Central Bucks South and Central Bucks East were winners in Wednesday’s SHSHL AA semifinals. Wissahickon and Truman were winners in Class A play.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- He's called Moose by his coaches and teammates.
But it isn't because he's the biggest and most muscular player on the Central Bucks South ice hockey team.
Brian Uzelac - aka Moose – did come up big on Wednesday night in the second game of the Suburban High School Hockey League AA semifinals at Hatfield Ice. He scored two goals to lead the Titans to a 3-1 victory over Williams Tennent, propelling the team in the SHSHL championship game against Central Bucks East, a 5-4 four-overtime winner over Council Rock South.
Where did the "Moose" come from? Well, there are two theories on that.
First Uzelac's version.
"I think somebody might have stuttered my name on the bench and put an M in front," Uzelac said. "I think Coach just said 'I think Moose is going to be your new name.' "
There’s also coach Tom Coyne's idea.
"It was 'Uz' and I didn't like it," Coyne said. "So I went to Moose."
Whatever the reason, it is a nickname that Uzelac has earned over the season. He is that player that plants himself in front of the opponent's goal and gets in the way.
"I try to use my size advantage and play the role," Uzelac said. "Hopefully, (I) take some pucks and screen the goalie.
"My line - we don't really try to go out there and win with talent. We just skate hard, play around the boards and close to the net."
Coyne appreciates the hard work that Uzelac does in front of the net.
"Moose has been great all year," the coach said. "He just gets those ugly, dirty goals.
"(He just) rolls up his sleeves and goes to the net. It goes off his foot, his head, his ankle, wherever, they just add up.
"He plays to his size. On skates, he's got to go at least 6(foot)-5. He knows his limitations.
"Within that 15-foot radius in front of the net, that's his office. He wins a lot of loose pucks. He's been a real plus for us."
Uzelac's biggest plus came in the second period after the two teams had played to a 1-1 tie.
Connor Matsinger put the Titans on the board first, scoring at the 14:30 mark. But the Panthers came right back 28 seconds later when Sean Ovington scored to make it a 1-1 game after one period.
Uzelac took over from there. He scored what proved to be the game-winner with 3:06 gone in the second period and then added an insurance tally at the 7:56 mark on the power play.
The Titans had some revenge on their minds going into the game. Tennent had recently handed them one of their two losses on the season.
"We had some stuff to repair from the last time we played them," Coyne said. "We've just got to continue to tighten up in our own zone. We've just got to load up the house, stand in front of the net and wait for pucks to come to us."
The Titans’ coach tipped his hat to the Panthers.
"Everybody seemed to be waiting for a mistake to happen so they could capitalize," Coyne said. "I thought when we broke it to three (goals), we were going to break it wide open but give credit to (Tennent goalie C.J.) Lineman and Tennent because they did a good job of just clamping us down."
Both goalies played exceptionally well. The Panthers' Lineman stopped 29 of 32 shots and King kicked out 14 of 15 shots on goal.
The Titans, the defending Flyers Cup and PIAA champions, will take on CB East tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Hatfield for the SHSHL title.
Central Bucks South 3, William Tennent 1
William Tennent 1 0 0 – 1
CB South 1 2 0 – 3
First Period: Connor Matsinger CBS (Brian Uzelac, Sean Horan) 14:30; Sean Ovington WT (Jack McKeever, Blake Bagdon) 14:58.
Second Period: Uzelac CBS (Jake Weatherbee, Thomas Liberta) 3:06; Uzelac CBS (Damon Delaurentis, Joe Delaurentis) 7:56 PP.
Shots: WT 15; CBS 32. Saves: C.J. Lineman (WT) 29; Aaron King (CBS) 14.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 5, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4 (4 OT)
It was a game for the ages.
Nick Chimeria ended the longest game of the season in the SHSHL, scoring in the fourth overtime to give Central Bucks East a dramatic victory over Council Rock South in the opening game of the SHSHL semifinals.
The goal, with 2:28 remaining in the fourth 10-minute extra period, was the third goal of the game for Chimeria.
