Flyers Cup Results Monday, March 6

Class A First Round

Penncrest 4 Plymouth Whitemarsh 0

Lower Dauphin 5 vs Unionville 1 6:30

Marple Newtown 7 vs. WC Henderson 2

Hershey 4 Strath Haven 2

Council Rock North 7 Radnor 2

7. Garnet Valley vs. 10. Springfield-Delco 9:00 at Skatium

WC Rustin 10 Wissahickon 0

Class AA First Round

Conestoga 6 Downingtown West 3

Class AAA First Round

Holy Ghost Prep 10 Cardinal O’Hara 1 

Malvern Prep 6 Father Judge 2

  All Tickets for Flyers Cup games must be purchased online via the Box Office link on the Flyers Cup web site.  Make sure you select the correct game.  Flyers Cup Programs will also be sold only online.  The link for that is at the top of the Box Office.  You can pick your program up by showing your Program purchase ticket at any Flyers Cup venue.

Abington 6 Wissahickon 3

HATFIELD Township—With two of its leading scorers idled by injury, Abington needed a big game from its goaltender Thursday night, and it got it. Sam Nemec came up big as the Galloping Ghosts remained unbeaten with a 6-3 decision over Wissahickon in a SHSHL American Division encounter at Hatfield Ice.
Abington stands a perfect 8-0 on the season heading into the Christmas break and 7-0 in divisional play. The Galloping Ghosts’ last loss came to Council Rock South last March in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament.

On Thursday, they were without Pat Stelacio, the SHSHL’s leading scorer, and Matt Kramer, who between them have combined for 26 goals and 17 assists this season. That scenario raised expectations for Nemec and the senior delivered. Officially, he was credited with 37 saves against a Wissahickon team that came in averaging better than seven goals a game.

“It was definitely one of my busier games this year,” Nemec said, “and I felt I had it locked in as soon as the puck dropped. I felt good in warmups tonight.”

Like many goaltenders, Nemec prefers a lot of work.

“I would much rather be busy, rather than stay cold and face a couple shots a period,” he said. “I enjoy being busy down there.”

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski called Nemec’s effort the best game of his Abington career.

“I told him that was the best game I’d ever seen him play,” Brzozowski said. “I’ve been watching him play for four years and we asked him before the game; we said ‘We need one, we need a good game.’ And that’s what he did tonight, he gave us a great game.”

Jordan Heydt gave Abington a 1-0 lead 4:58 into the first period. Danny Hussa answered for Wissahickon (4-4, 4-3 in the division) five-and-a-half minutes later.

The Trojans took the lead when Hudson Honeycutt scored of a setup from Jack Raebiger 3:04 into the second period on a play that started when Raebiger made a rush up the left wing. But Sam Paulik tied the game for Abington with a power-play goal less than two minutes later before Heydt scored his second goal of the night to put the Galloping Ghosts back in front with 3:52 remaining in the period.

Ian Heydt extended Abington’s lead to 4-2 1:29 in to the third period but the Trojans weren’t finished. Will Hussa scored off a setup from Danny Hussa and it was a one-goal game once more with 5:14 still left in regulation. But Ian Heydt responded for Abington just 19 seconds later.

Devin Bates added an empty-net goal just before the final buzzer.

Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington said his team ran out of energy in the late going.

“We were gassed,” he said. “We had a short bench tonight. They were (fatigued) on the bench

“But, we just couldn’t get the puck over the goalie.”

Wissahickon 1 1 1—3

Abington 1 2 3—6

First-period goals: Jordan Heydt (A) unassisted, 4:58; Danny Hussa (W) from Nolan Pounds and Griffin Lynch, 10:31

Second-period goals: Hudson Honeycutt (W) from Lynch, 3:04; Sam Paulik (A) from Sean Doyle 4:56 (pp); Jordan Heydt (A) unassisted, 12:08

Third-period goals: Ian Heydt (A) from Sam Abramson, 1:29; Will Hussa (W) from Danny Hussa, 11:46; Ian Heydt (A) from Abramsom and Brian Murdoch, 12:05; De vin Bates (A) unassisted, 16:59 (en)

Shots: Wissahickon 39, Abington 18; Saves: Fletcher Lynch (W) 12, Sam Nemec (A) 36

Wissahickon 3 Quakertown 1

 HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—The goaltenders were the stars at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Goaltending duels are rare in the SHSH’s American Division, a division best known for offensive accomplishments.

