said the coaching staff’s encouragement fueled his team’s resurgence.

“Our coaches believe in us,” he said. “We don’t quit when the challenge is real. We just keep pushing through. And get the win.”

Weiner called the loss “Just one of those nights.

“It stings,” he said. “But I was glad it happened right now before playoffs come up.

“But it stings. It definitely was a shock. They played harder today. We didn’t play as hard and that’s what it comes down to.”

• The game included 22 minor penalties, 13 against the Hawks, nine against the Rams. Weiner cane into the game with 214 points. He finished the evening with three assists.

C.R. South 2 2 1—5

Pennridge 0 2 5—7

First period goals: Jordan Sarne (CRS) from Jake Weiner, :52; Allen Pronin (CRS) from Xavier Prozorov, 5:35

Second-period goals: Landon Bishop (P) from Kaden Gunning, 6:40; James Rush (P) from Justin Dinsmore and Bishop, 13:46; Sarne (CRS) from Chase Stratton and Wes Mallon, 14:52; Sarne (CRS) frim Aidan Judge and Weiner, 16:46;

Third-period goals: Bishop (P) unassisted, 4:03; Saene (CRS) from Weiner, 5:17; Rush (P) unassisted, 6:52; Colby Booth (P) from Rush and Dinsmore, 8:52; Bishop (P) from Eush and Dinsmore, 13:20; Ryan Burke (P) from Dean Venner, 16:57 (en)

Shots: Council Rock South 41, Pennridge 30; Saves: Troy Prozzillo (CRS) 23, Andrew Slutsky (P) 36

Pennridge 3 Neshaminy 0

BRISTOL—For a hockey team finding its way, it was a step forward. Pennridge took things one shift at a time Thursday night and left Grundy Arena with a 3-0 win over Neshaminy in a SHSHL National matchup.

What the Rams (2-5-1, 2-5 in the division) wasn’t flashy or spectacular to watch. But when you have only 13 skaters in uniform, efficiency trumps style. And that efficiency included rotating just three defensemen over the course of the 51 minutes.

“Tonight was probably the best defensive game we’ve played,” said winning coach Jeff Montagna. “We’re running three {defensemen} every game and they’re starting to figure out how to play with three Ds, and get through an entire game. They’re rally coming along.”

Having a quality goaltender helps as well Junior Andrew Slutsky stopped all 23 shots he saw in support of his teammates.

“Playing for a team with nine {veterans} is like motivation,” he said. You keep it up for them.”

Neshaminy goaltender Thomas Fox was perhaps even more impressive at the other end of the ice. Looking like Anything but the freshman he is, Fox registered 36 saves.

“The future is bright for him,” said Neshaminy coach Bill Mooney. He played real well. He’s very aggressive, he attacks the pick.

“He makes the first save and that’s all you can ever ask of a goalie.”

The second period was more than half gone before Ryan Burke delivered the evening’s first goal on a shot from the high slot James Rush made it a 2-0 game with 4:13 left the middle period.

Neshaminy (2-5 overall and in the division) had an opening when Landon Bishop and Dean Venner drew penalties in the final half minute of the second frame. As a result, Neshaminy had a two-man advantage for 93 seconds. But the ‘Skins couldn’t capitalize.

“We were hoping to a little momentum turn there,” Mooney said. “We had opportunities {but} their goalie made the saves.

“They have some seasoned guys out there that have been around for a bit so they know how to play.”

Rush sealed the verdict with an empty-net goal with 1:17 remaining.

Montagna stresses the importance of hi team knowing its limitations, specifically the size of its roster.

“They know there’s a certain way they have to play” he said, “and you have to stick to that. You can’t try and be someone you’re not out there with the roster we’re running.

“That has been the biggest thing for us so far. These guys understand it. You saw tonight in a 2-0 game {until the finish} it was defense first, second, and third.”

Pennridge 0 2 1—3

Neshaminy 0 0 0—0

Second-period goals: Ryan Burke (P) from Kaden Gunning, 8:57 James Rush (P) from Georgios Siokos and Landon Bishop, 12:47

Third-period goal: Rush (P) unassisted, 15:43 (en)

Shots: Pennridge 39, Neshaminy 23; Saves: Andrew Slutsky (P) 23, Thomas Fox (N) 36

Central Bucks South 4 Pennridge 3

Two teams in transaction crossed paths at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Pennridge is in the midst of defining the roles of characters in this season’s narrative while Central Bucks South took the ice with holes in its lineup.

