CB South defeated North Penn and CR South won an overtime thriller against Pennridge in Flyers Cup 2A action Thursday. CB South/North Penn and CR South/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Dara N. King and Julie A Spahn of Dara N. King Photography.
(AA5) COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, (AA4) PENNRIDGE 2 (OT)
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- John Hearn couldn't have picked a better time to score his first goal of the season.
It came with 2:55 gone in the first overtime period, and it was enough to give No. 5 seed Council Rock South a 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded Pennridge in a quarterfinal game of the Flyers Cup at Ice World on Thursday night.
"It was," Hearn said when asked if it was the perfect time for his first goal. "I was in the spot when I needed to be."
It ended what had been an excellent ice hockey game. Both teams played outstanding hockey.
But it all came down to an imperfect play.
Let's let Hearn describe it.
"Matt Owens was on the ground and passed out to Dylan Feoli," Hearn said. "I got the rebound (of Feoli's shot on goal) and kind of pushed it out front."
That's really a modest account of the game-winner.
How about it, Joe Houk?
"We went down in the corner," said the Council Rock South coach, "and Owens fell and the puck just ended on his stick. The puck came out on a rebound and John shot it into a wide-open net."
Actually, it was a lot more thrilling than it sounded. Feoli's shot pulled Pennridge goalie Luke Stranick off to the one side of the net, leaving the other side open for Hearn's shot.
Could you have missed that shot, John?
"No," he said with a laugh. "It was a wobbly puck and I was a little nervous."
Nevertheless, the puck went in the net.
Both Houk and Pennridge coach Tom Coyne agreed that it was a game of mistakes.
"There was no flow to that game," said Houk. "It was like who's going to make the mistakes.
"We made two very early mistakes and we battled back, battled back, battled back. It was a matter of mistakes and we got the bounce."
"They capitalized on any little mistake we made," Coyne said. "That's what it comes down to at this point, including the last one (mistake). It ends up in the back of the net."
Pennridge got off to a quick start, scoring the lone goal in the first period. Eric Slater took a pass from Pat McGinley and beat South goalie Mason Procz with 7:09 gone in the period.
Slater followed that up with another goal, this one unassisted in the second period, scoring at 7:13. But that would be the last Rams' point.
The Golden Hawks' comeback started with nine-tenths of a second remaining in the second period. Owens beat Stranick at the 15:59 mark to cut Pennridge's lead in half.
With 3:27 elapsed in the third period, Logan Hurwitz tied the score. He got an assist from Owens.
Then came the overtime. And with 7:05 remaining in the 10-minute extra-period, Hearn ended it all.
"They played a very good game," said Houk. "They didn't give my big guys a lot of breathing room.
"Dylan Feoli, my best player, every time he came up the ice somebody was on top of his back. We just kept getting pucks deep and they started trying to match lines a little bit but they ran out of juice."
Coyne, who took over the Pennridge program in mid-season, was disappointed.
"It's very tough, really tough," he said of the loss. "You've got to take care of that 2-0 lead and we didn't."
The Golden Hawks advance to the semifinal game against Central Bucks South, a 5-3 winner over North Penn. That game will be Tuesday, March 13, at Ice World at 7:45 p.m.
"It was a good win, not a great win, but it was a good win," Houk said. "Now we get to go play (CB) South on Tuesday.
"We'll have a practice Monday and then come out and battle hard. That's all we can do."
Against Pennridge, it was just enough.
Council Rock South 3, Pennridge 2
Council Rock South 0 1 1 1 – 3
Pennridge 1 1 0 0 – 2
First period: 1, Eric Slater P (Pat McGinley) 7:09.
Second period: 2, Slater P (unassisted) 7:13; 3, Matt Owens CRS (Jared Wagenmann) 15:59.
Third period: 4, Logan Hurwitz CRS (Owens) 3:27.
Overtime: 5, John Hearn CRS (Dylan Feoli) 2:55.
Shots: CRS 27, P 29. Saves: Mason Procz (CRS) 27, Luke Stranick (P) 24.
(AA1) CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 5, (AA9) NORTH PENN 3
The Titans led from wire to wire in Thursday’s quarterfinal game at Warwick. Goals by Ryan Gingras and Colin Abbonizio (Matt Stoll assist) spotted the Titans a 2-0 lead eight minutes into the game.
That lead held until Nathan Oh put the Knights on the board with a goal 11:37 into the second period, using assists from Josh Kaufhold and Andrew Galetta. Less than a minute latter, Matt Milanesi turned a James Schuler pass into a goal that put the Titans on top 3-1 heading into the final period.
Matt Stoll’s unassisted goal in the opening minute of the third period gave the Titans a three-goal advantage, but Alex Stevens made it a 4-2 game when he found the net 1:28 into the period, using an assist from John Kim. Six minutes later, Joe DeLaurentis (Reis Braccio, Frank Carter assists) scored before North Penn’s Josh Kaufhold (Galetta assist) split the pipes with a goal and the 5-3 final.
Tim White stopped 23 of 26 shots in goal for the Titans in the win. North Penn’s Chris Maiden stopped 30 shots.
North Penn 0-1-2 3
Central Bucks South2-1-2 5
Shots: North Penn 26, CB South 35.
Saves: Chris Maiden (NP) 30, Tim White (CBS) 23.
First period: 1, Ryan Gingras CBS, 6:32; 2, Colin Abbonizio CBS (Matt Stoll) 7:56.
Second period: 3, Nathan Oh NP (Josh Kaufhold, Andrew Galetta) 11:37, 4, Matt Milanesi CBS (James Schuler) 12:23.
Third period: 5, Matt Stoll CBS, 0:44; 6, Alex Stevens NP (John Kim) 1:28; 7, Joe DeLaurentis CBS (Reis Braccio, Frank Carter) 7:13; 8, Josh Kaufhod NP (Andrew Galetta) 14:23.
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