Pennridge advanced to Thursday’s Flyers Cup AA quarterfinal against North Penn with a big win Tuesday. Check all of Tuesday’s recaps. Pennridge/Avon Grove & CB South/Spring-Ford photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' SHSHL ICE HOCKEY GALLERIES.
Flyers Cup AA first round
#7 PENNRIDGE 7, #10 AVON GROVE 2
Nate McKean – after connecting on a pair of goals in Tuesday’s Flyers Cup AA opener – admitted that it’s been a long time since he had a two-goal game.
“I don’t think I’ve scored two goals in a game in over two years, so this is a big confidence boost,” the Rams’ senior said.
Making McKean’s contributions particularly significant was the fact that a skimboarding accident at the shore in July - and resulting broken leg - sidelined the senior for a major portion of his final high school season.
“At first, they thought he was going to be out until Nov. 1, then it became December, then it became January,” Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna said. “He didn’t come back until the end of January.
“He was a guy that we were going to be relying on. He’s a senior. I felt bad for him all year because even when he came back, he’s had games where his leg was really bothering him, and he played through it because he wanted to finish the year.”
“It was a bummer because this is my senior year,” McKean said. “It was pretty bad, but I came back strong.”
Midway through the opening period Tuesday, James Rush scored with assists from Shane Dachowski and Nick Young. With 4:30 remaining in the period, McKean connected on a power play goal with a Dachowski assist.
A goal by James Embert (Nolan Shaw/Josh Kelly assists) with just over a minute remaining in the opening period put the Rams on top 3-0 before Avon Grove’s Trevor Sikoski scored in the period’s closing seconds.
“That was huge because a lot of times we don’t come out fast, we come out kind of slow,” McKean said of the Rams’ fast start. “That really set the tempo for the rest of the game.”
It was noteworthy that two of the Rams’ first three goals came from players not named Shane Dachowski or James Rush.
“For us, we have to get secondary scoring, and we got, I believe, four goals outside of James and Shane,” Montagna said. “If we’re going to
advance, we have to have that, and Jacob was what Jacob was,”
“That’s how you win games,” McKean said. “You have your star players that will score, but you have to have your bottom two and three lines putting in goals.”
Avon Grove’s Drew Kennedy scored the only goal of the second period, and it was a 3-2 game entering the final period when Jacob Winton came up with a potentially game-changing save.
“The biggest play of the game - it was a 3-2 game, and they have a breakaway at the start of the third, and he made an incredible save, and obviously we put it away,” Montagna said.
“That was huge,” McKean said of Winton’s save. “Winnie is awesome. He’s a great goalie. If he doesn’t make that save, it would be a different game.”
Dachowski’s short-handed goal three minutes into the third period gave the Rams a 4-2 advantage, and midway through the period James Rush scored with a Justin Dinsmore assist.
An empty net goal by Nick Young with 2:47 remaining was followed by McKean’s second goal of the game, this one assisted by Ryan Burke and Landan Bishop.
“Even with new guys, we have a lot of experience,” Montagna said. “We had a lot of pride, and we have a lot of expectations.
“We’ve been here before, we know what needs to be done. Yes, it’s a different team, but there are enough guys in the locker room that understand that in this type of game, you can win a game in the first period, you absolutely can win a game in the first period. They came out flying. It was one of our better starts of the season.
“We’ve still got to clean up in the defensive zone, but overall, they did what they had to do.”
Pennridge will face second-seeded North Penn in Thursday’s quarterfinal at Hatfield Ice (8:30 pm).
Avon Grove 1-1-0 2
Pennridge 3-0-4 7
Shots: AG 30, Pennridge 41; Saves: Jacob Calabretta (AG) 33, Jacob Winton (P) 28.
First period: 1. James Rush P (Shane Dachowski/Nick Young) 7:23; 2. Nate McKean P (Shane Dachowski) 4:30; 3. James Embert P (Nolan Shaw/Josh Kelly) 1:10; 4. Trevor Sikorski AG (Gavin Mellon) 00:19.
Second period: 5. Drew Kennedy AG, 11:26.
Third period: 6. Shane Dachowski P, 14:02; 7. James Rush P (Justin Dinsmore) 7:16; 8. Nick Young, 2:47; 9. Nate McKean P (Ryan Burke/Landan Bishop) 1:14.
#12 SPRING-FORD 4, #5 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3 (OT)
The ending came quickly and without warning.
One minute, the Titans – leading 3-2 in a game they’d dominated - were on their way to a win in Tuesday’s first round game when William Schaeffer stunned just about everyone except the never-say-die Rams with a goal that knotted the score with only 62 seconds remaining in regulation.
Just over five minutes into sudden death overtime, the Rams - attacking when the Titans did not clear the puck out of their defensive end – won it when Dylan Cyr scored an unassisted goal.
