La Salle ice hockey players celebrate at the Flyers Cup after defeating Malvern Prep 6-3 in the AAA final on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at Hatfield Ice. (Mike Cavley/Media News Group)
Hatfield >> La Salle scored quickly against Malvern Prep in the Flyers Cup AAA championship game Wednesday night.
The top-seeded Explorers scored four goals in the first 7:04 of the first period, as the defending champions cruised to a 6-3 win over the second-seeded Flyers at Hatfield Ice Arena. proved sufficient. .
“It feels great,” said La Salle's Cameron Ross, who was named MVP. “Honestly, I wish we could have won in OT one more time just to get that experience, but it's great to win back-to-back games and we're hoping to win (the state championship) in Saturday's matchup.” Richland.
“We got off to a slow start (in the semifinal game against Holy Ghost Prep). We practiced on Monday, worked hard today, and we were able to do that. We started the game and scored four goals.”
La Salle (23-3) built a lead with two goals in two sets. His first two goals were scored 11 seconds apart, and his third and fourth goals were within 23 seconds of each other.
Ryan Wylie and Benjamin Falicki scored the first two goals, both rebounds. Wiley's goal, courtesy of Charles Kennedy, came 3:42 into the game, and Falicki's goal, assisted by James Carpenter, came 3:53 into the game.
Less than three minutes later, the Explorers were back in action. Ross' wrist shot from the point found the back of the net at 6:41, and Grant LaGreca made it 4-0 at 9:56.
“As soon as you put the puck in the back of the net, you get momentum and we don't let up in that moment,” Ross said.
“It's just momentum,” Kennedy repeated. “We took advantage of our chances and did what we had to do, moving the puck low, getting in front of the net, creating traffic jams. It was a great start and obviously contributed to the whole game. .”
The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference rivals traded goals the rest of the way. Jeremy Jacobs, Pax Hiocic and Jonathan Holt scored for the Friars (11-9), while Ross and Kennedy added goals in the second and third periods, respectively, for the Explorers.
Holt made a mark on the stat sheet for Malvern Prep, totaling one goal and two assists in the championship game.
Ross scored one goal in the first 25 games of the season and led La Salle with two goals. The second goal of the game was a short shot. He carried the puck the length of the ice and hit the goalie from the right side at the near post, giving the Explorers a 5-1 lead early in the second period.
Kennedy had a goal and two assists. With 6:34 left in the third period, he lit the lamp on a wraparound to make it 6-2.
“I saw my teammate Pat Brace crash low,” Kennedy recalled. “The goalie was saying, 'Oh, pick him up, he's low,' and he was hugging the post. I just went through with it.”
La Salle goaltender Jacob Rossi stopped 31 of 34 shots and Malvern Prep's Matthew Crawford stopped 36 of 42 shots. Riley Doyle played the final minutes for the Friars, stopping four shots.
La Salle will look to win its second straight state championship Saturday when it faces Penguins Cup champion Pine-Richland. Puck drops at Haverford Scatium at 5 p.m.
La Salle 6, Malvern Prep 3
Malvern Prep 1 1 1 – 3
La Salle 4 1 1 – 6
Early period
Ryan Wiley (La Salle), assist: Charles Kennedy 3:42
Benjamin Falicki (La Salle), James Carpenter assist 3:53
Cameron Ross (La Salle), assists: Ryan Wiley, Charles Kennedy 6:41
Grant LaGreca (La Salle) 7:04
Jeremy Jacobs (Malvern Prep), assist: Brady Doyle, Jonathan Holt, power play 16:08
Second period
Cameron Ross (La Salle), shorthanded 2:06
Pax Huisik (Malvern Prep) Assists: Jonathan Holt, Henry Tesoriero 5:34
third period
Charles Kennedy (La Salle), power play 10:53
Jonathan Holt (Malvern Prep), Brady Doyle, Jeremy Jacobs assists 16:13
keep
MP: Matthew Crawford 36, Riley Doyle 4.
LS: Jacob Rossi: 31 years old.
