Tag: Pennridge

Pennridge 12, C.B. West 2

HATFIELD—Pennridge got hot early Thursday night and stayed hot. Blake Stewart scored three goals and assisted on three others and Jeff Manto scored three goals of his own as the Rams blasted Central Bucks West 12-2 in a Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA game at Hatfield Ice.

Pennridge is just 2-4 in league play but has improved to 5-5 overall. With the start of the new year, a young team is beginning to blossom.

“I didn’t really see that coming,” said Ram coach Jeff Montagna. “We’ve just been preaching, ‘Do things the right way. And more times than not, it’s going to go your way. If it doesn’t, keep going at it.’

“They got some breaks tonight.You’re not going to beat that team 12-2 very often.”
The opening period featured five goals in a 10-and-a-half minute span. The Rams opened the scoring 2:30 into the period when Connor Frisch delivers a wrister from 10 feet inside the West blue line. Arek Lehrhaupt made it a 2-0 game at the 5:25 mark. Luke Tremmel scored for West at 7:33 to cut the margin in half but Pennridge took over from there. Jack Lowery extended his team’s lead at the 9:41 mark before Stewart ended the flurry with a goal at 10:58.

The Bucks (6-1-1-1, 3-1-1 in the league) were shorthanded because of injuries. They had just 13 skaters available including four freshmen. West coach Dave Baun felt his team was suffering the effects of the holiday layoff.

“That’s what a team that relies in structure looks like when they play without any,” he said. “We haven’t practiced for a month and a lot of the things that we work on a lot were clearly forgotten.”

The Rams kept coming in the second period when Stewart and Manto scored two goals apiece.

Kyle Fasolak replaced Jeff Coddington in the West net at the start of the final period. Tremmel scored a second goal for the Bucks but the Rams scored four times themselves before Manto completed his hat trick to send everyone home with 1:05 left in regulation.

“It was a great feeling to have it all click,” Manto said. “It felt real good as a a team.”

Manto is hoping Thursday’s win will give his team a jump start as the long match to the postseason begins. “Hopefully it will give us a confidence boost,” the junior said.

Stewart, who is also a junior, is optimistic about what lies ahead for Rams. “We’re a young team,” he said, and if we just connect like we have been all season we’ll get a lot of goals. And out a lot of pressure on these other teams.”

Notes— Thursday’s game was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Rams suffered a 4-3 loss to the Bucks in a non-league encounter a week before Christmas.
C.B. West 1 0 1—2
Pennridge 4 4 4—12

First-period goals: Connor Frisch (P) unassisted, 2:30; Arek Lehrhaupt (P) from Blake Stewart, 5:25; Luke Tremmel (CBW) from Danny Poliak, 7:33; Jack Lowery (P) from Lehrhaupt, 9:41; Blake Stewart (P) unassisted, 10:58.
Second-period goals: Stewart (P) from Andrew David and Richie Shanks, :48; Jeff Manto (P) from Stewart, 7:11(sh); Stewart (P) from Shanks, 13:00; Manto (P) from Lowery, 14:34.
Third-period goals: Jacob Lizak from Sian Boyle and Cooper White; 53; David (P) from Stewart, 1:43; Tremmel (CBW) from Poliak, 8:38; Manto (P) from Frisch, 11:39; Shanks (P) from Frisch, 14:55.
Shots, C.B. West 27, Pennridge 42; Saves: Jake Coddington (CBW) 22 and Kyle Fasolak (CBW) 8, Ryan Pico (P) 25.

Central Bucks East 4, Pennridge 1

 

HATFIELD— Central Bucks East and Pennridge came into Friday night’s Suburban High School Hockey League matchup shorthanded. The Patriots were without leading scorer Sean Gorman who was serving a suspension. The Rams were minus goaltender Ryan Pico (3.43 GAA) who was absent.

It was East that earned the decision, 4-1 at Hatfield Ice to improve to 5-1-0-1 overall and 2-1-0-1 in SHSHL Class AA play. The Rams slipped to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in league play. It was their second loss in a 24-hour span; they dropped a 5-1 decision to Council Rock South on Wednesday.

Pennridge actually had a 36-31 edge in shots but junior Chris McIntyre was sharp in the East net.

“I think he’s the best in the league,” said Central Bucks East assistant coach Mike Capps. He works very hard at it. He keeps us in every game.”

