SOUDERTON 12 C.B. WEST 0

Ryan Uchniat is having to do some juggling at Souderton this season. Two of the Big Red’s big guns, Drew Savarese and Matt Cross, have been lost for the season with injuries and Uchniat, who is back behind the Souderton bench after taking last season off, is working to fill the resultant holes in his lineup.

“They’re keep parts of our team,” he said. “They have been over the last couple years so it really hurts, not having them, but the team itself is trying to pick up. A lot of it comes down to doing everything by committee.

“We roll three defensemen for the most part. We’ve got so many players shifting in in different areas, and it helps. But, we certainly miss [Savarese and Cross}.”

The pieces of the puzzle all fit together for Souderton Thursday night in the course of a 12-0 win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice, including Alex Archer in goal.

Archer had never played organized hockey at any level before trying out for the Big Red last season. But the junior plays football and lacrosse. Uchniat said his arrival was “A very pleasant surprise.

“I was away from the team, but I heard a lot of good things about him. He picked things up very quickly and he has a very strong will and a strong desire, a strong work ethic.”

Archer transferred his skills from the practice rink to games this season. He became interested in perhaps being a goaltender after watching NHL netminders on TV.

“I just picked it up,” said. “I started playing and I really enjoyed it and stuck with it.”

When Archer first stepped on the ice he was a blank canvas a with no ingrained bad habits, which he says are things a bit less difficult.

“I think so,” he said. “I still have some stuff I don’t really know but I keep practicing and pick things up a little bit.”

Archer’s favorite NHL goaltender to watch is Connor Hellebuyck.

“I think he’s a great role model,” Archer said.

• Souderton took control of Thursday’s game by scoring five times in the game’s first 5:38. Max Ryon was tops on the scoresheet with six goals and three assists. Julia Kaminsky scored five goals a contributed two assists.

The win was the first for the Big Red in three starts.

Isaac Mays stared in goal for the Bucks and made 34 saves before being lifted midway through the second period.

‘Isaac is the backbone of our team,” said West coach Frank Blust. “He was last year and {West} had a tough season as well.

“He’s our backbone and will continue to be,”

C.B. West 0 0—0

Souderton 8 4—12

First-period goals: Julia Kaminski (S) from Jackson Kelly and Max Ryon,:26; Kaminski (S) from Kelly and Evan Siegler, 2:04; Ryon (S) from Kaminski, 2:27; Kaminski (S from Kelly and Caden O’Neill; 330; Ryon (S) from Cameron Fairweather, 5:38 (pp); Kelly (S) from Kaminski and Ryon, 7:55; Ryon (S) unassisted, 8:15; Ryon (S) from Kaminski, 14:24

Second-period goals: Ryon (S) from O’Neill, 12:09; Kaminski (S) from Kelly and Ryon, 12:19; Ryon (S) from Kelly, 13:00; Kaminski (S) from Kelly, 17:00

Shots: C.B. West 8, Souderton 49: Saves: Isaac Mays (CBW) 34, Joseph Carter (CBW) 3; Alex Archer (S) 8

Pennsbury 9 Souderton 7

It was an evening Dylan Nink is likely to remember for some time.

Nink, a senior and a first-year varsity player scored his first varsity goal for Pennsbury Thursday night. His shot from the left point with 4:54 remaining the third period turned out to be the winning goal as the Falcons bested Souderton 9-7 in a SHSHL National Division shootout at Grundy Arena.

The win was just the second for the Falcons in seven divisional games (2-6 overall). The teams combined for 13 goal in the last two periods including four in the last 7:02 of the third period. Nink said he and his teammates had one thought in mind.

“All we wanted to do was get pucks on net,” he said, “drive the middle and just score. We were in a little bit of a stretch where we’ve been losing [Pennsbury had lost four straight prior to Thursday night], we really needed this.”

Shane Gleisner put the Falcons on his back in the early going, scoring their first four goals. His fourth goal of the night gave his team a 4-3 lead just 1:20 into the second period.

By the time the period ended, the game was tied 5-5. Patrick Callahan had scored twice for Souderton (3-5, 3-4 in the division) and three other players had one goal each.

The game’ defining sequence commenced four-and-a-half minutes into the third period and the game tied 6-6 when the Big Red was presented with a seven-minute power play. The chain of events began when a referee raised his arm to signal a delayed penalty against Gleisner for cross checking. Before the whistle blew, Gleisner delivered a forearm blow to the head of a Souderton player and was given a five-minute major penalty for head contact.

