North Penn defeated Ridley to earn a sport in Friday’s Flyers Cup final while defending Flyers Cup champion Central Bucks South saw its season come to an end. To view photos of the CB South/Downingtown East game, please visit our photo gallery.
By Ben Reese
WARMINSTER -- There will be no repeat champion for the Flyers Cup.
There will be no repeat champion for the PIAA state ice hockey championship.
Central Bucks South's run to be repeat winners in both the Flyers Cup and the PIAA came to an unexpected end Wednesday night in the Flyers Cup semifinal at Bucks County Ice when the top-seeded Titans fell to Downingtown East, 6-2.
The Cougars won the game with five straight goals in the first and second periods before the Titans got on the scoreboard in the third period.
"We gave all we got and they just outplayed us tonight," Titans' captain Connor Matsinger said. "This was our goal to win and we didn't get it."
South coach Tom Coyne shared his captain’s sentiments.
"Our expectations were to go all the way," Coyne said. "It's disappointing.
"I personally hate to lose, but it’s really not about me. I feel bad for the seniors.
"They obviously know what happened last year. Their goals were to be there again this year.
"I think anything short of that is going to be disappointing. The seniors realize that it's their last game in a South uniform."
Matsinger had it right. The Cougars did outplay the Titans, at least in the first two periods as every puck that South got to was contested by East.
It also seemed that there were a lot of breakaways and odd man rushes for East.
Coyne blamed that on the early deficit his team faced.
"We got caught looking a couple times, but when you're down early, you've got to take chances and it leads to odd man rushes," he said. "It's just the nature of the game.
"It just didn't seem like we won any of the one-on-ones tonight. A lot of loose pucks went their way.
"Early on, we were kind of tight and then the first goal and we're like 'OK, we're going to get it back.' We're always confident.
"Then it's two, then it's three and we're like 'Hey, we've got to buckle up here.' Unfortunately, if we could have had a second period like we started the third period, it might have been a different game. But it just wasn't our night."
Downingtown East struck first, scoring a pair of first period goals. Jonathan Carreiro netted the first and Jack Magee the second.
In the second period, the Cougars got four more goals to take a 5-0 lead. Magee got two of them and Collin Harple the other. One of Magee's goals and Harple's tally were both on breakaways.
"We were a little flat in the first and second, but then in the third we picked it up," Matsinger said. "I don't know why it took us so long but it did. If we'd picked it up sooner, it could have been different."
Brian Uzelac finally got the Titans on the board with 6:55 gone in the third period. Alex Kiefer got that one back for East 40 seconds later. But Tyler Dunn again cut the lead to four at the 9:13 mark. However, that was as close as the Titans could get.
"It's tough for a coach to say goodbye and it's tough for those kids to play their last game," Coyne said. "I never really prepared a speech about losing because that's just not our culture. It's disappointing."
Downingtown East 6, CB South 2
Downingtown East 2 3 1 – 6
CB South 0 0 2 – 2
First period: Jonathan Carreiro DE (Jack Magee) 8:17; Magee DE (Joey Kubachka) 9:34.
Second period: Magee DE (unassisted) 4:40; Magee DE (Ben Robertson) 10:27; Collin Harple DE (Thomas Rocco) 12:46.
Third period: Brian Uzelac CBS (Anthony Rubas, Jared Conroy) 6:55; Alex Kiefer DE (Rocco) 7:35; Tyler Dunn CBS (Rubas, Matt Stoll) 9:13.
Shots: DE 23; CBS 26. Saves: Jeff Cummings (DE) 24; Aaron King (CBS) 17.
#3 NORTH PENN 5, #10 RIDLEY 2
On a night that saw top-seeded Central Bucks South go home for the season, North Penn kept the SHSHL’s hopes alive for a Flyers Cup crown with its hard-fought win over Ridley at Hatfield Ice.
The undisputed hero of the game was North Penn goalie Jake Snyder, who turned away 41 of 43 shots in a contest that saw the Green Raiders hold a 43-16 advantage in shots.
The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie after one period with Alex Peterson finding the net on a power play 6:08 into the opening quarter, using assists from Derek Heckler and Jake Heckenberger. Ridley’s Nick Catona scored a late goal to knot the score.
Heckenberger’s goal 6:56 into the second period with assists from Peterson and Ryan Nowicki put the Knights on top 2-1, but Nick Catona scored the equalizer 12:25 into the period.
The third period belonged to the Knights – or more specifically, Snyder, who turned away all 18 shots the Green Raiders sent his way. The Knights managed just six shots in the period, but three of those found the net.
Spencer Silver scored a goal that turned out to be the game winner 4:53 into the third period, using assists from Peterson and Austin Redilla. Not that Snyder needed insurance, but he got it when Jared Barkley connected on a power play goal with an assist from Heckenberger 9:22 into the frame. Peterson tacked on an empty net goal (Redilla assist) for the 5-2 final.
The win vaults the Knights into Friday’s Flyers Cup title game against Downingtown East.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
10 Ridley 1 1 0 2
03 North Penn 1 1 3 5
SHOTS
10 Ridley 10 15 18 43
03 North Penn 6 4 6 16
POWERPLAYS
10 Ridley 0 for 13 : 03 North Penn 2 for 5
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
03 North Penn - Alex Peterson [A] (powerplay) (Derek Heckler, Jake Heckenberger) 6:08
10 Ridley - Nick Catona (Michael Giampapa) 16:45
Period 2
03 North Penn - Jake Heckenberger (Alex Peterson [A], Ryan Nowicki [C]) 6:56
10 Ridley - Nick Catona (Michael Giampapa, Thomas Plotts) 12:25
Period 3
03 North Penn - Spencer Silver (Alex Peterson [A], Austin Redilla [A]) 4:53
03 North Penn - Jared Barkley (powerplay) (Jake Heckenberger) 9:22
03 North Penn - Alex Peterson [A] (emptynet) (Austin Redilla [A]) 16:47
GOALIES
1 Brendahn Brawley LOSS 50:48 15 11
62 Colin Powell (b)
35 Jake Snyder WIN 51:00 43 41
29 John Roberts (b)
PENALTY TOTALS
10 Ridley 14 minutes on 7 infraction(s) 03 North Penn 53 minutes on 13 infraction(s)
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