North Penn advanced to Tuesday’s Flyers Cup Tournament title game at Hatfield Ice where the Knights will face Boyertown. NP/Downingtown West photos provided courtesy of Laura Rowe & Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Flyers Cup Tournament Semifinals
NORTH PENN 4, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 1
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — Nolan Shingle isn’t a real big guy.
The North Penn senior probably isn’t even the biggest guy on his line.
But he comes up big in big games for the Knights just like he did Thursday night when he scored a pair of goals to lead North Penn to a 4-1 victory over Downingtown West in the Flyers Cup AA semifinal at Hatfield Ice.
His first goal tied the score in the first period and his second, on the power play, provided a cushion for North Penn late in the
second after Chris Silvotti put the Knights ahead, also on the power play.
“He has big goals for us all the time,” said NP coach Kevin Vaitis. “He works hard when he’s out on the ice.
“He leads by example but at the same time, he’s vocal. Early in the season, we were a little complacent at times, and he’s one of the ones that called us out and said that we’ve got to stop thinking about last year and focus on this year.”
Shingle knows that he provides the lift that the Knights need in certain spots in a game.
“We have to bring energy for these games,” he said. “You’ve got to pick other people up, and that’s just what I try to do.
“That’s the thing about this season, just not to get ahead of ourselves. Be focused. Come into every game with the mentality that this team could beat us if we don’t come to play.”
North Penn definitely came to play against the Whippets. In addition to the offense, the defense swarmed all over Downingtown West for the entire 51 minutes.
The Knights allowed the Whippets only six shots in the first period, six more in the second and two in the third. Meanwhile, North Penn was firing 10, 17 and 13 shots in the three periods.
Vaitis trusted his team to do what was necessary. He also knew what his team was up against.
“They are a very good hockey team,” he said. “We knew coming in that it was going to be a tough game.
“They got a goal early, but we kept playing and kept working. Defensively, we were outstanding. A great job all around.”
Downingtown West did open the scoring. Brady Cusa beat NP goalie Andy Norton at the 5:35 mark for a 1-0 lead.
That lead lasted slightly more than four minutes when Shingle took a pass from linemate Sam Norton and put the puck past Whippet netminder Justin Adams.
When the second period opened, the game was still tied at 1-1. But with only 1:08 gone in the period, Silvotti untied it off an assist from Izzy Cabrales for a power play goal.
Then at the 11:34 mark, Shingle notched his second goal, also on the power play with assists from Sam Norton and James Boyle.
That turned out to be a big point for Boyle. It was the 100th point of his career with the Knights.
“Boyle’s a huge piece of our team,” said Vaitis. “He’s the guy everybody feeds off of.
“He’s so competitive. He wants to win so bad.
“(I’m) so happy for him to hit that 100 points.”
Those two power play goals really sparked the Knights offensively. It is something, according to Shingle, that North Penn works on often.
“We always try to work on the power plays,” he said. “When you’re given a chance like that, you kind of have to capitalize (on it).
“It can be a big momentum swinger. Every power play we get we’ve got to make the most of it.”
Declan Leahy finished off the scoring and the Whippets with his third period goal at 4:56 with an assist from Boyle, his 101st point.
Oh, by the way, a few final notes on how big Shingle really is. He’s on a line with Sam Norton and Izzy Cabrales.
Norton is large. Cabrales isn’t.
“Nolan’s got an inch on (Cabrales) I think,” Vaitis said.
“He’s (Cabrales) might be taller than me,” Shingle said, “but he’s not bigger than me.”
The win puts the Knights into the Flyers Cup championship game, which will be played on Tuesday, March 17, as the second game of a doubleheader. Their opponent will be Boyertown, which beat Council Rock South 4-3 in the other Flyers Cup semifinal.
North Penn 4, Downingtown West 1
Downingtown West 1-0-0 1
North Penn 1-2-1 4
First period: 1, Brady Cusa DW (Joey Reis) 5:35; 2, Nolan Shingle NP (Sam Norton) 9:52.
Second period: 3, Chris Silvotti NP (Izzy Cabrales) 1:08 PP; 4, Shingle NP (Norton, James Boyle) 11:34 PP.
Third period: 5, Declan Leahy NP (Boyle) 4:56.
Shots: DW 14, NP 40. Saves: Justin Adams (DW) 36, Andy Norton (NP) 13.
BOYERTOWN 4, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3
Things looked promising for Rock South when Allen Pronin – using assists from Jake Weiner and Trey Prozzillo - broke a 2-2 tie five minutes into the third period of Monday’s Flyers Cup semifinal at Ice Line. With time winding down, the Golden Hawks still held that 3-2 lead when Boyertown’s Dylan Remick – with 1:26 remaining - found the net with the equalizer.
Then with 38 seconds remaining in regulation, Braydon Kotzen scored to give the Bears their first lead and the stunning come-from-behind victory.
Earlier, eight minutes into the opening period, Weiner gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead when he turned a pass from Jordan Sarne into a short-handed goal. Five minutes later, Zach Rosen evened the score with a goal for the Bears.
Weiner connected on his second goal midway through the second period – this one on the power play with a Wesley Mallon assist. Again, Boyertown answered, this time with a goal from Nate Ochranek, knotting the score 2-2 heading into the final period.
Boyertown held an 18-14 advantage in shots through two periods and outshot the Hawks 9-6 in the final frame for a 27-20 edge.
Council Rock South 1-1-1 3
Boyertown 1-1-2 4
Shots: CRS 20, B 27; Saves: Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 23, Lucas Yancey (B) 17.
First period: 1. Jake Weiner CRS (Jordan Sarne) 9:05; 2. Zach Rosen B (Brayden Havrilla/Joseph Bilotta) 4:03.
Second period: 3. Jake Weiner CRS (Wesley Mallon) 7:05; 4. Nate Ochranek B (Brayden Kotzen/Logan Brown) 5:56.
Third period: 5. Allen Pronin CRS (Jake Weiner/Trey Prozzillo) 12:06; 6. Dylan Remick B (Jax Drost/Brayden Kotzen) 1:26; 7. Brayden Kotzen B (Logan Brown/Dylan Remick) 00:38.
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