Council Rock South tops Cherokee for Class AA Flyers Cup

When the fans in sections 123 and 124 finished their five-second countdown to conclude Sunday's Flyers Cup Class AA final, Council Rock South goalie Justin Houk flung his stick into the air and his glove to the ice.

In rushed a parade of his teammates, who left their helmets and sticks scattered across the Wells Fargo Center floor before mobbing Houk beside the goal.

One of the last to pile on top of Houk after the Golden Hawks' 5-2 Cup victory was his coach and father, Joe.

On what Justin called the best night of his life, the junior led third-seeded South (23-4-2) to its third Cup in four seasons, denying No. 9 seed Cherokee (28-5) its first title.

The two goals Houk allowed to sneak by his pads brought his total to 5 goals allowed in South's four tournament wins. His performance earned him MVP honors during his first season as the starting varsity goaltender.

The elder Houk had guided the Hawks to each of their two recent titles, but none was more special than this. They won last year's title at the Bucks County Sports Center.

Hours before South took the ice shortly after 7 p.m., the Flyers had skated on the same surface in a win over the Penguins. The high-schoolers had never seen such a spectacle surrounding their game: music blasting during stoppages, replays on the Jumbotron, lights flashing around the arena.

"Playing in this one was so much better," said senior Vincenzo Primavera.

Primavera tallied an empty-net goal - his second of the game - that put the cherry on top of another Cup.

"It's insane. Words just can't explain it," Primavera said.

The forward's first goal knotted the score at 1 after Cherokee junior Cole Zucker put the Chiefs on the board first.

After sophomore Kyle Walter gave South a 2-1 lead, the Chiefs tied the game on a deflection by senior Jason Spieker with 14.3 seconds left in the second.

Twenty-one seconds into the period, the Chiefs coughed it up. South senior Steve Junod took control of the puck and fired off of Cherokee goalie Dan Navarra. Walter slammed home the rebound to put the Hawks ahead for good.

Cherokee   1 1 0 - 2

Council Rock South   1 1 3 - 5

Goals: C - Cole Zucker 1, Jason Spieker 1; CRS - Kyle Walter 2, Vincenzo Primavera 2, Thomas Kozior 1.

Saves: C - Justin Badurina 15, Dan Navarra 9; CRS - Justin Houk 20.