Brian Good previews this week’s SHSHL Playoffs and makes his predictions for the opening round games.
By Brian Good
The SHSHL season is a long, arduous process that requires the best from each skater on every team. Now, as the season has come to an end, players prepare for the rigors of yet another obstacle, the postseason.
Some teams, like CB West and Plymouth Whitemarsh, have been on a steady upward climb since the beginning of September. Others, like William Tennent and North Penn, have endured their ups and downs but still find themselves preparing for the playoffs. Every team has followed a different path through injuries or slow play or other obstacles they’ve faced, but on Monday, they’re all on an even playing field.
While William Tennent ended the season as the No.3 seed in AA, it didn’t look like that would be in the cards for the Panthers early in the year. They began with a 2-2 record, and while they may not have been in a free fall, this was a team with high expectations that weren’t being met.
Eventually, the Panthers turned it around and battled back to catch CR South from behind in the standings to clinch the SHSHL National championship, but it took a lot of hard work. There are goals the Panthers have yet to achieve on the season checklist, but winning the divisions was the first challenge.
“You set goals no matter what, and winning the National division was important to us,” said Tennent head coach Nick D’Aurizio. “We’re trying to build a culture here and that makes this regular season championship big for us because it’s that first goal you set.’
Tennent has an interesting draw in the opening round, as they get ready to face No. 6 Pennridge. In their only meeting this season, the two teams tied 5-5, but that was at the beginning of the season when Tennent was still finding its way.
On paper, Tennent is the favorite as the Panthers bring a 13-3-1 record into the postseason, but Pennridge will be a tough opponent. The Rams have been an up and down team almost all season long, but on Monday they’ll be getting back talented forward Michael Padgeon who missed almost the entire regular season with a broken ankle.
Padgeon is no stranger to the Tennent ice hockey program as he played for the Panthers his freshman and sophomore years before moving to Pennridge, so D’Aurizio and his team will be ready for him.
“He was playing for us and then his family moved and it was devastating,” said D’Aurizio. “The poor kid has had injury issues lately, but it’s another weapon of theirs that we have to worry about. It’s a hard draw but we’re ready for it.”
While Tennent will be looking for ways to stop the talented Pennridge attack on Monday, the four teams that qualified for the “A” league playoffs will be preparing for their matchup this upcoming Wednesday.
No. 2 Archbishop Wood faces a talented No. 3 Wissahickon team but should be able to handle the Trojans with the Vikings’ incredibly potent offensive attack.
In the other matchup, No. 1 Plymouth Whitemarsh gets set for No. 4 Hatboro-Horsham. The Hatters have had a great season to this point but must face a Colonials’ team that has been nearly unstoppable all season long.
“Overall, this has been a fantastic year in multiple aspects of the game,” said PW head coach Josh Aiello. “It’s been one of my favorite years coaching just because I’ve gotten to see such growth from all our players and especially our upperclassmen. This has been a full program effort from everyone involved at every level and it’s paying off.”
The Colonials finished the season with a 14-1-0 record and the SHSHL American division championship. They beat the Hatters in two meetings this year and know that in order to beat them a third time they’ll need to execute at a high level.
“We need to come out prepared, and in order to come out on top, we need to match their intensity and execute,” said Aiello of his team’s upcoming matchup. “The biggest key is going to be going into game week prepared and ready to go when we get on the ice with them.”
Playoffs are the best time of year for every sport, but that’s especially true in ice hockey. The level of intensity that is brought on the ice night in and night out when it’s a do-or-die situation in unmatched.
With such an amazing slate of games on tap for the week, it should be a great precursor to the league championship games as well as the upcoming Flyers Cup
Varsity AA Quarterfinals (Monday 2/27/17)
No. 1 CB West vs No. 8 Truman at Hatfield Ice, 7:30 pm.
The Bucks enter the SHSHL AA playoffs as the number one seed and favorites following a 16-1-1 regular season, with their only loss coming at the hands of AAA Holy Ghost Prep. Truman finished the year with a 7-9-0 mark after a season filled with some ups and downs. Michael Roarty, who led the SHSHL in points (53) and goals (33) will keep the Tigers in this one, but the Bucks’ depth and goaltending will separate the two teams in the end. They met earlier in the season, with West coming away with a 4-2 victory and that mark seems about right in this one as well. Look for a big game from the Bucks’ defensemen Shawn Phillips and Brandon Savona, as well as goaltender Jonah Brous.
