PW rallied to defeated Wissahickon in Thursday’s SHSHL A title game. Photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- Championships are something that should be savored and appreciated.
That’s especially true if it’s been a number of years since you have enjoyed one.
Plymouth Whitemarsh grabbed the A Division title of the Suburban High School Hockey League on Thursday at Hatfield Ice, beating Wissahickon 8-3.
It was something that was a long time coming for the Colonials and something they had worked hard to achieve.
"This feels fantastic," said head coach Josh Aiello. "These guys have trained day in and day out.
"We've got a lot of seniors on this team. I'm just so proud of our players. They've been committed to this team for years through a lot of ups and downs. I give so much credit to our players for what they have accomplished tonight."
For the players, the victory meant even more. Especially for the seniors, it was the culmination of a lot of hard work.
"This means everything," team captain Dean Keller said. "The last four years we've really been working hard.
"We've been starting in August to just get ready for games like these. I'm just glad it finally paid off."
There might have been some shaky feelings for the Colonials after the first period. Wissahickon scored two goals and led 2-1.
But things certainly picked up in the second. Plymouth Whitemarsh scored the final five goals of the period to take a 6-3 lead into the final stanza.
"We had a rough start," Aiello said. "It was a little back and forth but that is to be expected.
"We knew it was going to be a battle. It was going to be a war going into this game.
"This is one of the biggest rivalries in high school hockey. It's a strong rivalry that has existed for years and years."
The last time the two teams met, the Colonials won a shootout 14-12. Nobody expected that in this one.
"Our mindset was to just bring the heat tonight," said Keller. "A week and a half ago, it was a very tough game.
"With playoffs and obviously a championship on the line, it means a lot more. Our mindset was just to stick to our game, not think too much and just play some simple hockey and the goals would come our way and we'd win. And that's exactly what happened tonight."
Ty Schiff got the Trojans started off right, scoring on the power play early in the first period. Keller got the Colonials even with a goal later in the stanza, and Alex Carrozza put Wissahickon back on top only forty seconds after Keller's goal.
At the 12:55 mark, PW's Luke Weikel was given a penalty shot. Trojan goalie Chris Shea was up to the task, stopping the shot to the left side of the goal cage.
Wissahickon upped its lead to 3-1 in the second period. Nick Hussa scored at 2:19 on the power play.
However, that lead evaporated slightly less than four minutes later when Jack Mishkin scored on the power play for the Colonials. That started a run for PW.
Keller scored his second goal at 8:21. That was followed by goals from Benjamin Lubas, Aidan Keogh and Jake Weikel and suddenly PW was up 6-3.
Luke Weikel finished up the scoring for the game. He netted the final two goals in the third period.
At the end of the game, an altercation broke out at the Wissahickon goal. It ended up with the Trojans goalie getting a game misconduct penalty, which will suspend him from the next game, which will be the opening game for the Trojans in the Flyers Cup.
Both teams advance to the Flyers Cup on Monday, March 2. The Colonials will play Lower Dauphin at 8:15 at IceLine and the Trojans will face Unionville at 6:45, also at IceLine.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8, Wissahickon 3
Wissahickon 2 1 0 -- 3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1 5 2 -- 8
First period: 1, Ty Schiff W (Nick Hussa) 3:25 PP; 2, Dean Keller PW (Conlan Carpenter) 6:06; 3, Alex Carrozza W (unassisted) 6:46.
Second period: 4, N. Hussa W (Schiff, AJ Pounds) 2:19 PP; 5, Jack Mishkin PW (Zach Spera) 6:16 PP; 6, Keller PW (Mishkin) 8:21; 7, Benjamin Lubas PW (Aidan Keogh, Jake Weikel) 9:15; 8, A. Keogh (Keller) 13:53 PP; 9, J. Weikel PW (Keller) 15:26.
Third period: 10, Luke Weikel PW (Matthew Flynn) 6:48; 11, L. Weikel PW (J. Weikel) 13:56.
Shots: W 22, PW 27. Saves: Chris Shea (W) 19, Ben Yuter (PW) 20.
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