It was case of new coach-same results for University School as the Preppers won their fifth consecutive Kent District title.  Rookie head coach Andrew Gerow ’10 perpetuated the success of previous US bench bosses Andre Lacroix and Bill Beard as US booked their 15th state tournament appearance and the 13th in the last 18 years.

The Preppers arrive in the capitol looking for their third state title.  Although Jerome was also there last year, no players on the US roster have experienced anything less than a state tourney appearance in their varsity careers.

That experience is irreplaceable.  It’s not just the size of the stage, and the pressure that goes along with it, but the environment in general.

“Playing down at Nationwide is always a great experience for the boys but it does create some challenges with the rink being very different from the rinks we typically play in,” said Gerow.“Some of our boys have played at Nationwide a couple years in a row now but we also have a lot of guys who will be playing there for the first time.”

Gerow will turn to his upperclassmen to show the way for the rookies.

“We will rely on those veterans who have experience at Nationwide sharing as much as they can about their experiences with those who haven’t, so we are the most prepared we can be,” he said.

The Preppers suffered only one loss in the month of February – that coming against Holy Name in the Great Lakes Hockey League’s Cleveland Cup championship game – as they recovered from what was a slow start to the 2018-19 campaign with a new head coach behind the bench.

University School was winless (0-5-1) in their first six games of the season and did not claim their first victory until December 1.  The slow start dragged on through the holidays and, on January 6, US sported a very pedestrian 5-10-2 overall record.

That is the date that saw the Preppers turn the ship around.  Junior defenseman Will Cha only scored one goal in the regular season, but it came that night in overtime against Lake Catholic, and kick-started a seven-game win streak.  The Preppers were 15-4-0 from that point on.

There was one loss during that stretch, however, that stands out:  An 8-2 setback on the final day of the Titan Invitational at the hands of Dublin Jerome – the very team now standing between them and Saturday’s championship game.

A head coach can try to tell a team to move on from a loss, but that’s a pretty tall order in this case.  Gerow decided it was best to address it head-on as he prepared his team for the biggest game of the season.

“I don’t think you ever really forget when you take an 8-2 loss so it is definitely something we have talked about,” said Gerow.“But every game regardless of our opponent we try to focus more on what we do well and playing our style of hockey that has gotten us to this point.”

Gerow and the Preppers are welcoming the opportunity for a do-over against the Celtics in a game with much higher stakes.

“Jerome is a great team and we look forward at getting another chance to compete against those guys,” said Gerow.

University School has a deep, talented roster as usual, but there is one line that has stood out this season:the all-senior troika of Jack Henry Muha (16-29-45), Henry Saada (13-29-42) and Tyler Alt (21-18-39), better knows in US circles as the “Red Line”.

“The Red line has definitely produced all season long and those are our big guns,” Gerow admitted.“But it takes all 20 guys, no matter what role each of those guys play, for us to be successful and something we have stressed all season.”

Sophomore John Pape (12-5-17) was the only other US forward to hit double-digits in goals and Beau O’Sickey (6-14-20) was the only other forward to reach the 20-point plateau.

Senior blue liner George Brinn (17-17-34) drives the offense from the back end and was selected, along with Muha, for the Senior All-Star Game.

Nothing gives a team more confidence going into their most important game(s) of the season than having a reliable, experienced player between the pipes and the Preppers have senior Critter Coughlin behind them if things break down.

Coughlin sports a 14-10-1 record with a 2.15 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.He stopped 28 of 29 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Gilmour Academy in last week’s district title game.

He split time between the pipes last year as a junior, but gave way to the now-graduated Kyle Flatow for the state tournament.This year, Gerow has given Coughlin has the keys.

“Critter has been a rock for us between the pipes and every team that makes it far into the state tournament usually has a great goalie like Critter in net,” Gerow said. “He has done a tremendous job all year long and we wouldn’t be where we are right now without him. I think the team has great confidence in Critter and know in those moments when we need him the most he is going to step up for the team and make the saves to give us a chance to win.”

This week a rookie coach with an experienced roster will look to perpetuate the success of one of Ohio’s most successful programs.

