By Scott Huff
Rock South!!! CB East!! …. CB South?
Central Bucks South (6-4-2 SHSHL Continental) is trying hard to be in the same conversation as Council Rock South and Central Bucks East in terms of being the elite Class AA teams in the Suburban High School Hockey League.
“CR South and CB East are still clearly the best teams in the league,” said Central Bucks South head coach Tom Coyne. “But in order for us to be considered a team of that caliber, we are going to have to be consistent and do it every night.
“We are young, but we have the skill set to play with almost anyone in our league,” added Coyne. “We needed a statement game, and our last game with CR South might have been that game.”
The Titans played Rock South (11-0-1 SHSHL) to a 4-4 stalemate.
CB South took a 4-3 lead with 4:15 left in the third period on a goal by Matt Gross, but Rock South tied the game with 2:03 remaining to forge the tie.
“That game proved to the players that we are as talented as the best teams,” said Coyne. “We have three good lines, and there is no question that we have a deeper team than last year.”
In addition to Gross, the Titans had goals scored by Tom Dougherty, Bobby Mallon, and Matt Schultz. Ed Siger had two assists for CBS.
Senior Dennis Ruff registered a fine game in goal for the Titans with 33 saves against the high scoring Golden Hawks.
“Dennis made some big saves,” said Coyne. “A lot of their shots were good ones that could have gone either way.
“I am tough on goaltenders,” said Coyne. “Would I have liked to have seen him stop every shot? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t play a very good game.”
The Titans followed the tie with Rock South with a 4-3 victory over William Tennent (6-5-1 SHSHL).
“I was a little worried about how we would come out against Tennent in the next game,” said Coyne. “Eric HorroX is the best goaltender in the league, and we needed to play well if we were going to beat them.”
CB South played well enough as Dougherty, Siger, Nick Delaurentis, and Jimmy Milanesi scored single goals for the Titans.
Senior goaltender Matt Mcgarvey was solid in the nets with 18 saves.
“We are very young, and our best team is a year away,” said Coyne. “But we are gaining valuable experience.”
**Redskins skate by Rams**
Neshaminy (4-5-3 SHSHL National Conference) won a key 4-3 contest over Pennridge (3-8-1 SHSHL) in a race for a SHSHL playoff spot.
“Our biggest concern right now is staying out of the penalty box,” said Neshaminy head coach Ray Sherno. “If we can stay out of the box, we can be a pretty good hockey team.
“We are a team that needs to play in a certain rhythm,” added Sherno. “And we can’t get into any kind of rhythm if we are sitting in the penalty box.”
Neshaminy had a two-goal effort out of DJ Bell in the win over Pennridge. Jordan Ducko and Nick LaPalombara scored single goals for the Redskins.
“DJ came into the season pretty much an unknown,” said Sherno. “But now everyone knows all about him, and he is focused on during the game.
“He has to learn to let things come to him,” added Sherno. “Sometimes he tries to take too much on himself.”
Bell is the second leading scorer in the SHSHL National Conference with 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points.
Neshaminy will play ‘up’ next week when the Skins meet Archbishop Wood. The Skins are a Class AA team, while Wood is a Class AAA team.
“We haven’t been on the ice together for two weeks,” said Sherno. “When you play ‘up’ you get to see how your team can handle the experience, and it also gives us a chance to get ready for the remainder of our league season.”
***Trojans hope to charge down stretch***
Wissahickon (4-4 SHSHL American Division) is one of the four teams in the division that should compete in the SHSHL Class A playoffs.
Lansdale Catholic (5-2-0), Hatboro-Horsham (5-2-0) and Upper Dublin (5-3-0) all have a slight lead over the Trojans. Only winless Upper Moreland (0-8-0) will not make the divisional playoffs.
“Even though we should be in the playoffs, winning games is still very important to this team,” said Wissahickon head coach Ryan McLaughlin. “We need to make a statement to the teams ahead of us in the standings that we can beat them.
“In the division, anyone really can beat anyone,” added McLaughlin. “The key for us is to stay out of the penalty box. Discipline is going to make the difference in most of the remaining games.”
