ICE HOCKEY

Hawks Topple Titans on the Strength of a Four Goal First Period

Council Rock South on the offensive last night against Central Bucks South

By: CR South News
STAFF WRITER

BRISTOL, PA - We’ve seen it many times before, getting an early lead can be poison for a hockey team. When Council Rock South went up four to zero after the first period, they probably thought the game was in the bag. Their opponent, Central Bucks South, is a team in decline to be sure, but they still boast several quality players, a great coach, and a winning record so far in the SHSHL, and they weren’t going to let Council Rock run away with a victory. What seemed like a rout turned into the Golden Hawks clinging for life.

The first few shifts of the game were evenly played, each team had some quality chances and each goaltender, Carson Lopez for the Hawks and Dominic Varacallo for the Titans, made some quality saves. Hawks leading scorer Blaize Pepe would open the scoring when his shot from the slot hit a Titan players stick and deflected over Varacallo’s shoulder for a 1-0 lead. Soon after, a Jake Weiner shot would be stopped by Varacallo, but the rebound went right to a wide-open Kevin Koles who had an empty net staring at him, and he didn’t miss. The Hawks then went on a power play, and it was a thing of beauty, with tape to tape passing capped off by a Jake Weiner goal from just outside the blue paint, eighteen seconds into the man advantage. The Titans were already looking lifeless at this point, but any wind left in their sails was deflated after Kevin Koles’s shot from center ice would hit Varacallo’s stick, bounce over his head and off of his back, into the net, finishing the first period scoring at 4-0 in favor of the Golden Hawks.

The Titans could have rolled over at this point, but they showed the resiliency of a Sean McGinty coached club and stepped up their game big time to start the second period. Maybe the Hawks were feeling themselves after their first period performance, but this game was evenly matched for the duration, and the Titans would score the only goals of the second period. The first came on the power play, the Titans getting good pressure in the Hawks zone, peppering Lopez with shots from in close. Lopez made two or three spectacular saves, but his defense couldn’t clear the puck and the Titans Michael Nemec put a shot through Lopez’s five hole on their fourth attempt of the flurry. Later in the period it was Aydin Thierolf carrying the puck one on one into the Hawks zone, pausing to take a wrist shot from the left circle. The snipe beat Lopez clean over the waffle and the Titans were back in it and playing well. With goalie Jason Magurah, who replaced Varacallo after the first period, doing his part, and the Golden Hawks tiring a bit, the Titans got the better of the play to end the second period, trailing by a score of 4-2, and this is where having a big, early lead can ruin a team.

Frustrated and feeling the pressure of the Titans improved play, the Hawks players continued to try and do too much individually, making poor decisions with the puck, leading to turnover after turnover, playing into the hands of the resurgent Titans. The Hawks had their chances in the third period, but the Titans would have just as many, and one goal could have been a huge momentum shift for either squad. Fortunately for the Hawks, Lopez remained solid and they did just enough to keep the Titans off of the board. An empty net goal by Gavin Nisenzon finally ended the third period drama and secured the victory for the Golden Hawks. A game that was headed for laugher status became a hard fought 5 to 2 victory, and the Hawks were lucky to get it.

This game reminded Hawks followers of Council Rock contests from early in the season when turnovers and individual play were commonplace. The team had eliminated those mistakes for most of the last half-dozen contests, but the Hawks fell on old habits when pressed by the Titans this night. No team can be taken lightly, no matter what the score, and the Titans showed why that is true when they pushed back after a lackluster opening frame. It’s time for the Hawks to right the ship once again with big games coming up to end the season, most notably against Pennridge, and playoffs and Flyers Cup looming. No doubt Hawks coach Joe Houk is aware and will have his boys humming next practice in hopes of getting back to a team game with intensity and intelligence. Hopefully his team gets the message and pulls it all together for a successful stretch run and more.

3 Stars of the Game

• 1- Blaize Pepe - 1 goal, 1 assist- He had his rocket skates on, flying with the puck all night. Seemed like every time he touched the puck it resulted in a scoring chance
• 2- Aydin Thierolf - 1 goal, 1 assist - Did he even come off the ice all night? He was Pepe in the opposite uniform, always dangerous with the puck
• 3- Carson Lopez - 25 saves - when the surge came, Lopez was ready. His calm, consistent play settles his teams nerves and provides the backbone for the team’s success

GAME RECAP

1ST PERIOD
11:25 CR SOUTH #76 Blaize Pepe (even strength) (#16 Daniel Filippov)
12:26 CR SOUTH #8 Kevin Koles (even strength) (#18 Jake Weiner, #10 Jeremy Rayher)
13:18 CR SOUTH #18 Jake Weiner (power play) (#8 Kevin Koles, #76 Blaize Pepe)
16:13 CR SOUTH #8 Kevin Koles (even strength) (#53 Jordan Sarne)
2ND PERIOD
3:52 CB SOUTH #14 Michael Nemec (power play) (#19 Aydin Thierolf, #37 Justin Keilman)
11:05 CB SOUTH #19 Aydin Thierolf (power play) (#23 Colin Mendham)
3RD PERIOD
16:13 CR SOUTH #17 Gavin Nisenzon (even strength) (empty net) (#8 Kevin Koles)