Quakertown 8, William Tennent 5

WARWICK—A new hockey program does not achieve maturity overnight. The process takes time and there are likely to be growing pains along the way. Quakertown is in its third season now in the SHSHL and progress the Panthers have made is readily apparent.

Melanie Pezzano and Anthony Pagliei scored two goals each as Quakertown built leads of 6-0 and 7-2 before going on to an 8-5 win over William Tennent Wednesday night at Revolution Ice Gardens.

The win lifts Quakertown to 4-3 in the SHSHL’s American Division and 4-5 overall.

Head coach Keith Krem took a moment to reflect on the progress has team has made over the course of its existence.

“We’re a much better balanced team than we have been in years past,” he said, “and playing a little bit better away from the puck, which has helped tremendously.”

Pezzano, a senior who skated at left wing on her team’s top line, has played a significant role in her team’s evolution.

“I think we got a good foundation from the last couple years,” she said. “I know we weren’t the best, but we really put in the work this summer and at the beginning of the year. I think we’re a really good group, where we are right now.”

Quakertown got off to a fast start. Brandon McNally and Anthony Pagliei scored goals to put their side up 2-0 8:55 into the opening period. William Shaw and Pezzano added goals in the second frame before Lucas Cunnane and Pezzano extended Quakertown’s lead in the third.

Frank Rosenberry got William Tennent (0-8, 0-5) on the board with back-to-back goals to make it a 6-2 game at the 7:15 mark of the final period.

At that point, the floodgates opened. A total of nine goals were scored in the third period, five of them over the last 9:45 of regulation.

Tennent coach Vince Rosica lamented his team’s sluggish start.

“It’s hard to win hockey games with 11 skaters, he said, “and it’s a lot harder to win hockey games when you only play 10 minutes of the game.

“I’ll always give my players credit for stepping on the ice very week knowing they’re half the roster size of (many of their opponents) but at the end of the day we need to find ways to compete all three periods. From the coaches to the players, all of us have to find ways to do so.”

Pezzano had a pair of assists to go with her two goals. McNally also had a four-point night. Andrew Metz scored two of Tennent’s goals.

Quakertown 2 2 4—8

William Tennent 0 0 5—5

First-period goals: Brandon McNally (Q) from William Shaw and Melanie Pezzano, 3:06; Anthony Pagliei (Q) from McNally and Pezzano, 8:55 (pp);

Second-period goals: Shaw (Q) unassisted, 2:45; Pezzano (Q) from McNally and Shaw

Third-period goals: Lucas Cunnane (Q) from Connor Elmore and Randy Rhodomoyer, 4:01; Pezzano (Q) from Elmore 5:00; Frank Rosenberry (WT) unassisted, 5:26; Rosenberry (WT) from Nate Silverman and Tre Dyer, 7:15 (pp); Jack Dilberto (Q) from McNally, 9:00 (sh); Andrew Metz (WT) from Silverman and Gavin Loughlin, 13:03 (sh); Metz (WT) from Loughlin, 14:05; Pagliei (Q) unassisted, 14:19 (pp); Quinn Morena (WT) from Brennan Corcoran, 15:18

Shots: Quakertown 43, William Tennent 29; Saves: Matt Krem (Q) 24. Thomas Lomas (WT) 35

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Rosica Keeping the Fires Burning at William Tennent

Hockey has a long history at William Tennent High. The Panthers first joined the Suburban High School Hockey League for the 1975-76 season and won the SHSHL title the next year. An additional title followed in 1979 before Tennent joined the short-lived Northern Scholastic Hockey League for the 1985-86 campaign

Two years later the Panthers won the Class AA state title while skating under the NSHL banner; the following year they claimed the Class AAA Flyers Cup. They rejoined the SHSHL for the 1989-90 season and lost to Council Rock in the championship series before going on to win the league championship in 1992 and the Class AA crown in 2006.

