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First impressions mean a lot, and the Crestwood varsity ice hockey team made a pretty big one last week during their first appearance in the Flyers Cup tournament.
In the opening round on Monday, the 19th-seeded Comets rolled over Penncrest 7-0. Stephan Krupski registered two goals and goaltender Gavin Lewis stopped all 13 shots he faced for the shutout.
After that, the Comets faced their biggest challenge against a Hershey team that entered the tournament as the third seed.
“After the win over Penncrest, we felt we can play against the teams from the Philadelphia area,” Crestwood head coach Paul Eyerman said. “Most of the Philadelphia teams are bigger and more physical, but we’re a good, fast-skating team that can play the Xs and Os very well and that’s working for us.”
After Hershey scored in the opening minute, the Comets regrouped for two goals before the midway point of the first period. Hershey tied it again at 2-2, but after that it was all Crestwood, who scored two more goals to carry a 4-2 lead into the second period.
Crestwood scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the period and again in the third to keep Hershey trailing en route to a 7-5 win. Drew Bobynskj and Krupski each scored twice and captain Matt Madry had a goal and three assists.
“The Hershey victory was a tremendously emotional game,” Eyerman said. “They scored right off the bat, we came back and led 6-2 at one point but they still wouldn’t quit. It was a roller coaster.”
Now, as newcomers to the prestigious tournament which features the top high school teams from eastern Pennsylvania, Crestwood is one of eight teams to advance to the quarterfinals. They’ll take on Garnet Valley (sixth seed) Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. at the IceWorks Rink in Aston. If the Comets win, they’ll move to the semifinals and will likely face one of the top two teams in the Flyers Cup.
“This is our first time in the tournament and no one knew us. We were a complete unknown,” Eyerman said. “But this entire experience has really brought us together, just going in as the lowest seed and going on these road trips to play in the Philadelphia area against these teams that we’ve never seen before.”