APAC Sets Playoff Dates

By Rick Woelfel

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has announced its playoff format for its inaugural season. All four teams will square off in the semifinal round on Monday, February 25 with the top two seeds, LaSalle and Malvern Prep, likely in that order, serving as hosts against either St. Joseph’s Prep or Holy Ghost Prep.

The championship game will be played on Wednesday, February 27 at the home rink of the highest-seeded finalist.

The league champion will be presented with the APAC Founders Trophy.

APAC Founders Trophy

The APAC tournament will serve as a prelude to the 40^th Flyers Cup tournament, which is expected to start on March 4 and conclude on March 17.

LaSalle 9, St. Joseph’s Prep 1

By Rick Woelfel

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— It was pretty much business as usual for LaSalle Friday evening. Sam Lipkin and Daniel Sambuco scored two goals apiece and five other players scored one goal each as the Explorers routed St. Joseph’s Prep 9-1 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Hatfield Ice.

The win assured that LaSalle (15-6, 6-0-1-0 in the APAC) can do no worse than tie for the regular-season title in the APAC’s inaugural season. The Explorers are six points ahead of second-place Malvern Prep with two conference games remaking for each team, including one against each other next Wednesday at Hatfield Ice.

Friday’s game was settled early on. LaSalle took command when Sambuco, Jan Olenginski, and Sam Lipkin scored first period goals to give their team a 3-0 lead. Lipkin’s goal came with a teammate in the penalty box.

The Explorers epitomized balance by scoring three goals in the second and third periods as well. At a point in the season where physical and mental fatigue become increasingly significant, Sambuco says he and his teammates have maintained their focus.

“We know what we want at the end,” the sophomore said. “Obviously, we want the state championship, so that kind of fuels us, every single game, every single day. It just keeps us driving and going and going becaus e window what that end goal will be.”

LaSalle extended its lead when Sambuco scored his second goal of the game 3:32 into the second frame to chase Hawk netminder Dan McGill, who was relieved by Troy Stefano. Lipkin made it 5-0 with a power-play effort at the 8:27 mark before Evan Cassidy scored what turned out to be St Joseph’s Prep’s only goal at 8:59. Nathan Benner scored for LaSalle before the period ended, a prelude to Max Levenberg, Bryan Evans, and Fabrizio Mazzarelli scoring goals in the third period.

William Gross in the LaSalle net didn’t have much to do; he was called on to make just 15 saves.

“Puck movement I think was really good tonight,” said LaSalle coach Wally Meuhlbronner. “We’re coming of a pretty tough stretch where we haven’t scored a ton of goals. We were pinned in our (defensive zone) a lot the past two games and it’s good to see them play the way they did tonight.”

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin saw his team fall to 6-14 overall and 1-6-1-0 in conference. The veteran coach was less upset with the result than he was his team’s seeming lack of emotional energy.

“I see good things out of these kids at times,” he said. “And for whatever reason, we go through these games where they just seem to not care.

“And to me, that’s the frustrating part. Once one goal is scored, or a second goal is scored, it’s almost like they give up. And so it’s very frustrating for a coach who puts in a lot of time and effort and practice with them to have them come out and not handle adversity well.”
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 1 0—1
LaSalle 3 3 3—9
First-period goals: Daniel Sambuco (L) from Michael Casey and Jan Olenginski, 5:43; Oleninski (L) unassisted, 6:15; Lipkin (L) from Casey and Olenginski, 15:24 (sh).
Second-period goals: Sambuco (L) from Lipkin, 3:32; Lipkin (L) from Fabrizio Mazzarelli and Sambuco, 8:27 (pp); Evan Cassidy (SJP) from Vincent Bogessi, 8:59;Nathan Benner (L) from Nolan Woudenberg, 12:48.
Third-period goals: Max Levenberg (L) from Ryan Walsh and Zach Baker; Bryan Evans (L) from Woudenberg and Ryan Ferry, 11:36; Mazzarelli (L) from Baker and Lipkin, 14:03.
Shots; St. Joseph’s Prep 16, LaSalle 43; Saves Dan McGill (SJP) 16 and Troy Stefano (SJP) 18, William Gross (L) 15.

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Making Its Mark

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has completed exactly two thirds of his inaugural season. LaSalle, Malvern Prep, Holy Ghost Prep, and St. Joseph’s Prep each have three conference games remaining, one each against each other.

APAC Commissioner Jim Britt expressed satisfaction with how the league has evolved. “It is a great start to what we hope is an ever-expanding and developing environment,” he said. “The kids are reacting well because of the support that the institutions, the school administrations, the high-quality coaching staffs that are involved.

