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Great Lakes Hockey League Weekly Vol. 5, No. 4

By Scott Harrington, 12/20/17, 8:00AM EST

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BUSY LEAGUE SLATE HEADING INTO HOLIDAYS

The Great Lakes Hockey League gets a half-dozen league games in before Christmas with all seven teams in action this week.  Gilmour Academy and Holy Name start things off at 4:00 Wednesday with a game at Quicken Loans Arena.

Gilmour and Walsh Jesuit both play three league games in a four-day span this week.  The Lancers and Warriors played each other last Saturday in the only league game on the schedule, with the Warriors prevailing, 3-1.  It was the 13th (regular season) league win of Jakhari Desphy’s four-year GLHL career.  That leaves the senior netminder two behind Alec Silver (University School ‘16) for second-most in the five-year history of the league.

University School hosts Desphy and the Warriors on Saturday at their home rink in Cleveland Heights.  It is the first league game of the season for the Preppers, who have gone 7-3-1 in non-league competition so far.

University School was one of four GLHL schools that competed in the Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament last week.  The Preppers came in third, the highest finish of any GLHL entrant.

Padua has a record of 2-11-0, but one of their two wins came in their only league game of the season—a 4-3 overtime win over Lake Catholic on December 8.  The Bruins host Walsh Friday night and Gilmour Saturday afternoon as they try to collect more points in the GLHL standings.

Upcoming holiday tournaments include the Eagle Classic, hosted by St. Edward December 27-29, and including University School.

Walsh hosts the Greg Shupe Warrior Shootout, welcoming some top competition from the Columbus and Toledo areas as well as GCHSHL power Rocky River.

Holy Name and Lake Catholic are not going to any tournaments, but have some non-league games scheduled to stay sharp over the holidays.

Gilmour Academy, meanwhile, will enjoy some time away from the rink after Christmas to re-charge the batteries for the second half of the season.

GLHL TEAM NOTES


Jakhari Desphy stopped 31 of 32 shots in a league win over GA last Saturday

GILMOUR ACADEMY > Gilmour entered their league game at Walsh Jesuit on Saturday with wins in nine of their last 10 games, but ran into a hot goaltender and suffered their first loss in league play (2-1-0)...The Lancers struggled to score goals last season (1.43 GPG), but are averaging three goals per game this season...GA and Holy Name, two teams bunched near the middle of the standings, face off in a league game at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.  It is a busy week for GA as they play back-to-back games Friday at St. Edward and Saturday at Padua.  After that, they will enjoy some down time before returning to action January 5 when they host the Brother James Memorial Tournament.

HOLY NAME > The Green Wave will host Meadville (PA) at Ries Rink on Saturday in their final game before the holidays.  Faceoff is 8:30 p.m.  The Namers participated in the Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament for the second year in a row, posting a 2-0 win over Toledo St. John’s and playing Olentangy Liberty to a 4-4 tie.  The shutout over St. John’s was the second of the season for Ross Conforto.  Holy Name drew defending state finalist Toledo St. Francis in their Sunday consolation game and held an early 2-0 lead but, playing their fourth game in less than 48 hours, were eventually worn down by the Knights, losing 6-3...Holy Name’s game at The Q on Wednesday will be their first appearance in that building since a 6-0 loss to Saint Ignatius December 5, 2014.

LAKE CATHOLIC > The Cougars went through a grueling stretch of five games in five days last week, emerging with wins over Team Audi and Cleveland Heights.  So why would a team schedule games for five straight days?  “We took into account the schedule and decided to actually pick up a game against Shaker in the middle of that stretch,” said Lake Catholic head coach Justin Vance.  “It was an opportunity to get better—take on a challenge and grow from the experience and push ourselves a bit.” The Cougars did not go to the Padua Tournament this year, so Vance was looking for another opportunity to test his team before Christmas.  “We have an extended holiday break coming up so I wanted to face a variety of teams and see where we stood,” said Vance.  “I expect the same kind of grind come state playoffs and GLHL Cleveland Cup so exposing them to this kind of schedule will only benefit us down the stretch.”

PADUA FRANCISCAN > The Bruins hosted their annual holiday hockey tournament over the weekend.  It is one of the top in-season tournaments in the state and each year draws 12 of the top programs in Ohio.  Unfortunately for Padua, their goal scoring dried up at an inopportune time.  The Bruins had scored 14 goals in their last three games going into the tournament, but managed just three goals in four games over the weekend.  Granted, it was against some of the top competition they will face outside of league play all season.

