SOL SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (12-18-19)

By Rick Woelfel

Class AA Snapshot—Heading into the final week of play before the holiday break, the quality teams in the Suburban High School Hockey League are starting to assert themselves. Four Class AA teams, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks West, North Penn, and Council Rock are unbeaten in league play.

Success is nothing new to the Titans; they’ve claimed eight league titles since 2005, including four of the last five. But this year’s team doesn’t possess as much offensive firepower as some of its predecessors.

South does have two of the league’s top scorers in Dominic Patrone (eight goals, nine assists for 17 points) and their captain Colin Abbonizio (nine goals, six assists for 15 points). But they also have one of the Class AA Division’s premier goaltenders in Mason Moyer, who is carrying a 1.43 goals against average and a .939 save percentage into the week. He ranks second in the league in GAA and leads in save percentage. South also features senior defenseman Ryan Gingras, who is no slouch offensively (four goals, seven assists for 11 points) but who also displays considerable tenacity on the blue line.

Gingras drew the assignment of shadowing Neshaminy sniper Robert Seewagon when the Titans and the ‘Skins squared off last Thursday. South overcame an early 3-0 deficit to score a 7-3 win in a matchup between two of the premier teams in the league.
South is now 6-0-0-1 overall. It’s only setback was a 2-1 season-opening overtime loss to La Salle, the defending Class AAA Flyers Cup and state champion.

Council Rock South comes into the week at 2-3 overall but 2-0 in league play, thanks in large measure to the work of junior goaltender Jimmy Sweeney who leads the league with a 1.36 GAA and is second with a .938 save percentage.

The Golden Hawks started their season with three one-goal losses to La Salle, Central Bucks South, and North Penn in that order before scoring 21 goals in their last two outings, wins over Council Rock North and Souderton. Michael Roby leads the team in scoring with seven goals and five assists for 12 points. Antil Autere is next with two goals and 9 assists for 11 points.

The Hawks have allowed just seven goals in their five games.

The only blemish on Central Bucks West’s record is an overtime loss to Central Bucks East on Thanksgiving Eve. The Bucks are 3-0 in league play and 6-0-0-1 overall. They’ve gotten where they are by blending youth and experience. Jake Lang leads the entire SHSHL in scoring with 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points. Chris Trefz has collected nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points. In its five games against Class AA opposition, West has poured in 40 goals.

Even Hee and Grant Funseth, both sophomores, form the top defensive pair. Jeff Coddington has a .901 save percentage with a 2.23 GAA.

North Penn comes into the week with a 4-2 overall mark; the losses came against C.B. South and Holy Ghost Prep, a Class AAA team. Veteran Tyler Greenstein leads the team in scoring with give goals and 10 assists for 15 points. Another veteran, Luke Van Why, is next with six goals and seven assists for 13 points while Josh Kaufhold has contributed five goals and seven assists for 12 points.

Van Why and Thomas Boyle provide experience on the blue line while Nick Ebbinghaus has been solid in goal with a 3.80 GAA and am .867 save percentage.

Class A Snapshot—Plymouth Whitemarsh has advanced to the head of the class in the SHSHL’s American Division. The Colonials improved to 6-1 on the season (3-0 in league play) after a 4-3 overtime win over Hatboro-Horsham last Friday. It was their second win over the Hatters this season.

The Colonials feature an abundance of scoring talent. Aidan Keogh has 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points. Jake Weikel has nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points while Dean Keller has six goals and nine assists for 15.

For all their scoring punch, the Colonials have an outstanding goaltender in senior Ben Yuter who is carrying a 2.76 GAA and a save percentage of .877 in a division where high-scoring games are a regular occurrence.

Yuter says his team’s two wins over the Hatters will give it a lot of momentum going forward. “(The wins) show us that we’re the stronger team,” he said. “If we keep playing our game and not their game, we’re going to win.”

With the loss, Hatboro-Horsham drops to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in divisional play. The Hatters have a quality goaltender of their own in senior Joe Gambino who carries a 2.65 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

Notes—The SHSHL is using overtime in the regular season for the first time this season. If the game is tied after 48 minutes the teams will skate three-on-three for a maximum of five additional minutes. If no one scores, the game will be recorded as a tie with each team receiving one point in the standings. A team receives two points for a win whether in regulation or overtime, a team losing in overtime still receives one point.

Scoring