Scott Huff previews the Thursday’s Flyers Cup 2A quarterfinal games featuring SHSHL teams.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
The Suburban High School Hockey League is guaranteed to have two teams in the 2018 Flyers Cup Class AA semifinals AND one team in the finals as the ‘top half’ of the quarterfinal bracket features only SHSHL teams.
Central Bucks South, Pennridge, Council Rock South and North Pennall captured impressive opening rounds wins to advance to the Flyers Cup/Elite 8.
Central Bucks West, Council Rock North, and Central Bucks East all saw successful Class AA seasons come to a close with opening round losses in the Flyers Cup.
2018 Flyers Cup Quarterfinals
Thursday – March 8, 2018
@ Warwick – 6:45 pm
#1 Central Bucks South vs. # 9 North Penn
2018 Flyers Cup Resume:
Central Bucks South opened the Flyers Cup tournament with a 10-0 victory over Boyertown. The Titans had five players score two goals each in the win over the #16 seeded Bears. The list of goal scorers for CBS included Matt Stoll, Joe DeLaurentis, Frank Carter, Reis Braccio, and Harry McLaughlin. Tim White had 10 saves and recorded the shutout.
North Penn opened the Flyers Cup tournament with a 6-4 victory over #8 seed Avon Grove. George Boyle and Nathan Oh sparked the offense with two-goal efforts, while Jared Albano and Luke Van Why each scored solo goals for the Knights. NP goaltender Chris Maiden earned the victory with 26 saves.
2017-2018 Head-to-Head Meetings:
Central Bucks South and North Penn will be meeting for the fourth time this season. The Titans have won the prior three confrontations by scores of 7-0 (11/22/17), 9-5 (12/20/17), and 6-3 (2/28).
In the last meeting between the SHSHL game rivals - the game was tied 2-2 after the second period before CB South took control in the third period. South out shot the Knights 29-22 for the game.
Top Guns:
Central Bucks South showcases the offensive firepower of Matt Stoll (34 goals, 25 assists – 59 points), Joe DeLaurentis (30-26-56), Colin Abbonizio (16-18-34), Reis Braccio (8-21-19), Tyler Boylan (13-13-26), and Frank Carter (6-17-23).
North Penn showcases the offensive firepower of Andrew Galetta (26-22-48), Nathan Oh (13-22-35), Tyler Greenstein (16-15-31), Jared Albano (10-20-30), George Boyle (7-18-25), Jake Nelson (14-11-25), and Joshua Kaufhold (8-13-21).
In the Nets
Central Bucks South has featured a pair of outstanding goaltenders this season in Tim White (11 wins – 209 saves – 1.56 goals against) and Oscar Levin (9-151-1.41).
North Penn also showcased a pair of outstanding goaltenders this season in Chris Maiden (7-166-3.70) and Andrew Zanoni (5-153-4.50).
Central Bucks Head Coach Shaun McGinty says:
“We have played them a lot already this year, and honestly, I wish we were playing someone else in the Flyers Cup. There is a friendship and rivalry we have with North Penn – and they are very well coached. I don’t care how many times we have beaten them this year; we won’t take them for granted. They are young and deep – and they know us. We will run our system – and they will run their system. Both teams know how to compete at a high level, and I hope it comes down to a nail biter at the end of the game.”
North Penn Head Coach Kevin Vaitis says:
“I agree with Shaun in that it might be more fun to play someone from the other league – but that’s the way the bracket played out. CB South is an extremely talented team and we are going to have to play our very best to beat them. We played them close for two periods the last time we played – and we have to hope some bounces go our way. They are going to do what they are going to do – and we have to hope that what we do it better against them.”
Winner Gets:
The winner of the CB South/North Penn game will play the winner of the Pennridge/Council Rock South game in the Flyers Cup semifinals. That game will be played next Tuesday (3/13/18) at Hatfield with a 7:45 face-off.
2018 Flyers Cup Quarterfinals
Thursday – March 8, 2018
@ Hatfield Ice
#4 Pennridge vs. # 5 Council Rock South
Flyers Cup Resume:
Pennridge opened the Flyers Cup tournament with a 6-1 victory over # 13 Central Bucks East. The Rams led 4-0 after the first period and coasted to the win. Michael Walker and Pat McGinley each scored a pair of goals to fuel the offense, while Eric Slater and Evan Kehoe scored single goals for the winners. Luke Stranick was solid in goal with 12 saves.
Council Rock South opened the Flyers Cup tournament with an 8-2 victory over Haverford. The Golden Hawks featured a two-goal scoring effort by Dylan Feoli and Matthew Owens - while Collin Keiser, Bill Harrelson, Steven Schwoyer, and Logan Hurwitz each scored solo goals. Mason Procz recorded the victory with 12 saves.
2018 Head-to-Head Meeting:
Pennridge and Council Rock South played a terrific game in their only meeting of the season – a 5-4 victory for the Rams.
The Golden Hawks led 4-3 in the third period, but a game-winning goal was scored by Bryson Egan on the power play to secure the victory. In that contest, CR South had four different goal scorers, while the Rams were led by a two-goal effort by Eric Slater.
Top Guns:
Pennridge showcases an explosive offense that features Eric Slater (44 goals, 22 assists – 66 points), Patrick McGinley (25-24-49), Michael Walker (20-27-47), Nick Eissler (7-12-19), and Matthew Guinette (2-14-16).
Council Rock South showcases the offensive firepower from Collin Kleiser (14-13-27), Logan Hurwitz (11-15-26), Matthew Meli (20-6-26), and Jared Wagenmann (6-15-21).
In the Nets:
Pennridge features the talents of Luke Stranick (14 wins – 401 saves – 2.82 goals against average) in goal.
Council Rock South showcases the talents of Mason Procz (7-158-1.70) in goal.
Pennridge Head Coach Tom Coyne says:
“The entire coaching fraternity in the SHSHL is great – we are very proud of our league. (CR South head coach) Joe Houk and I go back years, and we both want to get to that finish line. I took over this team during the season and changed some of the culture – but I inherited a talented team. I think they are starting to understand what I want from them – and when you have raised the bar in the playoffs - you better raise your level of play. We have tweaked a few things – (CR South) has a very good team and we need to gain that playoff experience and do things the right way to win.”
Council Rock South Joe Houk says:
“(Pennridge head coach) Tom Coyne and I have been friends for years and I feel that we have a great deal of respect for each other. The last game we played was a great game, and I think we are pretty equal in a lot of ways. The first game of the Flyers Cup against Haverford might have been the best game that we played all season – it was the first time all year that we had our entire team on the ice. Now it is all about the seniors – we want to play as many games as we can. Right now we are focused, and the game with Pennridge should be very interesting.”
Winner Gets:
The winner of the Pennridge/Council Rock South game will play the winner of the Central Bucks South/North Penn game in a Flyers Cup semifinal game. That game will be played next Tuesday (3/18/18) at Hatfield with a 7:45 pm faceoff.
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