By Ben Reese
It was a monumental night for the North Penn Knights.
They vanquished their most competitive foe, Council Rock South, and captured something they have been lusting for for 50 years (or maybe more).
With an 8-2 victory on Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice, North Penn won its first Flyers Cup. It was a long time coming.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” said head coach Kevin Vaitis. “We knew we had to come out, and we had to take it. They weren’t going to give it to us.
“We had to come out and finish this game. And that’s what we did.”
And did they ever. Leading only 3-2 going into the third period, the Knights exploded for five unanswered goals to roar to the title.
This is a program which has had some great players and some great teams but never one that would go all the way to the Flyers Cup championship and on to the Pennsylvania title game versus the winner of the Penguins Cup, in this case Erie Cathedral Prep.
Joe Houk, head coach for Council Rock South, gave a huge amount of credit to North Penn.
“North Penn played their game,” he said after the final buzzer. “They deserved to win.
“They played smart. They didn’t make mistakes.
“They earned this tonight. They beat us.”
A proud and, probably, unreal moment for the Knights.
“It feels great,” said Cole Pluck, who scored a short-handed goal to start the onslaught in the third period. “It’s like the best moment in my life so far.
“We didn’t think we were making it this far and we made it.”
Sam Norton, the North Penn forward who was named to the all-tournament team and also won the Bobby Clarke Award as the most valuable player in the tournament, downplayed his own achievements.
“It’s a great feeling that I made the MVP,” he said, “but it doesn’t take away from our team. My line and the whole team - I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in (without them).”
As for the first title in history, well, Vaitis presented a bit of history of his own.
“I told the boys September 9 was the first time we were together, and this was our goal – get to this point,” he said, “At the same time, we also told them that we’re not done yet. We have one more this Saturday.”
The Knights will leave for Pittsburgh on Friday with one goal in mind, to bring another milestone back, the Pennsylvania championship.
One former North Penn player can relate to championships.
Jay Caufield, who played for the Knights in the dim, dark past, has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. He played for the Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.
Assistant coach Matt Stella was asked where he thought Caufield was at that moment.
Stella replied, “Waiting in Pittsburgh for us.”
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