Check out Brian Good’s previews of the upcoming Flyers Cup contests. Photo courtesy of Dara King of DNK Photography.
By Brian Good
The ice hockey regular season is a grueling one, but as we head into March, we get ready for one of the most exciting tournaments in high school sports, the Flyers Cup. Last season, the Flyers Cup champions in all three divisions went on to win the state title against the Penguins Cup winners, so the coming weeks are extremely important for any team looking to gain the ultimate prize.
Between “AAA” and “A” the SHSHL will send 11 teams to the playoffs, all of which look to follow in the footsteps of last year’s Central Bucks South team that went on to win it all. Whether it’s teams at the top like CB West and CB South, or teams like North Penn and Truman that just snuck into the field, all of the teams enter the tournament on an equal playing field, looking for the right to call themselves champions.
Flyers Cup ‘AAA’ Playoffs
Play-In Game
Monday – March 6th, 2017
No. 10 Archbishop Wood Vikings (14-2-0) vs. No. 7 Archbishop Carroll Patriots (7-8-3) at Skatium – 7 pm
The Vikings have an interesting road ahead of them as they gear up for the postseason. After competing almost exclusively against “A” teams the entire regular season, they prepared to compete in the “AAA” Flyers Cup. They have an impressive lineup of scorers with Timothy Cordero, Patrick Sheehan, and Brandon Cullura and will need all of them to be at the top of their game if they expect to counter the Patriots’ Mathew Strofe and make a run against teams like Archbishop Carroll, Holly Ghost, and La Salle.
Season Resume:
Archbishop Wood finished the regular season second in the SHSHL American Conference.
Archbishop Carroll finished the regular season third in the Philadelphia Catholic League.
Leading Scorers:
Archbishop Wood: Timothy Cordero (28-28-56); Patrick Sheehan (27-22-49); Brandon Cullura (15-32-47); Declan Cole (19-24-43) and Joseph Hill (21-13-34).
Archbishop Carroll: Mathew Strofe (20-20-40); Harrison Lownes (12-6-18); Ian Myers (10-3-13); Nicholas Antonini (6-7-13) and Jason Zambella (5-8-13).
Goaltending:
Archbishop Wood: Joseph Danig [7-2-0] 3.19 GAA -- .817 SV%
Archbishop Carroll: Jacob George [5-5-0] 3.30 GAA -- .880 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play No. 2 Holy Ghost Prep on Thursday (3/9) at Grundy – 7:20 pm.
Flyers Cup ‘AA’ Playoffs
Play-In Games
Monday – March 6th, 2017
No. 13 North Penn Knights (9-8-0) vs. No. 20 Perkiomen Valley Vikings (4-12-3) at Hatfield – 9 pm
It’s been an up and down year for the Knights, but they’ll need to get things turned around quickly if they want to make it deep into the Flyers Cup. Andrew Galetta has been their workhorse all season long, but if the Knights expect to contend for the championship, they’ll need Nathan Oh and the rest of the offense to step up around him. They have a winnable matchup in their opener against the Vikings, a team with just one player that finished the year with double-digit points.
Season Resume:
North Penn finished the regular season in fourth place in the SHSHL Continental Conference.
Perkiomen Valley finished the regular season in fourth place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Leading Scorers:
North Penn: Andrew Galetta (20-17-37); Nathan Oh (12-12-24); George Boyle (4-15-19); Joshua Kaufhold (5-11-16) and Corey Stouffer (4-8-12).
Perkiomen Valley: Charlie Murphy (15-8-23); Jake Furlong (4-4-8); Hunter Ringwood (4-3-7); Dylan Nassoiy (2-4-6) and Colin Kasiarz (1-4-5).
Goaltending:
North Penn: Caleb Floyd [5-5-0] 3.65 GAA -- .868 SV%
Perkiomen Valley: Thomas Hunter [2-8-1] 4.45 GAA -- .864 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play No. 4 William Tennent on Wednesday (3/8) at BCI – 7:10 pm.
