Much like Kevin Alexander at Liberty, Upper Arlington head coach Brett Howden is into his second season with his team.  More than half the UA’s scoring returns from a year ago when the Bears went 25-8-3 and advanced to a district semifinal.

The team is off to a hot start, winning their first six games and winning the Chiller Thanksgiving Classic.

Tremendous depth and an established goaltender back in the crease to serve in the #1 role gives Howden a lot to work with.

Although 33-goal scorer Hunter Triplett graduated, the Bears should be able to keep the red light on this season.  For starters, forward Sam Burns scored 22 goals as a freshman.  That total leads all returnees.  He also had a team-high 20 assists.  Go ahead and put him on your list of players to watch for this year.

Senior co-captain Tim Kramer also hit the 20-goal mark while junior Will Cohen (11-22-33) and sophomore Max Robins (11-12-23) also have established track records of production at the varsity level.

Junior Tristan Elmhurst, who joins the team after playing the past several seasons in the AAA Blue Jackets system, will add to the attack.

And while they boast plenty of skill, you can expect the Bruins to be a physical team when they don’t have the puck.

The defense returns seniors Will Lawless (8-18-26), Todd Bainbridge and Trevor Williams.  Junior Whitty Tevonian adds to the experience level on the back end.

Sam Cannon, who played a significant role as a freshman forward collecting 14 points (4-10-14) and 48 penalty minutes, drops back to help out on defense along with fellow sophomore Noah Domagalski.

As a sophomore, Garrett Alderman (.891 save percentage) split time in net with the now-graduated Cam Keller and posted similar numbers.  The path is now clear for him to be the #1 with classmate Andrew Sexton backing up.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest