C.B. South 2 C.R. South 0

They set the pace early and didn’t let up.

Central Bucks South defeated three-time SHSHL champion Council Rock South, 2-0, in a National Division semifinal on Wednesday night at Grundy Arena.

Jamison Crouch put the Titans on the board just 36 seconds into the game, with assists from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna.

It would prove to be the only goal the Titans needed, but Ryan Frey added an insurance goal 10 minutes later, also assisted by Slobodrian.

“That first goal really set the tone for us,” said Frey, a senior. “We knew we were going to get the first goal, it was just a matter of how. To get it on the first shift was huge. That gave us the momentum and it stuck with us the whole game.

“I thought our D zone was lot better than it usually is. We got pucks out when we needed to. We got traffic in front of their goalie early, that’s how we scored those two goals and overall I thought we played a very good game.”

The teams split in the regular season.

“We knew this was going to be a good game,” Frey said. “We knew we had to get on their goalie early and we did and that’s how we were able to win this one.

“I honestly didn’t think that lead was going to hold up. I thought it was going to be one of those games were we scored, then they scored and back and forth. I’m so glad we won.”

The Golden Hawks pulled goaltender Trey Prozzillo with 2:28 to go in the third period in a last-ditch effort to score, but were thwarted by CB South’s defense.

CB South advances to Thursday night’s final against top seed North Penn, an 11-1 winner over Pennsbury in the other semifinal.

“Winning this game gives us so much confidence,” Frey said. “We have three big wins coming into it. We have momentum and we’re going to go into that game with a lot of energy and hopefully pull out a nice win.”

CB South’s last league title was in 2018.

“It’s always exciting to be playing for a league title,” said CB South goaltender Nathan Napolitano, a junior. “Playing for a championship is always fun.”

The Titans have lost twice to the Knights this season.

“We want to play North Penn again,” Napolitano said. “We gave them two of our not-best efforts so we play them well, and we’ll see what happens.”

The early lead gave him confidence in the team.

“A lead is always easier than trying to keep your team in it,” he said. “When they got the first one, my job got easier.”

CB South 2 0 0—2

CR South 0 0 0—0

First-period goals: Jamison Crouch (CBS) from Joseph Slobodrian and Ryan Montagna, 0:36; Ryan Frey (CBS) from Slobodrian, 10:32

Shots: CB South 27, CR South 27; Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 27, Trey Petrillo (CRS) 25

Hatboro-Horsham 11 Springfield 1

Hatboro-Horsham broke open a one-goal game by scoring six times in the second period en route to an 11-1 win over Springfield Wednesday night in the SHSHL Class A semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

The contest was stopped with 1:56 left in the third period via the 10-goal rule.

The second-seeded Hatters (16-3), the defending champions, will face top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh at 8:30 Thursday night at the same venue as they try to complete a successful title defense.

Vince Graziani led the barrage for the Hatters with a four-goal outburst. Nate Nemchinov scored twice and five other players scored one goal each.

Patrick Murphy made 35 saves in goal.

Lincoln Coleman provided Springfield’s only goal, in the third period.

Graziani opened the scoring seven seconds into the game but that was the only goal of the opening period.

He added two goals in a pan of 1:53 early in the second period and the Hatter pulled away after that.

“The beginning of the game was a real battle,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith. “We scored in the first minute and then it was back and forth. We ended up pulling away for the win.

“The team is excited and looked forward to tomorrow’s game against Plymouth Whitemarsh.”

Springfield coach Don Quinn credited his team for its effort.

“Now how we wanted it to end,” he said, “but I’m proud of my team for playing with respect and class to the very end of the game.”

For Quinn, the evening marked the end of an era. He coached his older son, Owen last season and younger son Grayson completed his senior season Wednesday night.

“I will cherish every minute I got to coach them and share the ice with them,” he said.”

Springfield 0 0 1—1

Hatboro-Horsham 1 6 4—11

First-period goal: Vince Graziani (HH) unassisted :07

Second-period goal: Graziani (HH) from Luca Staffieri, 5:24; Graziani (HH) from Evan Snow, 7:17; Nate Nemchinov (HH) from Staffieri and Kyle Roesing, 10:08; Staffieri (HH) unassisted, 14:47; Joseph Mangin (HH) from Aidan North, 16:33; Graziani (HH) from Nemchinov, 16:41

Third-period goals Giovanni Bucci (HH) from Mangin, 1:08; Lincoln Coleman (S) from Gavin McManus, 4:09; Roesing (HH) from Nick Gallo and Bucci, 9:52; Nemchinov (HH) unassisted, 13:26; Snow (HH) from Cole Meyer, 15:04

Shots: Springfield 36, Hatboro-Horsham 53; Saves Emmett Kline (S) 42, Patrick Murphy (HH) 35

North Penn 11 Pennsbury 1

The North Penn Express kept rolling on Wednesday night. Chris Silvotti delivered three goals and three assists while Samuel Norton and James Boyle delivered two goal=s each as the Knights routed Pennsbury 11-1 in a SHSHL National Division semifinal at Hatfield Ice.

