SOL SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (1-22-20)

By Rick Woelfel

An important axiom this season is ‘Every game matters.’ It’s cliché, but it’s true. With the Flyers Cup power ranking system in place this season, SHSHL teams are being evaluated on the basis of every game, not just those that count in the league standings. That is certain to have an impact at season’s end.

Class AA Snapshot— Not much was expected from Souderton when the season began. The Big Red field one of the youngest lineups in the league, and they struggled early on, going 0-9-1 in their first 10 games. But Souderton has won three straight since then and finds itself in contention for a place in the Flyers Cup tournament.

“Everybody is contributing,” said Head Coach Ryan Uchniat. “We’ve had our entire roster show up, our team is playing good defensively and we’re also getting great goaltending along the way.”

Junior Tyler McPhee leads the Big Red in scoring with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points. Sophomore Braydon Clemens, who has been splitting his time between forward and defense, is next with eight goals and two assists for 10 points in just seven games.

Two goaltenders have been splitting time. Senior Jonathan Prichard is carrying a save percentage of .867 with a 5.46 goals-against average. His goaltending partner is freshman Noah Connor.

“Both have provided major contributions in terms of the success that we’ve had lately,” Uchniat said.

Both netminders have been busy. In their 12 games, they have faced exactly 500 shots, or 38.5 shots per each 48-minute game.

Souderton is off this week before closing the regular season against North Penn, Pennridge, and Central Bucks West in that order.

There is a key matchup set for Wednesday night when Council Rock South faces Pennsbury at Revolution Ice Gardens (9:00 start). The Falcons come in at 8-2-1 overall and 4-2-1 in league play while the Hawks are 5-4 and 5-1. It should be noted that South’s four losses have come against La Salle, North Penn, and Central Bucks South (twice).

Central Bucks South remains at the top of this week’s Flyers Cup power rankings. Other SHSHL teams in the top 10 include North Penn (fourth), Pennsbury (sixth), Neshaminy (seventh), Council Rock South (eighth), and Central Bucks East (10^th).

Jake Lang of Central Bucks West continues to lead the division in scoring with 23 goals and 17 assists for 40 points. Robert Seewagen of Neshaminy is next with 20 goals and 13 assists for 33.

A Stat We’d Like to Share— Council Rock South has given up the fewest goals in the division; just nine in six league games or 1.50 GPG.

Here are the leaders: League games only

Class A Snapshot—Wissahickon is doing its best to stay within striking distance of pacesetter Plymouth Whitemarsh in the SHSHL’s American Division. Heading into a matchup with Truman Wednesday night the Trojans were 7-6 overall and 5-4 in divisional play.

Nicholas Hussa is pacing the team in scoring with 17 goals and five assists for 22 points. Alex Carozza is next with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points and veteran Brian Gary has 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in just five games.

The Trojans feature an abundance of balance in the lineup; eight different players have 10 points or more. That’s rather uncommon in the American Division, where rosters are not as deep as at the Class AA level and, more often than not, one line per team gets the majority of the ice time.

Wissahickon is getting a solid effort in goal from Chris Shea (5.00 goals against average). Ty Schiff and Matt Winkowski are the heat of the defense corps.

 As for Plymouth Whitemarsh, the Colonials (10-1 overall, 7-0 in league play) are ranked fourth in the Flyers Cup power rankings behind West Chester East, Springfield Delco, and Unionville.

Aidan Keogh from Plymouth Whitemarsh continues to lead the division scoring race with 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points. His teammate Jake Weikel is next on the list with 21 goals and 14 assist for 35 points.

Playing dates for the 41^st Flyers Cup have been finalized. The tournament proper will run from March 2-20. The Pa. Class A final will be played on March 17, the Class AAA final on the 18^th. The Class AA final will be part of a doubleheader with one of the other two.

SHSHL Standings as of 1-20-2020 

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

Scoring

Goals Against

Save Percentage