Southwest Ohio Hockey Check
Talawanda running away in SWOHSHL
Dayton, OHIO – As we enter the halfway point of the last full month of regular season action, the two conference races continue to heat up in Southwest Ohio. With the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend signaling a break in league play and a non-conference tournament for all, it’s a perfect time to cover the two conferences. We start off with the Southwest Ohio High School Hockey League and the two divisions.
The Talawanda Brave (20-2-1) continue a strong, impressive season with a 6-0 conference start with four games left to play in the SWOHSHL to lead the Red Division. The Brave have taken down Beavercreek twice, Centerville, and Alter on the road, as well as Troy and Elder at home in cross-divisional play. The Brave will host Centerville on the 26th of the month, followed with a Thursday Night affair with Alter at the Goggin. The Brave also have a road game at Sycamore on the 24th to resume SWOHSHL play.
Speaking of the Aves, Sycamore (10-10-0) currently leads the Gold Division at 6-2. The Green and Gold Aviators have completed their home-and-home series with Troy and Elder, with the second game vs. Mason closing out January. Along with the previous-mentioned bout with Talawanda coming in to Sports Plus, the Aves also have a non-conference tilt in Springfield at the NTPRD Chiller against Gahanna-Lincoln.
Also in the chase for the Red, the Beavercreek Beavers have been strong this season, also with a 6-2 mark with a season sweep over Centerville and Alter (the last Knights v. Beavers battle being decided in overtime), while going 2-0 against Gold Division foes in Troy and Sycamore, with the league game against Elder and Mason to go (the Frozen Creek match-up between the Beavers and Comets doesn’t count towards the SWOHSHL record as cross-division foes only count for one game. Beavercreek won 11-0 in the Frozen Creek match-up.)
Alter is officially 5-3 in conference battles, coming off an 11-2 home decision against Mason. The Knights have played Centerville twice (three times counting the DiPaolo Tourney game in Oxford), Beavercreek twice, Talawanda once, and Sycamore, Elder, and Mason for cross-division play. Alter still has the road game at Talawanda and a road trip to Troy to finish off conference play.
Centerville is 1-6 in the SWOHSHL this year, with a road trip to Talawanda and home games against Elder and Mason to go. The Elks are coming off two tough losses at Sycamore 6-3 with the Aves scoring four goals in the last four minutes and a 4-1 loss at Troy on the Trojans’ Senior Night.
Mason and the Comets are currently 1-3-1 in five SWOHSHL battles, with several games left on tap for Team 45040. With road matches at Beavercreek, Sycamore, and Centerville, and a date at Heritage Bank Center (the home of the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones) with the Elder Panthers, the Comets have plenty of hockey left before the SWOHSHL Tourney.
Troy is 3-6-1 in conference battles, picking up a 4-1 win over Centerville after honoring their two seniors. The Trojans have split the two games against the Elder Panthers, but dropped both contests against Sycamore. Troy also battled against all of the Red Division teams except for Alter, which is scheduled to be the last home game of the year at historic Hobart. Troy also has a game against Mason to go, as well with the Comets honoring their seniors.
Elder is also 1-6 with the conference slate, picking up a 3-2 overtime win at Hobart Arena against Troy. The Panthers have completed the home-and-home series with the Trojans, who avenged the previously mentioned loss with an 8-0 victory over the hosts. Elder also completed the two-game series against Sycamore, and finishing up most of the Red Division slate with losses to Talawanda and Alter, with a road game set to face Beavercreek on their Senior Night and Centerville for the Elks’ MLK Tourney.
Harrison Hall's Play is #3 on the list
The three non-Columbus Capital teams are also providing their own fireworks in the White Division, with the Moeller Crusaders holding on to a slight lead against the red-hot Olentangy Berlin Bears. The Fighting Crusaders are 7-3-1 in Capital battles, with home games left against Saint Charles, Dublin Coffman, and a non-conference tilt vs. Talawanda. Moeller hits the road to Central Ohio to face Dublin Jerome, Bishop Watterson, and Saint Francis DeSales.
The Saint Xavier Bombers are currently 5-5 in their first year in the Capital, coming off a loss to Olentangy Liberty after storming out to a first intermission lead. The Bombers just have two road games left at Olentangy Berlin and Columbus Academy, with four home games on tap at Sports Plus, with New Albany, Saint Francis DeSales, Gahanna-Lincoln, and Olentangy making the trip down I-71.
Springboro sits at 5-6, currently tied with the Bombers with 10 points in the White Division. The Panthers are coming off a tough 11-0 home loss to Dublin Jerome and a satisfying 3-1 win against Olentangy. For the rest of CHC play, the Panthers will host Upper Arlington (#2 in the state of Ohio, sitting at 24-0), Saint Charles, and Beavercreek for one more non-conference tilt. Springboro will travel to Talawanda for the last road non-conference battle, with three Capital trips left to Gahanna-Lincoln, Dublin Coffman, and New Albany.
For the upcoming weekend, we step away from conference battles and jump into several hockey tournaments. The Centerville Elks will be hosting one at South Metro Sportsplex, with yours truly calling all the action this weekend on YouTube. Most teams are travelling to the Chiller North to partake in the Pioneer Classic, and some teams will travel towards the Toledo area for the Mark Rasmus Memorial Invite at the Sylvania Tam-o-Shanter. Wherever your local hockey team takes you, be safe and enjoy the action!
Last up, I recently had a snippet of one of my broadcasts making it up to SportsCenter’s Top Ten plays for January 6th, 2020. It was Findlay’s Harry Hall scoring a Michigan goal (which was made famous in 1996 by the Wolverines’ Mike Legg against Minnesota, where you score behind the net basically) against the host Panthers to put the Trojans up 3-1 at that point. Findlay ended up winning 6-1. Ohio Hockey Digest shared the clip on Twitter (@hockey_ohio for those who aren’t following.) According to WTOL’s Jordan Strack, this is Hall’s second Michigan goal in his career at FHS.
--- Lee W. Mowen for Ohio Hockey Digest