Gleisner’s penalty time started with 12:27 left in regulation; for 25 seconds the Big Red had a five skater-to-three advantage. But more importantly, by rule, he served the major penalty first, so when Matthew Cross scored his second goal of the game for Souderton to give it the lead with 7:08 remaining, the power play concluded.

By that point however, the Big Red who had just 12 skaters available, were running out of energy and the Falcons, first Chris Saver, then Nink, then Sarver once more into an empty net, scored the game’s last three goals.

“We took too many penalties as a team” said Souderton coach Scott Ryon. “That put us down quite a bit in the second period, and ultimately caught up to our legs in the third.”

Ryon lamented not having gotten more out of the extended power play.

“We wanted to put a lot more in the net,” he said. “But, with a short bench plus the penalties, we were gassed even during the seven-minute power play.

Souderton 1 4 2—7

Pennsbury 2 3 4—9

First-period goals: Shane Gleisner (P) from Kevin DeRosa, :20; Patrick Callahan (S) from Cameron Fairweather and Jackson Kelly, 7:13 (pp); Gleisner (P) from Chris Sarver and Jason Fowler, 7:54

Second-period goals: Nick Smith (S) from Fairweather, :52; Gleisner (P) from DeRosa, 1:20; Fairweather (S) from Smith, 1:37; Gleisner (P). from Logan Weed and Shane Hicks, 2:31; Matt Cross (S) from Fairweather and Caden O’Neill, 10:35 (pp); Jacob. Sarver (P) from Chris Sarver and Connor Gray, 16:45; Callahan (S) from Fairweather and Cross, 16:52

Third-period goals: Hicks (P)) from Chris Sarver, :28; Fairweather (S) from Smith, 2:05; Cross (S) from Luca Ferretti, 9:58; Chris Sarver (P) from Brendan Milliken, 10:28; Dylan Nink (P) from Fowler and Jacob Sarver, 12:06; Chriss Sarver (P) from DeRosa and Jacob Sarver, 16:55 (en)

SHSHL Playoff Recap 2-21-24

C.B. South 6, Souderton 2

Aidan Linso scored two goals and four other players scored one goal each Wednesday night as the third-seeded Titans bested the sixth-seeded Big Red at Hatfield Ice to earn a place in the National Division semifinals.

Colin Mendham, D.J. Lindenmuth, Sean Cutter, and Ryan Frey all scored for South (13-7-1) which took command in the first period when Linso scored his two goals and Mendham scored in between.

Nathan Napolitano got the win in goal.

Nick Smith and Seth Grossman scored goals for Souderton (7-12).

“We won three periods,” said South coach Shaun McGinty.

Our D-zone play was much better tonight and needs to be as we move forward. We had steady goaltending and capitalized on opportunities. It was a solid effort from both teams and showed the depth of our league.”

The Titans will second-seeded Council Rock South next Wednesday in the semifinals.

Souderton 0 1 1—2

C.B. South 3 1 2—6

First-period goals: Aidan Linso (CBS) from Ryan Frey, :30; Colin Mendham (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 12:11; Linso (CBS) from Mendham, 14:41

Second-period goals: D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Joey Sobodorian, 11:00; Nick Smith (S) from Seth Grossman, 16:48

Third-period goals: Cutter (CBS) from Jeff Kvecher, 1:57; Frey (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 8:12; Grossman (S) from Snith and Max Ryon, 9:03

Shots: Souderton 30, C.B. South 42; Saves: Connor Paulus (S) 36, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 28

Bensalem 3, Abington 0

The second-seeded Owls (13-3) advanced to the American Division championship game with the win over the third-seeded Galloping Ghosts (6-10-1) in Wednesday night’s semifinal at Grundy Arena.

Lucas Gonzalez gave his team a 1-0 lead 5:17 into the opening period. He extended Bensalem’s lead when he scored his second goal of the night with 3:40 left in the third period. Alex Hood added a goal of his own with 16 seconds remaining.

An altercation following Hood’s goal and another following the final buzzer led to five players being accessed a total of 77 minutes in penalties.

Bensalem will face Plymouth Whitemarsh net Wednesday in the American Division finale.

