March 21, 2003
ICE HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Cherokee ice hockey team has had a habit of rising to the occasion at this time of the season. The Chiefs made a strong run to win the South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League last year, and they reached the semifinals of the league playoffs this season before losing to Clearview. That stretch put the Chiefs in the Flyers Cup Class A playoffs. Cherokee is the only South Jersey team still alive in the Flyers Cup competition. Cherokee will face Neshaminy in the semifinals tonight at 7 at Grundy Arena in Bristol, Pa. Defending champion Radnor will play Souderton at 7 tonight at Ice Works in Aston, Pa., in the other semifinal. The Class A championship will be held on Monday at 8:45 p.m. at Ice Line in West Chester, Pa. The Chiefs reached the semi-finals by beating Harry S Truman, 5-1, in their opener on Monday behind a pair of goals from Dan Altieri. They beat La Salle II, 4-2, on Wednesday. “We’re playing pretty strong, and the fact we don’t know who these teams are helps us,”
Cherokee senior goaltender Chris Sabol said. “We’re not intimidated by these teams; we’re just going out there and just playing.” The game against Neshaminy will be the last game for Sabol and senior defenseman Ben Davis, who will leave tomorrow for a four-day school trip to Disney World. Eastern, the defending SJHSIHL champion, was knocked out in the first round of the Class AA competition by Abington, 6-2, on Monday. “Our guys played all right in the beginning, but we got hurt by four power-play goals in that game,” Vikings coach Mike Pontonio said. “We really didn’t play our kind of game. “We still did a lot of things this season. Overall, I’d say this was a very successful year. Next year could possibly be even better than this year.” Eastern returns juniors Anthony Orner, Sean Sullivan, Brandon Tunstall, and possibly the best goaltender in South Jersey in Dan Meyers, who could leave Eastern this summer to play for a junior team next fall. Clearview also was knocked out in the first round of Class AA, losing to Pennsbury, 5-2, on Monday. The Pioneers played without two of their best players, David Gooch and Jon Probe, who had club team commitments that night. Cherry Hill East went into double overtime against La Salle II, before losing, 5-4, on Monday in the first round of the Class AA tournament. The Cougars received goals from John Sacks, Brian Buck, Pat Clancy, and Kevin Smith. Cherry Hill East had two break-aways in overtime that hit the post. “Cherry Hill East may have been the most improved team in South Jersey by the end of the season,” Pontonio said… “The new players who came in moved the puck well, and they skated very well. “They had a lot of kids who knew how to play the game. They almost beat Washington Township, forcing them to double overtime. I would say they are one of the teams of the future.” Washington Township was ousted in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs by Monsignor Bonner, 5-4. The Minutemen absorbed a few lopsided losses in the new Elite Class AAA League this season but were a competitive team by the end of the season.
By Joe Santoliquito
The Philadelphia Inquirer
