The top-ranked Saint Ignatius Wildcats suffered their first defeat of the season, leaving just one undefeated team in the OHSAA:  #2 Upper Arlington.  The Wildcats lost to an out-of-state opponent, Livonia-Stevenson (MI), at their Father Welsh Tournament by a decisive 6-2 count.

There were two games that pitted Top 10 teams against each other over the weekend.  One ended in a tie and will not likely move the needle in the poll, but the other very well could.

#1 Saint Ignatius – Saint Ignatius has been #1 from Day One – by a unanimous vote most weeks – so they are unlikely to be unseated from their perch by one loss, but it will be interesting to see how many first-place votes migrate to UA (def. North Broward (FL), 8-3; lost to Livonia-Stevenson, 6-2; def. Loyola Academy (IL), 5-1; def. Salem (MI), 5-2).

#2 Upper Arlington – The Golden Bears reached 30-0-0 with a pair of decisive wins, but they were both over White Division teams so it remains to be seen how much weight that will carry (def. Springboro, 6-0; def. Thomas Worthington, 12-1).

#3 Gilmour Academy – Gilmour Academy suffered a loss for the second Sunday in a row, dropping a 6-0 decision to the same Livonia-Stevenson team that topped Ignatius.  They also played #4 St. Edward to a 2-2 tie on Friday night and defeated Salem (MI) on Saturday in what head coach John Malloy said was his team’s best effort of the season (tied #3 St. Edward, 2-2; def. Salem (MI), 4-3; lost to Livonia-Stevenson, 6-0).

#4 St. Edward – The Eagles honored their four 1990’s state championship teams Friday night and the alums were treated to an entertaining game against #3 Gilmour Academy – and eight minutes of bonus hockey as well.  Ed’s then went on the road to pick up a quality win on Saturday (tied Gilmour Academy, 2-2; def. Findlay, 4-2).

#5 Toledo St. John’s – The voters have been determined to keep St. John’s in the Top 5, but their fourth loss in the last three weeks might finally bump them down a notch or two (lost to #8 Sylvania Northview, 5-2).

#6 Olentangy Liberty – The Patriots were idle this week.  They will have to wait a little longer to get the taste of their last game – a 5-3 loss to #10 Holy Name – out of their mouths.

#7 Mentor – Nobody in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League has been able to beat Mentor this year.  Shaker Heights is the only team to take their measure (1-0 on December 15) and the Cardinals get another shot at them in the rubber-match of their three-game season series on Sunday (def. Cleveland Heights, 11-2).

#8 Sylvania Northview – Sylvania topped #5 St. John’s in a Top 10 battle at The Tam-O on Saturday night.  Seeing the two squads switch places in the poll would probably be too dramatic a shift for most voters, but they should certainly move closer together (def. Perrysburg, 7-2; def. #5 St. John’s, 5-2).

#9 St. Charles – A 2-0 loss to un-ranked New Albany on Friday puts the Cardinals Top 10 spot in jeopardy even if they did bounce back with convincing wins Saturday and Sunday (lost to New Albany, 2-0; def. Moeller, 4-0; def. Coffman, 15-0).

#10 Holy Name – The Green Wave grabbed the 10th and final spot in last week’s poll then took a week off, but they have a chance to firm up their position Tuesday night when they host #3 Gilmour Academy.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest