Holy Ghost Prep 2 Hun School 1

There was an abundance of energy in the air at Grundy Arena Friday night. In the stands, fans were celebrating Holy Ghost Prep’s senior night. On the ice, the Firebirds and The Hun School were leaving nothing to chance.

It was the hosts who prevailed. Chase Logue’s goal 16 seconds into overtime have his side a 2-1 win. Logue weaved his way through traffic from center ice and beat Hun School’s senior goaltender Blake Echternacht who went home with the loss on his record despite being the best player on the ice for most if not all, of the evening.

The result keeps the Firebirds (12-2 overall) atop the APAC standings with a perfect 6-0 conference record. Hun School, which is in the midst of playing five games in eight day, dropped to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the APAC.

Logue describe his game winner.

“I’d been looking for, {an opening} all night,” he said. “I found a lane, trusted my ability, and went in. The guys in the room (Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Gavaghan got the assists) helped me out a lot.

“{Logue} is a phenomenal player,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie. “I kind of had a conversation with him at the end of last year that coming into this year, he could be the best player in the league. I think he’s started that way, and he’s proven himself.

Holy Ghost Prep dominated the first half of the opening period. The Raiders didn’t record a shot on goal until nine-and-a-half minutes had elapsed. But they recorded the period’s only goal, a power-play effort which came off the stick of Luca Jean with 6:27 remaining in the period. The Firebirds’ Anthony Valeriote was serving a sentence for cross checking at the time.

The Firebirds drew even with 51 seconds left in the middle period when Bill Harmar made a run down the left wing, cut to the net, and beat Echternacht with a backhander.

As the teams lined up for the ensuing faceoff, Valeriote and the Raiders’ Anders van Raalte engaged. The encounter ended with van Raalte being accessed a major penalty for spearing plus a game misconduct. As a result, the Firebirds started the third period with an extended power play but were unable to capitalize on the advantage and the game remained deadlocked through the balance of regulation. Echternacht and the defense in front of him were the primary reasons why.

“I knew when {Nathaniel Welsh} was taking over Hun School they were going to be really structured defensively,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach John Ritchie, “and they were going to be tough and physical. They’ve got a lot of seniors over there

“Hats off to them. They probably played us the tightest of the teams we’ve played so far this year.

Ritchie praised Echternacht’s work in the Raider net.

“I’ve known him since he was 10 or 11 years old,” he said. “I knew he was going to be formidable in net.”

Welsh has been watching Echternacht’s work all season.

“He stood on his head tonight, all night,” he said.

Welsh praised his team’s effort was frustrated his team’s seven penalties, which resulted in five Firebird power plays. The Raiders had four.

“We played hard both ways tonight,” he said. “And we played a lot of time on the PK. Which is unfortunate. I would have liked a little more five on five, or five on four our way.”

Ice chips—The two teams will have a rematch on Thursday afternoon at Ice Land … Ten Holy Ghost Prep seniors were recognized prior to game time. John Bottgof, one of the 10, got the win in goal.

Hun School 1 0 0 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 0 1—2

First period goal: Luca Jean (HS) from Andrew Darst, 10:33 (pp).

Second-period goal: Billy Harmar HGP unassisted, 16:09

Overtime goal: Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez and Jack Gavaghan, :16

Shots: Hun School 27, Holy Ghost Prep 43; Saves: Blake Echternacht (HS) 41, John Botthof 26

Knights Embark on Cancer Fight

It was a night when the final score truly didn’t matter. There were four points at stake when North Penn and Souderton squared off on Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice but the focus of the evening was the Knights’ Hockey Fights Cancer effort. The Knights took the ice on Wednesday wearing white sweaters trimmed in purple to commemorate the occasion, which was part of a multipronged effort to promote and raise funds for the fight against cancer.