Top-seeded North Penn (21-1) will host third seed Council Rock South in Thursday’s final (6:10 start)13-6-1.
Pennsbury (13-6-1) the fourth seed, will move on to the Flyers Cup and prepare to face Haverford High Tuesday night.

It didn’t take long Wednesday night for North Penn and Silvotti in particular to get rolling. Silvotti scored twice with a goal from Daniel Cabrales in between to give North Penn a 3-0 10:01 into the first period. Shane Gleisner scored what would be Pennsbury’s only goal with 4:55 left in the opening session but James Boyle and Silvotti answered before the period ended.

Samuel Norton scored twice in a span of 2:23 early in the second frame and Declan Leahy, Boyle, and Liker Haftl added additional goals before the contest was halted via the 10-goal rule with 4:28 left in the third period.

The Knights accumulated 52 shots on goal

“The boys played really well tonight,” said North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis. “That’s a a very good Pennsbury team and they played us tough twice earlier in the year. We knew we had to play our A game tonight and I thought we played really well in all zones of the ice.”

Vaitis says his team will have to step up against the Titans Thursday night.

“They knocked us out of the league playoffs last year so it would be nice to win and get some revenge for that game this year,” he said. “However they are a very good team so we need to repeat our performance tomorrow night if we want to win again. We have to be ready. “

Pennsbury 1 0 0—1

North Penn 5 3 3—11

First-period goals: Chris Silvotti (NP) from Derek Lugara and Declan Leahy; 1:43; Daniel Cabrales (NP) unassisted, 4:34; Silvotti (NP) from Chase Kelly Del Ricci and Declan Willison, 10:01; Shane Gleisner (NP) from Francis DeLucia, 12:05; James Boyle (NP) from D. Cabrales and Silvotti, 14:13; Silvotti (NP) frim Lugara, 15:45

Second-period goals: Samuel Norton (NP) from Nolan Shingle, 3:07 Norton (NP) from Ismael Caabrales 3:30; Leahy (NP) from Silvotti and D. Cabrales, 14:07

Third-period goals: Boyle (NP) from Silvotti, 1:57; Luke Haftel (NP) from Gabriel Dunn and Boyle, 12:32; Landon Hostetter (NP) from Tyler Evans and Milo Little, 15:23

Shots: Pennsbury 27, North Penn 52; Saves: Brendan Milliken (P) 41, Aidan Quigley (NP) 26

Holy Ghost Prep 4 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

It took longer to get to the finish line than expected. But the wait was worth it

Holy Ghost Prep overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score a 4-1 over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday evening and successfully defend its Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference Founders Cup championship.

The game was delayed 23 minutes early in the third period and the Firebirds leading 2-1 due to a hole in the ice that forced the contest to be moved from the B Rink at Grundy Arena, to the A Rink in the front half of the building.

The top-seeded Firebirds (18-4) adapted quickly to their new surroundings and extended their lead with two additional goals.

“It’s amazing,” said senior forward Anthony Valeriote. “This is what we’ve worked for all year. We went undefeated in the APAC and now that we’ve finally won it, it’s exciting, but it’s like a relief. We know we did it, but the bottom line is we’ve still got a Flyers Cup to win.”

The third-seeded Hawks (16-7) struck first, 5:22 into the opening period. Cole Gargon made a move down the right wing that led to Michael Castelli beating Firebird netminder Matt Salita from close range.

But that was all the Hawks could muster offensively.

“They have a good goalie,” said Prep coach Charlie Van Kula. “It’s a matter of making it hard on him.

“We probably played a solid game. it is hard to win championships, harder to beat teams like Ghost.”

The Firebirds picked up pace later in the opening period. Billy Harmar tied the game when he finished a play that started behind the Prep by converting a setup from Valeriote.

Chase Logue made it a 2-1 game 36 seconds later and it stayed that way into the early moments of the third period until, with 13:23 remaining in the third period, Proceedings came to a halt. One of the linesmen discovered a large hole in the ice along the wall near the blue line directly across the ice from the Firebirds’ bench.

