Ben Reese features Wissahickon’s 10-2 win over Abington in a battle of Varsity A’s unbeaten squads. Check out Wednesday’s recaps. (Photo provided courtesy of Julie Spahn of Dara N King Photography.)
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- What do you do if your team is averaging almost 10 goals per game and two of your players have scored more than three-fifths of your goals?
If you are the Wissahickon ice hockey team, you go out and score 10 more goals and your two top scorers, brothers Sean and Bryan Garry, net six of those goals.
Those two facts spelled the end of the undefeated season so far for Abington, which dropped a 10-2 decision to the Trojans at Hatfield Ice on Wednesday night. The victory also kept Wissahickon in the ranks of the unbeaten.
"We've got some pretty powerful forwards," Ken Harrington, Wissahickon coach, said. "That's what they do."
And they appear to do it well. And quickly.
The Trojans scored their first goal with only 31 seconds gone in the game. Sean Garry, the older brother, scored it with assists from brother Bryan as well as Daniel Glazer.
With only 15 seconds elapsed in the second period, Bryan beat Ghost goalie Mason Large. Sean Garry and Glazer got the assists.
Both of those goals got the Trojans' offense going. It tallied five goals in the first period and three more in the second.
Perhaps just as important was the work done by the Garry brothers. Since Wissahickon had a short bench, they seemed to be on the ice most of the time.
"We've been playing our whole lives together, so we've kind of just built up the chemistry throughout the years," said Sean. "Our offense is probably the best in the league."
Harrington knows what an asset the Garry brothers are. But he also realizes that his lack of skaters is going to take a toll on everyone.
"I was concerned by the numbers, the number of players, that we have," he said. "We had 12 skaters on the roster.
"We quickly lost one with a concussion, and he's pretty much done for the year. We've played several games with just 10 skaters.
"The guys are pretty good about it. Most of them are in half-decent shape. They like playing every other shift but we're trying to get them to work smarter, dump the puck in, things like that."
Just about the only thing the Trojans dumped the puck into was the Abington net. They scored three goals in the first 6:50 of the game, two even strength and one short-handed.
They built up a 4-0 lead before Abington got on the board on Perry Carpenter's goal at the 13-minute mark of the first period. However, Wissahickon came right back 2:07 later with a goal by Glazer.
The shots on goal in the first period were 17 for Wissahickon and 10 for Abington. In the second, the Trojans outshot the Ghosts 21-5.
After Bryan Garry's goal 15 seconds into the second, things quieted down a bit, meaning the Trojans only scored two more goals. Sean scored on a power play at 7:01 and Glazer got an unassisted goal to finish things off in the second.
By the third period, Wissahickon's players seemed to be fading. Abington outshot the Trojans 13-6.
But, once again, Wissahickon outscored the Ghosts 2-1 in the period. Matt Harrington and Bryan tallied for the Trojans and Gavin O'Donnell beat Wissahickon goalie Mike Henderson for Abington.
Both the Wissahickon coach and one of his top scorers agree on how the team is playing.
"Our goaltending is really good and our defense is starting to come together," Sean Garry said. "It's a real confidence boost to know that we're the only undefeated team in the league."
Harrington echoed Sean's assessment.
"We've got a lot of scoring," he said. "We have solid D and great goaltending."
It all adds up to an unbeaten record.
Wissahickon 10, Abington 2
Abington 1 0 1 – 2
Wissahickon 5 3 2 – 10
First period: 1, Sean Garry W (Daniel Glazer, Bryan Garry) 0:31; 2, Bryan Garry W (Glazer, S. Garry) 2:43; 3, Matt CadeW (unassisted) 6:50 SH; 4, S. Garry W (B. Garry) 12:40; 5, Perry Carpenter A (Gavin O'Donnell) 13:00; 6, Glazer W (Nolan Piatkowski) 15:07.
Second period: 7, B. Garry W (S. Garry, Glazer) 0:15; 8, S. Garry W (B. Garry, Piatkowski) 7:01 PP; 9, Glazer W (unassisted) 14:35.
Third period: 10, Matt Harrington W (Glazer) 6:50; 11, O'Donnell A (Shawn Lombardo) 14:27; 12, B. Garry W (Harrington) 15:17.
Shots: A 28, W 44. Saves: Mason Large (A) 34, Mike Henderson (W) 26.
PENNRIDGE 6, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 4
The Rams broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of unanswered goals in the third period to earn the win in a key SHSHL Continental Conference battle. Michael Walker had a huge six-point game for the Rams, scoring three goals – including the game winner – and assisting on three others.
It was Walker’s goal 29 seconds into the third period (Eric Slater assist) that broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Bucks a lead they would not lose. In the closing minutes, Patrick McGinley turned a Walker pass into a goal for the 6-4 final.
Earlier, Walker’s power play goal (Slater/McGinley assists) put the Rams on the scoreboard seven minutes into the game, but the Bucks closed out the period with goals by Jake Lang (James Lukanski/Christian Young assists) and Joey Rockovich (Joey DeLYoung/Jake Boehm assists) to go on top 2-1 at the end of one period.
West upped its lead to 4-1 after back-to-back goals by DeYoung in a two-minute span in the second period – the first with an Owen Shields assist and the second assisted by Evan Johnson. Pennridge wasted little time before answering. Walker scored 11 seconds after DeYoung’s second goal, using a Slater assist, and then it was McGinley scoring a pair to close out the period – the first with Walker/Slater assists and the second with a Walker assist.
Central Bucks West 2-2-0 4
Pennridge 1-3-2 6
First Period
P - Michael Walker (Erick Slater/Patrick McGinley)
CBW - Jake Lang (James Lukanski/Christian Young)
CBW – Joey Rockovich (Joey DeYoung/Jake Boehm)
Second Period
CBW – Joey DeYoung (Owen Shields)
CBW – Joey DeYoung (Evan Johnson)
P – Michael Walker (Eric Slater)
P – Patrick McGinley (Michael Walker/Eric Slater)
Third Period
P – Michael Walker (Eric Slater)
P – Patrick McGinley (Michael Walker)
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 3, NESHAMINY 1
The Patriots exploded for three first-period goals, and that would be enough to earn the win. East held a decided 44-14 advantage in shots – 25-3 in the opening period.
Matt Cipriano gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead, scoring 3:43 into the opening period with an assist from Jeff Carp. Two minutes later, Carp turned a Colin Quinn pass into a goal and a 2-0 lead.
The Redskins cut that lead in half when Thomas Gallagher found the net with an unassisted goal. Jasen Cluckey’s goal (Jake Semrow) in the closing minutes of the period gave the Patriots their final margin of victory.
East goalkeeper Chris McIntyre turned away 13 of 14 shots he faced in the win while Neshaminy’s Steve Glik kept his team in it with 41 saves.
Central Bucks East 3-0-0 3
Neshaminy 1-0-0 1
Shots: CB East 44, Neshaminy 14.
Saves: Steve Glik (N) 41, Chris McIntyre (CBE) 13.
First Period
CBE – Matt Cipriano (Jeff Carp)
CBE – Jeff Carp (Colin Quinn)
N – Thomas Gallagher
CBE – Jasen Cluckey (Jake Semrow)
Second Period
No Score
Third Period
No Score
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