In the end, it was the Titans who prevailed 4-3 over a Ram team that refused to go away, C.B. South improved to 3-1 on the season, 3-0 in SHSHL National; its only loss has been to La Salle.

Thursday’s win did not come easy. The Titans were without veterans Jamison Crouch and Damien Hauck who were serving suspensions in the wake of an altercation in Wednesday’s win over Neshaminy. Coach Josh Sklar shuffled his deck as a result.

{The player’ absence} definitely affected us,” he said. “We had a short bench. Everybody’s got to pick up the leash and everybody’s got to do their jobs.”

And so they did. Senior Joey Slobodrian led by example, assisting on the first goal of the night and scoring the second.

“It definitely affected our defense,” he said. “We were out a defenseman and out a forward. But, we got through it. We had two {defensive pairs) so we were kind of tired in the back end.”

Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi have South a 1-0 lead with 1:55 left in the opening period after Ryan Montagna and Slobodrian sent him down the middle of the ice.

Slobodrian made it 2-0 9;18 into the second frame off a scramble in front during a power play that came about when the Rams’ Justin Dinsmore was flagged for roughing.

Down two goals, the Rams (1-1) did not buckle. Landon Bishop went end to end and solved Titan goaltender Nate Neapolitan to make it a 2-1 game with 6:42 left in the period but Owen Fry answered for the Titans 57 seconds later.

When Grant Boyne made it a 4-1 game 75 seconds into the final period the Tirana’s appeared to have things well in hand. But Bishop scored his second goal of the game 2:46 into the period and James Rush made 4-3 with 8:06 still left forcing the titans to battle hard to the finish.

“We kind of let up at the end of the game,” Slobodrian said. Hopefully we’ll do better next game.”

Sklar praised his troops for stepping up and filling holes when needed.

“Playing short, the guys and the girls on the team did good,” he said. “Everyone picked up the slack.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna left the rink feeling satisfied as well.

“I told them I’m really proud of them,” he said. “I have a lot of guys new to varsity hockey. When they got down 4-1 they could have rolled over {but} they just kept coming. They played a very smart, disciplined game.

“They’re going to get better and better.”

C.B. South 1 2 1—4

Pennridge 0 1 2—3

First-period goal: Joshua Iyahen-Lucchesi (CBS) from Ryan Montagna and Joey Slobodrian, 15:05

Second-period goals: Slobodrian (CBS) from Dominic Gibson and Ryan Frey, 9:18 (pp); Landon Bishop (P) from Justin Dinsmore and James Rush, 10:18; Owen Frey (CBS) from Gibson, 11:15

Third-period goals: Grant Boyne (CBS) unassisted, 1:15; Bishop (P) from Andrew Engle and Ryan Burke, 2:26; Rush (P) from Colby Booth, 8:54

Shots: C.B. South 36, Pennridge 26; Saves: Nate Neapolitan (CBS) 23, Andrew Slutsky (P) 32

New Faces Coming to SHSHL as a Familiar Face Returns

Several Suburban Hugh School Hockey League teams will have new faces behind their benches when the 2025-26 season kicks off next month and a familiar face will be returning.

That familiar face is Jeff Montagna, who will be back for his eighth season at Pennridge; he had previously announced his resignation.

Josh Sklar, a former player and assistant coach at Central Bucks South, is taking over for Shuan McGinty, who has stepped down after nine seasons.

Frank Blust, an assistant to Montagna at the club level, will assume command of the program at Central Bucks West, replacing Dave Baun, who is retiring after 20 seasons in charge.

Ryan Uchniat, who directed Souderton for five seasons for five years before stepping away last year, is returning this season, replacing Scott Ryon.

There is one change in the league’s alignment this coming season. Council Rick North will not be part of the National Division. the Indians have formed a combined team with New Hope-Solebury that will compete in the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League.

North Penn 5 Pennridge 0

It can be quite a challenge to face the defending state champions.

But North Penn had a resounding answer.

The Knights posted a 5-0 win over defending Flyers Cup and state champion Pennridge in Thursday’s quarterfinal game of the Flyers Cup at Hatfield Ice Arena.

Nolan Shingle got things started for North Penn, netting the first goal of the evening with an assist from Danial Cabrales and Samuel Norton with just over nine minutes to go in the first period.

James Boyle added a goal, assisted by Cabrales, with five minutes left in the second period to extend North Penn’s lead.

Cole Pluck scored back-to-back goals to put the game away in the third period. His first goal, coming less than two minutes into play, was assisted by Samuel Norton and Boyle while his second, coming six minutes later, was assisted by Shingle and Cabrales.

With 2:36 to go, Landon Hostetter iced the cake for the Knights with an assist from Chris Silvotti.

“We had a good team effort,” Pluck said. “We’ve got a great goaltender (Andy Norton) and we put a lot of trust in him.

“Late in the game, they were really trying to score and that opened up the ice a lot for us.”

The two teams are very familiar with each other. This was the third meeting between them this year. North Penn won the first game, 5-0, on December 19 and the rematch, 4-3, in overtime, on Jan. 29.

“We knew they were going to be good,” Andy Norton said. “We beat them two times this year, one in overtime, and coming into this game, we really knew that we had it.

“Our offense was really our defense. They played amazing.”

Norton made 24 saves in goal for North Penn.

“The second period I was definitely nervous just having that 1-0 lead but I had confidence that we’d score again,” he said.

It was the second time North Penn had shut out the Rams.

“That shows a lot,” Andy Norton said.

North Penn will take on third seed Downingtown East, a 4-0 winner over No. 6 Downingtown West, in the semifinals. The game will be Thursday at Hatfield at 8:45 p.m.

“This is the furthest we’ve gone in my four years here,” Pluck said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

The loss wasn’t just the end of the season for Pennridge; it was the end of an era. Longtime head coach Jeff Montagna is stepping down.

“We’re not built to come back,” Montagna said. “When they got the lead they were able to put three guys back there and we didn’t play very smart. We didn’t play a good game today. Sometimes that just happens.

“You go as far as your talent takes you. You lose enough guys, eventually it has to end. I’d rather it was 5-0 than 2-1 in overtime.

“To come out here and get a Flyers Cup win (Tuesday’s 7-2 opening round victory over Avon Grove), we’ve done that for nine straight years and I don’t think any other team in the league has done that, I’m proud of them.”

Montagna guided the Rams to the Flyers Cup and state championships in both 2022 and 2024.

“This was the first high school job I had, and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he said. “It’s a vastly different experience from club hockey. I was blessed with talent and talent has a way of making coaches look a lot better than they are.

“To know that our players, that every time they walk in this rink for the rest of their lives, they can look up and see the banners and go to their drawers and get their rings out, to know that the players get to do that, it’s really special.”

Pennridge 0 0 0—0

North Penn 1 1 3—5

First-period goal: Nolan Shingle (NP) from Danial Cabrales and Samuel Norton, 7:53

Second-period goal: James Boyle (NP) from Cabrales, 16:56

Third-period goals: Cole Pluck (NP) from S. Norton and Boyle, 1:16; Pluck (NP) from Shingle and Cabrales, 7:33; Landon Hostetter (NP) from Chris Silvotti, 15:24

Shots: Pennridge 24, North Penn 30; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 21, Andrew Slutsky (P) 4; Andy Norton (NP)

C.R. South 4 Pennridge 1

It’s no small feat to top the defending state champions three times in a season.

But Council Rock South accomplished that on Wednesday, topping defending Flyers Cup and state champion Pennridge, 4-1, in the semifinals of the SHSHL National Division at Grundy.

In the first period, the Golden Hawks took advantage of a Shane Dachowski roughing minor by netting a power play goal by Jagger Smith for the first score of the game.

They added to that when Jake Weiner scored back-to-back goals in the second period.

That 3-0 lead lasted until just seven minutes remained in the game, when Joshua Kelly’s shot took an odd ricochet over CR South goaltender Trey Prozzillo’s right shoulder.

It wasn’t enough of a spark for the Rams, though, and Jeremy Rayher shut the door with his goal for CR South with 3:36 to go in the game.

“The first five minutes, teams have to feel each other out,” said Pennridge junior James Rush, a forward. “After those five minutes, I felt our team was pretty engaged. I thought our lines were moving pretty good. We were going hard, but we weren’t getting the bounces.