No. 15 Spring-Ford Rams (12-7-1) vs. No. 20 Truman Tigers (7-12-0) at Ice Line 3 – 6:45 pm
Truman may have the most talented scoring duo in the entire tournament in Michael Roarty and Steven Avellino, but the Tigers have struggled to keep teams off the scoreboard. Goalie Kyle Huth and the Tigers’ defense are going to need to support their high-powered offense if they want to get past Ryan Moore and Spring-Ford in the play-in round and earn the right to face CB South.
Season Resume:
Spring-Ford finished the regular season in second place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.
Truman finished the regular season in third place in the SHSHL National Conference.
Leading Scorers:
Spring-Ford: Ryne Moore (19-12-31); Carson Porkka (12-6-18); Aidan Cooley (8-5-13); Colin Ward (6-6-12) and Joey Temoyan (4-8-12).
Truman: Michael Roarty (34-21-55); Steven Avellino (21-10-31); Kyle Bennet (9-10-19); William Findlay (6-11-17) and Codey Gordon(4-9-13).
Goaltending:
Spring-Ford: Matthew Magee [9-3-1] 3.45 GAA -- .859 SV%
Truman: Kyle Huth [7-11-0] 7.22 GAA -- .799 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play No. 2 Central Bucks South on Wednesday (3/8) at Warwick – 7:00 pm.
Flyers Cup ‘AA’ Playoffs
Wednesday – March 8, 2017
No. 1 CB West Bucks (16-2-1) vs. [ Either No. 16 Avon Grove or No. 17 Parkland at Hatfield – 7:30 pm
CB West comes into the Flyers Cup in unfamiliar territory, coming off a loss. The Bucks’ SHSHL playoff defeat to CR South will surely motivate them when they eventually face either Avon Grove or undefeated Parkland, but they’ll have to wait to see who it will be. As the No. 1 seed in the entire tournament, the Bucks boast arguably the best defensive unit in the area as well as the best goaltender in Jonah Braus, but they will need a better performance than they put forth in their loss last week.
Season Resume:
CB Westfinished the regular season as the champion of the SHSHL Continental Division.
Parkland finished the regular season as the champion of the LVSHL.
Avon Grove finished the regular season as the second place finisher in the ICSHL South Conference.
Leading Scorers:
CB West: Dalton Karl (18-17-35); Tucker Forte (18-17-35); Joe Anton (8-23-31); Shawn Philipps (14-15-29) and Joey Rockovich (11-17-28).
Parkland: Jake Nimeh (23-20-43); Timmy Doe (23-14-37); Charles Rongo (24-12-36); Gus Schwartz (4-13-17) and Koby Staivecki (4-13-17).
Avon Grove: Brandon Harman (24-16-40); Brady Anderson (6-15-21); Ryan Nichol (11-9-20); Matt Miller (8-12-20) and Alex Faller (7-7-14).
Goaltending:
CB West: Jonah Brous [11-2-0] 1.77 GAA -- .932 SV%
Parkland: Matthew Yankanich [17-0-0] 2.65 GAA -- .868 SV%
Avon Grove: Cameron Faller [6-1-0] 2.77 GAA -- .879 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play on Thursday (3/9) against the winner of the game between No. 8 Ridley and No. 9 Cumberland Valley
No. 4 William Tennent Panthers (13-4-1) vs. [ Either No. 13 North Penn or No. 20 Perkiomen Valley] at BCI – 7:10 pm
Tennent is another team that isn’t sure who it will be facing come Wednesday, but whoever it is, the Panthers will be the favorite. Led by Sean Ovington, Bobby Markus, and Jack McKeever, the Panthers have been a tough team to bottle up, and there’s no reason that’ll change come Flyers Cup. Both North Penn and Perk Valley possess the ability to challenge the Panthers, but between their offensive firepower and goaltender Eric Lineman, they look like one of the teams that could challenge CB West and CB South for the Flyers Cup.
