Philadelphia Sports Digest ICSHL PCL/D2 End of Season Power Play
ICSHL PCL: Father Judge vs. Roman Catholic Feb. 25.
Father Judge walloped Roman Catholic 8-3 at the Jefferson Health Northeast Skate Zone on Friday night. A win was never in question for the Crusaders in this one, as they led for the entire game. Father Judge led 4-2 entering the third period, but would pull away from there, outscoring Roman Catholic 4-1 in final period to clinch the win on senior night for Father Judge. This win officially clinched the number 1 seed in the ICHSL PCL playoffs for Father Judge.
Junior forward, Michael McDevitt had a breakout game, netting a hat trick on the night. He said after the game that this win should give the team a lot of momentum as they head into the playoffs. He also mentioned how excited the team was to finish as the top seed after a tough finish to the previous season.
“Feels great, honestly last year the way we went out in the semifinal didn’t feel so good. This year coming back stronger than ever, same team basically, so clinching the one seed tonight felt amazing!” said McDevitt.
Father Judge vs. Roman Catholic - Feb. 25th Highlights by Matt Rineer
Father Judge senior goalie and captain Colin McKee had a bit of a rough night in net, allowing three goals on 26 shots. When asked after the game on how he could improve his performance he noted all of the opponent’s goals came from the center of the ice, and how he needs to focus in on that sooner heading into the playoffs.
“It’s not really what I’d like to see, we definitely could’ve had a shutout or something. But going into the playoffs we hope to play strong, and hopefully they play really strong in front of the net (we) should be able to get things done,” said McKee.
This win put Father Judge in a great position moving forward. The Crusaders defeated Roman Catholic 8-5 in the ICSHL PCL semifinals on Monday night. Crusader goals came from Owen Sherwin, Michael McDevitt, Matthew Devine, Matthew Moser (2), Anthony Casper (2) and Michael Fontaine.
Father Judge will host No. 2 seed Cardinal O’Hara, who defeated No. 3 seed Salesianum 3-0 to advance to the championship, tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at the Northeast Skate Zone.
Post Game Interview with Father Judge junior Michael McDevitt - by Matt Rineer
Post Game Interview with Father Judge senior Goaltender Colin McKee - Video by Matt Rineer
ICSHL D2: Archbishop Ryan wins one, loses one to cap off season:
Despite not advancing to the D2 playoffs, the Archbishop Ryan Raiders ended the season with a 4-3 victory vs. Oxford on Feb. 14 and a close 2-1 loss vs. Lower Merion on Feb. 25th.
On Monday, Feb. 14 at the Jefferson Health Northeast Skate Zone, Archbishop Ryan outlasted Oxford 4-3 in a tightly contested, physical battle. Archbishop Ryan’s Anthony Masino netted the first goal of the game and Aronne Arehart followed that up with his first goal of the night to give Archbishop Ryan a 2-0 lead in the first, but Oxford’s Trent Keenan quickly responded to make the score 2-1 heading into the second period.
Just over four minutes into the second period, Oxford’s Logan Keenan tied the game, but Archbishop Ryan quickly responded with two goals in the next two minutes. The first Raider’s goal came from Nick Nowosielski, assisted by Connor Lappe, and the next being Arehart’s second goal of the game, assisted by Patrick Schubert and Elaina Grace.
Towards the end of the second period and into the third, the matchup became very physical. After the game Arehart noted how the Raiders game-planned and reacted to that style of play.
“We just wanted to get up as many shots as we could and work hard. We knew we could beat this team if we got enough shots, outworked them, and kept our discipline,” said Arehart.
Archbishop Ryan vs. Oxford - Feb. 14th Highlights by John Wilson
Post Game Interview with Archbishop Ryan sophomore Aronne Arehart and senior Nick Nowosielski - By John Wilson
Nowosielski also gave his thoughts on what Archbishop Ryan did well, as well as what the Raiders could improve upon going forward.
“We had a lot of shots on goal in the first two periods. We outworked them, got pucks deep, we were physical and forced turnovers in the defensive zone and capitalized on them,” said Nowosielski. “We can definitely improve on our third period play. One shot in the third period isn’t going to be enough against better teams, but we were able to hold onto the lead this game and that’s all that matters.”
Oxford’s Brody Ford scored with 4:32 left, assisted by Mason Fetterolf and Trent Keenan, which made the game very close in the final minutes, but Archbishop Ryan was able to toughen up and secure the victory.
Archbishop Ryan Stats:
1-(14:02) Anthony Masino, Unassisted
1-(3:17) Aronne Arehart (Daniel Kirn)
2-(14:18) Nick Nowosielski (Connor Lappe)
2-(13:55) Aronne Arehart (Patrick Schubert, Elaina Grace)
Dillon Gallagher: 21 Saves on 24 Shots, 3 GA
Oxford Stats:
1-(2:01) Trent Keenan, Unassisted
2-(15:44) Logan Keenan, Unassisted
3-(4:32) Brody Ford (Mason Fetterolf, Trent Keenan)
Zach Keenan: 13 saves on 17 shots, 4 GA
Lower Merion vs. Archbishop Ryan:
Lower Merion took care of business in a defensive clash against Archbishop Ryan this past Friday, finishing with a final score 2-1. Lower Merion led for the entire game scoring in first two periods. Archbishop Ryan was able to keep them scoreless in the third, while adding a goal by sophomore forward Connor Lappe, but it wasn’t enough.
Archbishop Ryan goaltender Dillon Gallagher left it all out on the ice in this contest. Despite allowing two goals, he managed to net an astounding 39 saves. Even though it was a warrior effort, Gallagher found the performance bittersweet.
“That was my last game this season, so I put it all on the line today. It’s disappointing but I know I did my best,” said Gallagher.
In the other net, Lower Merion goalie Juliano Lucca had almost as impressive of a performance. At one point it looked like a shutout was in his future, until a late goal from Archbishop Ryan erased that. Despite it, he still finished with an impressive 24 saves on the night. Lucca went on to credit the defensive effort of the team in their win.
Archbishop Ryan vs. Lower Merion - Feb. 25th Highlights by Matt Rineer:
“I want to say the defense was pretty phenomenal tonight. Early in the game we were clearing the pucks really well, we were getting them out and we were getting them to guys down the ice,” said Lucca
This win was a good way to end in what was otherwise a difficult season for Lower Merion, while Archbishop Ryan will look toward the future and try to come back stronger next year.
Post Game Interview with Archbishop Ryan goaltender Dillon Gallagher - Video by Matt Rineer:
Post Game Interview with Lower Merion goaltender Juliano Lucca - Video by Matt Rineer:
ICSHL D2 and PCL Playoff Brackets:
ICSHL D2 Playoff Bracket - Courtesy of ICSHL
ICSHL PCL Playoff Bracket - Courtesy of ICSHL
ICSHL D2 End of Season Scores:
Friday, Feb. 25:
Archbishop Carroll/PJP II 7, BuxMont Catholic 5
AC/PJP Goals: C. Miller, A. Small, M. DeWees, S. Kelly, D. Harvey and C. Hritz
BuxMont Goals: B. Schimony (2), N. Puleo, L. Crimlish (2)
Marple Newtown 4, Bishop Shanahan 2
Marple Goals: C. Scott, E. McKay and t. Z’Ningray (2)
Shanahan Goals: P. Mallon, A. Wallace
Harriton 3, Kennett 1
Harriton Goals: B. Siegel, P. Colavita (2)
Kennett Goals: T. Schillinger