Council Rock South edged Rock North 4-3 to capture the Rock Cup on Thursday night. Check out all of Thursday’s results. To view photos of the CR North/CR South game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
WARMINSTER - The music blasting out of the home locker room at Bucks County Ice after Wednesday’s night’s annual Rock Cup game suggested that the team inside – Council Rock South – was having a good time.
They were.
The Golden Hawks had just edged archrival Rock North 4-3 in an entertaining contest in front of a packed house.
“It’s a great night,” Rock South’s Jason Brockman said. “Being a senior, I was very nervous for this game.
“We don’t have the talent of last year, but together as a team, we work very well together, so we knew if we worked together as a team and played our game that we could play with any team and would get a ‘W’ if we played our game.”
The game was a far cry from last year’s Rock Cup contest that saw the Golden Hawks manhandle the Indians en route to a 7-1 win. On Wednesday, the outcome was in doubt until the final horn, thanks in no small part to the dazzling 25-save effort of Rock North goalie Kyle McQuillan.
“When you play a team like that and you get a hot goaltender like that, the team feeds off that goalie,” Rock South coach Joe Houck said. “You could just see it. They wanted it bad.
“Our skill level is better than theirs, but I think their forechecking was a lot better. This year we don’t have the talent we had last year, but we have a good mix of talent. They’re good kids, they all get along. We’re having a slow start, but we’re getting better and better every game.”
The Indians took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Justin Fricke and had a chance to make it 2-0, but Rock South goalie Zachary Magro delivered a clutch glove save on a shot by Mark Tosti on a breakaway with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening period.
Less than a minute later, Rock South’s Brian McBride scored on a wrist shot to knot the score 1-1. In the opening period, the Golden Hawks held a slim 7-5 edge in shots, but they sent a barrage of shots at McQuillan to open the second period. The Indians’ goalie came up with one big save after another, but with 13:14 remaining, Justin Adams, who was unmarked in front of the net, scored the go-ahead goal.
“It was very important to take advantage of our opportunities because their goalie was making great saves all game,” Brockman said. “We were very unlucky. We were hitting posts, so when we had opportunities to score, we had to capitalize.”
Six minutes into the period, Eric Higgins found the net to put the Golden Hawks on top 3-1, a lead that held up for just seconds as Trey Elmer scored a shorthanded goal off the ensuing faceoff, beating a pair of defenders in his path. Elmer’s goal made it a 3-2 game.
A goal with three minutes remaining in the period by Steven Bollendorf after a costly Rock North turnover in front of the net sent the Golden Hawks into the third period with a 4-2 lead.
“We turned the ball over three times (that resulted in goals), and that was the difference in the game,” Rock North coach Eric Tye said. “You got young kids playing, and that’s what happens.
“We played hard, we got shots on goal, but we have to eliminate the turnovers.”
It looked as though the Golden Hawks might be ready to put some distance between themselves and the Indians when – with Brockman and Nick Keck on a two-on-one – a shot by Keck appeared to find the net but was ruled off the post.
“Both of my guys said that puck went in,” Houck said. “But the referee was right there.”
Things got real interesting when Rock North’s Tristain Wieczorek scored in a standout individual effort to make it a 4-3 game with 9:41 remaining. A brilliant diving save by McQuillan with five minutes remaining kept the Indians within striking distance.
“We’ll go wherever we go this year because of 42,” Tye said of his goalie.
The Golden Hawks, however, would not be denied.
“We didn’t give our defense any time to breathe,” Houck said. “Every time we would get up by two goals, they would come right back, and it would be a one-goal game again.
“It was fun. It’s always fun to finish on top.”
“I was pretty confident we were going to come out with a win,” Brockman said. “I know we can lock down when we have to.”
Council Rock North 1 1 1-3
Council Rock South 1 3 0-4
Shots
Council Rock North 5 10 5-20
Council Rock South 7 16 6-29
Goalie Saves
Zachary Magro (CRS)/Andrew Stone (CRS) 17; Kyle McQuillan (CRN) 25.
NESHAMINY 6, PENNSBURY 1
The Redskins received two-goal efforts from Eric Graham and Nick Sabatini while Nick Foster added a pair of assists in a balanced offensive effort.
The ‘Skins led 2-0 at the end of one period, thanks to goals by Matt Kaleck and Sabatini. Pennsbury’s Larry Kolk cut that lead in half with an unassisted goal just over five minutes into the second period, but Sabatini answered with a shorthanded goal two minutes later. Graham scored back-to-back goals to close out the period, giving the Redskins a 5-1 lead. Bobby Lucas scored an unassisted goal to account for the third period’s lone goal.
The Redskins held just a 29-27 advantage in shots, but Neshaminy goalie Matt Lucas turned away 26 shots in a strong outing.
