By Scott Huff
The Suburban High School Hockey League regular season standings have been shuffled, reshuffled, and reshuffled again – and again – and again.The playoff hand has finally been dealt, and the respective SHSHL playoff teams in both the Class AA and Class A now know the team that they will share the ice with come this SHSHL playoff season. And unlike Texas hold-em, there ain’t no bluffin’ in these games.
SHSHL Capsule Previews
Class AA
Wednesday – February 23, 2011
# 1 Council Rock South Golden Hawks (18-1-1) vs. # 8 Council Rock North Indians (7-11-2)
Bucks County Ice Sports Center – 7 pm
Season Meetings – Council Rock South won both meeting between the rival schools. Rock South defeated CR North 6-1 on 11/24/10. CR South also defeated Rock North on 1/20/11 by a 5-0 score.
Fab Four Scorers for the Golden Hawks: Patrick Grilli 41 goals – 28 assists = 69 points; Steve Junod 15-25=40; Nick Keck 14-14=28; Colin Craige 6-20=26.
Fab Four Scorers for the Indians: Bobby Dumont 9-17=26; Michael Shander 13-12=25; AJ Garboski 10-14=24; Tim Kroh 12-4=16.
Council Rock South head coach Joe Houk says: “We lost our last game of the year (to North Penn), and I think that opened some of the players’ eyes. We only had about one half of our varsity kids playing in that game, but I think it put across the fact that almost any team in the playoffs can beat any other team. If you lay down for one game – you are finished.”
Council Rock North head coach Eric Tye says: “We have lost our last two games by one goal, and we might be playing our best hockey of the year right now. We need to keep focus and stop taking dumb penalties if we want to beat South. We also have to try and keep (Patrick) Grilli and (Zack) Goodman off the score sheet. I wish they didn’t lose to North Penn in their last game – who wants to play an angry South?”
# 2 Central Bucks East Patriots (17-3-0) vs. # 7 William Tennent Panthers (7-10-3)
Bucks County Ice Sports Center – 8:40 pm
Season Meetings – The teams split their pair of games this season. William Tennent took the first game by a 3-2 score on 11/19/10, while Central Bucks East outscored the Panthers 5-2 in the rematch on 1/19/11.
Fab Four Scorers for the Patriots: Tom Schloendorn 17 goals – 26 assists – 43 points; Austin Cinalli 18-19=37; Mike Palmer 7-24=31; John Esposito 13-15=28.
Fab Four Scorers for the Panthers: Cameron Goodell 19-19=38; AJ Carbone 19-10=29; Clint Aussprung 8-9=17; DJ Mulhern 6-7=13.
Central Bucks East head coach Ken Latchum says: “To play against the best goaltender in the league in a one-game elimination game is scary. (William Tennent goalie) Eric HorroX can be the difference in every game he plays, and we have to be able to fire a whole lot of shots on him and hope some get by him. We want to crash the net and create a lot of traffic in front of him. He can’t stop what he can’t see – can he?”
William Tennent head coach Nick D’Aurizio says: “If were could beat Central Bucks East, it would turn a lot of heads. East is a top tier team, and we are going to have our work cut out for us. They say you need a great goaltender in the playoffs and having Eric (HorroX) is a big advantage for us. We have come together, though, from Eric on out and have become a very good team.”
# 3 Central Bucks South Titans (12-5-3) vs. # 6 Neshaminy Redskins (6-9-5)
Hatfield Ice – 7:20 pm
Season Meetings: Central Bucks South earned both a win and a tie in its seasonal series with Neshaminy. South and the ‘Skins tied 5-5 in the first meeting on 11/18/10 and the Titans defeated Neshaminy 6-3 in the rematch on 12/17/10.
Fab Four Scorers for the Titans: Tom Dougherty 22 goals – 12 assists – 34 points; Connor Bechtel 10-17=27; Bobby Mallon 10-10=20; Nick Delaurentis 9-11=20.
Fab Four Scorers for the Redskins: DJ Bell 31-24=55; Jordan Ducko 12-19=31; Steven Lee 5-13=18; Jake Kitchenman 3-14=17.
Central Bucks South head coach Tom Coyne says: “I really feel that the playoffs are wide open. The entire field – one through eight – is capable of beating any of the others. Council Rock South and Central Bucks East have front row seats for a reason, but any team could catch lightning in a bottle. The playing field is level, and our team is ready to end the season on an impressive note.”