Season Resume:
William Tennent finished the regular season as the champion of the SHSHL National Conference.
North Penn/ Perkiomen Valley **See Above**
Leading Scorers:
William Tennent: Sean Ovington (27-20-47); Bobby Markus (23-22-45); Jack McKeever (20-23-43); John Dern (11-19-30) and Chris Kreider (8-10-18).
North Penn/ Perkiomen Valley: **See Above**
Goaltending:
William Tennent: Eric Lineman [12-4-1] 2.91 GAA -- .904 SV%
North Penn/ Perkiomen Valley: **See Above**
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play on Thursday (3/9) against the winner of the game between No. 5 Haverford and No. 12 Pennridge.
No. 5 Haverford Fords (11-5-3) vs. No. 12 Pennridge Rams (7-7-2) at Skatium – 7:00 pm
Haverford, led by leading scorer Shane Moran, had a great season on its way to a Central League North crown, but the Fords have a tough draw in the first round of the Flyers Cup. Pennridge has been a volatile squad but has been playing well lately. Between Luke Slater, Nathan Runk, and the return of Michael Padgeon, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Rams pull off an upset. The key for the Rams will be between the pipes, but if they can slow down the Haverford offense, they could be able to escape Skatium with the “W”.
Season Resume:
Haverford finished the regular season as the champion in the Central League North Division.
Pennridge finished the regular season in fifth place in the SHSHL Continental Conference.
Leading Scorers:
Haverford: Shane Moran (18-27-45); Henry DeVoe (17-9-26); Daniel Morris (9-11-20); Dominic Pantalone (13-5-18) and Johnny Scarduzio (6-11-17).
Pennridge: Luke Slater (19-12-31); Nathan Runk (9-14-23); Josh Finlayson (6-17-23); Patrick McGinley (10-10-20) and Eric Slater (6-11-17).
Goaltending:
Haverford: Tyler Cassidy [9-2-3] 2.86 GAA -- .893 SV%
Pennridge: Luke Stranik [3-6-2] 6.60 GAA -- .848 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play on Thursday (3/9) against the winner of the game between No. 4 William Tennent – and the winner of the game between No. 13 North Penn and No. 20 Perkiomen Valley.
No. 7 Council Rock South Golden Hawks (13-6-0) vs. No. 10 Souderton Indians (8-7-2) at Warwick – 8:45 pm
The No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup brings CR South and Souderton together to face each other for the third time this year. The Hawks won both previous meetings (5-0 and 4-3) and will look for a similar result come Wednesday. If the Indians are going to pull the upset, they’re going to need Gabe Evans and Tyler Johnson to light up the stat sheet and have goalie Dawson Anders play to his potential. South should come away from this one with a win, especially after making it to the SHSHL championship game last week, but don’t be surprised if Souderton gives them all they can handle.
Season Resume:
CR South finished the regular season in second place in the SHSHL National Conference
Souderton finished the regular season in third place in the SHSHL Continental Conference
Leading Scorers:
CR South: Matthew Owens (13-15-28); Dylan Feoli (11-16-27); Jake Houk (13-13-26); Nicholas Meli (10-16-26) and Trey Elmer (14-7-21).
Souderton: Gabe Evans (24-14-38); Tyler Johnson (18-15-33); Joshua Reeves (11-11-22); Miles Minnick (10-10-20) and Jordan Engelhart (9-6-15).
Goaltending:
CR South: Mason Procz [7-3-0] 2.35 GAA -- .905 SV%
Souderton: Dawson Anders [6-3-1] 4.45 GAA -- .860 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play on Thursday (3/9) against the winner of the game between No. 2 CB South – and the winner of the game between No. 15 Springford and No. 18 Truman at Warwick – 8:15 pm
No. 2 CB South (15-4-1) vs. [either No. 15 Spring-Ford or No. 20 Truman] at Hatfield Ice – 7:25 pm
Defending Flyers Cup and state champion CB South comes into the tournament with one thing on its mind - another Cup. The Titans earned the No. 2 seed behind the scoring of Matt Stoll and Joseph DeLaurentis and will rely on them to make a deep playoff run. If they can keep up the strong defending they’ve been showcasing lately, look for the Titans to make a serious push for the Cup and a chance to avenge their two regular season losses to CB West.
