With a raucous capacity crowd of more than 800 at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel on Friday night, the Gonzaga Eagles overcame an early deficit and went on to defeat the DeMatha Stags, 4-1, and capture their second consecutive MAPHL AA Division title and fifth in the last nine years. The purple celebration actually began nearly two hours earlier when the Eagles’ A division team defeated St. Stephan’s & St. Agnes, 5-2, for a record third consecutive league title.

The consecutive years that one school has won both division titles is also a record.

DeMatha’s Johnathan Matta scored on rebound just over three minutes into the AA championship game after a shot from Wyatt Hinkson. The Stags could only hold the lead for a little more than 10 minutes before Luca Docking’s powerplay goal knotted the game at one each.

Gonzaga would take a 2-1 lead at 9:59 of the second period when Tommy Krisztinicz used a defender as a screen and wristed a shot over DeMatha goalkeeper Andrew Takacs’ glove and into the top corner of the net.

The Eagles defense came up large in the third period when it killed off a majority of a 5-minute major penalty for boarding on Jack Massey. Immediately after DeMatha’s Erick Reiniger served a two-minute minor for slashing during Massey’s major penalty, the Stags were back on the power play. However, rather than producing the tying goal, Gonzaga’s Chase Vallese ripped a slap shot from the point over Takacs shoulder to give the Eagles a two-goal cushion.

Dominic Basse stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal to earn the first star of the game, while Takacs was solid with 22 saves on 26 shots on goal.

Will Rosen sealed the victory and sent the Gonzaga faithful into a frenzy by scoring an empty net goal with 45 seconds left in the game.

In the A Division championship, the Eagles were the first to strike when Connor Byrne scored shorthanded at 8:28 of the first period. The lead did not last long, as St. Stephen’s & St Agnes’ Atticus Beane evened the score just 30 seconds later.

Byrne would strike again, however, at 14:22, to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead after the first intermission.

Three more goals would follow—including two from Nico Giannetti and one from James Todaro—as the Eagles would build a 5-1 lead early in the third period to cruise to their third title in the seven years since the MAPHL created the A Division in the 2011-12 season.

During both games the MAPHL announced the A and AA Division All-Conference teams. Leading the way was Gonzaga sophomore Cole Vallese, who was named the top-flight AA Division's Player of the Year. Cole's brother, Chase, a senior, was named to the AA Second Team along with Gonzaga junior Will Rosen. Henry Middlebrook and Domonic Basse received Honorable Mention for the Eagles. For DeMatha, Takacs earned MAPHL First Team honors, while Wyatt Hinkson garnered Second Team honors and Tyler Mercier was an Honorable Mention.

In the A Division, freshman Ethan Baxley and junior Robbie Dubay earned First Team honors for Gonzaga, while Connor Byrne was selected to the Second Team. Eagles' co-head coaches Sammy Gerdano and Ford Lands were named the Ervin J. Terwilliger "Coach of the Year" Award.

For the Stags, Connor Eady Lincoln Crosby were named to the A Division First Team, while Luke Leydig earned Second Team Honors.

Player of the Year:

Cole Vallese, Gonzaga

Erwin J. Terwilliger "Coach of the Year"

Rob Trantin, Archbishop Spalding

First Team:

Defense, Paulo Meaney, Mt. St. Joseph's

Defense, Drew Tsakounis, St. John's

Forward, Cole Maner, St. John's

Forward, Victor Musoke, Bishop O'Connell

Forward, Drew Wellington, Landon

Goalie, Andrew Takacs, DeMatha Catholic

Second Team:

Defense, Wyatt Hinkson, DeMatha Catholic 

Defense, Chase Vallese, Gonzaga

Forward, Alex Chaconas, Georgetown Prep

Forward, Liam Eden, Archbishop Spalding

Forward, Will Rosen, Gonzaga

Goalie, Collin Berke, Archbishop Spalding

Honarable Mention:

Forwards: Tyler Mercier (DeMatha Catholic); Evan Donnelly (Archbishop Spalding); Alex Vouras (Bishop O'Connell); Ryan Giles (Landon); and Nico Kenary (Landon)

Defense: Henry Middlebrook (Gonzaga) and Alex Delaney (St. Mary's Ryken)

Goalie: Dominic Basse

Player of the Year

Jack Martino, Gonzaga II

Erwin J. Terwilliger "Coach of the Year"

Co-Head Coaches Sammy Gerdano and Ford Lands, Gonzaga II

First Team:

Defense, Ethan Baxley, Gonzaga II

Defense, Will Sterret, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes

Forward, Robbie Dubay, Gonzaga II

Forward, Connor Eady, DeMatha Catholic II

Forward, Jack Lambeth, St. Stephen's & St. Agnes

Goalie, Lincoln Crosby, DeMatha Catholic II

Second Team:

