March 18, 1999
WEST CHESTER – La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner says he has a habit of nit-picking, and he had a few things to pick at after his Explorers beat Monsignor Bonner, 4-0, in the first round of the Flyers Cup Class AAA competition at Ice Line last night. The Explorers, who improved to 16-0-1 this season, advanced to the second round of the Flyers Cup. where they will play Malvern Prep, which bested Hershey High School, 8-1, in the other first-round game last night. The La Salle-Malvern game is set for Tuesday at Ice Line at a time to be determined. The loss ended Bonner’s season with an 11-13 overall record. The Friars made things tougher than La Salle expected, especially with the play of Friars freshman goalie Frank McLaughlin, who steered away a total of 36 shots. “We had flashes where we played well, but their goaltender was tremendous,” Muehlbronner said. “He really stopped every type of momentum we tried to generate. But I do nitpick, and our positioning could have been better. This team knows me well enough to the point they know what I’m going to say after games before I even get in the locker room.” After pounding away at McLaughlin for close to two periods without scoring, La Salle finally broke through when senior forward Lou Merlini deposited a rebound with 2 minutes, and 3 seconds left in the second period. The Explorers put the game away in the third period on goals by John Geverd, Sean Heron, and Kevin Brady. Brady scored an empty-netter with 1:10 left in the game. “La Salle kept tipping the puck and getting those high-quality shots,” McLaughlin said. “I just had to keep my focus. I guess they were getting a little frustrated. I had to stay focused.” Bonner was lucky to escape the first period with a scoreless tie. La Salle dominated the opening minutes of play, blasting six shots on McLaughlin in the first five minutes. The 5-foot-10 McLaughlin kept Bonner alive with 12 saves in the first period as Bonner managed just six shots. The best chance for the Friars to score came with
16.5 seconds left in the first period when freshman Kevin Lutz lost control of the puck on a breakaway. Bonner blew two power plays in the first period, putting little heat on La Salle goalie Justin Levin. “We were starting to get a little worried there,” La Salle’s Merlini said. “We knew we had good speed and we did put the puck on them hard, but we could have come out a little harder.”
Monsignor Bonner……0-0-0–0
La Salle…………………….0-1-3–4
Goals: La Salle-Lou Merlini, John Geverd, Sean Heron and Kevin Brady.
Saves: Bonner-Frank McLaughlin 36. La Salle- Justin Levin 14.
For Conwell-Egan, goal accomplished
While most area teams had already turned their attention to the season-ending Flyers Cup. Conwell-Egan zeroed in on winning a second consecutive Lower Bucks County Hockey League Scholastic (LBCSHL) title. The Eagles’ focus on their task was evident as they swept Father Judge, two games to none, in the league’s best-of-three championship series. They topped the Crusaders, 6- 3 Monday night at the Grundy Recreation Center in Bristol Borough to wrap up their third LBCSHL crown in the last four years. Conwell-Egan had defeated Archbishop Ryan to capture its two previous championships, last year and in 1996. Beating Judge had special significance for veteran coach Rich Slack because it wasn’t too long ago that the Crusaders had ruled the LBCSHL “Yeah, they beat up on us pretty good there for a few years,” Slack said. “It was nice to get the better of them for a change. It makes it a little sweeter.” The Eagles, equipped with ample speed and size, went 22-1-1 en route to the league’s regular-season title. They swept Archbishop Ryan in the best-of-three semifinals and ousted Judge in the same fashion. “I think it’s real important to the club to win the league championship, ” Slack said. “We expect to win this league, consider it one of those things we need to do on a yearly basis. This is definitely a priority for us.” Conwell-Egan’s record in regular-season action over the last four years is an impressive 82-6-4. The Eagles went 22-0-2 last season, 19-3-1 in 1996-97, and 19-2 in 1995-96. With the league’s first-place trophy in tow, Stack and his players are gearing themselves for the rigors of the Flyers Cap They are wary of a repeat of last season, when they were stunned by Washington Town- ship (NJ), 43, in the opening round of the Class AAA tournament. “We folded our tents and went home early last year,” Slack said. “We quit on ourselves. I’m pretty confident that this team won’t quit These guys have a lot of heart, and they know what they’re capable of achieving.” Conwell-Egan is set to meet Eastern Regional, the top-seeded team from the South Jersey High School Hockey League (SJHSHL), in the first round of the Flyers Cup at 7:25 p.m. Monday at Grundy. The winner of that game will advance to the semifinals. If the Eagles defeat Eastern, they will meet one of three talented teams still alive in the upper half of the Class AAA draw: Germantown Academy, Council Rock or Judge. “They’re all good teams,” Slack said. “No matter who we play, we’ll have to be prepared. If you don’t come ready for battle, you’re going to get beaten. That’s what happened.
GA survives scare. Recovering from its loss to Council Rock in the Suburban High School Hockey League (SHSHL) finals, Germantown Academy held on to beat Lenapee (NJ), 7-4, in the first round of he Flyers Cup Tuesday night at the Hollydell Twin Ranks in Sewell, NJ. “They had a nice team. They worked well in the zone, and they were quick to get to the puck.” GA coach John loia said. “We had our hands full. They were better than we thought they would be.” Junior defenseman Nate Meyers paved the way with four goals. Sophomore center Steve Ciottoni, senior winger Matt Jubelirer, and junior defenseman John Millinghausen had single tallies. The Patriots went unbeaten in SHSHL regular-season play for the fifth consecutive time but were handily defeated by the Rock in the finals with 10-2 and 5-4 victories. The Indians swept the best-of-three championship series. It was Rock’s third postseason title in the last four years. In trying to explain the reasons. behind lopsided finals, loia said the Patriots played both games of the series without Ciottoni (sickness) and another first-line forward, freshman winger Billy Riter (broken wrist). Clottoni was the squad’s second-leading scorer (behind fellow sophomore center Nate Smith) during the regular season “We were missing a key player in Steve Ciottoni,” the GA coach said. “When you take him out of the line up and you’re running a short bench, you expect to have trouble.” Rock faces Judge in the first round of the Flyers Cup at 6:45 tonight at the Face-Off Circle in Warminster. The winner of that game will play GA Tuesday at 8:30p.m. at Face-Off Circle. loia, for one, would welcome a rematch with the Indians. “We’re all looking forward to it,” he said. “The only time they beat us all year was when we didn’t have our key players. If we’re healthy and have all of our players, we have an excellent shot to reach the finals.
Rams eliminated. Archbishop Ryan exploded for three goals in the first six minutes of the third period and downed Pennridge, 6-3, Tuesday at Face-Off in the opening round of the Class A Flyers Cup. The Rams pulled to within 5-3 on senior center Matt Haberle’s second of the the evening. The Raiders, however, notched a power-play goal in the waning minutes to thwart an comeback bid. Pennridge, third-place finisher in the SHISHL National Division, had tied the score, 2-2, on a power-play goal by Haberle with less than two minutes remaining in the second period. Junior goalie Nick Cordisco stopped 22 shots in a losing cause.