Making the loss even more devastating was the fact that for two periods the Titans pretty much had their way with the Rams, and the only thing standing between South and a comfortable lead was Spring-Ford goalie Grant Olson.
There were early signs that Olson might present a challenge when the Titans pelted the Rams’ goalie with 17 shots in the first period, holding a 17-1 edge before the Rams had three late shots, but they came up empty and found themselves locked in a scoreless tie.
If the Titans needed a wake-up call, they got it when Cyr scored six minutes into the second period to put the Rams on top 1-0. Thirteen seconds later, Logan Hood scored the equalizer, using assists from Alexander Cannon and Jamison Crouch.
That goal temporarily opened the flood gates, and the Titans scored three goals in a productive three-minute span. Jake Stepp scored the go-ahead
goal with an assist from Joseph Slobodrian. Ryan Frey connected on a power play goal, using assists from Sean Cutter and Jeffrey Kvecher, and with 7:48 remaining in the second period, the Titans led 3-1.
It turned out to be pretty much their last hurrah.
With 8:20 remaining in regulation, Spring-Ford’s Stephen Falbo scored with assists from Grady Heacock and Seth Galati, and suddenly it was a 3-2 game, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
South held a 35-14 advantage in shots in the first two periods, but the Rams had a 9-6 edge in the third period. Both teams had two shots in OT.
For the game, South held a 43-25 shots advantage that was negated by the 40-save effort of Olson that brought an early end to the postseason for the favored Titans.
Spring-Ford 0-1-2-1 4
Central Bucks South 0-3-0-0 3
Shots: Spring-Ford 25, CBS 43; Saves: Grant Olson (SF) 40, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 21.
First period: No goals
Second period: 1. Dylan Cyr SF (Stephen Falbo/Nicholas Valerio) 11:05; 2. Logan Hood CBS (Alexander Cannon/Jamison Crouch) 10:52; 3. Jake Stepp CBS (Joseph Slobodrian) 9:01; 4. Ryan Frey CBS (Sean Cutter/Jeffrey Kvecher) 7:48.
Third period: 5. Stephen Falbo SF (Grady Heacock/Seth Galati) 8:20; 6. William Schaeffer SF, 1:02.
Overtime: 7. Dylan Cyr SF, 11:49.
#6 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 3, #11 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 1
The Patriots didn’t win Tuesday’s opener, but they certainly proved they belonged in the elite Flyers Cup field.
After a scoreless opening period, the Patriots took a 1-0 lead when Gavin Widmer scored with an assist from Charlie Keiser with five seconds remaining in the second period.
East took that 1-0 lead into the third period and held it until 6:19 remained in regulation when Reed Surak scored the equalizer. Braiden Maya’s power play goal with 3:23 remaining turned out to be the game-winner. Surak’s second goal of the game with 50 seconds remaining gave Downingtown West its final margin of victory.
East actually held a 39-34 advantage in shots. Keeping Downingtown West in it was the 38-save effort of goalie Justin Adams.
Central Bucks East 0-1-0 1
Downingtown West 0-0-3 3
Shots: CBE 39, DW – 34; Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 31, Justin Adams (DW) 38.
First period: No goals
Second period: 1. Gavin Widmer CBE (Charlie Keiser) 00:05.
Third period: 2. Reed Surak DW (Aleks Kepiro/Bryce Schuler) 6:19; 3. Braiden Maya DW (Bryce Schuler/Aleks Kepiro) 3:23; 4. Reed Surak, 00:50.
Flyers Cup A first round
#6 HERSHEY 4, #11 HATBORO-HORSHAM 1
A special season came to an end for the Hatters at Skatium Rink on Tuesday, but not before they battled favored Hershey to the final horn.
Hershey took a 2-0 lead in the first period, thanks to goals from Brady Cox and Tyler Lucas, and they upped that lead to 3-0 when Carson Hummer scored in the opening minutes of the second period.
Vincent Graziani’s power play goal with assists from Joseph Magnin and Evan Snow made it a 3-1 game with 1:49 remaining in the second period.
Midway through the third period, Cole Umberger scored with an assist from Owen Hulays for the 4-1 final.
Hershey held a 33-30 edge in shots.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1-0 1
Hershey 2-1-1 4
Shots: HH 30, Hershey 33; Saves: Eric Miller (HH) 26, Alex Placeres (H) 29.
First period: 1. Brady Cox H (Cole Umberger) 16:40; 2. Tyler Lucas H (Cole Umberger) 16:16.
Second period: 3. Carson Hummer H (Carter Erwin/Owen Hulays) 15:19; 4. Vincent Graziani HH (Joseph Magnin/Evan Snow) 1:49.
Third period: 5. Cole Umberger H (Owen Hulays) 7:32.
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