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WARMINSTER - As a coach, Joe Houk was pleased to see the defense contributing to the scoring. As a father, however, it was awfully rewarding to see his son score the game-winning goal.Council Rock South senior defenseman Jon Houk, who missed about a month of playing time with a broken collarbone, fired in a shot from the blue line with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left in regulation, and the goal stood up as the game-winner as the top-seeded
Golden Hawks pulled out a 5-4 win over Central Bucks South in an emotional, fast-paced quarterfinal game Friday at Face-Off Circle.
"I was so excited. I got such a rush of adrenaline," Jon Houk said of the goal. "I was just happy ... happy to be healthy just to play."
His father took a professional approach to the game-winner.
"He's only supposed to be playing limited power play and stuff like that -- limited situations," Joe Houk said. "But in a close game like that, you've got to get your best players out there, and his size is just a presence. He pinched up on that blue line and made a great play."
And it turned out to be the difference in the tightly contested quarterfinal. While the Hawks never trailed, they also never led by more than one goal, as the Titans battled hit for hit and goal for goal for much of the contest, the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams.
"We played with intensity the whole game. I couldn't ask my guys to do anything else," Titans coach Tom Coyne said. "We fell one shot short. Our goalie played great, our defense played great, our forwards played great. It's a tough, tough loss."C.B. South employed the full-court press, forechecking the Hawks no matter where they had the puck.
"We had a couple different things we worked on just to kind of contain that one (top) line," Coyne said. "And they still get loose and score goals."
"Their forechecking killed us," coach Houk agreed. "But the kids persevered, stepped up, and came out on top again."
Pat Grilli opened the scoring for Rock South three-and-a-half-minutes into the game when he tucked in a shot off a Peter Malamud offensive faceoff win. The Titans would make it 1-1 with just over five minutes left when Dan Pulse scored on a two-on-one break on a picture-perfect pass from Kevin Carter. Defenseman Devon Dundore also received an assist on the goal.
But the Hawks would take a lead into intermission when Tyler Deitrick intercepted a clearing attempt and shoveled it toward the net. Malamud got it to Grilli on the far side of the cage, and he fired it into the yawning goal mouth just before time expired in the opening period.
"They really came at us non-stop," Jon Houk said of the Titans. "They didn't give us any room to breathe. But we found the holes, and were able to get some chances."
Central Bucks South goalkeeper Dennis Ruff stepped to the forefront in the second period. The junior netminder faced 16 shots in the second period, denying all but one. He turned aside four Grilli scoring attempts, two with absolutely breathtaking saves. Ruff's efforts allowed the Titans to knot the score 4:35 into the second when Pulse fed Carter across the goalmouth to make the score 2-2. Rock again claimed the lead on a long outlet pass from Dan Margolin that Grilli caught up to and sent over to Deitrick for the score. But the Titans responded with 65 seconds left in the period when Pulse poked in the rebound of a Carter shot.
It set up the intense final 15 minutes, which saw three goals and 15 minor penalties called.
The Golden Hawks struck what could have been a devastating blow when keeper Sean Burke stoned Jake Nicastro on a breakaway, and on the ensuing rush down the ice, Malamud scored in a goalmouth scramble (Deitrick, Jake Domsky assists). But just 32 seconds later, Carter rifled home a wicked slapshot to force a 4-4 deadlock. One minute and 16 seconds later, Jon Houk would fire in the clinching goal.
"We found a way to win tonight, that's all that matters," he said."We knew it was going to be a battle and was going to come down to the end," Joe Houk said.
With the win, Council Rock South moves into the semifinals and has just two more steps to complete an undefeated season. The Hawks will face yet another familiar opponent in Pennsbury, the tournament's fourth seed, in a 7 p.m. March 22 semifinal game at Hatfield Ice World.
"Pennsbury will be tough," Joe Houk said. "They're a very tough defensive team. We beat them (3-1 in the season opener), then tied them 1-1, and we had (rally) to tie them."
Note: In the nightcap at Hatfield, second-seeded Council Rock North used a strong defensive effort to down seventh-seeded Avon Grove, 3-0. The Indians will face third seed Downingtown East in Monday's other semifinal game, at 9 p.m. at Hatfield Ice.
Central Bucks South 1 2 1 -- 4
Council Rock South 2 1 2 -- 5
1st Period
Scoring
CRS - Pat Grilli (Peter Malamud), 11:27
CBS - Dan Pulse (Kevin Carter, Devon Dundore), 5:12
CRS - Grilli (Malamud, Tyler Deitrick), :00
2nd Period
Scoring
CBS - Carter (Pulse), power play, 10:25
CRS - Deitrick (Grilli, Dan Margolin), power play, 3:27
CBS - Pulse (Carter), 1:05
3rd Period
Scoring
CRS - Malamud (Deitrick, Jake Domsky), 7:12
CBS - Carter (Pulse), 6:40
CRS - Jon Houk (Malamud), 5:24
Goalkeepers
CBS - Dennis Ruff 33 shots, 28 saves, 5 goals allowed
CRS - Sean Boyd 30 shots, 26 saves, 4 goals allowed
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