COLMAR – With a trip to the Flyers Cup Championship on the line, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Downingtown West caused some 1st period scares, but when the final horn sounded, North Penn skated off the ice with a ticket to the Championship game.
The #1 seeded Knights (25-1-0; 16-0-0) hosted the #5 seed Downingtown West Whippets (10-5-0; 8-4-0) for a semifinal faceoff in the AA Flyers Cup Tournament at Hatfield Ice. Although the Whippets opened the scoring in this game, the Knights didn’t flinch and wound up scoring 4 unanswered goals, securing a 4-1 Thursday night win.
Just after 5 minutes into the 1st period, Downingtown West junior Brady Cusa was able to pound the puck into the net off of a rebound. The Whippets took advantage of a power play following Sam Norton’s cross-checking minor penalty. This early deficit was unfamiliar territory for goalie Andy Norton and the Knights.
However, the Knights offense had a quick response with senior Nolan Shingle slipping the puck right through the padding of the Whippets goalie. Sam Norton was credited with the assist, as he found him across the middle and helped North Penn spark excitement into the home crowd.
“We try to play fast, we try to play hard. [Sam and I] have been playing together for 3 years so sometimes these plays between us just come naturally. We just click sometimes,” North Penn captain Nolan Shingle said.
The 1st period continued on with the Knights firing the puck at Whippets goalie Justin Adams, but he stood strong and made some impressive saves. The period ended equalized, however the Knights were beginning to wake up offensively.
The 2nd period was a story of North Penn taking full advantage of power play opportunities. The Knights left off where they started, pressuring the Whippets defense and keeping possession. 20 seconds into the period, Whippets defender Colin Gordon was sent to the penalty box for interference. Less than a minute later, junior Chris Silvotti made them pay with a goal assisted by sophomore Izzy Cabrales.
The Knights had control of the puck for the majority of the 2nd period and took a total of 17 shots on goal in comparison to the Whippets 6. Once again, senior goalie Justin Adams was able to hold his ground between the pipes for the next 10 minutes.
With 8:45 to go until the intermission, North Penn senior Gabriel Dunn would be called for a minor penalty of sticking and headed to the box for 2 minutes. In this time North Penn held up fine awaiting Dunn’s return to the ice.
Just following the end of the North Penn penalty, Downingtown West was called for one of their own. Yet again it was Colin Gordon, this time called for tripping/clipping/leg checking. He skated to the box and had to watch North Penn work their magic against a 4 vs 5 for the next 2 minutes.
Junior Sam Norton and senior James Boyle moved the puck around up top looking for the right pass. Norton found Shingle waiting by the left faceoff circle where he delivered a lethal slapshot through the backdoor.
“We do a good job of wearing teams down [by the second period]. We go out there and we work hard every shift,” North Penn head coach Kevin Vaitis explained.
Down 3-1, tensions began to flare for the Whippets as they were called for their 3rd penalty of the period. Senior Caleb Fedon was sent to the penalty box for 2 minutes following his minor penalty of cross-checking. Nonetheless, Downingtown West survived this 4 vs 5 not allowing a 3rd power play goal of the period.
North Penn holds an advantage with their team’s experience that most teams in this tournament can’t replicate. The amount of returning players from last year is unmatched and the team’s upperclassmen and even underclassmen have been in these high stakes tournament situations before.
“Having all these returning guys who went through and won the tournament last year is huge for us. We’ve got Sam [Norton], Nolan [Shingle] and James [Boyle], but it takes a full team. We’ve got other guys who are stepping up and contributing as well and that’s what you need in order to make it to this point,” Vaitis stated.
Following the 2nd period intermission, it was clear to see that the Knights talking point in the locker room was defense. The Knights looked like a brick wall in front of Andy Norton and only allowed a total of 2 shots on goal in the games final period.
Junior Declan Leahy cushioned the Knights lead with a tap-in insurance goal assisted by Boyle. This was the final score of the game as the Knights offense became less forceful and more passive as they cruised to another multi-goal margin of victory.
“So proud of these guys and how hard they work. Every practice we do, every drill we do, they just love to work and win and compete against each other. We know the job’s not done, there’s more work for us to do and we’ve got to get ready for next week,” Vaitis remarked.
North Penn will face off against the Boyertown Bears in a classic #1 vs #2 matchup at Hatfield Ice on Tuesday night at 8:45 PM. The Knights are chasing back to back Flyers Cup Championships and the Bears are the last team standing in their way.
Final Score:
Knights 4
Whippets 1
Shots on Goal:
Knights 40
Whippets 14
Saves:
Norton 13
Adams 36
