By GORDON GLANTZ
One look at the SHSHL American Division shows a death struggle to the finish between Hatboro Horsham at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
A scheduling quirk has HH in control at 11-1 with PW next at 7-1. The math shows four games in hand.
However, the Hatters will have no league games between Jan. 7 and 29.
The Colonials, meanwhile, can begin making up ground with three games in that time span.
Two are against Wissahickon and one against Abington. The Trojans and Ghosts are a combined 3-13 as the second half of the season commences.
Still, PW coach Vince Forti is well aware that teams get better and not to take anything for granted if meetings with HH on Feb. 5 and 11 are to mean anything.
“The two more games, that is just the way the schedule worked out,” said the second-year coach, adding that the Colonials have used their extra time before the holiday break for practices and non-league games. “That’s out of our control, so we just try to focus on the next game.”
Fire on Ice
The Colonials have been led by the usual suspects from a year ago – captains Danny Guller (7 goals, 20 assists), Ryan Jagher (2 goals, 8 assists) and Luke Smith (3 goals, 3 assists).
“(Jagher) is a shutdown defenseman with a very high hockey IQ,” said the coach. “Luke is also a hardworking player who always seems to say the right thing at the right time.”
Adding firepower are Blake Ambler (7 goals, 11 assists) and Cooper Kanze (12 goals, 5 assists).
“They are two guys who always seem to find the scoresheet,” said Forti of Ambler and Kanze. “They are highly skilled, but they don’t rely on skill alone. They play the game the right way and aren’t afraid to get into the dirty areas.”
Depth Pieces
Aside from the returning mainstays, Forti has been over the moon with the contributions of some reinforcements.
“With our returning players, incoming freshmen, players who were on JV last year and even a transfer, we are a pretty deep team,” said Forti. “We have a lot of skill at every position.
“The benefit is that when we are in a situation where we have to shorten the bench, we have a lot of skill and motivated guys fighting for ice time. It keeps them focused and gets them to skate even harder.”
Forti singled out the Woolridge brothers, Brandon (5 goals, 5 assists) and Carson (1 goal, 1 assist).
“Brandon Woolridge is another player who has stepped up his game for us and who has played some really good hockey,” said Forti. “Brandon’s brother, Carson Woolridge, is another player who has stepped up his game for us. He is a freshman who is a very skilled defenseman who has fit right in with our team.”
Others of note are Morgan Hullitt (4 goals, 5 assists), Don Molony (3 goals, 5 assists) and John Zawislak (3 goals, 3 assists).
Minding the Twine
The PW depth also includes two solid netminders in Max Yoder (3-0, 2.67 goals against) and Lucas Bennett (3-1, 2.26).
“Probably one of the toughest decisions that we will have to make this year is choosing our playoff starter, but we will deal with that when the time comes.
“That being said, our team is very confident playing in front of either one of them. Our coaching staff has a lot of confidence in both as well.”
Future Focus
Whether or not the Colonials repeat as regular season champs, the goal is to avoid swallowing a bitter pill again in the playoffs.
“We lost in the championship game last year,” said Forti. “It was a tough ending to a great season.
“The goal is to get back there this year and finish the job. It won’t be easy, but we have a great group of players that I have a lot of faith in. We are taking the season one game at a time and just trying to stay focused.”
Saving the Day
In the NHL, a .900 save percentage is considered a fair measuring stick, akin to batting .300 in the major leagues.
In the SHSHL, coaches like to see at least a save percentage in the .800-.850 range. If they get at least that, they are in any game.
For example, with PW, Yoder checks in at 9.19 and Bennett at 8.98.
Some goalies in other situations are under more fire are still getting it done.
A prime example is Abington junior goalie Matthew Evangelist. He has no wins in eight starts and a hard luck 6.31 goals against average but is turning shots away at a robust .852 clip.
“Matt has played really hard this season and inspires the other players to play equally hard in front of him,” said Longtime Abington coach Ken Brzozowski, whose once-powerful program has been hurt in the short-term by losing five players to private schools in the last two years. “They don’t want to disappoint him or let him down and, when he makes a big save, the players know they have to do their part.
“That is what I love the most about this young team, that they have no quit and work really hard, right down to the final whistle.
The veteran coach added that Evangelist will be a key to build around, as he remains confident the Ghosts will turn it around. It is a young team, with only two seniors currently logging considerable ice time.