Abington 0 0 0—0

Bensalem 1 0 2—3

First-period goal: Lucas Gonzalez (B) from Alex Hood, 5:17

Third-period goals: Gonzalez (B) from Cole Salayda and Hood, 12:40; Hood (B) unassisted (en)

Souderton 9 C.B. South 8 OT

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—Souderton and Central Bucks South had quite a shootout Thursday night. With SHSHL playoff positioning and possible Flyers Cup seedings in the mix, the Big Red and the Titans, both of whom were coming off losses 24 hours earlier, took the ice at Hatfield Ice with guns blazing.

What followed was a collection of 17 goals, 16 penalties and a result that posed some interesting questions about what the stretch run if the regular season will look like.

It was Souderton who prevailed in the end. Ben Fadden’s power-play goal 68 seconds into overtime gave the Big Red a 9-8 win in a game that reconfigured the SHSHL National Division’s landscape.

The win lifted Souderton to 6-8 on the season and strengthened its hold on the division’s sixth and final playoff spot.

Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat spoke to the significance of the result.

“It’s huge,” he said. “We lost a tough one {Wednesday to Central Bucks West]. We needed this.”

Fadden’s game winner, his second goal of the game, came while the Titans’ Sean Cutter was in the box serving a holding penalty.

“It was a big win,” Fadden said. “We had to have it, we needed it for the team.”

On only one occasion did either team hold more than a one goal lead. That moment came with 5:32 left in the second period when Seth Grossman completed a hat trick and in so doing gave Souderton a 5-3 advantage.

At that point, South coach Shaun McGinty made a goaltender change, lifting Nathan Napolitano in place of starter Dominic Varacallo.

Aidan Linso and D.J. Lindenmuth scored goals for South to tie the game with 2:35 left in the period and neither team led by more than a goal the rest of the way.

At evening’s end the scoresheet listed some impressive totals. Grossman paced Souderton with four goals and two assists while Maxwell Ryon scored two goals and contributed six assists.

D.J. Lindenmuth had a six-point night for the Titans (10-5-1, 10-4-1 in divisional play) on the strength of three goals and three assists. Aidan Linso added two goals and two assists while Jake Stepp contributed a goal and two assists.

The ramifications of Thursday’s result will likely reverberate for some time.

“This is big for us,” Uchniat said. ”It gives our guys some confidence that we can play with the upper-echelon teams. South is one of the top programs in the league and they have been for years.

“The team rallied tonight. We ran into some penalty trouble but our kill was on. Out goalie [Connor Paulus] played strong and gave us an opportunity to stay in it.”

McGinty said his team was impacted by having to spend much of the night in special-teams situations.

“Lots of penalties is just not our game on both sides,” he said. I don’t want to kill penalties. I want to be five on five; we’re a five-on-five team.

“But kudos to then, you’ve got to tip your hat. It’s a loss for us to take and learn from.”

Fadden believes Thursday’s win will help he and teammates set a tone for the balance of the season.

“Just through work ethic and going out and wanting to just take everything we can,” he said. “Every inch of ice. Every step we can possibly take to get past a team.”

Souderton 2 3 3 1—9

C.B. South 2 4 2 0—8

First-period goals: D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Aidan Linso, :49 (pp); Seth Grossman (S) from Nick Smith, 5:51 (pp); Grossman (S) from Max Ryon and Drew Savarese, 15:09; Lindenmuth (CBS) from Peter Herring, 16:44

Second-period goals: Ryan Frey (CBS) from Jake Stepp and Lindenmuth, :20; Savarese (S) from Ryon, 4:38; Ben Fadden (S) from Grossman and Ryon, 5:16; Grossman (S) from Ryon, 11:28; Linso (CBS) from Lindenmuth, 12:05 (pp); Lindenmuth (CBS) from Linso, 14:25 (sh); Linso from Stepp and Lindenmuth, 16:18 (pp)

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) from Ryon, :41 (pp); Ryon (S) from Savarese and Grossman, 1:14; Keith Waldron (CBS) from Jeff Kvetcher and Logan Good, 2:21; Stepp from Sean Cutter, 13:44; Ryon (S) from Smith, 14:24.

