Columbus-area high school hockey: 4 storylines heading into homestretch of regular season
With the Blue Jackets Cup and regional tournament approaching, central Ohio’s top hockey teams have started to look ahead.
Area teams tested themselves in tournaments over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, including in the annual Olentangy Orange Pioneer Classic held Friday through Sunday at Chiller North and Chiller Ice Works.
Defending state champion Olentangy Liberty competed in the Father Styles MLK Showcase in suburban Cleveland, going 2-1. The Patriots closed the event by losing 5-3 to host Cleveland St. Ignatius in a game that also counted in the standings of the first-year Greater Ohio Hockey League.
The Patriots beat St. Ignatius 4-3 in a state semifinal last season. The next day, they routed Hunting Valley University School 6-2 for central Ohio’s first OHSAA hockey title.
The CBJ Cup, the championship tournament of the Capital Hockey Conference, will be held Feb. 8-11. The regional tournament begins Feb. 12.
Here are four storylines heading into the homestretch of the regular season.
1. Olentangy Liberty eyes return to state
Aiming for its fifth trip to the state tournament, Liberty went 3-4 in the GOHL, which features eight of the top programs in the state. In addition to Liberty and St. Ignatius, the league includes Upper Arlington, Gates Mills Gilmour Academy, Lakewood St. Edward, Toledo St. Francis, Toledo St. John’s and University School.
Liberty and UA will play in the first GOHL tournament Saturday and Sunday in Cleveland. Both teams also still compete in the CHC.
“This new league is awesome,” Liberty coach Kevin Alexander said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s been a great experience. We get three more big games (this) weekend. It’s going to pay off.”
Junior forward Jake Struck reached 100 career games when Liberty beat Arlington Heights (Illinois) Saint Viator 6-3 on Saturday. He had 77 goals and 129 assists in those contests.
Liberty also is seeking its third consecutive CHC-Red title and is in first place with 21 points (10-1-0-1), three ahead of St. Charles (8-2-1-1). The Patriots beat St. Charles 11-1 on Dec. 1, and the teams meet again Feb. 2 at Chiller North.
The Patriots are missing one of their top players in senior defenseman Jack Hamilton, who recently underwent shoulder surgery.
Senior P.J. Weiss and junior Brandon Spence have stepped up in Hamilton’s absence. Weiss previously played forward.
“We’re getting it going, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Alexander said. “We still miss Mr. Hamilton, but our younger defensemen and our forwards are starting to step up. ... We’re scoring a ton of goals. Scoring isn’t an issue.”
2. Upper Arlington looks to keep pace with leaders
The Golden Bears are 5-4-1 in CHC play, tied for third (11 points) in the CHC-Red with Cincinnati Moeller and Olentangy Berlin.
UA may be seven points behind St. Charles and 10 behind Liberty, but coach Craig Hagkull believes he has reasons to be optimistic.
“The postseason is a few weeks away, but we’re getting ready for it,” he said. “We’re healthy for the most part, which is good.”
Goalie Mason Herndon has a .931 save percentage in CHC play.
“In my opinion, he’s the best goalie in the state,” Hagkull said. “He’s playing incredible. ... Defensively, we’re playing really well. Ty Rook and William Schauss are playing really well. Offensively, we’re starting to get some scoring from guys. Jason Davis is playing really well.”
UA went 1-2 in the Father Styles MLK Showcase.
The Bears are 2-4 in the GOHL entering Monday’s game against Gilmour Academy.
“The league has been great,” Hagkull said. “It’s been really good for us. We’ve played some really good teams. There’s no easy games in the CHC and especially the GOHL as well. Our record hasn’t been super great, but we’ve improved because of that league.”
3. Olentangy Berlin continues fine-tuning
Berlin coach Tim Pennington said he has been pleased with his team’s development, which continued in the Pioneer Classic.
“We’re still a work in progress,” he said. “We still have some things that we’re working on. We’re not where we want to be by the end of the year.”
The Bears went 3-1 in the Pioneer Classic, including a 2-0 win over Canton-Akron on Sunday at Chiller North.
“We like this tournament,” Pennington said. “It gave us a chance to try some different line combinations. ... Any time you play four games in three days, it’s good so you can see where you are from a conditioning standpoint.”
4. Olentangy, Orange looking ahead after subpar weekend
Orange went 2-2 in its Pioneer Classic, and Olentangy finished 1-3. The host team dropped a 4-1 decision to Mentor in its finale Sunday at Chiller North.
“We use this as a springboard towards the rest of our season,” Orange coach Brenton Blaskie said. “This weekend will look very similar to when we get to the CBJ Cup. You get to play three, maybe four, games in a three-day period and (hopefully) bring your best game on Sunday.”
The Pioneers are second in the CHC-White with 13 points (6-4-0-1), behind Olentangy (17, 8-1-1).
“Our goalie, Luke Risko, has played great all year,” Blaskie said. “He’s had a lot of games with 40, 50 saves against some really good teams. He’s been our top player by far.”
Olentangy concluded the Pioneer Classic with a 4-3 loss to Miami on Sunday.
Forwards Grant Levins and Jacob Schlade and defenseman Sam Ziliak have been among the key players for the Braves.
“We played well (Sunday),” coach Mike Ross said. “I like where we are as a team. We have two huge league games with Dublin Jerome (on Friday) and Orange (on Sunday) this week.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy teams headline central Ohio high school hockey storylines
