Pennridge 6 C.B. South 5

Hockey News, Scholastic Hockey News, SHSHL Game Recaps, Suburban High School Hockey League 2 Minutes

HATFIELD—A lot went on at Hatfield Ice Thursday night. Much of it in the realm of the unexpected.

Pennridge rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 5-1 to post a 6-5 overtime win over Central Bucks South in a Suburban High School Hockey League National Division non-league matchup.

Kevin Pico delivered the game winner for the Rams 34 seconds into overtime after the last period was shortened to nine minutes from the usual 17 after a combination of 10 goals and an abundance of penalties consumed the bulk of the allocated ice slot.

Six different players scored for the Rams (1-1). Andrew Savona, Dane Fichte, James Rush, Shane Dachowski, and Josh Kelly found the back of the net before Kevin Pico pocketed the game winner. South netminder Dom Varacallo stopped Savona’s initial shot before Pico put in the rebound.

“We needed something to wake us up,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna, who team squared its record at 1-1. “We needed to find that edge that we’ve been lacking in practice. Early in this season, we haven’t had it. And, I think getting down tonight against a rival with as much emotion as there was going in here, woke us up.”

The Titans (1-1) jumped to a 3-0 lead before the first period was seven minutes old. Aydin Thierolf scored twice with a goal from D.J. Lindenmuth in between.

Colin Mendham and Michael Nemec added goals to give South a 5-1 lead 5:46 into the second frame.

Dane Fitchett drew the Rams a bit closer with 5:55 left in the period. Pico had a chance to bring his team closer when the Rams were awarded a penalty shot with 15.8 seconds left in the second period but was denied by Varacallo.

Both teams saw there efforts hampered by repeated trips to the penalty box. The officials whistled a total of 19 infractions, 12 of them to the Titans.

The number of stoppages and altercations resulted in the final period being shortened to nine minutes at the direction of rink management. Faced with a three-goal deficit, the Rams wasted no time.

 Rush made it a 5-3 game 1:20 into the final session. Dachowski followed at 5:54 and Kelly tied the game at 6:58.

 The five-minute, three-on-three overtime was allowed to go forward and it took Pico and Savona just moments to end matters.

“Our guys let off the gas,” said South coach Shaun McGinty, “and they’re a good team. A good team is going to find a way to win. We allowed them a little bit of momentum and momentum is a big part of the game in a team sport.”

Ice chips—The decision to shorten the the third period was part of a joint effort between the SHSHL and area rinks to complete scheduled games within their allocated 90-minute ice slots. The C.B. South-Pennridge contest was followed by a game between North Penn and Central Bucks West which was succeeded by an adult league game.

C.B. South 3 2 0 0—5

Pennridge 1 1 3 1—6

First-period goals: Aydin Thierolf (CBS) from Sean Cutter, 3:06; D.J. Lindenmuth (CBS) from Matt Crouch, 4:14; Thierolf (CBS) unassisted 6:57 (pp); Andrew Savona (P) unassisted, 16:34

Second-period goals: Colin Mendam (CBS) unassisted, :38; Michael Nemec (CBS) from Justin Keilman, 5:46; Dane Fitchett (P) from Trey Mikulich, 11:05

Third-period goals: James Rush (P) from Mitchell Mothersbaugh, 1:20; Shane Dachowski (P) from Savona, 5:54; Josh Kelly (P) from Andrew Lizak and Tyler Manto

Overtime goal: Kevin Peco (P) from Savona, :34

Shots: Pennridge 35, C.B. South 28; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 29, Jacob Winton (P) 23

Published by Rick Woelfel

Rick has worked in print and broadcast journalism for more than 35 years. He's covered golf in one medium or another for more than 30. He is the co-author of the book So You Want to Play Golf with PGA professional Kim Verrecchio and the host of the Women's Golf Report podcast. Most recently, Rick served as an associate editor for The Mulligan Magazine. He also served as an associate editor for Philadelphia Golf Magazine and New Jersey State Golf from 2004-07. Rick covered his first LPGA Tour event in 1986 and continues to cover women's golf for various media outlets. High on his bucket list is having the opportunity to one day play in an LPGA Tour pro am. Rick is also a longtime correspondent for two suburban Philadelphia daily newspapers, the Intelligencer and the Bucks County Courier Times in Doylestown, PA. Over the course of his career he has coverzed a wide variety of sporting events. He is also a veteran play by play and public address announcer, and handles the PA mic for the nationally ranked Delaware Valley University football program. Rick is also a longtime contributor to Referee, a magazine devoted to sports officiating. He called his first baseball game at age 13 and continues to umpire softball and baseball today.

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