We called it here last week. Did we not talk about how no other sport’s playoffs push its athletes to the limits as does ice hockey? And that’s just what happened throughout the first week of the SHSHL playoffs.
Council Rock North and Council Rock South opened the playoffs on Wednesday with a thrilling double-overtime battle that featured 81 shots on goal, six goals in the first period and then nothing until Jared Hershman scored with 3:52 remaining in the second extra session to lift South to a 4-3 victory.
The following day, the Golden Hawks and North Penn engaged in a triple-overtime marathon for the right to advance to the SHSHL Class AA Finals. South, trailing late in the third, tied the game on Steve Junod’s goal with 2:55 left to force overtime. The hero of the night was Christian Ahn, who scored his fourth goal – part of a six-point night – with 13 seconds remaining in the third overtime period to give the Knights the stunning 7-6 victory.
“That’s been the craziest game I’ve ever been involved in as a coach,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “There were a ton of lessons learned in that game. I’m extremely proud of the boys and how they competed and how they played the game.”
The opening week also saw a Pennridge squad, decimated by concussions and other injuries, battle valiantly but ultimately unsuccessfully in an opening-round matchup against Archbishop Wood.
Over in Class A, Upper Moreland withstood a 56-shot attack by top-seeded and heavily favored Lansdale Catholic in the Class A semifinal to pull out a 5-4 overtime victory. Jared Burch made a whopping 52 saves in the win. Despite being outshot in every period (including 21-5 in the second), the Golden Bears led three times in regulation before Matt Baumgardner’s overtime tally put the fourth-seeded Bears into the finals.
Get ready for more in the two best-of-three SHSHL finals this week. Here are the series matchups:
Class AA
#3 North Penn vs. #1 Central Bucks South
Records: Central Bucks South (21-3-2 overall, 16-0-1 Continental Conference); North Penn (15-4-5 overall, 11-3-3 Continental Conference).
This season: Central Bucks South leads series, 1-0-1 (Oct. 26 – Central Bucks South 3, North Penn 3; Jan. 27 – Central Bucks South 6, North Penn 3).
Road to the finals: Brett Roberts had a hat trick as Central Bucks South poured in five in the second period en route to an 8-1 rout of eighth-seeded Souderton in Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup. The next day, the Titans scored the first four goals of the game in a 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Archbishop Wood in the semifinals. North Penn found a playoff hero in Christian Ahn. Ahn had a hat trick and Matt Stella added two goals and two assists as the Knights scored four third-period goals to pull away with an 8-2 win over sixth-seeded Pennsbury in Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Ahn’s six-point night lifted the Knights past second-seeded Council Rock South in a triple-overtime 7-6 victory.
Leading scorers: Central Bucks South – Connor Bechtel (23g, 24a, 47p), Nick DeLaurentis (14g, 18a, 32p), Jake Bauer (11g, 20a, 31p); North Penn – Matt Stella (19g, 25a, 44p), Ryan Merk (17g, 22a, 39p), Jeremy Snyder (9g, 29a, 38p).
Schedule:
7 p.m. Feb. 29, Bucks County Ice Sports Center (North Penn at C.B.South)
7 p.m. March 1, Bucks County Ice Sports Center (C.B.South at North Penn)
*6:50 p.m. March 2, Warwick Ice Arena (North Penn at C.B.South)
*-If necessary
Class A
#4 Upper Moreland vs. #2 Upper Dublin
Records: Upper Dublin (9-10-2 overall, 3-5-1 American Conference); Upper Moreland (10-11 overall, 3-6 American Conference).
This season: Upper Dublin leads series, 2-1 (Dec. 1 – Upper Dublin 3, Upper Moreland 0; Jan. 19 – Upper Moreland 6, Upper Dublin 4; Feb. 1 – Upper Dublin 6, Upper Moreland 2).
Road to the finals: Tyler Peskin’s six-point night (including four goals) sparked Upper Dublin to seven straight goals to pull away for a 9-3 win over third-seeded Wissahickon in Thursday’s semifinal at Bucks County Ice Sports Center. Sean Lloyd had two goals and two assists as the Golden Bears upset top-seeded Lansdale Catholic, 5-4, in overtime on Thursday’s semifinal matchup at Hatfield Ice.
Leading scorers: Upper Dublin – Sam Etskovitz (26g, 24a, 50p), Tyler Peskin (14g, 25a, 39p), Robbie DeGregorio (23g, 9 a, 32p), Ben Hoffmann (11g, 21a, 32p); Upper Moreland – Sean Lloyd (29g, 21a, 50p), Matt Baumgardner (18g, 14a, 32p), Nick Park Jr. (13g, 17a, 30p).
Schedule:
7:20 p.m. Feb. 29, Hatfield Ice (Upper Moreland at Upper Dublin)
8:40 p.m. March 1, Bucks County Ice Sports Center (Upper Dublin at Upper Moreland)
*7:20 p.m. March 2, Harfield Ice (Upper Moreland at Upper Dublin)
*-If necessary
SECOND LINE KEYS BEARS … Jared Burch stole the show for Upper Moreland in its 5-4 overtime win over top-seeded Lansdale Catholic in last Thursday’s Class A semifinal matchup. His spectacular 52-save effort gave his offense the chances it needed to pull out the unexpected overtime victory over the heavily favored Crusaders.
“Jared was definitely the story of the game,” said Upper Moreland coach Jim Stampler. “We looked at Lansdale Catholic as a huge mountain we had to climb over and we discussed it and said, if we’re going to have to play Lansdale Catholic, I’d rather play them in the first round where it’s a one-and-done and goaltending can be the difference. And he was the difference in the game.”
But if Burch was the undisputed first star of the semifinal game, the Golden Bears’ second line of center Kyle Landis and wingers Matt Hoagland and Colton Arizini were the unsung heroes.
Though the three only accounted for one assist on the night, they spent much of the evening doing battle against Lansdale Catholic’s top line.
“Late in the first period, they stopped putting their first line against our first line and started matching them up against our second line,” Stampler said. “I thought our second line did a great job defensively of keeping them off the board and giving our first line a chance to go up against their second and third lines and score some goals for us.”
That’s been the case for much of the year for Landis, Hoagland and Arizini. While they might not have the firepower of the Golden Bears’ top line, the trio know their roles and execute them well.
“Those guys realize they might not have the individual skill levels that our first liners do, but they play good defense, they play the system I want them to play, and if they can chip in some goals, great,” Stampler said. “If they keep the other team off the scoreboard, even better.”
The Bears advance to the Class A finals, where they will face second-seeded Upper Dublin. The Cardinals won two of the three meetings between the clubs during the regular season … but the regular season means nothing come playoff time.
“The first game they trapped us like crazy and we had never seen it,” Stampler said. “The second game they trapped us and we were able to beat it, and the third game they came out and played a totally different type of game. With Upper Dublin, you never know what you’re going to get. We’re going to go into that first game and come out and play our game and see how it goes.
“We think we match up much better with Upper Dublin. We’re going to play our game, they’re going to play their game, and if we play our game better than they play theirs, we’re going to win.”
Stampler also believes his team’s big semifinal win takes all the burden off the fourth seed.
“When you win that first game and you’re not expected to win, I think that takes a lot of pressure off of you, makes it a lot easier to just go out there and play,” he said. “And that’s what we tell them every single game. Go out and just have fun. If you can’t go out and have fun when you’re in the finals, you probably shouldn’t be in the finals. We’re going to go out, work hard, and have fun. I think they’re ready.”
POTENT PESKIN POWERING CARDINALS … With Upper Dublin trailing 2-1 after one period in Thursday’s Class A semifinal against Wissahickon, Cardinal senior Tyler Peskin made it a point to talk to the team.
“We were down, but I thought we were clearly outplaying them,” Upper Dublin coach Chalie Sgrillo said. “During the intermission, he made it a point to say, ‘Come on guys, there’s no reason to change what we’re doing. We can score goals and we will. Just keep pressing, keep shooting and keep crashing.’”
Peskin, who had already scored the Cards’ first goal of the game, backed up his words by scoring the Cards next goal, an unassisted tally that sparked a seven-goal run by second-seeded Upper Dublin on the way to a 9-3 rout of the third-seeded Trojans.
“Tyler really stepped that game up,” Sgrillo said. “Anyone can talk on the bench, but actions speak louder than words. When you’re able to execute what you’re preaching, everyone just falls in line behind you.”
Peskin finished the game with four goals and two assists, and his leadership proved crucial.
“Tyler is very good on the bench, he’s very vocal,” Sgrillo said. “He tends to settle the troops if things are getting out of hand.”
Peskin and his Cardinal teammates now have a chance to claim the Class A title as they prepare for the best-of-three finals against Upper Moreland. Though the Golden Bears are the fourth seed, Sgrillo is taking it upon himself to ensure that his team knows how difficult this series will be.
“I’m making it a point, especially at our practice coming up, these will be the hardest two or three games you’ll play all season,” Sgrillo said. “This is no easy task, but I think if we follow our agenda, keep our feet moving, we’ll be fine.
