Skates scraping against the ice, sticks sliding the puck to each other, the game of a season; the Pennridge ice hockey team has led Pennridge High School to its third consecutive Flyer’s Cup Final appearance and earned the number one seed in the Flyers Cup, meaning they performed the best out of all the teams. The Pennridge Rams won the championship 7-3 to Council Rock South’s ice hockey team, making this Flyers Cup the second state championship win in three years.
“Being able to win (state championships) was easily our biggest accomplishment,” said Andrew Savona, a senior hockey player at Pennridge High School. He emphasized that the most important thing he took away from the season was the friendships the team made along the way to the Flyers Cup. “We got closer as the year went on; we improved on that as the year went on,” he explained.
Colin Dachowski, a senior at Pennridge High School and a defense player, stated that a valued aspect of the team is leadership. “As the oldest player, having a good leader is important,” he stated. Both boys explained that so many players dyed their hair blond because of a tradition between high schools during playoffs; “everyone stuck to it when we thought of the idea,” Dachowski mentioned. Savona stated that he thought changing their hair together brought the team closer together. Dachowski also mentioned that winning the Flyers Cup this year helped the team with their rivalry against the Council Rock South hockey team; “it put us over the hump and proved we are the best team.” The seniors wish the best for their team after graduation, with Dachowski hoping to see the Rams in the championships in the future: “I know they can; I just hope they keep winning.” Savona says the same, “I hope next year, they make it far- I hope they don’t lose seniors and then not be as good.” The team is sure to go far in the next few years, as the only loss they had during this season was against Council Rock South in the Suburban High School Hockey League Final.
Although Council Rock South is the Rams’s rival, they have been next to each other, watching each other succeed for their entire high school careers; “we’ve had great games between them,” Dachowski said, while Savona mentioned that the relationship is mixed as they have been “playing them four years straight and making it together.” In the future, the team will keep putting their all into their games, with continuous practicing and relationship building, as Savona mentioned, during practices, the team would be “working on the chemistry between everybody.”
Sources;
https://www.thereporteronline.com/2024/03/24/pennridge-claims-2nd-state-aa-title-in-3-seasons-with-7-5-victory-over-thomas-jefferson/
https://www.shshl.org/leaguestandings
https://www.usahockeyrulebook.com/page/show/1084714-rule-635-spearing#:~:text=(Note)%20Spearing%20is%20the%20act,assessed%20for%20spearing%20an%20opponent.