Tennent has endured some lean years of late but first-year head coach Vince Rosica appreciates his players’ enthusiasm. Rosica skated for the Panthers himself; as a senior, he played for long-time head coach Nick D’Aurizio. He served as an assistant coach last year before taking over the program this fall when D’Aurizio retired after 11 seasons behind the bench.

“Nick just wanted somebody to take over the program who obviously was part of the organization,” Rosica said, “had played for him, and I think most importantly really cared.”
This year’s version of the Panthers is dealing with a lack of numbers; the roster includes just 12 skaters and two goaltenders. Even in the SHSHL’s American (Class A Division) that leaves the team shorthanded. Heading into this week, Tennent is winless in seven starts; they’re scheduled to face Quakertown on Wednesday.

From the start, Rosica’s focus has been on improvement and player development.

“I told the kids from the beginning ’Look, we’re not going to be the best team this year, but all I want is for you guys to improve and develop, and work hard,’” he said. “That’s the most important thing. I don’t care if we lose by three goals, if we lose by 10 (as Tennent did, to Abington, in its last pre-holiday start). As long as the guys are working, showing me that they’re listening to me, that they’re giving me the effort, that’s all I can ask for. If that comes along with wins, so be it.

“As long as they know that, that’s our mentality. We come in with a game plan with the numbers we have.”

Rosica says the veterans on the roster have been positive role models.

“At any level it’s important for your older guys to maintain a sense of composure and not go off the rails when you’re losing every game,” he said, “It’s important.

“I think (defenseman) Gavin Loughlin is a good example. He stays composed. He wants to win but he’ll get a little too eager sometimes and get frustrated by the score but I think he does a very good job.”
Tom Lomas (the Panthers’ veteran goaltender) is very quiet and reserved as it is, so, he’s always calm but I think for the most part our seniors do very well with that. I think they’re starting to understand the position that we’re in with the amount of numbers that we have that it’s going to be a battle and that we’ve all got to stick together, which is the most important thing.”

Wissahickon 7, William Tennent 5

HATFIELD—Bryan Garry stepped up Wednesday night when his team needed him to do just that. Garry scored two goals six second apart in the third period and those goals proved decisive in Wissahickon’s 7-5 win over William Tennent in a SHSHL American Division game at Hatfield Ice.

Wednesday’s game was the second and last meeting of the regular season between the Trojans (4-0 overall and in the division) and the Panthers (1-2). The first meeting, on January 13, saw the Trojans roll to an 11-1 win. Wednesday’s game was something entirely different, which came as no surprise to Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington.

“(Tennent) came to play,” he said. “I warned (his team) before the game that ‘You’re not going to see the same team that you played.’”

Tennent rallied from a 3-0 second-period deficit to force a 4-4 standoff with 10 minutes left in regulation when Garry, who had already scored twice to that point, found his extra gear.

It took the senior 11 seconds to win a faceoff and score directly off that faceoff. It took him six additional seconds to win the subsequent faceoff and score again to give his team a two-goal lead.

Garry, who is also Wissahickon’s captain, said his team needed a lift. “We were just not playing as well as I thought we should have,” he said. “We were letting up a couple goals, so I kind of switched gears and decided that I was going to try to give it my all and see what I could do, and it worked out.”

Bryan Mesaro scored his second goal of the game for Tennent with 7:07 remaining to make it a 6-5 game before Will Hussa cashed in the Trojans’ insurance policy with 1:02 left.

For all Garry accomplished, the best player on the ice might have been Tennent goaltender Tom Lomas, who finished his night’s work with 36 saves. He did his best work in the first period, allowing the Panthers to go into the second period down just 1-0 despite being outshot 17-7 in the first frame.

“Tom played I think his best game of his career tonight,” said Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio. “He’s had some really good games, but he’s been great this year. That first period, we’re down 3 or 4-0 on a normal night. He’s the reason we were in that game the whole time.

The Trojans finished with a 43-22 edge in shots.