“We got some contributions from some local businesses, said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. We got their logos put on the backs of the jerseys and were able to get these jerseys made

The North Penn junior varsity will play a Hockey Stops Cancer game of its own on Friday against Father Judge (8:50 at Hatfield) and two North Penn middle-school level teams will take the ice on Sunday against separate opponents.

North Penn assistant coach Frank Stumpo spearheaded the effort. Stumpo is also the North Penn Hockey Club treasurer; his son was diagnosed with cancer in 2024

“It’s incredible,” he said. “We talked about doing this for a couple years. My son was diagnosed with cancer a year-and-a-half ago at age 37. He’s come through it and is very healthy and that was kind of the impetus for us.

“So many of our families, not just on the hockey team but in the community have been affected by cancer. It’s a terrible disease.

“This is an opportunity, and the kids got behind it as well, to give back. We’re trying to play hockey and we’re trying to win hockey games. But we’re developing young men an we’re trying to teach them that’s there’s more to life than just what goes on on the ice so it’s a good opportunity and a wonderful learning experience for them as well.”

North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis saw the event as a teaching moment for his players.

“I think it’s always good to give back,” he said, “and kind of make these kids aware, and the rest of our families aware; everybody’s going to be impacted to some degree by somebody battling cancer or lost somebody to cancer.

“I think if we can do our part to help raise a little bit more awareness, it goes a long way, and hopefully this is something other high-school teams in the area want to participate in as well so we can make it something bigger over the next couple years.”

APAC Update 1-6-26

Won Lost OTW OTL SHO SHOL Pts

Holy Ghost Prep (11-2) 5 0 0 0 0 0 15

Malvern Prep (4-5-2) 2 2 1 0 0 0 5

St. Joseph’s Prep (11-4) 1 2 0 1 0 0 4

Hun School (9-4) 1 1 1 1 0 0 3

La Salle (3-10) 0 4 0 0 0 0 0

Scoring All Competitions Available GP G A Pts

Michael Washlick SJP 10 6 7 13

Pax Hoishik MP 8 4 7 11

Jake Weingartner MP 8 5 5 10

Cole Gargon SJP 10 4 5 9

Lucas Gonalez HGP 9 7 2 9

Bradan Fisher SJP 7 3 5 8

Chase Logue HGP 9 5 3 8

Anthony Valeriote HGP 9 3 5 8

Lucas Helms HGP 9 1 6 7

Chris Marshall HGP 10 3 4 7

Goaltending Min. 200 Minutes GP Min Shots GA GAA Save %

Matt Salita HGP 6 306 131 4 0.67 .969

Declan Geary HGP 8 342 185 9 1.34 .951

John Botthof HGP 4 202 140 8 2.02 .943

Ryan Caterino MP 6 313 200 16 2.61 .920

SHSHL Update 1-5-26

National Division W L T OTW OTL SOW SOL Pts

Council Rock South (11-1) 8 1 0 – – – – 32

North Penn (10-0) 7 0 0 – – – – 28

Central Bucks South (7-3) 6 2 0 – – – 24

Pennsbury (7-3) 5 3 0 – – – – 20

Central Bucks East (4-5) 4 6 0 1 – – – 15

Souderton (3-5) 3 4 0 1 1 – – 12

Pennridge (3-4-1) 3 4 0 – – 2 – – 14

Neshaminy (2-7) 2 6 0 1 – – – 7

Central Bucks West (0-11) 0 10 0 – – – – 0

American Division W L T OTW OTL SHW SOL PTS

Hatboro-Horsham (11-1) 10 1 0 – – – – 40

Plym. Whitemarsh (7-1) 7 1 0 – – – – 28

Wissahickon (3-5) 3 5 0 1 – – – 11

Springfield (2-7) 2 6 0 – – – – 8

Abington (0-8) 0 8 0 – 1 – – 1

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Scoring All League Scheduled Games