"The kids just dug deep and grinded it out," East coach Sean Mullin said. "Chimeria played a hell of a game.
"He couldn't have done anything better. He really dug deep and he played a lot of minutes. He got the goals and he won the game."
The Golden Hawks had the early advantage, using goals late in the opening period by Michael Kauffman (Niki Meli assist) and Darren Barder (Chad Weiner assist) to go on top 2-0.
East answered with three goals of its own in the second period. Chimeria scored an unassisted goal, and then it was Luke Rossi connecting on a power play goal (Nick Esposito assist). An Esposito goal with assists from Jordan Muchnick and Austin Chase gave the Patriots a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
South’s Kyle Bradley knotted the score, using assists from Brian McBride and Anthony DeRose. Chimeria scored an unassisted goal to give the Patriots a 4-3 lead, but Justin Adams scored the equalizer on a power play 10:54 into the third period with an assist from Dylan Varian, and that tie held until Chimeria’s game winner.
Both goalies were outstanding. East's Evan Angotti knocked out 51 of 55 shots faced and South's Mason Procz faced 59 shots and stopped 54.
SCORING
Central Bucks East 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 5
Council Rock South 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 4
SHOTS
Central Bucks East: 59
Council Rock South: 55
POWERPLAYS
Central Bucks East 1 for 3 : Council Rock South 1 for 4
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Council Rock South - MICHAEL KAUFFMAN (NICK MELI) 14:37
Council Rock South - DARREN BARDER (CHAD WEINER) 15:07
Period 2
Central Bucks East - Nick Chimeria (unassisted) 11:20
Central Bucks East - Luke Rossi (powerplay) (Nick Esposito) 12:22
Central Bucks East - Nick Esposito (Jordan Muchnick, Austin Chase) 12:47
Period 3
Council Rock South - KYLE BRADLEY (BRIAN MCBRIDE, ANTHONY DEROSE) 3:42
Central Bucks East - Nick Chimeria (unassisted) 4:48
Council Rock South - JUSTIN ADAMS (powerplay) (DYLAN VARIAN) 10:54
Overtime 1
No Score
Overtime 2
No Score
Overtime 3
No Score
Overtime 4
Central Bucks East - Nick Chimeria (unassisted) 8:28
GOALIES
33 Evan Angotti WIN 55 51
49 Steve Gilchrist (b)
30 MASON PROCZ LOSS 59 54
PENALTY TOTALS
Central Bucks East 8 minutes on 4 infraction(s) Council Rock South 8 minutes on 4 infraction(s)
WISSAHICKON 9, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3
Matt Wilson connected for the hat trick while teammate Brandon Rosoff added two goals and an assist to lead the Trojans to the decisive win in an SHSHL A semifinal game. The Trojans will face Truman in Thursday’s final.
Rosoff (Jacob Dalsemer assist) put the Trojans on the scoreboard 3:22 into the game, and they led 2-0 after Andrew Cade scored an unassisted goal late in the period.
An unassisted goal by Kyle Wolfe was followed by a shorthanded goal from Dylan Alioto, and the Trojans led 4-0 before PW’s Jonathan Isely (John Sciarrone assist) and Kevin Lawrence (Christopher Ward/Chris Rinaldi assists) scored consecutive goals to make it a 4-2 game.
The Trojans responded with a pair of goals by Wilson in the closing minutes of the period, the first with a Ryan Haney assist and the second with assists from Jake Flancer and Kevin Schaeffer.
In the third period, the Trojans’ upped their lead to 9-2 after back-to-back-to-back goals by Segelbam, Wilson and Rosoff before Joe Jordan scored a late goal for the Colonials.
