PennHaven unseats Boyertown/OJR in OT for ICSHL National championship

A three-goal lead and only five minutes remaining is usually cause for excitement. On Wednesday though, the PennHaven girls’ ice hockey team was better described as wary.

“Although we were up, everyone was like, ‘They can still get like seven goals. We still have to push hard,’” said PennHaven senior captain Fiona Ackroyd. “We all knew we had to keep going.”

Rightfully, too, with senior Ava Rinker and high-scoring Boyertown/Owen J. Roberts on the other side of the ice.

After being held scoreless for 40-plus minutes, the Bearcats finally broke through and used a furious rally fueled by three goals in four minutes from Rinker to tie their Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League National Division championship game and force overtime.

Yet PennHaven held their poise, got on top early in the extra period and gave themselves a happy ending when leading scorer Annie Dignazio hit home the game-winner to capture the division crown with a 4-3 overtime victory over two-time defending champion Boyertown/OJR Wednesday night at Ice Line in West Chester.

“It was really cool,” Ackroyd said. “I was confident in my team’s ability to win, but it was a crazy comeback they had.”

No. 2 seed PennHaven, which features players from Penncrest and Strath Haven, fell to Boyertown/OJR twice in the regular season, 7-5 on Feb. 22 and 6-2 on March 21 but had the Bearcats’ number in the third meeting thanks in large part to a pair of eighth graders.

Along with eighth grader Dignazio, PennHaven goalie Fiona Walker, an eighth grader at Penncrest, was the story of much of the game, stoning shot after shot from a Bearcats team that featured the division’s top three scorers in Rinker, Samantha Hughes and Payton Hansen. Walker had 30 saves.

“Our goalie was doing an amazing job,” said Ackroyd.

No. 1 seed Boyertown/OJR eased into the final with a 9-1 win over Downingtown East while PennHaven downed Downingtown West 4-1 in semifinals contested Tuesday.

Sophomore Annika Sullivan’s lofted shot was assisted by Dignazio (12 goals, 13 assists) and opened the scoring eight minutes into the first period. PennHaven doubled its lead on a breakaway by freshman Sophie Grant with four minutes left in the second period.

It was not the start the Bearcats were aiming for.

“Whenever we play against (PennHaven) we know they’re going to bring it. They’re one of the top teams in the league and have been for a while,” Rinker said. “We knew it was going to be a hard game. We didn’t think we were going to fall behind, like at the beginning we hoped to get the first goal and move on from there. That didn’t really happen.”

Bonnie Mundy set up Morgan Daly’s slapshot from the right side for a 3-0 lead with 6:34 to play.

But the Bearcats came to life in stunning fashion with seniors Hansen and Hughes assisting UConn recruit Rinker off a pair of faceoffs in the PH zone for two goals in a 20-second span, the second on the power play.

Rinker’s excellence – she had an ICSHL girls-best 29 goals and 20 assists on the season – was then on display with a twisting setup from the point to level the game with 40 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It was more about keeping my head up and just keep looking for the little things,” Rinker said. “By the end they might have been on their heels a bit with those faceoffs in their zone. My D partner Payton out there, she made awesome passes to me and it just allowed me to get quick shots off.”

Incredible! Ava Rinker brings Boyertown/OJR back from 3 down with 40 seconds left. 3-3 pic.twitter.com/woz0MCBjgK

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) March 31, 2021

But PennHaven answered the adversity of seeing a three-goal lead evaporate in minutes and had the puck in the Bearcats end much of overtime until Dignazio’s heroics.

PennHaven, captained by seniors Ackroyd and defenseman Annie Atsaves, elevated its record to 10-3.

“I feel like the team really came together this year, our passing, working together more. Especially towards the end, we’re all really cheering for each other,” Ackroyd said.

While PennHaven may just be getting started with young impact players, Boyertown/OJR (10-0-0-2) will have its hands full rebuilding from the departure of its three standout seniors Rinker, Hughes and Hansen.

The trio led the National Division in scoring (Rinker 26 goals, 20 assists; Hughes 20 goals, 9 assists; Hansen 11 goals, 13 assists).

Rinker, a member of the U19 Jr. Flyers who committed to Division I UConn already as a ninth grader, impressed throughout. She left an impression on the PennHaven players, three of whom skated over individually amid their celebration to congratulate her on a great game.

“What is your training? How do I do that?” asked one almost starstruck.

Hansen, also a U19 Jr. Flyers player, is committed to Endicott College.

Boyertown/OJR, coached by Mike Hansen, has been atop the National Division in recent years despite challenges with numbers.

“The amount of legs they had on the bench definitely had an impact on us,” said Rinker. “We have a smaller bench than them and I think that impacted most of our players, being out there as much and keeping up. They’re a pretty fast team, too.”

Returning players for the Bearcats include junior starting goalie Amy Erb (13 saves Wednesday) and classmate Mackenzie Rafter; sophomores Nicolette Bardsley, Ryley Brown, Hannah Baxter and Grace McGee; eighth graders Emma Cope and Kristen Davis; and seventh grader Hailee Valerio.