Season Resume:
CB South finished the regular season in second place in the SHSHL Continental Conference
Spring-Ford/ Truman **See Above**
Leading Scorers:
CB South: Matt Stoll (24-28-52); Joseph DeLaurentis (16-19-35); Colin Abbonizio (15-14-29); Reis Braccio (12-14-26) and Joshua Sklar (11-6-17).
Spring-Ford/ Truman: **See Above**
Goaltending:
CB South: Kevin Dorozinsky [11-4-0] 2.25 GAA -- .883 SV%
Spring-Ford/ Truman: **See Above**
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play on Thursday (3/9) against the winner of the game between No. 7 CR South and No. 10 Souderton at Warwick – 8:15 pm
Flyers Cup ‘A’ Playoffs
Play-in Games
Monday – March 6, 2017
No. 12 Wissahickon Trojans (9-5-0) vs. No. 13 Harriton Rams (5-11-2) at Hatfield – 7:20 p.m.
The Trojans possess as much talent at the top of their lineup as any other team in the “A” Flyers Cup with Sean Garry and Nolan Piatkowski, but the question will be their depth. Outside of their two leading scorers, they’ll need other players to step up if they intend to make a Cinderella run at the Cup. Their opening round game is a winnable one as they face a Harriton team that has struggled this year, but they’ll need to be at the top of their game if they want to advance to the next round.
Season Resume:
Wissahickon finished the regular season in third place in the SHSHL American Conference.
Harriton finished the regular season in fifth place in the Central League North Division.
Leading Scorers:
Wissahickon: Sean Garry (26-11-37); Nolan Piatkowski (14-18-32); Jake Flancer (11-8-19); Matt Wilson (8-11-19) and Matt Cade (11-6-17).
Harriton: Will DeVerter (11-6-17); Nick Wert (5-3-8); Sam Kirby (5-3-8); Alex Triester (4-4-8) and Jake Gross (3-4-7).
Goaltending:
Wissahickon: Jake Modelevsky [5-5-0] 6.32 GAA -- .804 SV%
Harriton: Alex Krauss [1-11-1] 8.00 GAA -- .818 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play No. 5 Springfield on Wednesday (3/8) at Aston.
No. 10 Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (14-1-0) vs. No. 15 Kennett Blue Demons (8-9-2) at BCI – 7:10 pm
Plymouth Whitemarsh had an unbelievable 2016-2017 season and will look to continue it in the Flyers Cup. Not only do the Colonials have impressive offensive firepower with Dean Keller, Chris Zawislak and Luke Brzozowski, but they also have a brick wall in net with Cole Shula as their goaltender. A 14-1-0 season managed to earn them just the No. 10 seed, but don’t be surprised if they end up making a serious push for the Cup in the coming weeks.
Season Resume:
Plymouth Whitemarsh finished the regular season as the champion of the SHSHL American Conference.
Kennett finished the regular season in third place in the ICSHL South Conference.
Leading Scorers:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Dean Keller (30-15-45); Chris Zawislak (23-21-44); Luke Brzozowski (25-17-42); John Sciarrone (14-18-32) and Joseph Eisenlohr (9-14-23).
Kennett: Ryan Johnson (24-13-37); Ryan Ganly (13-18-31); Jack Dreisbach (9-13-22); Taylor Cullen (7-5-12) and Thomas Halstead (3-9-12).
Goaltending:
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Cole Shula [14-1] 2.73 GAA -- .917 SV%
Kennett: Eric Eisel [6-4-1] 4.55 GAA -- .823 SV%
Winner Gets: The winner of this game will play No. 7 Lower Merion on Wednesday (3/8) at Skatium.
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