Pennsbury will hold its 9th annual WINK4PINK game on Friday. Scott Huff also looks at the SHSH playoff picture.
By Scott Huff
And the beat goes on…
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Snapshot
Pennsbury head coach Dave Coyne knows the true definition of winning – and his 2017-2018 Falcons are without question winners.
Pennsbury (1-10-1 overall) will meet Truman (1-10-1 overall) on Friday, Feb. 10, at the Grundy Ice Arena – and despite the subpar records of both teams – the game will likely be played before a sellout crowd in the stands and with fans lined up with faces pressed around the rink glass.
Both programs are enormous winners, though, as the Falcons and Tigers battle in the 9th annual WINK4PINK game to benefit cancer patients in Lower Bucks County.
The game was renamed the Lois Daley Benefit Game in honor of Daley who passed away from cancer on July 11, 2015, at the age of 54. Daley was a huge supporter of Pennsbury ice hockey.
“The players talk about this game all year,” said Coyne of a game that will begin around 7:30 pm. “It has been a rough season record-wise, but this game is all about giving back to the community.
“We will showcase the middle school programs in games before the varsity game,” added Coyne with the first game to faceoff at 6 pm. “We have two middle school teams – one will play Truman and the other will play Neshaminy.
“Cancer is a tough thing,” continued Coyne. “The players know that the money we take in at the game will be used for some people they know that are dealing with cancer.”
Two young assistant coaches for Pennsbury are also giving back to the program. Ryan Daley (son of Lois Daley) and Wil Richards are both behind the bench this year for the Falcons.
“Both of them learned their hockey at Pennsbury,” said Coyne. “And both of them went on to play ice hockey in college.”
Daley played his collegiate ice hockey at Penn State (Berks), while Richards played his collegiate ice hockey at East Stroudsburg University.
“It is great to have them come back and coaching the kids,” said Coyne. “And both of them played in this benefit game when they were juniors.”
The game should be a good one even though both teams have struggled this season.
Back on November 8, 2017, the Falcons scored the final three goals of the game to forge a 4-4 tie. The final shot total was 31 goals for each team.
“Honestly, we knew that this was going to be a tough year for us,” said Coyne. “But the kids have worked hard and have a very good attitude.”
A remarkable attitude that makes the team - and the entire Pennsbury ice hockey family - true winners.
The SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ playoffswill showcase CB South, Council Rock South, North Penn, Pennridge, CB West, and CR North for certain – and the remaining two playoffs slots will come from a foursome that includes CB East, Souderton, Neshaminy, and William Tennent that are separated by just two points in the current standings.
The team with the best shot at earning a spot would appear to be CB East (3-5-0, 6). The Patriots three remaining games are with Truman (0-6-1), CB West (5-4-0), and Pennsbury (0-8-0).
Souderton (3-5-0, 6) also has three games left on its schedule. However, the Indians must play the top three teams in the league against CB South (9-0-0), Pennridge (6-1-1), and North Penn (7-1-1).
Neshaminy (2-6-1, 5) has just two remaining games and will be favored to win one of those games as the Skins match up with Truman (0-6-1). The other league contest will come against Council Rock North (4-3-1).
William Tennent (1-6-2, 4) despite winning only one league game is still in the playoff hunt depending on what CB East, Souderton, and Neshaminy do in the remaining league games. The Panthers play Council Rock South (7-1-1) and close the season against winless Pennsbury (0-8-0).
Stay tuned.
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Standings
Top Eight Qualify for Playoffs
Wins/Losses/Points
1. Central Bucks South Titans 9 0 0 18
2. Council Rock South Hawks 7 1 1 15
3. North Penn Knights 7 1 1 15
4. Pennridge Rams 6 1 1 13
5. Central Bucks West Bucks 5 4 0 10
6. Council Rock North Indians 4 3 1 9
7. Central Bucks East Patriots 3 5 0 6
8. Souderton Indians 3 5 0 6
9. Neshaminy Redskins 2 6 1 5
10. William Tennent Panthers 1 7 2 4
11. Truman Tigers 0 6 1 1
12. Pennsbury Falcons 0 8 0 0
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Top Scorers
Goals/Assists/Points
1. Eric Slater – Pennridge 25 16 41
2. Matt Stoll – CB South 20 15 35
3. Joseph DeLaurentis – CB South 21 13 34
4. Michael Walker – Pennridge 17 15 32
5. Zac Herman – CR North 17 14 31
6. Andrew Galetta – North Penn 18 13 31
7. Nathan Oh – North Penn 8 19 27
8. Matthew Meli – CR South 20 6 26
9. Jake Nelson – North Penn 14 11 25
10. Reis Braccio – CB South 7 17 24
SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ Top Goalies
Wins/Saves/Goals Against
1. Mason Procz – CR South 6 129 0.99
2. Oscar Levin – CB South 8 136 1.15
3. Tim White – CB South 6 117 1.93
4. Luke Stranick – Pennridge 9 273 2.33
5. Chris Maiden – North Penn 5 104 3.26
6. Steve Glik – Neshaminy 4 344 3.39
7. Jeremy Kennard – CB West 6 219 4.14
‘On Ice’ the SHSHL Varsity ‘AA’ this Week
Wednesday – February 7, 2018
Pennridge vs. CR North @ Hatfield – 7:10 pm
CB East vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Hatfield – 6:20 pm
CB West vs. Hatboro-Horsham @ Warwick – 8:40 pm
Wissahickon vs. Pennsbury @ Grundy – 9:00 pm
Thursday – February 8, 2018
Central Bucks South vs. Souderton @ Hatfield – 7:10 pm
Truman vs. CB East @ Warwick – 8:45 pm
CR North vs. Neshaminy @ Grundy – 9:00 pm
Friday – February 9, 2018
North Penn vs. CR South @ Warwick – 7:00 pm
William Tennent vs. Upper Dublin @ Wintersport – 6:50 pm
SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ Snapshot
Wissahickon head coach Ken Harrington is filling out the Flyers Cup paperwork as his Trojans (12-0 SHSHL American Conference) will be invited to play in the 2018 Cup.
