Check out the results for SOL SHSHL teams in action in Monday’s opening playoff game. To view photos of the CB East/Pennsbury and CB South/CR North games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- The crowd in the stands could have been auditioning for a part in "Cat on a Hot Tim Roof," hollering "Stella, Stella" throughout Monday night's Suburban High School Hockey League playoff game at Hatfield Ice.
However, the crowd was cheering for Matt Stella, North Penn's captain, who led the Knights to a 5-2 win over Council Rock South. Stella scored three goals, including two in the deciding third period.
The senior stepped up when North Penn needed him the most. His first goal gave the Knights a 2-1 lead in the second period, and his final two tallies gave them insurance when it was necessary.
"He's quite a player," North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis said of Stella. "He's our leading scorer; he plays in all situation -- five-on-five, power plays, penalty kill.
"He's our all-around best player. In games like this, that's the type of guy you want on the ice, the kind that will put the team on their back and say 'Let's go.' "
Stella shrugged off any and all praise for his play, putting the accolades on his teammates.
"We wanted to make sure we got a good start," Stella said. "It's my senior year; I wanted to make some memories for my team and win the first state championship for North Penn.
"Obviously, you always feel like you want to step up offensively, but I know we have a bunch of offensive weapons out here that can do just what I did and put the puck in the net. The opportunity just came to me.
"I have some great linemates in Kevin Saylor and Jake Heckenberger. They just got the puck to me and I capitalized when I needed to."
Stella's two third-period goals followed a power play tally by Jeremy Snyder which gave the Knights the lead for good. It came just about midway through the period.
"The guys came out and really jumped on them early in the third and were starting to take advantage of the shots and then we got that power play," Vaitis said. "I don't think the goalie even saw Snyder's shot.
"Our power play has been great all year with (Ryan) Nowicki in front of the net. It's pretty tough to move him (Nowicki is 6-2 and weighs 255)."
Golden Hawks coach Joe Houk knew he was in trouble when North Penn got that power play in the third period. But until that point, he felt his team had a shot at winning the game.
"It was a battle and we beat ourselves," Houk said. "We had them on the ropes and we get that penalty and they get that power play goal.
"We just couldn't come back from that. They got the late goal after that and it was just too much.
"We had a game plan and we stuck to it almost the whole game. Against a team like that, you can't give them power plays. I knew the next goal scored (when the game was tied 2-2) was going to give momentum."
Heckenberger got the Knights going with only 38 seconds gone in the game. He got around a South defender and beat Golden Hawk goalie Zachary Magro with a backhander.
The Hawks came back nearly 11 minutes later. Eric Higgins tied the game at 1-1.
Stella scored his first goal in the first minute of the second period for a 2-1 North Penn advantage. But South came right back again, tying the game on Alex Keck's goal at the 14:33 mark.
It stayed that way until the Knights found themselves on the power player after a South player was called for cross checking with 8:43 left in regulation. Snyder untied the score off a pass from Christian Ahn 14 seconds later and Stella's final two goals sealed the win.
The Knights will advance to the semifinals of the league playoffs where they will meet Central Bucks East on Wednesday at Warwick.
Council Rock South 1 1 0 – 2
North Penn 1 1 3 – 5
First Period
1. Jake Heckenberger NP (unassisted) 0:38; 2. Eric Higgins CRS (Kyle Bradley, Nick Keck) 11:23. Penalty: None.
Second Period
3. Matt Stella NP (Jeremy Snyder, Kevin Saylor) 1:00; 4. Alex Keck CRS (Dylan Varian) 14:33. Penalties: Derek Heckler (NP) 2:10; Chad Wiener (CRS) checking from behind 6:55; Wiener (CRS) misconduct 6:55 10 min; Snyder (NP) head contact 10:50; Snyder (NP) misconduct 10:50 10 min.
Third Period
5. Snyder NP (Christian Ahn) 8:57 PP; 6. Stella (Heckenberger) 10:24; 7. Stella NP (Saylor) 12:53. Penalties: N. Keck (CRS) cross checking 8:43; A. Keck (CRS) unsportsmanlike conduct 10:24.
Shots: CRS -- 33; NP -- 38. Saves: Matt Sheley (CRS) 33; Jake Snyder (NP) 31.
Souderton 11, Neshamny 1
Souderton "rocked" Neshaminy with nine goals in the final two periods to knock the Redskins out of the Suburban High School Hockey League playoffs Monday night at Hatfield Ice.
The Indians used a big rock, forward Daniel Rock, to advance to the semifinals on Wednesday against Central Bucks South.
Rock scored four goals and assisted on two more to pace the Indians' attack. Alex Politsky scored three goals and had three assists, Clay Anders netted two with one assist and Charles Kakreka and Kyle Milosec added single goals for Souderton.
"It was very important (that we get off to a quick start)," Rock said. "I think we sent a message to the whole league that we're coming."
A quick start was the Indians’ game plan.
