March 29, 2001 The goalie had a rough regular season, but he has carried his team to a state championship game. Some athletes wilt under the spotlight; others blossom. Springfield goalie Joe Hayden is one of the latter, flourishing in the Flyers Cup playoffs for the Cougars. A year ago as a junior, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound Hayden had what was arguably a career season with a goals-against average of 1.75 as Springfield finished 17-1 in the regular season. As a senior, Hayden had a drop-off. His confidence wavered. He allowed some soft goals, and entering the Flyers Cup Class A playoffs, there was concern about Springfield’s goaltending. Those concerns have been allayed. During Springfield’s run toward its first Flyers Cup Class A title, Hayden started playing his best hockey at the most important time of the season. After making 19 saves in a Flyers Cup Class A championship victory over […]

March 8, 2001 The Friars are 12-1 in the Inter-County AAA and 23-4-1 overall, looking to lock up first place and a first-round bye. The Malvern Prep ice hockey team is rounding into form at exactly the right time of the season. The Friars are leading the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League Class AAA Division with a 12-1 record and are 23-4-1 overall. The Friars have almost assured first place and a bye to the Flyers Cup Class AAA playoffs as the Inter-County Class AAA No. 1 seed. The Flyers Cup playoffs will begin March 16 and the Friars need just one point in their next three games to clinch first place in the Inter-County Class AAA for the second-straight season. They have been on a torrid streak in the Inter-County League, averaging 6.5 goals and allowing 2.1 goals a game. Perhaps the only thing left for Malvern is to shore […]

March 20, 2001 ICE HOCKEY NOTEBOOK Dominic Gaspari was along for the ride two seasons ago when the Conwell-Egan ice hockey team claimed the Class AAA Flyers Cup and state championship. This year, after finishing fifth in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic League, the Eagles will compete at the less-prestigious Class A level. Nonetheless, Gaspari and his teammates are excited about the opportunity. “The season is over for most teams,” Gaspari said. “At least we’re still playing and have a chance to win a championship.” Conwell-Egan will meet Cinnaminson, of the South Jersey High School Hockey League, in the opening round of the Class A Flyers Cup tonight at 7:30 at the Grundy Recreation Center in Bristol Borough. Gaspari, a senior defenseman, helped the Eagles go 12-10-2 in the Lower Bucks league. The squad nipped Harry S Truman, 3-2, in a qualifying game for the Flyers Cup. “We have decent […]

March 16, 2001 ICE HOCKEY SEASON IN REVIEW Winning the championship of the South Jersey Ice Hockey League has done nothing to stop Washington Township’s feeling that it has something to prove. On Tuesday, the Minutemen will get their chance in the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament. The Flyers Cup is a single-elimi- nation tournament featuring the best teams from South Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is a chance for South Jersey teams to challenge the more established teams from Philadelphia and its suburbs. “That’s a big deal for us,” Township forward Joe Gori said. “All the top teams from every division are there. We have to show teams from Pennsylvania that we can play with them.” No team from South Jersey has ever won the Flyers Cup. Washington Township lost in the semifinals last season. Twenty-eight teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania are involved in the three Flyers Cup divisions. […]

March 15, 2001 ICE HOCKEY NOTEBOOK It’s been eight years since the West Chester East ice hockey team qualified for the Flyers Cup playoffs, and the Vikings seemed primed to snap that streak in their Class AAA opening game against La Salle, winning, 5-4, in the first of a best-of-three series on Sunday night. However, Viking hopes of a Fly- ers Cup berth changed quickly in the second game as La Salle bounced back to even the series with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night. The Vikings weren’t done as they won last night’s deciding game, 4-2, and are on their way to the Flyers Cup. Regardless of how the series ended, this has been an important year for the East program, which was in disarray at the end of last season when the Vikes finished with just three victories. New coach Roman Bussetti helped turn the team around as […]

March 9, 2001 The Malvern Prep winger is now a star in his own right. Phil McKeon had to be patient, biding his time behind a long list of stars for the Malvern Prep ice hockey team. Things are different this season. McKeon is no longer just another player. He has blossomed into one of the top players in the area. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound junior right winger was among the top scorers for the Friars last season with 27 points. This season, the only player to amass more points than McKeon (16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points) is teammate Jimmy Gehring (39 points), The Inquirer’s Chester County player of the year last season. “I wanted to take hockey a lot more seriously this year,” McKeon said. “I was tired of almost getting close to winning the Flyers Cup and not getting there. My freshman year, we lost and […]