By GORDON GLANTZ
While games still remain on the SHSHL American Division slate, the playoff seeds in the three-team field now seem to be locked in.
On the strength of two consecutive wins over Bensalem – a 3-2 win in overtime on Jan. 18 and then a 5-2 win a week later – PW improved to 9-1 and put a stranglehold on first place, which will mean a first-round pass into the division final.
Bensalem fell to 7-3 and will face Abington (5-3), which clinched the final spot on Jan. 26 with a 10-2 win over undermanned Wissahickon, when the playoffs commence later this month.
“Whoever we face, we are certainly going to be ready,” said PW coach Dave Cox. “The boys are ready to do whatever it takes to work on bringing home a championship.
“It’s been a great year, and I couldn’t be more proud about where we are.”
Although he knows all records go to 0-0 in the postseason, Cox is proud of his troops and the team’s current situation.
“We feel great about it,” he said. “Those are two big games that we had circled on our calendar, especially since we lost to them in overtime. The boys wanted to get first place, which gives us an extra week of rest. We knew that, in order to do that, we needed to be ready for those two games.”
Although Bensalem is led by Alex Hood, who enters this week with more goals (33) than anyone else in the American has in total points, depth – and keeping Hood somewhat in check – would be in PW’s favor.
“(Hood) is someone you have to keep an eye on,” said Cox. “Without going into too much detail, we tried to keep him at bay, and we focused on our strengths as well.
“We figured that the less time they had the puck, the less they can do, especially when you have the potential they have to go from zero to 60 and put pucks into the back of the net.”
For P-W, Dec. 7 – a 4-3 loss to Bensalem – didn’t rise to the level of being a date that will live in infamy, but it provided a measuring stick for a team that was dealing with injuries and integrating younger players in with some veterans.
However, the situation helped build depth, with seniors David Branigan (15 goals, 12 assists) and Dylan Novitsky (13 goals, 9 assists) anchoring the first line and Isaac Mishkin (3 goals, 4 assists, in 6 games) and Timmy Murphy (6 goals, 14 assists) on the second line.
Freshman winger Jason Segal has lit the lamp 9 times in 8 games and added 10 assists.
On the blue line, Danny Guller (7 goals, 13 assists) and Jason Yoder (4 goals, 4 assists) form the heart of the core.
Meanwhile, a freshman trio – Chris London (3 points in 3 games since returning from a hip injury), Blake Ambler (3 goals, 3 assists in 6 games) and Luke Smith (3 goals, 5 assists) – is emerging as a viable stand-alone third forward unit.
The win on Jan. 18, Cox said, was the first time his team was fully healthy this season.
“We had three full lines,” he said. “Our seniors truly led in a remarkable fashion. We had a true freshman line that night, and they showed up. They had two goals. We are happy with the team – all three lines, our defense and it’s all a big testament to our goalie.”
That goalie would be Julian Lucks (8-1, 2.44 goals against, .905 save percentage). Although Bensalem was limited to workable shot totals, Lucks answered the bell against Hood and Bensalem’s other snipers when called upon.
“He has really shut them down,” said Cox. “When he has had to, he has stepped up and bailed the team out and kept the momentum in our favor.”
At present, Cox believes his team is peaking at the right time.
“We have had a few comeback wins this year,” said Cox. “The boys are resilient. That’s one thing with us. We work on the mindset of just focusing on the next shift and each person doing their job.
“If you look at our stats, they speak for themselves and for the hard work this team has done. I’m very proud of them, and how far they have come, in the last six months.
“The best is yet to come, we feel. We are not done yet.”
Sixth Sense
When Souderton began the season with five losses in its first six games, the focus shifted away from making the SHSHL playoffs in a National Division that has no free passes.
Coach Ryan Uchniat’s skaters have steadily improved from that rough start and, after a 9-8 overtime win over Central Bucks South on Jan. 25, this a squad that has seemingly locked down the sixth and final playoff spot.
To say this was a preseason goal was an understatement.
“It most certainly was,” said Uchniat, whose team took on PW in a nonleague outdoor clash at Spring Mountain on Monday. “We feel really good about it, especially with falling short last year. It didn’t help with the tough start, going 1-5, but we knew we had a tough schedule to begin the year, and it’s our goalie’s first year.”
Souderton entered this week’s action at 6-9, which is impressive, considering the record since the rough start improved to a viable 5-4 in the next nine outings.
