North Penn repeated as Flyers Cup champions with a 3-1 win over Boyertown. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko & Laura Rowe. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Flyers Cup Tournament final
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — North Penn has won the Flyers Cup. North Penn has won the Flyers Cup.
If that sounds repetitive, well, it was because North Penn beat Boyertown on Tuesday night at Hatfield Ice 3-1 to repeat as the champions of the Flyers Cup.
That victory will take the Knights to the state championship game on Saturday, March 21, at Ice Line at 2 p.m. against the winner of the Penguins Cup, Penn-Trafford.
“I think it’s just as special the second time around as it was the first time around,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis as he stood outside the locker room after receiving a soaking from his victorious team. “I told these guys that going back to back is tough.
“I’m just so proud of these guys for all the work they put in. I’m just so happy for all of them, the seniors especially.
“They were on this team when we won one game. (It’s) a remarkable turnaround.”
James Boyle, one of those seniors, picked up an insurance goal into an empty net and also picked up some hardware as the Bobby Clarke MVP of the Class AA tournament. Boyle felt just as elated as his coach.
“It feels just as good as the last time,” he said. “It feels even better going back to back this year. We worked really hard for this, and it’s just a great feeling.”
The first period of the game was scoreless. But the Knights dominated the play, outshooting the Bears 15-4.
Things turned around in the second period. Danny Cabrales gave North Penn a 1-0 lead at the 3:59 mark with a power play goal.
It was an important goal because it got the Knights’ offense rolling. It also provided North Penn with some momentum.
“We were finally moving the puck well enough so we could break them down,” Cabrales said. “I just found a lane to shoot, picked the water bottle (the goalie for Boyertown had a water bottle sitting on top of the net) and that was it.
“It felt great, finally breaking through. I’d been waiting all game and when we finally got one it felt great.”
“That was a beautiful shot by Danny,” Vaitis said. “We did a good job moving the puck.
“Their goalie made some great saves, but Danny’s got a great shot. He came down there and shot it right over the goalie’s glove. That was the goal we needed to get us started.”
Boyle felt that the team as a whole made just the moves it needed to make to win the game.
”It was a close game and a gutsy win,” he said. “I think they are a great team.
“I think we had a lot of opportunities. It was just about bearing down.
“I think we finally were able to get a couple (goals) there and hold the lead. It was just patience and keeping working until we got one.
“We know what we’re doing; we know what it takes. We knew we just had to get one and the gates would finally open. That was just kind of our mentality.”
After Cabrales gave North Penn the 1-0 lead in the second period, the Knights added one more. Nolan Shingle beat Boyertown goalie Lucas Yancey at 11:07 to up the lead to 2-0.
In the third, the Knights kept the Bears off the scoreboard until Logan Brown got a shot past NP netminder Andy Norton on the power play to cut the lead to one. Boyertown continued to put the pressure on throughout most of the period.
But then, at 15:59, Boyle provided the insurance and the breathing room. He picked up the puck in his own defensive zone and fired it down the ice and into the net for an empty net goal as Boyertown had pulled the goalie for an extra skater.
In addition to Boyle’s MVP award, Shingle got the award for being the leading scorer in the tournament. Shingle and Boyle along with goalie Andy Norton (27 saves) were named to the all-tournament team as were Boyertown’s Brayden Kotzen and Dylan Remick.
North Penn 3, Boyertown 1
Boyertown 0 0 1 — 1
North Penn 0 2 1 — 3
First period: No scoring.
Second period: 1, Danny Cabrales NP (James Boyle) 3:59 PP; 2, Nolan Shingle NP (Izzy Cabrales) 11:07.
Third period: 3, Logan Brown B (Zach Rosen) 14:51 PP; 4, Boyle NP (unassisted) 15:59 EN.
Shots: Boyertown 28, North Penn 39. Saves: Lucas Yancey (B) 36, Andy Norton (NP) 27.
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