The Patriots gave McIntyre some breathing room when Bogen Borodenko beat Pennridge netminder Jacob Gilbert at the 6:31 mark of the first period. Aiden Schmidt, Phil McIntryre, and Borodenko added goals in a span of 4:45 to give East a 4-0 lead with 6:17 left in the second session.

None of the goals were Gilbert’s fault. The freshman was making his first varsity appearance and more than acquitted himself well by stopping 27 shots.

“I thought he would play well,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “I didn’t know if (the setting) would be too big for him. They were legit goals, there were no softies.”

The Rams had two big opportunities to get back in the game. The first occurred with 1:18 left in the second period when the Patriots’ Connor Keiser drew a five-minute major penalty plus a game misconduct for a hit on Pennridge’s Dane Fichett. The Rams’ power play sputtered however and they never mounted a serious threat during the man advantage.

Pennridge got another chance at the 4:28 mark of the third period when the Patriots’ Max Ermigiotti received a major penalty for head contact plus a game misconduct. The Rams scored a goal during the subsequent power play when Jack Lowery found the net at the 6:25 mark but that was his team’s only serious chance during two extended power plays.

“With a lot of new guys, we really haven’t had a chance to work on that with a lot of the things we’ve had to do,” Montagna said, “I just told them, we’ve got to be better. For as well as we played, we just gave away opportunities there.”

 

C.B. East 1 3 0—4

Pennridge 0 0 1—1

First-period goal: Bogen Borodenko (CBE) from Matt Cipriano and Aiden Schmidt, 6:31.

Second-period goals: Schmidt (CBE) from Phil McIntyre (CBE) and Tyler Godown, 4:58; McIntyre (CBE) from Schmidt and Ian Treger, 7:37; Borodenko (CBE) from Schmidt and McIntyre, 9:43.

Third-period goal: Jack Lowery (P) from Conrad Frisch, 6:25 (pp).

Shots: Central Bucks East 31, Pennridge 36; Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 35, Jacob Gilbert (P) 27

 

Elsewhere:

Holy Ghost Prep 2, St. Joseph’s Prep 1 OT—Brady Baesher scored in overtime to give the Firebirds the win over the Hawks at the Class of  1923 Arena. The two teams traded goals in the second period.

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!

 

SHSHL Previews

 

The Suburban High School Hockey League season is officially underway. Here’s a look at the 1919-20 campaign.

If you’re interested in coverage of your hockey event or tournament, contact us at Hockey Happenings

 

 

Class AA

National Division

Abington

Coach: Ken Brzozowski (third season)

Last Year: 5-7-4

Key players: So. Ben Panella (G); Fr. Sam Nemac (G); Jr. Colin Bruton (F); Jr. Ethan Wielheimer (D); Jr. Holden Brooker (D); So. Tommy Rourke (D-F); So. Joe Stelacio (D-F)

Outlook: The Galloping Ghosts will put a young time on the ice this season; the roster features 15 underclassmen. But after barely missing the playoffs a year ago, Brzozowski is excited about the coming campaign.

“This team has been working hard since August,” he said, “and has developed great chemistry…I am very excited to coach this young team with our experienced juniors.”

 

Council Rock North

Coach: Chris Gallagher (fourth season)

Last year: 2-14

Key players: Jr. Rex Goldberg (G); Sr. Vlad Litnov (F); Sr. Colin Kiefer (F); Sr. Will Sohn (F)

Outlook: The Indians continue to strengthen their program. This year’s lineup will feature an infusion of young talent; there are 10 freshmen on the roster. Goldberg is an experienced netminder while Kiefer and Sohn will play key roles up front.

 

Council Rock South

Coach: Joe Houk (14th season)

Last year: 6-9-3

Key players: Sr. Alex Patrizi (G); Jr. Jimmy Sweeney (G); Sr. David Mueller (D); Sr. Billy Harrelson (F)

Outlook: The Golden Hawks will look continue to build on last season, when a young team worked its way into the postseason.

The goaltending tandem of Patrizi and Sweeney is a foundation on which to build.

