This week’s notebook features CB East, Pennsbury and Plymouth Whitemarsh and recaps the most recent week of 
SHSHL action.
By Scott Huff
The 2013 portion of the 2013-2014 Suburban High School Hockey League is in the record books.
Central Bucks East is the best team in the best conference as the Patriots have moved to the penthouse of the SHSHL Continental Conference with a 7-1 record, while Council Rock South (5-3) and Upper Moreland (3-0) are the best teams in the SHSHL National and SHSHL American Conferences.
The SHSHL shut down for a couple of weeks over the holidays. The SHSHL games begin again on January 2, 2014.
And the beat goes on…
SHSHL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
Central Bucks East Patriots
Central Bucks East has done a lot of good things in order to ascend to the top of the conference standings.
“We still have a lot more to do if we want to stay at the top of the standings,” said Central Bucks East head coach Ken Latchum. “We get up for the good teams like CB South and North Penn, and then we had to get lucky to beat Council Rock North who played a great game against us.
“If we want to win a league championship, we are going to have to practice hard every week and play hard in every game,” added Latchum. “We play in a very good league – a very competitive league – and we have to work hard to win at this level.”
Latchum cited the play of Joe Ridolfi, Zach Davis, and Nick Esposito as having terrific seasons.
“I wish I had 12 players like Joe Ridoldi – a player with the respect of every player and every coach I have ever talked to,” said Latchum. “And Zach has been a big part of our team playing on the power play and penalty kill teams. Both he and Joe are interchangeable on both offense and defense – wherever we need them to play.
“Nick is our top defenseman, and he has great hockey sense and skill,” added Latchum. “And we have the luxury of having excellent goaltenders.”
The Patriot duo in net are Evan Angotti and Steven Gilchrest.
“Right now, we have them splitting time against the good teams,” said Latchum. “When it comes to playoff time, we will have a tough decision as to who to go with. But right now it is a good decision to have.”
The formula for success has worked out for the Patriots – so far.
In the Rear View Mirror in the SHSHL Continental Conference
Central Bucks South outshot Abington 54-6 as the Titans rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Ghosts. Jake Bauer led the CB South offense with a three-goal effort, while Mike Pilla scored a goal and added 2 assists.
Souderton and North Penn battled to a 2-2 tie in a key conference game. Daniel Rock scored both goals for the Indians, while Alex Petersen and Kevin Saylor scored solo goals for the Knights. Dawson Anders played solid in goal with 12 saves for the Big Red, while Jake Snyder registered 28 saves for the Knights.
North Penn also collected a shutout victory when the Knights whitewashed Pennridge 9-0. Matthew Stella, Jake Heckenberger, Spencer Silver, and Kevin Saylor each scored a pair of goals for North Penn, while Nick Capasso scored a single goal for the winners. Knight goaltender John Roberts collected 19 saves for North Penn.
Central Bucks East fought its way to a 2-1 victory over Council Rock North. Austin Chase and Joe Ridolfi each scored solo goals for the Patriots, while Evan Angotti was solid in goal with 22 saves.
Central Bucks West split a pair of games last week. The Bucks defeated Pennridge 3-0 as Patrick Smith scored a pair of goals and Ryan Trefz scored a single goal. Goalie Jonah Brous was perfect in net as he collected 21 saves. CB West lost the following night as the Bucks were shut out by Neshaminy – 7-0.
SHSHL Continental Conference Standings
Central Bucks East Patriots 7 1 0 - 14
North Penn Knights 5 1 1 - 11
Souderton Indians 5 2 1 - 11
Central Bucks South Titans 5 2 0 - 10
Central Bucks West Bucks 3 4 0 - 6
Pennridge Rams 1 7 0 - 2
SHSHL Continental Conference Top Scorers
1. Alex Politsky (Souderton) 19 goals-7 assists- 26 points.
2. Daniel Rock (Souderton) 14-10-24
3. Matthew Stella (North Penn) 10-11-21
4. Nick Chimera (Central Bucks East) 6-8-14
Christian Ahn (North Penn) 3-11-14
6. Jake Bauer (Central Bucks South) 10-2-12
Mike Pilla (Central Bucks South) 5-7-12
Nick Capusso (North Penn) 5-7-12
SHSHL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Pennsbury Falcons
Pennsbury is right where it wants to be as the calendar changes from 2013-2014.
“Right now we are in the hunt for a playoff spot,” said Pennsbury head coach John Bria. “We got off to a horrible start to the season, but we have been playing much better lately.
“There is no question that the other division (Continental) is much stronger,” added Bria. “But all we have to do is be in the top three in our division and we’re in the playoffs. And once you are in the playoffs, anything can happen.”
The Falcons have improved as the play of John Thornton, Larry Kolk, Kevin Koerner, and Trevor Schadler has improved.
“John is our captain and pretty much does everything for us, and he is beginning to find the back of the net,” said Bria. “And Larry is like the energizer bunny out there. He may not play pretty, but he plays hard.