Garry also had two assists. In four games, he has scored 18 goals and added six assists for 24 points.

William Tennent 0 2 3—5

Wissahickon 1 3 3—7

First-period goals: A.J. Pounds from Bryan Garry and David Glazer, 3:49.

Second-period goals: Garry unassisted, :08; Glazer from Gary, 5:40; Jagger Azvolinski (WT) from Justin Carrelli, 8:09; Matt Castan (WT) from Carrelli and Gavin Loughlin, 10:56; Garry from Pounds, 14:38, (pp).

Third-period goals: Carrelli (WT) unassisted, 4:51; Bryan Mesaro (WT) unassisted, 6:00; Garry from Pounds, 6:11; Garry from Pounds, 6:17; Mesaro from Nate Silberman, 7:07 (pp); Will Hussa unassisted, 14:58.

Shots: William Tennent 22, Wissahickon 43; Saves: Tom Loms (WT) 36, Matt Bonnani 17.

William Tennent 11, Quakertown 2

WARMINSTER—William Tennent is skating in new surroundings this season. The Panthers have shifted from the Continental to the American Division of the Suburban High School Hockey League for 2021.

On Wednesday night, they looked very much at home in their new enviornment. Frank Rosenberry scored four goals and assisted on another as the Panthers sped past Quakertown 11-2 at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.

Like Tennent (1-1), Quakertown (0-1-0-1) switched divisions this season.

Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio was impressed with the way his troops responded after a season-opening 10-goal loss to Wissahickon one week ago.

“I think the jitters were there last week,” he said, “playing a new team last week. It’s a different season, a different situation.

“We didn’t come ready to play last week. When the puck dropped tonight, we looked like we were ready to go.”

The game stayed close well into the second period. Tennent’s Matthew Castan and Quakertown’s Jack Dilberto traded goals in the first frame before Rosenberry gave Tennent the lead when he scored off a scramble in front of the net with 45 seconds left in the period.

Rosenberry scored his second goal of the game 2:08 into the middle period. That was a prelude to his team breaking the game open with three additional goals in a span of two minutes, 30 seconds. Bryan Mesaro scored the first goal of the flurry before Rosenberry added his third and fourth goals of the evening.

Quakertown coach Keith Krem noted that turnovers caused his team difficulties. “Turnovers and pinches,” he said. “We’ve got to be more defensively sound and more conservative on the back end.

Krem said some of his team’s miscues were the result of poor decision making. “Especially when we got down a couple goals,” he said. “We tended to start forcing some things and just made some risker decisions. (Tennent) was pretty sound in just getting pucks in behind us.”

Castan joined Rosenberry as a multiple-goal scorer for Tennent. He contributed two, along with two assists.

D’Aurizio shuffled his lines after the loss to Wissahickon and his formula produced some impressive results.

“We mixed the lines up a lot since last week,” he said, “Monday we worked on two new line combinations and I think these combinations actually clicked. That’s what it’s all about, tweaking the lineup to find what’s going to fit.”

Notes: Tennent had a 43-24 edge in shots. Thomas Lomas got the win between the pipes. His best work came on back-to-back shots from close range not quite midway through the third period.

Quakertown 1 0 1—2

William Tennent 2 5 4—11

First-period goals: Matthew Castan (WT) from Nate Silberman and Gavin Loughlin, 8:09; Jack Dilberto (Q) from William Wilson, 10:27; Frank Rosenberry (WT) from Silberman, 15:15.

Second-period goals: Rosenberry (WT) from Castan, 2:08; Bryan Mesaro (WT) unassisted, 7:17; Rosenberry (WT) from Justin Carrelli, 9:05 (pp); Rosenberry from Casran and David Parkinson, 9:47; Casrfan (WT) from Jagger Azvolinski, 12:37.

Third-period goals: Carelli (WT) unassisted, 5:39; Azvolinski (WT) from Zach Devor and Walt Wolaniuk, 6:49; Devor (WT) unassisted, 11:33; Maxwell Jallboot (Q) from Anthony Pagliei, 14:29; Carelli (WT) from Rosenberry, 15:48.