Neshaminy 2 3 1-6
Pennsbury 0 1 0-1
Scoring Summary
Period 1
N – Matt Kaleck (unassisted) 10:06
N – Nick Sabatini (Nick Foster) 14:19
Period 2
P – Larry Kolk (unassisted) 5:11
N – Nick Sabatini (shorthanded) (Nick Foster) 7:13
N – Eric Graham (powerplay) (Chris Wojnar) 12:56
N – Eric Graham (Mike Maher) 14:43
Period 3
N – Bobby Lucas (unassisted) 6:45
Shots
Neshaminy 9 14 6-29
Pennsbury 7 12 8-27
Goalie Saves
Matt Lucas (N) 26; Trevor Schadler (P) 23.
UPPER MORELAND 9, ABINGTON 2
The Golden Bears opened up a 6-0 lead before Abington got on the scoreboard. Nick Park scored a goal and assisted on three others to lead the Golden Bears. Alex Caligiuri had three assists while Sean Lloyd had two goals and an assist.
Matthew Iehle and Jake Park each scored a goal in the opening period to spot the Golden Bears an early 2-0 lead. That lead grew to 5-0 after two periods, thanks to another Iehle goal while Lloyd connected on back-to-back goals. A goal by Christine Goold made it a 6-0 game before Hayden O’Hara and Aidan Smith scored for the Ghosts.
Upper Moreland held a 35-23 advantage in shots.
Abington 0 0 2-2
Upper Moreland 2 3 4-9
Scoring Summary
Period 1
UM – Matthew Iehle (Andy Iehle) 0:31
UM – Jake Park (Nick Park, Alex Caligiuri) 1:04
Period 2
UM – Matthew Iehle (Colton Arizini) 6:04
UM – Sean Lloyd (Nick Park, Alex Caligiuri) 6:13
UM – Sean Lloyd (Nick Park, Alex Caligiuri) 6:40
Period 3
UM – Christine Goold (Matthew Iehle) 3:30
A – Hayden O’Hara (John Egan) 5:54
A – Aidan Smith (Chris Shannon) 8:26
UM – Andy Iehle (Colton Arizini) 10:01
UM – Jordin Holmes (unassisted) 10:56
UM – Nick Park (Sean Lloyd) 13:17
Shots
Abington 4 7 12-23
Upper Moreland 8 13 14-35
Goalie Saves
Cole Kramer (A) 9, Thomas Meehan (A) 17; Patrick Beissel (UM) 21.
NORTH PENN 12, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 4
Alex Peterson had a six-point night to lead North Penn, contributing three goals and three assists. Teammates Christian Ahn (two goals, three assists) and Matthew Stella (three goals, two assists) both had five-point games for the Knights.
The fun started early for the Knights, who led 4-0 at the end of one period. Peterson accounted for two of those goals while Jeremy Snyder and Stella each added single goals. LC’s Andrew Hart scored an unassisted goal to open the second period, but Derek Heckler got that back for the Knights. A shorthanded goal by LC’s Anthony Valerio made it a 5-2 game at the end of two periods, and when Valerio scored just over a minute into the third period, it was a two-goal game.
But not for long.
Hecker scored a power play goal just over a minute later, marking the beginning of a 7-1 North Penn tear to close out the game.
The Knights held a 55-30 advantage in shots. LC’s Helen Cooney turned away 43 shots while her counterpart, North Penn’s Jake Snyder, had 26 saves.
North Penn 4 1 7-12
Lansdale Catholic 0 2 2-4
Scoring Summary
Period 1
NP – Alex Peterson (Matthew Stella, Christian Ahn) 6:40
NP – Jeremy Snyder (shorthanded) (unassisted) 10:32
NP – Alex Peterson (Christian Ahn, Matthew Stella) 12:26
NP – Matthew Stella (powerplay) (Christian Ahn) 15:31
Period 2
LC – Andrew Hart (unassisted) 5:20
NP – Derek Heckler (Jake Heckenberger, Matthew Fox) 9:29
LC – Anthony Valerio (shorthanded) (Alex Slowik) 12:56
Period 3
LC – Anthony Valerio (Michael Longhitano, Nicke Cunningham) 1:04
NP – Derek Heckler (powerplay) (Matthew Mette, Matthew Fox) 2:49
NP – Christian Ahn (Alex Peterson) 2:57
NP – Alex Peterson (Collin Waters, Matthew Fox) 4:35
NP – Matthew Stella (Jake Heckenberger) 8:25
NP – Matthew Stella (Jeremy Snyder, Alex Peterson) 10:19
NP – Dalton Bideau (unassisted) 11:46
LC – John Volpe (powerplay) (Andrew Hart, Michael Longhitano) 15:29
NP – Christian Ahn (Alex Peterson, Collin Waters) 15:29
Shots
North Penn 47 1 7-55
Lansdale Catholic 26 2 2-30
Goalie Saves
Jake Snyder (NP) 26; Helen Cooney (LC) 43.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 4, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1
The Patriots opened up a 2-0 lead at the end of one period, using goals by Steven Gilchrist and Joe Ridolfi. Neither team scored in the second period, and the Bucks made it a 2-1 game when Danny Wilson scored seven minutes into the third period. Zach Ridolfi answered with a goal for the Patriots just over a minute later, and the Patriots clung to that one-goal lead until Ridolfi scored in the closing minute of the contest.
