Steve Elliott embarks on his fourth season as the head coach with Sylvania Northview and 23rd season overall with the Wildcats.  The team had a bit of a sluggish start in his third season but, in the end, was very successful. 

Northview struggled during league play (2-4-0), but peaked at the right time, knocking off Findlay (in OT) and St. John’s to earn a trip to Columbus despite a sub-.500 record (13-15-6).

Northview’s 2018-19 season ended at the hands of four-time state champ Saint Ignatius in the state semifinals.  It was the fifth trip to the Ohio Frozen Four in the last nine seasons – including the historic shared state title following the seven-overtime championship game with Ignatius in 2014.

“Youth in our supporting roles will be something that will need to come around,” stated Elliott.  “Spencer Atkins is a proven defenseman,” said Elliott.  “And I look for juniors Dougie Carter and Griffin Muir (both forwards) to take a step forward.”

Muir scored eight goals (8-11-19) and won the team’s Most Improved Player award last season.

The Northview program also gets a kay player back this season.  Junior David Crandall returns after playing with the Belle Tire U16 AAA a year ago.  He also played some junior hockey with the Toledo Cherokee USPHL Premier team this fall, piling up 48 penalty minutes in just nine games played.

Crandall notched 16-27-43 to go along with 55 penalty minutes for the Wildcats in 2017-18.

“That gives us our best pickup,” Elliott stated.  “He was NHC Red rookie of the year and was second on our team in scoring as a freshman.”

Senior Seth Orozco, honorable mention All-NHC last year, fortifies the back end.

A beneficiary of the strong Northview defensive group will be netminder Tyler Clem who is back after playing every minute between the pipes as a sophomore and backstopping the team to the district title.  He should be able to improve on his 3.08 goals-against average and .861 save percentage as a seasoned junior goaltender.

The Wildcats hosted the Cold Turkey Tournament over the long holiday weekend and experienced some great competition to get their juices flowing for the NHC season.  Following a 7-3 win over the Newark Generals on Friday, the Wildcats suffered one-goal losses to St. Andrew’s (3-2) and St. Edward (2-1) on Saturday, but bounced back to finish the tournament on a high note, topping St. Andrew’s in a re-match on Sunday, 5-2.

With the Thanksgiving Tournament behind them, Elliott points to the Padua tournament as a key measuring stick to see how ready his team is for a push in the second half of the season. 

“The Padua Tournament is always a good measure of where we are and what we need to improve on as we move into the second half and into the playoffs.”

The Wildcats will look to improve their play inside the league and, while there are seven teams in the circuit, Elliott still circles certain games on the calendar.

“Our rivalry with St. John’s has heated back up in the past couple seasons and I believe it will once again have a big say in our league and district race.”

Elliott enters the season with a core he is comfortable with but knows what it will take for the team to meet its goals in 2020.

“With top-end talent we should be able to compete in every game,” said Elliott.  “Lack of depth and counting on young, unproven players for important minutes will be a key for us to go from being a good team to a team that can challenge for the league and district titles.”

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest