This week’s SHSHL notebooks featured Central Bucks South, Neshaminy & Abington.
By Craig Ostroff
Continental Conference
Moyer a leader in goal for Titans - Over the years, Central Bucks South ice hockey has preached the mantra that the keys to success are hard work, sacrifice, competition, discipline.
This season, there is no one on the Titans’ squad who embodies the South way of life than senior goalkeeper Mason Moyer.
“We’ve talked a lot over the years about the things that make a successful player and successful team,” said South coach Shaun McGinty. “Those things are what Mason does day in and day out, on and off the ice.
“He’s our foundational piece. We’ve got some young players on this team, there are going to be mistakes throughout the game that our defense or offense make, and Mason’s always there to pick it up. Mason is going to take Central Bucks South as far as we can go. We’re going to live and die on him.”
That’s a lot of pressure to place squarely on Moyer’s the shoulders, especially in a season that started—and progresses—under a cloud of uncertainty. His leadership in the locker room and steady play on the ice will be depended upon to keep the team focused and positive.
He’s more than ready for the challenge.
“It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I know what I bring to the table, and my teammates do, too,” Moyer said. “I can help this team out, and as a senior, it’s part of my job to push them to want to play harder, to play for themselves and their teammates. I show up every practice and I try to play and practice with the same level of dedication and energy. I want to leave it all on the ice, play how I know I can play, and if others can look to what I do as a way to push themselves, I want to be able to do that.”
As a senior and a two-year starter, Moyer also feel more comfortable directing traffic this season.
“I believe I’m talking a lot more than last year,” he said. “That’s another place where I have to step up more as a senior. I want to be teaching younger guys where to be, where to look for the open pass, how to be a better hockey player and fit the system.”
These are lessons that Moyer learned himself and will be passing down. As a younger player on a traditionally stacked team, Moyer waited his turn, learned from those who came before him, and from the moment he stepped into the starting role as a junior, he was ready to make the most of his time in the spotlight.
“It goes to show you how strong our goalkeeping has been,” McGinty said. “Mason is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and before that, he was the best backup in league. We’re blessed to have him, and it’s good for our other two goalies, one is coming up behind him. Mason helps with other goalkeepers, he’s a good leader.”
“Two years ago, Oscar (Levin) was a really good goalie, and he helped me a lot, teaching me techniques and things to look at in order to improve parts of my game,” Moyer said. “When I was backing him up, I knew what was supposed to happen and what I was supposed to be doing. Now I’m in the position where I can teach others and help them out and give them tips on how I play that might help them as well.”
McGinty added that Moyer also possesses a rare trait in that he’s communicative and receptive even during the most hotly contested games.
“A lot of goalies tend to go into that focused state and are like, ‘Don’t come in my bubble,’” McGinty said. “Mason’s the kind of kid I can communicate with, I can talk to him in the middle of a game and not worry about stepping on his island. And if he lets in a beach ball, I can yell at him from the bench and he respects that and he uses it as motivation.”
“You don’t want to dwell on a mistake or a goal,” Moyer said. “The quicker you put it behind you, the faster you can move onto that next play. Shaun yelling at me is a kick in the butt, ‘your team needs you.’ It helps me focus.”
Moyer and his Titan teammates will visit Central Bucks East tonight at 7:10 at Bucks County Ice, then visit Pennridge at 7:10 pm Feb. 18 at Hatfield Gray.
National Conference
Young Neshaminy squad looking to make a mark - They’ve been together for several years now. They’ve got multiple league championships under their belt. And most are not even old enough to drive a car.
That’s because Neshaminy’s sophomore class has already experienced plenty of success as a group, and their established chemistry has translated into plenty of success as the players are becoming mainstays on the varsity club.
“Everyone thinks we’re more a veteran team, but we have a group of six sophomores who came up through middle school together,” Neshaminy coach Matt DeMatteo said. “They started off their freshman year as swing players—except for Nolan Geria who was locked into varsity as a freshman—but the others all played varsity minutes last year and are getting the job done this year.
“This is a group that won three middle school championships—two AA championships and a AAA championship, and won a JV title last season. They’ve come up together and they’ve really been a great little nucleus as we look to rebuild the program.”
The youth movement began last year with Geria exclusively playing varsity, and the other five then-freshmen—Michael Knipple, JJ Hathaway, Dan McColgan, Max Gallagher, and Noah Seewagen—earning far more varsity minutes than DeMatteo had originally planned.
“All those guys are skilled, they all contributed in their own way last year, and they’re key pieces this year,” DeMatteo said. “JJ is a top four defender. He’s a stud on defense. He’s great with the puck, he’s a fluid skater, but he’s got a lot of grit, he’d just as soon run you over to get to that puck. Michael is right there as a top four defensive player as well.”
Gallagher, McColgan, and Seewagen logged third- and fourth-line minutes as a freshman and have moved up to the second line this year. The classmates have been key in Neshaminy’s 3-1 start in what is expected to be a tight battle for the National Conference title.