On this occasion, Wissahickon’s Fletcher Lynch and Quakertown’ Matt Krem came up big. Lynch, a freshman, playing in goal for just the fourth time in his life, stopped 22 shots in his team’s 3-1 win while Krem, an experienced senior netminder, made 37 saves.

Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington, who saw his team advance to 3-1 on the year both overall and in the division, had expected to see more than four goals scored but credited both goaltenders.

“They were going head to head,” he said. “I’d pay money to watch it,”

John Kufner gave the Trojans the lead 6:33 into the first period on a shot off an offensive left-circle faceoff. It took Brandon McNally just 50 seconds to respond for the Panthers (3-1, 2-1 in the division).

For most of the rest of the evening, Lynch and Krem were in charge with Krem was particularly busy in the Panther net.

“We’ve had a good stretch of goaltending here at Quakertown said Krem’s coach and father, Keith Krem. “It’s kind of been the one thing we’ve always had to rely on in games.

“Their guy, I give him a lot of credit. I know he’s new to the position. For him to play over the 90 percent (save percentage) is a huge stride for him.”

By the start of the third period both teams were starting to feel the impact of having just nine skaters each available.

The Trojans took the lead for good when Will Hussa beat Krem off a setup from Griffin Lynch 5:33 into the final session. The goal came just five seconds after the Panthers’ Cole Stemmer was sent to the box for slashing.

Like his coach, Hussa expected more scoring over the course of the evening.

“It definitely surprised us,” he said. “We’re used to scoring a lot of goals but you’ve just got to do what you have to do to win.”

Danny Hussa gave his team insurance with a goal with 3:44 remaining in regulation.

“Our failure just came down to, we had a game plan and we didn’t execute it,” Krem said. More so, we failed to manage the puck. They spent a lot more time in our zone we did in theirs.”

The Trojans have now faced every and Will Hussa says he and his teammates like where they stand.

“Now that we’ve seen everybody we know we can beat everybody,” he said. “We had a close game against Abington (a 12-10 loss). We lost that game but we know we can get them next time.”

Quakertown 1 0 0—1

Wissahickon 1 0 2—3

First-period goals: John Kufner (W) from Danny Hussa 6:33; Brandon McNally (Q) from Connor Elmore, 7:23

Third-period goals: Will Hussa (W) from Griffin Lynch and Hudson Honrycutt, 5:33 (pp); Danny Hussa (W) from Nolan Pounds, 13:16 (sh)

Shots: Quakertown 23, Wissahickon 40; Saves: Fletcher Lynch (W) 22, Matt Krem (Q) 37

Abington 4 Wissahickon 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP —Abington worked a very long time, all season in fact, for the right to hoist the SHSHL American Division (Class A) championship trophy, all season in fact.

But in the wake of their 4-2 win over Wissahickon Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, could be argued the top-seeded Galloping Ghosts had been working for far longer than that; Thursday’s win gave Abington its seventh SHSHL title but its first since 2004.

“It’s a huge win for our program,” said Abington coach Ken Brozowski. “We talked about before the game, about the history that Abington has. And it was important for us to come through and win this game.

Matt Cholaj and Pat Stelacio each scored two goals and each added an assist as top-seeded Abington won its 15th straight game after opening the season with a loss to new SHSHL Class AA champion Pennridge.

“We lost the first game of the season,” Chelaj said, “but we came out hot after that We really didn’t let much get to us. We kept our heads in every game.

 “It’s good when all four of our lines can really get going and score goals. All four of our lines are putting up points this year and it was just an overall good season.”

Cholaj put Abington in front 5:19 into the opening period. A.J. Pounds answered for third-seeded Wissahickon (9-8) at the 9:42 mark.
Abington’s next three goals came on power plays. Stelacio put his team in front for the second and last time with 3:11 left in the opening session before Abington broke the game open early in the second stanza thanks to consecutive Trojan penalties that gave the Galloping Ghosts a two-man advantage; Cholaj and Stelacio each scored goals during that interlude to put their team up by three goals just 3:01 into the middle period.

