Garnet Valley 10 WC Henderson 2

The blitz came in the late stages of the first period. Four goals in a span of 4 minutes, 19 seconds. When the sequence ended, Garnet Valley had control of the Class A Flyers Cup final. The Jaguars never let go, en route to a 10-2 win over West Chester Henderson Monday night at Ice Line.

The numbers that top-seeded Great Valley (22-2) compiled were impressive to say the least.

Nolan Stott scored three goals and won the Bobby Clarke Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Kevin Walton finished with three goals and two assists; he finished the tournament as its leading scorer with six goals and three assists. Aiden Delfin contributed three goals and an assist as Garnet Valley (22-2) rolled to its 13th consecutive win and into Saturday’s state championship game against Avonworth at 12:45 Saturday afternoon at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex..

“It’s absolutely an unreal feeling,” Stott said. “We’ve worked so hard this year and to win two cups this year (Garnet Valley also won the Central League title) is an unreal feeling.

“I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. I love these boys and I’m so glad I got to do it with them.”

The scoring blitz began with 5:45 remaining in the first frame when Delfin beat Matt Cieslukowski in the Warrior net with a shot from the vicinity of the right faceoff circle. Walton scored a shorthanded goal with 1:16 left in the period the road became more arduous for second-seeded Henderson (16-7) when Dylan Orr and Delfin scored goals nine seconds apart in the period’s final 27 seconds.

The Warriors never recovered. Jake Platz got Henderson on the scoreboard 3:44 into the middle period but the goals kept coming from Garnet Valley, specifically from Stott who scored three consecutive goals in the second period in a span of just under 10 minutes to power the Jaguars to a 7-1 advantage.

“It was a shock to the system at the end of the first period,” said Henderson coach Tom Aughey. “Two goals in nine seconds in the final 27 seconds of the period changed the game completely.”

Aughey said the Jaguars’ greatest asset was their speed.

“They transition the puck so quickly,” he said. “And when they get to the open spot, they’ve got shooters that cam put the puck in the net.”

The third period saw period saw Walton and Delfin complete their hat tricks. At the other end of the ice. Great Valley’s Garrett Stoops had as relaxing an evening as is possible for a goaltender. He stopped 26 of the 28 shots he saw.

“I definitely think I was focused the whole time,” he said, “no matter what the score was. I always told myself ‘0-0. No matter what.’”

Moments after the final horn, Stoops was experiencing the emotion of the moment.

“It definitely feels pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s something really special, but I knew this team had it in them. We lost two games all year and we 10-0’ed the team we lost to (Haverford) in the Central League championship. I knew we’d come out here hard.”

Garnet Valley goaltender Garrett Stoops makes a save Monday night (Martin Scott photo)

Ice chips: This marked the second Flyers Cup for Garnet Valley. The first came in 1998, also in Class A …Aughey reflected on what Henderson accomplished this season despite coming up short Monday night.

“These kids in our locker room are truly special to our school and to our club,” he said. “It’s been six-plus years since we’ve had a winning season. To make it to the finals of not only the Flyers Cup but also our league playoffs, is something great. The seniors left a mark on our club that we will take forward.”

• The All-Tournament Team included:

Nathan Stott Garnet Valley MVP

Kaden Longo Garnet Valley

Dylan Orr Garnet Valley

Jake Morrow Garnet Valley

Garrett Stoops Garnet Valley

Blake Platz West Chester Henderson

West Chester Henderson 0 1 1—2

Garnet Valley 4 3 3—10

First-period goals: Aiden Delfin (GV) from Kevin Walton and Garrett Stoops, 11:15; Walton (GV) unassisted, 15:44 (sh); Dylan Orr (GV) from Kaden Longo and A.J. Tenhuisen, 16:33; Delfin (GV) from Jake Robinson 16:42

Second-period goal: Jake Platz (WCH) from Declan Dowd and Andrew Denny, 3:44; Nolan Stott (GV) from Longo, 6:08; Stott (GV) from Longo, 13:25; Stott (GV) from Tenhuisen, 16:05

Third-period goals: Walton (GV) unassisted, 3:41 (pp); Walton (GV) from Robinson and Delfin, 5:54; Nick Denadi (WCH) from Cole Navazio, 11:38 (pp); Delfin (GV) from Walton and Robinson, 13:33 (pp)

Shots: WC Henderson 28, Garnet Valley 46; Saves: Matt Cieslukowski (WCH) 36, Garrett Stoops (GV) 26

WC Henderson 7 Hershey 4

When it mattered most, West Chester East found another gear. Leading 4-3 going into their third period of their Class A Flyers Cup semifinal against Hershey, the Warriors scored twice in a seven-minute span and went on to post a 7-4 win at Ice Line.

