This week’s notebook highlights some of the key SHSHL games over the last week.
By Mike Prince, Sportswriter
It had been a very long time since you were able to look at the standings in the Suburban High School Hockey League and not see North Penn sitting at the top of the Continental Conference. But one week after the Knights fell to Central Bucks South, the Titans and Knights were matched up yet again.
And when given the opportunity, CB South did the unthinkable, defeating North Penn for the second time in less than a week.
The Titans received two goals from Dominic Bova en route to a 5-3 win over North Penn last Thursday, putting CB South in first place and in the driver’s seat in the Continental Conference.
The win was the ninth in a row for CB South (12-2-0), which has not lost a game since a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Council Rock South all the way back on Dec. 13.
The Titans also defeated Central Bucks West, 10-0, last Wednesday, in a game sandwiched between the two victories over North Penn. The Knights (11-3-1) have 23 points, one behind CB South.
In other Continental Conference action, Central Bucks East had a solid week, playing to a 3-2 loss to Souderton last Thursday before defeating Plymouth Whitemarsh by a score of 12-2 last Friday.
Though the game against Souderton ultimately ended in defeat, the Patriots battled with Souderton (9-5-0), a team with a significantly better record, until the end. CB East was outshot 40-24 but had an opportunity to come out with a tie before falling just short. The Patriots received stellar play from their goaltender, Steven Gilchrist, who made 37 saves on 40 shots faced.
In its 10-goal win over the Colonials (2-8-0), CB East was led by Austin Chase, who finished with three goals and one assist, along with Joe Ridolfi, who added two goals and an assist. Sean Parahus scored twice, while Austin Baty, Nick Esposito and Cameron Fox each added a goal and an assist. John Hughes and Brandon Sporer also scored goals for the Patriots, who got a pair of assists from Joe LoCastro.
Also in a tight race at the top of their respective conference are Upper Moreland and Archbishop Wood, which are separated by two points at the top of the American Conference.
While the Bears defeated Upper Dublin by a score of 7-2 last Thursday night, the Vikings also won yet again, defeating Hatboro-Horsham by a score of 11-1 last Wednesday.
In the win, Wood’s 11 goals might have been impressive, but not as impressive as how they came. The Vikings saw 11 different players tally one goal apiece en route to the win.
“We spread the scoring out,” Wood coach Sam Gallen said. “That’s why we don’t have a couple of top scorers and everybody is getting opportunities.”
Despite the Hatters’ winless record, Gallen believes that Hatboro-Horsham (0-13-0) could be a dangerous team in a couple of years.
“Hatboro-Horsham is an up-and-coming team, and they’re going to get better,” he said. “They have good coaches and in a couple of years, the roles could be reversed. They have a lot of desire and they are young, but our guys played well against them and it was a good game.”
If the Vikings (10-1-2) can defeat Lansdale Catholic and Wissahickon this Friday and next Wednesday, they will clinch the conference title. Upper Moreland (9-2-2), which has 20 points, would most likely need to win out and see Wood lose once to have any shot at finishing in first place.
“The game with (LC) is going to be big,” Gallen said. “They’re a really good team, and I know the Longhitano brothers. I knew their dad when was a hockey player and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game, no doubt about it. I told my kids all year that it’s harder to stay at the top than it is to get there. These next two games for us are pretty big.”
The Crusaders (9-3-0) still have the outside chance at moving to the top of the American Conference, sitting with 18 points and with one game in hand on both Wood and Upper Moreland.
Thanks to the continued incredible play by Michael and Patrick Longhitano, along with the likes of Andrew Hart and Anthony Valerio, the Crusaders won their third consecutive game last Thursday after defeating Wissahickon by a score of 7-2.
Hart led the way with four goals while Michael Longhitano added two goals to help LC to the easy victory.
“Andrew came back from being out a couple games with a shoulder injury and he was just on fire,” LC coach Mark DiDonato said. “And all of those guys have been huge for me. Pat (Longhitano) is the defense and Mike is the offense and those two guys have been really productive for me this year.”
Valerio and Patrick Longhitano had big games as well, adding one goal and three assists and four assists, respectively.
With the offense is on display nearly every game, the Crusaders’ goaltender, Helen Cooney, has quietly been leading the way in the crease for LC.