"That was the whole plan," coach Matt Montagna said. "It didn't happen.
"We got down. We just wanted to get moving. That happened eventually.
"We call it 'sledding downhill.' We wanted to get going downhill and see what happened from there."
What happened was that the Souderton offense took over the game. The Indians peppered Neshaminy goalie Matt Sheley with 42 shots and scored five goals in the second period and four more in the third, finally ending the game on Politsky's power play goal with 5:14 remaining which brought the mercy rule into effect.
Rock knows that he isn't the only scorer on his team.
"I think our whole team plays a huge role in our game," he said. "We have a lot of energy guys who get our feet moving."
For his part, Montagna knows that his team still has a lot of work ahead of it.
"We've got to keep focusing," the coach said. "There's a really big task on Wednesday. CB South is a really big task."
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Neshaminy 1 0 0 1
Souderton 2 5 4 11
SHOTS
Neshaminy 4 9 6 19
Souderton 13 16 13 42
POWERPLAYS
Neshaminy 1 for 6 : Souderton 4 for 6
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Neshaminy - Nick Foster (powerplay) (Eric Graham) 7:20
Souderton - Clay Anders (Alex Politsky) 10:57
Souderton - Daniel Rock (powerplay) (unassisted) 14:37
Period 2
Souderton - Alex Politsky (Clay Anders, Daniel Rock) 0:59
Souderton - Daniel Rock (Alex Politsky, John Killough) 3:29
Souderton - Daniel Rock (unassisted) 5:02
Souderton - Clay Anders (powerplay) (unassisted) 12:18
Souderton - Charles Kakreka (powerplay) (Tyler Dipietro) 13:33
Period 3
Souderton - Alex Politsky (unassisted) 4:54
Souderton - Daniel Rock (Alex Politsky) 5:07
Souderton - Kyle Milosec (John Killough) 6:07
Souderton - Alex Politsky (powerplay) (Daniel Rock) 10:46
GOALIES
30 Matt Sheley (NESH) LOSS 48:00 42 31
38 Dawson Anders (SOU) WIN 48:00 19 18
Upper Moreland 9 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3
Matthew Iehle and Sean Lloyd each scored two goals and contributed an assist to finish with three points, leading the Golden Bears to the opening round win.
First period goals by Colton Arizini and Sean Lloyd spotted the Golden Bears an early 2-0 lead. That lead grew to 4-0 after Lloyd and Nick Park both scored unassisted goals to open the second period. Ryan Reed put the Colonials on the scoreboard midway through the period, but Andy Iehle and Matthew Iehle each scored a goal to close out the period, putting the Golden Bears on top 6-1. Goals by Park, John Lowry and Matthew Iehle put the Golden Bears on top 9-1 before Jared Aiello and Seth Horry scored for PW in the game’s final minutes.
The Golden Bears held a 46-23 advantage in shots. Upper Moreland goalie Patrick Beissel turned away 20 of 23 shots he faced. PW’s Jim Smith was credited with 37 saves.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 2 3
Upper Moreland 2 4 3 9
SHOTS
Plymouth Whitemarsh 9 7 7 23
Upper Moreland 20 19 7 46
POWERPLAYS
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 for 3 : Upper Moreland 0 for 1
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Upper Moreland - Colton Arizini (unassisted) 2:34
Upper Moreland - Sean Lloyd (Jake Park) 12:46
Period 2
Upper Moreland - Sean Lloyd (unassisted) 7:06
Upper Moreland - Nick Park (unassisted) 7:55
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Ryan Reed (Joe Jordan) 8:20
Upper Moreland - Andy Iehle (unassisted) 11:00
Upper Moreland - Matthew Iehle (Colton Arizini) 12:16
Period 3
Upper Moreland - Nick Park (Sean Lloyd, Colin Burch) 2:54
Upper Moreland - John Lowry (Matthew Iehle) 4:35
Upper Moreland - Matthew Iehle (unassisted) 11:13
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Jared Aiello (Ryan Reed) 14:22
Plymouth Whitemarsh - Seth Horry (unassisted) 15:28
GOALIES
1 Jim Smith (PW) LOSS 48:00 46 37
31 Patrick Beissel (UMO) WIN 48:00 23 20
Central Bucks East 5 Pennsbury 1
The Patriots scored three goals in just over five minutes during a deadly stretch late in the first quarter. Alex Wasserman scored a power play goal 10:05 into the period, and it was a 2-0 game after an Austin Baty goal. Joe Ridolfi’s power play goal sent the Patriots into the second period with a 3-0 lead. Liam Kolar’s power play goal put the Patriots on top 4-0 before Pennsbury’s Larry Kolk scored to break up East’s shutout bid. Shaun Bily added a power play goal for the 5-1 final.
