March 2004

Delaware Valley High School Report
Flyers Cup Predictions

The Flyers Cup unveiled a series of changes to its selection process for its 25^th Anniversary, and the resulting tournament fields are deeper and (perhaps) more wide open.

AAA

The AAA tournament will get underway Mar 16, with the first game pitting #7 seed Downingtown against #10 Hershey. Both teams faired well against AAA competition this season. I’ll take Downingtown in a close one to advance to the second round to meet LaSalle.

In other first-round action, #8 Eastern Regional will host #9 Archbishop Ryan at the FSZ Voorhees. The two played to a 3-3 tie in a non-league game in the regular season, but this time it counts and I will take Eastern Regional to advance to play Malvern in round two.

#5 Holy Ghost also squares off against #12 Bonner. If Ghost takes this team lightly they could be in for a big surprise. Bonner has played well down the stretch and could cause problems for the Firebirds. Throw in the incentive of playing O’Hara in round two at the Skatium, and Bonner could be dangerous. I still like Ghost though 5-2.

The winner of #6 West Chester East and #11 Father Judge will travel to Face-Off circle to play GA. The big difference here is that Judge wanted to play AAA and East may not have. Can the East players get mentally ready for the AAA tournament? I think so, and a win should be in the cards.

Round two should be very interesting. It could pit Eastern against Malvern. Both teams went undefeated with one tie. Eastern’s first line is strong, the best in South Jersey. They also have one of the top goalies in the area in Danny Meyers. But for Eastern to win they will have to rely on Meyers to steal a lo- scoring game. If they think they can trade goals with Malvern, the Vikings will be in for a long night. Malvern’s top line is just as good if not better than Eastern’s, their goaltending is solid and they are three lines deep. The depth is the difference as Malvern advances.

Against Holy Ghost, O’Hara goalie Jason Mardinly could steal the show, but if he is not up to the task he could see a lot of rubber end up behind him. Both teams are deep and have underrated defenses. I like Ghost to advance to the semis against Malvern.

Both Downingtown and LaSalle will need to pull themselves together for the post season. The Whippets didn’t win a game in their last four tries while LaSalle failed to beat GA in two meetings and dropped one to Hershey a little earlier in the season. If both teams are at full strength mentally and physically, I will take LaSalle to advance.

The last quarterfinal would pit GA against East. Both have solid goaltending and ample scorers. GA is young and relatively small. For East to win they will need to outmuscle GA. If they want to play a finesse game I think it will be GA in the end.

GA and LaSalle have played twice this season with GA coming out with the lone victory, 1-0. The other was a 3-3 contest earlier in the season. This rivalry is always hard to pick a winner, but LaSalle has been a little shaky down the stretch. GA 3-2.

Holy Ghost played Malvern tough early in the season before a third period collapse. There are two ways to spin this:

1. Ghost knows they can play with Malvern and build on that; or
2. Malvern was surprised early in the season and they aren’t going to let Ghost hang around like they did last time.

I’ll banking on spin #2. Call it Malvern 5-2.

That would set up a rematch of the 2002 AAA Flyers Cup Championship, with Malvern vs GA.

Chris Campanale and Will Averona are gunning to become the only two players in Flyers Cup history to see their names engraved on the Flyers Cup each of their four seasons. GA was not been able to score a goal in the two regular season meetings with the Friars so it would be hard to pick them in this situation. I’ll take Malvern 3-1, but look out for GA next season!

AA

In the AA Cup, there will be a new champion this year as Holy Ghost was among the selections to play AAA this season.

In the top half of the bracket, we begin with #8 Henderson taking on #9 Cherokee. The Chiefs are the feel-good team of the tournament. They tragically lost a teammate, Jeff Burd, at the end of the season to spinal meningitis. Seemingly spurred on by their loss, the team has really rallied together to put on quite a performance in the SJHSIHL playoffs. They will take the ice against the battle-tested Warriors who made it to the AA Flyers Cup finals last season. The Chiefs will need to draw all of their emotional reserves if they are going to upset the more talented Henderson squad.

In the semi’s Abington will most likely take on Archbishop Wood. The Vikings wanted no parts of the AAA tournament and they got their wish. Their reward for playing AA is a semi-finals match-up with Abington (if both teams make it that far), a team they have not been able to beat over the last seven meetings.

If #12 Council Rock North is healthy, they can sneak into the semis as well. If they are not healthy, they might have a hard time getting past #5 Neshaminy.

Congrats to #13 St. Joe’s Prep for making it in only their second season. They will have their work cut out for them in round one against Wood.

#2 Carroll could have an easer road to the finals. The Patriots are on fire lately! Sorry #15 Upper Darby, I don’t want to take anything away from your great season, but I don’t see the outcome of this one being very close.

In round two, the Patriots would play the winner of the Crusaders and Parkland. Again, whoever comes out of this game, should succumb to Carroll in round two.