Wissahickon held a 36-16 advantage in shots. Goalie Noah Katz turned away 13 shots in the win.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 2 1 3
Wissahickon 2 4 3 9
SHOTS
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 8 6 16
Wissahickon 8 19 9 36
POWERPLAYS
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 for 6 : Wissahickon 1 for 0
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Wissahickon - Brandon Rosoff (Jacob Dalsemer) 3:22
Wissahickon - Andrew Cade (unassisted) 12:45
Period 2
Wissahickon - Kyle Wolf (unassisted) 3:03
Wissahickon - Dylan Alioto (shorthanded) (unassisted) 6:22
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Jonathan Isely (John Sciarrone) 11:19
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Kevin Lawrence (Christopher Ward, Chris Rinaldi) 12:26
Wissahickon - Matt Wilson (Ryen Haney) 14:36
Wissahickon - Matt Wilson (Jake Flancer, Kevin Schaeffer) 15:18
Period 3
Wissahickon - Jacob Segelbaum (Brandon Rosoff, Dylan Alioto) 1:16
Wissahickon - Matt Wilson (shorthanded) (unassisted) 14:54
Wissahickon - Brandon Rosoff (powerplay) (Jacob Dalsemer, Noah Harrington) 15:44
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Joe Jordan (Kevin Lawrence) 15:48
GOALIES
27 Jacob Magill LOSS 48:00 36 27
33 Cole Shula (b)
55 Noah Katz WIN 48:00 16 13
35 Jake Modelevsky (b)
PENALTY TOTALS
Plymouth Whitemarsh 6 minutes on 3 infraction(s) Wissahickon 22 minutes on 7 infraction(s)
HARRY S TRUMAN 9, HATBORO-HORSHAM 2
Zachary Bennett and Michael Roarty continued their torrid offensive production in Wednesday’s SHSHL playoff win over the Hatters. Roarty upped his season point total to 38 with a seven-point night that included four goals and three assists while Bennett increased his team-high point total to 45 with a six-point game. Bennett had two goals and four assists in a win that propelled the Tigers into Thursday night’s final against Wissahickon.
It was Kyle Bennett (Roarty assist) scoring 2:20 into the opening period to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. Zach Aubry found the net with an unassisted goal for the Hatters to knot the score only to watch the Tigers reel off three straight goals to close out the period.
A goal by Zachary Bennett (Roarty assist) ignited the Tigers’ three-goal run, and then it was Roarty (Zachary Bennett assist) connecting. Kyle Bennett’s power play goal (Roarty assist) sent the Tigers into the second period with a 4-1 lead.
Colin Roberts (Zachary Bennett assist) scored early in the period to make it a 5-1 game before Ryan Sharp (Jordan Brenner/Max Thalheimer assists) scored to trim the Hatters’ deficit to three goals.
But not for long.
Three straight goals by Roarty and a single goal by Zachary put the Tigers on top 9-2 after three periods. That would be the extent of the scoring for both teams.
The Tigers held a lopsided 43-15 advantage in shots over the Hatters. Truman goalie Kyle Huth turned away 13 of 15 shots he faced to earn the win.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Hatboro Horsham 1 1 0 2
Truman 4 5 0 9
SHOTS
Hatboro Horsham 8 7 0 15
Truman 9 15 19 43
POWERPLAYS
Hatboro Horsham 0 for 2 : Truman 2 for 4
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Truman - Kyle Bennett (Michael Roarty) 2:20
Hatboro Horsham - Zach Aubry (unassisted) 9:34
Truman - Zachary Bennett (Michael Roarty) 10:48
Truman - Michael Roarty (Zachary Bennett) 13:23
Truman - Kyle Bennett (powerplay) (Michael Roarty) 14:48
Period 2
Truman - Colin Roberts (powerplay) (Zachary Bennett) 2:21
Hatboro Horsham - Ryan Sharp (Jordan Brenner, Max Thalheimer) 6:25
Truman - Michael Roarty (Zachary Bennett, Ross Koenig) 7:00
Truman - Michael Roarty (Zachary Bennett) 7:17
Truman - Michael Roarty (Michael Cox) 8:43
Truman - Zachary Bennett (Colin Roberts) 13:08
Period 3
(no scoring)
GOALIES
30 Ryan McElroy LOSS 48:00 43 34
35 Kyle Huth WIN 48:00 15 13
PENALTY TOTALS
Hatboro Horsham 22 minutes on 7 infraction(s) Truman 18 minutes on 5 infraction(s)
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