Ben Reese recaps the action in Neshaminy’s 4-2 victory over CB West in SHSHL action Thursday. Pennsbury, Abington, PW, CB South & North Penn were winners on Wednesday.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- Rob Seewagen has been a very good addition to the Neshaminy ice hockey team.
After playing at Holy Ghost Prep in his freshman year, the now sophomore has led the 'Skins in scoring with 17 goals through the first nine games. You can up that total to 19 as he scored twice to lead Neshaminy to a 4-2 victory over Central Bucks West at Hatfield Ice on Thursday night.
"He's an elite player in this league," Matt DeMatteo, the Neshaminy coach, said. "He brings it to practice; you see it in games. He raises the level.
"He's a good kid. I've coached him since he was little. Getting a quality player who is also a quality guy in the room is great."
But Seewagen is not a one-man team. He knows that he has and needs a good team around him.
"It's not like we're just a team," he said. "We all have a special bond.
"We all grew up together so we're all playing for each other. We want the best for this program."
He also realizes where the Neshaminy ice hockey program is headed.
"They made a big step last year and made the playoffs," he said. "We're not just going to the playoffs because we're going to the playoffs.
"We're going to the playoffs to win. It feels good when you're playing with your brothers and having a good time out there."
Neshaminy got off to a great start. The 'Skins scored two goals in the first period and then finished things off with two more in the third period.
How important was it to get off to a quick start?
"We needed to send a message right away," Seewagen explained. "We needed them to realize that this wasn't going to be a cakewalk."
DeMatteo had a good feeling with that early lead.
"It's good to get a win against a quality team like this heading into the playoffs," he said. "When we get a two-goal lead, we feel that we don't have to concentrate too much on defense. We can push the attack and take some chances we might not take in a tighter game."
The victory is big for Neshaminy in the race for seeding in the upcoming Suburban High School Hockey League playoffs and eventually the Flyers Cup. It boosts their total points to 12 and into fourth place in the current seedings with a week left in the regular season.
Seewagen was happy with the way his teammates played and rallied in the third period after the Bucks had tied the game at 2-2 in the second period.
"We got out to a 2-0 lead but they battled back," he said. "Give them credit.
"We didn't give up and we were consistent. We capitalized on our chances.
"We know we can play with any team in this league and we've proved it time and time again. We're just taking it one game at a time.
"We're looking at the big picture and that's winning the Flyers Cup and winning the playoffs. I think we can do it and I know everyone in that locker room knows we can do it."
Based on Neshaminy's performance against West, it would be hard to dispute that.
The 'Skins opened up with the two-goal first period. Joey DeMatteo notched the first goal off an assist from Seewagen and Seewagen got the second with a helper from Brian McGrody.
West came out roaring in the second period. Jake Lang scored twice, the first after only 15 seconds and the second on the power play.
But Neshaminy would not be denied. Thomas Gallagher broke the 2-2 tie at the 2:12 mark of the third period and Seewagen added insurance with an unassisted goal on the power play.
CB West coach Dave Baun wasn't upset with the loss. In fact, he was pleased with his young team.
"I liked the way we played," he said. "I thought we played a good game.
"I think a few of our youthful mistakes were obvious early on. We gave the puck away a few times and they scored because they have good finishers on their team and they can put the puck in.
"When the game settled down, five on five, I was very happy with the way we played. I think our team played very well with a couple of youthful mistakes. I'll take that any day."
Neshaminy 4, CB West 2
Neshaminy 2 0 2 – 4
CB West 0 2 0 – 2
First period: 1, Joey DeMatteo N (Rob Seewagen) 7:25; 2, Seewagen N (Brian McGrody) 12:40.
Second period: 3, Jake Lang CBW (Chris Trefz) 0:15; 4, Lang CBW (Pavel Serhiayenko) 6:01 PP.
Third period: 5, Thomas Gallagher N (Phillip Oseredzuk, Joey Buday) 2:12; 6, Seewagen N (unassisted) 10:50 PP.
Shots: N 28, CBW 46. Saves: Steve Glik (N) 44, Jeremy Kennard (CBW) 24.
Wednesday, Feb. 13
PENNSBURY 4, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
The Falcons erupted for three goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and propelling the Falcons to the big win.
After a scoreless opening period, the two teams exchanged goals in the second. CB East’s Owen Connor scored 4:22 into the period, but six minutes later, Pennsbury’s Beau Yedman got that back.
