In a contest that felt more like a playoff game than an early-December contest, Central Bucks South downed defending Flyers Cup champion Council Rock South 4-2 on Thursday night. To view game action photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Warwick - The Suburban High School Hockey League playoffs do not begin until mid-February 2012, and even though the calendar said it was December 9, 2001, there was a distinct playoff atmosphere at the Warwick Ice Arena. And for good reason as both defending Flyers Cup champion Council Rock South and Central Bucks South entered the contest unbeaten.
“I’ve been around this game for a long time, and I was excited about this game,” said Central Bucks South head coach Tom Coyne after his Titans (6-0-1) edged the Golden Hawks (8-1-1) in a gripping 4-2 contest. “Council Rock is always the team to beat in our league – and they have the Flyers Cup banners to prove it. There was no question that this game was on the mind of our players.
“The game had a real playoff feel to it,” added Coyne. “The school came out and our fans supported us well. And that means a lot to the players. It was a nice turnout in the stands, and it was great to be on the right side of the score.”
“There was some hype to the game with both teams being undefeated,” said Council Rock South head coach Joe Houk. “But every team we play seems to get up for us, and to beat us can make their season. But you have to give CB South credit – they came up big when they had to and deserved to win the game.”
The game began with Rock South dominating the ice.
The Golden Hawks scored midway through the first period on a goal by Kyle Walter with assists from Steve Junod and Tom Kopania. CR South added a score late in the period off the stick of Mitch Vaysman - again on assists from Junod and Kopania – to go on top 2-0. And the relentless Hawk offense peppered CB South goalie Adam Calabrese with 11 quality shots, but the Titans’ netminder came up with nine wonderful saves.
“We outplayed them in the first period and most of the second period, but their goalie kept them in the game,” said Houk. “We needed to get more than a couple of goals there.”
“The success of your team starts from the net out,” said Coyne. “Adam has been rock solid in the last few games, and there was no doubt that he kept us in the game early.”
“I will do anything it takes to keep the puck out of the net,” said Calabrese who finished with 27 saves for the game. “I’ll kick the puck out of the air, I’ll dive for anything I can reach, anything that it takes. I know that I have to stay composed, and when we fell behind early in the game, I knew I had to just keep my head into the game.”
CB South – which received an unassisted first period goal from Michael Pilla – scored the final three goals of the game. Calabrese kept the potent Golden Hawks out of the net for the final 30:21 of the contest.
The Titans scored the game-tying goal with a magnificent short-handed goal scored by Connor Bechtel. Bechtel scored at the 2:40 mark on an assist by Nick DeLaurentis.
“Bechtel always seems to be around the net, and when you give both Bechtel and DeLaurentis room on the ice they can do a lot of good things,” said Coyne. “Even with us down five on four, they can be effective.”
The lead goal of the game for CB South was a stunner in that it came with just 0:01.1 seconds left in the second period. DeLaurentis scored in the final tick of the clock on assists from Bechtel and Kevin Casey to put the Titans on top 3-2.
“Any time you can score a goal with less than a minute left in the period, it seems like a bonus,” said Coyne. “It was a pretty play, and DeLaurentis popped it in there for a big goal.”
While the offense manufactured its three goals – Calabrese managed to keep the Hawks out of the net.
“The game was played with a lot of intensity,” said Calabrese. “This was our first real challenge of the year, and I think we handled it very well.”
The Titans would score an empty net goal in the final 26.3 seconds off the stick of Dominic Bova. Karl Zimmerman earned the assist.
“It was a good hockey game to watch,” said Houk. “I know that we will get to play them again, and I’m sure it will be a different story.”
Stay tuned for the second chapter of the CR South – CB South saga. The first chapter was a real page-turner.
Council Rock South 2 0 0 - 2
Central Bucks South 1 2 1 - 4
First Period Scoring:
CRS: Kyle Walter (Steve Junod & Tom Kopania) - 5:53
CBS: Michael Pilla (unassisted) – 1:40
CRS: Mitch Vaysman (Kopania & Junod) – 0:21
Second Period Scoring:
CBS: Connor Bechtel (Nicolas DeLaurentis) – 2:40
CBS: DeLaurentis (Bechtel & Kevin Casey) – 0:01.1
Third Period Scoring:
CBS: Dominic Bova (Karl Zimmerman) – 0:26.3
Shots On Goal:
Golden Hawks 11 9 9 - 29
Titans 6 2 8 - 16
Goaltenders:
CRS - Nathan Dzikowski – 12 saves CBS – Adam Calabrese – 27 saves
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