“We have a solid defensive core and three solid lines,” Houk said. Good teams are built from the goal line out & I think we’re in pretty good shape and we’ll be very competitive with the top teams this year. “

 

Neshaminy

Head Coach: Matthew DeMatteo (third season)
Key players: So. Brian Nelson (G); Jr. Matthew Buchinski (D); Sr. Ryan McColgan (D); Jr. Robbie Seewagen (F); Sr. Joseph DeMatteo (F); Sr. Charlie Potash (F); Jr. Thomas Gallagher (F); Fr. Nolan Geria (F)

Outlook: The ‘Skins return their three top scorers from a year ago in Seewagen, DeMatteo, and Gallagher. Geria heads up a talented freshman class. Nelson will be a new face between the pipes but has looked impressive.

 

Pennsbury

Coach: Ryan Daley (third season)

Last year: 8-8-3

Key players: So. Topher Seiler (G); Sr. Ben Dous (F-D); St. Jasper Millman (D); Sr. Jake Machlovitz (F); Sr. Beau Yedman (F); So, Shane Sigmund (F); Jr. Erik Eisler (F); Fr. Brendan Macainish (F)

Outlook:  The Falcons took some big strides forward last season by qualifying for the Flyers Cup tournament for the first time in three years. This year’s group is a blend of youth and experience. Daley is counting on the four seniors on the roster to provide leadership.

 

William Tennent

Coach: Nick D’Auruzio (10th season)

Last year: 3-11-2

Key players: Sr. Stephen Skiba (D); Jr. Zach Devor (D); Jr. Justin Carrelli (F); Sr. Tom Hartenstein (F)

Outlook: The Panthers will be young again this season and hoping to improve on last season’s mark. “Our goal is to improve every year,” D’Aurizio said, “and this team looks ready to take the next step.

 

Continental Division

Central Bucks East

Coach: Ken Latchum (third season in suucession, 12th overall)

Last year: 5-8-3

Key players: Jr. Chris McIntyre (G); Jr. Connor Keiser (D); Jr. Shane West (D); So. Sean Gorman (F); Sr. Nick LoCastro (F); Sr. Dan Tori (F); Jr. Max Ermigiotti (F); So. Phil McIntyre (F)

Outlook: The Patriots are thin in terms of numbers but Latchum is impressed with his team’s work ethic.

“It’s a hardworking group,” he said.  “Our talent will be tested. There will be chances for young players as well as seniors to step up.”

 

Central Bucks South

Coach: Shaun McGinty (fifth season)

Last year: 17-6-2
Key players: Jr. Mason Moyer (G); Sr. Ryan Gingras (D); Sr. Brian Keilman (D); Sr. Dom Patrone (F); Sr. Steve McMillan (F); Sr. Harry McLaughlin (F); Sr. Colin Abbonizio (F); Sr. Matt Milanesi (F)

Outlook: The eight-time SHSHL Class AA champions feature a roster with 10 seniors on it. This team may not have the offensive firepower of seasons past. But Moyer is a proven goaltender and the Titans generally find a way to make the pieces fit.

 

Central Bucks West

Coach: Dave Baun (16th season)

Last year: 10-9

Key players: Sr. Jake Coddington (G); So. Grant Funseth (D); So. Evan Hee (D); Sr Christopher Trefz (F); Sr. Jake Lang (F); Sr. Danny Poliak (F); Jr. Keith Orlando (F); So. Billy Loughnane (F)

Outlook: The Bucks will have 10 new faces in this year’s lineup but have some experienced seniors as well in the likes of Trefz and Lang up front and Coddington in goal.

“As go your leaders, so goes your team,” Baun said, “and we feel very confident that we have the kind of group that can lead us to great things this year.”

 

North Penn

Coach: Kevin Vaitis (11th season)

Last year: 15-6-3

Key players: Sr. Tyler Greenstein (F); Sr. Josh Kaufhold (F); Sr. Tommy Boyle (F/D); Jr. Luke Van Why (D); Jr. Ryan Cunningham (D); So. Tony Tuozzo (F); So. Nicholas Ebbinghaus (G)

Outlook: The Knights will field one of the SHSHL’s most experienced teams. Twelve players return from the team that reached the Class AA Flyers Cup quarterfinals. The returnees include Greenstein, last year’s leading scorer, along with Boyle and Van Why on the blue line and Ebbinghause in goal. The pieces are in place for a promising season.

 

 

Pennridge

Coach: Jeff Montagna (second season)

Last year: 17-2-1; won SHSHL Class AA title

Key players: So. Ryan Pico (G); Jr. Conner Frisch (D); Sr. Michael White (F); Jr. Jeff Manto (F); Jr. Blake Stewart

Outlook: Much of last year’s championship team is gone but seven players are back who saw extensive varsity time last year including White up front. The defense will be new however, and Pico is a newcomer in goal.

