COLMAR – After 90 days and 13 straight wins, North Penn (17-3) found themselves on thin ice against Central Bucks South (17-4) last night.
Time of possession was hard to come by for both teams early as the crosstown rivals faced off in a league tournament win-or-go-home matchup. North Penn’s last loss was nearly three months ago, falling similarly to CB South, 6-5.
Following a Sean Cutter goal with 4:16 left in the period, it looked like both offenses were going silent, and the start of the second period looked the same way. North Penn had a power play 25 seconds into the second period but wasn’t able to make anything out of it.
The aggressive physicality of both team’s faded as the game slowly progressed, although the Knights defense looked to be wearing down from the constant pressure from the Titans.
5 minutes into the second period, North Penn thought they had tied it up, but the goal was called back after the net moved. 30 seconds later, a pileup formed around the crease and defenseman James Boyle was able to bump the puck into the net during the commotion to tie the game at 1-1.
Both teams boast a powerful offense, so the lack of goals early was surprising. North Penn is second in goals in the SHSHL, and CB South is close behind at third. While Boyle ended the game with three goals, North Penn’s three leading scorers in Sam Norton, Cole Pluck, and Nolan Shingle weren’t able to find the net in this one.
Halfway through the second period, Cutter and Norton both got sent to the penalty box 50 seconds apart, but both power plays resulted in a wash, much like the rest of the second period.
The third period saw more action than the rest of the game, with CB South’s Dominic Gibson lighting the lamp first 2 minutes in. Assisted by Shingle, Boyle returned the favor 5 minutes later, coming from behind the net for his second goal of the night, tying the game again at 2 each.
The game started to run away from North Penn after that, with the Titans scoring back to back within 30 seconds, from Logan Hood and Ryan Frey, respectively. CB South controlled the puck for most of the rest of the period, and with a minute left, North Penn swapped out their goalie, Aidan Quigely, for an extra attacker.
The move paid off, for the time at least. Coming out of a bench timeout, Boyle completed his hat trick with 21.5 seconds left in the game. With 2 seconds left, the Knights had a faceoff on the Titan’s side but weren’t able to complete the comeback as the puck slid away and North Penn’s league run ended.
Central Bucks South will move on to the SHSHL title game against Council Rock South at Grundy Ice Arena on Thursday. North Penn will take some time and get ready to take part in the Flyers Cup, which they are ranked 2nd in.
CB South (4): Cutter (Frey); Gibson (Herring); Hood (unassisted); Frey (unassisted)
North Penn (3): Boyle (Cabreles, Norton); Boyle (Shingle); Boyle (Silvotti)
Shots: CBS 29, NP 23
Saves: Nathan Napolitano (CBS) 20, Aidan Quigley (NP) 25.
