By Scott Huff 
Falcons Fly To SHSHL Finals
Pennsbury had always boasted two of the premier players in the Suburban High School Hockey League in Ken McCormick and Mike Hlatky, but the Falcons had never been considered one of the elite teams in the SHSHL.
That is about to change as Pennsbury advanced to the three-game SHSHL Class AA finals against Central Bucks East as the Falcons stunned first place Council Rock South – 6-2. The game was played at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center in Warminster.
“When you are an underdog, like we were, you have to like the one game series,” said Pennsbury head coach John Bria. “We got down early, but we didn’t get down on ourselves. We knew there was a lot of time left in the game, and we had to make the most of our chances.”
Council Rock South had taken a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Jake Nevin and Patrick Grilli.
Pennsbury, however, cashed in on a huge chance in the final one minute, 15 seconds of the initial period when McCormick scored on a power play goal to slice the lead in half at 2-1.
The Falcons scored on another power play goal to open the second period as Hlatky scored the first of his two goals. That goal seemed to shift the momentum of the game.“After we gave up those two power play goals, we were in trouble,” said Council Rock South head coach Joe Houk. “We haven’t been playing well for the last month or so, and we were a little short handed tonight.
“But give Pennsbury all the credit,” added Houk. “McCormick isn’t a flashy player, but he has a great shot and plays both ends of the ice. I would love to have him on my team. He would play 40 of the 45 minutes.”
McCormick would finish the night with four goals and an assist for five points.
“After we fell behind, McCormick kept preaching to the guys that we had to keep playing hard and that things would change,” said Bria. “And he was right.”
Also ‘right’ was Falcon goaltender Ben Herring who stopped 30 Golden Hawk shots on goal.
“This was by far the best game he has played this season,” said Bria. “Considering the opponent and the fact that it was a playoff game makes it his best game of the year. He stood on his head.”
McCormick and Herring are going to have to duplicate their heroic efforts if the Falcons want a chance to steal the SHSHL playoff title from favored CB East.
“Sure I wish it was a one game series instead of a three game series,” said Bria. “It is going to be a challenge for us.”
One major challenge down – one major challenge to go.
Council Rock South 2 0 0 * 2
Pennsbury 1 4 1 * 6
First Period:
CR South – Jake Nevin (Tom Kozior & Mitch Vaysman)
CR South – Patrick Grilli (Nick Keck)
Pennsbury – Ken McCormick (William Richards & Luke Matthews)
Second Period:
Pennsbury – Mike Hlatky (McCormick)
Pennsbury – Hlatky (Phil Herring)
Pennsbury – McCormick (P. Herring)
Pennsbury – McCormick (Herring)
Third Period:
Pennsbury - McCormick (Richards & Hlatky)
Shots On Goal
Council Rock South – 32; Pennsbury 39
Saves:
CR South – Steve Jastrow – 33
Pennsbury – Ben Herring – 30
Patriots March To Finals
Central Bucks East advanced to the SHSHL Class AA finals with a convincing 7-1 semifinal victory over Central Bucks South. The game was played at the Warwick Ice Arena in Warwick. The Patriots will meet Pennsbury in a best-of-three series to begin on Tuesday (3/1/11) at the Bucks County Ice Center.
“The playoffs are tough, especially when it comes down to a one game situation,” said Central Bucks East head coach Ken Latchum. “Central Bucks South is a good team, coached by a good coach, and we had to play well if we beat them 7-1.”“I felt better 24 hours ago,” said Central Bucks South head coach Tom Coyne in reference to the Titans 5-2 win over Neshaminy in the quarterfinal round. “I’ll be up late at night the next three nights trying to figure out why we didn’t play this game with any energy.”
CB East took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Mike Palmer. The Patriots broke the game wide open with a three-goal second period and a three-goal third period. East outshot the Titans for the game by a 32-22 margin.
Palmer scored a hat trick for the Patriots, while Alex Piccione matched that feat with a hat trick of his own. Tom Schloendorn scored a single goal for CBE.
The lone CB South goal came in the third period off the stick of Matt Gross.
CB East goalie Justin Golia had 21 saves, while Dennis Ruff collected 25 saves for CB South.
“I think a three game series makes for great playoff hockey,” said Latchum. “I expect to have a tough series from Pennsbury.”
“We should still make the Flyers Cup, and I want the players to remember the taste they have in their mouths right now,” said Coyne. “Hopefully this hurts a lot.”
Central Bucks South 0 0 1 * 1
Central Bucks East 1 3 3 * 7
Cruasders Pull Out Playoff Victory
Lansdale Catholic will advance to the SHSHL Class A finals as the Crusaders defeated Upper Dublin by a 5-3 score. The semifinal game was played at the Bucks County Ice Center. Lansdale Catholic will meet Hatboro-Horsham in a best of three series for the SHSHL title. That series will begin Tuesday (3/1/11) at the Bucks County Ice Center.
“The key to us winning the game was trying to neutralize (Brian) Markman,” said Lansdale Catholic head coach mark DiDonato. “He scored seven goals against us the last time, and there was no way that we could let that happen again.
“We felt that we could make some adjustments, and they seemed to work,” added DiDonato as Markman was ‘held’ to a single goal. “And we also knew that we needed to get a good game out of (goalie) Ben Mills.
“I would say that this was the best game that Ben played this season,” continued DiDonato. “And it couldn’t have come in a bigger game.”
The big goal scorers for LC were Anthony Valerio and Nick Sette who each scored a pair of goals. Andrew Hart scored a single goal for the Crusaders.
In addition to Markman, the Flying Cardinals received solo goals from Steve Barbera and Ben Hoffmann.
“Lansdale Catholic just played better than us,” said Upper Dublin head coach Dave Japchen. “They set the tempo and they won the one-on-one battles. I don’t know if we even get an invitation to the Flyers Cup – right now we don’t deserve it.”
Lansdale Catholic 2 2 1 * 5
Upper Dublin 0 1 2 * 3
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