Yedman, who had a hand in three goals, scored the go-ahead goal seven seconds into the final period, using assists from Jake Machlovitz and Shane Siegmund. Two minutes later, the Falcons led 3-1 after a goal by Jake Sieger (Erik Eisler/Griffin Foll assists). East’s Shane West scored on a power play with assists from Rob Kern and Chris Mangiacapre. Shane Siegmund’s goal with a Yedman assist in the final minute put an exclamation point on the Falcons’ win.
Pennsbury goalie Topher Seiler turned away 28 of 30 shots he faced in a winning effort.
Central Bucks East 0-1-1 2
Pennsbury 0-1-3 4
Shots: CBE 30, Pennbury 50. Saves: Chris McIntyre (CBE) 29, Topher Seiler (P) 28.
First Period: No score
Second Period: 1, Owen Connor CBE, 4:22; 2, Beau Yedman P, 10:32.
Third Period: 3, Beau Yedman P (Jake Machlovitz/Shane Siegmund) 0:07; 4, Jake Sieger P (Erik Eisler/Griffin Foll) 2:00; 5, Shane West CBE (Rob Kern/Chris Mangiacapre) 9:03; 6, Shane Siegmund P (Beau Yedman) 15:00.
ABINGTON 5, HARRY S TRUMAN 2
Mason Large spent Wednesday’s game stonewalling the Tigers at every turn. The Ghosts’ goalie turned away 50 of 52 shots he faced in a stellar outing. Perry Carpenter scored two goals and assisted on another. His three-point game led a balanced Ghost attack in their win over the Tigers.
Carpenter (Nathan Broskley assist) put the Ghosts on the board 6:20 into the contest, and 25 seconds later, Ryan Gosselin found the net. Carpenter’s second goal of the period – this one with a Daniel Staley assist – gave the Ghosts a 3-0 lead after one period.
Decklyn Dailey’s power play goal with an assist from Steven Avellino put the Tigers on the board, but Staley answered with a goal for the Ghosts, using assists from Holden Brooker and Carpenter.
In the third period, the two teams exchanged goals with Joe Stelacio connecting on a shorthanded goal for the Ghosts, using a Gosselin assist. Avellino’s power play goal for the Tigers closed out the scoring.
Abington 3-1-1 5
Harry S Truman 0-1-1 2
Shots: Abington 45, HST 52. Saves: Mason Large (A) 50, Jeremy Wedul (HST) 40.
First Period: 1, Perry Carpenter A (Nathan Broskley) 6:20; 2, Ryan Gosselin A, 6:45; 3, Perry Carpenter A (Daniel Staley) 10:35.
Second Period: 4, Decklyn Dailey HST (Steven Avellino) 10:02; 5, Daniel Staley A (Holden Brooker/Perry Carpenter) 11:31.
Third Period: 6, Joe Stelacio A (Ryan Gosselin) 5:08; 7, Steven Avellino HST, 14:35.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 7, WISSAHICKON 3
A five-goal second period propelled the Colonials to a win in a battle of the neighboring rivals and American Conference foes. Aidan Keogh’s four-goal effort sparked the Colonials.
Seventeen seconds into the second period, Dean Keller broke a scoreless tie when he connected on an unassisted goal. Keogh’s goal two minutes later with a Jake Weikel assist gave the Colonials a 2-0 edge, and when Keller scored again, using assists from Colin Franzoni and Tyler Uhr, the Colonials found themselves on top 3-0. After a power play goal by PW’s Benjamin Lubas (Franzoni/Peter Troy assists), the Trojans got on the scoreboard, thanks to a goal by Bryan Garry with an assist from Sean Garry. Keogh’s second goal of the period gave the Colonials a 5-1 advantage after two periods.
Sean Garry’s power play goal (Bryan Garry assist) pulled the Trojans to within three, but Keogh answered with an unassisted goal. Bryan Garry and Keogh exchanged goals to close out the game.
PW goalie Tyler Uhr turned away 29 of 32 shots in the win.
Wissahickon 0-1-2 3
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0-5-2 7
Shots: Wissahickon 32, PW 27. Saves: Alex Carrozza (W) 20, Tyler Uhr (PW) 29.
