The Quakers found themselves in two very different game situations last weekend at they picked up two CSCHC victories against the likes of Bryn Athyn and West Chester on the road. On Friday evening they defeated the Lions 7-2 to in a decisive victory and defeated the Rams in overtime on Saturday evening to pull off the come from behind win 5-4.
Friday night the Quakers traveled out to Bryn Athyn to face the Lions in the first game of the season on their home ice. In what is usually a serene experience playing outside in the elements turned into an “interesting” situation as the conditions for the game were not ideal. At the scheduled start time for the game the outside temperature was in the 40’s and raining like a winter day in Seattle, all of this made the ice conditions slow and allowed for a fog to propagate on the ice during the game. Despite these hurdles “the show must go on” as they say with the conditions not affecting the output of the Quakers.
As was expected the game started off with a slow pace, the Quakers controlled the puck early in offensive zone using the extra space in the zone to their advantage. Bryn Athyn’s ice surface is different from most as their offensive and defensive zones are larger and their neutral zone is smaller than usual allowing teams to control the puck longer in the offensive zone. Penn managed to finally break the tie with a goal from Senior Spencer Touhy twelve minutes into the game giving them a 1-0 lead. With the ice still being tipped in the Quakers direction they were able to find the back of the net once again with a goal from Assistant Captain Calvin Aliferov with assists by Junior Axel D’Amelio and Freshman Chris Bugliosi with seven minutes left to play in the period. Before the close of period Bryn Athyn put the Quakers on the powerplay giving them another opportunity to add to their lead with a beautiful powerplay goal scored by Senior Ethan Abraham with only seconds remaining to put them up 3-0 and end the first period. Quakers were not only stellar on the offensive side of the ice in the first period scoring three goals and putting twenty two shots on goal but also defensively, only allowing four shots on goal from the Lions against starting goalie Jack Averill.
With temperatures dropping as the game continued the ice conditions started to improve giving the game more pace in the second period. The Quakers came out of the gate hard finding the back of the net for the fourth time less than five minutes into the period. Once again Aliferov with goal marking his second of the evening with assists from D’Amelio and Junior Trevor Khangi. Bryn Athyn was finally able to get on the scoreboard with a powerplay goal late in the period inching closer but still facing a 4-1 deficit. That would conclude the scoring for the period and Penn would go into the locker room with a three goal lead. The third period would be more of the same for the Quakers, scoring three more goals. Two by Senior Ethan Abraham and the third by Aliferov marking his third goal of game and securing his first hattrick of the season. The Lions would score once more on another powerplay late in the period moving their total to two but not enough to make this game close. The Quakers would finish this game with a 7-2 victory after putting 60 shots on goal and securing the win on the road moving the team to 10-3 on the season.
Assistant Captain Aidan Armaly was selected as the game MVP with an excellent game on the blueline and his leadership during the game.
Saturday the Quakers traveled to Ice Line in West Chester to take on the Golden Rams in what was a real test of character and grit for the team. Once again facing a manpower struggle the Quakers had to face a league opponent with only thirteen skaters. This isn’t the first time the team has had to dig deep in less-than-ideal circumstances. This was also a critical game for the Golden Rams, with a loss to the Quakers they would be officially eliminated from playoff contention, so it was no doubt they were going to give the team everything they had with their season on the line. It was an uphill battle for the Quakers early in the game, being shorthanded the team came out hard trying to get ahead early peppering West Chester goaltender Matotek but unable to get one past him. The Golden Rams were able to strike first with an unlucky goal banking in off the skate of player in front of the net halfway into the period giving them the 1-0 lead. Continuing to fight the Quakers kept shooting but to no avail putting 18 shot on goal in the period but unable to beat Matoek giving West Chester the lead going into the locker room.
The second period continued to be a back-and-forth struggle for both teams, each one with scoring opportunity but once again it was the Golden Rams that found the back of the net putting them up 2-0 with thirteen minutes to play in the period. The Quakers would continue to press and their efforts finally paid off late in the period with a much-needed goal by Abraham with assists from Sophomore Griffin Bond and Aliferov to move the game with in one goal. Moments later Aliferov would tie the game up with a gritty goal in front of net evening the game up and pushing this game into the third period with a 2-2 tie. Sensing the ice tilting the Penn direction West Chester came our firing in the third period finding the back of net twice in the first five minutes of the game moving the deficit back to two goals now with a score for 4-2. They say that struggle breeds greatness and with fifteen minutes to play in the period the Quakers showed how great they can be. Being led by their Assistant Captains Aliferov and Armaly the team pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and kept fighting. With ten minutes to play in the period Aliferov willed his way to net and beat Matoek reducing the deficit to one. With the team on his back less than 90 seconds later Aliferov found the back of the net again with help from Bugliosi and Sophomore Mark Tarazi tying the game at four a piece and pulling the Quakers back into this contest. With that third goal that would mark back-to-back games in which Aliferov would score a hattrick a feat that is truly incredible. Despite both teams’ best effort neither team would score in the remaining time in regulation forcing this astonishing game into overtime.
Overtime rules for the league result in a five-minute period of 3 v 3 hockey until either team scores, if neither team scores the game then moves to a shootout. With a short bench this format played into the Quakers strengths something that the team would show only 90 seconds into the period. Controlling the puck the entire the overtime period the Quakers managed to get the puck to Armaly in the high in the slot where he drilled it into the back of the net ending the game and giving the Quakers their eleventh win of the season defeating West Chester 5-4 in OT. Coach Artosky was quoted as saying “I am so incredibly proud of the effort these guys put together today. It’s game like this that show the grit of our team and how we can overcome any adversity. This is a great team.”
Assistant Captain Calvin Aliferov was named MVP of the game. The coaching staff made this selection not just on his three goal performance but for his leadership throughout the game.
The Quakers have only one more game before the Winter Break. They will face Bryn Athyn at home Friday night (12/8) at 9:20 PM. The game will be livestreamed thanks to our partnership with SFBN. The link to the livestream can be found HERE!
Come out and support the team as they look to finish out the year with win against a CSCHC opponent! #GoQuakers!
You can rewatch the Quakers victory over the Lions HERE!