CB South and North Penn advanced to Thursday’s Flyers Cup semifinal round while defending champion CR South saw its season come to an end. To view sports photographer Joe Joseph's photos of the CR North/CB South and CR South/Cherokee games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
WARWICK – To say it was a frustrating night for Council Rock South would be stating it mildly.
The Golden Hawks won the Flyers Cup last year, rolling through the playoffs without a mark.
This year is a different story.
South got knocked out of the competition on Monday night at Warwick by Cherokee, from Marlton,N.J., 8-5.
While it was Cherokee that scored the eight goals, it was the Hawks who gave them the opportunities.
“You get exposed,” said coach Joe Houk when asked about making mistakes against a good team. “It's frustrating, frustrating right from the ground level up.
“You're up 2-0 and you let them get back in the game. Their last three goals came on giveaways.
“They scored two shorthanded goals and you can't do that. It's late in the game, you're down by three and you're trying to push the envelope and you don't get puck possession.
“You don't take care of your own first and that's what happens. It's frustrating because I thought we were one of the better teams.
“I tell the kids that you battled back. I feel sorry for the seniors to end this way.”
Houk's captain, senior Jared Hershman, had the same sense of frustration.
“The last four years, we've been in the finals,” Hershman said. “This would have been the fifth and we won it the last two years.
“It's my senior year and it's hard to go out like this, not even reaching the semifinals.”
But Hershman saw the loss in the same light as his coach.
“They capitalized on our mistakes,” he said. “When we cough up the puck, they score every time.
“And when you lose on your mistakes, you want to beat yourself on the head about it because it's one thing if they're coming out here and skating all over you, but when we're giving up the puck, that's our fault.”
The defense for the Golden Hawks didn't help out goalie Justin Houk much, either. While the Chiefs only took 29 shots, many of them were in close, causing Houk to scramble for the puck.
One example of the frustration for South came when it held a five-to-three advantage with two Cherokee players in the penalty box for a full two minutes.
The Golden Hawks couldn't put the puck in the net past Chief goalie Jim Witkowski. That just edged the frustration level higher.
“It was critical,” said Joe Houk of not scoring on the two-man advantage, “but you're up 2-0 and we beat ourselves. You can't beat a team like that backing up.
“They're a good, skilled team. You work hard and you get the bounces but we didn't work hard enough. We struggled on defense all year and my defense beat me tonight.”
Hershman's frustration with the situation was evident.
“When you have a five-on-three for two minutes and you're down 5-4, that's something you have to capitalize on,” he said. “”It's not even an option.
“Especially in a tight game like this. We even had some other power plays and we
couldn't poke it in.”
Council Rock South got off to a flying start. After only 2:44 had elapsed in the first
period, Kyle Walter put the Hawks on the scoreboard with an assist from Nick Keck.
Two seconds shy of six minutes later, it was suddenly 2-0. A.J. Drobot beat Witkowski off assists from Walter and Keck.
But that quick lead didn't dismay Cherokee. The Chiefs got one back on the power play as Casey Forte, with assists from Aaron Huffnagle and Brian Miller, cut the South lead in half.
Then came the second period. It contained everything you would ever want in a period – goals, penalties and lots of hitting.
Cherokee tied the game only 2:34 into the period. With South's Jake Nevin in the box with a double minor, Michael Buck scored the tying goal with an assist from John Martino.
Slightly more than a minute later, the Chiefs took the lead for the first time. Miller, off a pass from Cole Zucker, scored his first goal of the game for a 3-2 lead on the power play.
Council Rock South scored the next two goals. Walter notched the tying goal at 5:42 and Drobot scored his second at 5:54 to put the Hawks back on top.
That lead lasted for just slightly more than one minute and third seconds. The Chiefs got a goal from John Martino at the 7:32 mark to tie and the go-ahead goal at 9:26. They never trailed after that.
Cherokee scored three of the four goals in the third period. Dylan Bradley got the first one and Boomer Miller the second for a 7-4 lead.
Hershman tried to keep the Golden Hawks in the game with his goal with 9:17 gone in the period. But Brian Miller finished off the scoring for Cherokee on the power play with 2:17 remaining in the game.
Cherokee advances to the Flyers Cup semifinals, meeting Central Bucks South on Thursday at Warwick. Council Rock South gets to regroup for next season.
Cherokee 1 4 3 – 8
Council Rock South 2 2 1 – 5
First Period
1. Kyle Walter CRS (Nick Keck) 2:44; 2. A.J. Drobot CRS (Walter, Keck) 8:42; 3. Casey Forte C (Aaron Huffnagle, Brian Miller) 11:23 PP. Penalty: Michael Ufberg CRS (cross checking) 10:10.