“Having played together for so long has been really important,” said Geria, whose five goals are tied for second on the team. “We have chemistry together, we know where we’re going to be and know where to pass. It makes it easier on and off the ice. We’re all close friends, we’re always with each other.”
And they’re putting the pressure on the veteran players to make sure they’re at the top of their games as well.
“Nolan is just a flat-out player,” DeMatteo said. “He can play forward, defense, he’s got great hands, and he’s a really powerful skater. And he plays mean, he looks to play physical hockey every chance he gets. I can’t wait to see what this kid does the next couple of years. He’s probably going to be one of the top three players in the league by the time he’s a senior.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had more than six or seven seniors in a season, so they’ve always had to compete with the underclassmen, but this is probably the best group I’ve seen in the years I’ve coached.”
They’re also getting strong lessons in leadership, sometimes in their own homes, as Seewagen and Gallagher are the younger brothers of Neshaminy seniors Rob Seewagen and Tom Gallagher.
Both show glimpses of their elder brothers’ abilities and leadership qualities.
“Noah and Max are guys that we’ll be looking for to get leadership from as they progress up through the ranks,” DeMatteo said. “They’ve got a lot of similarities, but they’ve got their differences, too. Noah is more a grinder, more a physical player, and he’s a really good defensive forward. We put him at center because we can depend on him to make the right plays in the defensive end from the center position.”
And as the sophomore class continues to gain experience—not to mention size and strength—it makes for a bright future for Neshaminy.
“That nucleus has had so much success, and they enjoy playing with each other,” DeMatteo said. “I don’t want to look too far ahead, but you can see where guys are going to slot in to fill the spots when this year’s seniors have graduated. I’m excited to see where they go.”
Neshaminy returns to action on Thursday at 7:10 pm at Hatfield Gray when they visit North Penn.
American Conference
Ghosts looking for hard work to pay off - It’s time.
For the last two years, the Abington ice hockey program has been establishing the team’s culture, working on fundamentals, and developing chemistry on and off the ice.
This year, it’s time for all that work to pay off.
“We were a young team over the last two years,” said Abington coach Ken Brzozowski. “I feel like we’re finally coming into our own where what we are doing in practices is translating into games, which is something we struggled with last year. Our players have caught up to the speed of the game, we’ve got an additional year of maturity and exposure, and it’s lent itself to a very successful start to our season.”
The Ghosts opened the season at 4-1, tied atop the American Conference with Wissahickon (4-0). Averaging five goals per game, the Ghosts are also enjoying a spread-out, difficult-to-defend offense with junior Joe Stelacio (4G, 10A) leading an attack that has seen 11 players contribute and six players with more than four points in the young season. Matthew Kramer and Sam Paulik each have 6 goals with 4 assists for 10 points, and Colin Bruton (2G, 3A) is also averaging a point per game.
“Last year, we had three players on our first line who did probably 90 percent of our scoring,” Brzozowski said. “This year, we’re getting production from all different areas of our team, which is very different. This year, because we’ve got experienced players, we’ve been able to make adjustments, move players around. We’ve solidified our defense, and we’re getting scoring from our first and second lines, and getting decent time on the ice from our third line as well.
“Joe is a guy I constantly give a hard time to about getting other teammates involved, but he’s got 10 assists. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. Sam is a second-year player who came to us as a freshman and was anticipating playing defense, but we recognized he’s a more offensive player. We moved him up and the reward was immediate. He’s got two hat tricks so far this year.”
It’s not talent alone that’s put the Ghosts near the top of the division. With three seniors on the active roster, the team leaders played an integral part in keeping the squad focused during an uncertain offseason and had the Ghosts prepared to play once the season started.
“Our guys led both on and off the ice,” Brzozowski said. “Our captain, Colin Bruton, and assistant captain Tommy Rourke have the pulse of the team. They’re always keeping the guys involved, you can see it on the bench, on the ice, and you can see that it makes an impact off the ice as well.”
Stelacio is newly minted as the second assistant captain, and together, the team’s leaders will guide the team into its toughest task of the young season. The Ghosts host undefeated Wissahickon at 9 pm tonight at Hatfield Gray and will face the unenviable task of trying to stop—or even slow down—the unstoppable force that is Bryan Garry, the league’s leading scorer with 24 points (Stelacio is second in scoring with 14).
“We’re looking forward to this game,” Brzozowski said. “This is why you play hockey. We’re a little battle-tested, we’re come up against a lot of players with a high caliber of skill, and we’ve been involved in a number of games this year that are one- or two-goal games.
“We’re going to focus on our game plan, try to slow them down as best we can, and hopefully things fall our way. We’re going to need good goaltending, and we’ve been getting consistent play from both of our goalies (Ben Panella and Sam Nemec), which is a huge improvement from last year. I think we can play a tight game. We’ve had good success in shutting down leading scorers, hopefully we can do that (tonight) as well.”
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