A series of conversations followed that at various points included the coaches, Holy Ghost Prep Assistant Athletic Director Gump Whiteside, and APAC Commissioner Steve Mackell. There were also some unsuccessful efforts to patch the hole. After a 15-minute wait, the decision was made to continue the game in the A Rink.

The hosts responded with goals from Mason Thomas and Chase Logue in a span of 2:25.

Senior defenseman Chris Marshall, the Firebirds’ captain, said he and his teammates stayed focused during the stoppage.

“Our guys stayed locked in,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t get unfocused. We were ready to ho. We came out pumping in the third.”

The Hawks had some quality chances after play was resumed but Salita stood tall in goal; he finished with 24 saves.

“I thought we were really rolling certainly in the first two periods,” Van Kula said. “I thought the first few shifts in the third we kept up the pace and we were just kind of a step slower after that. Both teams had to deal with the delay so I don’t want to blame it on that but it did seem like we were a little more flat footed coming out of that.”

• Both teams will move on to the Class AAA Flyers Cup. Holy Ghost Prep, the top seed in the field of seven and defending champion, has a bye into the semifinals and will face either fourth seed Malvern Prep or fifth seed Devon Prep on Thursday, March 12. The Hawks, the second seed, will take on seventh-seeded Salesianum in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 3.

St. Joseph’s Prep 1 0 0—1

Holy Ghost Prep 2 0 2—4

First-period goals: Michael Castelli (SJP) from Ben Judson ands Cole Garson, 5:22; Billy Harmar (HGP) from Anthony Valeriote and Chris Marshall, 10:38 (pp); Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Helms, 11:14;

Third-period goals: Mason Thomas (HGP) from Harmar and John Gavaghan, 10:27; Chase Logue (HGP) from Lucas Gonzalez ands Josh Zdunkiewicz 12:52 (pp)

Shots: St. Joseph’s Prep 25, Holy Ghost Prep 25 Saves: Declan Geary(HGP) 21, Matt Salita (HGP) 24

SHSHL Preview 2-24-26

SHSHL Playoffs Wednesday 11-25

National Division Semifinals

1 North Penn vs. 4 Central Bucks South

6:30 at Hatfield Ice

North Penn

Coach: Kevin Vaitis

Record: 20-1

Key Players: Samuel Norton 24 goals, 32 assists 56 points; Chris Silvotti 23-27-51; Nolan Shingle 26-20-46; James Boyle 13-18-31; G Andy Norton .930 save %, 1.44 GAA

4. Pennsbury

Coach: Ryan Daley

Record: 13-5-1

Key players: Shane Gleisner 45 goals, 22 assists, 67 points; Shane Hicks 22-24-46; Jacob Sarver 19-21-40; Brendan Milliken .885 save%, 3.64 GAA

This year:

12-3 North Penn 6, Pennsbury 2

1-28 North Penn 7 Pennsbury 3

2 Council Rock South vs 3 Central Bucks South

7:20 at Grundy Arena

Coach: Joe Houk

Record: 15-4

Key players: Jake Weiner 38 goals, 19 assists, 57 points; Jordan Sarne 17-17-34; Allen Pronin 12-16-28; Wesley Mallon 1-10-11; Trey Prozzillo .899 save %, 2.55 GAA

3. Central Bucks South

Coach: Josh Sklar

Record: 14-5

Key players: Ryan Frey 19 goals, 28 assists, 47 points; Ryan Montagna 28-26-34; Joey Slobodrian 15-19-34; Dominic Gibson 18-11-29; Nathan Napolitano .889 save %, 3.23 GAA

This year:

11-12 CR South 3 C.B. South 0

2-11 C.B. South 5 C.R. South 2

Ice chips: The two National Division semifinal winners will face each other in Thursday’s championship game. the highest seeded finalist will have home ice.

Council Rock South is trying to win the National Division title for fourth consecutive year. That would match the Titans’ streak from 2015-18; they also won titles in 2012 and ‘13. The Golden Hawks also claimed titles in 2010 and 2020. North Penn won previous titles in 2002 and ’09. Pennsbury’s only league championship came in 2021.