Defense, Sean Joyce, Mt. St. Joseph's II

Defense, Scott Sellars, Archbishop Spalding II

Forward, Connor Byrne, Gonzaga II

Forward, Kevin Cottrell, Good Counsel

Forward, Luke Leydig, DeMatha Catholic II

Goalie, Patrick Zaleski, Mt. St. Joseph's II

Semifinal results:

#1 Gonzaga II  13  vs. #4 Landon II 2

#2 DeMatha II  1  vs. #3 St. Stephen's/St. Agnes  3

The MAPHL A Division Final will be held on Friday, February 23, at Laurel. Game time is 5 p.m.

Cole Vallese’s goal with 3:26 left in the third period lifted Gonzaga to a 2-1 victory over DeMatha and to the MAPHL AA regular season title.  The Eagles finished the league season undefeated (10-0-1), with the only blemish a 3-3 tie against Mt. St. Joseph's in their first league game of the season on Nov. 13.

In a tight checking contest at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Gonzaga got on the board first at 2:18 of the second period when Henry Middlebrook’s shot from the point found its way past a screened Stags goaltender Andrew Takacs. The Eagles’ penalty killing unit also played a role after they did not allow DeMatha (9-1-1) to score during a five-minute major penalty for boarding on Colin O’Leary.

DeMatha’s aggressive forechecking paid off at 2:47 of the third period when Erick Reiniger stripped Gonzaga’s Kurt Bruun of the puck behind the net, spun out in front and put his shot past Dominic Basse.  The goal tied the game and set up Vallese's late game winner.

On the goal, Bruun dug the puck out of the corner and passed to Will Rosen, who found Vallese alone in the slot. Vallese's backhander beat Takacs high on the glove side.

Basse made 24 saves in the game, while DeMatha's Takacs faced 19 shots and made 17 saves.

All quarterfinal games to be played on Tuesday, Feb. 20:

#1 Gonzaga vs. #8 St. Albans (5 p.m., Ft. Dupont Ice Arena)

#2 Landon vs. #7 Georgetown Prep (4 p.m., Rockville)

#3 DeMatha vs. #6 Bishop O'Connell (4:40 p.m., Laurel)

#4 Spalding vs. #5 St. John's (4 p.m., Piney Orchard)

Evan Donelly’s open-net goal with 12 seconds left in the game capped off his hat trick and sealed Spalding’s 5-3 victory over St. John’s on Friday night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena.

The win clinched fourth place for the Cavaliers (7-3-1) and home-ice advantage in the first round of the MAPHL playoffs that start on February 20. The top eight teams qualify for the MAPHL post season.

Matt Rand opened the scoring for Spalding just 3:26 into the game, but the lead lasted less than 30 seconds before Cole Maner tied it for St. John’s (6-4-1). It was Maner’s 13th goal in league play, tying him for the lead in that category with Georgetown Prep’s Alex Chaconas.

Donnelly notched his first of the game to put Spalding back up by one at 8:25 of the first period. After AJ Maner evened the score again for the Cadets early in the second, Donnelly scored on the power play to give the Caveliers a 3-2 lead mid-way through the middle period.

The highly competitive match-up saw both goalies make key stops, but there was none bigger than Spalding’s Colin Berke’s save on Cole Maner’s breakaway attempt with just seconds left in the second period. Rather than St. John’s starting the third period tied, the Cavaliers increased their lead just 1:12 into the third on Max Fleckenstein unassisted goal.    

After spotting the home team the first goal seven minutes into the opening period, the Landon Bears put up three unanswered goals on their way to a 4-3 victory over Bishop O’Connell on Friday night at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The win put the Bears (8-1-1, 17 pts. MAPHL) in a first-place tie with Gonzaga (8-0-1, 17 pts.) in the league’s top-flight AA Division.

O’Connell’s Jacob Smith got on the board at 7:47 with Victor Musoke picking up the first of two assists in the game. Musoke leads the MAPHL in that category with 15, as well as total points (23). Landon’s Will Jarrett tied the score on a power play with 36 seconds remaining in the first.

Goals by Joe Graham and Spencer Davis gave the Bears a 3-1 lead after two periods, but the Knights’ Alexander Vouras struck just 19 seconds into the third while Landon’s Graham was serving a two-minute penalty for cross-checking.

The Bears regained their two-goal lead with a goal from Matt Brille at 5:56, an insurance goal they would need as Vouras got the Knights to within one with just under two minutes left in the game. O’Connell pulled goaltender Jack Mackinnon for an extra skater but could not get the equalizer. 