“This is something I put that pressure on myself for. I’ve got to make sure they know how they have to approach this series. They’ll follow me on how intense and focused I am.”
Given how well the Cardinals have played of late (they’re undefeated in their last five games), Sgrillo is confident that as long as the Cards follow their system, they’ll continue to find success.
“I’m really happy to see everyone’s still sticking with the game plan and nobody’s deviating from what our overall goal is and we’re playing solid hockey,” he said. “We’re getting goals from a lot of different people, which is something I’m impressed with. In the beginning of the season, we were juggling lines, trying to figure out who’s going to play with who. The last month or so I’ve been using the same set of lines.
“I’ve been really impressed with the effort. Early in the season, that lightbulb was flickering some games, others it was not. Now you’re seeing it’s on. And now we’re a dangerous team because we know what it takes to win and we know how good we can be when we play the way we need to play. There’s not much more you need coming into a series: ‘This is what works, this is what’s productive.’”
It also helps that the Cardinals are a senior-heavy team, and this is the last chance for a good number of these players to win a Class A title. Along with the Cardinals work ethic and aggressive style, Sgrillo is hoping that it will all add up to Class A championship.
“We love to score the dirty goal,” he said. “We’re going to shoot and crash and cause some havoc in front of the net and I think that’s going to be a challenge. We’re going to be the team setting the tempo this series. I want pucks below the goal lines, I want to make (Upper Moreland) work and go the length of the ice to get a shot.
“We’ve been playing playoff hockey for about a month now with the intensity they’ve been bringing to the rink, the work they’re putting in. We have a lot of seniors, and this is their year. I think that’s a large part of the agenda. A lot of these guys know this is the last shot they’re going to have and they want to make the most of it.”
AHN A PLAYOFF PHENOM … North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis called it a “minor tweak” to North Penn’s lines. The results of the Knights’ first two playoff games would suggest that that “minor” change has had a major impact.
A few weeks ago, Vaitis moved sophomore Christian Ahn onto the wing on the Knights’ top line along with Ryan Merk and Matt Stella.
In North Penn’s quarterfinal game against Pennsbury, Ahn scored the first goal of the game and ended up with a hat trick. In the semifinals a day later, Ahn had a hand in six of the team’s seven goals. He scored four times – including the game-winner in the third overtime period – and added two assists.
“The playoffs have really been a coming out party for Christian,” Vaitis said. “He’s really elevated his play last couple of games.”
His linemates haven’t exactly been slouching in the postseason, either. Stella has two goals and five assists in the two playoffs games, while Merk has registered a goal and five helpers.
“The three of them can really fly,” Vaitis said. “Getting the three of them in open ice, Christian can turn on the jets and he’s tough to stop. He’s really strong on his feet, and it’s tough to knock him off the puck.
“It was one of those things where we were waiting to see if everything would click. Everything is clicking for him right now. He’s playing with two of our top players, and it’s helped raise his game as well to play with them. They’re a line we rely on a lot to score for us. Him playing with those two, he’s definitely taking his game to another level.”
The Knights will be looking for all their players to take things to the next level as they prepare for the Class AA finals against top-seeded Central Bucks South. The Titans have rolled through the postseason thus far in much the same dominating fashion as they did the regular season.
But the Knights feel they match up well against their Continental Division mates. The lone tie on South’s league slate was a 3-3 stalemate against the Knights. In addition, the two teams met twice in a preseason tournament, tying the first game before South won the tourney championship game in double-overtime.
“We’ve played them a bunch this year,” Vaitis said. “We’re looking forward to it. They have a lot of depth up front, great defense, great goaltending, a great coach behind the bench in Tom Coyne.
“The kids know they’re playing the best team in the league and maybe the best team in Eastern Pennsylvania. You have to bring your A Game and you can’t afford to make many mistakes against a team like that. If you do, you’re not going to win.”
But that doesn’t mean the Knights are going to take a conservative approach to the series. North Penn has a team filled with top-notch players, and they expect that anything Central Bucks South throws at them, they’ll be able to handle and fire back.
“We have two lines that can really put the puck in the net, and a third line gives us some good minutes with pressure and chips in with some goals,” Vaitis said. “Defensively, with Caleb (Witzaney) and Jeremy Snyder, we’re in a great situation where we can match some of the depth they have, plus we have two very good goalies that can bail us out when we need it.
“With our goalies, with Caleb back on defense – I’ve said Caleb’s the best defenseman in the league but after the last two games, he’s probably best player in the league – our forwards and everyone else, I think we’re in good shape. We’ve got good seniors, good leader, and the team is ready to take it a step further. We’re not happy just getting here and we’re not looking to settle, we want to go out and win this thing.”
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