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By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — It was a game someone had to win.
There was Central Bucks West, 0-15-0 in the National Division of the Suburban High School Hockey League. There was Abington, 0-12-1 in the American Division of the same league.
In order to salvage some pride from the season, it was a must-win for both teams. Of course, it could have ended in a tie, which wasn’t something either team would wish for.
And it didn’t. The Ghosts got a late third period goal from Jamison Donofry to edge the Bucks 3-2 at Hatfield Ice.
It was obviously a huge win for Abington. It not only ended its winless string in this season but also boosted the Ghosts’ feelings from last year also.
“It’s been two really hard years,” said Donofry, the senior captain of the team. “We’ve been through a lot of struggles. We learned to come together as a team.”
Then he said something which originally sounded very strange but, with some thought, became quite clear.
“I think it’s better that we’ve lost all those games because it’s really brought us together as a team,” he said. “It feels great (to win).”
Abington coach Ken Brzozowski, who was also the coach last season, knows how important the victory was.
“It was really important for the team,” he said. “Before the game, I told them that they know how to shoot, they know how to put pucks in the net, they know how to play defense.
“Put it all together for three periods and we’ll see what the outcome is, and this is what happened. This team has played hard all year, and the last half of the year, we’ve been really, really close (to winning a game).”
Central Bucks West, however, wasn’t as fortunate as Abington. The Bucks again suffered a loss.
“That was a tough one,” said West coach Frank Blust. “We played easily the toughest contest we’ve had all year.
“We battled. We had a lead for a little bit, and we just slipped away at the end. It was nice to be in it all the way.”
However, if the Bucks don’t lead the league in wins, they do lead it in young ladies playing a part on the team. CB West has three on its roster and all three play significant minutes.
It is a difficult sport to play. There is physical play throughout the entire 52 minutes of ice time.
“They do their best,” said Blust. “They adapt and they try to keep up with the speed.
“It’s a different level of play for them. I can’t speak highly enough for them.”
The three girls on the Bucks’ team are Sophia Carter, who is out with a dislocated collarbone, Jillian Thornberg and Emily Kremser. Carter was unavailable after Thursday’s game against Abington.
So how did they get involved with boys’ hockey?
“I grew up watching hockey,” Thornberg said. “I thought it was a really cool sport.
“I found out (about it) at my high school first so that’s the team I started off with. I’ve just been playing with them since I found out about the high school team.”
Kremser began in a different manner.
“I started off on boys’ hockey with Learn to Play and then I switched over to girls hockey,” she said. ‘I actually like girls’ hockey a lot better.”
How about the physicality of boys’ high school hockey?
“It wasn’t something that I was scared to do,” explained Thornberg. “It’s definitely something that I’ve had to adjust to, but it’s not the physicality that scares me. It’s just the fact that if I go down, it’s hard to get up knowing that you are just going to keep getting hit.”
Kremser felt pretty much the same way.
“I’m not scared to get hit,” she said. “I’m scared to hit others, and I’m scared of the shots, but I would say that getting hit is my biggest fear on the ice.”
Blust added something about Carter.
“(Sophia) battles,” he said. “You see her in front of the net.
“She goes into the corners. That’s why she’s out.
“She’s a warrior just like them.”
Oh, yes, the game.
The Bucks opened the scoring in the first period. Tyler Ricci beat Ghost goalie Gavin Edmonds at 14:53 off assists from Colin Murray and Jackson Hirsch.
Abington tied it at 1-1 after 7:17 of the second on a goal from Joey Widmeier. But West came right back at 9:48 to regain the lead on Alex Korolev’s goal.
The Ghosts dominated the scoreboard in the third period. Lucas Evangelist tied the game up at 2-2 with a power play goal and Donofry finished off the first win of the season at 14:55.
Both goalies turned in strong outings. Abington’s Gavin Edmonds earned the win, stopping 36 of 38 shots. CB West’s Isaac Mays recorded 46 saves on 49 shots.
Abington 3, CB West 2
Abington 0 1 2 — 3
CB West 1 1 0 — 2
First period: 1, Tyler Ricci CBW (Colin Murray, Jackson Hirsch) 14:53.
Second period: 2, Joey Widmeier A (Jamison Donofry) 7:17; 3, Alex Korolev CBW (Hirsch) 9:48.
Third period: 4, Lucas Evangelist A (Luke Cunningham, Donofry) 12:24 PP; 5, Donofry A (Widmeier) 14:55.
Shots: A49, CBW 38. Saves: Gavin Edmonds (A) 36, Isaac Mays (CBW) 46.
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