ST. EDWARD > The Eagles split two games against Olentangy Liberty at the Padua Tournament, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Patriots Friday evening, but rebounding with a 5-2 win in the consolation round.  St. Edward finished the event with a 2-2-0 mark, also beating St. Charles (5-2), but dropping a 5-3 game to tournament runner-up Sylvania Northview.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL > University School captured third place in the Padua Holiday Hockey Tournament on Jack Henry Muha’s goal with 37 seconds left in regulation against Findlay on Sunday.  The Preppers let a two-goal lead get away in the third period, but Muha’s clutch tally have the them their second win over the Trojans in the tournament.  US defeated Findlay, 3-2, in their opening game of the preliminary round and also posted a win over Toledo St. John’s (4-1) at the event.  A 4-2 loss to 2017 OHSAA finalist Toledo St. Francis was the only blemish on the Preppers tourney record...University School is the last GLHL school to open their league schedule.  They host Walsh Jesuit on Saturday.

WALSH JESUIT > Walsh Jesuit netminder Jakhari Desphy stopped 31 of 32 shots to backstop the Warriors to a 3-1 win over Gilmour Academy in the only GLHL league game of the week.  Jonathan Gabriel scored a pair of goals in the second period to put Walsh in the lead and Desphy did the rest, stopping all 24 shots he faced over the final two periods.  

GLHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK—COLE HORVATH, LAKE CATHOLIC

The Lake Catholic had a busy week, playing five games in five days, and Cole Horvath was among the busiest Cougars, scoring seven goals and assisting on four others for 11 points.

The junior forward has been red hot in recent weeks, scoring twice in five of his last seven games.  He now has 17 goals on the season in just 15 games played, and is tied with teammate Jacob Schmitt for the overall league lead in scoring with 23 points.

“Cole is a natural finisher and goal-scorer,” said Lake Catholic head coach Justin Vance.  “He has that knack for scoring that so many players envy. He's constantly growing as a complete player and as of late, has seemed to take his game to the next level. Not just in the offensive end, but playing at both ends of the ice and playing really physical.”

“Pairing him with Jacob Schmitt, who is an excellent playmaker, has been a fun thing to watch,” Vance continued.  “They feed off each other well and when Cole has the puck on his stick around the slot he usually buries it. He has a fantastic shot and I'm excited to see him taking advantage of his opportunities in an increased role for us this season.”

PREVIOUS WINNERS: 

Andrew Tomer, St. Edward (Dec. 8); Andrew Stewart, St. Edward (Dec. 16) 

GLHL ALUMNI BIO—EVAN KRUEGER, UNIVERSITY SCHOOL ‘16

University School sniper Evan Krueger ‘16 scored 25 goals in just 20 Great Lakes Hockey League regular season games in his two seasons in the league (2014-2016).

As prolific as Krueger was in league play, he took it to another level when the games got bigger.  The 5’10”, 190-pound Mayfield Village native scored all five goals in a 5-1 Preppers win over St. Edward in the 2015 Cleveland Cup semifinals—three of them in the third period alone.

No other player in league history has scored at a rate exceeding a goal per game, and Krueger has taken that scoring touch with him to the college ranks.  After spending the 2016-17 season playing for Miami’s Division II ACHA team, and scoring 11 goals in 16 games there, Krueger moved back north to play for the Division I program at John Carroll University.

In his first 25 games with the Blue streaks this season, Krueger has potted exactly 25 goals.  He has registered four hat tricks already at the Christmas break, scoring a season-high four goals in a 7-3 win over Canisius on October 20.

JCU heads into the break in second place in College Hockey Mid-America with a record of 15-10-0 (6-3-0 CMHA).

Krueger’s teammates on the Blue Streaks include former Great Lakes Hockey League rivals and Lake Catholic grads Grant MacMullen, Declan Conway, Dan Kral, Jake Denner and Charlie Denner.

STAT OF THE WEEK: GLHL ALL-TIME GOAL-SCORING GREATS


Szelesta

20-GOAL CLUB
Players who have scored 20+ goals in their GLHL career
(regular season games only)

PLAYER GOALS GAMES GPG
Curtis Szelesta, St. Edward 33 34 0.97
Sean Bauchens, Holy Name 27 32 0.84
Evan Krueger, University School 25 20 1.25
Connor Koehnke, Saint Ignatius 22 31 0.71
Alex Piazza, Lake Catholic 20 20 1.00
J. D. Clemens, University School 20 30 0.67