American Division Semifinal

2 Hatboro-Horsham vs 3 Springfield

2 Hatboro-Horsham

Coach: Shane Smith

Record:

Key players: Vince Graziani 32 goals, 28 assists, 60 points; Nathan Nemchinov 23-21-44; Luca Staffieri 16-16-32; Eric Miller .873 save %, 2.63 GAA

3. Springfield

Coach: Don Quinn

Record: 7-10

Key players: Grayson Quinn 26 goals, 15 assists 41 points; Gavin McManus 14-13-27; Kellen Warman 7-15-22; Emmett Kline .827 save %, 5.44 GAA

Ice chips: The winner of this game will face top-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh for the Division title Wednesday at 8:30 at Hatfield Ice. The Hatters also won the American Division title in 2018. They are seeded sixth for the upcoming Class A Flyers Cup. Springfield, which has never won a SHSHL title, was not selected for the tournament

APAC Championship Preview

Wednesday, February 25

APAC Founders Cup Championship Game

Holy Ghost Prep vs 3. St. Joseph’s Prep

4:00 at Grundy Arena

Holy Ghost Prep

Coach: John Ritchie

Record: 17-4

Key Players: Chase Logue 25 goals, 6 assists, 31 points in all competitions; Lucas Gonzalez 11-11-22; Antony Valeriote 7-15-22; Chris Marshall 7-12-19; Matt Salita .956 save % 1.00 GAA

St. Joseph’s Prep

Coach: Charlie Van Kula

Record: 16-6

Key players: Cole Gargon 14 goals, 26 assists, 42 points in all competitions; Bradan Fisher 10-13-23; Michael Waslick 9-9-18; Adam Charrafi 7-10-17; Declan Geary .930 save %, 1.61 GAA

This season:

12-17 Holy Ghost Prep 2 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

2-4 Holy Ghost Prep 5 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Ice chips: This game marks the conclusion of the APAC’s eighth season … The Firebirds, who are the defending conference champions, also reached the finals in 2019, ’20, and ’23, losing to La Salle each time …The Hawks’ only previous trip to the Founders Cup final came in 2020 when they lost to La Salle.

The Firebirds are seeded first for the upcoming Class AAA Flyers Cup and the Hawks are seeded second. Those seedings will not be impacted by the results of this game.

SHSHL 2026 All-League Teams

National Division

First Team

F Jake Weiner Sr. Council Rock South

F Shane Gleisner Sr. Pennsbury

F Samuel Norton Jr. North Penn

D James Boyle Sr. North Penn

D Jamison Crouch Sr. Central Bucks South

G Andy Norton So. North Penn

Second Team

F Max Ryon Sr. Souderton

F Jordan Sarne Sr. Council Rock South

F Chris Silvotti Jr. North Penn

D Ben Dempsey So. Central Bucks East

D John Lord So. Central Bucks South

G Isaac Mays Sr. Central Bucks West

American Division

First Team

F Vince Graziani So. Hatboro-Horsham

F Nate Nemchinov Sr. Hatboro-Horsham

F Dan Guller Sr. Plymouth Whitemarsh

D Logan Dicus Sr. Wissahickon

D Ryan Jaegher Sr. Plymouth Whitemarsh

G Matt Evangelist Jr. Abington

Second Team

F Grayson Quinn Sr. Springfield

F Cooper Kanzee So. Plymouth Whitemarsh

F William Moffa Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

D Luca Staffieri Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

D Reid Richestie Jr. Hatboro-Horsham

G Max Yoder So. Plymouth Whitemarsh

Players were selected by league coaches

The Hockey Happenings podcast is available HERE

Pennsbury 8 Pennridge 4

If you’re a hockey fan who likes to see lots of goals, Grundy Arena was the place be Monday night. Pennridge and Pennsbury put on a fireworks display that featured seven first-period goals before the Falcons, who overcame an early 2-0 deficit, pulled away to an 8-4 win in the opening round of the SHSHL National Division playoffs.

Fourth-seeded Pennsbury (13-5-1) will face top-seeded North Penn in a Wednesday semifinal. The fifth-seeded Rams (6-11-1) will be off until they face Downingtown West in the opening round of the Flyers Cup.

The barrage of goals started early on. James Rush scored a pair of goals four-and-a-half minutes apart to put Pennridge up 2-0 7:33 into the opening period.

Shane Hicks woke up the Falcons when he scored two goals in a span of to tie the game. Jacob Sarver put Pennsbury in front with 5:09 remaining before Ryan Burke tied the game for the last time.

Hicks completed a hat trick with a power-play goal with 1:07 left in the period and Shane Gleisner extended the lead 54 seconds into the second period.

Rush completed his own hat Trick with a power-play goal of his own 3:24 into the second period but Pennridge would not score again.

