1987 All-Area Team (Delco)

April 1987

Somehow, when you hear of an ice hockey player with a nickname “Rat’ you expect to find a hard-nosed, do-anything type of player who is fun to watch and horrible to play against. Malvern Prep’s Matt Lannen has carried the nickname “Rat” since his freshman year. Lannen plays the game tough, and he was one of the catalysts in this year’s championship season for the Friars. For fans, watching Lannen play was a fun experience. For opposing players, especially goalies, watching Lannen play was somewhat less than enjoyable. The scrappy Malvern Prep senior logged 59 points during the regular season and then continued his offensive assault throughout the Eastern High School Hockey League (EHSHL) playoffs, the Flyers Cup competition, and the Pennsylvania Cup game. For his efforts and his accomplishments on the ice, Lannen has been selected as the Local News Ice Hockey Player of the Year.
Lannen finished as the second leading scorer in the EHSHL behind teammate Jeff Spencer, who had 65, and slightly ahead of linemate Steve Kinsley’s 56. And, he helped spark the Friars to an impressive 24-2 record this year. “We had a lot of seniors on the team this year,” said Lannen. “At the beginning of the season, we just got together among ourselves and decided that we weren’t going to let anything stop us. We basically kept it on ourselves to keep things going.” As it turned out, the Friars were virtually unstoppable. They finished as undefeated regular season champs in the Eastern League and then swept their way through the EHSHL playoffs.

Malvern Prep tasted its first loss in the opening game of the Flyers Cup when they were upended by cross-county nemesis Conestoga. The Friars avenged the loss by knocking off Conestoga in the Flyers Cup final. Next year, Lannen will be taking his skills north to St. Michael’s University in Winooski, Vermont. After growing up playing ice hockey in Buffalo, New York, Lannen landed in Chester County. He has played varsity hockey at Malvern ever since his freshman year. “I got the nickname Rat my freshman year,” said Lannen. “They gave it to me because I was pretty small then, and I used to scurry around all the time. I used to dig in corners a lot. “Now, I’m looking forward to playing for St. Michael’s. They’re in Division III, and they have a fairly competitive team. I know that I’ll be able to make the team and play relaxed there- and that’s something I couldn’t do at a Division I or a Division II school.”