“If we get all 20 guys pulling the rope in the same direction then that gives us the best chance to win,” Gerow said. “If we look at our last two wins it has been a combination of Red line stepping up and then other guys contributing timely goals to help us win, so we will look for a similar formula on Friday.”

Dublin Jerome enters the state tournament for the second time in a row, and the third time in five years, with a clear mission:  Keep the OHSAA state tournament hardware in the Columbus area.

The Celtics won the Columbus District for the second year in a row, and the Blue Jackets Cup for the third straight season, but no Capital Hockey Conference school has ever played in the state championship game. 

Despite the state tournament being played in Columbus since 2003, the league owns an 0-11 mark in state semifinal games.  No non-CHC team from the Columbus area has ever reached the final game, either.

Jerome hopes to break through that barrier this weekend and they are coming in hot, with 15 wins in a row.  Their last loss was January 19 to Upper Arlington at the Titan Invitational.  They responded to that setback with an 8-2 win over US the following day and have not lost since.

The Celtics have been dominant this season.  They sport a 34-3-0 overall record, won the Red Division of the CHC and the CBJ Cup for the third year in a row and ninth time overall.  They have the best record in the 16-year history of the program, all of which have been played under the guidance of veteran head coach Pat Murphy.

Although the Celtics survived a tight 1-0 battle against Liberty in the district final, only four of those 15 straight wins have been settled by two goals or fewer, but that is not something Murphy is worried about.

“I am not concerned about our team being ‘battle tested’”, he said.  “This team has played hard all year and has been able to be victorious against some quality opponents.”

Aside from the win over their state semifinal opponents from US, Jerome went 4-0-0 against Liberty since the first of the year and defeated Upper Arlington three times.  Both of their CHC foes were ranked in the Top 10 of the Ohio High School Hockey Coach’s Poll.

The Celtics also beat Northwest Hockey Conference champ Toledo St. John’s twice, and defeated fellow state semifinalist Sylvania Northview, 7-3, the day after Christmas.

But winning in the regular season and winning at Nationwide Arena in the state tournament are not the same thing.

“Playing on the Nationwide Arena ice surface is always a concern,” Murphy admitted.  “However all but three of my current players played in the state semifinal game against Saint Ignatius last year, so I hope that experience will help.”

Over the course of two district title runs, Murphy has gotten to know his personnel qiote well, and knows who he can rely on for specific tasks when the heat gets turned up.

“In crunch time, when we need a goal or two, we would turn to our senior forwards Trent Belli, J.P. Weaver, Dalton Miller and Nick Augenstein,” said Murphy.  “If we are protecting a lead, we would turn to Adam Booth, Avery Mlicki, Ethan French and Evan Shea.”

The same goes for the back end, where Murphy has relied heavily upon four defensemen:  Ryan Jenkins, Nolan Kunzelman, Jack Moses and Vinnie Comfort, who have done a good job of protecting goaltenders Mark Bishop and Ryan Norkin.

Augenstein, Belli, Weaver, Jenkins and Bishop were all selected for the 2019 Senior All-Star Game.

Murphy is well aware of the history facing his team this week.

“We realize that no team from the CHC has made it to a state championship game,” he said.  “But this team is using that as motivation to try and be successful this year.” 

The Celtics have something to prove following a 6-1 loss to three-time defending champion Saint Ignatius in last year’s semifinal.

“No one has forgotten about our poor performance and blowout loss to Saint Ignatius last year,” Murphy pointed out.  “This team is determined to play better than we did a year ago and try to find a way to win.”

With 34 wins to their credit, this Dublin Jerome team feels they belong in the final four teams and are looking to get two more victories in case anybody else needs to be convinced.

“After the season we have had, we do not feel like we are ‘the underdog’ necessarily,” Murphy said.  “We feel like we can compete with any team if we play well.”

After 16 years of contributing to the development of the Dublin Jerome program and the Capital Hockey Conference overall, Murphy is hoping this is the year, and the team, for the Celtics to push further than they ever have.

“It would mean a lot to me and my staff to finally make it through to a state championship game,” Murphy said.  “More importantly it would mean a lot to this team – especially our seniors.  Making it to the Final Four and, ultimately, winning the state championship has been their goal since we began our off season training last summer.”

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest