April 7, 1994
Germantown Academy broke open the Flyers Cup final with four goals in the third period.
HAVERTOWN – Haverford High’s hockey season ended in disappointment last night as Germantown Academy skated to a 5-2 victory at the Skatium to win the Flyers Cup championship in Tier I. Germantown Academy dominated the third period in the third and final game of the series, breaking a 1- 1 tie with four straight goals.”The effort was there from beginning to end, but there was that momentary lapse in the third period and that was the difference,” said Fords coach Andy Rolli, whose team ended the season 21-5-1. It was the Patriots’ first Flyers Cup title since the 1982-83 season when Mike Richter was in goal.
Now 20-6-2, the Patriots will travel to the Pittsburgh area on Saturday to play in the state championship game against defending champion Meadville. As for Haverford, it was a season filled with highs and lows. For the first time since 1984-85, the Fords finished first in the Eastern League during the regular season. But they lost to Downingtown in the final of the league playoffs. It was also the first time the Fords had made it to the Flyers Cup final. “We all wanted it, and our team has a lot of heart,” Ford’s defenseman Lou Ventura said. “I’m shocked. I thought we had more talent and heart than them. Everyone gave it their all.”
Early on, both teams had their best chances on power plays. The Fords capitalized first, only 2 minutes, and 36 seconds into the game, on a goal by Dan Horowitz. The senior got the puck deep in the Patriots” zone, deked a defenseman, and slid the puck past goalie Sam Weiner. Germantown Academy answered later in the period with a power-play goal of its own. With Ventura off the ice for tripping and the Fords in a box defense, the Patriots’ Ryan Kilstein skated in from the left side unguarded. His low shot beat goalie Tom McGlade to his stick side. The Fords missed center Zach Hafer, who had seven goals in the tournament before taking a game-misconduct penalty in the series’ second game. That made him ineligible to play last night. In the final period, the Fords’ offense scrambled and managed only three shots. The Fords’ final goal came with 2:50 remaining on Dave Gallagher’s end-to-end rush.
Germantown Ac………1-0-4–5
Haverford………………. 1-0-1–2
First Period: 1, Haverford, Dan Horowitz (Kevin Tallon), 2:36 (pp). 2, GA, Ryan Kilstein (Rich Podulka, Dave Morgan), 5:43, (pp).
Second Period: No scoring.
Third period: 3, GA, Rob Shaner (Rich Podulka, Ryan Kilstein), 6:01. 4, GA, Tony Mauriello (David Dratch, Scott Goldman), 6:23. 5, GA, Ryan Kilstein (Rich Podulka, Josh Viel), 9:41. 6, GA, Rob Shaner (Rich Podulka, Ryan Kilstein), 11:14. 7, Haverford, Dave Gallagher, 12:10.
Goalies: Haverford, Tom McGlade (22 saves-27 shots); GA, Sam Weiner (18-20).
Conwell-Egan reigns on one strange goal
Upper Darby goalie Mitch Larnerd had the puck. He accidentally put it into his own goal.
HAVERTOWN – At one end of the ice Tuesday night, Conwell-Egan’s players formed a large, jubilant pile, slapping backs and trading high-fives. Moments before, the Eagles had taken a 4-3 overtime victory over Upper Darby that gave them the Tier II Flyers Cup championship. At the other end of the Skatium ice, the Upper Darby players formed a pile as well, but the Royals were hardly ecstatic. They were instead consoling one another and goaltender Mitch Larnerd in particular after losing the game in a bizarre manner. After Upper Darby had ridden Larnerd’s acrobatic, 37-save performance to come back twice and tie the game, a mistake by Larnerd proved fatal. At 4 minutes and 20 seconds of overtime, Conwell-Egan sent the puck down the ice to get a line change. Larnerd gathered the puck at the left face-off circle. He turned to pass the puck to defenseman Mike Avon, who was waiting behind the net, but instead shot it directly into his own goal. An awkward silence followed. Larnerd fell to his knees. The Royals looked on stunned. Conwell-Egan didn’t even know it had won the game until the referees signaled the goal. One by one, as the Eagles began their celebration down the ice, each Upper Darby player joined the pile around Larnerd.
It looked almost as if they were hiding him. Instead, they were offering words of reassurance. “The kids went right over to him, and they did it on their own,” Royals coach Matt Fabrizio Sr. said. “If it wasn’t for Mitch, they knew we wouldn’t have even been there.” It was arguably the most exciting Tier II final since the Tier II tournament began in 1991. Upper Darby opened with a 2-1 overtime win, but Conwell-Egan sent it to a third game after eking out a 3-2 win Monday on a goal with 1 minute, 17 seconds remaining. Upper Darby had its share of heroes. Senior Matt Fabrizio, the coach’s son, had a great series, as did sophomore Scott Carr and freshman Pat Lynch, who had the two tying goals Tuesday. But Larnerd was the real key. He had 27 saves on 30 shots the previous night, and in the opening game, he stopped 24 of 25 shots. His save percentage for the series was .917. “He would have gotten the most valuable player award, I thought,” the elder Fabrizio said. “Even with the loss, I thought he was the MVP.” Upper Darby finished the season at 16-11. Conwell-Egan (16-12-1) goes on to the state championship game Saturday.
By David T. Shaw
The Philadelphia Inquirer