National Division GP G A Pts

Jake Weiner CRS 11 32 12 44

Shane Gleisner Pb 10 26 10 36

Max Ryon Sou. 8 16 13 29

Samuel Norton NP 9 10 13 23

Chris Silvotti NP 10 10 12 22

Jackson Kelly Soud 8 11 10 21

Jordan Sarne CRS 10 7 14 21

Landon Bishop Pr 7 11 9 20

Dominic Gibson 9 10 10 20

Shane Hicks Pb 9 7 12 19

American Division GP G A Pts

Vincent Graziani HH 12 22 23 45

Nate Nemchinov HH 10 18 17 35

Bill Moffa HH 12 11 16 27

Daniel Guller PW 8 7 20 27

Luca Staffieri HH 11 13 13 26

Reid Rochestie HH 12 7 12 19

Blake Ambler PW 7 7 11 18

Aiden North HH 12 5 12 19

Grayson Quinn Spr. 9 13 3 16

St. Joseph’s Prep Set for Purple Puck Tournament

The National Capital Hockey Tournament, more familiarly known as the Purple Puck Tournament, is a longstanding holiday tradition.

Now in its 31^st year the tournament is hosted by Gonzaga Prep and brings some of the scholastic and prep school teams to the Washington, D.C. area each year. This year’s event begins on Saturday, December 27 and runs through Monday, December 29.

For St. Joseph’s Prep, the Purple Puck event is a regular fixture on the schedule. The Hawks have had considerable success there; they’ve won championships in two of the last three seasons. Senior Ben Kurson is the Hawks’ captain.

“The Purple Puck Tournament is very competitive. Teams come from all over the country and test our team every year. It is always a challenge, but I am very confident in our group this year. “

Kurson has fond memories from the Purple Puck Tournament; he played on championship-winning teams as a freshman and sophomore

“I remember really looking up to the upperclassmen,” he said, “seeing how they played for each other, and how they treated the younger players. I hope as a senior, in my last Purple Puck Tournament, I can similarly do this for our team.”
Kurson says the experience of being on the road as a group for a long weekend builds team cohesiveness.

“This tournament greatly helps to develop team chemistry. Eating meals together, traveling to the games together, and briefly living together all contribute to working well on the ice. Also, our team has a tradition of doing Secret Santa at this tournament. This has always been my favorite off ice activity, and is always very funny to see what people get for each other.

St. Joseph’s Prep coach Charlie Van Kula says the weekend offers his team a lot of benefits, including testing it in a tournament setting.

“The round robin is only three game, but you do have to perform well to make it to the championship rounds,” he said. “Regardless of what’s on the line, it’s a unique situation, learning how to play {in a tournament setting}.

“That’s one aspect, but I think equally as important is the time together as a group.”

In addition to the Hawks’ varsity, one of their junior varsity teams will also be part of the tournament and several sub-varsity players will be on the trip even though they may not dress for games.

“I think it’s important for all of us to be together as a group,” Van Kula said. “Especially with the nature of our sport, it’s so rare to have even one individual team all together at once but certainly to draw the whole program together is a valuable eperience.

Kurson says the Hawks find out a lot about themselves over the course of the weekend. ”I think as a team we learn a lot. When we play so many games in such a short period of time, it gives us the ability to tweak something and directly implement it in the same day. In comparison, we usually play one game a week, so we have to wait a whole week to change what we learned. “

• The Hawks will not be the only APAC team in this year’s field. The Hun School will also be part of the event. The other three conference teams will also be involved in tournaments this weekend. La Salle will travel to Providence for a four-team event involving Christian Brothers-affiliated institutions while host Malvern Prep and Holy Ghost Prep will take part in the Friars Faceoff

Nemchinov Making a Big Impact at H-H

After a season of great success, one that included a division championship and a Flyers Cup victory, Hatboro-Horsham is picking up where it left off.

Heading into the Christmas break, The Hatters sit atop the SHSHL’s American Division with a 10-1 divisional record (11-1 overall).

Last year’s version of the Hatters won 12 games, captured the division tile, and won a Flyers Cup game for the first time in school history which only whetted their appetite for more.

Senior forward Nate Nemchinov summed up his team’s approach.

“We always play with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We play to win, we don’t take anything got granted, and we play every game like a playoff game.”

Nemchinov scored for goals Friday night as the Hatters overwhelmed Wissahickon 13-3 at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. It’s the fifth time this season one of their game has been shortened due to the 10-goal rule.

Nemchinov spoke to the importance of the players staying focused in one-sided games.

“Our coach (Shane Smith) I great at rotating the lines, keeping us in the game and making sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.”

Nemchinov has 18 goals and 17 assists so far this season for 35 points. He’s second in the division in scoring behind teammate Vincent Graziani (20-21—41). He speaks to the importance of the veterans on the roster helping the younger plyers feel at ease.

“We make them comfortable at practice,” he said. “We give them tips. We’re always letting them know how they can improve. We play a team game and give them ice time. They play as much as the veterans do.”

Nemchinov notes how the team has evolved since the start of the season.

“In the beginning of the year, we were playing a little bit selfish at times,” he said, “and we were getting ahead of ourselves in {one-sided games.} But, we’ve learned to move the puck and it’s going to help us a lot when we play more competitive games.”

Nemchinov himself has been on skates as long has he can remember.

“On my first birthday there was somebody who played hockey there,” he said, “and my dad started playing. He got me {into hockey} and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Last year marked the second time Hatboro-Horsham has won an SHSHL title, the first came in 2018.

The Hatters were one of the founding members of the SHSHL in 1973-74. The club played its games at the old Wintersport rink in Willow Grove, often late on Friday nights.

Nemchinov and his teammates respect those who came before them.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We carry on the legacy. We know how hard those guys worked and we want to work just as hard, if not harder.”

PW 4 Abington 1

It wasn’t a stylish performance. But Plymouth Whitemarsh did enough Thursday night to get across the finish line.

Cooper Kanze scored two goals as the Colonials bested a scrappy Abington team 4-1 in a SHSHL American Division test at Hatfield Ice. The Colonials improved to 7-1 overall and in the division. They trail first-place Hatboro-Horsham by eight points as of Thursday night but also have two games in hand; the two teams have split two meetings against each other.

But the Colonials looked sluggish throughout Thursday night’s affair and Kanze, who is his team’ leading goal scorer with 12, did not mince words.

“Two goals helped,” the sophomore said, “but overall, our whole team needs to play better. We know that. We expect more from each other. Everyone expects more from us.”

Kanze opened the scoring with 4:37 left in the opening period but the best player on the ice was Abington goaltender Matt Evangelist, who made 14 saves in the first frame.

That gave the Galloping Ghosts (0-9, 0-9) an opening to tie the game, which they did when Joseph Widmeier scored in a breakaway 1:54 into the second period.

Morgan Hulitt put the Colonials in front with 3:23 left in the middle period before Kanze and John Zawislak added goals in the third.

While the result will be listed in the records as a decisive, the opinions of some witnesses differed, notably that of Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti.

“Not our best game,” he said. “We know we can play better. I think it’s tough to go in {the locker room} and be upset after a win but I think every guy in this locker room know we can play much better than we showed today.”

Forti stressed the importance of his players staying focused.

“I think focus is the biggest thing,” he said. “We keep talking about it, but we can’t keep having the same conversations over and over, we need to a change.

“I thought our start was okay but we started losing focus throughout the game. we need to stay locked in for three full periods.”

At the other end of the building, Abington coach Ken Brzozowski got three periods worth of effort from the Galloping Ghosts.

“We talked about limiting our mistakes,” he said, “and things we wanted to do. To play three full periods of hockey and not worry about the score.

“We talked about playing as a unit offensively and defensively. Not two on defense, three on offense. We talked about ‘Five offense and five defense and it kind of translated a little it tonight.”

