April 1, 1997 Jared Ingersoll and Matt Matlack each scored twice in a 5-2 victory over Council Rock in Game 3. It was the Friars’ first title since 1990. Malvern Prep hockey coach John Graves, just back from a weekend vacation in Puerto Rico, was sporting a deep tan. After his Friars disposed of Council Rock, 5- 2, last night at the Skatium in Havertown, he was also brandishing a big-time smile. Malvern Prep won the best-of-three Class AAA Flyers Cup championship series, 2-1. It was the Friars’ first title since 1990 and their third overall. “It is really rewarding to win the Flyers Cup,” said Graves, the team’s second-year coach. “Council Rock has a solid team, with an outstanding line of forwards, and it took our best effort to beat them.” The Friars (32-3-2) will meet Bethel Park (24-0-1), the Western champion, for the Class AAA state title April […]

March 26, 1997 The Pioneers talked a lot in team meetings – and then did something about it in their Flyers Cup final. There were preseason meetings and pregame meetings. Meetings in players’ homes and meetings in the locker room. Meetings with and without coaches, and meetings on and off the ice. They culminated in the most memorable meeting of them all, a jubilant, impromptu pileup at mid-ice after Conestoga clinched the Class AA Division Flyers Cup title. With an 8-4 victory over Bensalem in Tuesday night’s championship at the Skatium, the Pioneers advanced to the state title game, on April 12. They will meet their Western counterparts, the Penguins Cup champions. With the game more than two weeks away, the Pioneers (19-2) could rejoice over their accomplishments before looking ahead. “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t expect to be here,” coach Mike Stagnaro said. “After the loss […]

March 20, 1997 Though 19-0 this season, the Episcopal senior hasn’t forgotten his lopsided losses. The Churchmen opened Flyers Cup play last night against Conestoga at Ice Line, near West Chester. I’m, ecstatic the way things have worked out,” O’Donnell said. “I’ve wanted to be a goalie since I was younger. My family were big ice hockey fans. I thought goalie was the place to be.”O’Donnell was a junior varsity goalie from eighth grade through 10th grade and was Crighton Clark’s varsity backup last year. Overall, he was a great backup goalie for us,” coach Matt Evans said. “We knew he would be counted on. He’s always been a big part of the team. We knew he’d be our goaltender, and if he was on we’d have a great season.” Through his early years at Episcopal, O’Donnell endured his share of lopsided losses. He often was bombarded by shots, which […]

March 19, 1997 In a tightly contested conclusion to the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League championship series, Archbishop Ryan edged stubborn Conwell-Egan, 5-4, in double overtime Thursday for a 2-1 series win. Vince Stendardo decided the issue when he slipped a shot past goalie Brian Urban early in the second overtime session. “It was a little bit heartbreaking, but it was a good game,” Conwell-Egan coach Rich Slack said. “The fans definitely got their money’s worth.” The Eagles won the first game, 6-3, and were ahead, 3-2, in Game 2 with about 10 minutes remaining. “They scored three goals in a minute, nine seconds,” Slack said of the scoring barrage that paved the way for Ryan’s 6-3 victory. “It was just bang-bang-bang. We fell apart there for a few minutes, and they capitalized.” C-E will try to rebound from its double-overtime loss to Ryan tonight when it meets Washington […]

March 26, 1997 Council Rock’s Shaun Young seized the moment of opportunity. When the puck skipped off the stick of Germantown Academy defenseman Danny McDonald, Young snared it near the blue line and headed for a one-on-one duel with goalie Sam Weiner. “I saw the five-hole [between Weiner’s pads] open up,” said Young, who had raced in from the left boards. “At that point, I just dropped my right shoulder and I fired the puck past him. I was so happy.” Young’s third-period goal lifted Rock to a 2-1 victory over archrival GA in the semifinals of the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament Monday at the Face-Off Circle in Warminster. Young’s game-winner came with 8 minutes, 21 seconds remaining. “He just beat me,” said Weiner, a four-year starter who helped lead the Patriots to Class AAA Flyers Cup titles in 1994 and 1995. “There are no two ways about it.” […]

March 21, 1997 Some special stickhandling led to Conestoga High’s first Flyers Cup berth since 1989, and that was before the Pioneers even skated onto the ice. Conestoga qualified for the tournament by beating regular-season champion Unionville, 4-1, last Fri- day in the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League’s Class AA playoff final at Ice Line. The Pioneers (16-2 league) had lost to Unionville (18-1) seven straight times, but history was on their side. Ice Line, near West Chester, houses the stick signed by Conestoga’s 1985 state championship team, and coach Mike Stagnaro and his staff had taken it into the locker room for inspiration before the game. Stagnaro and assistants Tony Parisi and Scott Cowan played on that 1985 squad, which also defeated Unionville to make the Flyers Cup Their coach then, Bob Anderson, is now an assistant with the program.”I didn’t know what their reaction would be,” Stagnaro said of […]