Ben Reese recaps all the action in PW’s shutout win over Abington. Photo courtesy of Tracy Valko: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f710114994
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — Sometimes a strong offense is a team’s best defense. Sometimes, a strong defense sparks the offense.
That is pretty much what happened on Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice as Plymouth Whitemarsh blanked Abington 5-0. The victory boosts the Colonial into a tie with Bensalem for the lead in the American Division of the Suburban High School Hockey League with 15 points each.
Two-fifths of the offense was provided by David Branigan, who scored two of the goals and added an assist. Three other Colonials — Jayson Yoder, Dylan Novitski and Tim Murphy — provided the other goals.
The defense smothered the Ghost offense. Plymouth Whitemarsh allowed Abington only 17 total shots on goal, five in the first period, four in the second and eight in the third.
The Colonials had a defensive plan in place which worked to perfection.
“Just protect the front of the net,” said assistant coach Danny Smith, who ran the team from behind the bench in the absence of head coach Dave Cox. “Let them shoot from the outside but just eliminate in-front chances.”
PW enjoyed a bit of an advantage on defense against the Ghosts. There were three pairings of defensemen for the Colonials.
“We had six guys (on defense) tonight,” Smith said. “We had a lot of fresh legs every time they were out there.
“We had the power play clicking. The puck movement was great.
“It goes back to having six defensemen, just being able to not have tired guys out there.”
Abington coach Ken Brzozowski was well aware of what his team was facing.
“They’ve got a good team,” he said. “They’re quick to the puck.
“Honestly, I’m trying to remember the last time we were shut out. It’s been a while.”
However, he also knew that his team contributed to the lack of offense. And it wasn’t any one thing.
“We recognized early that we were just a step too slow,” Brzozowski explained. “We held onto the puck a second or two too much when we had opportunities. We tried to make the extra pass rather than putting the puck on net.”
On the other side of the coin, the PW offense was going full blast. The Colonials put 59 shots on Abington goalie Matt Evangelist, who recorded 54 saves.
“I thought we moved the puck way better than we have before, and when we move the puck, no team in this league is beating us,” said Branigan. “We feed off the momentum. In this league, it’s all about momentum.”
And, from the opening of the first period, Plymouth Whitemarsh had momentum going its way. With just 3:49 gone in the first, Yoder put the Colonials on the scoreboard off a pass from Novitski.
That proved to be the game-winner. The next four goals were just icing on the cake.
Branigan netted his first goal of the game at the 13:54 mark with Novitski once again providing the helper. Then Novitski got into the goal-scoring act 33 seconds later with Branigan and Jason Segal providing the assists.
With 1:36 left in the first period, PW was assessed a pair of minor penalties, leaving the Colonials short-handed for a total of four minutes. Once again, the defense rose to the occasion, keeping Abington off the scoreboard and allowing the Ghosts only one shot on goal in that four-minute period.
“That was awesome to have,” Smith said, “and see them kill it off.”
In the second period, the Colonials added a pair of goals. Murphy notched the first one and Branigan added his second tally of the game.
But that was the end of the scoring. Despite having 19 shots in the second period and 15 in the third, PW couldn’t get the puck past Evangelist.
“I do think the second half of the game from the middle of the second period on it was a 0-0 game,” Brzozowski said. “We did step up and I think play a little more aggressively. I would have liked to have been more aggressive from the start of the game.”
Abington remains in third place in the division despite the loss. But Plymouth Whitemarsh and Bensalem have separated themselves from the rest of the division.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5, Abington 0
Abington 0 0 0 — 0
Plymouth Whitemarsh 3 2 0 — 5
First period: 1, Jayson Yoder PW (Dylan Novitski) 3:49; 2, David Branigan PW (Novitski) 13:54; 3, Novitski PW (Branigan, Jason Segal) 14:27.
Second period: 4, Tim Murphy PW (Jack Moffatt, Chris London) 5:59; 5, Branigan PW (Segal) 9:06.
Third period: No scoring.
Shots: A 17, PW 59. Saves: Matt Evangelist (A) 54, Julian Lucks (PW) 17.
- Log in to post comments