Shots: Quakertown 24, William Tennent 43; Saves: Austin Sroudt (Q) 32, Thomas Lomas (WT) 22

North Penn 12, William Tennent 2

WARWICK—If there is a single word or phrase that would best describe North Penn’s performance Wednesday night it would be workmanlike. The Knights did a lot of things well against William Tennent. They moved the puck well in the offensive zone, worked hard inside their own blue line, and supported a goaltender making his first varsity start.
The result was a 12-2 win that kept the Knights unbeaten in Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA league play (5-2) overall. Josh Kaufhold scored five goals and assisted on two others and Tyler Greenstein scored one goal and provided six assists before the game was called with 6:57 remaining in the third period.

The Knights score two power-play goals and added another while shorthanded. Kaufhold was pleased with the way he and his teammates moved the puck.

“Hopefully I’ll move the puck and get everyone involved,” he said. “Obviously, we don’t want everyone just doing it by themselves, so it’s good to include everyone. “

The Knights used two goals from Kaufhold and goals from Greenstein and Jeremy Porubski to take a 4-0 lead at the 11:53 mark of the first period and were in full control thereafter.

North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis was pleased his team maintained its focus. “We continued to play for the entire game all the way to the very end,” he said. “That’s what we wanted to do. We had a similar game last week against Abington (an 11-1 win) and one tonight where I said to the guys ‘From start to finish, we’ve got to play to the very end. Whether it’s a 3-2 game or a game that ends early, that’s what we’ve got to do.’”

Justin Carrilelli scored for Tennent (3-6, 1-5) with 2:17 left in the first period and then again 57 seconds into the second to make it a 4-2 game. But North Penn responded with eight unanswered goals before the contest was halted.

The scoreline should in no way diminish the work of Tennent goaltender Thomas Lomas. The sophomore saw 50 shots in 41 minutes and 3 seconds of play and turned aside 38 of them. Many of his saves were difficult, several were nothing short of spectacular.

“He battled,” said Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio. “We’re young. With that comes defensive deficiencies. We gave up (50) shots. For a sophomore to take that kind of onslaught; they were all quality chances. He played really well.

At the other end of the ice, North Penn junior, John Boyles made his first varsity appearance in goal and stopped eight of 10 shots.

“He came in and stopped the puck,” Vaitis said. “He did the things that we needed him to do and it was one of those things where all we needed him to do as make the saves that we would want him to make. He didn’t need to make any spectacular saves. I told all the guys in front of him that they had to elevate their games and help support him in his first start.”

North Penn 4 6 2—12

William Tennent 1 1 0—2

First-period goals: Jeremy Porubski (NP) from Ryan Cunningham and Zachery Kline, 5:51; Josh Kaufhold (NP) from Tony Tuozzo, 8:52; Tuozzo (NP) from Tyler Greenstein and Thomas Boyle, 9:33; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein, 11:53 (pp); Justin Carrilelli (WT) unassisted, 13:43.

Second-period goals: Carrilelli (WT) from Mason McKeever and Matthew Castan, :57; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein and Tuozzo, 2:22; Kaufhold (NP) from Greenstein, 3:29 (sh) Boyle (NP) from Kaufhold and Greenstein, 5:58 (pp); Boyle (NP) from Luke Van Why and Cunningham, 10:38 (pp); Greenstein (NP) from Kaufhold, 13:46; Cline (NP) from Porubski, 15:19.

Third-period goals: Kaufhold (NP) from Van Why and Tuozzo, 1:50; Cline (NP) from Van Why, 9:03.

Game called at 9:03 of the third period.

Shots: North Penn 50, William Tennent 10; Saves: John Boyles (NP) 8, Thomas Lomas (WT) 38.

