Spring-Ford advances to Flyers Cup Final Four

The recipe for the Spring-Ford Ice Hockey Club's newfound success has been simple all season.

Start strong, get great goaltending, and play solid defense. When they have combined those traits, wins against seemingly unbeatable opponents have resulted.

That trend continued last night as senior captain Sean McCabe scored two goals to propel Spring-Ford to a 4-2 win over Washington Township, NJ, advancing the Rams into the Final Four of the 2011 Flyers Cup.

“It has been an amazing year,” said Drew Hunsberger, who missed Tuesday’s contest due to a prior commitment to the varsity lacrosse squad. “I’ve been a part of it all year and I can’t believe it. We have all come together so much as a team and take pride in how well we play hockey, instead of how we used to play.”

McCabe got the scoring started on the power play with 5 minutes remaining in the first period on a feed from team-leading scorer Tyler Hoffman.

Sophomore Alec Posner (goal and assist in Flyers Cup play) and freshman Tom Kisela (goal, 2 assists in Flyers Cup) each scored goals four minutes apart to start the second period and put the Rams up 3-0. The Rams never relinquished the lead.

Junior goaltender Pete Esslinger, who turned away 37 of the 39 shots he faced in his second straight Flyers Cup victory, was sensational in the first period. He made three great saves and slammed the door time and again as Washington Township peppered him with 15 shots.

“The first period has been the most important for us all year,” said head coach Bill Booth previously. “You can’t win the game in the first, but you sure can lose it. The only games that we struggled in coming down the stretch in our league schedule were the games that we came out flat.” 

The Rams were anything but flat as they kept “Township” off balance and did not allow a goal until Eric Naccarelli (2 points in Flyers Cup play) finally beat Esslinger on the 22^nd shot of the night directed at the Rams netminder.

McCabe quickly regained the momentum for Spring-Ford as he beat Washington Township goalie Ryan McKusker on the short side with 2:07 remaining in the second period to give the Rams a 4-1 bulge. McKusker stopped 14 of 18 shots.

“I have been to games this year and our hockey team is great,” said Tom Grablewsky, who won the Pennsylvania State American legion championship with the Spring City Red Sox. “They came out of nowhere this year and have made all of us that play for Spring-Ford very proud of them, it’s a tough sport that requires more than one skill.”

The Rams (9-7-3) killed off the only power play of the third period after Ryan Booth was whistled for interference. Esslinger stopped all 11 third period shots.

In the semifinal round, the Rams will face second-seeded Central Bucks East, who shut out Boyertown 3-0 to advance.

After rallying for four third period goals to defeat sixth seed Central Dauphin and dominating the third-seeded Washington Township squad, the Rams' team confidence is at an all time high.

The Patriots (17-3 league, 22-4-3 overall), who play in the Suburban High School Hockey League (SHSHL) come into the semifinal with a trio of scoring threats. Tom Schloendorn (22 goals, 26 assists) Mike Palmer (13 G, 29 A) and Austin Cinalli (18 G, 22 A) will be a stiff test for the Spring-Ford defense.

The Rams will need to continue their balanced attack, as they have gotten goals from eight different players.  Esslinger, who has posted a 3.50 GAA and .874 save percentage during the Flyers Cup, will have to be at the top of his game.

“If we come out and play our game we can beat anybody,” added Bill Booth. “I have been very proud of the way we have played all season and these boys have worked extremely hard to get where we are.”

Flyers Cup Final Four schedule (to be held at BCI Face Off in Warminster)

#1) Coucil Rock South vs  #12) Cherokee 7:00pm

#2) C.B.East  vs  #11) Spring-Ford  9:00pm

Spring-Ford scoring

First period

5:05 McCabe from Hoffman (Power Play)

Second period

12:40 Posner from Booth and Kisela

7:47  Kisela from Murphy, T and Stenson

2:07 McCabe from Murphy, J and Hoffman

Third period

None

Shots on goal

Spring-Ford               7  14   1 -  22

Washignton Twn.    11 18 11 - 39

Scoring

Spring-Ford                1    3    0  -   4

Washington Twn.    0    2    0  -   2