The Patriots held a 35-20 advantage in shots. Steven Gilchrist stopped 19 of 20 shots he faced in goal for the Patriots. Trevor Schadler was credited 30 saves in goal for the Falcons.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Pennsbury 0 1 0 1
Central Bucks East 3 2 0 5
SHOTS
Pennsbury 10 8 2 20
Central Bucks East 13 19 3 35
POWERPLAYS
Pennsbury 0 for 6 : Central Bucks East 4 for 4
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Central Bucks East - Alex Wasserman (powerplay) (Nick Chimera, Zach Davis) 10:05
Central Bucks East - Austin Baty (Austin Chase) 10:45
Central Bucks East - Joe Ridolfi (powerplay) (Shaun Bily, Austin Chase) 15:22
Period 2
Central Bucks East - Liam Kolar (powerplay) (Nick Chimera, Luke Rossi) 10:22
Pennsbury - Larry Kolk (Linder Kenyon) 12:01
Central Bucks East - Shaun Bily (powerplay) (Zach Davis) 14:48
Period 3
(no scoring)
GOALIES
48 Trevor Schadler (PENNS) LOSS 48:00 35 30
49 Steven Gilchrist (CBE) WIN 48:00 20 19
Central Bucks South 8 Council Rock North 2
CB South’s Mike Pilla and Dominic Bova each scored a first period goal to give the Titans a lead they would not lose. If the Titans needed insurance, they got it in the second period. Brenden Clements scored 6:33 into the period to put the Titans on top 3-0 before Mark Tosti scored an unassisted goal to pull the Indians to within two. Goals by Alex Stoll and Brandon Spognardi sent the Titans into the final period with a 5-1 lead. Stoll led a balanced Titan attack with a goal and two assists.
Jake Kelinson’s goal made it a 6-1 game before Rock North’s Tristan Wieczorek broke South’s three-goal run with a goal. Clements and Pilla closed out the scoring with single goals.
South held a lopsided 55-14 advantage in shots. Kyle McQuillan turned away 47 shots for the Indians. Nick Madson was credited with 12 saves for the Titans.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
Council Rock North 0 1 1 2
Central Bucks South 2 3 3 8
SHOTS
Council Rock North 5 3 6 14
Central Bucks South 16 25 14 55
POWERPLAYS
Council Rock North 0 for 4 : Central Bucks South 0 for 4
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
Central Bucks South - Mike Pilla (Damon Delaurentis) 11:09
Central Bucks South - Dominic Bova (Kevin Casey, Jake Bauer) 14:17
Period 2
Central Bucks South - Brenden Clements (Alex Stoll) 6:33
Council Rock North - Mark Tosti (unassisted) 9:20
Central Bucks South - Alex Stoll (unassisted) 12:02
Central Bucks South - Brandon Spognardi (Connor Matsinger, Dominic Bova) 13:58
Period 3
Central Bucks South - Jake Kelinson (Mike Lucas, Cam Calista) 3:13
Council Rock North - Tristan Wieczorek (Mark Tosti) 4:51
Central Bucks South - Brenden Clements (Alex Stoll, Jack Pohl) 8:00
Central Bucks South - Mike Pilla (unassisted) 12:24
GOALIES
42 Kyle McQuillan (CRN) LOSS 48:00 55 47
27 Nick Madson (CBS) WIN 48:00 14 12
Wissahickon 4 William Tennent 2
Luke Honorowski scored a power play goal 3:14 into the second period, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving the Trojans a lead they would not lose. Harry Hessler, using a Honorowski assist, added an insurance goal midway through the third period to give the Trojans the hard-fought win.
In the opening period, Tennent took an early 1-0 lead on a short-handed goal by Sean Ovington. Ryan Haney scored the equalizer, but Matt Melnikas gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with a goal 9:20 into the period. Dustin Rabinowitz scored the tying goal late in the period. The Panthers did not score the rest of the way.
The Trojans held a 38-21 lead in shots. Wissahickon’s Noah Katz turned away 19 of 21 shots while Tennent’s CJ Lineman had 34 stops.
GAME DETAILS
SCORING
William Tennent 2 0 0 2
Wissahickon 2 1 1 4
SHOTS
William Tennent 9 6 6 21
Wissahickon 13 11 14 38
POWERPLAYS
William Tennent 0 for 3 : Wissahickon 1 for 5
SCORING SUMMARY
Period 1
William Tennent - Sean Ovington (shorthanded) (unassisted) 3:38
Wissahickon - Ryen Haney (Matt Vervlied) 5:01
William Tennent - Matt Melnikas (Jeff Mitchell) 9:20
Wissahickon - Dustin Rabinowitz (Brandon Rosoff) 15:23
Period 2
Wissahickon - Luke Honorowski (powerplay) (Dustin Rabinowitz, Matt Vervlied) 3:14
Period 3
Wissahickon - Harry Hessler (Luke Honorowski) 8:24
GOALIES
43 C.J. Lineman (WT) LOSS 48:00 38 34
55 Noah Katz (WISS) WIN 48:00 21 19
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