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William Tennent 4, Council Rock North 3

WARWICK—Persistence and resolve paid off for William Tennent Wednesday night. Down by two goals entering the third period, the Panthers rallied for a 4-3 win over Council Rock North in. Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA encounter at Revolution Ice Gardens.

Tom Hartenstein’s goal with 52 seconds left in regulation capped a three-goal third frame as the Panthers squared their league record at 1-1 (3-2 overall).

Tennent’s resurgence came after coach Nick D’Aurizio gave his troops a talking to after the second period.

‘We challenged the guys and they responded,” he said. “That’s what being a high-school coach is all about, or just a coach in general. Challenging guys when you’re not getting the results that you want and challenging guys to be better than the status quo.”

Hartenstein’s goal came off a deflection in front of the North net; he deposited the puck over the left shoulder of North netminder Rex Goldberg.

”I think this win was one of (our) most important wins,” the senior said. “This was a team very similar to ours and they’re in our division. We really needed that to get ahead of them.”

Council Rick North (1-5, 0-4) took a 3-1 lead after two periods on goals from Wyatt Pasch, Colin Kiefer, and Vlad Litvinov. Kiefer and Litvinov both scored on second-period power play; the Indians needed just 20 seconds of power play time to score the two goals. Anthony Catalo got Tennent on the board with a goal in the first period.

Goldberg meanwhile was magnificent in goal. He made 24 saves over the first two periods and finished the 48-minute game with 41 saves.

“He did a heck of a job tonight said North assistant coach Mike Epstein. We were outshot two to one (actually 45-25) but yet we were in the game until the last 30 seconds of the game.”

Tennent started its comeback when Matthew Castan scored 5:50 into the third period. Zach Devor tied the game at the 11:49 mark to set up the finale.

Through it all, Tennent goaltender Trey Smith was stalwart. So was the defense in front of him which limited the Indians to five shots in the third period.

Hartenstein had two assists to go with his game-winning goal. He says part of the Panthers’ early season success can be attributed to the youth in the lineup. “The fact that they don’t have a JV team, that they’re playing varsity right now is really impressive,” he said. “They’re really stepping it up. I’m proud of them, they’re doing their part.

Council Rock North 1 2 0—3

William Tennent 1 0 3—4

First-period goals: Wyatt Pasch (CRN) from Noah Epstein and Jude Hollister,m 6:57; Anthony Cattalo (WT) from Tom Hartenstein, 15:37.

Second-period goals: Colin Kiefer (CRN) from Vlad Litvinov and Epstein, 6:29 (pp); Litvinov (CRN) from Wilton Pasch, 13:20 (pp).

Third -period goals: Matt Castan (WT) from Jonathan Kreider, 5:50; Zach Devor (WT) from Hartenstein, 11;49; Hartenstein (WT) from Kreider, 15:08.

Shots: Council Rock 25, William Tennent 45; Saves: Rex Goldberg (CRN) 41, Wyatt Smith (WT) 22.

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Other scores

Hun School 6, La Salle 3

Princeton Day 6, St Joseph’s Prep 3

Pennridge 9, Upper Dublin 2,

C.B. South 10, Souderton 0

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William Tennent Beats Archbishop Wood on SHSHL Rivalry Night

Rivalries are one of the elements that make high-school hockey unique. Thanksgiving Eve in the Suburban High School Hockey League is Rivalry Night, featuring matchups between opponents who are intimately familiar with each other.

That was certainly the case at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center Wednesday night when William Tennent and Archbishop Wood shared the ice for a Suburban High School Hockey League non-league encounter. The rivalry between the two schools is one of the oldest in the area on the ice; the two teams have been matching up for going on four decades.

But this year’s matchup was unique; because of numbers issues Archbishop Wood was unable to field a pure team (one comprised 100 percent of Wood students) this season and joined forces with Upper Moreland, which is in the same situation. But on this night, they skated separately once more, although the Vikings added several Golden Bears to depth to their lineup. (Upper Moreland, which faced Hatboro-Horsham later Wednesday evening, added several Wood players to its lineup).