Overtime goal: Fadden (S) from Smith and Ryon, 1:08

Shots: Souderton 40, C.B. South 48 Saves: Connor Paulus (S) 40, Dominic Varacallo (CBS) 16 and Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 15

Souderton 10 C.R. North 9

Souderton and Council Rock North had quite a shootout Friday night. The two teams combined for 19 goals before the Big Red emerged a 10-9 winner at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

The Big Red (3-6 in the National Division) built a 5-2 first-period lead and never trailed but had to hang on down the stretch to withstand a four-goal third-period surge from the Indians (0-10).

Souderton used a pair of goals from Nick Smith and another from Max Ryon to build a 3-0 lead just 9:45 into the first period.

By the end of the second frame the Big Red had a 9-5 advantage but the Indians came storming back

“We popped in a couple [early goals] and had a little bit of a lead, said Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat, “but there were a couple really good players on their team. They took it to us a little bit.”

Drew Borden and Nick Hahn scored for goals for North three-and-a-half minutes apart to make it a two-goal game with12:18 still to play in regulation.

Matt Malanga scored what would prove to be Souderton’s winning goal with 6:42 left but North kept coming. A goal from Michael Booth made it a 10-8 game with 4:12 left before Ryan Keil scored his second goal of the game, a power-play effort with 40 seconds remaining, leaving the outcome in doubt.

“It was a back-and-forth game ,” Uchniat said. “We would get a couple, they would get a couple, and it was like that until the very end.

“They scored the power-play goal and get the score to 10-9 and they put a lot of pressure on us the last 40 seconds. I’m very happy that our team was able to lock it down at the very end.”

Smith topped his team in the scoring column with four goals and an assist. Ryon finished with a hat trick of hos own, contributing three goals and an assist. Matt Malanga authored two goals and Carmon Fairweather also scored.

Hahn paced North with three goals and an assist. Kiel had two assists to go with his two goals while Jackson Accardi added two goals and an assist.

“A couple of the players on their teams were really standouts,” Uchniat said.
Uchniat credited his young team for being able to prevail in a close game. “It’s good to see games like that and be able to get that positive outcome,” he said. It’s a strong building block. It’s a long season. We’ve hit the halfway point. We’ll use this break to regroup and hopefully have a stronger second half.”

Souderton 5 4 1—10

C.R. North 2 3 4—9

First-period goals: Nick Smith (S) unassisted, 2:33; Smith (S) from Jackson Kelly, 4:04; Maxwell Ryon (S) from Cameron Fairweather, 9:45; Nick Hahn (CRN) from Jackson Accardi, 10:06; Smith (S) from Matthew Cross, 12:38 (pp); Smith (S) unassisted,15:41; Accardi (CRN) from Ivan Bondra

Second-period goals: Hahn (CRN) from Ryan Keil, :55; Accardi (CRN) from Michael Booth and Keil, 3:52; Keil (CRN) from Hahn, 7:23 (pp) Ryon (S) from Caden O’Neill, 9:47; Ryon (S) from O’Neill, 10:15; Matt Malanga (S) from Smith and Ryon, 16:07 (pp); Fairweather (S) unassisted, 16:42 (pp)

Third-period goals: Drew Borden (CRN), 1:13; Hahn (CRN) unassisted, 4:42; Malanga (S) from Drew Savarese, 10:18; Booth (CRN) unassisted, 12:48; Keil (CRN) from Bondra, 16:20 (pp)

Shots: Souderton 34, C.R. North 29; Saves: Connor Paulus (S) 20; Michael Jacoby (CRN) 24

Souderton 9 Bensalem 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—For Seth Grossman, it was a night to remember. The Souderton senior tallied a career high six goals as the Big Red pulled away from Bensalem to record a 9-4 win Thursday Night in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter at Hatfield Ice.
It was the first win for Souderton (2-5-0-1) in four games and their biggest offensive output of the season.

“I think it was just the fact that we knew we were missing some of our top guys tonight,” Grossman said. “We had to step up and rose to the challenge and we delivered that. People had to step up and they knew it and they stepped up.”
All told, the Big Red was minus seven regulars for one reason or another but Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat pointed out that those who were on hand stepped up when they had to.

“I think tonight being shorthanded, everybody was focused on what we had to do,” he said. “We executed and played the style we wanted to, disciplined. We wanted to play strong defensively. And we got offense from that.”

The game was competitive for most of two periods. Bensalem (2-5), which had just nine players in uniform (several were absent), battled the Big Red to a 3-3 standoff late in the second frame. But Grossman scored his second goal of the night with 3:42 left in the period and Timmy Alexander added a goal of his own 35 seconds later and Souderton went on to dominate the third period.

