Penncrest’s growth rewarded with Flyers Cup win over Plymouth Whitemarsh

ASTON – Kain Walker doesn’t need any reminders about the difference a year can make.

A year ago, Penncrest hockey went winless in 18 outings. Its opponents outscored them by 71 goals.

But 2020 was firmly in the past Monday night at IceWorks, when Walker and the current crop of Lions showed not just their tremendous collective growth but earned a pretty good reward for all that toil.

“We went from not winning a game to winning in the Flyers Cup,” Walker said, “so I’d say it’s pretty big growth.”

Walker tallied five points in a stellar offensive performance as eight-seeded Penncrest eliminated No. 9 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 5-1, in the Flyers Cup Class A opener.

Penncrest’s reward is a date with top-seeded West Chester East on Thursday.

The difference for each team from last year is monstrous. Plymouth Whitemarsh went 18-1, won the Suburban High School Hockey League title and outscored opponents by a 180-60 margin. A young Penncrest team went 0-16-1-1. But in that pain contained growth that has blossomed this year.

The anchor has been goalie Gannon Walker, who was outstanding in net with 22 saves. He owes a lot to his defense, led by Shane Kokoska and Colin Curran, that forced the Colonialsinto a bevy of shots from the outside with little net-mouth traffic.

For a goalie as solid as Walker, beating him from that range won’t happen often.

“Our D did a good job,” he said. “I got some shots but they weren’t too hard. My D did a good job keeping it to the outside.”

With that platform, the Lions were able to attack. Van Evans opened the scoring 75 seconds in, Kain Walker doing the hard work circling behind the net to find Evans open on the doorstep. Ryan Anderson made it 2-0 late in the period after he picked off a pass in the zone and fed Walker for a shot that Anderson deposited the rebound of in the back of the net.

Ty Conn buries it on a 3-on-1. Kain (right spelling) Walker his 4th pt. 4-1 Penncrest pic.twitter.com/ZrY8IPsyKf

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) April 6, 2021

Plymouth Whitemarsh nearly snuck back in the game when Conlan Carpenter cleaned up a rebound in front of the net at 12:46 of the second period to halve the lead. But Walker scored 13 seconds into a power play with 42 ticks left in the second, Tyler Conn’s back-hander going off the post and Walker first to the rebound to poke it across the goal line.

Kain Walker’s five points means he has 23 on the year, leapfrogging Conn for the team lead. Their top-line chemistry makes the Lions go.

“We practice together and we play hard together, and it works,” Kain Walker said.

That the Lions are built around the Walker sibling axis is a big reason for the growth. It’s a readymade pairing, the sophomore Kain able to hone his skills shooting on the senior Gannon and vice versa. Gannon said the rivalry in workouts can “get a little heated sometime,” but watching him develop this season has been a pleasure.

“It’s good to see him progress as a player through his high school career,” Gannon Walker said. “I’m excited to see where he goes with the next few years.”

Goal Penncrest, Ty Conn the keep and backhand off the post but Cain Walker first to the rebound. 3-1, 42 seconds left in the second period pic.twitter.com/r4vtls0c49

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) April 6, 2021

Kain Walker set up Conn on a 3-on-1 for a goal 1:19 into the third to effectively ice it, then fed Shane Kokoska for a point drive that found its way into the net to set the final margin. Plymouth Whitemarsh goalie Kolton Galie made 20 saves in goal.

Gannon Walker’s best save of the 22 was stuffing Matthew Flynn on a 2-on-0 in the second period when the game was 2-0.

Those are the kinds of moments the Lions didn’t have last year, and growing into a team that can create them this year is a significant accomplishment.

“It’s a huge difference,” Gannon Walker said. “We worked hard this year and new guys came in, they’re working hard and it all makes a big difference. … We did think that sometimes and we knew we’d get them to develop. They did develop, we’ve come a long way and we’ve won our Flyers Cup game.”

Also in Flyers Cup A action:

Rustin 6, Radnor 2 >> The last two weeks haven’t been ideal for Luke Mallory. Getting a call Monday afternoon that he’d be in goal later that night for a Flyers Cup showdown with Rustin – also not ideal.

But the Radnor junior made the most of it. In spite of the final margin, Mallory was outstanding, making 34 saves and almost single-handedly willing seventh-seeded Radnor to stay in a first-round game that stood at just 3-2 after two periods.

Mallory was thrust into duty with the absence of senior Robert Hobbs, Radnor’s long-time starter and also the No. 1 goalie for the lacrosse team. With Hobbs signed to play lacrosse in college at Bowdoin, that sport takes precedence. Hence the call for Mallory, a junior, to step in.

Complicating matters: Mallory had all four wisdom teeth removed less than two weeks ago, so his ice time has been reduced. And oh by the way, it’s Rustin awaiting, as in the team that up until last year had won six straight Flyers Cups. Despite just two wins this season, thanks in part to a dastardly Ches-Mont National division that produced the top seeds in Class A (West Chester East) and AA (Downingtown West), Rustin’s 10 seed was mere illusion.

“They have a pretty big reputation, but I thought I could handle it based on the club season,” said Mallory, who plays for the Delco Phantoms. “It was kind of short notice that I had to play in this game, but it was fun.”

Less fun was that Mallory injured his leg in the second period, overextending on a save. The issue was exacerbated in the third, when Rustin scored its fifth goal and a Radnor defenseman landed on Mallory’s outstretched leg in the crease, bringing Mallory to the brink of tears by postgame.

“Midway through the second period, I pulled something in my leg,” he said. “I don’t know if it was my hamstring or my groin or what. But it hurts pretty bad.”

Mallory had only played two games this season, winning both, allowing two goals on 28 shots. (Hobbs was 4-4 in eight starts.) But Mallory didn’t look it, repelling Rustin’s pressure.

It allowed Radnor to climb back into the game in the second period, just after the Golden Knights made it 3-0. Tucker Graham and Andrew Knight, the team’s leading scorers, tallied less than three minutes apart to send the teams into the second intermission separated by just one goal.

Rustin’s incessant push, in a game where it outshot Radnor 40-17, was too much to withstand late, Kevin Hudak sealing the game with six minutes to play on a point drive that found its way through traffic and past a beleaguered Mallory.

Though Mallory wasn’t in the place, emotionally or physically, to enjoy Monday’s performance, he was “for the most part” happy with it. And with the starting job Mallory’s to lose next season, he hopes it’s a springboard to more.

“I think that’ll help me a lot,” he said. “I’m pretty excited for next year, I think I playing all the games if there’s no other goalie. I’m pretty excited.”