The official Flyers Cup selection of the Trojans will come on February 25th.
“We still have our (SHSHL) playoffs to go through before then,” said Harrington. “We want to win a league championship, and you can’t take anything for granted.
“Last year we were invited to the Flyers Cup and lost in the first round,” added Harrington. “But it was a great experience for that team.”
The 2017-2018 edition of the Trojans have three key freshmen that were not part of the team a season ago.
Bryan Garry is the leading scorer in the league, Daniel Glazer is a top shelf offensive force, and Nolan Ryan has been a rock on the defensive end of the ice.
“We have a short bench and those freshmen have played a lot for us,” said Harrington. “The bad thing is that they have to play a lot – the good thing is that they are excellent players.
“We have five very good eighth grade players that will join them next year,” added Harrington. “We will be young – but we should be good.”
And those Flyers Cup invitations should keep right on coming.
Lower Moreland head coach Anthony D’Orazio and his Lions probably clinched a SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ playoff slot after defeating Hatboro-Horsham 3-2 last week.
“We beat a good Hatboro-Horsham team and that was a huge win for us,” said D’Orazio. “It was a hard fought win – and a win that should get us into the playoffs.
“The goal the whole season was to get into the playoffs,” added D’Orazio. “Now we have to finish strong and get there.”
The SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ playoffswill showcase four teams with only unbeaten Wissahickon guaranteed a playoff berth. Abington, Lower Moreland, Hatboro Horsham, and Upper Dublin still have a mathematical shot at a playoff slot with three of those four teams gaining a playoff position.
Abington (8-3-0, 16) is in the best position with three games left. The Ghosts close out the season against New Hope Solebury (2-9-0), Upper Dublin (7-6-0) and Hatboro-Horsham (8-4-0).
Lower Moreland (8-4-0, 16) is also in great shape with eight wins and games against New Hope Solebury (2-9-0) and Upper Moreland (0-10-0) left on its league schedule.
Hatboro-Horsham (7-4-0, 14) will close out its season against Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-10), Wissahickon (12-0), and Abington (8-3-0).
Upper Dublin (7-6-0, 14) is the longest shot with just one game left against Abington (8-3-0) in its effort to gain a playoff berth.
Stay tuned.
SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ Standings
Wins/Losses/Points
1. Wissahickon Trojans 12 0 0 24
2. Abington Ghosts 8 3 0 16
3. Lower Moreland Lions 8 4 0 16
4. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 7 4 0 14
5. Upper Dublin Cardinals 7 6 0 14
6. New Hope Solebury Lions 2 9 0 4
7. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 2 10 0 4
8. Upper Moreland Bears 0 10 0 0
SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ Top Scorers
Goals/Assists/Points
*Stats do not include Wissahickon’s 9-0 win over PW
1. *Bryan Garry – Wissahickon 39 23 62
2. *Sean Garry – Wissahickon 32 26 58
3. Ari Nordlinger – Upper Dublin 38 12 50
4. Coleman Peppelman – L. Moreland 38 12 50
5. *Dean Keller – Plymouth Whitemarsh 29 6 35
6. Perry Carpenter – Abington 20 13 33
7. Adam Bostock – Lower Moreland 15 17 32
8. Oren Serafin – Upper Dublin 20 10 30
9. Jacob Mueller – Hatboro-Horsham 15 13 28
Nikolai Portner – Abington 12 16 28
Chris Braun – New Hope Solebury 20 8 28
‘On Ice’ in the SHSHL Varsity ‘A’ this Week
Wednesday – February 7, 2018
CB East vs. Plymouth Whitemarsh @ Hatfield – 6:20 pm
CB West vs. Hatboro-Horsham @ Warwick – 8:40 pm
Wissahickon vs. Pennsbury @ Grundy – 9 pm
Thursday – February 8, 2018
New Hope S vs. Lower Moreland @ Wintersport – 8:30
Friday – February 9, 2018
William Tennent vs. Upper Dublin @ Wintersport – 6:50 pm
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