glhl rings in 2016 with four league games great lakes hockey league

GREAT LAKES HOCKEY LEAGUE WEEKLY
www.greatlakeshockeyleagueohio.com
SAT 1/2, 4:25 pm
Padua Franciscan @
Walsh Jesuit
SAT 1/2, 4:45 pm
University School @
Saint Ignatius
SUN 1/3, 12:30 pm
Lake Catholic @
St. Edward
SUN 1/3, 4:30 pm
Walsh Jesuit @
Shaker Heights
SAT 1/2, 8:30 pm
Lake Catholic @
Holy Name
VOL. 3, NO. 4
Jan. 2, 2016
= league game
JANUARY 1-3:
Brother James Tournament
@ Gilmour Academy
GLHL RINGS IN 2016 WITH FOUR LEAGUE GAMES
The Great Lakes Hockey League gets back to business after a busy holiday season that included high-level tournament
play for most teams over the past two weeks.
The 19th annual Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament pitted five GLHL teams against five top programs from other areas of the state. The Saint Ignatius Wildcats fell, 5-1, to defending state champion and current #1 team in Ohio,
Toledo St. Francis, in the championship game on December 20. The Wildcats made up for the setback—their only loss
in the last 19 games—by sweeping to the title in the Chicago Blackhawks Holiday Classic right after Christmas.
Meanwhile, here in the Cleveland Area, University School followed up a 2-1-1 showing at the Padua tournament by
capturing the championship at the Eagle Classic for the second year running. The Preppers clinched the title with a 22 tie against the host Eagles on Tuesday. US posted wins
Photo: Tara Byrne Photography
over Holy Name (6-2) and Upper Arlington (8-1) at the
tournament, as well as a 1-0 victory over GCHSHL upstart
Shaker Heights.
Lake Catholic was winless at the Padua tournament, but
bounced back to win three times at the Cougars Holiday
Extravaganza before dropping the final, 5-3, to North
Royalton.
Holy Name had a rough go of it at the Padua Tournament
(0-3-1), but prior to that picked up a big league win in overtime against Walsh on December 19.
Padua Franciscan’s one win at their holiday tournament
came over Toledo St. John’s, 1-0.
St. Edward junior F Paul D’Amico (#12) looks for
the puck in front of Holy Name senior G Ryan Madden.
Walsh Jesuit, meanwhile, defeated Hudson, 2-1, but lost a
pair of overtime games to Rocky River (3-2) and Sylvania Northview (4-3) at the Walsh Warrior Shootout.
Gilmour Academy was idle since December 19, but returned to action on New Year’s Day with the open of the Brother
James Memorial Hockey Tournament, which they host.
2015-16 GLHL STANDINGS
POS Team (overall record)
1 Saint Ignatius (18-2-1)
2 Holy Name (3-10-2)
St. Edward (8-8-1)
Padua Franciscan (6-6-2)
5 University School (10-6-2)
Walsh Jesuit (5-5-4)
7 Lake Catholic (5-13-0)
Gilmour Academy (0-12-0)
W
2
2
2
2
1
0
0
0
L
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
3
OTL
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
T
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
PTS GF
5 20
4
8
4 10
4
8
2
4
2
6
0
6
0
1
12/28 OHIO AP POLL
GA
2
7
1
4
3
8
19
19
DIFF
18
even
9
4
1
-2
-13
-18
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Toledo St. Francis
90 (9)
Saint Ignatius
80
St. Edward
62
St. Charles
53
University School
48
Bowling Green
28
Dublin Jerome
28
8. Sylvania Northview
27
9. Shaker Heights
19
10. Olentangy Liberty
17
Other GLHL teams receiving votes:
Walsh Jesuit, Padua Franciscan
© HARRINGTON SPORTS MEDIA (216) 548-2345/[email protected]
GREAT LAKES HOCKEY LEAGUE—TEAM NOTES
GILMOUR ACADEMY LANCERS
The Lancers of Gilmour Academy have not played since a December 19 trip to Meadville, PA. That game ended in a 5-0
loss, as GA was shut out for the fourth straight game and fifth time in their last six contests...Gilmour hosts the Brother
James Memorial Hockey Tournament this weekend at Gilmour Academy Ice Arena. In the preliminary round, the Lancers
will play the Armstrong Arrows Friday at 5:00 p.m., Bethel Park (PA) and Team Indiana U18 on Saturday (10:10 a.m. and
4:40 p.m., respectively) and a final placement game on Sunday (time TBD).
HOLY NAME GREEN WAVE
Holy Name did not win any games at the Eagle Classic, but did come up with a big “W” when it counted. The Namers’
only came away with one point at the Eagle Classic (0-3-1), but played in some competitive games that will get them
geared up for the meat of their league schedule. They played to a 3-3 tie with Upper Arlington and lost by one goal to
Shaker Heights—a Top 10 team in the most recent AP Poll...More importantly, freshman F Sabastino Layne scored in sudden death overtime to give the Green Wave a 4-3 win over Walsh Jesuit in their December 19 home opener. The win
gave them four points in the league standings, putting them in a tie for second place.