“We will be much better than people think,” Montagna said, “depending on how new defensive core develops

 

Souderton

Coach: Ryan Uchniat (second season)

Last year: 2-13-1

Key players: Sr. Jonathan Prichard (G); Fr. Noah Connor (G) So. Carter Povazan (D) Sr. Jacob Bealer (D) Sr. Thomas Harris (F); Jr. Tyler MacPhee (F); So Kyle Anderson (F)

Outlook: Last year was a year of growth for a young team. Uchniat is hoping that experience will pay dividends this year.

“Last season was a year of growth for our younger players. A few freshmen saw significant ice time and look to take another big leap forward this year.”

 

Quakertown

Coach: Keith Krem

Last year: First-year team

Key players: Jr. Austin Stoudt (G); Jr. Eric Orezehoski (D); Sr. Jake p Dilger (F); So. Anthony Pagliei

Outlook: The Panthers are making their debut in the SHSHL this season. There has been hockey at Quakertown in the past, but not under the SHSHL banner.

“We are very excited for hockey to be in Quakertown,“ Krem said, “and for the season to begin.”

 

 

Class A

American Division

Hatboro-Horsham

Coach: Gianni Lafratta (second season)

Last year: 5-5-2

Key players: Sr. Joey Gambino (G), Sr. Ziyad Elsabbagh (D); So. Ben Lerner (D); Jr. Aidan Esack (F), Fr. Nick Long (F)

Outlook: The Hatters had trouble scoring goals at times last season but were stingy at the other end of the ice. They allowed just 49 goal in a division where high-scoring games were the norm. Long will be counted on to score goals.

 

Lower Moreland

Coach: Gus Salfiti (second season)

Last year 12-4-3

Key players: So. Jacob Lungin (G); Jr. Devin Green (D); Jr. Vincenzo DeMaio (F); Jr. Noah Gazzara (D-F); So. Tyler Scolnick (F).

Outlook: The Lions played for the American Division championship a year ago. It will be a young team; there are no seniors on the roster, and likely will be lacking in numbers. But the players on hand have a good amount of varsity experience.

 

Plymouth Whitemasrh

Coach: Josh Aiello (sixth season)

Last year: 10-5-1

Key players: Sr. Ben Yuter (G); Sr. Ben Lubas (D); Sr. Dean Keller (F); Sr. Colin Franzoni (F); Sr. Jake Weikel (F); So. Aidan Keogh (F)

Outlook: A young Colonial team reached the Class A Flyers Cup quarterfinals a year ago. This team is more experienced; there are nine seniors on hand; and features Yuter in goal along with Keller and Franzoni, two of the American Division’s premier offensive threats.

 

Also competing in the American Division: Truman, Wissahickon

SHSHL Reveals Divisional Alignments

The opening of the 2019-20 scholastic hockey season is drawing closer. With that fact in mind, the Suburban High School Hockey League has finalized its divisional alignments for the coming year. A total of 18 teams will skate under the SHSHL umbrella this season.

Thirteen teams will be classified as Class AA and divided into two divisions. The Continental Division will consist of defending Class AA Champion Pennridge, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks East, Central Bucks West, North Penn, Souderton, and newcomer Quakertown.

The National Division will include Abington, Council Rock South, Neshaminy, Pennsbury, William Tennent, and Council Rock North, which is returning to the SHSHL and Class AA this year after playing as an impure team last season because of a player shortage.

The 13 Class AA teams will all face each other once in league play. If the same playoff format is followed that was utilized last year, divisional alignments will be meaningless; the top eight teams will qualify for the playoffs regardless of division.

 

The Class A American Division will feature five teams, headed by defending champion Wissahickon. The Trojans will be joined by Hatboro-Horsham, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Lower Moreland, and Truman, which is moving down from Class AA. Upper Dublin will not be skating in the SHSHL this season.

The five American Division teams will play each other three times each, making for a 12-game league season. Four teams will qualify for the playoffs.

The official start date of the SHSHL campaign is still to be announced.

 

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Downingtown East 3, Pennridge 2

Michael Bolger’s goal with 6:15 left in the third period proved to be decisive as Downingtown East held off Pennridge 3-2 Thursday night in a Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal at Ice Line.

The two-defending Flyers Cup and state champion Cougars Downingtown West in Sunday’s championship game (4:30 at the Wells Fargo Center).

