After a back-and-forth first two periods, the Lower Merion Aces (7-0-1) outpaced the Kennett Blue Demons (3-4-0) in the third en route to an 8-5 victory on Monday night (Dec. 11) at The Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Del. Defenceman Sam Pitonyak had a hand in six of the Aces’ eight tallies, scoring the first after drawing Kennett netminder Morgan Cullen out of position and recording assists on five others.
Pitonyak and Shane Leonard both connected on short-handed goals in the 11th minute of the first period, but Kennett responded with a pair of late goals. Thomas Halsted scored the lone power-play goal in six chances for the Demons at 14:54, while Jacob DellaVecchia batted a rebound past Curtis Williams to tie the game at two goals apiece in the final minute of the first.
Ben Williams (Lower Merion) and Matthew Ganly (Kennett) exchanged goals in the fifth minute of the second period, but after Evan Woltanski lifted the Aces to a 4-3 lead 5:45 into the middle frame, the Demons would not be able to successfully regroup. Leonard added a second goal later in the middle period, and Anthony LePera accounted for a pair of power-play scores for the Aces in the third to cap the 8-5 victory.
The Lower Merion power play unit was 2-for-4, and Williams made 19 saves in victory. Cullen saved 29 of 37 shots faced.
Kennett travels to West Chester’s Ice Line complex on Friday (Dec. 15) for a rematch with Interboro, and will complete the 2017 portion of their season next Monday (Dec. 18) at home against Oxford.