The other semifinalist would come from the bracket of Washington Twp, C.B. West, Pennsbury and Haverford High. I think HHS is the favorite, but if they underestimate a healthy Pennsbury squad, I think they are in for a long night.

Abington vs Carroll would be a great finals match-up. Abington, should they get there will be battle-tested as there road is a much more difficult one. Carroll will put up a great fight, but the senior-heavy Ghosts seem to be on a mission as of late. Call it 5-3 Abington, and a trip to Pittsburgh for the Ghosts.

A

The ‘A’ Flyers Cup should be very intriguing this year. Instead of urging teams to ‘move up’ because they have been successful, this year true ‘A’ teams will be playing in class ‘A’ making for a more competitive bracket. Additionally, schools like Lower Dauphin and Clearview will get a chance to shine rather than being forced to move up because they had a good season.

With that said, If any of the first round games that involves the top three seeds of Radnor, Springfield and Lower Dauphin are within 10 goals, I would be very surprised. These are the three teams that someone will have to knock off if their dreams of winning a Flyers Cup are to become a reality.

I think #4 Hatboro Horsham has the best chance to upset the applecart. They will meet #13 Truman in the first round. The Hatters have two good lines and third that is quite serviceable. I think they are too deep for Truman, who will be playing without a full team do to Flyers Cup purity rules.

#5 Rancocas Valley and #12 Methacton could have been a great game. It still can be, but Methacton’s loss of George Stevens to an injury is devastating. RV should move on.

#9 Lower Merion will travel to South Jersey to play #8 Clearview with something to prove to many. I’m not sure why they have anything to prove. No one ever questioned their abilities, just there eligibility. Anyway, they will play ‘A’ this year and could get by Clearview in a tight, low scoring game. Call it 3-2 LM.

That will set up a match with Radnor, were the Aces do have something to prove. They haven’t beaten the Raiders in two seasons, and I can’t see it happening now. Maybe AA would have been a better fit after all?

Can Hatboro hang with Radnor? Time will tell, but the defending Champions will come away with the victory. Whether HH can keep it close is the question.

#6 Marple I agree might be seeded too high, but geography was a factor when doing the seedings. With that said, I still think they will be able to pull out a victory over #11 Kennett.

As I said earlier, the LVSHL has yet to win a Flyers Cup game. I think that changes right here. #10 Freedom is one of the LVSHL’s strongest teams. They benefit from the new structure and are capable of getting by #7 Central Dauphin. CD is no patsy however, they can easily win this game.

Whoever comes out of the Freedom/C Dauphin game has the pleasure of playing Springfield. As long as Springfield isn’t looking past their opponent the Cougars should come out victorious regardless of who they play.

Lower Dauphin vs Springfield is a game that intrigues me. It is one that I will do my best to attend. Too tough to pick a winner in this one.

The final is a tough game to call. I’d love to see Springfield vs Radnor in the finals because I know that it will be an entertaining game, no matter what the outcome. There is more suspense in a Radnor vs LD match-up however. So I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that we will se a Radnor against Lower Dauphin final with Radnor three-peating with a 5-1 victory. I think Springfield can keep the score closer, but the outcome will likely be the same.

High School Notes: Congratulations to Eastern Regional. The Vikings finished the season with an undefeated record throughout the regular season and the playoffs and earned the SJHSIHL championship.

The Lower Bucks is down to the finals where surprise playoff team Pennsbury will meet Holy Ghost prep in a three-game series. Pennsbury upset Ryan and Neshaminy to get to the finals.

In the SHSHL Archbishop Wood was knocked out of the playoffs by North Penn. C.B. West and Abington will face-off in the SHSHL Finals. Wissahickon and Lansdale Catholic will do battle for the North title.

The Parkland Trojans took the 2003-04 LVSHL Scholastic Cup.

In the CPIHL Lower Dauphin was knocked out of playoff competition with losses to Hershey and Central Dauphin. The tier I championship is down to four teams. Hershey, C Dauphin, Palmyra and Warwick are still alive in the double elimination tournament.

Flyers Cup teams Cedar Cliff and Central York are among the final four in Tier II.

In the ICSHL AA, Council Rock had to forfeit due to lack of players based on a lingering injury problem. Carroll sent Henderson packing in the first round.

The Central league is down to a head to head match between Lower Merion and Springfield. The winner of that game will have to then beat Radnor twice. W.C. East II will play Unionville with the winner playing Roman Catholic for the A South title. And in the A North Springford has surprised everyone with wins over Boyertown, Methacton and Springfield (M). They need to beat Boyertown again to be crowned A South Champions.

The EHSHL AA has four teams left. Ridley will play St. Joe’s and Haverford High will meet Upper Darby. The winners will play in three game series at the Skatium..In A, Marple plays O’Hara II in the semi’s, while Bonner II plays Interboro. The winners will also play a three game stretch at the Skatium.