HATFIELD >> La Salle was whistled for 36 minutes worth of penalties in its Flyers Cup AAA semifinal against Holy Ghost Prep Thursday evening. Some of those were game misconducts and others were called against both sides, so the Explorers ended up playing a man-down six times for combined 12 minutes.
The defending Flyers Cup champions allowed just two goals on those six penalty kills and scored a shorthanded goal of their own in a 5-2 win over the Firebirds at Hatfield Ice Arena.
“I liked guys getting in front, blocking shots, selling out for the team,” La Salle goalie Jacob Rossi said of the penalty kill. “That’s what we do all the time, every day.”
James Carpenter netted the shorthanded goal for the top-seeded Explorers (22-3). Early in the second period, Carpenter was racing Holy Ghost Prep goalie Jack Unger for a puck behind the net. Unger got there first and tried to clear away from Carpenter. La Salle’s Grant Lagreca was there to grab the puck off the boards and sent it towards the net. The shot was blocked and Carpenter put away the rebound to give La Salle a 2-0 lead.
“It just popped out right in front of me and I potted it,” Carpenter said. “It was a good all-around play.”
La Salle opened up a 4-1 lead later in the second period when Patrick Brace and William Gregorio responded to Holy Ghost Prep’s Anthony Prete’s goal. Brace scored on a powerplay while Gregorio made an impressive play to keep the puck in the offensive zone before sending a wrist shot off the crossbar and into the net. That three-goal advantage stood for more than 12 minutes.
Caine Bickel lit the lamp to get the fourth-seeded Firebirds within 4-2 with 7:04 to play. They had two great back-to-back shots stopped by Rossi with two-and-a-half minutes left before Prete hit the post.
Prete’s shot deflected all the way into the neutral zone, where Carpenter corralled the puck and sent it into an empty net. The 5-2 lead with 1:55 remaining sealed the win.
“They got two real good shots,” Rossi, who made 17 saves, said. “We stayed calm, we stayed with it and we were able to get the job done.”
“Sometimes luck is on your side,” Carpenter added. “It was good that it was there at the end of the game.”
La Salle will face No. 2 Malvern Prep in the championship game next week. The two faced off twice during the regular season and La Salle swept the meetings, 4-1 and 3-0.
These teams have split the last four Flyers Cup AAA championships. La Salle won in 2019 and 2023 while Malvern Prep went back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
“It’s a good feeling (to get back to the final),” Carpenter said. “We worked hard for it this year, so it’s good to see everything fall into place.”
“It’s a real big accomplishment for our group,” Rossi said. “We know what it’s like, we’ve been there before, obviously last year. We’re excited to figure out who we play tonight and take care of business.”
La Salle 5, Holy Ghost Prep 2
Holy Ghost Prep 0 1 1 – 2
La Salle 1 3 1 – 5
First Period
Ryan Wiley (LS) 12:18
Second Period
James Carpenter (LS) assisted by Grant Lagreca, shorthanded 1:36
Anthony Prete (HGP) assisted by Arthur Myers, Caine Bickel, powerplay 4:08
Patrick Brace (LS) assisted by Thomas Doucet, Cameron Ross, powerplay 8:54
William Gregorio (LS) 14:08
Third Period
Caine Bickel (HGP) assisted by Anthony Valeriote, powerplay 9:56
James Carpenter (LS), empty net 15:05
Saves
HGP: Jack Unger 32
LS: Jacob Rossi 17
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