Top-seeded Downingtown East took a 1-0 lead on Ryan Johnston’s power-play goal with 2:48 left in the first period but the fourth-seeded Rams answered back when Blake Stewart scored with 36 seconds remaining in the opening session.

Nick Rosati gave the Cougars the lead for good when he scored with 3:56 remaining in the second period and Bolger’s tally gave Downingtown East a two-goal lead.

Eric Slater scored for Pennridge with 4:24 left in regulation to cut the lead in half and the Rams kept up the pressure, generating several chances in the final minutes and hitting a post with 30 seconds to play.

The Cougars had a 34-26 edge in shots.

 

Pennridge 1 0 1—2

Downingtown East 1 1 1—3

 

Three Flyers Cup finals will be available Sunday HERE beginning with the Class A final between Hershey and West Chester Rustin at 2:00. The Class AA final between Downingtown East and Downingtown West will follow at 4:30, followed by the Class AAA matchup between LaSalle and Holy Ghost Prep at 7:00.

Pennridge 4, North Penn 3 OT

By  Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The stars shined brightly at Hatfield Ice Monday evening. And in the end, Eric Slater lit up the night like a supernova. Slater’s goal 3 minutes, 25 seconds into overtime gave Pennridge a 4-3 decision over North Penn in a Flyers Cup Class AA quarterfinal.

The fourth-seeded Rams (16-2-3) will take a five-game winning streak and a 13-game unbeaten streak into Thursday’s semifinals against two-time defending Flyers Cup and state champion Downingtown East (5:15 at Ice Line).

Nathan Oh, playing in what turned out to be his final high-school game, delivered a hat trick for fifth-seeded North Penn (12-5-3).

It was a night when the best players on both teams came up big, but none more than Slater, who scored two goals and assisted on a third. His game-winner came on a shot from just beyond the faceoff circles off a feed from Matt Guinette. The shot beat Knight goaltender  Nick Ebbinghaus on his stick (right) side but the freshman could not be faulted on the play.

“I was trying to drive the net,” Slater said. (Guinette) gave me a perfect pass. I made a move and shot it and hoped for the best.”

Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna said he was expecting Slater to step up at the start of the 15-minute sudden-death period. “He’s going to go out other shift in that overtime,” Montagna said, “and if we’re going to win, most likely, he’s going to win it for us.”

The Knights had far the best of the opening period, outshooting the Rams 15-3 but the session ended with teams deadlocked at one goal each. Oh gave North Penn the lead with a dash down the wing after his team own a faceoff in its own zone. He beat Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick at the 7:39 mark. Slater answered back just under two minutes later with a wrister from the left wing after finding himself alone one on one with a Knight defenseman.

KNL_5390.jpg

North Penn’s Josh Kaufholf (with puck) goes against Pennridge’s Frankie Rota in the first period of Monday’s game. (photo by Kathy Leister)

 

Michael Walker gave Pennridge the lead once more 63 seconds into the second period when he collected a feed from Guinette and made a move around a defender and beat Ebbinghaus.

The freshman came up big however with 1:50 left in the period however with a kick save on a shot from Walker that would have given the Rams a two-goal lead, Instead, Oh tied the game with 53.6 seconds left to send the teams to the third period all even.
Pennridge took the lead for the third time on Blake Stewart’s power-play goal with 5:17 left in the third period. With North Penn’s Will Hughes in the box serving a hooking minor, the Rams’ Franke Rota set up shot at the right point and sent a pass across the ice to Slater who launched a rocket along the ice. Stewart tipped the puck past Ebbinghaus.

Oh completed his hat trick with 2:16 left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Knights, who finished with a 37-21 wedge in shots, had a good chance early in the extra period but Stranick stood his ground and the teams played on until Slater delivered his game winner.

“You got Nate Oh on North Penn and Eric Slate on Pennridge,” North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis pointed out. “They’re two of the best high-school players in the (SHSHL) and definitely in the Flyers Cup tournament.

“They got the bounce to go their way in overtime and that’s part of the game. We were probably inches away from winning it there early in overtime and didn’t capitalize.”