“I think the mindset is pretty much the same for us every game. We know our system. We just want to stick to that.

“I really didn’t think we were going to lose until about the last two minutes. Crazier things have happened and you never want to think you’re out of it so you don’t give up until the last whistle.”

Prozzillo was superb for the Golden Hawks, making 25 saves.

“I really wanted the shutout,” said Prozzillo, a junior. “That one goal that I let in was weak.

“But our whole team stayed together. We wanted to win this game so bad for all the times that we lost to them in the past. We really worked as a team and supported each other.”

His teammates appreciated his performance.

“For him to stand on his head like that, he was great,” said Dan Filippov, a senior defenseman for the Golden Hawks. “He was backing up Carson Lopez last year so he had big shoes to fill and when he plays like that against a team like that, you can’t thank him enough.”

It was the third meeting of the year between the two, with CR South winning the first meeting, 6-5, and the rematch, 5-2.

“We came out a little slow but we definitely picked it up in the second period. We had a talk and we knew we had to work together. The teams that win these games are the teams that work together. Individuality will not win these games. We built that momentum up and then we started banging in those goals.

“Against a team like this, that we’ve lost to in the Flyers Cup twice, there’s history there and we wanted to win,” Filippov said. “We gave it everything we had. We wanted to show a different team than they’ve seen in the past.

“Even the kids who don’t see a lot of playing time were banging on the boards and getting into it and that’s good to see.”

The Rams are a relatively young squad.

“We had like 14-15 guys graduate from last year and we had a bunch of JV players come up and filling big roles,” said Pennridge senior Jared Garber, a defenseman. “That was an adjustment a little at the beginning but they’ve been playing really well.

“We had some good chances but we couldn’t find the net and their goalie played phenomenal. But I thought we outplayed them, honestly but we couldn’t put the puck in the net.”

The Golden Hawks (17-5) seek their third consecutive SHSHL title.

“I’m excited,” Prozzillo said. “We’re really looking forward to it.”

CR South will take on Central Bucks South, a 4-3 winner over North Penn, for the division championship on Thursday. Win or lose, the Golden Hawks will participate in the Flyers Cup, which begins on Monday.

Pennridge (13-8) will be back on the ice for the Flyers Cup.

“That’s all we’re worried about,” Rush said. “These playoffs are great but we have our eyes set on the Flyers Cup.”

Garber agreed.

“We lost this game a couple of years ago and we still won the Flyers Cup, so we won’t give up,” he said.

Pennridge 0 0 1

Council Rock South 1 2 1

First-period goal; Jagger Smith (CRS) from Jonah Weston, 11:07 (pp);

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Jake Maurer and Jagger Smith, 1:22; Jake Weiner (CRS) unassisted, 13:34;

Third-period goals: Joshua Kelly (P) unassisted, 9:58; Jeremy Rayher (CRS) unassisted, 13:24

Shots: Pennridge 25, CR South 33; Saves: Jacob Winton (P) 33, Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 25

Pennridge 4 C.B. East 1

Monday night marked the first stage of what the participants hope will be a month-long journey. And Pennridge looked very much at home in the playoff environment.

Shane Dachowski scored three goals and assisted on a fourth as the Rams prevailed over Central Bucks East 4-1 in a SHSHL National Division first-round game at Hatfield Ice.

Fourth-seeded Pennridge (13-7) will advance to face top-seeded Council Rock South Wednesday night (7:00 at Grundy Arena) in the semifinals. The fifth-seeded Patriots (10-9-1) will be idle until Monday when they face Downingtown West to kick off the Class AA Flyers Cup.

Dachowski was the difference on this night, as he has been so often over the course of his career. He assisted on James Rush’s opening goal which came 5:32 into the first period as the result of a collaboration involving Ladan Bishop, the third member of Pennridge’s top line.

Dachowski extended Pennridge’s lead with a shot from the left point exactly eight minutes into the second period. David Brown scored for East not quite two-and-a-half minutes later when Pennridge turned the puck over in front of its own net.

But as clock counted down the closing seconds of the second period, Dachowski stepped up once more launching a blazer that scraped the underside of the crossbar inside the right post as at whistled past Patriot goaltender Cole Breen with 1.1 seconds showing on the clock.

“That was a really-needed goal,” Dachowski said. I don’t know what their defensemen were doing, but we took advantage of what they gave us.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna noted that Dachowski is now in postseason mode.

