Check out the recaps of Wednesday’s SHSHL semifinal action that saw CR South & Pennsbury win in the National/Continental semifinals while Abington & Wissahickon advanced in the American Conference. CB South/CR South photos provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
SHSHL National/Continental Semifinals
Council Rock South 2, Central Bucks South 1 (OT)
The ending came quickly.
Just when it looked as though the shorthanded Titans would survive their series of penalties early in overtime, Rock South’s Sam Cherkassy turned a deflection of a pass by senior captain Brennan Wright that somehow found its way across goal into the game-winner, setting off emotions on both sides.
“It was a loose puck on the side – I wasn’t able to get to it, but luckily on the change, our defenseman was able to get to it and passed it down to me,” Wright said of the game-winning sequence. “It was a 5-on-3 so there was a lot of open space. I just saw the open lane across the net.
“Luckily, it deflected a little bit, but my teammate Sam Cherk (Cherkassky) was able to capitalize and put it in the net.
Listening to Wright tell it, the Golden Hawks could ill afford to not capitalize on their numbers advantage.
“If we didn’t score there, they were going to get the momentum,” the Golden Hawks’ captain said. “They were going to come right back at us.”
“A lot of times you don’t get in that situation in a game, let alone overtime,” Rock South coach Joe Houk said of his team’s numbers advantage. “My guys are like, ‘What am I going to do?’
“I just kept yelling at them – ‘Shoot the puck. You don’t need a perfect pass.’ (South) got one man back, and we just kept pushing and pushing and pushing.
“Their game plan was to make sure pucks go deep, and they kept flipping everything out of the zone. They chased it down. We were trying to put the full-court press, and it wasn’t working, but I said, ‘The harder you work, the luckier you get.’ Sometimes luck falls your way.”
While overtime had more than its share of drama, the end of regulation did as well. The Golden Hawks – who trailed 1-0 since late in the second period – pulled out all the stops literally. With goalie Jimmy Sweeney out of the net and the Hawks pressuring the Titans, Julian Wagenmann turned the rebound of a goalie save into the equalizer with 1:12 remaining in regulation, setting the stage for overtime with more drama still to come.
“We were very flat in the beginning,” Houk said. “Every bounce was going CB South’s way – we weren’t working hard enough.
“(In the third period), it kind of clicked a little bit. You stick to the game plan – the puck’s got to go deep, you fight hard, and you got to battle. That’s what all the kids did.”
After a scoreless opening period, the Titans got on the scoreboard with a 1:03 remaining in the second when Adam Cusick scored an unassisted goal. That 1-0 lead look as though it was going to be enough for the Titans, but the Golden Hawks had other ideas, rallying for the win.
Houk credited captains Wright, Jeremy Purcell and Doug Lopez for setting the tone.
“Those guys just work their butts off,” the Rock South coach said. “And our defense – we lost one of our defensive guys, and we’re basically down to four deep. We’ve got Brennan (Wright), Kyle Schneider, Kyle Boss and Alec Pepe. Those guys were out there every other shift. They did a really great job, and you’ve got the backdoor, which is (Jimmy) Sweeney. He’s just rock solid, and he keeps you in the game. Of course the post – in overtime, it hit the post and went behind (Sweeney) and out the other side. All in all, it was good. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Sweeney turned away 21 of 22 shots he faced in a stellar outing in goal. Mason Moyer was credited with 27 saves for the Titans.
Council Rock South will face Pennsbury in Thursday’s SHSHL championship game at Grundy Arena (7:20 p.m.).
Council Rock South 0-0-1-1 2
Central Bucks South 0-1-0-0 1
First period: No score
Second period: 1. Adam Cusick CBS, 14:57
Third period: 2. Julian Wagenmann CRS, 1:12
Overtime: 3. Sam Cherassky CRS, 9:27.
Shots: CRS 29, CBS 22. Saves Jimmy Sweeney (CRS) 21, Mason Moyer (CBS) 27.
They said:
Jimmy Sweeney, Council Rock South
The game was a roller coaster of emotions. What was it like as a player?
“Before the game I was nervous – everyone was. Everyone was getting focused, but it was great how everyone rallied at the end.
“We worked hard to get the ball to the net. We got it deep, and we got the goal. Everyone was excited. I didn’t go to (his teammates’) pile because it was in front of their bench, so I went to my own bench and waited. It’s great to see a lot of players scoring for us.”
How important was it to go back to the SHSHL championship game after winning it last year? “It’s always great to go back. Everyone wanted to, everyone loved how it felt last year. We have a lot of new faces that are playing very well. Everyone stepped up. We’re going to be excited, and we’re going to play as hard as we can tomorrow.”
What has been the key to coming together with so many new players in the lineup? “Just the coaching. He’s helped us, he’s set up everything, and he’s been the brick behind us, the stepping stone to keep us ahead.”
Brennen Wright, Council Rock South
The game was a roller coaster of emotions. What was it like as a player? “We were definitely down at intermission, and we
were trying to put things together because we beat them twice before, and we could do it again. As soon as we came out in the third period and started being physical, we thought we had a chance. We really picked it up and started gaining our confidence.”