LAKE CATHOLIC COUGARS
Lake Catholic struggled at the Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament, losing four games and only scoring four goals in the
process, but turned things around at their own tournament last weekend...Lake went 3-2-0 at the Cougar Holiday Extravaganza, including a 3-1 win over the rival Mentor Cardinals...The Cougars were having trouble putting the puck in the
net in the early part of the season, but have scored 19 goals in their last four games—including a 5-4 overtime win over
the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League’s Rocky River Pirates at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.
PADUA FRANCISCAN BRUINS
Junior G Lynsey Wallace posting a 1-0 shutout win over Toledo St. John’s was the highlight of the Padua Holiday Hockey
Tournament for the host Bruins. Senior F Michael Wtulich scored the only goal of that game...Padua was also on the
other end of a 1-0 game in the tournament, falling to Olentangy Liberty, 1-0, in their tournament opener...Padua has
taken a light schedule coming off the holiday tournament. Their only game in a 13-day stretch was an 8-1 win over Kent
Roosevelt at Quicken Loans Arena on Boxing Day...In games in which they score three or more goals, the Bruins are 5-0-1.
They are 1-6-1 when scoring two goals or fewer.
U. S. ARMY PLAYER OF THE WEEK—CURTIS SZELESTA, ST. EDWARD
St. Edward junior forward Curtis Szelesta was the U. S. Army Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Week for the period ending December 20. Szelesta definitely has his hockey legs back after missing the first part of the season as he helped the Eagles to the state
championship in football. He scored seven goals and added three assists in four games at the Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament.
St. Edward lost their tournament opener to Toledo St. Francis in a re-match of the 2015 state title game, but went on to win their next
three games over two days.
Szelesta, the second-leading scorer for the Eagles as a sophomore last season, figured in
four of the five Eagles goals in a 5-2 win over Findlay in their early game, scoring twice and
Curtis
setting up two other goals.
Szelesta
St. Edward was back on the ice later that night, and Szelesta
had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Sylvania Northview.
The Eagles closed out the tournament with a 5-1 win over
Toledo St. John's with Szelesta scoring four goals.
“The return of Curtis has given our offense some much
needed balance as well as some scoring punch,” said St.
Edward head coach Troy Gray. “Curtis is a big center who
plays both ends of the ice very well, his ability to finish at
the net always creates issues for opposing teams.”
Interested in the United States Army?
contact Staff Sergeant Nick Hammar
at 216-256-3406, for information.
© HARRINGTON SPORTS MEDIA (216) 548-2345/[email protected]
GREAT LAKES HOCKEY LEAGUE—TEAM NOTES
ST. EDWARD EAGLES
The St. Edward Eagles had a strong showing at the Padua tournament prior to Christmas, but struggled to dent the twine
at their own Eagle Classic...A 5-0 loss to Toledo St. Francis—a re-match of the 2015 state championship game—was a disappointing start to the Padua tournament, but the Eagles then won three straight to close out the event...They won just
one game at their own tournament, a 3-1 victory over Holy Name—falling to Shaker Heights (4-3) and Upper Arlington (10). They posted a 2-2 tie with University School on Tuesday. The Eagles will be looking to get back on the winning track
with Sunday’s league game against Lake Catholic at Winterhurst.
SAINT IGNATIUS WILDCATS
Saint Ignatius had a very busy and successful trip to Chicago following Christmas, playing six games from December 26-29
and winning all six to claim the championship of the Chicago Blackhawks Charities 22nd Annual Holiday Hockey Classic.
The Wildcats defeated Providence Catholic (IL), 3-1, in the championship game. Saint Ignatius also defeated PC on their
way to the title of the Cornfield Cup tournament at Culver Academy (IN) earlier in the month...The Wildcats have just one
loss in their last 19 games (17-1-1) heading into the league game against US on Saturday at Brooklyn.
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL PREPPERS
A 4-4 tie with Sylvania Northview denied University School a shot at returning to the championship game of the Padua
tournament for the second year in a row. They finished 2-0-1 in the preliminary round before dropping their final game
to Olentangy Liberty. Both Northview and Liberty are ranked in the Top 10 in the latest AP poll...The Preppers won the
Eagle Classic for the second year running, however, clinching the title with a 2-2 tie against tournament host St. Edward
on Tuesday.
