5 early season storylines in Greater Columbus high school hockey
One month into the high school hockey season, all three divisions of the CHC feature tight races for first place.
St. Charles and defending state champion Olentangy Liberty are among the leaders in the CHC-Red, Olentangy sits atop the CHC-White and Dublin Coffman leads the CHC-Blue.
Liberty has lost senior defenseman Jack Hamilton, who will have season-ending surgery on his left shoulder Jan. 5. Hamilton was second-team all-state last season.
Here are five storylines from early season action:
1. Shevetz returns to Dublin Coffman
The unexpected return of senior center Joe Shevetz, who led the Shamrocks in scoring last season, has boosted a team that already was playing well.
Originally planning to play for the Columbus Mavericks junior program this season, Shevetz had a change of heart and returned to Coffman after Thanksgiving, coach Dave Gnas said.
Shevetz had 40 goals and 21 assists last year. He was first-team all-CHC and all-CHC White and honorable mention all-state.
“One of the main reasons we dropped down a division (from the middle-tier CHC-White to the lowest-tier CHC-Blue) was because (Shevetz) was not coming back,” Gnas said. “It wasn’t an easy choice for him. He was trying to figure out what was going to be best for him to play college hockey. ... He asked for another chance. The last thing I want to do is hold anything against a kid. This is their lives. It’s his senior season.”
Coffman was 11-5-1 overall and 6-1 in the CHC after losing 4-1 to Olentangy on Monday. Shevetz has five goals and four assists in five games.
All CHC games count in the divisional standings, putting Coffman in first place in the CHC-Blue with 12 points.
“(Dropping down to the CHC-Blue was) a judgment call looking at what I was working with over the summer, but my core group of kids, which is nine juniors, really came together,” Gnas said. “I can’t say enough about that.”
Junior goalie Alec O’Sullivan and sophomore center Matt Bellamy also have been key contributors. Bellamy had 12 goals through 16 games, including nine in league play, and O’Sullivan had a .971 save percentage in league play.
“Matt has one speed and he scores goals from every angle,” Gnas said. “He kills penalties. He just has that spark. He’s been a really big help this season.”
2. St. Charles excelling under first-year coach
The Cardinals (8-5-1, 4-1-0-1) lead the CHC-Red with nine points, one more than Liberty, Cincinnati Moeller and New Albany.
“There’s still a lot of tough games coming up, but our goal since the start of the season is to finish the year in first place,” coach Danny Greiner said.
St. Charles has been led offensively by senior forward Sean Moore, who has 14 goals and 12 assists.
Junior Bren Gronbach and sophomore Dylan Fansler have split time in goal.
“Of course, I’m having fun,” Greiner said. “I love being at the rink. I love being around the kids and everybody in the program. ... I’m happy with how the kids are competing and just hope that continues the rest of the year.”
3. Olentangy players making strides
Olentangy is 7-0 in league play, giving it a four-point lead (14-10) over Cincinnati St. Xavier (5-1) for first in the CHC-White. The Braves are 10-5 overall.
“I like the process that we’re going through, the progress that we’ve made,” coach Mike Ross said. “We’re learning how to win and how to do all the little things right, and make the sacrifices that we need to make to win games and be consistent in our league.”
Ross isn't surprised all three division races are tight.
“No matter who you’re playing, there’s more parity across all three divisions – certainly the top two divisions – this year than I’ve ever seen,” he said. “On any given night, any team can beat anybody.”
The Braves have been led by senior goalie Landon Ramsier, junior forward Grant Levins and junior center Jacob Schlade.
“Two things I like the most about this group, (No.) 1, we’re still young,” Ross said. “About 85% of the kids on our team have less than two years of high school experience. ... We’re still growing and understanding the high school brand of hockey.
“They’re going to continue to get better, and we’re deep. I’m very comfortable with playing three lines, even four lines at times, and we have five good defensemen that I’m very comfortable with.”
4. Olentangy Orange coach likes team's progress
Pioneers coach Brenton Blaskie has been pleased with what he's seen from his team, especially a 3-2 overtime win over St. Charles on Dec. 10. Orange (8-7-1, 3-2-0-1) trails Olentangy and St. Xavier in the CHC-White.
“We’re coming off a season where we only graduated two players (in Evan Perry and Jake Rundle),” Blaskie said. “The guys were excited for the season. Last year we had more freshmen than seniors, so we were pretty young.”
Senior Luke Risko has been in goal for most of the season, while senior center Nick Linsey, junior forward Griffin Jestadt and sophomore forward Evan Wilson have been key contributors offensively.
“The guys have shown that they can play with anybody in Columbus,” Blaskie said.
5. Columbus Academy, DeSales join forces
A lack of players in both programs led to Academy and DeSales pairing up this season to form a team. The roster features 13 players from Academy and seven from DeSales.
“We were both in a similar boat,” coach Dar Faroughi said. “(Academy) would have had enough numbers for a team, but it would have been close. ... DeSales reached out and we had the discussion, and we wanted to make sure those DeSales players had a place to play this year.”
The team is 0-8, with every game being a CHC contest, but Faroughi said he recently has seen progress. He said the team was competitive in a 6-2 loss to Worthington Kilbourne on Friday and a 5-0 loss to Coffman on Saturday.
“We’re getting better every game and every week,” Faroughi said. “We made a bit of a culture shift, and the players are really taking it on and have really bought into it. There’s a lot of work to be done, but they’re coming along for such a young and inexperienced group.”
Ben Krueck, a senior at DeSales, is the team’s lone goalie. Other key players include senior center Joseph Sardo and sophomore center Dominic Cacchillo, both of whom attend Academy.
The team also includes junior forward Katie Van Dyne from Academy and sophomore forward Chloe Conway from DeSales.
“Both Katie and Chloe play a big role on our team,” Faroughi said. “They’re getting better every day.”
The players wear Academy uniforms, but Faroughi said the team is not calling itself the Vikings – or the Stallions, which is DeSales' nickname. He said parents call the team "De-cademy."
The team is in the CHC-Blue.
According to Faroughi, Academy is considering a move to the club-based Ohio Scholastic Hockey League next season while it looks to increase interest.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 early season storylines in central Ohio high school hockey
