CB South defeated Souderton 8-5 in SHSHL action Thursday. To view photos of the game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD – Central Bucks South got what it expected from its own players. But the Titans got a little more than they expected from Souderton.
South put on an offensive show Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, beating the Indians 8-5. The large number of goals on CB South’s side were expected, but the large number of goals on Souderton’s side weren't.
“For our side, I always expect that,” said Shaun McGinty, the Titans' assistant coach who held the reins with head coach Tom Coyne in Florida on vacation. “We do a pretty good job of outshooting teams.
“I didn't expect it from them. The last time we played them it was 8-2 (a South win), but they have a solid program.”
Titan captain Nick DeLaurentis had a similar reaction to Souderton’s offense.
“We didn't really expect it,” he said. “They came out flying.
“Throughout the game, we tried to adapt to it and we started to play our own game. We settled in.
“I think we were all confident that we were going to take care of business in the end.”
But then both McGinty and DeLaurentis, who had a hat trick, were more than willing to talk about their own offensive explosion.
“I expect that out of all three of our lines,” McGinty said when asked about the eight goals. “Any one of those guys can do it.
“Jim Milanese played a great game tonight. The (Jake) Bauer-(Dominic) Bova line with (Kevin) Casey is a strong line both offensively and defensively.”
Then he started to talk about his No. 1 line, the DeLaurentis-Connor Bechtel-Mike Pilla line.
“That line - they work very well together,” McGinty said. “They put together great plays in the offensive zone.”
DeLaurentis likes his line, also.
“We put a lot of pucks in the net,” he said. “Connor, he's nice to have on the line; Mike Pilla, too.”
But both know there was something lacking on the defensive end.
“I was a little disappointed with our start and our effort and falling into playing their game rather than playing our game,” said McGinty. “When we get away from our game, bad things happen.”
Then he got to some specifics.
“I'd like to see them back-check more and regroup more and help our defense out than worrying about the offensive zone,” he said about the DeLaurentis-Bechtel-Pilla line. “Nick, being the captain, I do expect (the offense) out of him, but I expect him to play both ends of the ice as well.”
DeLaurentis knows that.
“We're a pretty good offensive threat,” he said of his line. “I think it’s just offensively we're fine.
“Team defense - as much as we score, we let up a lot of goals. I think we've got to come back and help out on defense - then I think we'll be more successful.”
Well, the offense was very successful.
In fact, the Titans scored with only 16 seconds gone in the first period on the first shot of the game. Bauer put one past Souderton goalie Bryce McMichael with an assist from Bova.
Near the mid-point of the opening period, Souderton tied it up. Daniel Rock took a pass from Chris Malanga and shoveled the puck past South goalie Jeff Pelkowski.
However, slightly more than two minutes later, the Titans regained the lead. Milanese notched the goal off an assist from Brenden Clements.
Bauer netted his second goal of the opening stanza with 1:37 remaining in the period. Casey provided the assist.
Trailing 3-1 entering the second period, Souderton had to come back and it did, outscoring the Titans 2-1 in the period.
DeLaurentis put South up 4-1 with 10:34 remaining in the second, scoring his first goal of the game. Bechtel picked up his first of three assists on the night, all on DeLaurentis goals.
Souderton tallied the next two goals. Alex Politsky scored unassisted at the 7:54 mark, and then Clay Anders got the Indians within one goal on the power play with 2:28 remaining in the period with assists from Politsky and Kyle Milosec.
Things also got chippy in the second period. While only three penalties were called in the first period, 11 were whistled in the second, including a four-minute roughing minor.
“It got a little out of hand tonight because we were playing a game we don't want to play,” McGinty said. “We want to play run-and-gun hockey.
“We want to get the puck out of the defensive zone, into the neutral zone, into the offensive zone. We want to play hockey in their end.
“We did a lot in our end tonight. It was a pretty sloppy game.”
Souderton tied the game with only 1:24 gone in the third period. Rock scored the goal with an assist from Malanga.
But South regained the lead at 5-4 less than 1:30 later when Milanese tallied an unassisted goal. Eleven seconds later, DeLaurentis got his second goal, once again assisted by Bechtel, for a 6-4 lead.
The Indians bounced right back. Anders got this goal off an assist by Malanga and it was 6-5.
Everyone was waiting for some more fireworks. And they came – all for South.
Thomas Liberta scored a short-handed goal unassisted to give the Titans a 7-5 lead. Then DeLaurentis finished off the scoring and his hat trick with a power-play goal with 9:02 gone in the period.
CB South 3 1 3 – 8
Souderton 1 2 2 – 5
First Period
1. Jake Bauer CBS (Dominic Bova) 0:16; 2. Daniel Rock S (Chris Malanga) PP 7:30; 3. Jim Milanese CBS (Brenden Clements) 9:38; 4. Bauer CBS (Kevin Casey) 14:27. Penalties: Dominic Bova CBS (Roughing), 2 min, 4:16; Bova CBS (Head contact) 2 min, 6:56; Greg Czeckner S (Tripping) 2 min, 15:32.
Second Period
5. Nick DeLaurentis CBS (Connor Bechtel, Mike Pilla) 5:16; 6. Alex Politsky S (unassisted) 7:54; 7. Clay Anders S (Alex Politsky, Kyle Milosec) PP 13:32. Penalties: Dylan Manto S (Cross Checking), 2 min, 2:51; Connor Bechtel CBS (Tripping), 2 min, 2:55; Manto S (High Sticking), 2 min, 6:32; Manto S (Roughing), 2 min, 6:32; Kyle Milosec S (Roughing), 2 min, 6:32; DeLaurentis CBS (Roughing Double Minor), 4 min, 6:32; Bechtel CBS (Roughing), 2 min, 6:32; Malanga S (Charging), 2 min, 8:45; Casey CBS (High Sticking), 2 min, 12:37; Malanga S (Cross Checking), 2 min, 14:31; Tom Kelly CBS (Holding Stick), 2 min, 14:31; Connor Walsh S (Hooking), 2 min, 15:05.
Third Period
8. Daniel Rock S (Chris Malanga) 1:24; 9. Milanese CBS (unassisted) 2:52; 10. DeLaurentis CBS (Pilla, Bechtel) 3:03; 11. Anders S (Malanga) 4:06; 12. Thomas Liberta CBS (unassisted) SH 6:24; 13. DeLaurentis CBS (Bechtel) PP 9:02. Penalties: Connor Matsinger CBS (Holding), 2 min, 5:04; DeLaurentis CBS (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 6:24; Rock S (Interference), 2 min, 8:54; Milosec S (Roughing Double Minor), 4 min, 14:16 .
Shots: CBS 31, S 19. Saves: Jeff Pelkowski CBS 26, Bryce McMichael S 11.
- Log in to post comments