Second-seeded Henderson (16-6) will face top-seeded Garnet Valley in the Cup final Monday at Ice Line (time TBD). The Warriors previously won the Cup in 2007.

Andrew Denny led the scoring blitz for the Warriors scoring four goals. Three other players scored one goal each, among them Declan Herr, who also contributed a pair of assists. Hunter Haas and Nick DeNardi also chipped in two assists apiece. Haas wound up leaving the game early in the second period with an apparent lower-body injury.

Fans who favor an abundance of scoring got their wish early on; there were five goals scored in the first period. Denny staked his team to a 2-0 lead, his first goal coming 4:53 into the opening frame and his second not quite seven minutes later during a power play.

But the sixth-seeded Trojans (14-8-1), who took the ice as the defending Class A Flyers Cup and state champions, were quick to respond. Bryce Erwin and Lucas scored goals 90 seconds apart to tie the game, albeit briefly.

The Warriors retook the lead on Declan Herr’s goal with 48 seconds remaining in the opening period only to see Brady Cox tie the game for the second time with 8:09 left in the second frame.
Blake Platz, the Warriors’ senior captain, put his team ahead for the third time with just 14 seconds left in the middle period. As it turned out, his goal put his team in front for good.

Going into the third period, the game was still up for grabs but Denny altered that equation when he scored his third goal 31 seconds into the period. Anthony Barthol followed with a goal of his own at the 6:59 mark

“Coming out in the third period we pretty much put two up quick,” Platz said, “and then shut them down.”

Platz said he and his teammates stuck to fundamentals down the stretch after regaining the lead.

“The biggest thing in high-school hockey that I see is playing defensively sound, getting the puck out, and taking care of your D-zone,” he said. “Once that happens, if you’ve got pretty good forward lines, you can take care of the game.”

Henderson coach Tom Aughey felt the game was being played on even terms until the decisive third period.

“Coming out of the ice cut you could tell our boys really wanted it more,” he said. “They really wanted it more than anything else they could have right now.”

Hershey 2 1 1—4

WC Henderson 3 1 3—7

First-period goals: Andrew Denny (WCH) from Hunter Haas, 4:53; Denny from Haas, 11:47 (pp); Bryce Erwin (H) unassisted, 13:42; Tyler Lucas (H) from Cole Umberger, 15:12; Declan Herr (WCH) from Nick DeNardi, 16:12

Second-period goals: Brady Cox (H) from Umberger, 8:51; Blake Platz (WCH) from Miles Donnelly, 16:46

Third-Period goals: Andrew Denny (WCH) from Platz and DeNardi, :31; Anthony Barthol (WCH) from Herr, 6:59; Owen Hulays (H) from Erwin, 9:05; Denny (WCH) unassisted, 15:46 (sh), (en)

Shots: Hershey 24, WC Henderson 45; Saves: Alex Placeros ((H) 38, Matt Cieslukowski 20

Garnet Valley 5 WC Henderson 2

Garnet Valley made a statement Friday night in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. Nolan Stott scored two goal and assisted on a third as the Jaguars bested West Chester Henderson 5-2 in an ICSHL matchup at PNY Arena.

The Warriors and the Jaguars took the ice ranked one-two in the current set of Class A Flyers Cup rankings. The Jaguars were without leading scorer Kevin Walton, forward Owen Parker, and top blueliner Matt Abbonizio but their coach Stephane Charbonneau was pleased with the way the players that were available stepped up.

“I don’t schedule around my guys when they go away,” he said. “In believe in who I’ve got. It is what it is.

“I have a very good group of very mature players and they’re ready to step up to the plate.”

The goals started coming early. Kaden Longo got the Jaguars (13-2) on the scoreboard just 59 seconds after the opening faceoff. It took Hunter Haas four-and-a-half minutes to respond for the Warriors (12-3). Haas’s goal came during a power play with the Jaguars’ Nolan Stott in the box serving a roughing minor.