PREDICTION: CB West over Truman 5-2
No. 2 CB South vs No. 7 North Penn at Revolution Ice Garden, 8:10 pm.
CB South followed up last year’s state championship with another fantastic regular season. The Titans’ dynamic duo of Matt Stoll and Joe DeLaurentis have been giving opposing teams fits all season long, combining for 70 points, and it should continue into the postseason. The Knights started the year 4-1 and looked as though they’d be in contention for an SHSHL Continental crown. Unfortunately for the Knights, they’ve had a tough last couple of months, losing seven of their last 12, but they put together a nice performance in their 7-2 season-ending victory against Souderton. South won both regular season meetings between the two teams, and I expect much of the same on Monday. Outside of Andrew Galletta, North Penn has struggled to find any consistent scoring I expect that to show in this matchup.
PREDICTION: CB South over North Penn 5-1
No. 3 William Tennent vs No. 6 Pennridge at BCI, 7:30 pm
This three vs six matchup is an extremely intriguing one and could end up being the best games of the opening round. With the exception of undefeated CB West, Tennent is the hottest team in the league, having won 12 of their last 13 to sneak up on CR South and win the SHSHL National. On the other hand, Pennridge has underachieved all season long and will be getting back Michael Padgeon, who missed the entire season with a broken ankle. Padgeon is an extremely talented goal scorer that will completely change the way Pennridge plays and give them an extra dimension offensively. I still like Tennent in this one, as they’ve looked close to unbeatable lately and still have three 40-point scorers on the team (Bobby Markus, Sean Ovington, Jack McKeever), but I fully expect Pennridge to give them problems.
PREDICTION: Tennent over Pennridge 6-3
No. 4 CR South vs No. 5 Souderton at Revolution Ice Garden, 6:30 pm
Even though they ended the year with an impressive12-5-0 record, the Hawks had to be a little disappointed in their finish. Despite leading the division for almost the entire season they finished second in the SHSHL National after Tennent’s amazing late season push. South’s strength is in their defense and goaltending. Goalie Mason Procz has had an unbelievable year on his way to a 1.83 GAA and .923 save percentage and will definitely be a factor in the postseason. Souderton will look to penetrate the CR South zone with their dangerous attack featuring Gabe Evans and Tyler Johnson, but I’m not sure if they’ll be up to the task. The Indians should be able to hang for a while, but CR South’s depth will prove to be too much.
PREDICTION: CR South over Souderton 6-1
Varsity A Semifinals (Wednesday 3/1/17)
No. 1 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs No. 4 Hatboro-Horsham at Hatfield Ice, 8:50 pm
PW pretty much cruised through the regular season on its way to a 13-1-0 record and SHSHL American crown, and the Colonials look to continue that strong play through the postseason. The Colonials won both matchups against the Hatters by a combined score of 15-4, including an 8-1 victory in late November, and they shouldn’t struggle too much with this one either. Dean Keller, Luke Brzozowski, and Chris Zawislak are just too much for Hatboro-Horsham’s defense, or anyone’s for that matter, and should lead PW to a semifinal victory. Outside of Jacob Mueller, who finished the season with 28 points, HH doesn’t really have a go-to scorer and that’ll limit what they can do of the offensive end. They’ve had a fantastic season, but just don’t have the firepower to keep up.
PREDICTION: Plymouth Whitemarsh over Hatboro-Horsham 7-2
No. 2 Archbishop Wood vs No. 3 Wissahickon at BCI, 7:20 pm
No team in the SHSHL scored more than Archbishop Wood in the 2016-17 season, as the Vikings netted 122 goals in just 15 games, and they hope that scoring will separate them from the rest of the pack in the coming months. Six Vikings ended the season with more than 28 points, a number that no other team can come close to matching, including Timothy Cordero who led the league with 52. In their two regular season matchups, two drastically different Wissahickon teams showed up. In the first game, the Vikings were able to pull out a close 6-4 win after a strong third period where they outscored the Trojans 3-1. In their more recent matchup, they were completely overmatched as they fell 10-0 and never really stood a chance. Look for this one to be somewhere between the two with Wissahickon keeping it close early and the relentless Wood attack eventually wearing them out.
PREDICTION: Archbishop Wood over Wissahickon 6-2
- Log in to post comments