Abington has scored just nine goals all season and four of their nine games have been shortened due to the 10-goal rule. But Brzozowski says his team’s lack of success has not diminished its resolve.

“This team has not quit,” he said. “They have not put their heads down. Every single one of then (there are 21 players on the roster) comes to practice and works hard. Every single one of them comes to the games.

“I just need what we’re doing in practice to translate to the games.”

Abington 0 1 0—1

PW 1 1 2—4

First-period goal: Cooper Kanze (PW) unassisted, 12:23

Second-period goals: Joseph Widmeier (A) unassisted, 1:54; Morgan Hulitt (PW) from Liam Kelly, 13:37

Third-period goals: Kanze (PW) from Dan Guller, 2:20; John Zawislak (PW) fom Hulitt, 14:23

Shots: Abington 7, PW 41

Saves: Matt Evangelist (A) 34, Braydon Campbell (PW) 6

SHSHL Update 12-17-25

National Division W L T OTW OTL SOW SOL Pts

Council Rock South (10-1) 8 1 0 – – – – 32

North Penn (8-0) 6 0 0 – – – – 24

Central Bucks South (6-3) 5 2 0 – – – – 20

Pennsbury (6-3) 4 3 0 – – – – 16

Central Bucks East (4-5) 4 5 0 1 – – – 15

Souderton (3-3) 3 3 0 1 1 – – 12

Pennridge (2-4-1) 2 4 0 – – 2 – – 10

Neshaminy (2-6) 2 5 0 1 – – – 7

Central Bucks West (0-7) 0 8 0 – – – – 0

American Division W L T OTW OTL SHW SOL PTS

Hatboro-Horsham (9-1) 8 1 0 – – – – 32

Plym. Whitemarsh (5-1) 6 1 0 – – – – 24

Springfield (2-6) 2 5 0 – – – 8

Wissahickon (3-4) 3 4 0 1 – – – 11

Abington (0-8) 0 7 0 – 1 – – 1

Scoring

National Division GP G A Pts

Jake Weiner CRS 10 29 12 41

Shane Gleisner Pb 9 22 10 32

Max Ryon Sou. 5 11 9 20

Shane Hicks Pb 8 7 11 18

Jordan Sarne CRS 9 7 11 18

Chris Silvotti NP 8 9 9 18

Landon Bishop Pr 6 9 7 18

James Rush Pr 8 12 4 16

Dominic Gibson 8 9 6 15

Samuel Norton NP 7 7 8 15

American Division GP G A Pts

Vincent Graziani HH 10 19 17 36

Daniel Guller PW 7 7 18 25

Nate Nemchinov HH 8 11 13 24

Bill Moffa HH 10 8 13 21

Luca Staffieri HH 9 10 9 19

Blake Ambler PW 6 7 11 18

Grayson Quinn Spr. 8 13 3 16

North Penn Hockey Gears Up to Fight Cancer

Join the North Penn Ice Hockey Association as they take the ice to fight cancer.

North Penn will play four (4) games in January to support the American Cancer Society and Hockey Fights Cancer.

Varsity will suit up on Wednesday, January 7^th vs Souderton at 7:20 PM
Junior Varsity will take on Father Judge on Friday, January 9^th at 8:50 PM
Middle School AAA will battle the CB West Bucks on Sunday, January 11^th at 7:50 PM
Middle School A will face off against Quakertown, also on Sunday, January 11^th at 6:25PM
All games will be at Hatfield Ice

Donations can be made directly to the American Cancer Society at: https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/Northpennhockey

This is a great opportunity for North Penn to give back to the community. Hockey Fights Cancer is an initiative aimed at raising awareness and funds for cancer research and support of those affected by cancer. North Penn looks to make this an annual event.