 

DNK_6165.jpg

Pennridge goaltender Luke Stranick covers the puck. He finished with 34 saves. (Photo by Dara N. King)

North Penn 1 1 1 0—3

Pennridge 1 1 1 1—4

First-period goals: Nathan Oh (NP) from Jared Albano, 7:39; Eric Slater (MP) from Frankie Rota, 9:36;

Second-period goals: Michael Walker (P) from Matt Guinette, 1:03; Oh (NP) from Jake Nelson, 15:07

Third-period goals: Blake Stewart (P) from Walker and Rota, 10:43 (pp); Oh (NP) from Albano, 13:44

Overtime goal: Slater (P) from Guinette, 3:25

Shots: North Penn 37, Pennridge 21; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 17, Luke Stranick (P) 34

 

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. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but 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!

 

 

Flyers Cup Update

The fields for the various Flyers Cup tournaments have been cut in half, in the case of Class A more than that.

Here is what lies ahead. Note: All game times and sites are subject to change

 

Monday, March 11

Class AA Quarterfinals

 Downingtown East 5 Parkland 0

Pennridge 4 North Penn 3 OT              

 Conestoga 4 Haverford 1   

Downingtown West 3, Boyertown 1

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. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but 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!

 

Tuesday, March 12

Class A Semifinal Upper Bracket

 West Chester Rustin 7 West Chester East 2

Wednesday, March 13

Class AA Semifinal Lower Bracket

Downingtown West 8, Conestoga 5

Class A Semifinal Lower Bracket

 Hershey 6 Strath Haven 3

Girls Semifinal

8:45  2 West Chester Rustin 4, West Chester East 3 OT

 

Thursday, March 14

Class AAA Semifinals

LaSalle 5  Holy Ghost Prep 4

St. Joseph’s Prep 6  Malvern Prep 2

 

Class AA Upper Bracket Semifinal

D-town East vs Pennridge 5:15 @ Ice Line

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Sunday, March 17

Finals @Wells Fargo Center

9:45 Girls: West Chester Rustin vs. Unionville

2:00   Class A Hershey vs. West Chester Rustin

4:30 Class AA Downtown West vs. Downingtown East

7:00 Class AAA LaSalle vs. St. Josephs Prep

From the pages of history:

West Chester Rustin is seeking its 6th straight Class A Flyers Cup title. No team has ever done that in any classification since the tournament started in 1980. Malvern Prep won 5 straight Class AAA titles from 2001-05.

Unionville is a four-time defending girls’ champion and will be seeking its fifth straight title this year.

 

Saturday, March 23

State Championship Games at Robert Morris University  Game Times TBA

For more information on girls’ hockey go to: info@ladytpariots.org

If you’d like to know more about inline skating, roller hockey, and other roller skating opportunities contact the Inline309 rink

 

 

Pennridge Wins SHSHL Class AA title

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The combination of solid defense and quality goaltending will win a lot of hockey games, especially in the postseason. The Pennridge Rams utilized that formula to become champions Thursday night.

Luke Stranick stopped 35 shots and Matt Guinette and Michael Eissler provided the necessary scoring as the Rams downed Central Bucks South 2-0 in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA championship game at Hatfield Ice

It’s the second SHSHL title in history for the second-seeded Rams, who improved their record to 14-2-3. The top-seeded Titans (13-4-2) were attempting to capture an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL crown and their ninth in history.
After shutting down one of the most potent offenses in the area, the Rams were savoring their success.

“I’ve only gone here for two years, and it feels great to me” said junior defenseman Frankie Rota, who transferred from Quakertown prior to last season. “I can imagine the guys that have been going here for four, I imagine it feels incredible.”

The Rams outshot the Titans by just 40-35 but the efforts of the blueline corps limited South’s quality chances and made life easier for their goaltender.

“My defense played perfect,” Stranick said. “They did everything I could have asked for. They kept the shots to the outside, they kept the screens out of my way, they made it real easy.”

The Titans had the better of things early on until the pace picked up midway through the opening period. Guinette got the Rams on the board at the 8:18 mark of the first frame with a shot from midway between the tops of the two faceoff circles that beat South netminder Oscar Levin, who had a solid game between the pipes despite the defeat.

Pennridge’s second goal, which came 3:30 into the middle period, was the result of a picturesque individual effort by Eissler, who went up the middle and over the blue line before deking around a South defender and beating Moyer. That was all the scoring there was but that was all that was needed.

“Defensively, we gave up some chances,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, “but we did a real good job not giving up second-chance opportunities. Our defensemen blocked a ton of shots in this game and we swept everything up.