More to the point, Grossman dominated the third period; he found the back of the net four times. Through eight games he’s collected 12 goals plus eight assists for 20 points

There were some bright spots for the Owls. Alex Hood scored two goals and assisted on another, giving him 14 goals and three assists on the season.

But by the third period he and his teammates didn’t have a lot of gas left in the tank.

“We’re used to a short bench,” said Bensalem coach Jordan Roth. “We had our chances for sure, but all around, we didn’t play together as a team.”
Roth notes that team’s lack of numbers increases the necessity of doing the little things well.

“We face adversity every game,” he said. “There are a lot teams in the league where there are tryouts. We’re fortunate enough to be in the league and have nine players that show up every day and give it their best.

Ice Chips—Alexander scored twice for the Big Red while Noah Connor got the win in goal, making 20 saves before being replaced by Connor Paulus late in the third period. One of his saves came on Hood’s penalty shot in the second period. Gonzalez made 42 saves in the Bensalem net.

Bensalem 2 1 1—4

Souderton 1 4 4—9

First-period goals: Liam O’Neill (S) from Jamie Avaria and Drew Savarese, 3:25; Alex Hood (B) unassisted, 7:53; Cole Salayda (B) from Danny Mackley, 13:55.

Second-period goals: Seth Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 6:51; Timmy Alexander (S) from Matt Malanga, 7:44 (pp); Matthew Rowan (B) from Hood and Mackely, 9:03; Grossman (S) from Malagna, 13:18; Alexander (S) unassisted, 13:53.

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) unassisted, 7:11; Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 7:47; Grossman (S) from Luca Ferretti and Liam O’Neill, 9:29; Grossman (S) from Caiden O’Neill and Liam O’Neill, 12:44; Hood (B) from Rowan and Salayda, 14:19.

Shoots: Bensalem 29, Souderton 51; Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 42, Noah Connor (S) 20 and Connor Paulus (S) 5

Souderton 6 C.B. West 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Souderton found out a lot about itself Thursday night. Coming off an emotional last-second loss 24 hours earlier, the Big Red responded with a solid effort in a 6-1 SHSHL National win over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice Arena.

It was Souderton’s first win in four tries while the Bucks dropped to 1-2. The result will not factor into the divisional standings as the two teams are scheduled to play again on January 25th.

But that mattered little to Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat, whose team came into the game thirsting for a win.

“I think they showed a lot of resiliency, he said. “They showed a lot of resiliency last night coming back in the third period.

“This team has a real positive attitude, they’ve a little bit of a giddy up. It’s fun to see, it’s fun to be a part of as well.”

Souderton’s top line had a big night. Nick Smith delivered a three-goal hat trick. Seth Grossman scored two goals and assisted on three others while Maxwell Ryon provided a goal and an assist.

Smith noted the win was especially satisfying after 4-3 loss to Council Rock North on Wednesday that saw the Big Red surrender the winning goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It felt good,” he said. “After a tough loss like that with two seconds left, it felt good to finally win.”

Smith made his presence felt early on, scoring twice to put his team up 2-0 just 7:45 into the opening period.

The Bucks got closer when Adam Ricci won a goal-mouth scramble to put the puck behind Big Red netminder Noah Connor during a power play at the 8:21 mark of the second period.

But Souderton put its resiliency on display when Ryon answered back at 10:26 before Smith completed his hat trick with exactly four minutes left in the period.

Grossman scored his two goals in the third frame.

The Big Red enjoyed a 42-21 advantage in shots. West goalkeeper Liam Rogers did some quality work between the pipes to keep his team in the game for most of the way.

Smith spoke to the speed and skill of the Big Red’s number-one line.”I think that’s our strong point,” he said. “The first line has a lot of skill.”

Smith believes that Thursday’s performance is a sign of things to come. Souderton has scored nine goals in its last two games after scoring just three in its first two games combined.

“I think we can win some games finally,” Smith said. “We’re starting to finally score and not scoring one goal a game. I think we can finally capitalize on some opportunities.”