“As an organization, we always strive to be one of the premier high school ice hockey programs, not only with our performance on the ice but some of the things we do within the community,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis. “So far this year, we have support our local veterans, we have organized a leaf pick up for some of the elderly in our community, and next week 12/15 we are delivering toys to those less fortunate at the North Penn Valley Boys and Girls Club. We are excited in January for these Cancer Awareness Games.”

Assistant Coach and Treasurer Frank Stumpo adds “I have been involved with North Penn Ice Hockey for over 25 years from my kids playing to now serving as a coach and a volunteer within the organization. We always look to teach these players some life lessons that are more important than the game of hockey at times. Cancer has most likely impacted all of us at some point in our life and I hope that we are able to raise some money for research and awareness through this game on January 7th.”

PW 7 Springfield 2

They got off to a slow start. But for Plymouth Whitemarsh it became business as usual soon enough. The Colonials overcame a 1-0 first-period deficit and rolled to a 7-2 win over Springfield in a SHSHL American Division matchup at Hatfield Ice.

The winners improved to 6-1 overall and in the division; their only loss came to Hatboro-Horsham, a team Plymouth Whitemarsh is battling for division supremacy.

The Colonials’ big guns had big nights. Blake Ambler scored two goals and added three assists had a four-point night, providing two goals and two assists.

But it took the Colonials some time to get started. Springfield (2-6, 2-5 in the division) got on the scoreboard just 2:21 into the first period on a goal from Lincoln Coleman and the Spartans maintained the lead through the end of the opening frame.

The Colonials woke up in the middle period. Ambler tied the game after just 42 seconds when he tipped in Carson Wooldridge’s shot from the right point and Luke Smith tied the game at the 6:06 mark. Morgan Hulitt and Guller added additional goals two minutes apart late in the period to put their side up 4-1 after 34 minutes.

“It was definitely a slow start,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Vince Forti. “That’s something we’re trying to work on but we stepped it up in the end and responded well.”

The Colonials continued to apply pressure early in the third period. Ambler and Guller scored goals and with 11:39 left in the third period the Colonials had a 6-1 advantage.

By that point the Spartans, who had just 12 skaters available seemingly exhausted their energy reserves although Kellen Warren added a goal down the stretch.

“We started off playing hard,” said Springfield coach Don Quinn. “We ran out of gas. We’ve got 12 skaters and one player hurt so it’s tough to compete from start to finish, especially against a team that just keeps coming,

“PW hustled from start to finish. You’ve got to match that energy or you give up seven goals.”

Forti notes that having a deep roster gives him a lot of flexibility.

“We have the ability to roll three lines if everyone is playing well,” he said, “and if we need to shore things up, we can go with two lines if we need to or find a new rotation to really motivate the guys.

Guller, the Colonials’ captain, note how the team has evolved from the start of the season.

“I think we’ve evolved tremendously,” he said. “We have a lot of good freshmen coming up this year, for example Carson Wooldridge an Ethan Peskin, two new guys we added to the bench and they’ve made the defensive four a lot stronger.”

Guller takes his role as a leader seriously.

“I’ve been part of this team for four years,” he said. “Throughout the years, I’ve been treated with respect by the upperclassmen so I know it’s the right thing to do the same with our underclassmen.”

Springfield 1 0 1—2

PW 0 4 3—7

First-period goal: Lincoln Coleman (S) from Grayson Quinn, 2:21

Second-period goals: Blake Ambler (PW) from Carson Wooldridge and Morgan Hulitt, :42; Luke Smith (PW) from Jack Condon, 6:06; Hulitt (PW) from Daniel Guller and Ambler, 14:23 (pp); Guller (PW) from Ambler, 16:37

Third-period goals: Ambler (PW) from Guller, 1:10; Guller (PW) from Ambler. 5:21 (sh); Condon (PW) from John Zawslak, 13:45; Kellen Warren (S) from Trent Gardner, 14:06

Shots: Springfield 24, Plymouth Whitemarsh 41; Saves: Emmett Kline (S) 34, Lucas Bennett 22