North Penn edged CB West in a key SHSHL game Wednesday. Ben Reese recaps the action. Pennsbury & Wissahickon were also winners. Check Wednesday’s recaps.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- Playing any varsity sport is difficult if you’re a freshman.
After all, you’re 14 or 15 years old playing against 17- or 18-year-olds who have much more varsity experience than you and probably more bulk too.
That might have been the case for North Penn freshman Tony Tuozzo on Wednesday night in the Knights' 5-3 win over Central Bucks West. But he seems to have adapted quite well as he scored his third goal of the season, which snapped a 3-3 tie and proved to be the game-winner.
"He's played well for us all season," Knights' coach Kevin Vaitis said. "He's moved up, playing with (Jared) Albano and (Nathan) Oh and he's really contributed.
"He's worked hard, done the things we're asking him to do and he got rewarded with the game-winner tonight."
How difficult is it for a freshman to step into the varsity lineup?
"It's tough," said Vaitis. "Coming up to play varsity hockey, you're playing against AA hockey players, some Tier One players, a lot of them 16-18 (year-old) hockey players. It's new to him.
"I remember some of the guys we've got now as juniors and seniors. They struggled just coming in, sort of adjusting. He's come to practice every week, worked hard and he's starting to get rewarded the second half of the year."
How about it, Tony. Is it difficullt?
"(It's) pretty tough," Tuozzo said. "I was pretty nervous at the beginning of the year but after a couple of games, I kind of got used to it. I know where I should be, where not to go."
He was definitely in the right place at the right time in the third period. West had tied the game at 3-3 on a goal by Jake Lang.
Tuozzo blasted into the offensive zone with his linemates, heading toward the net. He took a pass from Albano and beat Bucks' goalie Jeremy Kennard to untie the game.
"My linemates had a really good game," said Tuozzo. "We had a great shift. I think we just finished it up good."
West controlled the action in the first period. The Bucks scored a pair of goals to take a 2-0 lead.
They rode the play of Pavel Serhiayenka in that opening stanza. He scored one goal and assisted on Chris Trefz's tally.
"We were a little slow in the first period," Vaitis said. "We had power plays.
"We were moving the puck well. We were getting some chances but we just weren't burying them."
Things changed in the second period. Ryan Cunningham scored at the two-minute mark for North Penn to cut the lead in half, and Albano followed that up later in the period off an assist from Tuozzo to even the score at 2-2.
"We have a young team," West coach Dave Baun said. "Hopefully (tonight) illustrated to them that if we play our game and there's a lot of puck movement, advancing the puck, skating hard without it, making the right plays the way we did in that first period, I think we're a very tough team to beat."
The Knights salted the game away in the third. After Jake Nelson scored for a 3-2 North Penn lead, Lang came back to tie it for the Bucks.
But then Tuozzo got the go-ahead goal and Albano added the clincher for the win.
"In the third period, as we started to get tired, we started to default back into a game that is not our game," said Baun. "The game that they play is not our game.
"Puck movement is our game. When our team can move the puck well and skate without it as we did in the first period and half of the second, then we're a good team.
"But as the guys get tired, they sort of lose that a little bit. They default into something that is not our game."
The game provided a bit of an oddity. The first three goals of the game, two by West and one by North Penn, were all scored short-handed.
"We definitely have to clean that up a little bit," said Vaitis. "We have to be more careful with the puck."
North Penn 5, Central Bucks West 3
CB West 2 0 1 – 3
North Penn 0 2 3 – 5
First period: 1, Chris Trefz CBW (Pavel Serhiayenka) 5:54 SH; 2, Serhiayenka CBW (Jake Lang) 14:43 SH.
Second period: 3, Ryan Cunningham NP (Nathan Oh) 2:00 SH; 4, Jared Albano NP (Tony Tuozzo) 12:07.
Third period: 5, Jake Nelson NP (Tyler Greenstein) 0:21 PP; 6, Lang CBW (Serhiayenka, Trefz) 4:18 PP; 7, Tuozzo NP (Albano) 9:06; 8, Albano NP (unassisted) 12:03.
