State champion Olentangy Liberty, Upper Arlington sign on for second hockey league
Central Ohio’s first hockey state champion and one of its rivals will have a new challenge this winter.
Olentangy Liberty and Upper Arlington have joined the newly formed Greater Ohio Hockey League, which features eight of the top programs in the state. The other six are Gates Mills Gilmour Academy, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Lakewood St. Edward, Toledo St. Francis, Toledo St. John’s and Hunting Valley University School.
Liberty beat University School 6-2 in the state final March 12 at Nationwide Arena. The previous day, the Patriots beat St. Ignatius 4-3 in a semifinal.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Liberty coach Kevin Alexander said. “I hope our boys are up for it because our schedule just got real for sure.”
Teams in the league will play each other once during the season. At the conclusion of league play, teams will be seeded and a league championship tournament will be held.
The tournament will rotate among the three areas of the state where the teams play. The first tournament will be held in Cleveland.
The teams had the option to also remain in their current leagues, and Liberty and UA will still compete in the Capital Hockey Conference. The CHC also holds a championship tournament, the Blue Jackets Cup, at the conclusion of league play.
“We’re thrilled that we’re able to do both, stay in the CHC and be a part of this new league,” first-year UA coach Craig Hagkull said. “The competition in central Ohio with the CHC is really strong, but also to be able to have the opportunity to play some of the top teams from northwest and northeast Ohio, you just couldn’t pass it up. It’s only going to help us for district and hopefully the state tournament.”
Discussions for the new league began in March and continued into the summer, according to Andy Gerow, the coach and assistant athletic director at University School.
A committee comprised of the schools’ eight athletic directors will serve in a commissioner role, said Gerow, who added the league is in the process of selecting an operations manager to help with day-to-day activities.
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Weekend road trips are common for Columbus-area hockey teams, so traveling to the Cleveland and Toledo areas won’t be new for Liberty and UA.
Competing in two leagues also won’t be unique on the central Ohio high school sports scene, as its commonplace in bowling.
“In being invited to play in this league, I’m sure winning the state title took us over the top, but it’s been six or seven years of being in the top 10 in the state that we started to gain that respect and doing better in these Cleveland tournaments,” Alexander said. “We’ve been competing really well with those teams.”
St. Edward has captured 11 state championships and St. Ignatius has won seven. St. Francis has captured three, University School has won two and St. John’s and Gilmour each has won one.
Liberty also reached the state tournament in 2011, 2013 and 2017. UA advanced to state in 2006, 2007, 2021 and 2022.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy Liberty, Upper Arlington to play in two hockey leagues
