Downingtown East tops Downingtown West for 3rd straight Flyers Cup crown
PHILADELPHIA >> You could play it on a secluded pond, and the intensity would be off-the-charts in a hockey battle between borough rivals Downingtown East and Downingtown West. But on Sunday, the two met for the Flyers Cup AA Final — and the venue was the Wells Fargo Center, no less.
And even though the Cinderella Whippets fought tooth and nail, the top-seeded Cougars were just too much, cruising to a 7-2 triumph to capture the program’s third straight Flyer Cup championship. Now 17-5 overall, East has a slew of momentum as it tries to successfully defend state titles in both 2017 and 2018.
“The rivalry has been so great for so many years, with so many close games and so many good relationships,” said Cougars’ head coach Dave Hendricks. “All of these players really grew up together.
“It was a big day for Downingtown hockey, and a big day for the Ches-Mont. We like to refer to it as the SEC of high school hockey.”
It’s was also an exclamation point for a season that began in bizarre disarray for East. Hendricks was fired last summer, which in turn sparked a player revolt and resulted in his reinstatement.
“We weren’t even sure we had a coaching staff heading into this season. So to get here and win it feels amazing,” said East’s leading goal scorer, Ryan Prestayko.
“This team is family,” Hendricks added. “I am still just in awe of what they did in September, and am forever grateful. I am just happy that we, as a staff, were able to give them another Flyers Cup.”
A few days earlier, Hendricks called Downingtown East-vs.-West one of the great rivalries in high school sports. And on Sunday, the Cougars topped the Whippets for the third time this season thanks to four goals by Prestayko, and two other shorthanded goals in the second period that proved to be the difference.
“I guess I should say a thank you the referees instead of throwing a couple more expletives,” Hendricks laughed.
For West – who was the 15th seed in a field of 16 teams – it marked the end of an amazing postseason run that featured Flyers Cup wins over three top-seven seeds. The Whippets finish 10-15 overall.
“Dave (Hendricks) and are good friends and we talked last summer that it could very well be these two teams in the (Flyers Cup),” said West head coach Ryan Smith.
“But it just wasn’t our night.”
Prestayko opened the scoring with an unassisted wrister from the slot, and then made it 2-0 with a backhanded tally off a rebound from a severe angle midway through the first period.
“I just wanted to get the team started,” Prestayko said.
“I knew I was going to put on a show (Sunday). Whenever I start a game and get one (goal) quick, let’s just say I was feeling it from there.”
The Whippets had a three-to-one edge in shots on goal early, including a disallowed goal. But Dave McQuiston buried a rebounded shot by teammate Matt Flynn for a power play goal with 1:17 on the clock to make it 2-1 heading into the second.
“West is our biggest rivalry, and we knew it was a Cinderella story, so we were excited to play them,” said East’s Mike Bolger, who was named the tournament MVP. “We knew that all of the emotion would be on (West’s) side, but we also knew if we could handle business, it would go our way.
“We were having fun in pregame. I was a little concerned that the energy level wouldn’t be there, but when we were locked in and ready to go.”
The game turned when the Cougars notched back-to-back second period goals while shorthanded. The first was a forced turnover on the forecheck that ended up a goal by Andrew Ceglia, and the second was by Theo Vela who cleaned up a rebound. C.J. Boyd then made it 5-1 with a 2-on-1 goal late in the period.
“Those were killer penalty-kill goals,” Bolger said.
Matt Flynn made it 5-2 with a power play goal for West, but East came right back with a pair of goals in a 31 second span by Prestayko to round out the scoring.
“We had some bad turnovers, bad pinches, and a good team like (East) is going to capitalize,” Smith said.
The Whippets outshot the Cougars 36-31, and had a big edge in avoiding penalties (9-0), but it didn’t seem to bother East, who allowed two power play goals but also score a couple down a man.
“(East goaltender Matt) Shandler played a heck of a game in net,” Smith pointed out. “For us, we’ve struggled at times to score goals all season and this was another example of that. If you can’t find the back of the net, it’s tough to win.”
NOTE: Bolger, Prestayko and Shandler were named to the All-Tournament Team along with West’s McQuiston and Alec Connolly.
Downingtown East 7, Downingtown West 2
Downingtown West 1 0 1 — 2
Downingtown East 2 3 2 — 7
Downingtown West goals: McQuiston, Flynn.
Downingtown East goals: Prestayko 4, Woods, Boyd, Vela.
Goalie saves: West (DW) 29; Shandler (DE) 29.