Said Uchniat: “The focus was, ‘We’re going to get stronger, improve defensively – still a focus – and good things will happen if that’s our attitude.”
The coach credited goalie Connor Paulus, who turned aside 40 of 48 shots in the hard-fought win over CB South, for his diligence.
“Our goalie, Connor, has also set the tone with his work ethic,” said Uchniat. “(He) comes early and stays late, and his play has been reflecting that in the second half of the year.
“The team feeds off that work ethic.”
Such was the case against CB South, which was firmly entrenched in third place and had beaten Souderton, 11-0, back on Nov. 22 of last year.
“It was a physical, hard game,” said Uchniat, whose team was also bouncing back from a tough 4-2 loss to CB West. “It turned into a special-teams contest for a large portion of that game, and I think that’s where we were able to get an edge.”
Overall, CB South had three power play goals and three shorthanded goals. Souderton countered with five power play goals – including the game-winner at the 3:52 mark of overtime from Ben Fadden (second of the game) – and a shorthanded tally.
Uchniat singled out sophomore Max Ryon (2 goals, 6 assists) and senior captain Seth Grossman (4 goals, 2 assists), saying they “really pushed the team to another level with big performances.”
Nick Smith added 3 helpers to the winning cause, and assisted on the deciding goal, along with Ryon.
For CB South, Aidan Linso added 2 goals and 2 assists.
The Year After
When Pennsbury entered the current season, it may as well have been with new uniforms that had targets stitched on the front and back.
“Oh, yeah, of course we did,” said coach Ryan Daley. “And that was my message to them at the beginning of the season, especially early in the season when we were really struggling.
“It’s was like, ‘You’ve got to figure it out. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.’”
And nobody did.
That’s because we are talking about the defending Flyers Cup champions who came within a goal of a state title.
“I knew that we were going to have to find a new identity,” said Daley. “With a short season and only practicing for like four times before the season starts, that’s a tough transition.”
The rest of the league didn’t really care that Pennsbury lost some key players – most notably the nearly unstoppable first line of Brendan MacAinish (now playing collegiately at Rider), Justin Marlin and Andrew Falkenstein.
“When we had those three players, we really thrived on stretching the ice and getting those odd-man rushes,” said Daley. “We stretched it out and took more chances.”
The team’s goalie, senior Aaron McDaniel (3.48, .854), was back. Ditto for enough of the supporting cast to feel like a serious run was possible.
“We had a combination,” said Daley. “We have some upperclassmen and some underclassmen. We still have talent. It was just a transition for the guys who were in a supporting role trying to step into a bigger role. It took a little more time than we had.”
But, in hockey, the puck often has a mind of its own and bounces the wrong way enough times that a season goes in the wrong direction.
“This league is talented,” said Daley. “And, like I said, we are a few bounces from being in a different conversation.”
Pennsbury entered this week at 3-11, with 5 one-goal losses (including to some top-tier opponents).
“I would characterize this team as being dangerously close,” said Daley. “We have a talented team. We have seen bits of really good play and all that, but we have had trouble putting it together for three periods.
“The talent is there. The skill is certainly there. It can be frustrating. This team is certainly better than its record, so it’s tough when you get into a rut – especially in high school hockey, where the games are all so consequential. If we had an 82-game season, I would be talking about how we could get out of it and how we could make the playoffs. Unfortunately, we’re not afforded that time, which is tough.”
Daley credited captain Logan Doyle (5 goals, 7 assists) for his grit and leadership, and will miss him when he’s gone.
“He has done a great job leading this team in an obviously very difficult season,” said Daley, noting that Doyle ascended to the captaincy after two years as an assistant captain. “He is a guy who will do whatever needs to be done, no questions asked.
“He plays a power forward- style game, where he’ll block shots and make big physical plays while also having the skill to set his teammates up for scoring chances and putting the puck in the net himself. He has been a huge part of this program’s success the last four years.”
Christopher Starver (10 goals, 8 assists), Shane Gleisner (6 goals, 7 assists), Logan Doyle (5 goals, 7 assists) and Jacob Sarver (4 goals, 4 assists) have been other key contributors.
“We can pop up and be very good by next year, or we could go through a couple more transition years,” said Daley. “It depends on who steps up and what surprises you might get going forward.”
Although making the playoffs is out of the question, Daley has not completely given up on the season.
“The talent is still there,” he said. “If we can rattle off a few wins to end the season, maybe we get a lucky bid in the Flyers Cup, and then it’s a whole new season.”
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