By Scott Huff
Council Rock South is the # 1 seed and has made its journey into the Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal round, while Central Bucks East is the # 2 seed and has also navigated its way to the semifinal round. The Hawks clawed Suburban High School Hockey League rival North Penn (5-3),while the Patriots gunned down Boyertown (3-0) on Tuesday.
No surprise there, however there are a couple of surprises on the SHSHL teams’ semifinal opponents.
Cherokee is the # 12 seed and will play CR South on Thursday in a 7 pm semifinal game at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. Cherokee advanced to the semis with a 7-5 victory on Tuesday over Downingtown East.
Spring-Ford is the # 11 seed and will play CB East on Thursday in a 9 pm semifinal game at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center. Spring-Ford advanced to the semis with a 4-2 victory over Washington Township on Tuesday.
The winners of the Class AA Flyers Cup semifinal round will play on Monday (3/21/11) in the Flyers Cup Final with a 7 pm face-off at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.
Council Rock South Has Its Eye On The Prize
Council Rock South broke open a 2-2 deadlock with a two goal flurry in the third period and edged SHSHL rival North Penn 5-3 in a Class AA Flyers cup quarterfinal game played Tuesday at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center.
“It seems like we are playing our best hockey at the end of the game,” said Council Rock South head coach Joe Houk. “And if we want to have a shot at winning the Flyers Cup, we are going to have to make the most out of every opportunity and work for every bounce.
“(North Penn) played us perfect tonight, and they match up with us very well,” added Houk. “When the horn went off, I turned to the coaches and said ‘we survived this one’.”
North Penn spilt its games with Rock South this season – handing the Golden Hawks their only SHSHL loss of the regular season.
“When the score was 2-2 we had a lot of chances to score that third goal,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis. “We needed a puck to bounce our way, and it didn’t happen. We came into this game ready to play, and that is a real tribute to our seniors. They have led us the whole season.
“Council Rock South is a great hockey team,” added Vaitis. “You don’t get to be the # 1 seed in a Flyers Cup bracket unless you are a great hockey team.”
North Penn opened the scoring with a goal in the first period by Brandon Fishman on assists from Jimmy McKelvie and Daniel Corrado. The score came at the 14:30 mark.
Council Rock South countered with a first period goal by Jake Nevin on an assist from Mitch Vaysman. The score came at the 8:15 mark.
The Knights took their second lead of the game at the 4:08 mark of the first period on an unassisted goal by sophomore defenseman Caleb Witzaney.
The Golden Hawks scored a key goal with just 17 seconds remaining in the first period to knot the score at 2-2. Vaysman scored the goal on assists from Shane Ryan and Nick Keck.
“That goal at the end of the first period really hurt us,” said Vaitis. “Taking the lead into the second period would have been a big boost for us.”
The second period was scoreless as Hawk goalie Steve Jastrow and Knight net minder Cody Matthews were flawless.
Council Rock South took the lead for good on a goal by Patrick Grilli on a rebound and flurry in front of the net. Grilli was assisted by Vaysman and Steve Junod with 9:57 left in the game.
The Golden Hawks scored just one minute and 34 seconds later as Tom Kopania also scored on a rebound in front of the crease. Jared Hershman and Vince Primavera assisted the Kopania goal.
“When they scored those two goals, we could have folded,” said North Penn senior Jimmy McKelvie. “But we came back and scored the next one, and we made them work for the win.
“This being my last game was a tough one,” added McKelvie. “But we played a great game and left everything on the ice. Council Rock South was just a little better.”
McKelvie assisted on a gorgeous goal by Corrado at the 8:22 mark to slice the Hawk lead to 3-2. But the Knights could not solve the Jastrow riddle in goal again.
Grilli scored an open net goal with just one second left in the game. The assists came from defenseman Zack Goodman and goal tender Jastrow.
“We’re excited to be back here Thursday night,” said Houk. “It is going to be another challenge for us.”
Council Rock South still has its eye on the prize.
Score By Periods:
Council Rock South 2 0 3 * 5
North Penn 2 0 1 * 3
Shots On Goal:
Council Rock South 11 9 16 * 36
North Penn 5 7 8 * 20
Saves:
CR South – Steve Jastrow – 17
North Penn – Cody Matthews – 32
Central Bucks East Has Its Eye On The Prize
Central Bucks East scored in the first minute and the last minute of its game with Boyertown as the Patriots blanked the Bears 3-0 in a Class AA Flyers Cup quarterfinal game played Tuesday at the Warwick Ice Arena.
“We’re one step closer to where we want to be at the end of the season,” said Central Bucks East head coach Ken Latchum. “We feel that we are good enough to be Flyers Cup champions, but we have to go out on the ice and prove it.
“Right now, we are playing beautiful ice hockey,” added Latchum. “The one thing I would like us to be doing better right now is putting the puck in the net. We’re outshooting teams by a wide margin, but I would like to see us score more goals.”
The Patriots came out flying against Boyertown and scored just 16 seconds into the game when Tom Schloendorn scored on assists from Austin Cinalli and Tyler McIntosh. East – which outshot the Bears 33-13 for the game – fired four shots on goal in the very first minute of play. However, it was the lone score of the period for CB East.
The Pats fired 18 shots on net in the second period – yet only scored a single goal. Nick Patullo scored midway through the period on an assist from Michael Palmer.
CB East again dominated the third period – and again only scored a single goal. That score was an open net tally with 56 seconds left off the stick of Palmer with an assist from Joe Ridolfi.
The Patriot defense played very well in front of goal tender Justin Golia. Golia was perfect in the pipes with 13 saves.
“We are playing very good hockey at the right time of the year,” said Latchum. “But we didn’t win anything yet.”
The Patriots still have their eye on the prize.
Score By Periods:
Central Bucks East 1 1 1 * 3
Boyertown 0 0 0 * 0
Shots On Goal:
Central Bucks East 8 18 7 * 33
Boyertown 5 4 4 * 13
Saves:
CB East – Justin Golia – 13
Boyertown – Jake Evan - 30
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