“The kids are reacting and progressing as we’d hoped. It is a great environment to develop the students both through hockey and through the academic environment and it’s an exciting time for those programs. I’ve been very pleased with how well teams have been playing, the pace of the games, the skill quality, the fact that people are focused on playing the game right. You strip away some of the stuff that has marred (high-school hockey) in the past and it makes it a great experience for everyone involved. They’re very happy with it.”

Britt notes that a strong conference with a membership of schools committed to hockey is a major step forward for the sport.

“I think it’s important,” he said. I have been involved with high school hockey for over 20 years in a lot of different capacities. I have some very close friends who have given heart and soul, blood sweat and tears, to develop strong programs. I think what we’re doing here with the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference is the next step.

“I know coaches in various programs that are doing a bangup job in the Suburban League and the Intercounty League and (the APAC) takes it to the next step, it takes it to the next level of commitment by the institutions. And that’s important. It’s important at every level of these students’ development, that all of the adults are on the same page, all the adults are pulling for the right things, are trying to do the right things.”

In addition to facing each other three times each, the four APAC schools are all playing a group of four New Jersey institutions; Gloucester Catholic, St. Augustine, Princeton Day School, and the Hun School. Could the APAC expand?

Britt says the member schools are cautiously in that regard. “The approach is to basically take it one step at a time,” he said. The idea is to make sure that we’re doing it not just for the right way, but for the right reasons and that we don’t missing anything. That we’re not forgetting anything because of the way that we are structuring this.

“Having said that, we have had some discussions about the possibility of having other programs joining the conference.”

Batting weather complications, the SHSHL will conclude its league season on February 12. Playoff dates have yet to be announced.”

Wednesday January 30 Malvern Prep vs Holy Ghost Prep 7:00 at Wells Fargo Center

Friday, February 1 St. Joseph’s Prep at LaSalle 5:00 at Hatfield

Wednesday, February 6 Malvern Prep at Lasalle 4:00 at Hatfield

Holy Ghost Prep at St. Joseph’s Prep 4:30 at Class of 1923 Rink

Monday, February 11 LaSalle at Holy Ghost Prep 4:00 at Grundy

Tuesday, February 12 St. Joseph’s Prep at Malvern Prep, 3:55 at Ice Line

The most significant stretch of the high-school hockey season is straight ahead. The Suburban High School Hockey League and the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference are in the final weeks of the regular season.

Following that; the league playoffs and the 40^th Flyers Cup tournament. We’ll be following all the action here at Hockey Happenings and here’s your opportunity to be part of it all.

Contact us to promote your product or service here at Hockey Happenings right through the Flyers Cup and the Pennsylvania state championship.

Our e-mail is rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

APAC Standings. 1-24-19

Updated standings of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference as of January 24, 2019

Standings Won Lost OTW OTL PTS

LaSalle (13-5) 5 0 1 0 17

Malvern Prep (10-3) 4 2 0 0 12

St. Joseph’s Prep (6-12) 1 4 1 0 5

Holy Ghost Prep (5-9) 0 4 0 2 2

Each team receives: 3 points for a regulation win

2 points for an overtime win

1 point for an overtime loss

Malvern Prep 4, St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Nick Martino scored two goals and added two assists as Malvern Prep downed St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in an Atlantic Prep Collegiate Conference game Tuesday at Ice Line.

The Friars improved to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the APAC. The Hawks dropped to 5-10 and 2-4

Malvern Prep 2, St. Joseph’s Prep 1

PHILADELPHIA—It was hockey’s equivalent of a late-round knockout. Down by a goal and a man, Malvern Prep scored two shorthanded goals 74 seconds apart in the waning moments of the third period to score a stunning 2-1 win over St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Class of 1923 Rink.

Nick Martino scored the game-winning goal with 53 seconds remaining in regulation off a turnover the Hawks’ zone, beating Dan McGill with a forehander.

The comeback was, to say the least, improbable. Trailing 1-0 with 2:22 left in regulation, the Friars (8-3, 3-2 in the APAC) drew a penalty for having too many men on the ice. Up to that point the Hawks (5-9, 2-3) had had far the better of the third period and, skating on fresh ice, took a 1-0 lead on Brody Plouride’s goal with 13:01 remaking in regulation.

The Friars were skating uphill but they were unbowed. Martino tied the game with 2:07 remaining in regulation on a perfectly placed shot from the deep right wing that grazed the far post as it entered the net. But even that development gave no inkling as to what would happen from there.

Still on the power play, the Hawks coughed up the puck and one of the APAC’s premier snipers was there to take advantage.