Will Hussa made it a 4-2 game at the 6:34 mark. Wissahickon had no further success against Ben Panella in the Abington net although the Trojans had two goals disallowed during the game. 

Abington is classified Class AA for the Flyers Cup and as the 14th seed will face third seed Council Rock South on Tuesday at Hatfield Ice. Wissahickon is seeded 10th in Class  A and will go against seventh-seeded West Chester Henderson Monday at Ice Line

The Grundy Skate Shop is a full-service hockey pro shop inside the Grundy Arena, offering a great selection of equipment, brands and various services.  We do a full range of repairs as well as offer custom hockey jerseys. Owner Bill Keyser, has over 25 years experience in the industry and specializes in skate sharpening, including profiling. Please visit our Facebook page or stop in and check us out!

Wissahickon 6 Plymouth Whitemarsh 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP— Wissahickon charged out of the starting gate Thursday night and maintained its momentum all night long. The Trojans scored three times in the first period and went on to a 6-4 win over Plymouth Whitemrsh in a SHSHL American Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Third-seeded Wissahickon (9-7) will face top-seeded Abington next Thursday at the same venue for the American Division title; the Trojans are the defending champions. The second-seeded Colonials dropped to 11-5.

Both teams are hoping to land bids in the Class A Flyers Cup tournament; the field will be revealed Sunday night.

Wednesday’s game wasn’t as close as the final score might have indicated. Ty Schiff, Will Hussa, and Nick Hussa scored the Trojans’ early goals and the Colonials spent the rest of the evening playing catchup.

“We’ve been turning it on lately,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington,” and playing more as a team.”

The Trojans have won four of their last five games and Harrington says his players have enjoyed the emotions that that success has generated.

“They may not know it, but they know the feel of winning,” he said.

Luke Weikel scored consecutive goals for the Colonials, the first with nine seconds left in the first period, the next at the 3:01 mark of the second, to make it a one-goal game for a time. Hudson Honeycutt and Will Hussa responded for the Trojans however and while Plymouth Whitemarsh stayed close enough to force their opponent to stay focused, the Colonials never posed a serious threat.

That was due in part to the work of Michael Bonnani in the Wissahickon net, the senior made 32 saves. Bonnani was pressed into service as a goaltender two-and-a-half seasons ago. He says he’s grown as a player since then.

“I definitely have felt improvement,” he said. “I’ve come a long way from just flopping around in the net and getting hit in the face with pucks.  I still get hit in the face but I’ve learned to deal with it better.”

Bonnani had a stout defense corps in front of him. “We played a defensive game,” said. “That’s how you beat these teams in this league. You have to play defense.

“We learned that throughout the season. We were getting scored on a lot and we had to switch it up and play team defense.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Josh Aiello said the Trojans quick start proved too much to overcome but he was impressed with his players’ collective efforts.

“There’s no quit in the team,” he said. “(The game) didn’t start off favorably for us but we were dedicated and continued to nettle.

“We knew there would be a lot of back and forth especially with Wissahickon. They got the better of us tonight but I’m proud of our players.”

Wissahickon 3 2 1—6

Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 2 1—4

First-period goals: Ty Schiff (W) from Nick Hussa, 6:22 (pp); Will Hussa (W) from Schiff, 9:37; Nick Hussa (W) unassisted, 15:48; Luke Weikel (PW) from Aidan Keogh, 16:51

Second-period goals: Weikel (PW) from Dylan Novitski, 3:01; (PW); Hudson Honeycutt (W) from Griffin Lynch, 5:50 (pp); Will Hussa (W) from Honeycutt, 12:09; Timothy Murphy (PW) from Weikel, 13:45

Third-period goals: Nick Hussa (W) from A.J. Pounds, 4:34; Isaac Mishkin (PW) from Weikel, 16:46

Shots: Wissahickon 43, Plymouth Whitemarsh 36; Saves: Michael Bonnani (W) 32; Kolton Galie (PW) 37

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C.B. East 9 Wissahickon 4

  WARWICK—Ideally a hockey team will mature and evolve over the course of a tournament (see: 1980 U.S. Olympic team) or the course of a season. Central Bucks East took a step in the right direction Friday night.