“Helen is playing pretty solid and that was a good game for her,” DiDonato said. “Wissahickon came out on fire and we were expecting that, but she weathered the storm and then they got into penalty trouble and we just chipped away and got some goals. She made some big saves down the stretch, and it was a big win since we knew it was going to be a tough one, something we haven’t had to worry about too much this year.”
The Crusaders’ current success does leave them in a position to possibly come out with the conference title, which would be impressive, considering Wood has been on top for most of the season. LC and Wood will face off on Friday night at 8:55 p.m. at Bucks County Ice Arena, and if the Crusaders win that game, the conference could end up being theirs to take.
“If we beat Wood, we could come in first if we win out,” DiDonato said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead, as we have to beat Wood first, but it’s going to be a very big game. We might be able to grab the division, but a loss could drop us to third, so we just have to focus on that game right now.”
While CR South seems to have the National Conference locked down with 22 points and a record of 11-3-0 overall, the first for second through fourth place is still up for grabs, as Abington, Council Rock North and William Tennent all sit within four points of each other.
The Ghosts (8-5-1) currently sit in second place with 17 points, while CR North (6-6-1) and Tennent (6-8-1) are tied in third place with 13 apiece.
Abington and CR North faced each other in a very important National Conference meeting last Friday, with the Ghosts coming out on top by a score of 4-3 at Warwick Ice Arena.
Despite the close score, Abington outshot the Indians 41-22, holding a heavy advantage in shots in each period. But the game was in doubt for the Ghosts late in the third period, as they needed a late comeback to even come out with the victory.
“It was a really big win for the guys,” Abington coach Pat Croce said. “They kind of went into that game wanting to steal a moment against that team, since CR North is kind of a mirror version of us. It meant a lot to take advantage of the opportunities given in the third period and we had a big momentum shift and it was a really great game and a really well-played game on both sides.”
Paul Abendroth and James Campbell each scored their second goals of the game with tallies late in the third period to lift Abington to the come-from-behind victory.
“James has been phenomenal for us all year long,” Croce said. “He’s the type of player that makes everybody better all the way up and down the lineup. And as for Paul, that was kind of a breakout game for him. He was pretty much unstoppable from possessing the puck to bringing us forward with a power play goal and he was firing from all cylinders. He really had a great game.”
Campbell also added an assist, while Erik Walther assisted on three goals. For the Indians, Sam Kroh scored twice and Tristan Wieczorek also chipped in with a goal.
Now, CR North and Souderton will face each other (Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Warwick Rink 1) in what could determine who gets home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
“We know where we stand,” CR North coach Eric Tye said. “Even though we lost to Abington, we clinched our playoff berth and every one of my guys and I’m guessing everyone from Souderton knows what’s at stake on Friday night. That’s the big one. Both teams know what’s on the line. We don’t want to go to Hatfield to play them and they don’t want to come to us. That’s the way it’s going to be set up. One of us is getting the No. 4 seed and one of us is getting the No. 5 seed and one of us have to take care of business.”
While the goaltending and offense has been doing its job, Tye said that his team needs to work on its discipline if they want to have a chance at winning this Friday and doing well in the postseason.
“Our goaltending is sound and that’s not an issue,” he said, “but we’ve been taking stupid penalties at the wrong times and we just need to be more focused. Everyone needs to be on the same page. We practiced last night and I thought we practiced hard and well and I hope it leads to a good effort on Friday.”
While a win would be a huge boost for the Indians going into the playoffs, they still have Abington ahead of them. And even though the current Ghosts’ goal is to get a top-three seed, they’re looking towards the Flyers Cup as the real challenge for this season.
“It’s kind of tough to be at the top of the division when you have a team like CR South ahead of you, but it’s a goal,” Croce said. “Our short-term goal is to just make the playoffs and get one of the top three spots in the division, but our long-term goal is to make the Flyers Cup. It’s been a while since an Abington ice hockey team has even been in the tournament and we think we can do it. And if we get there, we think we can do well and show a lot of people how good we are.”
The playoffs and the Flyers Cup are still a ways away, so in the meantime, the SHSHL teams will continue their regular season play.
Other than the aforementioned games on the schedule, Abington and CR South will face off at Bucks County Ice this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Hatboro-Horsham and Pennridge will face each other at Hatfield Blue at 9 p.m. on Thursday night and PW and Upper Moreland will meet at Wintersports Ice Arena at 7:20 p.m. on Thursday night.
- Log in to post comments
