Council Rock South, North Penn and Wissahickon are featured in this week’s notebook that also includes the scoring leaders and goalie stats.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
SHSHL National Conference ‘Snapshot’
Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Council Rock South head coach Joe Houkfinally has a team that is at full strength as the Golden Hawks prepare for the final weeks of the SHSHL schedule.
“I looked around the other night and couldn’t believe the number of kids I had on the bench,” said Houk. “We were able to run out three lines – and that hasn’t happened much this year.
“We had some key injuries and the five players I brought up from the junior varsity to fill in did a great job,” added Houk. “We played smart hockey and were able to win some games.”
Council Rock South lost its last game way back in November against powerful Central Bucks South by a 3-1 score. The Golden Hawks played that contest without Dylan Feoli, Bill Harrelson, and Andrew Owens – all lost to various injuries.
Feoli and Harrelson are both back in the CR South lineup – and Owens should return shortly.
“We played that first game against CB South with only nine guys,” remembered Houk. “We stayed in the game with great goaltending, but they really outshot us by a big margin.”
CB South outshot the Hawks by a staggering 45-18 for the game – but Rock South goaltender Jeremy Siegel came up with 42 saves against what most observers think is the elite team in the SHSHL.
The next game on the Rock South schedule – CB South this Thursday (Jan. 25).
“This will be a good test for how good we are at this point in the season,” said Houk. “It will be nice to play them more or less at full strength.”
Harrelson and Feoli have given the CR South offense a boost - Matthew Meli, Logan Hurwitz, and Jared Wagenmann carried the load in their absence.
Defensively the Hawks have been solid all season with the play of Collin Kleiser and John Hearn, along with fellow defensemen David Mueller and Brennen Wright.
In goal, Rock South features a talented tandem in Siegel and Mason Procz. Siegel boasts a terrific goals against average of 1.00, while Procz boasts an equally terrific goals against average of 1.18.
“Most teams struggle with goaltending, and I have two really good ones,” boasted Houk. “Jeremy is quick and athletic – Mason is big and is very focused.
“When the playoffs come we will see how this all plays out with the goaltender,” added Houk. “The hot goaltender at the time will be in the net.”
Council Rock South – in addition to playing CB South this week – still has SHSHL powers North Penn and Pennridge on its schedule.
“Playing teams like that before playing in the playoffs is a good thing,” said Houk. “It tells you what you need to focus on if you play them again in the playoffs.
“The way the playoffs where restructured is great,” added Houk. “The best eight teams get in the playoffs – regardless of (conference) - and that is how it should be.”
And you can count on the Council Rock South Golden Hawks to be one of those eight Varsity ‘AA’ teams.
SHSHL National Conference Standings
Wins/Losses/Ties/Points
1. Council Rock South Hawks 6 1 1 13
2. Council Rock North Indans 4 3 1 9
3. William Tennent Panthers 1 5 2 4
4. Neshaminy Redskins 1 6 1 3
5. Truman Tigers 0 4 1 1
6. Pennsbury Falcons 0 7 0 0
SHSHL Continental Conference ‘Snapshot’
North Penn Knights
North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis and his Knights have a strong conference challenge on their hands on Thursday (Jan. 25) against rival Pennridge.
The Rams (5-1 conference) defeated the Knights (5-1 conference) by a 5-2 score early in the season.
“We played very well against them the first game,” said Vaitis. “We outshot them, but their goalie (Luke Stranick) stood on his head and we lost.
“Pennridge, CB South, and Souderton are all rivalry games for us,” added Vaitis. “We have players from both Pennridge and North Penn that play on the same club teams.”
The Pennridge team that defeated North Penn is not going to be the same team the Knights faced in that first meeting. The Rams have made a coaching change that now has legendary SHSHL head coach Tom Coyne behind the bench for the talented Pennridge team.
“Tom Coyne brings a dimension to the game that wasn’t there the first time we played them,” said Vaitis. “He is probably the most talented coach around, and you know any team he coaches is going to be ready to play.
“He hasn’t been there long,” added Vaitis as Coyne has had two weeks to acquaint himself with the roster of the Rams. “And you know that the longer he is there – the better they are going to be.”
North Penn is without question an SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ playoff team – and the Knights will take the final weeks of the regular season to prep for the postseason.
“We will tweek a few things with our system here and there,” said Vaitis. “But you don’t want to make too many changes now that we are in a playoff run.”
One decision that the Knights will have to settle on is the No. 1 goaltender. North Penn has alternated between sophomore Chris Maiden and junior Andrew Zanoni during the regular season.
“As we head into the last couple of weeks – we hope that either Chris or Andrew will emerge as the No. 1 goalie,” said Vaitis. “Both have strong points, both have been consistent, and both have played well.”
The North Penn offense has also played well recently.
Junior Nathan Oh, junior Jake Nelson, junior Jared Albano, senior Andrew Galetta, senior George Boyle, sophomore Tyler Greenstein, and sophomore Joshua Kaufhold have double-digit points on their resume for the 2017-2018 season.
“It is nice to be able to run three lines out there every game,” said Vaitis. “And both (sophomore) Tom Boyle and (freshman) Luke Van Why have played very well on defense.
“We play most of the top teams in our league the last couple weeks of the season – and that is a good thing,” added Vaitis. “Good competition will get us ready for the playoffs.”
And that good competition will begin with the Pennridge game this week.
SHSHL Continental Conference Standings
Wins/Losses/Ties/Points
1. Central Bucks South Titans 7 0 0 14
2. Pennridge Rams 5 1 0 10
3. North Penn Knights 5 1 0 10
4. Central Bucks West Bucks 4 3 0 8
5. Central Bucks East 3 4 0 6
6. Souderton Indians 2 4 0 4
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Top Scorers
Goals/Assists/Points
1. Eric Slater – Pennridge 21 15 36
2. Matt Stoll – CB South 19 12 31
3. Zac Herman – CR North 17 13 30
4. Joseph DeLaurentits – CBS 17 9 26
5. Michael Walker-Pennridge 15 11 26
6. Matthew Meli – CR South 18 5 23
7. Reis Braccio – CB South 6 17 23
8. Daniel Guest – CR North 11 9 20
9. Nathan Oh – North Penn 6 12 18
10. Cavan Tully – CR North 6 11 17
10. Andrew Galetta – NP 10 7 17
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Top Goalies
Wins/Saves/Goals Against
1. Mason Procz – CR South 5 110 1.11
2. Oscar Levin – CB South 7 126 1.18
3. Luke Stranick – Pennridge 8 229 2.20
4. Tim White – CB South 5 103 2.27
5. Jeremy Kennard-CB West 6 174 3.39
6. Chris Maiden – North Penn 4 83 3.44
7. Steve Glik – Neshaminy 3 309 3.67
‘On Ice’ in in the SHSHL Varisty ‘AA’
Wednesday – January 24, 2018
William Tennent vs. CB West @ Hatfield – 6:20 pm
Central Bucks South vs. Truman @ Grundy – 7:20 pm
Hatboro-Horsham vs. CB East @ Warwick – 8:40 pm
Neshaminy vs. New Hope Solebury @ Grundy – 9:00 pm
Thursday – January 25, 2018
Pennridge vs. North Penn @ Hatfield – 7:10 pm
Souderton vs. William Tennent @ Grundy – 7:20 pm
Council Rock South vs. Central Bucks South @ Warwick – 8:45 pm.
SHSHL American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Wissahickon Trojans
Wissahickon head coach Ken Harringtonhonestly didn’t know what to expect when the 2017-2018 season began.
“I knew we were going to be able to score goals,” said Harrington. “But I also knew that we had a short bench with only 11 skaters, and with injuries or penalties, we really could be shorthanded at times.
