SOL SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (1-8-20)

By Rick Woelfel

The start of the new year marked the start of an eight-week stretch that will end with the conclusion of the regular season.

The end of the holiday break was highlighted by the debut of the new Flyers Cup power rankings, which will be instrumental in setting the field for the 41^st Flyers Cup tournament, which begins March 2. The rankings were created to enhance the accuracy of the tournament seedings. In addition, a five-member competition committee is observing games on a regular basis and their observations will factor into the selection process.

Class AA Snapshot—The Quakertown Panthers are sailing on uncharted waters this season. Quakertown has had a hockey team in years past but never in the SHSHL. It hasn’t been easy on some nights for the Panthers, who are skating in the Class AA Division, but the program seems to be heading in the right direction after a bumpy start. Quakertown starts the week at 1-6 overall and 0-3 in league play.

Assistant coach Mark Pezzano is pleased with the team’s progress. “I’ve got to give kudos to (head coach Keith) Krem,” he said. “He has coaching experience at all different levels of hockey and he’s been able to try to jell the team together with his vast experience. He’s really worked well with this group to try to get to jell and taking some things down to the very basics if he has to because there are different levels of play that you see on the ice.

“We’ve got club players, we’ve got players that have played roller hockey and they’re transitioning to ice hockey. We have some upper-echelon players as well and then we have some beginners. Even though we only practice one night a week, I think the games we’ve had have definitely been a building experience.”

Quakertown has been getting outstanding play in goal from junior Austin Stoudt who has compiled a more-than-respectable .878 save percentage.

A young Pennridge team is starting to come unto its own. The Rams squared their mark at 5-5 with a 12-2 win over Central Bucks West last Wednesday in game that saw Blake Stewart and Jeff Manto each delivered hat tricks.

Coach Jeff Montagna is enthused about how his young team has evolved.

“We’ve just been preaching ‘Do things the right way,’” he said. “And more times than not, it’s going to go your way.”

Ryan Pico made 25 saves in goal for the Rams. He’s now among the division leaders in save percentage at .886.

One of the key matchups of the season is set for Thursday night when North Penn (5-2-0-0) and Neshaminy (7-2-0-0) square off at Hatfield Ice (7:10 start) in a matchup between two teams with legitimate postseason aspirations, in part because the two teams have been solid defensively.

Neshaminy has allowed just 18 goals in nine starts with seven of those coming in a loss to Central Bucks South back on Dec. 12. Senior Ryan McColgan is his team’s premier defenseman and soph Brian Nelson has been impressive in goal all year (1.85 GAA, .895 save percentage).

The Knights have allowed 25 goals in their seven starts, but nine of them were against Class AAA Holy Ghost Prep in their season opener. Since then, they’ve allowed just 2.67 goals per game. The Knights are experienced on the blue line with juniors Luke Van Why and Ryan Cunningham. Senior Thomas Boyle will likely spend time there as well.

Neither team has taken the ice since before the holiday break.

Jake Lang of Central Bucks West continues to lead the National Division in scoring with 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points. Robert Seewagon of Neshaminy is next with 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points.

Seven SHSHL teams were listed in the Class AA Flyers Cup top 10 at the start of the week:

1. Central Bucks South

4. North Penn

5. Neshaminy

6. Central Bucks East

7. Central Bucks West

9. Pennsbury

10. Council Rock South

Class A Snapshot—Lower Moreland is dealing with numbers issues. In fact, it was uncertain until literally the opening night of the season if the Lions would have enough players to field a team. The official roster includes just 14 players and not all were in uniform during last Thursday’s 12-3 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh. But the Lions soldier on despite a 1-7 record at the start of the week.

Veteran coach Gus Salfitti outlines his goals. “the first thing I want them to do is never give up,” he said. “That’s a personality trait that they need to develop and stop quitting on each other, themselves, or the team. The second thing I want them to do is play smart when they don’t have as much support on the bench. They have to play teams that have two, three, four lines on a regular basis, we’ve got to play smarter. We’re trying to score without taking care of our defensive responsibilities.”

Jacob Lungin has been solid in goal for the Lions in difficult circumstances. He carried an .827 save percentage at the start of the week.

Aidan Keogh of Plymouth Whitemarsh leads the American Division is scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points. Alex Howieson of Hatboro-Horsham is next with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points.

Plymouth Whitemash is listed second in the latest edition of the Class A Flyers Cup rankings while Hatboro-Horsham is sixth.

SHSHL Standings as of Jan. 7, 2020.

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

If a game is tied at the end of regulation there will be five minutes of three-on-three overtime. If the game is still tied it will be recorded as a tie game.

The shootout will not be used