“Matt will continue to work hard and be an important part of our future success,” said Brzozowski. “He has the ability to be a game changer.”
For HH, with PW in hot pursuit, the future is now. To that end, Dominc Sestito and Eric Miller have save percentages of .900 and .871 respectively.
Springfield’s Emmett Kline is posting an .835 save percentage and Wissahickon’s Fletcher Lynchchecks in at a solid .816.
Similar to the scenario with Evangelist, Isaac Mays of struggling Central Bucks West has an admirable .862 save percentage.
For Pennridge (3-4-1), Andrew Slutsky (3.87 goals against) is the goalie, rain or shine. A junior who is up from the JV level, he is turning away shots at rate of .867.
“He is the only goalie this year, and he had been an absolute godsend,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “He has been great for us.”
Neshaminy’s Thomas Fox has a solid save rate of .860.
Nathan Napolitano has started nine of 10 games for Central Bucks South (7-3), posting a 6-3 mark and a 3.89 goals against average and an .873 save percentage.
Council Rock South’s Trey Porzillo is 8-1 with a 2.11 goals against average and an impressive .910 save percentage.
Defending state champion North Penn sits at 10-0, with Andrew Norton and Aidan Quigley splitting time.
Norton has a 1.26 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Quigley has a 2.20 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
Knight Moves
Speaking of the Knights, the defending Flyers Cup and defending state champions, will be looking to remain undefeated this week with games against Souderton Jan. 7 (7:20 Hatfield Blue) and against Central Bucks South, which has won three straight, two nights later (7:10, Hatfield Gray).
“We are back in action with Souderton and C.B. South,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “Souderton, we have not played this year but we know they have some firepower up front and can score a lot of goals. It will be important for us to play strong team defense.
“Then, we play C.B. South. We beat them earlier in the year in the County Line Cup, 8-1, but we know they are a very good team and will be seeking revenge. We cannot take them lightly.”
Due to another scheduling quirk, the Knights (10-0) technically trail Council Rock South (11-1) in the points column because of less games played.
“As long as we are there at the end of the season, I’m good with it,” Vaitis said. “Our team had a great first half of the year, but our sights are on bigger things and we know we need to keep getting better each week and each game.”
Powering Up
The New Year brings long-range goals more into focus.
The Flyers Cup Power Rankings have the SHSHL well-represented.
In AA, North Penn and C.R. South are at the top of the heap. C.B. South is fifth (Conestoga and Owen J. Roberts are third and fourth).
In A, HH is fourth – behind Kennett, Penncrest and Hershey and ahead of Palmyra.
Falcons Aflame
When action resumes on Jan. 7, all eyes will be on a red-hot Pennsbury team when it takes on Central Bucks East at 7:20 p.m. at Grundy B.
The Patriots are 4-6 and Pennsbury won the last meeting, 8-4, on Dec. 11.
On paper, this bodes well for the surging Falcons, who have won three straight and five of their last six to shoot up the standings at 5-3.
“We’re very happy with the team this season,” said coach Ryan Daley. “We were given a very difficult schedule to start the season, but our team played well in our first two losses.”
Pennsbury is led by sniper Shane Gleisner, who entered the holiday break with an eye-popping 26 goals and 10 assists.
With 36 points, he is second to just Council Rock South’s Jake Weiner (32 goals, 12 assists for 44 points) in the National Division scoring race.
“Shane has been a beast this year,” said Daley, who pointed to his linemates Shane Hicks (7 goals, 12 assists) and Gavin Schlotter (2 goals, 9 assists) as ideal compliments.
Meanwhile, Jacob Sarver (9 goals, 8 assists), Connor Gray (5 goals, 4 assists), Chase Kinley (4 goals, 2 assists) and Derek Nink (3 goals, 3 assists) lead the supporting cast.
“We finally have the pieces around Shane that give him some more time and space on the ice so he can focus on putting the puck in the net,” said Daley. “We have depth throughout the lineup, and everyone is embracing their role on the team.”
The goalie is Brendan Milliken, who has gone the distance, turning in what Daley has termed “stellar performances.”
Along with his 7-3 record, Milliken is allowing a stingy 3.21 goals per game and has a save percentage of .898.
“It’s a long season, and we know we haven’t played our best hockey yet,” said Daley. “The team rallied behind that sentiment, worked hard and really started clicking on all cylinders.”
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