Ben Reese recaps the action in CB West’s win over Wissahickon. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — Central Bucks West ice hockey coach Dave Baun had some great praise for his young goalie, Liam Rogers.
“Liam Rogers is — I know I’m partial and I am biased — but he’s the best goaltender I’ve seen in our league,” Baun said. “And he showed it tonight.”
“Tonight” was Wednesday evening at Hatfield Ice as the Bucks took a hard-fought 3-2 win over Wissahickon. West never trailed in the game, taking a 1-0 lead after one period, 2-1 after two before
grabbing the 3-2 victory.
“We’re lucky to have him,” Baun continued. “He’s a fantastic goaltender and a fabulous kid.”
The “fabulous kid” had just made 44 saves against the Trojans. A lot of those saves came from scrums in front of the net.
Ken Harrington, Wissahickon’s coach, despite the loss, was very appreciative of Rogers’ efforts.
“He’s a very good goalie,” Harrington said. “We knew he was really good, but we couldn’t get it by him.
“We had to get it back and forth in front of him; the puck was going everywhere. We just couldn’t get it through.”
Wissahickon threw everything it had at West and Rogers. The only period the Trojans were outshot was the first as West had the advantage, 15-13.
It is even more impressive in that Rogers is a sophomore. But it seems that he has lots of experience between the pipes.
How long has he been playing goalie?
“Probably since birth,” Baun said with a laugh. “He’s a great kid to have on the team.”
Rogers was a little more precise when asked the same question.
“I guess since I was like seven,” he said. “I’m 16 now so about nine years.”
Rogers also passed some praise along to his defense.
“I thought our defense played great against them,” said Rogers. “They (Wissahickon) are a very good team.”
Baun also had some plaudits for the Trojans.
“I’ve got to give it to Wiss,” he said. “They really have a quality group of players.
“They’ve got a bright future. They’ve got about five kids that can really shoot the puck.
“They play a really good game. They’re fast, they move the puck well and they can really shoot.”
So can the Bucks. While they were outshot 46-38, they made three of them count.
In the first period, West opened the scoring at the 5:08 mark. Billy Loughnane scored the opening goal off an assist from Brandon March.
The Bucks upped their lead to 2-0 with 9:27 gone in the second period. Jack Misoda combined with Drew Trask and Zane Sanders for the goal.
But Wissahickon finally figured out Rogers later in the second period. Danny Hussa scored on the power play off an assist from AJ Pounds with 13 minutes gone.
The Bucks added their third goal in the third period. Loughnane tallied his second goal of the game unassisted at 4:49.
With about 13:20 elapsed in the third period, the Trojans pulled goalie Michael Bonanni, putting six skaters on the ice. It appeared to work as the puck went into the CB West net, but the goal was waved off because the net was off its moorings.
So back in the cage came Bonanni at 13:52. Eight seconds later, Wissahickon notched its second goal on the power play as Nick Hussa beat Rogers with an assist going to Ty Schiff.
Both Trojan goals were scored by a Hussa. The three brothers — Nick, Will and Danny — lead the Trojans in goals.
“The Hussa brothers,” Rogers said, “they were what I expected. They are a very good team.”
But the Bucks proved, in the end, to be the better team on Wednesday night.
CB West 3, Wissahickon 2
First period: 1, Billy Loughnane CBW (Brandon March) 5:08.
Second period: 2, Jack Misoda CBW (Drew Trask, Zane Sanders) 9:27; 3, Danny Hussa W (AJ Pounds) 13:00 PP.
Third period: 4, Loughnane CBW (unassisted) 4:49; 5, Nick Hussa W (Ty Schiff) 14:03 PP.
Shots: CBW 38, W 46. Saves: Liam Rogers (CBW) 44, Michael Bonanni (W) 35.
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