Dayton, OH – When you think of the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, your first thoughts might drift to the food or football on tap. For the local hockey teams, it was business again after Turkey Day in several Holiday Tournaments. The Beavercreek Beavers welcomed in four other teams for their 23rd annual Frozen Creek Tournament. The Talawanda Brave welcomed in eleven other squads to the beautiful palace of hockey for the DiPaolo Tournament. Some of the other squads made the trek to Central Ohio for the Chiller Tournament spanning across their various branches around Columbus.

The 2019 George DiPaolo Tournament (Talawanda, Alter, Springboro, Centerville, Elder, Sycamore, Miami RedHawks Varsity)

            The DiPaolo Tournament, which was named after a successful business owner who passed away in 2001 and responsible for keeping the hockey scene growing in Oxford, had a total of twelve teams across two divisions. The Talawanda Brave, after sweeping the first two days with a 3-0 record, fell in the Championship rematch to Amherst-Steele 3-2 for the Red Division Championship; Perrysburg went 4-0 in the Blue Division to claim that crown after scoring 42 goals with only allowing four.

            The Springboro Panthers went 3-1 in the Red Division, only dropping a close 6-4 affair to Kent Roosevelt. Both Alter and Centerville went 2-2 in four matches, with the Elks picking up two wins against Sycamore 5-4 and Elder 5-0. Alter took third in the Blue Division with a 5-2 win over Centerville and 3-0 decision over Sycamore. The Aves shut out their Cincinnati neighbors in Elder 9-0 for their first match in the DiPaolo, as the Panthers went 0-4 in the tourney.

The 23rd annual Frozen Creek Tournament (Beavercreek, Mason, La Salle, Dayton Stealth JV)

            One of the oldest Thanksgiving Hockey Tournaments in Ohio can be found in Kettering. Since 1997, the Frozen Creek Tournament has welcomed in teams from all around. Along with the host Beavers, Mason, La Salle, the Dayton Stealth JV squad, and the Lexington Thorobreds from the Central Kentucky Hockey Association made the trip to the Kettering Ice Arena. With a sudden loss of the sixth team for this edition of the Frozen Creek, the tournament would be slightly altered to become a race for the most points.

The victorious Lexington Thorobreds went 3-0-1 for 17.5 points, allowing just three goals and scoring 21. The host Beavers also won three and tied with Lexington, scoring 22 goals, allowing five, and notching 15.5 points. La Salle had a 2-2 weekend in Kettering, with the Stealth JV team going 1-3 and Mason 0-4.

Other Tournaments (Moeller, Saint Xavier, Dayton Stealth Varsity)

            From Cincinnati to South Bend with hockey is the story of the Moeller Crusaders visiting the University of Notre Dame for the holiday weekend. The Fighting Crusaders went 1-2-1 on the tourney. Moeller first battled to a scoreless tie with Saint Joseph High School, following up with a 2-1 win against Mount Carmel High School and dropping a 3-0 decision to Notre Dame Preparatory High School. For the Championship Game, Moeller came up a bit short to the same Notre Dame Prep school 5-2.

            Saint Xavier picked up two wins in the Chiller Thanksgiving Classic at the Chiller North. The Bombers knocked off Westerville 4-1 and Kenston 5-0 before falling in a shootout to the Dayton Stealth Varsity squad 3-2. For the second place game between the West and East Divisions, Saint Xavier fell to Olentangy Orange 7-4 to close up the Chiller Tourney.

            The Varsity Stealth squad claimed first place, with wins over Kenston 4-1, Westerville 5-0, and St. Xavier in a shootout 3-2. The Stealth finished the tournament with a takedown on a strong Saint Charles squad 4-1, handing the Cardinals their first loss of the season.

--- Lee W. Mowen for Ohio Hockey Digest