Tyler Godown scored four goals and added an assist as the Patriots pulled away from Wissahickon in the last wo periods and went on to a 9-4 win in a SHSHL interconference affair at Revolution Ice Gardens.

It was the first win for the Class AA Patriots in three tries Wissahickon, the SHSHL’s defending Class A champion, dropped to 2-1.

For a young Patriot squad looking to find its way, the victory was extremely significant. Godown, one of just four seniors on the roster, stressed the importance of being a positive role model for his younger teammates.

“You just need a lot of leadership,” he said. “If you play hard, they’ll play hard. Don’t act scared, they’ll be good.”

Godown was his own best example, putting his team in front just 67 seconds after the opening faceoff before making it 2-0 at the 4:40 mark.

The Patriots were dominant for most of the opening period, outshooting their foes 10-1 at one point. Will and Nick Hussa scored goals for Wissahickon to make it a 2-2 game at period’s end but that score was misleading. Trojan goaltender Michael Bonnani kept his team in the game by making 13 saves in the opening 17 minutes.

But in the second period East scored four times to break the game open. Phil McIntyre and Aiden Schmidt scored the first two goals, both while East was shorthanded. Godown added the last two, one of them on a penalty shot, the second while his team was shorthanded.

Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington said his team simply ran out of gas.

“They were gassed after the first period because they were going so hard,” he said. “They never recovered, really”.

The teams combined for five goals in the final period. McIntyre added his second goal for the Patriots. Carter Keiser scored a goal before Schmidt scored his second of the game.

A.J. Pounds scored for the Trojans before Will Hussa scored his second of the night with 14 seconds remaining.

East coach Jeff Mitchell is looking for his younger players to understand their roles as the season progresses.

“Definitely defensive minded first,” he said. “Take care of home before you go and try to do anything fancy at the other end of the rink.

“And accountability. That’s the main thing with my younger players. I just to make sure that they actually realize what their responsibilities are out on the ice.”

Ice Chips—SHSHL games are now being played in 17-minute periods. The Patriots held a 41-28 shot advantage.

 C.B. East 2 4 3—9

Wissahickon 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Tyler Godown (CBE) from Bodgon Borodeko, 1:07; Godown (CBE) from Corey Kosick, 4:40; Will Hussa (W) from A.J. Pounds and Ty Schiff, 6:07; Nick Hussa (W) from Pounds and Konrad Foulk, 14:30

Second-period goals: Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Kosick, 2:09 (sh), Aiden Schmidt (CBE) from Borodenko, 4:08 (sh); Godown (CBE) penalty shot, 14:55; Godown (CBE) unassisted, 15:48 (sh)

Third-period goals: McIntyre (CBE) from Stephen DiRugeris, 5:11.; Carter Keiser (CBE) from Kosick, 8:22 (pp); Pounds (W) from Will Hussa, 9:29 (sh); Schmidt (CBE) from Kosick, 14: 38 (pp); Will Hussa (W) from Nick Hussa and Nolan Pounds, 16:46.

Shots: C.B. East 41, Wisssahickon 28; Saves: Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 24. Michael Bonnani (W) 32

SHSHL Sets Alignment for 2021-22

A total of 17 varsity teams will skate under the Suburban High School Hockey League banner this season. Eleven Class AA teams and six Class A squads will be in the fold when the 2021-22 season commences on Wednesday, November 3.

There will be some changes in the makeup of the league; Council Rock North will return to the Class AA sector. Bensalem will skate in Class AA this season while Truman, which was a Class A team a year ago, will not field a varsity team this winter.

The Class AA National Division will include defending champion Pennsbury, along with Neshaminy, Council Rock South, Council Rock North, and Bensalem. The Continental Division will encompass North Penn, Souderton, Central Bucks East, Central Bucks West, and Central Bucks South.

The American Division will feature the league’s Class A schools, including defending champion Wissahickon, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Hatboro-Horsham, Quakertown, William Tennent, and Abington.

West Chester Henderson 5, Wissahickon 1

HATFIELD—Making the transition from the regular season to the Flyers Cup tournament requires stepping up. On Thursday night, Wissahickon was unable to make the climb.

Alex Holloway and Edward Jefferis each contributed two goals and two assists as West Chester Henderson prevailed over the Trojans 5-1 in a Class A quarterfinal game at Hatfield Ice.

