North Penn saw its season end when it fell to Parkland 2-1 in overtime in Thursday’s Flyers Cup semifinal.
By Ben Reese
WARWICK – It is said that baseball is a game of inches.
Well, ice hockey can make that claim as well.
It was a matter of inches that might have cost North Penn's ice hockey team a shot at the Flyers Cup and the PIAA championship game.
Several close misses on shots on goal would have turned Thursday night's 2-1 overtime loss to Parkland in the Flyers Cup semifinals at the Rink at Warwick into a victory and a meeting with Cherokee on Tuesday for the Flyers Cup.
Instead, Parkland will play Cherokee, a 7-6 overtime winner over Central Bucks South, and advance to the state title game since Cherokee cannot play in that game because it is a New Jersey high school.
The Knights battled the Trojans for the entire three periods and the overtime. At least three of North Penn’s shots – and maybe more – clanked off the iron pipes around the goal cage and didn't go in.
If one of them had found the net, the overtime wouldn't have been necessary and Parkland's Evan Dratch couldn't have ended the Knights' season with his goal.
“It was great hockey,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “We had a couple pucks that rang off the iron. A couple inches and the puck goes in the net.
“We had chances.”
North Penn defenseman Jeremy Snyder had the same reaction.
“We came close,” he said. “I think we hit the cross bar three times, just inches away from winning the game.”
It was a classic hockey game. Neither team held an advantage, and the teams ranged up and down the ice.
Parkland struck first, finally scoring late in the first period. Jake Hulsizer got the goal, with an assist from Brett McHale at 15:30 of the period.
The Knights evened things up in the second period. Alex Peterson took passes from Matt Stella and Snyder and beat Trojan goalie Robert Stock at the 11:42 mark.
It stayed that way all through the third period. The two goalies stood on their heads making save after save.
“Both goalies played phenomenal,” Vaitis said. “You have two very good goalies in a game like that, and it comes down to who is going to get the break.”
Parkland was the one that got the break. Dratch beat Knight netminder Cody Matthews with 2:46 gone in the 10-minute overtime period for the game-winner.
“It was kind of like a chess match out there,” Vaitis said. “Guys were kind of waiting for someone to make a mistake.”
Actually, North Penn turned up the heat in the second period. The Knights held Parkland to only three shots in the second stanza.
“They scored and we raised our intensity in the second period and carried it forward into the third,” Vaitis explained. “We just couldn't get that second goal.
“We went to overtime and we still thought we had it, thought we were going to win the game. But we weren't able to capitalize there at the end.
“Our power play has been good all year, but we weren't able to capitalize on one tonight. The third period, the guys played well.”
One play that the Knights may wish they had back came in that second period. Peterson took the puck and broke away from the pack, heading for the goal all alone. His shot was knocked away by Stock.
In the end, it was the play of the goalies that was key for both teams. Stock stopped 36 of 37 shots on goal and Matthews batted away 20 of 22 shots.
Parkland 1 0 0 1 – 2
North Penn 0 1 0 0 – 1
First Period
1. Jake Hulsizer P (Brett McHale) 15:30. Penalty: James Swartz P (cross checking) 3:13
Second Period
2. Alex Peterson NP (Matt Stella, Jeremy Snyder) 11:42. Penalties: Parkland bench (too many men on the ice) 1:39; Kevin Saylor NP (cross checking) 5:17; Peterson NP (interference) 7:06.
Third Period
No scoring. Penalties: Hulsizer P (slashing) 3:41; Hulsizer P (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct) 3:41; North Penn bench (too many men on the ice) 6:05.
Overtime
3. Evan Dratch P (Benjamin Zager) 2:46. Penalty: None.
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