C.B. West 0 1 0—1

Souderton 2 2 2—6

First-period goals: Nick Smith (S) from Seth Grossman and Caden O’Neill, 2:50; Smith from Maxwell Ryon, 7:45

Second-period goals: Adam Ricci (CBW) from Luke Tremmel, 8:21 (pp); Ryon (S) from Grossman, 10:26; Smith (S) from Grossman and Matt Malanga, 13:00

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) unassisted, 3:31; Grossman (S) unassisted, 8:00

Shots: C.B. West 21, Souderton 42; Saves: Liam Rogers (CBW) 36, Noah Connor (S) 20

C.R. North 4 Souderton 3

BRISTOL—The conclusion was dramatic, to say the least. Karson Grainey’s power-play goal with 2.4 seconds remaining in the third period was the decisive blow as Council Rock North edged Souderton 4-3 Wednesday night at Grundy Arena in a Suburban High School Hockey League National Division matchup.

The winning goal capped a late flurry that the Big Red (0-3, 0-1 in divisional play) score three times in the third period, including twice in a span of 14 seconds to tie the game with 50 seconds left in regulation, only to yield Grainey’s game winner, which came while Souderton’s Seth Grossman was sitting in the penalty box after drawing an elbowing penalty with 23 seconds remaining before overtime.

The win was the first for the Indians in four starts (1-1 in the division).

“I think it gives us a big energy boost,” Grainey said. “Especially going into our rivalry game next week (against Council Rock South next Wednesday). I think we’re moe confident.

“It wasn’t the most pretty win, but we’re more confident now, and we’ve just got to keep it rolling from here.”

Goals from Lucas Simmons and Michael Booth gave North a 2-0 lead before Jackson Accardi extended his team’s lead to 3-0 with 1:02 left in the second frame.

Grossman ended Ina Goldberg’s bid for a shutout 2:43 into the final period but North still looked to be in control as the clock wound down. When Maxwell Ryon scored to make it a one-goal game some eyebrows were raised but North still had time on its side with just 1:04 remaining in regulation. Grossman’s second goal of the night altered the landscape significantly but just 27 seconds later he was flagged for a no-doubt-about-it elbowing penalty to give North a power play.

Grainey’s goal came on a rebound off Simos’s original shot. The junior found the top right quadrant of the net after Souderton netminder Noah Connor made an initial save.

“I think what’s really fortunate is that is was a good learning opportunity for the kids about playing three periods 17 minutes all the way through” said North coach Greg McDonald. “They’re lucky to come out on top. So, hopefully it helps us down the road.

Meanwhile, Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat had a forum to address his team about the importance of killing penalties.

“I think that’s two weeks in a row where our penalty kill has come up short,” he said. “With (23) seconds left, we needed to really execute.”

Uchniat also spoke to the importance of staying out of the box altogether. “We’ve really got to be more disciplined as a team in general,” he said. “It starts with me, making sure we stay focused. That means focused on the simple things, playing solid hockey and playing within the whistles.”

Souderton 0 0 3—3

C.R. North 2 1 1—4

Pennsbury 12 Souderton 2

HATFIELD—Pennsbury entered the season as the defending SHSHL Class AA championship and accompanied by an assortment of expectations. The Falcons had an up-and-down first half of the campaign in part due to injuries. On Thursday night however, they were in fine form.

Brendan Macainsh scored three goals and assisted on another as the Falcons steamrolled Souderton 12-2 at Hatfield Ice in a Class AA game that was terminated with 3:26 left in the third period via the 10-goal mercy rule.

Pennsbury improved to 4-2-1 overall and 2-1 in divisional play. While that record may not raise eyebrows among their SHSHL foes, the level of Thursday night’s performance likely will. The Falcons launched 37 shots in 47 minutes and 34 seconds of playing time.

“I love to have a lot of shots,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “A lot of shots equals a lot of opportunities.

They’re really good at it. Kids love to score and it’s not too hard to get them to buy in on that.”

Macainsh echoed those sentiments. “When everything’s working, it’s always fun to play,” he said. “our defense was working tonight and our offense was on point. so, you can’t complain about much.”
The blitz began early. Macainsh put in a rebound of Shane Siegmund’s shot 3:10 into the first frame to give Pennsbury the lead and the Falcons pushed their advantage to 4-0 by period’s end on additional goals from Logan Doyle, Macainsh, and Reece Millman.

Carter Povazan got Souderton (5-5, 3-4) on the scoreboard 3:14 into the middle period but Siegmund and Evan Eisler quickly answered for the Falcons and even after Timothy Alexander scored Souderton’s second goal the outcome was never in doubt. The abbreviated third period was a mere formality.

