By Scott Huff
The battle for supremacy in the Suburban High School Hockey League American Division takes place Thursday (2/17/11) when the first place Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (8-3-0, 16) will encounter the second place Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (7-3-1, 15) at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center with a 7 pm face-off.It is the final division game for both teams, and the winner takes the outright championship.
“We have a lot of respect for Hatboro-Horsham,” said Upper Dublin head coach Dave Japchen. “They are a team that always plays hard and with a great deal of finesse. Both teams have worked hard to get to the position of winning the (division) championship, and when you get this close, you want to win it.”
This will be the third meeting between the high flying Cardinals and the top Hatters. The teams split the first two games.
“I think that tells you how even we are,” said Japchen. “The games weren’t too close in scores, but both of us had good games against the other.”
Hatboro-Horsham won the first meeting between the two teams back on October 28, 2010, by an 8-3 score. Tom Boyle had a five-point night for the Hatters and scored a pair of goals. Chris Flannery recorded a hat trick for HH, while Patrick Durkin collected four assists for the winners.
Brian Markman – the leading scorer in the SHSHL American Division with 43 goals and 20 assists – did not play in that first meeting for Upper Dublin.
“We didn’t see him in that first game,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Tricia Silvestri. “But we sure saw him in that second game. He is an excellent player.”
Upper Dublin won the second meeting between the two teams back on December 16, 2010, by a 10-5 score. Markman tormented the Hatters as he scored four goals for the Cardinals. Tyler Peskin registered the hat trick for the winners.
Kelsey Koelzer led the Hatters in scoring with a pair of goals.
“Now that I have seen (Markman) play, hopefully we can come up with a better way to deal with him,” said Silvestri. “We have Harry Nesbit back with us, and he has been our best defenseman all season. He can play the physical game, and we are going to need that to match-up with him.”
The winner of the Upper Dublin-Hatboro showdown for the championship will face fourth place Wissahickon (5-6-0, 10) in the SHSHL Class A playoffs, while the loser will face third place Lansdale Catholic (7-5-0, 14).
“Your goal at the beginning of the season is always to be a champion,” said Japchen. “And we want to make the most of our chance against a good team.”
“This game is very important for our seniors,” said Silvestri. “They have played Hatter Hockey for four seasons and would love to win a championship.”
Falcons Ready To Take Flight
Pennsbury (11-7-1, 23) head coach John Bria has his sights set on a ‘home’ game in the upcoming SHSHL Class AA playoffs that begin next week.
“We want to make sure that we finish in the top four in our league,” said Bria as the Falcons are in a battle with Central Bucks South (11-5-3, 25) and North Penn (9-5-4, 22) for the third, fourth, and fifth place slots in the standings. “All we need to do is come out and play our game and win some games.
“Right now we have to fine tune our power play and our penalty killing,” added Bria. “And it would be nice to get more scoring from somewhere other than the first line.”
That first Falcon line is one of the most prolific scoring lines in all of the SHSHL with Ken McCormick (47 goals), Mike Hlatky (17 goals), and Will Richards (13 goals). McCormick leads the entire SHSHL – National, Continental, & American Divisions – in scoring with 81 points.
“Ken is such a tough kid that plays every shift at 110 percent,” said Bria of his senior captain. “Plus he is a great leader and a great kid to have on your team. He can lead by example, but if he has to be vocal with his teammates he can.”
Pennsbury has a key match-up with improving Council Rock North (7-10-2, 16) on Thursday (2/17/11).
“(Council Rock North head coach) Eric Tye is a great coach, and he will have them ready,” said Bria. “We have to go out and play our best game.”
Tuesday Night Lights in the SHSHL
2/15/11
Central Bucks South (11-5-3, 25) won a hard fought game with Council Rock North (7-10-2, 16) as the Titans won a key 3-1 SHSHL Class AA victory at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.
Tom Dougherty scored the first goal of the game for CB South in the second period, but CR North knotted the score later in the period on a goal by Sam Kroh. Midway through the third period, Jimmy Milanesi scored what proved to be the game winner for the Titans. Dougherty scored an empty net goal with four seconds left in the contest.
CB South goalie Dennis Ruff had an outstanding game with 33 saves, while Rock North net minder Michael Lieninger came up with 25 saves for the Indians.
Central Bucks South 0 1 2 * 3
Council Rock North 0 1 0 * 1
Lansdale Catholic (12-8-0) blasted 40 shots on net and cruised to a 9-2 non-league victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh in a game played at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.