“Kevin is playing with much more confidence, and he is our leading scorer,” continued Bria. “And we will go as far as our goaltender (Schadler) is going to take us. Trevor is only a sophomore, but he is going to have to carry us.”
And that destination will hopefully be a playoff position.
In the Rear View Mirror in the SHSHL National Conference
Neshaminy received shut out goaltending from Matt Shelby who recorded 25 saves as the Redskins captured a 7-0 victory over Central Bucks West. Eric Graham scored 2 goals to lead the offense, while Kyle Cordisco, Matt Kaleck, Nick Verdi, Ian Dixon, and Nick Foster each scored single goals for the winners.
Pennsbury collected a key 4-2 conference victory over Truman. Kevin Kuerner scored 2 goals for the Falcons, while Eric Michael and Craig Meschel scored solo goals for PHS. Mike Roarty and Josh Robinson were the goal scorers for Truman.
Council Rock North played Continental Conference leader Central Bucks East tough, but the Indians were defeated by the Patriots, 2-1. The lone goal scorer of the game for Rock North was Justin Fricke, while Kyle McQuillan played well in net with 27 saves.
Abington received a solo score from Thomas Carroll in an 8-1 loss to Central Bucks South. Despite allowing 8 goals, Thomas Meehan was outstanding in goal with 32 saves.
SHSHL National Conference Standings
Council Rock South Hawks 5 3 0 - 10
Neshaminy Redskins 4 4 0 - 8
Pennsbury Falcons 3 4 0 - 6
Council Rock North Indians 2 4 1 - 5
Harry S Truman Tigers 2 5 1 - 5
Abington Ghosts 1 6 0 - 2
SHSHL National Conference Top Scorers
1. Josh Robinson (Truman) 9 goals – 4 assists – 13 points
Eric Graham (Neshaminy) 8-5-13
3. Zach Bennett (Truman) 6-6-12
Nick Foster (Neshaminy) 6-6-12
Steven Bollendorf (CR South) 4-8-12
6. Jason Brockman (CR South) 6-5-11
7. Thomas Carroll (Abington) 8-2-10
Matt Kaleck (Neshaminy) 5-5-10
Justin Adams (CR South) 4-6-10
SHSHL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Plymouth Whitemarsh is a program that is growing in the SHSHL American Conference, and head coach Brian Isley is more than happy with the result to date.
“I am so proud of the work ethic and spirit that this group plays with,” said Isley. “On any given night, we can compete with anyone in the league. We just want to go out each and every game and improve, and the wins and losses will take care of themselves.
“Both Hatboro-Horsham and Upper Dublin dropped out of the league this year, and those were the two teams that we were somewhat even with in terms of where our young programs were,” added Isely. “But we remained in the league, and we play each game with a lot of heart.”
That heart was on display in a crossover game with Pennsbury from the larger SHSHL National Conference. The Colonials lost 5-3 but the game was not decided until very late in the game.
“The game was extremely physical, and I would like to commend Joe Jordan, Seth Horry, Brad Keller, and Jared Aiello,” said Isley. “They all took quite a lot of punishment during the game, but they played through the pain.
“This is a team that might not finish with a great record, but these kids play with a remarkable team spirit,” continued Iseley. “And a coach can’t ask for anything more.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the SHSHL American Conference
Upper Moreland remained unbeaten in the conference with a 12-4 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh. Sean Lloyd had a spectacular outing for the Golden Bears with a 6-goal effort, while Matthew Iehele scored 3 goals and added an assist. Jacob Laudenbach, Ryan Reed, Joe Jordan, and Chris Rinaldi each scored single goals for the Colonials.
Wissahickon continued its fine season with a 10-8 shootout victory over Lansdale Catholic. Conference leading scorer Luke Honorowski led the Trojan attack with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Edward Burkhart added 3 goals. The Crusaders had a terrific performance from Andrew Hart who led all scorers with 4 goals and 2 assists.
SHSHL American Conference Standings
Wissahickon Trojans 4 1 0 - 8
Upper Moreland Golden Bears 3 0 0 - 6
Archbishop Wood Vikings 2 2 0 - 4
Lansdale Catholic Crusaders 1 2 0 - 2
William Tennent Panthers 1 3 0 - 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 1 4 0 - 2
SHSHL American Conference Top Scorers
1. Luke Honorowski (Wissahickon) 18 goals – 11 assists – 29 points
2. Sean Lloyd (Upper Moreland) 12-5-17
3. Dustin Rabinowitz (Wissahickon) 6-10-16
4. Andrew Hart (Lansdale Catholic) 10-5-15
5. Matthew Iehele (Upper Moreland) 7-4-11
Andrew Burkhart (Lansdale Catholic) 5-6-11
Nick Patton (Archbishop Wood) 4-7-11
Matt Vervlied (Wissahickon) 3-8-11.
SUBURBAN ONE SPORTS.COM
TOP TEN
1. Central Bucks East Patriots
2. North Penn Knights
3. Central Bucks South Titans
4. Souderton Indians
5. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
6. Neshaminy Redskins
7. Central Bucks West Bucks
8. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
9. Pennsbury Falcons
10. Wissahickon Trojans
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