“‘Never a doubt’ was our mindset,” Martino said. “After the time out was called (prior to the power play) Coach (Dave Dorman) was telling us ‘Take your chances but don’t overcommit.’ Two chances showed up and thankfully, we capitalized.”

Martino was in perfect position to capitalize on the turnover. “I saw the guy come up the ice,” he said. “I got a good angle on him. The puck needed up on my stick and I was just thinking, ‘Shoot.'”

Dorman said the result was a testament to his team’s resolve.”The this I’m most proud about is, through the highs and the lows, we managed them well and we stayed even keel,” he said.

“That was the most important thing, because at any point in time, that game could have gone either way.”

St. Joseph’s Prep coach David Giacomin regarded the defeat philosophically. “Games like that happen,” he said. “I thought we played as great hockey game for the entire game, and unfortunately, kids are kids. We wanted them to stay back on the power play and your instinct is to go forward and unfortunately, you give a very talented kid some ice and he buried that first one and the turnover costs on the second (goal).”

Notes—The Hawks had a 33-27 edge in shots. Dan Dougherty got the win in goal for the Friars The two teams will have a rematch Tuesday afternoon at Ice Line.

By Rick Woelfel
Malvern Prep 0 0 2—2
St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1
Third-period goals: Brody Plouride (SJP) from Ryan Newby, 2:59; Nick Martino (MP) from Jack Constabile, 13:53 (sh); Martino (MP) unassisted, 13:53 (sh).
Shots: Malvern Prep 27, St. Joseph’s Prep 33; Saves: Dan Dougherty (MP) 32, Dan McGill (SJP 25

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Standings as of 9:30 a.m. 1-3-19

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference W L OTW OTL Pts

LaSalle (12-3) 5 0 1 0 17

Malvern Prep (6-3) 2 2 0 0 6

St. Joseph’s Prep (5-6) 1 2 1 0 5

Holy Ghost Prep (4-7) 0 4 0 2 2

Teams receive three points for a regulation win, two points for a win in an overtime or shootout, one point for a loss in overtime or shootout

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Gloucester Catholic at Holy Ghost Prep

St. Joseph’s Prep at St. Augustine

Hawks Go 1-2 on DC Trip

St. Joseph’s Prep has split its first two games at the National Capital Hockey Tournament; the Purple Pucks Tournament in Washington, D.C.

The Hawks best Archbishop Spalding from suburban Baltimore, 5-0 on Friday and lost a Saturday morning game to St. Ignatius from Chicago, 2-0.

They lost to Bishop O’ Connell of Arlington, Va. 6-2 in their second game Saturday to finish the tournament with a 1-2 record.

St. Joseph’s Prep Preparing For Annual Holiday Trip

The St. Joseph’s Prep Hawks will be spending part of the week between Christmas and New Year’s on the ice, and having an educational experience along with it.

The occasion is the 26^th annual Purple Pucks Tournament sponsored by Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. The tournament features eight Jesuit schools, including St. John’s from the District of Columbia, St. Ignatius from Chicago,

Loyola Academy from suburban Chicago, the Hun School from New Jersey, Archbishop Spalding from suburban Baltimore and Bishop O’ Connell from Arlington, Virginia in addition to the Hawks and the host Eagles.

The eight teams are divided into two pools of four. Each team will play three games over two days on Friday, December 28 and Saturday the 29^th. The semifinals and finals will be played on Sunday, December 30.

St. Joseph’s coach David Giacomin says the tournament is annual fixture for the Haws. “we take two teams down there,” he said, “so our other team gets to play too.

“It’s about them bonding, staying in the hotel together, being able to go eat together, and hopefully this momentum will build throughout the rest of the season.”

There is also an educational/cultural element to the trp. There will be time for sightseeing in our nation’s capital and Giacomin and his players plan to take advantage.

“It’s about education as well as the hockey,” Giacomin said. “So, every year we try to find something to take the boys to do, whether it’s go to Congress, whether it’s go to any of the monuments, or go see the museums. We try to figure out what’s the best thing for them to do and hopefully come up with something creative for them to have a good time and learn something.”

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Standings

Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference W L OTW OTL Pts

LaSalle (9-2) 5 0 0 0 15

&Malvern Prep (5-2) 2 2 0 0 6

St. Joseph’s Prep (4-4) 1 2 1 0 5

Holy Ghost Prep (4-6) 0 4 0 1 1

& overall record incomplete

Includes games through 12-16-18

3 points for regulation win, 2 points for overtime/shootout win, 1 point for overtime/shootout loss