By Scott Huff
North Penn had its annual ‘Night with the Knights’ last Thursday at the Hatfield Ice Rink – and it was a huge success.
“We invite all of the students in the North Penn school district – K-6 – and their parents to come to the game,” said North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis. “They get a slice of pizza, a drink, and admission to the game. They also get to meet the players.
“Last year we got between75 to 100 people to come to the event,” added Vaitis. “This year we blew that number out of the water and got over 250 people.”
And not only did the North Penn faithful – which included the high school cheerleaders – enjoy the ‘perks’ that included rally towels and T-shirts. The Knights (4-12-4, 12 points) came away with a critical 6-2 Suburban High School Hockey League victory over Central Bucks West.
Brandon Fishman scored two goals for the winners, while Ted Stoler, Allan Fenton, and Jim McKelvie scored single goals. Jon Ford minded the nets for the Knights and had 27 saves.
“We still have hopes of getting into the playoffs,” said Vaitis. “But we can’t afford to lose any points.”
The SHSHL takes the top three teams from its National and Continental Division. The league also takes two teams – regardless of division – for the final two spots.
Council Rock South (37 points), Council Rock North (35), and Pennsbury (31) have those slots accounted for in the National Division.
Central Bucks South (22), Souderton (21), and Central Bucks East (19) are the frontrunners in the Continental Division.
Pennridge (16), Abington (14), North Penn (12), and Neshaminy (12) are in a scramble for the remaining positions.
“We play Neshaminy next week and that is a huge game for us,” said Vaitis. “They beat us last time, and we are looking for revenge.”
North Penn will play Neshaminy this Thursday (2/11) at the Grundy Ice Rink – 7:15 faceoff.
Central Bucks West (1-15-3, 5) is out of contention for a SHSHL playoff slot.
“We have not had a successful season in wins and losses,” said CB West coach Dave Baun. “But that doesn’t diminish the season that our seniors had.
“(Goaltender) Danny Rosenblum is a great kid and I wish we could have given him more support,” added Baun. “And both T.J. Sak and Colin Kreft have been a real credit to our program.”
For the Bucks, it will have to be ‘wait until next year.’
Pennridge (6-9-4, 16) kept its playoff chances alive with a 4-0 victory over Neshaminy.
Doug Beck scored a pair of power play goals for the Rams, while Kevin Figaniak and Morgan Stear scored solo goals. Dustin Wexler (16 saves) and Michael White (5 saves) combined for the PHS shutout.
Central Bucks East (9-9-1, 19) registered a 3-0 SHSHL victory over Souderton (10-8-1, 21).
The goal scorers for the Patriots were Bobby Destefano, Alex Piccione, and Mike Kelly.
Central Bucks South (9-6-4, 22) remained in first place in the Continental Division with a pair of wins last week.
The Titans bested Abington – 6-2 – as Tom Dougherty led South with a pair of goals. Tyler Moll, Jake Nicastro, Dan Pulse, and Justin Mariner each scored single goals for the winners.
South also came up with a 6-4 victory over Pennsbury. Pulse led the attack with two goals, while Mariner, Dougherty, Nicastro, and Vince Vona each scored single goals.
Goal tender Dennis Ruff registered the wins in both games with 22 saves against the Ghosts and 30 saves against the Falcons.
Suburban High School Hockey League
National Division
Council Rock South (17-0-3, 37) – Hello!!
“We needed a wake up call after the North Penn game,” said Rock South head coach Joe Houk in reference to the Golden Hawks surprising 4-4 tie with the Knights. “We had blown them away earlier in the year, and after we beat Council Rock North our heads might have swelled a bit.
“We sat down as a team after the North Penn game and reminded them that they have to bear down if they want to get to the Promised Land,” added Houk. “We can’t have mental breakdowns if we want to win it all. We want to go into the playoffs on a roll.”
