March 21, 2000
HAVERTOWN- Maybe La Salle should avoid the bye more often in the Flyers Cup hockey tournament. It seems to work better for the Explorers, who advanced to the Class AAA semifinals with a dominating 6-2 victory over Cardinal O’Hara in a quarterfinal game last night at the Skatium. La Salle, which improved to 25-14-3 overall, will play the winner of tonight’s game between Monsignor Bonner and Malvern Prep on Thursday at the Skatium for a berth in the title game. Pete Naticchione led the Explorers with a pair of goals last night. La Salle also received scores from Ryan Jones, Joe Carelli, Tom Riley, and Ryan Ciolli. O’Hara got goals from Rob Scales and Rob Brown. The Explorers, who were the runners-up in the Inter-County League Division AAA behind Malvern Prep, entered the semifinal game coming off a 10-1 first-round victory over Lower Dauphin. O’Hara, winner of the Eastern League Class AAA Division, received an opening-round bye and had not played in two weeks. Despite that, La Salle played like the fresher team. The Explorers beat O’Hara to loose pucks and put
considerably more pressure on Lions goalie Andrew McManus than they received through the first two periods. “This is the first year we haven’t gotten a bye in my three years here, and it did seem like we were the fresher team,” La Salle coach Wally Muelbronner said. “We rely on our speed and quickness, and we felt coming into this game that if we got good play from all three lines, we could come out on top.” The Explorers had a 2-1 lead after one period on goals from Naticchione and Ciolli. O’Hara’s goal came from Scales. La Salle took a 3-1 lead on a goal from Riley in the second period, but O’Hara charged back when Brown scored with 11 minutes, 40 seconds left in the period. La Salle took control of the game for good when it scored three unanswered goals. It pelted McManus with 29 shots, while O’Hara had 15 shots in the game. Explorers goalie Joe Mastronardo came up with a number of key saves in earning the victory.
Cardinal O’Hara……………1-1-0–2
La Salle……………………….2-3-1–6
Goals: L-Pete Naticchione (2), Ryan Jones, Joe Carelli, Tom Riley, Ryan Ciolli. OH-Rob Scales, Rob Brown.
Saves: OH- Andrew McManus 23. LS Joe Mastronardo 13.
Tennent Star gets Northern Exposure
Two months ago, when William Tennent’s Dan Musgrove was contacted about playing Junior B-level hockey in Alaska, the senior defenseman jumped at the opportunity. “I pretty much dropped everything I was doing and left,” Musgrove said. “I really didn’t know much about the league or the level of competition, but I was excited to get the chance to improve my game and see what I could do against better players.” While playing for the Alaska Sinbad Sailors in the Western States Hockey League, Musgrove stayed with a host family in Wasilla, Alaska, about an hour’s drive from Anchorage. “I lived in a valley, so there were mountains and snow everywhere,” Musgrove said. “It was pretty cold, too. And there were only about two hours of sunlight every day. That could make things kind of depressing.” Musgrove, who attended Wasilla High School, found his playing opportunities dwindling. So he returned to Warminster earlier this month and reenrolled at Tennent. He will be in the Panthers’ lineup tonight when they face Holy Ghost Prep in the first round of the Class AA Flyers Cup at 6:45 at the Face-Off Circle. The 6-foot, 185-pound Musgrove said the skill level and the speed of the game were a lot different in Junior-B hockey. “I figured I would get a lot better, and I think I did,” he said. “I did get a lot faster; my reaction time is better. It was a great learning experience.” Brandon Veneziale, a former goalie for Archbishop Wood’s hockey team, is a backup goalie for the Sailors. As for Tennent, the Panthers earned the Suburban High School Hockey League’s berth in the Class AA Flyers Cup by defeating Cheltenham, two games to one, in a best- of-three qualifying series last week. Senior right winger Tommy Myers had a hat trick, including the game-winner, as Tennent nipped Cheltenham, 6-5, in quadruple over- time in Wednesday’s deciding game. Tennent posted a 6-0 win in Game 1, but fell, 3-2, in overtime in Game 2. “The final game lasted over three hours,” Tennent coach Joe Paul said. “Three games in three nights is a lot to begin with, but then there seemed to be no end to the last game in the series. I was impressed with my team’s heart and desire, to keep plugging away in that final game.” Against Holy Ghost, the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League representative, Tennent will be led by four seniors: Musgrove, Myers, first-line center Billy George, and goalie Scott Pulkowski. Paul said Myers “was, by far, the hero of the series against Cheltenham. He’s been a real force for us in the second half of the season.” The Firebirds, who last season reached the championship game of the Class AA Flyers Cup, are paced by Ryan Tocicki. The senior center notched a league-high 50 goals, with 21 assists, in regular-season action as Holy Ghost went 16-7-1 and finished in third place. The Tennent/Holy Ghost winner will meet Eastern, the South Jersey High School Hockey League representative, in the semifinals Thurs- day at 6:45 p.m. at Face-Off. The Class AA championship game is scheduled for March 29 at 8 p.m. at Ice Line Triple Rinks in West Chester.
On the spot. Germantown Academy senior goalie John DiGirolamo, a backup to Danny Angeline for most of his high school career, will be the Patriots’ starting netminder in the Class AAA Flyers Cup. GA will meet Washington Township, the top-seeded squad from the South Jersey league, in a quarterfinal playoff at 8:30 tonight at Face-Off. The Minutemen knocked off de- fending Flyers Cup champion Conwell-Egan, 9-6, in the first round. Angeline, a fifth-year senior, was ruled ineligible to compete in this year’s tournament. Patriots coach John Ioia, who will retire at the end of this season, said he had plenty of confidence in DiGirolamo. “John is an outstanding goaltender,” Ioia said. “He’s a very athletic kid. Anybody who has watched him play will tell you he’s a good goalie.” GA defeated archrival Council Rock, two games to none, in the best-of-three Suburban league championship series. DiGirolamo was the starter in Game 1, a 6-3 victory for the Patriots, and saw playing time in Game 2. GA held off the Indians, 3-2, in Thursday’s deciding game to claim its second postseason crown in three seasons. The squad has won six straight regular-season titles. Junior center Nate Smith’s second goal of the game, on a breakaway about three minutes into the second period, gave the Patriots a 3-0 advantage. Goals by Rock’s Ryan Parkin and Steve Tyrol made things interesting in the late going. “They were coming at us pretty hard near the end of the game,” Ioia said. “Danny Angeline made a couple of big saves to help us hang on.”
Warriors in semifinals. Methacton, an 8-2 winner over Cedar Cliff in the first round of the Class A Flyers Cup, will face Strath Haven in a semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Skatium in Havertown. The Warriors’ leading scorer is sophomore winger Brian Burgoon, who totaled 27 goals and 23 assists in regular-season play. Two juniors, winger Kevin Unruh (25 goals, 18 assists) and center Mike Prendergast (16, 27), are the other offensive catalysts. Junior goalie Drew Moister had a 1.79 goals-against average in the regular season as Methacton went 13-1-2 and placed third in the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League A-North Division. Strath Haven finished third in the Inter-County’s A-South Division, with a record of 13-3.
By Rick O’Brien
Philadelphia Inquirer Correspondent
