North Olmsted Eagles and head coach Ben Palocko will have to make some adjustments as he looks to replace some key pieces from last year’s team.

Travis Vitaz and Riley Vertosnik combined for 41 goals and 79 points.  Vitaz is skating in the USPHL Premier Junior A league with the Lake Erie Bighorns while Vertosnik is lacing them up with the Texas Roadrunners of the NA3HL.

Also gone is goaltender Joey Warszawski who graduated after playing in every game last season and finishing with a 3.83 goals-against average and .875 save percentage.

North Olmsted is welcoming four freshman and will be turning the goaltending reigns over to senior James Kucon and sophomore Kenny Stone.

Hoping to fill the scoring void for the Eagles will be senior captain Shawn Donovan and junior Justin Christ who bring veteran experience, which they hope can translate into wins.

Last season North Olmsted finished with a record of 8-14-2, including 2-9-1 in the Red Division.  The team learned a lot as they were involved in five overtime games so that helps build character.  With the GCHSHL realignment, North Olmsted will be dropped down to the White division which is filled with many of their Southwest Conference rivals like Avon, Avon Lake, Amherst and Olmsted Falls to just name a few.

The Eagles lost their first three games of the season but rebounded at the Bruce Anderson Memorial Tournament hosted by Normandy High School, scoring 37 goals in four games and sweeping to the tournament championship against mostly Blue Division competition.

Over the Christmas break, the Eagles will compete in the Solon Holiday Tournament and will face off against the host Solon Comets as well as their rival Olmsted Falls and a strong team from Kenston. North Olmsted will finish off tournament play in the SWC Tournament over MLK weekend – competing for a tournament championship they have claimed twice before (2006, 2015).

If the season goes as Coach Palocko expects, the Eagles will qualify for the elusive Baron Cup, a tournament they came close to winning a few times but have never won.

--- Thomas Liegl for Ohio Hockey Digest