How important was it to go back to the SHSHL championship game after winning it last year? “It was important because people didn’t really think we could get back there with as many kids as we lost, so it was good to show that even though we lost key players – if you have the heart, you can come back and win.”
What has been the key to coming together with so many new players in the lineup? “Our freshmen really picked it up, our JV call-ups picked it up and are playing together, and we’ve just come together as a team.”
Pennsbury 6, Pennridge 5 (OT)
Just over five minutes into overtime, Erik Eisler found the net with an unassisted goal, propelling the Falcons to the dramatic win and a spot in Thursday’s SHSHL title game against Council Rock South. It was Eisler’s third goal in a four-point night.
The Falcons – who trailed 5-3 entering the third period – needed some late-game heroics to send the game into overtime. Eisler scored 8:50 into the period to make it a 5-4 game, using a Justin Marlin assist. Brendan Macainsh (Connor Coyne/Shane Siegmund assists) connected with the equalizer in the closing minutes of regulation.
The two teams exchanged goals early on in regulation. Siegmund (Eisler/Colin Michalak assists) put the Falcons on the board four minutes into the game. Andrew David (Richie Shanks/Jack Lowery assists) scored the equalizer three minutes later. Reese Picker’s goal with assists from Macainsh and Siegmund gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead after one period.
The Rams reeled off three straight goals in the second period, knotting the score when Aidan Boyle found the net with assists from Kevin Pico and Colin Dachowski. Goals by Lowery (Boyle assist) and Shanks (Lowery/Boyle assists) put the Rams on top 4-2. Eisler (Justin Marlin assist) and Andrew Savona (Kevin Pico assist) exchanged goals in the final minutes of the period, giving the Rams a 5-3 lead and setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
The Falcons held a 41-23 advantage in shots, but Ram goalie Ryan Pico negated that with his 35-save effort. Marek Jorgenson was credited with 18 saves for The Falcons.
Pennsbury will face Council Rock South in Thursday night’s SHSHL title game at Grundy (7:20 p.m.)
Pennridge 1-4-0-0 5
Pennsbury 2-1-2-1 6
First period: 1. Shane Siegmund Pbury (Erik Eisler/Colin Michalak) 3:52; 2. Andrew David Pridge (Richie Shanks/Jack Lowery) 6:42; 3. Reese Picker Pbury (Brendan Macainsh/Shane Siegmund) 14:01.
Second period: 4. Aidan Boyle Pridge (Kevin Pico/Colin Dachowski) 2:34; 5. Jack Lowery Pridge (Aidan Boyle) 5:10; 6. Richie Shanks Pridge (Jack Lowery/Aidan Boyle) 9:34; 7. Erik Eisler Pbury (Justin Marlin) 11:24; 8. Andrew Savona Pridge (Kevin Pico) 13:21.
Third period: 9. Erik Eisler Pbury (Justin Marlin) 8:50; 10. Brendan Macainsh Pbury (Connor Coyne/Shane Siegmund) 13:49.
Overtime: 11. Erik Eisler Pbury.
American Conference Semifinal
#2 Abington 7, #3 Plymouth Whitemarsh 3
For Abington, the SHSHL playoffs are, quite literally, win or go home.
Despite finishing in second place in the American Conference with a 7-3 overall record, the Ghosts were passed over for the upcoming Flyers Cup tournament. So when the SHSHL playoffs began on Wednesday night, the second-seeded Ghosts knew full well that if they wanted to go out as champions, the American Conference title would be their only chance to do so.
Abington kept those hopes alive and survived to play one final game. Powered by a four-goal performance from Matt Kramer and a four-point night from Joe Stelacio, Abington jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and posted a decisive 7-3 victory over third-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh in the conference semifinal at Bucks County Ice Arena.
“We know PW is a strong team at the end of the game so we had to have high energy to start,” said Abington coach Ken Brzozowski. “That’s what we planned and it worked for us. We worked really hard in practices the last two weeks, we had our eyes really focused on this game. We knew we needed to get the right matchups as the home team, and having the ability to get the right line out there helped us turn the tide when we needed to.”
The Ghosts opened the scoring early when Stelacio fed Kramer a perfect pass in front of the net, and the sophomore buried the puck into the back of the cage less than three minutes into the game. Not even a minute later, Griffin Carpenter intercepted a clearing attempt at the blue line and Tom Rourke sent a long shot along the ice that somehow managed to find its way through a host of skates and sticks and find its way into the net. Kramer’s second goal on a redirection of a Stelacio setup with 7 minutes left in the first put the home team up 3-0.
“The theme for us this year has been consistency up and down the lineup,” Brzozowski said. “That’s what we talked about before the game started. That worked for us tonight. As a coach, I saw consistency up and down from every line, and that’s what you want to see.”
The Colonials would get on the board with 5 minutes left in the period on a Luke Weikel (Aidan Keogh assist) laser from the slot. PW had a terrific opportunity to cut the deficit to 1 just a minute later, but Abington goalkeeper Ben Panella (32 saves) turned aside a point-blank shot on a 2-on-1 PW rush.
Kramer completed the hat trick with the only goal of the second period (Stelacio, Paulik assists), scoring on a nifty backhand move on a breakaway with 3 minutes left in the middle frame to boost the Ghosts to a 4-1 lead.
Kramer made it 5-1 early in the third period (Colin Bruton assist). PW answered two minutes later on a goal by John Cubbin (Weikel assist), but the Ghosts needed just 31 seconds for Kramer to set up Stelacio as Abington regained a four-goal cushion at 6-2. The two teams traded goals in the final two minutes, with Rourke netting his second on an empty net goal for Abington, and PW’s Cubbin tallying his second of the game.
For Abington, the sting of being overlooked for the Flyers Cup is proving to be ample motivation in the league playoffs.
“We’re disappointed, for sure,” Brzozowski said. “We think we got slighted. We had a great season, I know we’d be able to compete well in the Flyers Cup. I look at the teams who made it and there are good, quality teams playing. And I think we’re right there. I think we deserved a better look and our team was disappointed, but we said hey, we control what we’re able to control, and that’s what we’re focusing on. So yeah, we’re rallying around this.”
The Ghosts will have their opportunity to go out as champions when they face top-seeded Wissahickon tonight at 6:10 pm at Hatfield Ice. The Trojans bring an 11-1 record into the finals, but that lone loss came at the hands of Abington, which earned a 7-6 victory on Feb. 10. Wissahickon won the second matchup, 8-2, on March 5, and will come into the finals rested, having advanced due to a Hatboro-Horsham forfeiture of Wednesday’s semifinal game.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Brzozowski said. “We split with Wissahickon, we’re the only team to beat them this year, so we’re going to come out and play with the same intensity as we did tonight and see how it goes. We’re ready to go. The adrenaline’s flowing, we’ve got this game behind us to give us momentum and I think that’s actually a benefit to us.”
PW returns to action in a first-round play-in game in the Flyers Cup tournament. Seeded ninth in Class A, the Colonials will visit eighth-seeded Penncrest at 7 pm April 5 at Ice Works.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 1-0-2 3
Abington 3-1-3 7
First period: 1. Matt Kramer A (Sam Paulik, Joe Stelacio) 13:16; 2. Tom Rourke A (Griffin Carpenter) 12:20; 3. Matt Kramer A (Joe Stelacio) 7:00; 4. Luke Weikel PW (Aidan Keogh) 5:04.
Second period: 5. Matt Kramer A (Joe Stelacio, Sam Paulik) 3:03.
Third period: 6. Matt Kramer A (Colin Bruton) 12:26; 7. John Cubbin PW (Luke Weikel) 10:19; 8. Joe Stelacio (Matt Kramer) 9:48; 9. Tom Rourke A (unassisted) ENG 1:43; 10. John Cubbin PW (unassisted) 1:23.
Shots on goals: Plymouth Whitemarsh 35, Abington 28. Saves: Kolton Galie (PW) 16, Christopher Maslij (PW) 5; Ben Panella (A) 32.
They said it:
Junior forward Joe Stelacio
The team believes it should have been selected for the Flyers Cup. Are you using it as motivation for the league playoffs?
We’re definitely using that energy. We feel like we should have made it to the Flyers Cup, but we’re definitely using that energy and motivation to push through the playoffs.
How important was the early 3-0 lead in this game? Coach told us before the game, they’re a good third period team, so we knew we had to play well in the first and second periods to build a big lead going into the third.
After every PW goal, Abington would shut them down or answer with a goal. How important was that? In any game, momentum is key. We knew we had to keep it on our side the whole way through and keep them from any chance to feel like they could come back.
Are you ready to do this again Thursday night? Yeah. Definitely.
What is it going to take to beat Wissahickon and win the league title? They’re a very good team. We beat them before so we know we can beat them again, but we’re definitely going to have to bring our best game and try not to make any mistakes.
Sophomore forward Matt Kramer
The team believes it should have been selected for the Flyers Cup. Are you using it as motivation for the league playoffs? We believe we should have been in the Flyers Cup. It’s a big tournament and we feel like we should have been in it. (PW) being in the
Flyers Cup made us more frustrated. We had something to prove.
How important was the early 3-0 lead in this game? We were hungry tonight. It was big for us to get the kind of start we did, getting out and getting three goals and making them chase us back.
After every PW goal, Abington would shut them down or answer with a goal. How important was that? We knew we could beat them if we played a physical game, and we just took it to them. It was good shutting them down, not letting them get anything going. And Ben (Panella) played a good game in net, made some big saves for us, Now we’ve just got to keep moving forward.
Are you ready to do this again Thursday night? Yep.
What is it going to take to beat Wissahickon and win the league title? We’ve got to play physical, get shots on net, and not let them get a lot of good shots at ours. We’ve got to play a strong game from the start.
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