Jefferis leads Vikings to fourth straight Ches-Mont crown

West Goshen >> There’s a very popular Schoolhouse Rock episode called ‘Three is a Magic Number.’ Well, four is holding some pretty strong significance to the West Chester East ice hockey team.

The Vikings collected their fourth consecutive Ches-Mont title as Trey Jefferis racked up five goals — including three in the first period — in an 8-4 victory over Avon Grove on Thursday at Ice Line.

“I really don’t know what to say,” East coach Eric Wolf said about Jefferis. “Five goals. In the biggest games, that what the best players do. He knows the scenario. He knows the weight of the moment. We knew they were going to go after him hard. He kept his feet moving and he’s a hard guy stop when his feet are moving.”

West Chester East started quickly, just a minute into the contest. Off a faceoff, Jefferis took a pass from Luke Wilson and whipped a shot past Avon Grove goalie Justin Mackley.

The euphoria of the lead quickly dissipated as Avon Grome came right back. Dominick Tursi tipped in a Trevor Sikorski shot 32 seconds later to tie the score at 1-1.

The Vikings took the lead for good with 5:39 left as Danny Tirendi sped down the right side, cut in and beat Mackley.

Jefferis made it 3-1 two minutes later as he slammed home a rebound. He finished his hat trick a moment later and East went into the first period break with a 4-1 advantage.

“It was a good night,” said Jefferis. “The boys were rolling good and we got the first goal real quick and we didn’t back down after that.”

Jefferis almost had his fourth early in the second as he broke in alone on Mackley, but was robbed by a glove save.

Undaunted, Jefferis made it 5-1 off a one-timer. Logan Soster added a goal on the power play and Jefferis tallied his fifth as East roared to a 7-1 bulge after two.

“I thought we had good jump to start, but we left too many guys open in too good of spots,” said Avon Grove coach Sean Cannon. “Those D-zone lapses cost us.”

Avon Grove did have good chances when they controlled the play, but East goalie Cam Chandler made a couple of key stops at the right time to cutoff any comeback bid.

Avon Grove did win the third period, outscoring East, 3-1. Lucas Genna notched a pair and Jack Dembosky also lit the lamp. While the flurry made it little more interesting, it couldn’t stop East from lifting another Ches-Mont trophy.

“We talked about it in the locker room. We wanted to win the third period,” added Cannon. “That was our goal there. Get things going and get ready for next week (Flyers Cup).”

Both teams will head to the Flyers Cup. The Red Devils will face Central Bucks East in an AA opener at Ice Line on Tuesday.

The Vikings have a bye before facing the Plymouth Whitemarsh-Penncrest winner.

West Chester East 8, Avon Grove 4
Avon Grove 1 0 3 — 4
WC East 3 4 1 — 8
Avon Grove goals: Tursi, Genna 2, Dembosky.
WC East goals: Jefferis 5, Soster, Tirendi, Cardarelli.
Goalie saves: Mackley (AG) 30; Chandler (WCE) 31.