Second Period
4. Michael Bucks C (John Martino) 2:37 PP; 5. Brian Miller C (Cole Zucker) 3:37 PP; 6. Walter CRS (Drobot, Keck) 5:42; 7. Drobot CRS (Walter, Keck) 5:54; 8. Martino C (Huffnagle, Zucker) 7:32; 9. Huffnagle C (Brian Miller, Forte) 9:26 PP. Penalties: Jake Nevin CRS (head contact) 0:00; Nevin CRS (roughing) 0:00; Zach Tiernan C (slashing) 0:00; Jake Toran C (roughing) 0:00; Walter CRS (interference) 3:26; Brett Jacobs C (slashing) 6:22; Ufberg CRS (head contact) 7:40; Martino C (slashing) 7:40; Tyler Eline CRS (holding) 8:49; Mitchell Vaysman CRS (slashing) 9:47; Brian Miller C (interference) 12:00; John Cascio C (slashing) 12:00; Toran C (tripping) 14:28.
Third Period
10. Dylan Bradley C (unassisted) 1:05 SH; 11. Boomer Miller C (unassisted) 4:25; 12. Jared Hershman CRS (Nevin) 9:17; 13. Brian Miller C (Huffnagle, Tiernan) 13:43 PP> Penalties: Cascio C (tripping) 0:54; Tim Ryan C (interference) 6:44; Eline CRS (tripping) 11:48; Vaysman CRS (interference) 14:03.
Shots: C – 29; CRS – 33. Saves: Jim Witkowski C 28; Justin Houk CRS 21.
(1) CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 8, (9) COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
In the opening game of the Flyers Cup quarterfinal double-header, the Titans overwhelmed the Indians.
CB South scored two goals in the first period, added five in the second and one in the third. The Titans rode the goaltending of Jeff Pelkowski to the win.
Pelkowski had to make only nine saves in the shutout. Meanwhile his teammates were pelting Rock North goalie Hayden Richards with 44.
“It was pretty apparent early, that they were just going to sag back and play for one bounce,” CB South coach Tom Coyne said. “We just knew we had to get the shot totals up, and once we cracked open, once we got one goal, I knew we were going to get five. We just had to get that one.”
While the Titan offense started slowly, once it got going, it didn't stop. They got their first goal with 13:03 gone in the opening period with Thomas Liberta getting the goal off assists from Jared Conroy and Brandon Spognardi.
With only 12 seconds remaining in the stanza, Connor Bechtel notched the second goal. Bobby Mallon got the lone assist.
In the five-goal second period, five different Titans lit the lamp. First it was Leo Flick after thirty seconds had gone by. He was followed by Bechtel (at the 3:12 mark), Alex Stoll (5:25), Bobby Mallon (9:06) and Nick DeLaurentis (13:42). In all, South took 17 shots on goal in the second period; Rock North took only one.
Bechtel finished up his hat trick in the third period. He took the puck in all by himself and beat Richards at the 8:04 mark.
Getting to the Flyers Cup final would make the Titans' season.
“I think it will be really big for our team since last year we fell short,” said Bechtel. “We've got to come out tough Thursday whoever we play and take it to them.”
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 0 0-0
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2 5 1-8
Scoring Summary
Period 1
CBS-Thomas Liberta (Jared Conroy, Brandon Spognardi) 13:03
CBS-Connor Bechtel (Bobby Mallon) 15:48
Period 2
CBS-Leo Flick (Cameron Calista, Alex Stoll) 0:30
CBS-Connor Bechtel (Kevin Casey, Dominic Bova) 3:12
CBS-Alex Stoll (Thomas Liberta) 5:25
CBS-Bobby Mallon (Nick DeLaurentis, Connor Bechtel) 9:06
CBS-Nick DeLaurentis (Thomas Liberta, Michael Pilla) 13:42
Period 3
CBS-Connor Bechtel (unassisted) 8:04
Shots
Council Rock North 4 1 4-9
Central Bucks South 15 17 11-43
Goalie Saves
Hayden Richards (CRN) 35; Jeff Pelkowski (CBS) 9
(2) NORTH PENN 8, (10) WILSON 4
Matt Stella had a big night for the Knights, contributing four goals, while teammate Matt Barkley added the hat trick. Nick Capasso also had a three-point night, contributing three assists. Alex Peterson, Derek Heckler and Jeremy Snyder each had a pair of assists while Caleb Witzaney had a goal and an assist.
The Knights led 4-0 at the end of one period, thanks to a pair of goals from Barkley and single goals from Witzaney and Stella. They scored on all four of their shots in the period. That lead was anything but secure, however, as Wilson answered with four straight goals in the second period to knot the score. Stella (Matt Fox/Alex Peterson assists) scored the go-ahead goal at the 14:42 mark, sending the Knights into the final period with a 5-4 lead. Three unanswered goals by the Knights sealed the win in a period that saw Wilson hold an 18-6 advantage in shots.