The Gonzaga Eagles demonstrated why they are the MAPHL’s only unbeaten team (7-0-1) in league play—and why they have been the Washington area’s No. 1 ranked team—as they battled past Georgetown Prep, 7-2, in hostile territory at Cabin John Ice Arena on Friday night.

The heated rivalry didn’t disappoint the capacity crowd as there were plenty of goals, thundering hits and penalties (Gonzaga had eight and the Little Hoyas three).

But it was the Eagles that jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals from Farrell Dinn, Tommy Krisztinicz and Colin O’Leary. Prep (4-4-0 MAPHL) got on the board with Alex Chaconas’s unassisted power-play goal at 4:28 of the second period to bring the Little Hoyas to within two.

Malik Lansdown and Henry Middlebrook scored less than four minutes apart to put the Eagles back up by four before Chaconas scored his second of the game on a breakaway to pull his team to within three again. It would be the closest the Little Hoyas would get as O’Leary and Krisztinicz each would score their second goals of the game to seal the victory.

Landon scored two power-play goals and got three points (2 goals and an assist) from Drew Wellington to defeat Spalding, 4-2, in a key MAPHL match up at Rockville Ice Arena on Wednesday.

With the victory, Landon (5-1-1 MAPHL) is now in a three-way tie for second place (11 points) with Spalding (5-2-1) and DeMatha (5-1-1). The Gonzaga Eagles lead the top flight AA Division with a 6-0-1 league record. 

The Bears' Ty Morton faced 34 shots in the game and made 32 saves, including 16 saves in the second period to hold off the Cavaliers.

After Georgetown Prep had battled back from a three-goal deficit and tied the game on a strike by Daniel Cole with 1:37 left in the third period, Spalding's Liam Eden spoiled the comeback with an unassisted goal less than a minute later to defeat the Little Hoyas, 5-4, at Piney Orchard Ice Arena on Friday night.

Spalding's Evan Donnelly opened the scoring with the first of his two goals on a power play at 13:21 of the first period. The Cavaliers quickly added to their lead with two goals in the first minute of the second period. Dmitri Jukus and Liam's sister, Lacey, each tallying goals to give Spalding a three-goal lead.

Prep's Patrick Fitzgerald started the comeback with his team's first goal of the game at 1:21 of the second period. After Donnelly tallied his second of the game, while Spalding was shorthanded, to regain a three-goal lead, Fitzgerald responded while Prep was on a power play to bring his side to within two after two periods.

The Little Hoyas' Alex Chaconas scored on another power play, at 8: 37 of the third, before Cole's goal set up Eden's late-game heroics.

The defending MAPHL champion Gonzaga Eagles  (3-0-1 MAPHL, 6-1-1 Overall)) are picking up right where they left off and are ranked #1 in the weekly Washington Post Ice Hockey Top 10. This follows the newspaper's initial ranking for the 2017-18 season the previous week, in which the Eagles also held the top spot. Check out the latest Top 10 list HERE.

In addition to Gonzaga at #1 in The Post’s Top 10, MAPHL teams in the Top 10 include #3 Georgetown Prep, which jumped five spots from the previous week, #4 Landon, #6 DeMatha, and #7 Bishop O’Connell. St. John’s received consideration but did not crack the top ten.

The Eagles enter the holiday break in a four-way tie for first place in the MAPHL AA standings (7 points) with Bishop O’Connell, St. John’s and St. Albans.

After spotting St. Albans two goals in the first period, the Gonzaga Eagles scored eight unanswered goals beginning just 38 seconds into the second period and cruised past the Bulldogs, 8-2, at Ft. Dupont Ice Arena on Tuesday night. The Eagles put 61 shots on goal in the game.

Cole Vallese led the Eagles with two goals and two assists, while Jack Norton added three points (2 goals, 1 assist).

Henry Middlebrook started the onslaught for Gonzaga, with an assist from Farrell Dinn. Colin O’Leary pulled the Eagles even at 4:11, followed by Vallese’s unassisted go-ahead goal at 6:30 of the second. Norton and Kurt Bruun assisted on O’Leary’s goal.

The third period turned into a shooting gallery for the home team, as Gonzaga scored five times on 27 shots on goal. Norton scored two of those goals, while Vallese picked up his second of the game and Dinn notching one of his own. Luca Docking added a goal to the rout.

Jackson McDonnell and Evan Orloff scored for St. Albans. Gonzaga goalie Dominic Basse made 15 saves on 17 shots.

Georgetown Prep scored shorthanded, on the power play, and at even strength in their 4-2 win against Calvert Hall at Rockville on Wednesday night.