Shots: CBW 21, NP 47. Saves: Jeremy Kennard (CBW) 42, Andrew Zanoni (NP) 18.
PENNSBURY 4, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1
The Falcons broke a 1-1 tie with three unanswered goals in the third period to earn the important win in a battle of teams battling for position in the National Conference.
Erik Eisler’s goal with an assist from Jake Machlovitz 10 minutes into the first period gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead heading into the second period. Rock South’s Jeremy Purcell evened the score when he found the net at the 7:38 mark, using a Logan Hurwitz assist.
The third period was all Pennsbury. Jake Sieger gave the Falcons a lead they would not lose when he found the net 2:14 into the period with assists from Connor Coyne and Edward Bossler. Two minutes later, Jasper Millman scored an insurance goal with a Beau Yedman assist. A late power play goal by Jasper Millman (Beau Yedman/Jake Sieger assists) gave Pennsbury its final margin of victory.
Topher Seiler earned the win in goal for the Falcons, turning away 13 of 14 shots he faced.
Council Rock South 0-1-0 1
Pennsbury 1-0-3 4
Shots: CRS 14, Pennsbury 26. Saves: Brett Magloff (CRS) 22, Topher Seiler (P) 13.
First period: 1, Erik Eisler P (Jake Machlovitz) 10:03.
Second Period: 2, Jeremy Purcell CRS (Logan Hurwitz).
Third Period: 3, Jake Sieger P (Connor Coyne/Edward Bossler) 2:14; 4, Jasper Millman P (Beau Yedman) 4:22; 5, Jasper Millman P (Beau Yedman/Jake Sieger) 14:18.
WISSAHICKON 14, UPPER DUBLIN 8
For those who enjoy offense – and lots of it, this game was a must-see as the two teams combined for 75 shots and 22 goals. There were bound to be huge offensive performances, and there were.
For the Trojans, Bryan Garry erupted for six goals and also had three assists in a nine-point game. Sean Garry also had a big night, finding the net for three goals and also dishing out four assists.
Ari Nordlinger’s seven-point night (four goals, three assists) led the Flying Cardinals, and Oren Serafin had four goals and one assist for five points.
The two teams combined for a game’s worth of goals in the opening period with the Trojans scoring six times and the Cardinals finding the net twice. It was more of the same in the second as the Trojans added six goals and the Cardinals scored three times, extending Wissahickon’s lead to 12-5.
Also contributing multiple-point games fro the Trojans were Alex Carrozza (two goals, one assist), Nicholas Hussa (two goals) and Nolan Ryan (two assists).
Wissahickon 6-6-2 14
Upper Dublin 2-3-3 8
Shots: Wissahickon 55, UD 20. Saves: Michael Henderson (W) 12, Liam Nixon (UD) 41.
First period: 1, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry/Nolan Ryan) 1:02; 2, Oren Serafin UD (Ari Nordlinger) 2:21; 3, Daniel Glazer W (Samuel Junker/Alex Carrozza) 4:14; 4, Ari Nordlinger UD (Oren Serafin) 5:47; 5, Nicholas Hussa W (Bryan Garry) 6:36; 6, Sean Garry W, 8:16; 7, Bryan Garry W, 10:11; 8, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 15:55.
Second Period: 9, Oren Serafin UD (Ari Nordlinger) 1:09; 10, Bryan Garry W, 1:14; 11, Ari Nordlinger UD, 2:58; 12, Alex Carozza W (Sean Garry) 8:57; 13, Nicholas Hussa W (Bryan Garry) 10:32; 14, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 10:50; 15, Sean Garry W (Bryan Garry) 11:14; 16, Ari Nordlinger UD, 13:25; 17, Sean Garry W, 14:43.
Third Period: 18, Oren Serafin UD (Chris Barbera) 2:25; 19, Oren Serafin UD (Ari Nordlinger) 4:45; 20, Bryan Garry W (Nolan Ryan) 10:02; 21, Ari Nordlinger UD, 15:16; 21, Alex Carrozza W, 15:52.
- Log in to post comments