The sixth-seeded Warriors (5-7-2) earned a place in Tuesday’s semifinals while third-seeded Wissahickon concluded its season at 12-2.

The Trojans came into the game averaging nine goals per game but never got into high gear against a Henderson team that kept them under pressure all evening long.

“They could keep up with (Henderson’s) speed,” said Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington,” but they would make decisions a little too quick because (opponents) were right on top of them. (But) a lot of times they weren’t and they would get in that mode ‘I’ve got to get rid of it.’”

And while the Trojans did generate some quality chances, they were unable to solve Warrior goaltender Dylan Krick until late in the third period.

“We had a lot of chances,” Harrington said, but they didn’t go in. We had enough, but their goalie was very good.”

Henderson jumped in from early on. Holloway corralled a loose puck just inside the Wissahickon blue line and went in alone on Trojan goaltender Michael Bonnani before putting the puck past him just 3:33 into the opening period. A second turnover on a similar play set up a goal from Jefferis and the Warriors had a 2-0 lead at the 12:38 mark.

Holloway set up Jefferis from behind the net and his teammate scored his second goal of the night to make it a 3-0 game 2:45 into the second period. Robbie Moses extended Henderson’s lead when he blasted a shot past Bonnani from the right faceoff circle at 14:19.By that point in the game, the Trojans, who had just 10 skaters available instead of their usual 12, were running low on energy.

Holloway scored his second goal of the game with 6:54 left in regulation on a shot from the left point, two long strides inside the blue line. Bonnani appeared to be screened on the play.

Wissahickon finally got on the scoreboard with 4:16 remaining when Ben Junker scored a power-play goal on a low shot from the high slot that found its way through traffic.

The Warriors outshot the Trojans 35-32.

Note from History: Henderson won a Class A Flyers Cup title in 2007,

WC Henderson 2 2 1—5
Wissahickon 0 0 1—1—1
First-period goals: Alex Holloway (WCH) unassisted, 3:33; Edward Jefferis (WCH) from Holloway, 12:38
Second-period goals: Jefferis (WCH) from Holloway, 2:45; Robbie Moses (P) from Christopher Lawrence, 14:19
Third-period goals: Holloway (WCH) from Jefferis and Tyler Krick, 9:06; Ben Junker (P) from Ty Schaffer’s and Bryan Garry, 11:44 (pp)
Shots: WCH 35, Wiss. 33 Saves: Dylan Krick (WCH) 32, Michael Bonnani (W) 30

Wissahickon 4, Abington 3

Nick Hussa scored a goal and assisted on three more as Wissahickon defeated Abington 4-3 Thursday night in the Suburban High School Hockey League American Division championship game at Hatfeld Ice.

It’s the fifth divisional title for the Trojans. They previously won championships in 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2019. A possible sixth championship in 2003 has not been verified.

Wisssahickon (12-1) took the lead on a goal from Bryan Garry 7:11 into the first period. Abington (8-4) drew even when Colin Bruton found the back of the net at the 15:36 mark during a power play.

Wissahickon’s Daniel Glazer and Abington’s Sam Paulik traded goals in the second period before Will Hussa gave Wissahickon the lead for good at the 13:28 mark with an assist from Nick Hussa, who extended the Trojans’ lead when he scored with 2:07 left in the period. Griffin Carpenter scored for Abington remaining in the second session; the third period was scoreless.

Wissahickon will move on to the Class A Flyers Cup and will face sixth-seeded West Chester Henderson next Thursday at Hatfield Ice (7:10).

Thursday’s loss concluded Abington’s season.

Abington 1 2 0—3

Wissahickon 1 3 0—4

First-period goals: Bryan Garry (W) from Nick Hussa and Daniel Glazer, 7:11; Colin Bruton (A) from Tom Rourke and Matt Kramer, 15:36 (pp)

Second-period goals: Galzer (W) from Garry and Hussa, 3:50; Sam Paulik (A) from Ian Heydt and Sean Faye, 8:13; Wil Hussa (W) from Nick Hussa, 13:28; Nick Hussa (W) from Garry, 14:53; Griffin Carpenter (A) unassisted, 15:42

Shots: Abington 28, Wissahickon 49; Saves: Sam Panella (A) 45, Michael Bonanni (W) 25