SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (2-19-20)

By Rick Woelfel

Class AA Snapshot— The curtain comes down this week on the SHSHL’s regular season. The top eight teams in Class AA - as of this writing Central Bucks South, North Penn, Neshaminy, Council Rock South, Central Bucks East, Pennridge, Pennsbury, and Central Bucks West - will move on to the playoffs next week. But for the other five teams in the division, the season has been memorable as well and in at least one case historic.

Quakertown’s first foray into the SHSHL has resulted in a 2-12-1-0 overall mark (1-8-1-0 in divisional play) heading into the season finale on Friday against Abington (9:00 at Revolution Ice Gardens).

Veteran coach Keith Krem took a team that was a blend of experienced club players, novices, and those in between and built a competitive team, one that certainly has improved over the course of the course of the season.

“It’s been a good year,” he said. “I think the kids have gotten better as a team. It’s really been about developing the players.”

Krem says the support of the community and the administration at Quakertown High School has been instrumental to the Panthers’ success. “That’s been the key to it,” he said.

Krem says there is a sense of community within the program, encompassing not just the varsity but the junior varsity as well.

Eric Orzehoski leads the Panthers in scoring with six goals and five assists for 11 points in just 10 games. Goaltender Austin Stoudt has an impressive save percentage of .882, eighth best in the entire SHSHL while seeing an average of 46 shots per game. He’s made 573 saves, more than any other netminder in the league.

Council Rock North completed its season last Wednesday with a 10-0 loss to North Penn to conclude the season at 1-15. The Indians’ only win came in a non-league encounter against Lower Moreland. But despite being undermanned and fielding an extremely young lineup, coach Chris Gallagher saw to it that his players had a positive experience playing hockey for their school.

“We tried to make it a fun experience,” he said. “No yelling, no screaming.”

Vlad Litvinov paced the Indians in scoring with 10 goals and six assists for 16 points. The unsung hero on the roster was goaltender Rex Goldberg who remained stalwart despite being under constant duress.

The other three non-playoff qualifiers, William Tennent, Souderton, and Abington, all made progress as the year went on. Souderton, which was winless in its first 10 games, challenged for a playoff spot at one point and won three of its last six games.

Class A Snapshot— Brian Gary missed a big chunk of his season at Wissahickon recuperating from a knee injury. But in just seven games, he has collected 21 goals and 15 assists for 36 points to help the Trojans (8-7 overall) into second place in the American Division with a 6-5 record heading into the week.

Gary, a junior at Wissahickon, also plays club hockey for the Revolution Junior A team. Some players in his position and with his history would bypass high school hockey, but he continues to suit up with the Trojans.

“It’s a different group of people that want to come together and win,” he said. “I can help out the team. “It’s good to practice things I want to work on, both in club (and) bring them into this, and this, bring it into club, so I can work on different stuff.

“I like playing with the people and mixing with friends of mine from school.”

Gary noted there is something special about playing in front of friends and classmates.

“Definitely,” he said. “People from school get to see you play. It’s something a little different from junior.

“It’s a lot of fun. A different coaching staff telling me stuff to do and I just like playing with kids I don’t normally play with.”

The American Division playoff seedings won’t be finalized until week’s end. Plymouth Whitemarsh will be seeded first. Wissahickon or Hatboro-Horsham will be seeded second, the other third; either way, the Hatters and the Trojans will face each other in the playoff semifinals. The fourth and final slot will go to either Truman or Lower Moreland, two teams currently tied for fourth place with 2-8 league records and who face each other Wednesday night at Revolution Ice Gardens (9:00) before the Lions close with Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday and the Tigers face Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday. Truman and Lower Moreland have already split two meetings this season.

The SHSHL playoffs will commence on Monday with four Class AA quarterfinal games with the four highest seeds playing on their home rinks subject to ice availability. The semifinals in both classes will be played next Wednesday, Feb. 26, and the two championship games the following evening.

The field for the 41^st Flyers Cup tournament will be revealed Sunday night via a 7 p.m. webcast on the Flyers Cup You Tube channel.

SHSHL Standings as of 2-19-2020 

Standings are calculated as follows

2 points for a win whether in regulation or OT

1 point for a tie or overtime loss

Scoring