Central Bucks West 0 0 1-1
Central Bucks East 2 0 1-4
SOUDERTON 8, PENNRIDGE 1
Alex Politsky had a big night for the Indians, contributing four goals and an assist. A trio of Souderton players had three-point nights. Daniel Rock had two goals and an assist, Kyle Milosec had a goal and two assists while John Killough had three assists.
The Indians used back-to-back goals by Politsky to open up a 2-0 lead at the end of one period. Connor McCausland, Milosic and Politsky each scored single goals in the second period to put the Indians on top 5-0. That lead grew to 8-0 before the Rams’ Trevor Yaglinski scored to break up the Indians’ shutout bid in the game’s closing minutes.
Pennridge 0 0 1-1
Souderton 2 3 3-8
Scoring Summary
Period 1
S – Alex Politsky (Daniel Rock) 6:15
S – Alex Politsky (Connor Walsh, Kyle Milosec) 8:21
Period 2
S – Connor McCausland (Kyle Milosec) 2:42
S – Kyle Milosec (John Killough, Connor Walsh) 4:09
S – Alex Polisky (Clay Anders) 14:38
Period 3
S – Daniel Rock (John Killough) 4:16
S – Daniel Rock (Luke Dieterich, Alex Politsky) 7:28
S – Alex Politsky (John Killough) 10:55
P – Trevor Yaglinski (Hunter Connelly) 14:32
Shots
Pennridge 3 3 4-10
Souderton 17 9 8-34
Goalie Saves
Steven Wilms (P) 23, Michael Weaver (P) 3; Dawson Anders (S) 9.
WISSAHICKON 6, UPPER DUBLIN 2
Luke Honorowksi scored two goals and assisted on two others while Dustin Rabinowitz had one goal and three assists to lead the Trojans.
The Trojans opened up a 2-0 lead just over five minutes into the game after goals by Rabinowitz and Honorowski, but the Flying Cardinals rallied to knot the score by the end of the period, using goals by Erik Baker and Harry Sykes. A goal by Jacob Segelbaum put the Trojans on top 3-2 heading into the final period when Matt Vervlied, Honorowski and Ryan Haney each scored a goal for the 6-2 final.
The Trojans held a 37-13 advantage in shots, but Flying Cardinal goalie Zach Hanson kept his team close with 31 saves.
Wissahickon 2 1 3-6
Upper Dublin 2 0 0-2
Scoring Summary
Period 1
W – Dustin Rabinowitz (Luke Honorowski, Matt Vervlied) 0:32
W – Luke Honorowski (Jeff Karro, Dustin Rabinowitz) 5:02
UD – Eric Baker (Ethan Schwartz) 12:39
UD – Harry Sykes (Eric Baker) 14:45
Period 2
W – Jacob Segelbaum (Adriano Palatano, Kyle Wolf) 3:35
Period 3
W – Matt Vervlied (Luke Honorwoski, Dusitn Rabinowitz) 1:37
W – Luke Honorowski (Dustin Rabinowitz) 14:18
W – Ryan Haney (emptynet) (unassisted) 15:32
Shots
Wissahickon 9 16 12-37
Upepr Dublin 5 5 3-13
Goalie Saves
Noah Katz (W) 11; Zach Hanson (UD) 31.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 6, WILLIAM TENNENT 3
Wood led 2-0 at the end of one period, and the two teams exchanged goals in the second period with the Vikings taking a 4-2 lead into the third period.
Patrick Cavanaugh and Troy Potts scored to give the Vikings the early lead, but Tennent’s PJ Partington and Andrew Bean each scored a goal within the opening two minutes of the second period to make it a 2-2 game. A shorthanded goal by Matt Mandes put the Vikings on top 3-2, and they extended that lead to 4-2 after a Ryan Meinke goal. Partington scored to open the third period, trimming Wood’s lead to one, but goals by Cavanaugh and Jonathan Pflugfelder sealed the Panthers’ fate.
William Tennent 0 2 1-3
Archbishop Wood 2 2 2-6
Scoring Summary
Period 1
AW – Patrick Cavanaugh (Shane Freeman) 1:50
AW – Troy Potts (Ian Schoenleber, Patrick Cavanaugh) 15:35
Period 2
WT – PJ Partington (Jeff Mitchell) 0:23
WT – Andrew Bean (Mike Padgeon, Jeff Mitchell) 1:58
AW – Matt Mandes (shorthanded) (unassisted) 5:38
AW – Ryan Meinke (Nike Patton, Bailey Nixon) 11:07
Period 3
WT – PJ Partington (Alec Dugan, Jeff Mitchell) 4:51
AW – Patrick Cavanaugh (Tim Cordero) 9:14
AW – Jonathan Pflugfelder (Shane Freeman, Duncan Grindrod) 9:50
Shots
William Tennent 3 12 5-20
Archbishop Wood 11 11 9-31
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