“I also knew that we were short in experience on the ‘D’ side of the ice,” added Harrington. “But things have gone pretty well.”
Pretty well - really?
The Trojans are 9-0 in the SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ American Conference with only one game – a 7-6 victory over Hatboro-Horsham – a contested victory.
“Hatboro Horsham is a really good team and we look forward to playing them in the final game of the season,” said Harrington. “We can’t take any teams lightly, and even when we win big, we still have a lot to work on.
“We have scheduled a game with Council Rock North,” added Harrington. “They are a ‘AA’ team and we are hoping to show how we can compete at that level.”
Two players that are certain to be able to compete at that level are the Garry brothers – freshman Bryan and junior Sean. Bryan has scored 35 goals with 19 assists in just nine games, while Sean has scored 25 goals with 19 assists in the same nine games.
“Both Bryan and Sean are similar players,” said Harrington. “Both are very smart, both have great speed, and both play with a great tenacity.”
The Trojans have also generated excellent offense from freshman Daniel Glazer, junior Alex Myhrman, junior Matt Cade, sophomore Alex Carrozza, and sophomore Samuel Junker.
The Trojan defense is anchored by senior captain Nolan Piakowski, junior Matt Harrington, freshman Nolan Ryan, and junior Calle Kuffner.
“Both sets of defensemen are very good,” said Harrington. “They regulate how we play the game.
“Nolan (Piakowski) is a quiet leader that is always there for the team,” added Harrington. “He is very smart – shares the puck – and is just a talented defenseman.”
Wissahickon boasts a pair of fine goaltenders in junior Michael Henderson and senior Jake Modelevsky.
“We have rotated the two of them for most of the season,” said Harrington. “Right now I would say that they are pretty equal.”
Wissahickon will celebrate Senior Night when the Trojans meet Abington on Wednesday (Jan. 24) at the Hatfield Ice Rink.
“We only have the two seniors (Piakowski and Modelvsky) – but we want to honor the two of them,” said Harrington. “We should have a much bigger roster next year with the younger players in the program, and that should make us better.”
Even better - really?
SHSHL American Conference Standings
Wins/Losses/Ties/Points
1. Wissahickon Trojans 9 0 0 18
2. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 7 3 0 14
3. Abington Ghosts 6 2 0 12
4. Upper Dublin Cardinals 6 5 0 12
5. Lower Moreland Lions 5 4 0 10
6. New Hope Solebury Lions 2 7 0 4
7. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 2 8 0 4
8. Upper Moreland Bears 0 8 0 0
SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ Top Scorers
Goals/Assists/Points
1. Bryan Garry – Wissahickon 35 19 54
2. Sean Garry – Wissahickon 25 19 44
3. Coleman Peppelman – L More. 29 9 38
4. Ari Nordlinger – Upper Dublin 28 10 38
5. Dean Keller – Ply. Whitemarsh 28 6 34
6. Chris Braun-NewHope Solebury 20 8 28
7. Perry Carpenter – Abington 15 12 27
8. Jacob Mueller – Hat. Horsham 14 12 26
9. Adam Bostock – Lower More. 12 12 24
10. Oren Serafin – Upper Dublin 16 8 24
SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ Top Goalies
Wins/Saves/Goals Against
1. Jacob Snellenburg – Abington 5 168 2.67
2. Ryan Bell – Hatboro Horsham 5 129 3.17
3. Michael Henderson - Wiss. 6 158 4.17
‘On Ice’ in the SHSHL Varsity ‘A’
Wednesday – January 24, 2018
Wissahickon vs. Abington @ Hatfield – 8:40 pm
Hatboro-Horsham vs. CB East @ Warwick – 8:40 pm
Neshaminy vs. New Hope Solebury @ Grundy – 9:00 pm
Thursday – January 25, 2018
Upper Moreland vs. Lower Moreland @ Wintersport – 10 pm
Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Upper Dublin @ Wintersport – 6:50 pm
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