Last Wednesday night was The Big One Part II.
Pennridge (15-1-1) and Council Rock South (16-1-0) were undefeated, and with just one tie, outside of playing each other. The two teams had the two most potent offenses and the two statistically stingiest defenses in the Suburban High School Hockey League.
The Feb. 7 game at Grundy Arena lived up to the hype. In what will likely be a deep playoff preview, the Golden Hawks hung the first loss on Pennridge in an 8-7 overtime win.
Neither team ever held a two-goal lead in a game that had nine goals in the opening 19 minutes.
Nikita Volobuiev picked the biggest stage of the year for his breakout game. He scored four goals, including the game-winner 26 seconds into overtime. Teammate Gavin Nisenzon added a pair. For Pennridge, Andrew Savona had a hat trick for his fourth straight multi-goal game. He has 36 goals on the year.
Like the first meeting, a 7-3 Pennridge win in mid-December, the losing team outshot the winning team. Pennridge took 43 shots to CR South’s 39. In December, the Golden Hawks outshot the Rams 40-30.
Both teams have 32 points entering their regular season finales. Pennridge closed with a late Wednesday game against third-place CB South. CR South concluded on Thursday against Pennsbury. Due to tiebreakers, Pennridge would be the No. 1 playoff seed if both teams win.
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