A.J. Tenhuisen, who assisted on Longo’s game-opening goal, got one of his own 5:59 into the middle period to give Garnet Valley a 2-1 lead. Stott made it a 3-1 game when he scored on a breakaway with 1:18 left in the period and then extended his team’s lead with another breakaway goal 3:53 into the third frame.

Andrew Denny drew the Warriors closer when he scored with 6:50 remaining in regulation but Henderson couldn’t get closer. Dylan Orr put the game on ice for the Jaguars when he scored into an empty net with 1:26 remaining.

Charbonneau was especially pleased with his team’s effort inside its own blue line.

“My goalie [Garrett Stoops] was good,” he said. “I told my defense it was the it was the best game of the season they’ve played so far.”

Henderson coach Tom Aughey saw Friday’s matchup as a battle of Titians.

“It was a tough battle between two top teams,” he said. “One team took advantage of their chances, one team did not.

“We played a little slow and laid back tonight. To win against Garnet Valley you need to be aggressive an aggressive all the time. Hopefully, we can earn our chance to see them again.”

• Garnet Valley has now won four straight and seven of its last eight. Henderson saw a three-game winning streak snapped.

Garnet Valley 1 2 2—5

WC Henderson 1 0 1—2

First-period goals: Kaden Longo (GV) from Nolan Stott and A.J. Tenhuisen, :59; Hunter Haas (H) from Declan Dowd 5:35 (pp)

Second-period goals: Tenhuisen (GV) from Ryan McGhee and Jeremy Hyczka, 11:01; Stott (GV) from Jake Morrow, 15:42

Third-period goals: Stott (GV) from Jake Robinson, 1:53; Andrew Denny (H) from John Gordon and Haas, 8:10; Dylan Orr (GV) unassisted, 15:34 (en)

Goaltenders: Garrett Stoops (GV), Matt Cieslukowski (H) (shot totals unavailable)

Henderson 8 Downingtown East 3

West Chester Henderson scored five unanswered goals in the third period on the way to an 8-3 win over Downingtown East Monday night in a battle of ICSHL Ches-Mont League unbeatens at Ice Line.

Blake Platz scored four goals for the Warriors, who improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Ches-Mont. Nick Denadai, Cole Navazio, Anthony Barthol, and Andrew Denny all scored single goals for Henderson, which broke the game open after taking a 3-2 lead into the third period. Hunter Haas added four assists.

Brody Matthews scored a goal for Downingtown East (4-1, 1-1) and added two assists.

“Tonight game was a great win for the Henderson program,” said Warrior coach Tom Aughey. The group played hard and stuck to the game plan.”

Denny gave the Warriors a quick lead just 21 seconds into the opening period. Anderson Frain tied the game for the Cougars at the 7:04 mark.

Platz scored a pair of goals 22 seconds apart early in the second frame to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. Christian McCuch scored for the Cougars to make it a one-goal game with 3:14 left in the period but Platz completed a hat trick 3:01 into the final period to spark a barrage of five goals in a span pf 11 minutes, 5 seconds. That spurt included Platz’s fourth goal of the night which came with 2:54 remaining.

Aughey said the key to the win was the play of goaltender Matthew Cieslukowski in the second period when the senior made seven of his 17 saves.

“The score was not indicative of the play within the game” Aughey said. “It was a big game from Matt. “He came up with plenty of big saves in the second to hold the lead for us.

“Platz and Haas took control in the third and we buried the opportunities we had.”

West Chester Henderson 1 2 5—8

Downingtown East 1 1 1—3

First-period goals: Andrew Denny (H) from Hunter Haas, :21; Anderson Frain (DE) from Christian McCuch and Brody Matthews, 7:04

Second-period goals: Blake Platz (H) from Declan Herr and Nicholas Denadai, 1:02; Platz (H) from Haas and Andrew Denny, 1:24; McCutch (DE) from Matthew Latch and Matthews, 13:46 (pp)

Third-period goal: Platz (H) from Haas and Denny, 3:01; Anthony Barthol (H) from Harrison Aller and Herr, 5:53; Colin Navazio (H) from Declan Dowd, 7:55; Denaldi (H) from Platz and Denny, 11:35 (pp); Platz (H) from Haas, 14:06; Matthews (DE) from Latch, 15:40

Shots: West Chester Henderson 28, Downingtown East 20; Saves: Matthew Cieslukowski (H) 17, Lucas Fleuty (DE) 20