That roll might have started as the Hawks flew by Neshaminy (4-11-4, 12) in their next start – 7-1.
Patrick Grilli scored a the hat trick for Rock South to lead the attack, while Peter Malamud, Tyler Deitrick, Steve Junod, and Jonathan Houk each scored single goals for the winners.
“We lit Neshaminy up, and that is going to help with our confidence,” said Houk. “We want to finish strong going into the playoffs.”
Council Rock North (17-1-1, 35) won its only SHSHL contest last week when the Indians bested Abington (6-11-2, 14), 5-3.
Rock North was led in scoring by Scott Titus with a pair of goals. Kyle Weitz, Thomas Elmer, and Brad Chleboski each scored single goals for the Indians.
Pennsbury (15-3-1, 31) spilt a pair of games last week. The Falcons defeated Abington - 4-0 - behind a shutout performance by net minder Corey Chapin with 25 saves.
Ken McCormick tallied a hat trick for Pennsbury, while Sean Harlow scored a single goal for the Falcons.
William Tennent (0-13-6, 6) is still in search of its first SHSHL victory, but the Panthers came up with their sixth tie of the season in a 4-4 deadlock with Pennridge.
Anthony Carbone scored a goal with 36 seconds left in the game to forge the tie. Cameron Goodell led WT in scoring with a pair of goals, while Jeff Fischer scored a single goal for the Panthers.
Suburban High School Hockey League
American Division
Wissahickon (7-1-0, 14 SHSHL & 11-5-0 overall) – Hello!!
“The Plymouth Whitemarsh game was a huge wake-up call for us,” said Wissahickon head coach Ryan McLaughlin as his first place Trojans dropped a 3-0 verdict to the last place Colonials on January 14. “Especially since we are going to have to play them in the first round of the playoffs.”
Wissahickon will host the fourth place Colonials, while Hatboro-Horsham will face Upper Dublin in the 2/3 game. Upper Moreland (13-3 overall) is unable to participate in the league playoffs.
“We gave had a lot of success recently spreading out the talent on our three lines,” said McLaughlin. “We believe that this makes us a much stronger team. We don’t have to worry about our second and third line match ups.”
The make up of the Trojan line includes Joey Sutkow, Brian Kassi, and Cas Honorowski on the #1 line – Jeff Schaeffer along with Pat Delaney & Sean Delaney on the #2 line – and David Ko along with Jules Lever & Eddie Kim on the #3 line.
“The kids love playing Upper Moreland, and it is a shame that they are not in the playoffs,” said McLaughlin of the Golden Bears. “But we can’t look past anyone – we can’t afford a let down.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-7-0, 2 SHSHL & 2-12-2 overall) will hope to duplicate its upset effort against Wissahickon when the time comes.
In the January 14th victory over the Trojans, Kenny Yanni scored the hat trick for the Colonials. Yanni scored single goals in the first, second, and third periods.
Anthony Lamlin was outstanding that day in goal for PW with 34 saves. Wissahickon outshot Plymouth Whitemarsh 34-17 for the day.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-3-1, 9 SHSHL – 9-6-1 overall) won its only league game last week with a 4-2 over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Manny Billones led the Hatter scoring attack with two goals, while Brian Smith and Tim Boyle scored single goals for the winners.
Vincent Mirachi stopped 23 shots for the Hatters.
Upper Dublin (3-4-1, 7 SHSHL – 7-7-1 overall) scored five goals in its game with Wissahickon – that was the good news. The bad news was that the Trojans scored 11 in an 11-5 win.
Brian Markman was on the mark for the Flying Cardinals with a hat trick, while Samuel Etskovitz and Jacob Long each scored single goals.
Suburban One Sports.Com
Super ‘7’
1. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
2. Council Rock North Indians
3. Pennsbury Falcons
4. Central Bucks South Titans
5. Souderton Indians
6. Upper Moreland Golden Bears
7. Wissahickon Trojans
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