North Penn & Council Rock South were winners in the Flyers Cup Tournament Thursday. North Penn/Owen J Roberts photos provided courtesy of Laura Rowe. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' ICE HOCKEY GALLERIES.
Flyers Cup AA Tournament quarterfinals
NORTH PENN 6, OWEN J ROBERTS 3
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — North Penn ice hockey coach Kevin Vaitis made a strategic decision in the second period of the Knights’ Flyers Cup quarterfinal 6-3 win over Owen J. Roberts on Thursday night at Hatfield Ice.
Holding a slim 1-0 lead after a scoreless first period, North Penn had just picked up a five-on-three situation after the Wildcats were called for two penalties, putting two players in the penalty box.
Vaitis called a timeout.
It was exactly the right move. The Knights came out of the timeout and proceeded to score three power play goals to jump out to a 4-0 lead.
“We had that four-minute power play and then we got another one,” Vaitis said. “We had a full five-on-three for two minutes.
“Our power play unit was out there (on the ice) for the beginning of the four-minute power play. I called a timeout to draw something up but also to give them a breather.
“It ended up working out. We scored in the five-on-three (and) they got another (penalty), so we had another five-on-three and we went up 4-0 so it was a big moment for us.”
Right in the middle of the scoring in the second period was James Boyle. The senior defenseman had scored the first goal of the game on a shorthanded situation at 6:55.
But with one Wildcat in the penalty box, he teamed up with Sam Norton and Nolan Shingle to up the Knight lead to 2-0. It was a lead that North Penn would not relinquish.
Boyle also thought the timeout was important.
“I think that was huge to settle us and gather ourselves so we could capitalize on the five-on-three,” he said. “We needed it to settle ourselves down.”
Boyle missed North Penn’s opening game in the Flyers Cup due to illness. He was missed.
“We won on Tuesday, but it wasn’t our best game, and we were missing something,” Vaitis explained. “We were missing James (due to illness).
“I said at one point during the season that Sam (Norton) is probably the best player in the league, but James is right up there. He’s honestly the energy of this team.
“He’s just so solid back there defensively. He’s the engine that makes us go.
“All he wants to do is win. If I could have 15 James Boyles, I’d love it.”
So how was Boyle feeling Thursday night?
“I’m not feeling the best today,” he said. “(But) I was feeling way better today (than Tuesday), so it was just good to get out there.”
How about after the first two goals of the game that you scored?
“I was feeling a lot better after that,” he explained. “It was good to get a couple right away and get back into it.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the victory was the defensive job North Penn did on a high-scoring Owen J. Roberts team. The Wildcats had only 17 shots on goal after two periods and didn’t score their first goal until the 7:18 mark of the third period on the power play.
To top it off, the Knights killed off a five-minute power play for OJR at the beginning of the third. And then came right back and scored their fifth goal only 38 seconds after getting back to even strength.
Things got chippy in the third period when Roberts figured out it wasn’t going to win the game. All told, both teams were called for 10 penalties.
The first period appeared to have both teams feeling the other out to try to find weaknesses. North Penn took 13 shots on goal and Owen J. Roberts seven.
That set up the second period, which was all North Penn. Boyle and Norton combined on the shorthanded goal at 6:55. Shingle notched the third of the period at 13:21 and Chris Silvotti collected the fourth at 14:21, all on the power play.
Declan Leahy gave the Knights a 5-0 lead with 5:38 elapsed in the third period. But Brody Majcher got that one back for the Wildcats on the power play at 7:18.
Norton returned the favor, scoring at 9:44 for a 6-1 North Penn lead.
Owen J. Roberts tallied two more goals, one at 14:14 and the other at 15:21. But all that did was postpone the inevitable for the Wildcats.
Andy Norton was outstanding in goal, turning away 38 of 41 shots he faced.
North Penn will now advance to the semifinals of the Flyers Cup. The Knights will play Downingtown West, a 6-2 winner over Central Bucks East, on Thursday, March 12 (6:30 pm) at Hatfield Ice.