Wilson held a 39-21 edge in shots, an advantage that was negated by the 35-save effort of North Penn goalie Cody Matthews. Marc Daouphars turned away 23 of 31 shots for Wilson.
The Knights will face Parkland in Thursday’s semifinal contest at Warwick at 8:45 p.m.
WILSON 0 4 0-4
NORTH PENN 4 1 3-8
Scoring Summary
Period 1
NP-Caleb Witzaney (Dalton Bideau, Nick Capasso) 4:12
NP-Matt Barkley (Caleb Witzaney, Jeremy Snyder) 11:44
NP-Matt Barkley (Nick Capasso) 11:47
NP-Matt Stella (Derek Heckler, Kevin Saylor) 11:47
Period 2
W-Griffin Bunn (Erik Bowers, Nick Tasca) 7:08
W-Koby Mayer (Nick Tasca) 7:08
W-Michael Zimmerman (powerplay) (Bryce Witman, Nick Tasca) 11:12
W-Erik Bowers (Nick Tasca) 11:12
NP-Matt Stella (Matt Fox, Alex Peterson) 14:42
Period 3
NP-Matt Stella (Derek Heckler, Alex Peterson) 7:08
NP-Matt Barkley (Jeremy Snyder, Nick Capasso) 7:12
NP-Matt Stella (shorthanded) (unassisted) 12:10
Shots
Wilson0 21 18-39
North Penn 4 21 6-31
Goalie Saves
Marc Daouphars (W) 23; Cody Matthews (NP) 35.
(11) PARKLAND 3, (3) DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0
Parkland scored single goals in each of the three periods, two on the power play, in their upset of the third-seeded Cougars. Ryan Dumbach scored a pair of power play goals, and Brett McHale added a single goal.
Parkland will face North Penn in Thursday’s semifinal at Warwick at 8:45 p.m.
PARKLAND 1 1 1-3
DOWNINGTOWN EAST 0 0 0-0
Scoring Summary
Period 1
P-Ryan Dumbach (powerplay) (Nicolas Chandik) 2:06
Period 2
P-Ryan Dumbach (powerplay) (James Swartz, Robert Stock) 11:50
Period 3
P-Brett McHale (James Swartz) 6:06
Shots
Parkland 12 10 10-32
Downingtown East 11 6 6-23
Goalie Saves
Jordan Lorah (P) 23; Corey Sharp (DE) 29.
CLASS A
(3) SPRINGFIELD 7, (6) ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0
Springfield scored four first-period goals and added three more in the second on their way to the decisive win. The Vikings managed just seven shots on goal while Springfield took 33.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0 0 0-0
SPRINGFIELD 4 3 0-7
Scoring Summary
Period 1
S-Tyler Riddle (James Shickling) 4:12
S-Ryan Brawley Bill Swahl) 5:06
S-Steve Cavaliere (powerplay) (Ryan Brawley, Tom Coll) 5:55
S-Rich Brown (powerplay) (Nick Biehl) 7:33
Period 2
S-Ryan Brawley (Bill Swahl ) 4:10
S-Ryan Brawley (shorthanded) (Rich Brown) 9:19
S-Tyler Riddle (powerplay) (Nick Biehl, Rich Brown) 12:58
Period 3
No scoring
Shots
Archbishop Wood 2 2 3-7
Springfield 11 11 11-33
Goalie Saves
John Capinas (AW) 26; Bryan Biehl (S) 7.
(1) WEST CHESTER EAST 7, (8) UPPER MORELAND 0
West Chester East led 1-0 after one period but upped that lead to 3-0 after two periods on their way to the lopsided win. East held a 45-22 advantage in shots over the Golden Bears.
UPPER MORELAND 0 0 0-0
WEST CHESTER EAST 1 2 4-7
Scoring
Period 1
WCE-Mike Roberta (Pat Ward, Jeff Angstadt) 1:33
Period 2
WCE-Zach Higgins (powerplay) (Pat Ward, Jesse Abarca) 7:40
WCE-Colin Brown (Mike Roberta, Pat Ward) 9:05
Period 3
WCE-Colin Brown (Pat Ward, Mike Roberta) 3:00
WCE-Chris Rodier (Jesse Abarca) 5:14
WCE-Colin Brown (powerplay) (Pat Ward, Jeff Angstadt) 11:28
WCE-Carter Dwyer (powerplay) (Chris Rodier, Bill Stewart) 14:19
Shots
Upper Moreland 10 6 6-22
West Chester East 15 17 13-45
Goalie Saves
Jared Burch (UM) 38; Tyler Percival (WCE) 22.
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