Connor Gray and Sarver added goals for Pennsbury in the second period and Hicks scored his fourth goal of the game late in the third.

“I love the way we played tonight,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start nut we responded really well and never looked ack.

“After getting the goal support, we committed to our systems, particularly in the {defensive} zone.”

Pennridge 3 1 0—4

Pennsbury 4 3 1—8

First-period goals: James Rush (Pr) from Kaden Gunning and Landon Bishop, 3:01; James Rush (Pr) unassisted, 7:33; Shane Hicks (Pb) from Jacob Sarver, 9:03; Hicks (Pb) from Shane Gleisner and Sarver, 10:56; Sarver (Pb) from Jaxon Pinto. 11:51; Ryan Burke (Pr) from Dean Venner, 13:36; Hicks (Pb) from Gavin Schlotter and Sarver, 15:53 (pp);

Second-period goals: Gleisner (Pb) unassisted, :54; Rush (Pr) from Bishop and Venner, 3:24 (pp); Connor Gray (Pb) from Schlotter and Francis DeLucia, 9:59; DeLucia (Pb) from Hicks, 13:39

Third-period goals: Hicks (Pb) unassisted, 15:48

Shots: Pennridge 28, Pennsbury 29; Saves: Andrew Slutsky (Pr) 21, Brendan Milliken (Pb) 24

C.B. South 2 C.B. East 1

Ryan Frey’s goal with six minutes left in the third period gave Central Bucks South a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Central Bucks Easy Monday night in the opening round of the SHSHL National Division playoffs at Hatfield Ice.

The third-seeded Titans (15-5) will face second seed Council Rock South in a semifinal game on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Patriots (6-12-1) will be idle until next week when they will face Conestoga in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup.

It was East who struck first Monday night. Ethan Cenci’s goal 4:43 into the second period gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead. Joey Slobodrian tied the game for South 2:44 into the final period.

Frey’s game winner came off assists from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino.

Nathan Napoliano got the win in goal, making 17 saves. Cameron Young game up big in goal for the Patriots, making 46 saves.

“The team stayed the course,” said South coach Josh Sklar. “Everyone bought into the system and kept pushing.

“We ran into a hot goalie and we just needed to keep shooting and traffic in front.”

Sklar told his players to take a back-to-basics approach.

“We told them to simplify their game,” he said, “and make the smart, easy decision with the puck”

• The Titans are seeking their first SHSHL title since 2018 when they won their last of four straight.

Central Bucks East 0 1 0—1

Central Bucks South 0 0 2—2

Second-period goal: Ethan Cenci (CBE) from Samuel Gottesman and Tyson Cowan, 4:43

Third-period goals: Joey Slobodrian (CBS) from Ryan Frey and John Lord, 2:44; Frey (CBS) from Dom Gibson and Dom DiMarino 11:00

Shots: C.B. East 18, C.B. South 48; Saves: Cameron Young (CBE) 46, Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 17

The Hockey Happenings podcast previewing the Flyers Cup tournament is available HERE

Flyers Cup Seedings 2026

Forty-two teams have been selected for the 47^th edition of the Flyers Cup tournament. Action will begin on Monday, March 2.

The Class AAA and girls’ brackets will be comprised of seven teams each. There will be 16 teams in Class AA and 12 in Class A.

Here are the matchups and seedings. Game sites and times will be added when available.

Class AAA 7 teams

1 Holy Ghost Prep bye

4 Malvern Prep vs 5 Devon Prep

3 La Salle vs 6 Father Judge

2 St. Joseph’s Prep vs 7 Salesianum

Class AA 16 teams

1 North Penn vs 16 Shawnee

8 Owen J. Roberts vs 9 Avon Grove

4 Conestoga vs 13 Central Bucks East

5 Downingtown West vs 12 Pennridge

2 Boyertown vs 15 Souderton

7 Haverford vs 10 Pennsbury

3 Council Rock South vs 14 Spring-Ford

6 Central Bucks South vs 11 Downingtown East

Class A 12 teams

1 Hershey bye

8 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs 9 West Chester Henderson

4 West Chester East bye

5 Marple Newtown vs 12 West Chester Rustin

2 Penncrest bye

7 Garnett Valley vs. 10 Palmyra

3 Kennett bye

6 Hatboro-Horsham vs 11 Radnor

Girls 7 Teams

1 Avon Grove bye

4 Conestoga vs 5 West Chester East

2 Downingtown West vs 7 Pennridge

3 Lower Merion Maroon vs 6 Radnor