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By Scott Huff
HATFIELD – Things didn’t look too spiffy for Central Bucks South with 2:50 left in the third period of its Suburban High School Hockey League playoff game as the Titans trailed rival Central Bucks East, 1-0.
Not only had South been held off the Hatfield Ice Scoreboard, but the Titans were playing shorthanded with a man in the penalty box.
“It didn’t look good, but we seemed to play better in that shorthanded situation than we did all night,” said CB South head coach Tom Coyne after his Titans rallied for 2-1 overtime win over the Patriots. “I guess we finally figured out that this was the part of the game that counted.”
With East on the power play, South’s Matt Schultz sent Kevin Carter out clean on a break, and with 1:56 left in the game Carter beat Patriot goaltender Brendan Meehan for the game-tying goal.“When we went on that rush, I had a good feeling,” said Coyne. “But Meehan had been stopping everything all night – he played a great game.”
“The bounce of the puck means a lot,” said CB East head coach Ken Latchum. “I thought both goaltenders were excellent, and both teams played the game like playoff hockey should be played.”
The game spilled into overtime, and the Titans came up with the game winner when Tom Dougherty scored on assists from Justin Mariner and Kevin Smith.
“I had messed up a couple of breaks earlier in the game,” said Dougherty. “I was glad that I was able to come through on that one.“The first two periods were a blur,” added Dougherty. “We got shots on net, but (Meehan) played great. We know a lot of the kids on East, and it is a good rivalry.”
The goaltenders ruled the roost for the first two periods of scoreless hockey. Meehan registered 16 saves, while Titan goal tender Dennis Ruff came up with 27 saves.
“I really thought that it might come down to an ugly goal winning the game,” said Coyne. “Both teams had some quality shots on goal, but both goalies came up with the big saves.”
“It looked like a playoff hockey game,” said Latchum. “There was a lot of back and forth, and both teams had chances to win the game.”
The Patriots scored the first goal of the game with 12:59 left in the third period. Tyler McIntosh beat Ruff on assists from John Esposito and Dean Albertini.
“The loss hurts now, but we still might have some hockey left to play this year,” said Latchum as the Patriots are hopeful of a Flyers Cup invitation as the #5 seed from the SHSHL. “If this was the last game, we had a great learning experience from this one.”CB South will advance to the SHSHL semi-final single game playoff with Council Rock South on Thursday night. The Golden Hawks flew past Abington – 5-0 – in their quarterfinal playoff game.
The game is scheduled for Thursday (2/25) – weather permitting - at 7 pm at the Face Off Circle in Warminster.
“I wouldn’t mind if it snowed a lot tomorrow,” smiled Coyne. “It would give us some time to rest and to savor this one.”
SHSHL Playoff Ice Chips
Council Rock South proved why it was the # 1 seed in the SHSHL Class AA playoffs as the Golden Hawks shutout Abington – 5-0.
The G-M-D line had its usual big scoring night for Rock South with a collective four goal and seven assists.
Peter Malamud had a goal and three assists; Patrick Grilli had two goals and two assists, and Tyler Deitrick had a goal and two assists. Dan Ufberg was the other goal scorer for the Hawks.
CR South outshot Abington 44-24. Goalie David Chiokadze recorded the shutout for the Hawks and had 24 saves.
Council Rock South will meet CB South – weather permitting – in a semifinal game at the Face Off Circle. The game is scheduled for a 7 pm start.
Central Bucks South / Central Bucks East scoresheet
Central Bucks East 0 0 1 0 - 1
Central Bucks South 0 0 1 1 - 2
First Period: None
Second Period: None
Third Period:
CB East – Tyler McIntosh (John Esposito & Dean Albertini) 12:59 [Even Strength]
CB South – Kevin Carter (Matt Schultz) 1:56 [Short Handed]
Overtime:
CB South – Tom Dougherty (Justin Mariner & Kevin Smith) 0:56 [Even Strength]
Goaltenders:
CB East – Brendan Meehan – 24 saves
CB South – Dennis Ruff – 36 saves
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