March 26, 1996
Maturity, coach Rich Slack says, has been the key to Conwell-Egan’s postseason success in ice hockey. “I’m extremely proud of our guys,” he said. “They’ve really matured over the last couple of months. They’ve put team goals ahead of individual goals.” The Eagles have built on the momentum they gained by sweeping Archbishop Ryan in the Lower Bucks County Hockey League championships. They upended favored Council Rock, 4-1, on Thursday at the Face-Off Circle in Warminster in the quarterfinals of the Class AAA Flyers Cup tournament. “I think we played really well as a team, especially defensively,” Slack said. “We did the things we needed to do to win the game.”The Eagles will meet the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Ryan and Germantown Academy at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Face-Off Circle. The Eagles, who suffered a 7-1 loss to Council Rock in a nonleague game on Oct. 12, won despite the In- dians’ 35-22 advantage in shots. “We walked right in on their goalie a couple of times, but he kept coming up big,” Council Rock coach Paul Gilligan said, referring to junior Brian Urban. “He played a great game.” In advancing to the semifinals for the first time, the Eagles allowed only a first-period shorthanded goal by senior winger Dan Blum. Junior center Dan Lenza, senior defenseman Chris Edwards, senior center Jason Suppin, and senior winger Brian DeJesus accounted for Conwell-Egan’s scoring. Senior center Mike Rivells had two assists. “I don’t think the school has ever beaten Council Rock in a Flyers Cup game, so obviously it’s a feather in our cap,” Slack said. The Eagles defeated Eastern Regional of New Jersey, 8-5, in the opening round of the Flyers Cup
tournament.
Council Rock. In bowing to Conwell-Egan on Thursday, the Indians had little time to savor their surprising sweep of Germantown Academy in the Suburban High School Hockey League championships. The Indians outlasted the Patriots, 10-8, three nights earlier to close the best-of-three series. The Indians had downed the regular-season champions, 5-1, in the opener. “We beat GA in a tight defensive game and we beat them in a shoot-out,” said Gilligan, whose squad had lost to the Patriots three times during the regular season. Senior center Dave Jaworski had four goals to pace the Indians in the series-clinching victory. “He took control of the game,” Gilligan said. “He just picked the puck up and went end to end anytime he wanted.” Junior winger Scott Seltzer produced a hat trick in a losing cause, and sophomore winger Kyle Neary had two goals.
Bensalem. The Owls jumped to a 5-0 lead and held on to beat North Penn, 8-5, on Thursday in the semifinals of the Class A Director’s Cup tournament. The Knights rallied with three third-period goals and trailed, 7-5, with about seven minutes remaining. “We were trying to take the game into overtime,” North Penn coach Tony Mauriello said. “Had we been able to force an extra period, I I would have liked our chances.” Junior center Mike Gadach and senior center Andy Borowsky each recorded a hat trick for Bensalem. Senior Scott Rongione, a winger and center, contributed three assists. “We gave up four goals in the first period, and that was too much to overcome,” Mauriello said. “Our kids came out absolutely flat.” Sophomore winger Jon Kemp scored one goal and had two assists to lead the Knights. The Owls, fifth-place finishers in the Lower Bucks County league, I will face the St. Pius X-Interboro winner in the Director’s Cup final at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Skatium in Havertown.
Central Bucks East. The Blazers will meet Father Judge at 6:45 p.m. today at the Face-Off Circle in the semifinals of the Class AA President’s Cup tournament. The Blazers were third in the Suburban League and swept fourth-place William Tennent in two games to qualify for the tournament. Father Judge finished third in the Lower Bucks County League and knocked off fourth-place Penns-bury, 5-1, in a one-game playoff.
By Rick O’Brien
The Philadelphia Inquirer