“I can’t even count how many hat tricks he has in playoff and Flyers Cup games,” he said. “It’s absurd.”

Dachowski completed yet another hat trick with an empty-net goal with 50 seconds remaining in the game.

The win Monday night was a response to the Rams’ 3-2 loss to East five days ago. That result doubtless strengthened the Patriots’ case with the Flyers Cup Committee, which seeded them 11^th in the 12-team Class AA field.

“They acted like they won the Stanley Cup,” Dachowski recalled.

The loss was the first for the Patriots in eight games. They had their chances, they were outshot just 32-31 but only solved Jacob Winton once.

“We got a of chances,” said East coach Jeff Mitchell. “We got a lot of pucks on net {but} we lacked the finish tonight.

“But, you get a team like Pennridge and the type of goaltender they have, they have a top-three goaltender in the league you’ve got to really, really make sure you’re giving your chances the best opportunity.”

The Rams will now try to unseat the two-time defending National Division champions. Montagna knows he’ll need another big night from Dachowski.

“If we want to go down and beat South Wednesday, he’s got to be great” Montagna said. Every game going forward he has to be great. He can’t have an off night. It’s a lot of pressure on him {but} he’s had that pressure for three years.”

C.B. East 0 1 0—1

Pennridge 1 2 1—4

First-period goal: James Rush (P) from Shane Dachowski and Ladan Bishop, 11:28;

Second-period goals: Dachowski (P) unassisted, 8:00; David Brown (CBE) unassisted, 10:23; Dachowski (P) from Josh Kelly and Rush, 16:59

Third-period goal: Dachowski (P) from Rush, 16:10

Shots: C.B. East 31, Pennridge 32; Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 28, Jacob Winston (P) 30

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SHSHL Playoffs Kick Off Monday

The SHSHL playoffs kick off Monday night with two national Division first-round games. Council Rock South, which has a bye into the semifinals, is the two-time defending National Division champion.

Pennridge enters the postseason as the defending Class AA Flyers Cup champion and state champion, having claimed those distinctions twice in the last three seasons. The Rams last won the SHSHL title in 2022. C.B. East’s last title cane in 2011

Central Bucks South’s last SHSHL National title came in 2018 when the Titans completed a run of four consecutive league titles, six in seven seasons, and seven in nine seasons. Pennsbury, which won the Class AA Flyers Cup title in 2023 won the SHSHL National title in 2021.

North Penn last won an SHSHL title in 2014.

Pennridge (12-7, 11-7 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Montagna

Players to watch Shane Dachowski 32 goals, 25 assists, 57 points; James Rush 24-24-48; Jacob Winton 2.58 GAA, .918 sae percentage

Central Bucks East (10-8-1, 10-7-1 in National Division)

Coach: Jeff Mitchell

Players to watch: Alex Wilson 14 goals, 6 assists, 20 points; Jaden Young 10-6-16; Cole Breen 4.06 GAA, .875 save percentage

The winner will play top-seeded Council Rock South on Wednesday in the semifinals

Central Bucks South (15-5, 15-3 in National Division)

Coach: Shaun McGinty

Players to watch: Sean Cutter 16 goals, 19 assists, 35 points; Jeff Kvecher 12-21-33; Jake Matkowski 3.75 GAA, .838 save percentage; Nate Napolitano 3.81, .859

Pennsbury (7-12, 6-12 in National Division)

Coach: Ryan Daley

Players to watch: Chris Sarver 11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points; Shane Hicks 14-17-31; Brendan Milliken 5.71 GAA, .810 save percentage.

The winner will play second-seeded North Penn on Wednesday in the semifinals

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Montagna Announces Retirement

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna announced Thursday night that he will step down at the end of the season.

Montagna is in his seventh season behind the Rams’ bench.

His teams won Class AA Flyers Cup and state championships in 2022 and again last season. They also claimed SHSHL National Division titles in 2019 and ’22.

Montagna, who also coaches at the club level, said he needed a break from high-school hockey.

“I’m burnt out,” he said. “I can’t do this if I can’t give what needs to be given to it. I’m taking a step back and dealing with club hockey next year.

“I want to continue coaching high school but I need a little bit of a breather. Whether it’s a year, two years, whatever it is, it’s time.”