First Period: No score
Second Period: 1, Dean Keller PW, 0:17; 2, Aidan Keogh PW (Jake Weikel) 2:19; 3, Dean Keller (Colin Franzoni/Tyler Uhr) 3:12; 4, Benjamin Lubas PW (Colin Franzoni/Peter Troy) 9:18; 5, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 10:04; 6, Aidan Keogh PW (Jake Weikel/Desmond Brock) 14:40.
Third Period: 7, Sean Garry W (Bryan Garry) 0:32; 8, Aidan Keogh PW, 4:34; 9, Bryan Garry W, 5:50; 10, Aidan Keogh PW (Desmond Brock) 11:02.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 7, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 2
The Titans blew open a close game with five unanswered goals in the third period, turning a 2-2 game into a five-goal win.
The Golden Hawks led 1-0 after one period, thanks to a goal by Matthew Constantini late in the period. Nick Klein knotted the score with a goal 25 seconds into the second period, using assists from Ryan Gingras and Dominic Patrone. Rock South went back on top two minutes later when Bill Harrelson (Andrew Darling assist) found the net. Matt Milanesi’s goal 5:46 into the period (Dominick Liberta/Dominic Patrone assists) evened the score.
Reis Braccio scored a goal that turned out to be the game-winner 3:10 into the final period, using a Colin Abbonizio assist. Midway through the period, Braccio returned the favor when he assisted on a goal by Abbonizio that put the Titans on top 4-2. The Titans closed it out with three straight shorthanded goals – the first by DJ LoVerdi (Braccio/Abbonizio assists) and the final by Patrone (Harry McLaughlin assist).
Mason Moyer recorded eight saves in goal in the win for the Titans. Rock South’s Brett Magloff had 50 stops in a busy night in goal.
Central Bucks South 0-2-5 7
Council Rock South 1-1-0 2
Shots: CBS 57, CRS 10. Saves: Brett Magloff (CRS) 50, Jason Moyer (CBS) 8.
First Period: 1, Matthew Constantini CRS,12:42.
Second Period: 2, Nick Klein CBS (Ryan Gingras/Dominic Patrone) 0:25; 3, Bill Harrelson CRS (Andrew Darling) 2:38; 4, Matt Milanesi CBS (Dominick Liberta/Dominic Patrone) 5:46.
Third Period: 5, Reis Braccio CBS (Colin Abbonizio) 3:10; 6, Colin Abbonizio CBS (Reis Braccio) 7:35; 7, DJ LoVerdi CBS (Reis Braccio/Colin Abbonizio) 10:24; 8, CBS, 10:53; 9, Dominic Patrone CBS (Harry McLaughlin) 14:34.
NORTH PENN 10, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
In a contest they dominated from the outset, the Knights took care of business in a hurry, scoring four goals in the first period and adding five more in the second on their way to the shutout win.
Jared Albano scored 3:12 into the opening period. His goal – assisted by Nathan Oh – turned out to be the game-winner. Will Hughes (Chase Mueller assist), Oh (shorthanded) and Jake Nelson (Joshua Kaufhold assist) also scored single goals in the period to spot the Knights a 4-0 lead.
In the second period, Tyler Greenstein, Tony Tuozzo, Connor Selb, Kaufhold and Eric Sarbecker each scored a goal to put the Knights on top 9-0. Kaufhold’s goal in the third period gave the Knights their final margin of victory.
Albano (one goal, two assists), Greenstein (one goal, two assists) and Kaufhold (two goals, three assists) all had three-point games to lead a balanced attack.
Andrew Zanoni was forced to make just eight saves in the shutout win.
Council Rock North 0-0-0 0
North Penn 4-5-1 10
Shots: CRN 8, NP 29. Saves: Rex Goldberg (CRN) 19, Andrew Zanoni (NP) 8.
First Period: 1, Jared Albano NP (Nathan Oh) 3:12; 2, Will Hughes NP (Chase Mueller) 4:03; 3, Nathan Oh NP, 7:59; 4, Jake Nelson NP (Joshua Kaufhold) 15:29.
Second Period: 5, Tyler Greenstein NP (Jake Nelson/Ryan Cunningham) 4:04; 6, Tony Tuozzo NP (Nathan Oh/Jared Albano) 4:38; 7, Connor Selb NP (Quinn Holt) 5:49; 8, Joshua Kaufhold NP (Tyler Greenstein) 6:43; 9, Eric Sarbacker NP (Jared Albano/Nathan Oh) 7:28.
Third Period: 10, Joshua Kaufhold NP (Tyler Greenstein) 6:15.
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