CB West topples Truman in Flyers Cup AA 1st round
HATFIELD TWP. >> Truman goalie Kyle Huth was a rock, making 40 saves and allowing his Tigers to hang tough with third-seeded Central Bucks West in Wednesday night’s Flyers Cup AA First-Round contest.
But it was late in the second period — with the game deadlocked at one apiece — when Bucks forward Eric Schwass found a tiny crack.
“I actually got a little advice off of (teammate) Tucker Forte right before I got out (for that shift),” Schwass said. “He told me ‘go glove side.’ I saw glove side was open and I went there — I was lucky enough to get it in.”
Schwass beat Huth with 1 minute, 5 seconds to go in the second period, putting West in front for good and sending the Bucks to a 3-1 victory over the Tigers, as West advances to a Friday night quarterfinal matchup with No. 6 Boyertown, back at Hatfield Ice at 7:25.
“That first goal that (Truman) put in, that really kind of woke me up and I know it woke the rest of my line up,” Schwass said. “I just wanted to get the rest of the team going and it was good that we woke up in the second period when we needed to.”
The Bucks, dominating in shots by a whopping margin of 43-11, would add to their lead early in the third, when Dalton Karl scored unassisted to make it 3-1. Keeper Jonah Brous stopped all but one of Truman’s 11 shots as the Bucks go charging into the quarterfinals.
“I really was impressed with Truman,” West coach Dave Baun said of the 14th-seeded Tigers, who had pushed past Conestoga in a play-in game to advance to Wednesday night. “I give a lot of credit to (coach) Billy Keyser. He had a short bench and his kids came out and played really hard.
“And they really played a tough game against us. It was not an easy game. I thought we were fortunate to come away with a 3-1 win. I think we did wear them down a little bit — I think they had to rely on a couple forwards an awful lot.”
Dominating the first period with an 18-3 edge in shots, the Bucks opened the scoring 12 minutes and 45 seconds in when Joe Anton scored off an assist by Jacob Janik.
But Truman, although outplayed for much of the opening 15 minutes, found a way to even things at one apiece, with Steven Avellino setting up Kyle Bennett, making it 1-1 heading into the second.
Huth was keeping the Tigers in it.
“He was a fantastic puck stopper,” Baun said. “He was just in front of everything. I think Truman played a solid game but we just put a few more pucks in the net because we got some better opportunities and we took advantage of them.”
Schwass’ goal would send the Bucks on their way, with Boyertown on their mind.
“I know a few guys from over there and they’re a good team. It’s gonna be a good game,” Schwass said, “but I think we can handle them and I think we’ll come out with a win there.”
