Pennridge defeated CB East in SOL SHSHL action Friday.
By Ben Reese
WARWICK -- After two periods, Pennridge goalie Tyler Gilbert had visions of zeroes.
He had blanked Central Bucks East for the first two stanzas and was looking forward to tossing a shutout at the Patriots.
However, it was not to be. East scored three times in the third period but couldn't offset the Rams' offense in the 6-3 Pennridge victory at Warwick Ice Arena Friday night.
"It would have been nice to get that shutout," Gilbert said. "It sucks that I gave up those three goals.
"I had a game yesterday and I was getting a little bit sore at the end. I haven't played in a couple (of varsity) games. I was playing jayvee last night and the night before that."
While he downplayed his own efforts, Pennridge coach Ken Doak certainly didn't.
"Tyler played unbelievable," the Rams’ coach said. "I was telling the boys (in the locker room) that we're only going to go as far as the goalie can take us."
Doak then went on to explain a little about Gilbert's last couple of days.
"He played La Salle last night for the jayvee," the coach said. "He saw about 45 shots last night plus 23 on varsity.
"He played very well. He's a senior and I do (expect that kind of performance from him).
"His practice has been incredible. He's flashed the leather in practice and he's earned (his time) between the pipes."
Gilbert faced 15 shots in the first two periods and kicked away all of them. That included a penalty shot in the second period.
With only 43 seconds gone in the second, the referee whistled a penalty on Pennridge on a CB East breakaway. He gave the Patriots the choice of either taking the penalty or taking a penalty shot. East coach Steve Ahrens picked the penalty shot.
East captain Bryan McIntosh, who was pulled down on the penalty, skated in toward Gilbert, faking from side to side. But Gilbert stood up and knocked McIntosh's shot away.
"At that point, it's a 2-0 game," said Ahrens. "Aside from putting a point on the board, we knew that as soon as we put one past that goaltender, it would come easier.
"That could have been a quicker way to open the floodgates, I guess. We kind of had a feeling that as soon as we got one, the second and third would come.
"It was a big point in the game. They ended up getting momentum from it."
Momentum was something the Rams created for themselves in the first period. At the 5:30 mark in the opening stanza, Eric Slater put Pennridge on the scoreboard and 2:14 later Patrick McGinley gave the Rams a 2-0 lead.
Just seconds after the second period began, the penalty shot was called. With 10:07 elapsed, Slater netted his second goal of the game and Nathan Runk upped the Pennridge lead to 4-0 at the 11:18 mark.
Pennridge's forwards and defensemen were all over the East players in the first two periods. The Patriots had a difficult time even getting the puck out of their own end.
"We've been coming out flat," said Ahrens. "We coaches have to get together and figure out a way to get the guys going. We can't keep putting ourselves behind the eight ball.
"Our Achilles' heel this season has been putting points on the board. We keep stressing getting bodies in front of the net. Until we did that, we weren't able to put any past (Gilbert)."
Doak said that is the way he wants his team to play.
"I'm a relentless coach with my forecheck," he said. "I like to go really hard and heavy on the forecheck."
While the Patriots were cutting the Rams' margin in the third with their three goals, Pennridge wasn't idle. Anton Kozitskiy and Luke Slater both notched unassisted goals, with Slater's going into an empty net.
With the six goals, Pennridge has upped its goal total for the week to 14. The Rams scored eight in beating North Penn on Wednesday night.
"It's not all of a sudden," Doak said of his team’s offense. "If you look at reports prior to this, I knew we were going to be an offensive powerhouse.
"We have a lot of speed and a lot of scoring. What I thought coming into the season is finally coming into play."
The win over East vaults Pennridge into a tie for second place in the Continental Conference of the Suburban High School Hockey League with defending PIAA champion Central Bucks South with 10 points. CB West leads the Continental with 12 points.
Pennridge 6, CB East 3
CB East 0 0 3 – 3
Pennridge 2 2 2 – 6
First period: 1, Eric Slater P (Anton Kozitskiy) 5:30; 2, Patrick McGinley P (Nathan Runk, Josh Finlayson) 7:44.
Second period: 3, Slater P (Finlayson, Runk) 10:07 PP; 4, Runk P (Luke Slater) 11:18.
Third period: 5, Jake Semrow CBE (Asher Zenstein) 0:29; 6, Bryan McIntosh CBE (Owen Long) 3:18; 7, Kozitskiy P (unassisted) 7:18; 8, McIntosh CBE (Jeff Carp) 10:05; 9, L. Slater P (unassisted) 15:10 EN.
Shots: P 30; CBE 23. Saves: Tyler Gilbert (P) 20; Cameron Wagner (CBE) 24.
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