Bensalem captured the SHSHL Class A American Division title with a win over PW. Ben Reese recaps the action. Pennridge & CR South were winners in Class AA action. Bensalem/PW photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice and Tracy Valko. Pennridge/CB East photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f710114994
American Division Class A final
BENSALEM 5, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — Bensalem looked to two of its seniors to grab the Class A American Division championship on Wednesday night at Hatfield Ice.
The Owls relied on the backstopping of goalie Ricky Gonzalez and the scoring prowess of Alex Hood to take a 5-3 victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The win propels Bensalem into the Flyers Cup AA Tournament, where the Owls will meet No. 1 seed Pennridge on Tuesday, March 5, at 8:30 at Hatfield. Plymouth Whitemarsh also advances to the Flyers Cup Class A Tournament, facing Unionville at 6 on Monday, March 4, at Hatfield.
Gonzalez stood tall in net and was peppered by 57 shots. He batted away all but three of them.
“(It was) one of the busiest (games) of my life,” he said, “but I’ve got to be honest - if it wasn’t for Alex, my brother (Lucas Gonzalez) and the rest of our team, it wouldn’t have even been close.
“I’m not going to lie. Yesterday I did tear my knee, so it was pretty hard getting up back there, but everybody stood their ground tonight and we came up with a victory. I battled through the pain to get the win and we did.”
Owls’ coach Bill Hood of course realizes what he has in the net in Gonzalez.
“What can I say about Ricky,” Hood said. “The kid’s a brick wall. I don’t have any more adjectives to describe the guy.”
Alex Hood, the coach’s son, took care of the offensive portion of the game. He scored four times to pretty much beat the Colonials single-handed.
His single goal in the second period tied the game at 2-2 and his three goals in the third period sealed things up. He finished the regular season with 43 goals, more than some teams in the league.
“It’s been that way all season,” Bill Hood said. “He’s my kid, he drives me nuts, but I love him.
“I can’t say enough good things about him. He wanted this.
“He was in here (the locker room) very vocal between periods and basically said that we’re down but we’re not out. We’re going to come back and win this game. He rallied the troops in the third period.”
Ricky Gonzalez knows that’s exactly what the Owls needed at that point in the game.
“We said in the locker room ‘Let’s go out with a bang,’” he said. “Fortunately enough, this is what happened. We’re all very happy.”
However, this was not a two-man team. The entire Owls’ team contributed to the win.
“I’m very proud of these kids,” Bill Hood said. “Obviously, we had a short bench; we had three kids suspended.
“These kids all year long never quit. We were down 3-2 going into the last period, and I said ‘One more goal and we’re right back in this game.’ We got it and we got the go-ahead goal and hung on for the win.”
Bensalem jumped out to the lead in the first period. Justin Rapone beat PW goalie Jason Lucks on the power play with 5:09 elapsed in the stanza.
The Colonials came roaring back with a pair of their own. David Branigan scored at 8:19 and Blake Ambler got the lead goal at 14:54.
That lead lasted until roughly halfway through the second period. Alex Hood notched his first goal of the game to tie things up at 8:55.
Branigan untied it at 10:56 off an assist from Dylan Novitski. It stayed that way into the third.
Then Alex Hood went to work. He scored three times, the first to tie the game, the second for the lead and the third to salt the win away.
His first marker in the third came at the 2:24 mark off an assist from Matthew Rowan. The second at 7:49 and the third at 0:01 into an empty net were unassisted goals.
“We’ve battled through the last few years with everybody counting us out,” Alex said. “It doesn’t matter how far down we are. We found a way today. No quit, especially today. We knew what we had to do to get it done. We got it done.
“I love every single one of these guys. Everybody bought in, everybody did their part. Everybody won this game, especially Ricky Gonzalez.”
Even the top scorer on the team and in the league recognized what’s needed to succeed.
Bensalem 5, Plymouth Whitemarsh 3
Bensalem 1 1 3 — 5
Plymouth Whitemarsh 2 1 0 — 3
First Period: 1, Justin Rapone B (Matthew Rowan, Brandan Stahl) 5:09 PP; 2, David Branigan PW (Jayson Yoder) 8:19; 3, Blake Ambler PW (Chris London) 14:54.
Second period: 4, Alex Hood B (unassisted) 8:55; 5, Branigan PW (Dylan Novitski) 10:56.