WALSH JESUIT WARRIORS
The Walsh Jesuit Warriors were undefeated in regulation (2-0-2) at the Walsh Warrior Shootout, but two OT losses prevented them from winning. St. Charles, the #5 team in the AP Poll, posted four wins to claim the title. The Warriors have
gone to overtime in three of their last four games, dropping all three. On the bright side, however, they are unbeaten in
regulation (2-0-3) over their last five...After a league game against Padua on Saturday, Walsh will take on GCHSHL power
Shaker Heights at Thornton Park on Sunday. The Red Raiders already have wins over three GLHL teams this season: Lake
Catholic, St. Edward and Holy Name.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT—PADDY SPELLACY/LIAM GEITHER
Lakewood natives Paddy Spellacy and Liam Geither have been best friends since pre-school. Their hockey careers overlapped during their playing days at Saint Ignatius and continue to do so at Ohio University.
Spellacy holds Saint Ignatius records for goals in a game (6), points in a game (8, shared with his father Kevin), career goals (135) and
career points (256).
“Paddy was the most talented player I've ever coached,” said Wildcats head coach Patrick O’Rourke. “You can't take a player and
put heart in him; you can coach a lot of things, but not heart. Paddy has that passion and he's always had it. Teams definitely had to
game-plan for him. He was a man among boys.”
Geither set the marks for single-season goals (56), assists (52) and
points (108) as well as career assists (124).
“Liam was very talented, too,” said O’Rourke. “Kind of a late bloomer
but one of my all-time favorite players for sure.”
Geither scored the biggest goal O’Rourke’s tenure as coach—the overtime winner in the 2010 district final against Padua—sending the Wildcats on to Columbus where they captured their second state title.
Both players were also a big part of the 2012 season for Saint Ignatius,
as the Wildcats went 39-1, losing the district final with Geither at 50%
in the post-season and Miles McQuinn out with Achilles injuries.
“I hope that their performances open the doors to more excellent high
school hockey players getting looks at quality club programs like OU,”
said O’Rourke. “Not to mention at junior and college programs.”
SPELLACY
GEITHER
© HARRINGTON SPORTS MEDIA (216) 548-2345/[email protected]
2016
CLEVELAND
CUP
FEBRUARY 9-13
@ OBM Arena
Strongsville
GREAT LAKES HOCKEY LEAGUE—SCORING LEADERS (league games only)
PLAYER
POS CLASS SCHOOL
Connor Koehnke
F
JR SAINT IGNATIUS
Benji Rechin
F
JR SAINT IGNATIUS
Sean Bauchens
F
JR HOLY NAME
Aidan Spellacy
F
SR SAINT IGNATIUS
Michael Wtulich
F
SR PADUA
Jake Lutch
F
SR PADUA
Cullen Frebes
F
JR SAINT IGNATIUS
Stephen O'Sullivan F
JR ST. EDWARD
Jason Steckle
F
SR ST. EDWARD
Zack Kisel
F
SR SAINT IGNATIUS
Kyle Horvath
D
SR LAKE CATHOLIC
Drew Musgrave
F
SR WALSH
Jared Stepka
F
SR SAINT IGNATIUS
Brian Russell
F
SR SAINT IGNATIUS
GP
3
3
3
3
2
2
3
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
G
5
1
5
4
1
1
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
A
3
6
1
2
4
4
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
PTS
8
7
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
24126 Lorain Rd
North Olmsted, OH 44070 USA
(440) 979-9700
GREAT LAKES HOCKEY LEAGUE—GOALTENDING LEADERS (league games only)
PLAYER
CLASS SCHOOL
W-L-T SHO MIN SV GA GAA SV%
Andrew Stewart SO ST. EDWARD
1-0-0 1
45
7
0 0.00 1.000
Dylan McKeon
SR SAINT IGNATIUS
2-0-1 1
128 31
2 0.70 0.939
Warren Hill
SR ST. EDWARD
1-0-0 0
45
23
1 1.00 0.958
Lynsey Wallace
JR PADUA FRANCISCAN 1-0-0 0
45
11
1 1.00 0.917
C. J. Balodis
SR HOLY NAME
2-0-0 0
90
68
4 2.00 0.944
Jakhari Desphy
SO WALSH JESUIT
0-1-2 0
143 88
8 2.52 0.917
Ryan Madden
SR HOLY NAME
0-1-0 0
45
31
3 3.00 0.912
Alec Silver
SR UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 1-0-0 0
45
14
3 3.00 0.824
Patrick Kristo
FR LAKE CATHOLIC
0-1-0 0
61
53
6 4.43 0.898
Eric Williams
SR GILMOUR ACADEMY 0-3-0 0
120 98
17 6.38 0.852
Jacob Zab
SR LAKE CATHOLIC
0-2-0 0
69
35
13 8.48 0.729
Only goaltenders who have played 33% of their team's minutes in league play are listed
Walsh Jesuit sophomore
G Jakhari Desphy
© HARRINGTON SPORTS MEDIA (216) 548-2345/[email protected]