Neshaminy head coach Ray Sherno says: “Tom Dougherty really hurt us the second time we played them. He has speed, can handle the puck, and can put it in the back of the net. That first line does most of their scoring, and if we want to win the game we are going to try and find a way to shut them down. CB South seems like a team that has gotten better and better as the season went on.”
# 4 Pennsbury Falcons (12-7-1) vs. # 5 North Penn Knights (10-6-4)
Grundy Ice Arena – 7 pm
Season Meetings: North Penn earned both a win and a tie in its seasonal series with Pennsbury. The Knights and Falcons played to a 4-4 tie on 11/10/10, while North Penn whipped Pennsbury 8-1 in the rematch on 12/16/10.
Fab Four Scorers for the Falcons: Ken McCormick 48 goals – 36 assists – 84 points; Mike Hlatky 19-34=53; Luke Matthews 11-7=18; William Richards 13-4=17.
Fab Four Scorers for the Knights: Jimmy McKelvie 22-28=50; Dave Heggan 14-13=26; Caleb Witzaney 12-11=23; Dan Corrado 10-10=20.
Pennsbury head coach John Bria says: “The last time we played them they kicked our butt 8-0. We got down early, and it seemed like we just turned the page too quickly. We have to come ready to play right from the beginning of the game. We are going to have to count on our captains to step up and show leadership in the playoff games.”
North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis says: “Pennsbury knocked us out of the playoffs last year and our players are really looking forward to playing this game. Beating Council Rock South (18-1-1) going into the game (5-2) really should be a boost for our team. We looked at that game like a playoff test, and the coaching staff was really proud of the way we played.”
Class A
Thursday – February 22, 2011
# 1 Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (8-3-1) vs. # 4 Wissahickon Trojans (6-6-0)
Warwick Ice – 8:30 pm
Season Meetings: Hatboro-Horsham won all three meeting between the SHSHL American Division champions and Wissahickon. The Hatters won 8-0 on 10/29/10; 8-4 on 11/4/10; and 6-1 on 1/13/11.
Fab Four Scorers for the Hatters: Kelsey Koelzer 19 goals – 11 assists – 30 points; Patrick Durkin 13-17=30; Tim Boyle 18-11=29; Manny Billones 15-14=29.
Fab Four Scorers for the Trojans: Joey Sutow 21-8=29; Pat Wilson 12-15=27; Dustin Rabinowitz 10-12=22; Brian Kaissi 6-15=21.
Hatboro-Horsham head coach Tricia Silvestri says: “We have reached one goal of winning the league championship. Now we want to follow that and win a playoff championship. In order for us to do that we have to beat Wissahickon, and we can’t look past them.”
Wissahickon head coach Ryan McLauglin says: “In this division past them, anyone can really beat anyone. The key for us is to stay out of the penalty box. (Wissahickon goalie) Adam Solomon does a great job of mental preparation. He will be focused and ready to play the game.”
# 2 Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals (8-4-0) vs. # 3 Lansdale Catholic Crusaders (7-5-0)
Bucks County Ice Sports Center – 8:40 pm
Season Meetings: Upper Dublin won two of the three meetings between the two teams this season. The Flying Cardinals defeated the Crusaders by a 7-6 score on 11/19/10 and by a 9-7 tally on 1/6/11. Lansdale Catholic beat UD 8-4 in the first meeting between the teams on 10/8/10.
Fab Four Scorers for the Flying Cardinals: Brian Markman 44 goals – 21 assists – 65 points; Samuel Etskovitz 24-20=44; Tyler Peskin 19-21=40; Ben Hoffmann 12-22=34.
Fab Four Scorers for the Crusaders: Nick Sette 19-20=39; Brendan Curtis 9-24=33; Anthony Valerio 15-13=28; Andrew Hart 10-10=20.
Upper Dublin head coach Dave Japchen says: “We were disappointed in the way that we played against Hatboro-Horsham because we didn’t play a team game. They put three players on Brian Markman, and we didn’t do the things we had to do to overcome that. I don’t care how good a player you are; you can’t skate through three players the whole night. Lansdale Catholic is a fast team, and if we don’t do the things the right way, we are going to be in a lot of trouble.”
Lansdale Catholic head coach Mark DiDonato says: “We have to come up with a plan to stop Brian Markman. He scored seven goals against us the last time we played, and that can’t happen again. It seems like if you can shut him down – like Hatboro did the other night – you are going to shut down their team. The players are really excited about playing this game.”
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. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
7. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
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