Third period: 6, Alex Hood B (Rowan) 2:24; 7, Hood B (unassisted) 7:49; 8, Hood B (unassisted) 0:01 EN.
Shots: B 22, PW 57. Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 54, Jason Lucks (PW) 17.
National Conference Class AA semifinals
PENNRIDGE 10, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0
The dangerous trio of Kevin Pico, Andrew Savona and Shane Dachowski entered Wednesday’s semifinal with a combined 95 goals, and they were back at it again.
Kevin Pico’s 3-goal, 2-assist effort led the Rams while Savona (2g,2a) and Dachowski (1g,3a) both had four-point games.
Savona’s unassisted goal five minutes into the game turned out to be the game-winner, and the Rams were just getting started. A power play goal by Savona (Pico assist) midway through the period was followed by goals from Pico (Savona/Dachowski assists) and James Rush (Jared Garber/Pico assists), giving the Rams a 4-0 lead after one period.
The second period was more of the same with single goals from Dachowski (John Mikulich/Savona assists), Ian Brouse (Dhilan Howard/Ryan Mikulich assists), Joshua Kelly (Dachowski/John Mikulich assists) and Pico (Dachowski/Tyler Manto assists).
Armed with an 8-0 lead heading into the final period, the Rams added a power play goal by James Embert (Nathan McKean/Joshua Kelly assists) and an unassisted goal by Pico for the 10-0 final.
The Rams held a lopsided 67-11 advantage in shots over the Patriots.
Jacob Winton was credited with 11 saves in the shutout win. East goalie Cole Breen turned away 57 shots in a busy night in goal.
Pennridge will face Council Rock South in Thursday’s SHSHL Class AA National Conference title at Hatfield Ice on Thursday (7:45 p.m.).
Central Bucks East 0-0-0 0
Pennridge 4-4-2 10
Shots: CBE 11, Pennridge 67. Saves: Cole Breen (CBE) 57, Jacob Winton 11.
First period: 1. Andrew Savona P, 11:38; 2. Andrew Savona P (Kevin Pico) 8:14; 3. Kevin Pico P (Andrew Savona/Shane Dachowski) 4:36; 4. James Rush P (Jared Garber/Kevin Pico) 2:32.
Second period: 5. Shane Dachowski P (John Mikulich/Andrew Savona) 15:56; 6. Ian Brouse P (Dhilan Howard/Ryan Mikulich) 12:52; 7. Joshua Kelly P (Shane Dachowski/John Mikulich) 11:10; 8. Kevin Pico P (Shane Dachowski/Tyler Manto) 6:46.
Third period: 9. James Embert P (Nathan McKean/Joshua Kelly) 8:44; 10. Kevin Pico P, 5:48.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1
The Golden Hawks took care of business in Wednesday’s semifinal at Grundy, defeating the Titans to set up a showdown with Pennridge in Thursday’s SHSHL Class AA National Division title game at Hatfield Ice.
Illia Mukhin turned a Peter Pereborow pass into a goal midway through the opening period to put the Golden Hawks on the scoreboard. Gaven Nisenzon’s goal with a Chase Tovsky assist late in the period turned out to be the game-winner.
Rock South upped its lead to 3-0 with a goal by Evan Mostoller (Nikita Volobuiev assist) early in the second period. The Titans broke up the Hawks’ shutout bid with a power play goal by Ryan Frey (Sean Cutter) with 12:45 remaining in the period.
That 3-1 score stood until the closing seconds of the game when Jake Weiner scored an empty net goal with an assist from Kevin Koles.
Trevor Rakszawski notched the win in goal, turning away 13 of 14 shots he faced. CB South’s Nathan Napolitano was credited with 36 saves in goal.
Central Bucks South 0-1-0 1
Council Rock South 2-1-1 4
Shots: CBS 14, CRS 40. Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 36, Trevor Rakszawski (CRS) 13.
First period: 1. Illia Mukhin CRS (Peter Pereborow) 8:28; 2. Gavin Nisenzon CRS (Chase Tovsky) 3:14.
Second period: 3. Evan Mostoller CRS (Nikita Volobuiev) 15:34; 4. Ryan Frey CBS (Sean Cutter) 12:45.
Third period: 5. Jake Weiner CRS (Kevin Koles) 00:43
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