North Penn 6, Owen J. Roberts 3
Owen J. Roberts 0-0-3 3
North Penn 0-4-2 6
First period: No scoring.
Second period: 1, James Boyle NP (Sam Norton) 6:55 SH; 2, Boyle NP (Norton, Nolan Shingle) 12:18 PP; 3, Shingle NP (Izzy Cabrales, Norton) 13:21 PP; 4, Chris Silvotti NP (Shingle) 14:21 PP.
Third period: 5, Declan Leahy NP (Silvotti, Gavin Lombardi) 5:38; 6, Brody Majcher OJR (Colin Daugherty) 7:18 PP; 7, Norton NP (Shingle) 9:44; 8, Richie Pupek OJR (Daugherty) 14:14; 9, Tyler Moyer OJR (B. Majher, Tanner Nau) 15:21.
Shots: OJR 41, NP 50. Saves: Page Faith (OJR) 44, Andy Norton (NP) 38.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 3, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1
There’s not a whole lot these two teams didn’t know about each other with three meetings prior to Thursday’s showdown already under their belts.
The Hawks and Titans split their two regular season games – Rock South won the first 3-0 and CB South won the second 5-2, and then it was CB South eking out a 2-0 win over Rock South in the SHSHL Tournament National semifinals.
Throw in the fact that Rock South coach Joe Houk coached CB South coach Josh Sklar, and there were no secrets.
On Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, it was Rock South extending its season with a hard-fought win over the Titans.
“I said (to Sklar), ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row,’” Houk said. “He said ‘No (kidding). It was a good game. We had a game plan to shut them down in the neutral zone because that’s where they beat us in the last two games.
“If you can control the neutral zone, that’s where you win or lose games. Their only action was to dump it in – we crushed that down.”
After a scoreless opening period, both teams put a goal on the board in the second. Rock South’s Connor Holland score seven minutes into the second period, using assists from Aidan Judge and Jordan Sarne.
Ryan Montagna (Dominic Gibson assist) answered with a power play goal to even the score, and it was a 1-1 game heading into the final period.
Sarne scored a goal that turned out to be the game-winner 30 seconds into the period, using a Jake Weiner assist.
“Jordan (Sarne) is a great player,” Houk said. “He’s got a lot of speed, a lot of talent. and he showed it tonight.”
Weiner tacked on an insurance goal with 10:42 remaining in regulation, using assists from Chase Stratton and Allen Pronin.
“We controlled the whole first period,” Houk said. “Our game plan was a good one, and we stuck to it.
“The kids battled hard and persevered, and we got it going in the third period and that helped. Our defense played solid.”
Council Rock will face Boyertown in a semifinal game Thursday, March 12 (8:30 pm) at Ice Line Rink.
Central Bucks South 0-1-0 1
Council Rock South 0-1-2 3
Shots: CBS 54, CRS 24; Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 21; Trey Prozzillo (CRS) 24.
First period: No score
Second period: 1. Connor Holland CRS (Aidan Judge/Jordan Sarner) 2. Ryan Montagna CBS (Dominic Gibson) 2:13.
Third period: 3. Jordan Sarne CRS (Jake Weiner) 16:30; 4. Jake Weiner CRS (Chase Stratton/Allen Pronin).
BOYERTOWN 5, PENNSBURY 3
Pennsbury was in Thursday’s Flyers Cup quarterfinal contest at Ice Line until the end.
The game started out on a promising note for the Falcons, who opened up a 2-0 lead. Connor Gray scored five minutes into the contact, using a Shane Gleisner assist. Gleisner found the net with 4:25 remaining in the period, using an assist from Shane Hicks.
The Bears had an immediate answer, scoring a pair of goals in a 62-second span to make it a 2-2 game after one period.
Pennsbury took a 3-2 lead on an unassisted goal by Francis DeLucia four-and-a-half minutes into the second period. That lead held for close to 10 minutes before Brayden Kotzen scored an unassisted short-handed goal, knotting the score 3-3 heading into the final period.