After Cody Smith scored the first of his two goals to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead after one period, the Little Hoyas came to life in the second. Patrick Fitzgerald assisted on Alex Chaconas’ shorthanded goal at 2:02 and Connor McMahon scored an unassisted power-play goal at 4:54 to give Prep their first lead of the game.

Smith’s second goal of the game knotted the score for the Cardinals less than five minutes later.  But just a little over five minutes after Smith’s tally, Jack Donovan tipped in a point drive by Nathanial DeLeede past Calvert Hall goalie Ben Algatt to regain the lead for the Little Hoyas. Daniel Cole picked up the secondary assist.

Prep’s Peter Roche converted a pass from Fitzgerald for an insurance goal at 10:04 of the third period, while goalie Will Boggs shut down the Cardinals, including a spectacular save on Mitchell Bozhko’s bid to get Calvert Hall within one with about four minutes to go in the game.

Boggs faced 34 shots in the game, making 32 saves, while Algatt made 16 saves on 20 shots on goal. 

After giving up an early goal with two players in the penalty box, St. Albans, led by Ethan Ouyang's two tallies, held on to defeat Mt. St. Joseph's, 2-1, at Laurel on Monday night.

Paolo Meany put the Gaels up, 1-0, when he scored with a two-man advantage at 7:05 of the opening period. Nick Komisar picked up the lone assist.

Ouyang tied the game with an unassisted goal at 11:47 of the first period, putting his wrister from the left face-off circle over the shoulder of Mt. St. Joseph's goalie Connor Churko.

Churko was victimized again when Ouyang put another wrister by him on the power play at 9:37 of the second period. Evan Orloff notched an assist on the play.

Bulldogs goalie Brooks Biddle faced 11 shots, making 10 saves, while Churko saw more than twice as much rubber, making 21 saves on 23 shots.

Drew Wellington scored Landon's first two goals, both unassisted, in a four-goal first period to lead the Bears to a 5-1 victory over St. Mary's Ryken at Rockville on Friday night.

Ryan Giles and Ethan Weinstein also scored for Landon, with Jake Davidson assisting on both goals.  Joey Graham earned the secondary assist on Giles' goal.

Will Jarrett, with an assist from Owen Concannon, put Landon up, 5-0, just 47 seconds into the second period. Goalie Ty Morton lost his bid for a shutout when Pete Behrens sprung Luke Sprauge, who scored on a breakaway with 2:15 seconds left in the second.

Morton made 11 saves on 12 shots, while St. Mary's Ryken goalie Bryce Travers faced 25 shots and made 20 saves.  

Henry Pendleton ’s hat trick was more than enough for DeMatha as the Stags overpowered Calvert Hall, 10-0, at Laurel on Friday night. The home team scored two goals in the first and broke the game wide open with five goals in the second period.

Alvon Barard IV scored an even-strength goal and Erick Reiniger notched a power-play tally in the first period before Jonathan Matta and Ryan Olson scored in the second to put the Stags up 4-0. Pendleton followed with two consecutive goals and Ryan Salb added a shorthanded goal with 7.8 seconds left in the second.

In DeMath’s three-goal third period, Pendleton’s third goal of the game was sandwiched by goals from Collin Mercier and Olson’s second of the tilt.

The Stag’s goaltender Andrew Takacs made 13 saves to earn the shutout.

Mt. St. Joseph's hosted the defending MAPHL champion Gonzaga at Laurel in the first game of the 2017-18 season for both teams. Paolo Meany's goal just 2:44 seconds after Gonzaga went ahead, 3-2, drew the Gaels even late in the third period.

The Eagles' Cole Vallese scored two goals in the first period and Mt. St. Joseph's countered with goals from Rory Nilan and Noah Blonder in the second. Gonzaga's Tommy Krisztinicz put the Eagles up, 3-2, at 7:04 of the third period before Meany's power-play tally.

The Gael's Connor Churko faced 32 shots on goal, making 29 saves. Adam Tanielian made 13 saves on 16 shots on goal for Gonzaga.

Andrew Skinner ripped a wrist shot from the right face-off dot with just under four minutes remaining in the game to give St. John's a tie with host Bishop O'Connell in the opener of the MAPHL 2017-18 season at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington.

O'Connell's Ryan Lenaghan opened the scoring at 9:16 of the first period with a shot from the blue line and the Knights took that one-goal advantage into the first intermission. Alex Vouras and Victor Musoke assisted on the goal. 

The Cadets' Cole Maner tied the game when he got a feed from Alan Long and wristed a shot from between the face-off circles at 7:46 of the second period. The deadlock lasted less than five minutes before O'Connell's Musoke scored a power play goal, with an assist from Ben Gibbons, to put the Knight's back on top and set up Skinner's third period heroics.  Drew Tsakounis and A.J. Maner got the assists on Skinner snipe.