One huge asset that Wissahickon can boast is the goaltender – Adam Solomon.
“Adam does a great deal of mental preparation,” said McLaughlin. “There isn’t a game that we have played where he hasn’t been focused and prepared to play.”
The leadership on the 2010-2011 Trojans has come from senior team captains Brian Kaissi and Pat Wilson.
“Both Brian and Pat have been in the program for four years,” said McLaughlin. “And (freshman) Dustin Rabinowitz gives us a leader by example, and both (junior) Jeff Schaeffer and (sophomore) Tyler Freas play with a lot of energy.”
The leading point producers for Wissahickon are Joey Sutkow with 14 goals and five assists for 19 points, and Wilson (7-12-19).
“Joey is a defenseman that has gotten a lot of opportunities at the point,” said McLaughlin. “He has a great ability to take advantage of open space.”
And Wissahickon is working hard toward closing the space between fourth place and first place in the SHSHL American Division standings.
‘If’ the SHSHL playoffs started today – seeds in ( )
***The top three finishers in the SHSHL National and Continental Conferences are awarded automatic slots in the SHSHL playoffs. The last two slots of the eight-team field are filled with the two teams with the most points – regardless of conference. The top four finishers in the SHSHL American Conference are awarded automatic slots in the SHSHL playoffs.***
Team W L T Pts
Class AA
(1) Council Rock South 11 0 1 23
(2) CB East 11 2 0 22
(3) CB South 6 4 2 14
(4) William Tennent 6 5 1 13
(5) North Penn 5 4 3 13
(6) Pennsbury 5 5 1 11
(7) Neshaminy 4 5 3 11
(8) Council Rock North 3 7 2 8
Class A
(1) Lansdale Catholic 5 2 0 10
(2) Hatboro-Horsham 5 2 0 10
(3) Upper Dublin 5 3 0 10
(4) Wissahickon 4 4 0 8
On the outside looking in:
Class AA – Pennridge [3 wins - 8 losses - 1 tie = 7 points]; Souderton [2-7-2 = 6]; Central Bucks West [1-10-0 = 2]. Class A – Upper Moreland [0-8-0 = 0].
SHSHL ‘On Ice’ Schedule
January 5, 2011
Pennridge vs. Council Rock North @ Hatfield Ice – 7:20 pm
Neshaminy vs. Archbishop Wood @ Bucks County Ice – 6:50 pm
January 6, 2011
Central Bucks East vs. Council Rock South @ Bucks County Ice – 7:00 pm
Neshaminy vs. William Tennent @ Grundy Ice Rink – 7:15 pm
Pennsbury vs. Central Bucks South @ Grundy Ice Rink – 8:55 pm
Upper Moreland vs. Hatboro-Horsham @ Wintersport Ice – 8:30 pm
Upper Dublin vs. Lansdale Catholic @ Bucks County Ice – 8:40 pm
January 7, 2011
Council Rock South vs. Pennsbury @ Bucks County Ice – 9:00 pm
Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Wissahickon @ Warwick Ice Arena – 8:30 pm
Hatboro-Horsham vs. Central Daulphin @ Twin Ponds (Harrisburg) – 7:00
SHSHL ‘Fab Four’ Divisional Scorers
National Division G A Pts
Patrick Grilli [CRS] 31 23 54
DJ Bell [Nesh] 21 17 38
Ken McCormick [Pens] 20 13 33
Steve Junod [CRS] 14 17 31
Continental Division G A Pts
Jim McKelvie [NP] 16 18 34
Tom Scholendorn [CBE] 10 17 27
Austin Cinalli [CBE] 15 9 24
Tom Dougherty [CBS] 12 10 22
American Division G A Pts
Brian Markman [UD] 21 12 33
Nick Sette [LC] 15 14 29
Tyler Peskin [UD] 13 15 28
Sam Etskovitz [UD] 13 13 26
Suburban One Sports.com ‘Top Ten’
1. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
2. Central Bucks East Patriots
3. Central Bucks South Titans
4. William Tennent Panthers
5. North Penn Knights
6. Pennsbury Falcons
7. Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals
8. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
9. Lansdale Catholic Crusaders
10. Neshaminy Redskins
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