Andrew Hart and Kevin Quinn sparked the Crusader attack with two goals each. Brendan Curtis, Anthony Didonato, Doug Becker, Nick Sette, and John Volpe all scored single goals for LC. Ben Mills had 12 saves for the winners.
Lansdale Catholic 4 2 3 * 9
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 1 1 * 2
Friday Night Lights in the SHSHL
2/11/11
Central Bucks East (16-3-0, 32) overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat Neshaminy (5-9-5, 15) by a 7-2 score.
Neshaminy had taken a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by DJ Bell in the first period.
CB East scored the next seven goals to coast to victory. Alex Piccione scored a pair of goals to lead the Patriot attack, while Tom Schloedorn, Vince Esposito, Joe Caperelli, Ryan Joyce, and Nick Patullo each scored single goals for the winners.
Central Bucks East 1 1 5 * 7
Neshaminy 2 0 0 * 2
Pennsbury (11-7-1, 23) had very little difficulty in defeating Souderton (3-14-2, 8) by a 7-0 tally.
Kevin Kandetzke recorded the shutout for the Falcons with 23 saves.
Ken McCormick and William Richards each scored a pair of goals for Pennsbury, while Drew Sweetland, Phillip Herring, and Nigel Honegger each scored solo goals for the Falcons.
Pennsbury 3 4 0 * 7
Souderton 0 0 0 * 0
Pennridge (6-15-1 overall) had a hat trick scored by Matt Brown as the Rams came up with a 4-0 non-league win over Lansdale Catholic (11-8-0 overall).
In addition to the three-goal effort by Brown, Pennridge had a single goal scored by Joseph Root. Justin Roberts had three assists for the Rams.
Both goaltenders had good numbers as Dustin Wexler stopped all 15 shots for the Rams, while LC goalie Ben Mills had 32 saves for the Crusaders.
Pennridge 0 1 3 * 4
Lansdale Catholic 0 0 0 * 0
‘If’ the SHSHL Playoffs began today
Class AA
(1) Council Rock South Hawks (17-0-1, 34) vs. (8) Neshaminy Redskins (5-9-5, 15)
(2) Central Bucks East Patriots (16-3-0, 32) vs. (7) Council Rock North Indians (7-10-2, 16)
(4) Central Bucks South Titans (11-5-3, 25) vs. (6) William Tennent Panthers (7-10-3, 17)
(4) Pennsbury Falcons (11-7-1, 23) vs. (5) North Penn Knights (9-5-4,22)
Class A
(1) Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (8-3-0, 16) vs. (4) Wissahickon Trojans (5-6-0, 10)
(2) Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (7-3-1, 15) vs. (3) Lansdale Catholic Crusaders (7-5-0, 14)
SHSHL ‘Fab Four’
National Conference
Ken McCormick – Pennsbury Falcons – 47-34=81
Patrick Grilli – Council Rock South Hawks – 39-28=67
DJ Bell – Neshaminy Redskins – 31-22=53
Mike Hlatky – Pennsbury Falcons – 17-33=50
Continental Conference
Jimmy McKelvie – North Penn Knights – 19-26=45
Tom Schloedorn – Central Bucks East – 15-25=40
Austin Cinalli – Central Bucks East – 17-17=34
Matt Brown – Pennridge Rams – 19-15-34
American Conference
Brian Markman – Upper Dublin Cardinals – 43-20=63
Samuel Etskovitz – Upper Dublin Cardinals – 23-19=42
Tyler Peskin – Upper Dublin Cardinals – 18-21=39
Nick Sette – Lansdale Catholic Crusaders – 19-20=39
“On Ice” this week in the SHSHL
Thursday – February 17, 2011
Pennsbury Falcons vs Rock North Indians @ Grundy Ice Rink – 7:15
Neshaminy Redskins vs. Central Bucks West Bucks @ Grundy Ice Rink – 8:55
Souderton Big Red vs. CR South Golden Hawks @ Hatfield Ice – 9:00
Upper Dublin Cardinals vs. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Bucks County Ice – 7:00
Friday – February 18, 2011
Upper Moreland vs. Wissahickon @ Wintersport Arena – 8:30
North Penn Knights vs. Council Rock South Hawks @ Hatfield Ice – 9:00
Suburban One Sports.com *******Super Seven********
(1) Council Rock South Golden Hawks
(2) Central Bucks East Patriots
(3) Central Bucks South Titans
(4) Pennsbury Falcons
(5) North Penn Knights
(6) Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
(7) Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
- Log in to post comments
0