“We got hit by a truck,” said Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat. “That Pennsbury team is very good.

“It took us a little bit to get our bearings. We had a tough time getting it out of our zone and they crashed our net with a lot of speed. We had problems playing man on down low; I think that’s where it started.

In addition to Macainsh’s four-point night, Siegmund contributed a goal and four assists.

Pennsbury 4 4 4—12

Souderton 0 2 0—2

First-period goals: Brendan Macainsh (P) from Shane Siegmund and Justin Marlin, 3:10; Logan Doyle (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 4:27; Macainsh (P) from Marlin and Siegmund, 10:37 (pp); Reece Millman (P) from Connor Coyne, 16:02

Second-period goals: Carter Povazan (S) from Sean Ryan, 3:14 (pp); Siegmund (P) from Marcus Roberts, 4:16; Evan Eisler (P) from Marlin, 5:41; Timothy Alexander (S) from Liam O’Neill, 12:47 (pp); Reese Picker (P) from Doyle, 14:21; Eisler (P) from Siegmund, 16:24

Third-period goals: Falkenstein (P) from Eisler, 10:39; Stephen Grosscup (P) from Macainsh, 11:07; Macainsh (P) from Coyne, 11:57; Colin Michalak (P) from Siegmound and Jason Fowler, 13:34.Game terminated with 3:26 remaining in the third period.
Shots: Souderton 12, Pennsbury 37; Saves: Noah Connor (S) 25, Aaron McDaniel (P) 10

Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals Back in the SHSHL Nest

A common saying in hockey circles is ‘A goaltender is a team’s last line of defense.’ Emmett Kepniss took that mindset to a new level Thursday night.

Kepniss is Upper Dublin’s starting and only goalkeeper. It was his presence alone that allowed the Flying Cardinals to face Souderton in what was their first official SHSHL game since the 2018-19 season.

The Big Red prevailed 7-2 in the non-conference matchup, but in a way, Kepniss was the most important player on the ice.

For two seasons, Upper Dublin was barred from SHSHL play because they were considered impure; the club had to look outside the its student population to find a goaltender. This season, Kepniss answered the call.

The senior has an athletic background; he was a two-way lineman in football and is a midfielder in lacrosse. But, despite being a lifelong hockey fan, he had never been on skates until a few weeks ago when he was approached by some of his fellow seniors who were on the hockey team.

“They were trying to get someone in the school,” Kepniss said. “My girlfriend’s dad runs the club, He approached me, I talked to him further, and now I’m here.

Prior to Thursday’s game, Kepniss had several practices plus two scrimmages to get a sense of what playing in goal is all about. On game night, he experienced live fire.

“It’s a lot faster,” he said. “You have to be quicker on your feet. In practice, there’s a little more leeway because it’s your team. But (Thursday’s game) counts so you kind of have to play your best hockey and give it your all really.”

Which Kepniss did. He had some early jitters and allowed three goals in the first period on seven shots but gradually grew more comfortable and made several quality stops later in the game. He finished the evening with 23 saves.

“I told the guys I was going to get nervous a little bit,” he said. “It was the first game but …. The guys told me ‘Don’t worry about it.”

Upper Dublin coach Anthony Richichi praised Kepniss’s effort. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Emmett as our goalie,” he said. “he showed up, completely volunteered, and, with limited practice time, has worked really hard.
“Obviously, he’s hot some work to do but we as a team, we need to understand our roles in supporting him.

Liam O’ Neill and Nick Smith each scored twice for Souderton

Souderton 3 2 2—7

Upper Dublin 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Liam O’ Neill (S) from Anthony Lanzilotti, 3:40; Jamie Avaria (S) unassisted, 7:01; Tim Alexander (S) unassisted, 9:33; Kevin McGinley (UD) from Gus Plat, 11:20

Second-period goals: O’Neill (S) unassisted, 5:58; Nick Smith (S) from Evan Thacker, 14:54 (pp)

Third-period goals: Alexander (S) unassisted, :25; Marco Morina (UD) from Louis Gamburg and Jonah Fisher, 3:40; Smith (S) 13:28.

Shots: Souderton 30, Upper Dublin 33; Saves: Liam Kelly (S) 31, Emmett Kepniss (UD) 23

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Opening Night for Upper Dublin and Souderton