Boyertown took a 4-3 lead on a goal by Nate Ochranek two minutes into the final period, and the Falcons never could push across the equalizer. Boyertown’s Jack Schreiber scored an empty net goal with 1:24 remaining, but the outcome was up in the air until then.
Boyertown held a 40-34 advantage in shots. Lucas Yancey turned away 31 of the shots he faced in goal for the Bears.
Pennsbury 2-1-0 3
Boyertown 2-1-2 5
Shots: P 34, B 40; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 35, Lucas Yancey (B) 31.
First period: 1. Connor Gray P (Shane Gleisner) 13:12; 2. Shane Gleisner P (Shane Hicks) 4:25; 3. Jax Drost B (Dylan Remick) 2:23; 4. Nate Ochranek B (Declan Black) 1:21.
Second period: 5. Francis DeLucia P, 15:32; 6. Brayden Kotzen B, 4:19.
Third period: 7. Nate Ochranek B (Logan Brown/Brayden Kotzen) 15:06; 8. Jack Schreiber B, 1:24.
DOWNINGTOWN WEST 6, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 2
Downingtown West opened up a 2-0 lead after one period, but the Patriots stayed in it, thanks to the 12-save effort of Cameron Young in a period that saw West hold a 14-2 advantage in shots.
East’s Alex Wilson (Braedon Hahn/Samuel Gottesman assists) scored three minutes into the second period to make it a 2-1 game, but West closed out the period with three unanswered goals to go into the final period with a 5-1 lead. Ethan Cenci (Benjamin Dempsey assist) scored to make it a 5-2 game, but Liam McGinty scored for Downington West and the 6-2 final.
Central Bucks East 0-1-1 2
Downingtown West 2-3-1 6
Shots: CBE 17, DW 36; Saves: Cameron Young (CBE) 30, Justin Adams (DW) 15.
First period: 1. Brady Cusa DW (Peter Budaj) 14:56; 2. Braiden Maya DW (Brady Cusa) 11:03.
Second period: 3. Alex Wilson CBE (Braedon Hahn/Samuel Gottesman) 14:18; 4. Colin Gordon DW (Peter Budaj) 13:04; 5. Braiden Maya DW (Peter Budaj/Colin Gordon) 7:38; 6. Colin Gordon DW (Mark Bronshteyn/Peter Budaj) 2:42.
Third period: 7. Ethan Cenci CBE (Benjamin Dempsey) 10:01; 8. Liam McGinty DW (Joey Reis) 8:50.
Flyers Cup A Tournament quarterfinals
KENNETT 8, HATBORO-HORSHAM 3
The Hatters fell behind 2-0 in the opening period and saw that deficit grow to 6-0 before they got on the board with a goal by Vincent Graziani (Giovanni Bucci/Billy Moffa assists) with 8:12 remaining in the second period.
Kennett extended its lead to 8-1 before the Hatters scored a pair of late goals – one each from Joey Magnin (Moffa assist) and Graziani (Moffa/Magnin assists).
Both team had 35 shots. Kennett’s goalie, Aiden Mott, was credited with 32 saves in a winning effort.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-1-2 3
Kennett 2-4-2 8
Shots: HH 35, K 35; Saves: Patrick Murphy (HH) 27, Aiden Mott (K) 32.
First period: Ben Fisher K (Lucas Mott/Luke Ganly) 13:14; 2. Luke Ganly K (Ben Fisher/Lucas Mott) 00:28.
Second period: 3. Lucas Mott K, 16:17; 4. Lucas Mott K (Ben Fisher/Luke Ganly) 15:10; 5. Lucas Mott K (Luke Ganly/Ben Fisher) 11:43; 6. Connor Tinney K (Ben Fisher) 10:34; 7. Vincent Graziani HH) 7. Giovanni Bucci/Billy Moffa) 8: 12.
Third period: 8. Ben Fisher K (Austin Dewit/Luke Ganly) 12:08; 9. Lucas Mott K (Ben Fisher) 5:59; 10. Joey Magnin HH (Billy Moffa) 1:32; 11. Vincent Graziani HH (Billy Moffa/Joey Magnin) 1:15.
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