By: Gracie Cleveland and JJ Michalski
Videos: Donna Eckert, Gracie Cleveland and The Sports Fan Base Network's Broadcast (@The_SFBN)/ Flyers Cup
2021 AAA Flyers Cup Quarterfinal Update:
The long-awaited Flyers Cup is here for the eight teams compiling the AAA division. The seedings and match-ups for the quaterfinal round were as follows: No. 1 seed Malvern Prep vs. No. 8 Salesianum, No. 2 La Salle vs. No. 7 Father Judge, No. 3. Holy Ghost Prep vs. No. 6 Cardinal O’Hara and No. 4 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. No. 5 Roman Catholic. All top seeded APAC teams advanced, with the highlight game being Malvern Prep vs. Salesianum.
Coming into the quarterfinals, Malvern was scheduled to play La Salle in the APAC championship, which was cancelled on March 31 due to compliance with Covid-19 protocols. Salesianum entered the game having won their first ever ISCHL Philadelphia Catholic League championship, in a 5-4 feat of Cardinal O’Hara.
On Thursday, The Flyers Cup semifinals will take place with Malvern Prep battling St. Joseph’s Prep at IceLine at 6:15 p.m. and La Salle playing Holy Ghost Prep at Hatfield at 6:30 p.m. Winners will advance to play in the AAA Championship on Monday, April 19.
No. 1 Malvern vs. No. 8 Salesianum
Both teams shook off their skates’ rust as Malvern Prep and Salesianum initially ineffectively handled the puck. This was before it turned into the Jimmy Jacob’s show, who eventually racked up the score sheet for the Friars.
With under a minute left in the first period, Jacobs was found in the mix of sticks when he spotted the loose puck for a tap in goal defended by Michael Manzi. Salesianum battled to get the puck down the rink but became coherent to the heavily ran offense by the Friars. The Friars were just so eager to get the puck between the bars, tallying 23 goal attempts in the first period alone and 57 in total.
“After being off the ice for two weeks, we had to shake off a bit of rust. I thought the tempo picked up and we were able to get back to our game plan. It was nice to come out with a win especially being down a few guys,” said Friars head coach, Bill Keenan.
The tempo Keenan mentioned, soon picked up five minutes and some change down in the second period when Jacobs and Ryan Sambuco skated parallel down the rink until reaching each bar of the goal. Jacobs caught a line drive assist from Sambuco to rebound the puck off his stick to put the Friars up by two. Minutes after the success, the dynamic duo drove the puck into net with a top-right corner slapshot from Sambuco and final push from Jacobs.
“We were able to get a lot of pucks in deep and a lot of shots on the goalie. Even though we had some bad bounces, we came right back to win the game,” said Jacobs.
Much of the commotion slowed down in the third period as the Friars led with a three-point advantage. With close to a quarter left in the last period of the game, Matt Harris found route to net, breaking free from Salesianum defenders, scoring the final goal to give the Friars a 4-0 victory.
Malvern Prep vs. Salesianum Game Highlights - Courtesy of The Flyers Cup @The_SFBN Broadcast
Malvern Prep vs. Salesianum Photos by Gracie Cleveland
“I think we were a little slow at the beginning, we had a two-week break. By the third period we definitely picked it up, we were buzzing around the whole game until the third where we worked good as a team,” said Malvern’s Steven Getsie.
With heavy hearts, Salesianum accepted their 4-0 loss and reminisced on their season while soaking up the emotions and memories on the ice a few minutes after the final buzzer rang.
Post Game Interview with Malvern's Jimmy Jacobs:
Post Game Interview with Malvern's Steven Getsie:
Flyers Cup AAA Quarterfinal Stats and Highlights:
St. Joseph’s Prep 8, Roman Catholic 0 (IceLine)
Following this game, St. Joe’s Prep advanced past Roman Catholic with an 8-0 victory. The Hawks will meet the Friars this Thursday in the first Flyers Cup AAA semifinal match-up.
SJP Goals: Dom Fantozzi (Declan Pierce), Quinn Egan (Nicholas Storti), Charlie Maratea (Jack Yerger, Luke Schienholtz), Connor Burman (Jeffrey Hammond, Declan Pierce), Quinn Egan (Nicholas Storti), Connor Burman (Dante Passio, Riley Abel), Quinn Egan (Unassisted), Jack Yerger (Riley Abel, Dante Passio)
Coach’s Corner: “We had a lot of energy from the start and put in a complete game. We are looking forward to the challenge on Thursday,” said St. Joseph’s Prep head coach David Giacomin.
SJP vs. Father Judge Photos by Gracie Cleveland
St. Joseph's Prep vs. Roman Catholic - Goals scored by #55 Dom Fantozzi and #9 Quinn Egan - Videos by Gracie Cleveland
Holy Ghost Prep 8, Cardinal O’ Hara 1 (Hatfield)
Holy Ghost and Cardinal O’Hara was the first quarterfinal game played at Hatfield. The Firebirds advanced to the Flyers Cup semifinal, defeating the Lions 8-1.
Cardinal O’Hara Goals: Angelo Filoramo (Nathan Fox)
Holy Ghost Prep Goals: Shaun Moore (Brady Baesher), Patrick McAneny (Michael Connelly, John Connelly), Ciran Chambers (Unassisted), Sean Marshall (John Seravalli, Colin Moore), Luke Panepresso (Michael Connelly), Evan Mudrick (Patrick McAneny), Brian Butler (Shaun Moore, Cole Stevens), John Connelly (Unassisted)
Coach’s Corner: “We got off to a quick start which helped our confidence. We also got contributions from eight different goal scorers,” said Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside
Holy Ghost PREP VS. Cardinal O'Hara GAME HIGHLIGHTS - COURTESY OF THE FLYERS CUP @THE_SFBN BROADCAST
La Salle 5, Father Judge 0 (Hatfield)
In the following quarterfinal at Hatfield, La Salle’s dominant attack was too much for the Father Judge Crusaders.
The Explorers will play familiar APAC opponent, Holy Ghost Prep on Thursday with a trip to the Flyers Cup Championship on the line.
La Salle Goals: Michael Casey (Dan Whittock, David Kimmel), Michael Casey (Andrew Budzynski, Chase Hannon), Chris Wnek (Unassisted), Chris Wnek (Tim Whittock), Michael Casey (Unassisted, Empty Net)
Coach’s Corner: “It was a great game. Father Judge played outstanding and had some great odd man rush chances in the second period but Liam Gross was strong for us in net,” said La Salle head coach Wally Muehlbronner.
