ATFIELD—Central Bucks West got of to a slow start Friday night. But once the Bucks got rolling, they kaput on going, all the way to a 10-2 win over Abington in the Suburban High School Hockey League Class AA league opener for both schools.

Griffin Carpenter gave the Galloping Ghosts (1-3, 0-1) the lead with a goal just 32 seconds after the opening faceoff. It took West (3-0, 1-0) some time to respond but Cooper Guerin’s goal at the 10:09 mark triggered a sequence that saw the Bucks score four goals in a span of just 4:29 to take a 4-1 lead and they went on from there.

West’s number-one line put up some big numbers. Jake Lang on left wing had a had trick and added three assists. Chris Trefz, the Bucks’ captain, had an eight-point night with two goals and six assists while Keith Orlando on right wing contributed two goals and two assists.

Lang said it was important for his team to respond after falling behind before a lot of fans at Hatfield Ice had settled in their seats. “That was super important,” he said. “If we didn’t get that next goal I think it would have went downhill from there for sure.”

West  coach Dave Baun says his top line benefits from having played a lot of shifts together. “They work the puck really well,” he said. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re scoring some goals, but a lot of it is on individual stuff and it’s not the kind of team play that we look for. But they did move the puck well in the cycle and they were breaking of their passes. It looked like we were starting to get it.”

For the most of the way, the game wasn’t as one sided as the final score made it appear. Orlando and Abington’s Tom Rourke traded second-period goals and West led 5-2 before adding two goals later in the period. The Bucks padded their lead with three goals in the final 2:32 of the third frame but that did not diminish the work of Abington netminder Ben Panella; the sophomore finished with 43 saves.

Abington coach Ken Brzozowski praise the work of his young goaltender. “He did a great job,” he said. “Actually this night and the game we had last week the did really good. We had a nice victory last week and huge played well tonight.”

The Galloping Ghosts are one of the youngest teams in the SHSHL, there are 15 underclassmen on the roster. Brzozowski is taking things one shift at a time.

“We’re just looking to take little steps every game,” he said. “Composure on the puck, seeing the ice. Taking what we’re doing in practice and executing that in the game. If we can continue to do that, then I think we’re going to be in a good spot by the end of the year.”
Abington 1 10—2
C.B. West 4 3 3—10