“(South) is a hard team to hold off for 51 minutes and we did.”

Notes:  The Rams won their first league crown in 2008 …Both teams will see action in the Flyers Cup tournament next Wednesday. The second-seeded Titans will face 15th-seed Downingtown West on Wednesday at Revolution Ice Gardens at 7:15. The fourth-seeded Rams will take on 13th seed Garnet Valley the same evening at Hatfield Ice at 8:40 … Shaun McGinty was not behind the Titans’ bench Thursday night because of work commitments. Assistant Tyler Skronski stepped in for him.

Pennridge  1 1 0—2

C.B. South 0 0 0—0

First-period goal: Matt Guinette (P) from Eric Slater, 8:18

Second-period goal: Michael Eissler (P) from Jeff Manto, 3:30

Shots: Pennridge 40, C.B. South 35; Saves: Luke Stranick 35 Oscar Levin (CBS) 33

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. We recently celebrated our 5th year at the shop but 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!

 

Pennridge 6, North Penn 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Truly great players step up when it matters. That’s the case in every sport and it was certainly the case when North Penn and Pennridge squared off Wednesday night in their Suburban High School Hockey League semifinal.

Michael Walker scored what proved to be the winning goal with 9:55 left in the third period and followed up by scoring into an empty net with 18 seconds to go to give the Rams a 6-4 win on a night when some of the SHSHL’s elite players showed the audience at Hatfield Ice why they have achieved that status.

Walker provided an assist to go with his two goals. Eric Slater, perhaps the premier sniper in the SHSHL’s Class AA division, helped the Rams’ cause with a goal and an assist while Luke Stranick was impressive in goal.

Meantime, Josh Albano was contributing three goals for the Knights while Nathan Oh was helping out with three assists.

As a result of all this, it was anyone’s game until the late going. With the game tied 4-4 the third-seeded Knights (11-4-3) lost Luke Van Why to a tripping penalty. It took Walker just 17 seconds to put the Rams (13-2-3) in front; he scored via a feed from Slater off a faceoff.

But Stranick knew he and his teammates couldn’t relax. “It definitely keeps me dialed in,” he said. “My defense does a really good job of keeping the pucks coming from the outside and when they do that, it makes it a lot easier for me and the team.”

Blake Stewart and Tommy Pichardo sported the Rams two goals to the good by the 5:18 mark of the first period but Albano answered back, scoring two goals in a span of 2 minutes, 9 seconds to tie the game.

“I thought that early on we struggled a little bit defensively,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “We started to settle down. I told them ‘The mark of a good team is when you do struggle and don’t have your ‘A’ game’ … The older guys made a play every single time we needed one.”

Freshman Aidan Boyle scored his first varsity goal to put Pennridge up 3-2 at the 3:02 mark of the second frame. Thomas Boyle answered for the Knights just 41 seconds later.

Slater put the Rams back in front when he scored with 39 seconds left in the period but Albano finished his hat trick at 5:19 of the third frame to set the stage for the conclusion.

“We knew they had a number of talented players up front,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “I don’t think you’re ever going to stop them, I think you just look to contain them. I thought we did a decent job of that but they’re still (dangerous).”

The win puts second-seeded Pennridge into Thursday’s championship game (6:50 at Hatfield Ice) against top-seed Central Bucks South which is seeking an unprecedented fifth straight SHSHL title.

Pennridge is seeking to claim its first title since 2008.

Notes: The semifinal featured 17-minute periods (instead of 16) and in ice cut after the second stanza, the same format that will be utilized for the Flyers Cup semifinals and finals … Four officials were on the ice.

North Penn 2 1 1—4

Pennridge 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Blake Stewart (P) from Matt Guinette, 3:14; Tommy Pichardo (P) from Guinette, 5:56; Josh Albano (NP) from Nathan Oh and Tommy Tuozzo, 10:06; Albano, (NP) from Tyler Greenstein and Oh (pp).

Second-period goals: Aidan Boyle (P) from Frankie Rota, 3:02; Thomas Boyle, (NP) from Oh, 3:44; Eric Slater (P) from Stewart, 16:39.

Third-period goals: Albano (NP) from Oh and Josh Kaufhold, 5;17 (pp); Michael Walker (P) from Slater, 7:05 (pp); Walker (P) unassisted, 16:42.

Shots: North Penn 32, Pennridge 35; Saves: Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 29, Luke Stranick (P) 28.

 

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