The Pennridge Varsity Ice Hockey Team stuck true to their motto “the boys are buzzin’” by taking the SHSHL AA Championship title Thursday, February 28th, against CB South. In the racey 2-0 game, Goalie Luke Stranick blocked all 40 shots by South, and Team Captains Eric Slater and Mike Walker led their team to a stunning victory. When the buzzer rang out and the scoreboard read in favor of Pennridge an adrenaline frenzy consumed the team. Sticks, gloves, mouth guards went flying across the ice as the team reunited in the middle of the rink for a rapturous communion. Goalie, Stranick, having ridden the high of winning of cup claimed “Everyone was hype… it was a great time, I was very happy and pleased. ”

The win against CB South enabled the Pennridge team to continue crushing the competition as they moved forward to the Flyers Cup. The Flyers cup, an annual high school hockey tournament, created in 1979, consists of teams from three leagues; Inter-county Scholastic Hockey League, Suburban High School Hockey League, and Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey league. Many Flyers Cup Alumni have moved onto greater careers in the NHL, making Pennridges win in the first round on Wednesday, March 6th, that much more significant. The Pennridge team has the honor of playing during the tournaments 40th anniversary, where more than 50 teams will compete among 5 different divisions.  

In the 6-5 game against Garnet Valley, team Captain Mike Walker said the team was working strenuously to win. “Everyone’s on the same page, either you win or you’re done, and we all want to just keep going.” For the benefit of the team and the forward momentum of the season, the boys banded together to keep the games going. The heated Flyers Cup game turned to favor pennridge during the second half. Despite Granet being up 5-4, Pennridge made a stunning recovery through the help of leading scorers Frankie Rota, Eric Slater, Mike Walker and Matthew Guinette.

Although the Varsity squad achieved an incredible win, the 1st period of the game showed a weaker side of the Pennridge team. The lineup was fidgety and seemingly out of sync in the beginning. Coach Jeff Montagna responded to Suburban One Sports “I don’t know if we could play worse defensively than we did tonight. It was a little too close.” Despite their rocky start, the defense quickly grew stronger and more aggressive and expeditiously they grew into goal. With more wins to come, all eyes will be on our hockey boys. When asked about how they feel with all the challenging teams they have to face in the next rounds, Stranick, speaking for the team replied “lightwork.”