March 16, 1999
The team that won the Class AAA Title in 1997 could be the biggest obstacle to a LaSalle repeat.
The 20th annual Flyers Cup tournament will begin tonight, and several area hockey teams are strong contenders to reach the championship games in the three classifications. The finals are slated for March 28 at the First Union Spectrum.
La Salle, which will be vying for its third Flyers Cup title in the last four years, is considered the favorite to win Class AAA. But four other teams, the 1997 champion Malvern Prep, Council Rock, Germantown Academy, and Conwell-Egan have the talent to challenge the Explorers. Cheltenham, Interboro, and La Salle II will be competing for the Class AA championship. Four area teams, Pennridge, Strath Haven, Bishop Shanahan, and Springfield (Delco) will be in the running for the Class A title.
Class AAA. La Salle, which went 15-0-1 en route to winning the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League (ICSHL) Division AAA championship, has the offense, depth, and goaltending to defend its title. It edged Germantown Academy, 4-3, in last year’s Flyers Cup final and beat Pittsburgh Central Catholic for the Class AAA state title. The Explorers should get the most resistance from ICSHL rival Malvern Prep. The Friars (13-1-2) were runners-up to them in the regular season. The teams played to a 3-3 draw on Dec. 10, and the Explorers eeked out an 8-7 victory on Jan. 22.
La Salle is scheduled to face Monsignor Bonner, second-place finisher in the Eastern High School Hockey League (EHSHL), at 7 tomorrow night at Ice Line Triple Rinks in West Chester. After that, Malvern Prep will go against Hershey of the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (CPIHL). If both La Salle and Malvern win, they will re-new their rivalry in a second-round game next Tuesday at Ice Line. Council Rock could be the tournament’s sleeper team. The Indians (19-2-2) are riding a wave of momentum after having
swept Germantown Academy by two games to none in the best-of-three Suburban High School Hockey League (SHSHL) championship series. Rock, which defeated GA by 10-2 and 5-4, will play Father Judge, the second-place finisher in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League (LBCSHL) at 6:45 p.m. Thursday at the Face-Off Circle in Warminster. GA (22-0-1) went undefeated in SHSHL regular-season play for the fifth consecutive season. The Patriots, who last won the Flyers Cup in 1995, will begin Flyers Cup play at 7:15 tonight when they play Lenape, the No. 2 seed from the South Jersey High School Hockey League (SJHSHL), at Hollydell Twin Rinks in Sewell. If Rock and GA win their first-round games, they will square off at 8:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Face-Off. “We’ve played them five times already this season, so it certainly will be nothing new if we meet them again,” GA coach John Ioia said. “We know each other pretty well.” LBCSHL champion Conwell-Egan (22-1-1) will face Eastern Regional, the SJHSHL’s No. 1 seed, in a first-round game at 7:25 p.m. Monday at the Grundy Recreation Center in Bristol Borough. Conwell-Egan, which was eliminated in the opening round last season, is led by junior center Brian Tetley, its leading scorer, plus three seniors winger Mike Delfin, defenseman Rob Bannon, and goalie Matt Cusanno. EHSHL champion Cardinal O’Hara will begin play Monday when it meets CPIHL titlist Central Dauphin at 8 p.m. at the Skatium in Haver- town. The winner will advance to the semifinals.
Class AA. Cheltenham, which swept Abington, an SHSHL National Division rival, in a best-of-three qualifying series, is scheduled to play Shawnee of the SJHSHL in an opening-round game at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Face-Off Circle. The winner will advance to meet the LBCSHL’s representative, Holy Ghost Prep or Pennsbury, in a semi-final at 9
p.m. Monday at Grundy. In the other AA first-round match-up, EHSHL representative Interboro will be pitted against Wilson of the CPIHL in an 8:45 p.m. game Thursday at the Skatium. The winner will meet La Salle II (9-6-1), which won the ICSHL’s Division AA tournament, in a semifinal next Wednesday at the Ice Works in Aston.
Class A. Strath Haven (11-4-1) and Bishop Shanahan (11-5-0) finished first and second, respectively, in the ICSHL’s Division A postseason tournament and grabbed the league’s two Flyers Cup berths. Both will have first-round games on Thursday. Strath Haven will play Cumberland Valley of the CPIHL at 8 p.m. at the Ice Works; Shanahan will battle Springfield (Delco) of the EHSHL at 7.p.m. at the Skatium. Pennridge won two playoff series to get the chance to represent the SHSHL in the Class A tournament. The Rams, who are led by junior goalie Nick Cordisco and senior center Matt Haberle, will play Archbishop Ryan in a first-round match-up at 8:30 tonight at Face-Off. The Raiders placed sixth in the LBCSHL.
The Pennridge-Ryan winner will meet Holy Cross of the SJHSHL in a semifinal on March 25 at 7:20 p.m. at Grundy.