For the record, Tennent prevailed 10-1 in front of a large audience to pick up its first victory of the season after three losses. But the contest wasn’t not as one-sided as the scoreline might indicate.

The Vikings kept the game close for better than two periods thanks to the work of freshman goaltender Connor Redanauer, who faced 62 shots over the 48 minutes and stopped 52 of them. His work was nothing short of remarkable, particularly in the first period when Wood was outshot 19-3 but trailed just 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Bobby Markus and Bryan Mesaros.

“(Redanauer) played phenomenally,” said Wood coach Tom Walsh. He stood on his head that first period. He had a great game for us. Sixty-two shots. There’s not much more he could have done.”

Mason McKeever and Markus scored for Tennent in the second frame before Brayden Gyza, just off the pitch after a season with the Wood soccer team, gave the Vikings what proved to be their only goal.

David Gray responded for the Panthers to make it 5-1 with 5:48 left in the period before Tennent scored five goals in the third period in a span of 7:19.

Markus finished the evening with a hat trick plus an assist. Thomas Hartenstein scored twice.

The evening was less about the final score however and more about maintaining and nurturing a tradition.

“Rivalries and things like that are what keep this league going,” said Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio. “I think this is one of the oldest ones on the books I think.

“These are why people come out, why we sell tickets … That’s important to the well-being of our league. We want people to come out and see this hockey and support their peers.”

Notes—The two teams played for the Jim Bagdon Cup, named in honor of the former William Tennent club president who passed away in March of 2017 … The game featured just seven penalties, all minors … Hatboro-Horsham defeated Upper Moreland 10-0 in the second game of the doubleheader.

Archbishop Wood 0 1 0—1

William Tennent 2 3 5—10

Shots: Archbishop Wood 12, William Tennent 62

Other Thanksgiving Eve scores

Council Rock North vs. Council Rock South

Malvern Prep vs. Cardinal O’Hara

Neshaminy 2, Pennsbury 2

Holy Ghost Prep 8, Father Judge 3

Pennsbury 2, Neshaminy 2

Wissahickon 8, Upper Dublin 4

C.B. East 4, C.B. West 2

Upper Moreland 10, Hatboro-Horsham 0

Pennridge 7, Souderton 1

Truman 7, Abington 2

C.B. South 5, North Penn 2

Tennent’s D’Aurizio Sees the Big Picture of the AHA Showcase

William Tennent has dropped its first two games in the Athletes Helping Athletes hockey showcase.

The Panthers fell to Central Bucks East 7-4 Wednesday night at Revolution Ice Gardens after falling to Souderton 9-6 in their opener on October 5.

But for Tennent coach Nick D’Aurizio and his players, there is a lot more to the AHA event than what’s on the scoreboard.

Now in his ninth season behind the Tennent bench, D’Aurizio has been involved with the five-year old AHA showcase since its inception.

“We’re happy to be a part of it,” he said. “We were happy to be part of this in Year One and we were lucky enough to have some good teams early on; we won it two years in a row.”

D’Aurizio credits tournament organizer Eric Tye for helping the event reach its current level of prominence. “Eric does a great job,” he said. “The impact that (the showcase) has on the AHA and the Bucks County Admirals, it makes it all worth it. And it really gets the season off on a really good note. Everybody’s upbeat, everybody enjoys themselves, it’s a great month.”

D’Aurizio says the showcase has allowed his program and the players in it to connect with the special-needs athletes who benefit from AHA’s efforts. “Year after year, they love working with the AHA kids,” he said, “the Admirals kids.

“They always embrace the (honorary) captains that we have. It’s just awesome to see. Every year they ask me ‘Hey, when is the Admirals skate?’ It’s something they really look forward to and that makes you feel good as a coach because it means your kids are good people. They’re not only good players but they’re good people. And that’s what we try to breed here at Tennent and again, we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

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