Great Lakes League Race Has Not Thinned Out Yet
GLHL Weekly Vol. 7, No. 9
The penultimate weekend of regular season play has arrived in the 2019-20 Great Lakes Hockey League regular season and four teams are still in contention for the league title and the first-round bye for the 2020 Cleveland Cup tournament that goes along with it.
There are five teams within three points of first place, but Gilmour Academy’s win over Holy Name on Tuesday eliminated the Green Wave, which only has one league game remaining on their schedule.
There were only two league games played last week but both impacted the race.
Gilmour, ranked #3 in the state, and St. Edward (#4) played to a 2-2 tie in a game that was not only key to the state rankings but the GLHL points race.
The tying goal came off the stick of St. Edward senior forward Matt Smith with 2:38 remaining in regulation time.
It was a big tie for each team. It kept St. Edward in first place based on points while Gilmour stayed undefeated in league play.
The Lancers caught the Eagles and created a tie for first place with their win over Holy Name.
The Lancers have three league games remaining, including head-to-head match-ups with Shaker Heights (Feb. 8) and University School (Feb. 9) during the last weekend of the regular season.
Shaker Heights defeated University School, 8-3, in the other league game last week to create a tie for third place.
Gilmour and University School both competed in the Father Welsh Tournament hosted by Saint Ignatius, at which the #1 ranked Wildcats suffered their first loss of the 2019-20 season.
We’ll see if either team picked up some pointers by watching Livonia-Stevenson (MI) knock off the four-time defending Ohio state champs.
GLHL TEAM NOTES
GILMOUR ACADEMY: Gilmour Academy followed up their 2-2 tie against St. Edward with what head coach John Malloy said was their best game of the year in a 4-3 win over Saline (MI) at Brooklyn Rec Center on Saturday...Gilmour boasts a balanced attack. The Lancers have five players who have hit double-digits in goals with between 13-19 goals on the season. Justin Evans leads the team with 19.
HOLY NAME: Holy Name was idle over the weekend but returned to the ice Tuesday against Gilmour...A pair of Green Wave players, Brennan Dickey and Patrick Ehlert, signed contracts with the Sheridan (WY) Hawks of the Tier III NA3HL for the 2020-21 season. The Hawks drafted Dickey in the 2019 NA3HL Draft and he played with them for one weekend this fall. Both players will complete the high school season with the Namers.
PADUA FRANCISCAN: Padua Franciscan faced some stiff non-league competition last weekend, playing at the Grand Rapids Catholic Showcase Tournament in Michigan...Freshman goaltender Aidan Knox has topped 189 of 206 shots over his last five starts (.917 save percentage)...The Bruins have been cutting down on Knox’s workload. He has faced and average of 41 shots per game over his last six games, but had faced 50+ shots in four consecutive games prior to that, and five of the previous seven.
ST. EDWARD: The St. Edward Eagles, ranked #4 in the state, played #3 Gilmour Academy to a 2-2 tie on Friday in front of their 2000’s state championship teams (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008) who were honored during the first intermission...The Eagles headed west to play Findlay in a non-league game Saturday and defeated the Trojans, 4-2. Junior forwards Sean Kolenich and Jack O’Sullivan scored third-period goals to provide the margin of victory.
SHAKER HEIGHTS: Shaker Heights scored eight goals or for in a game for the fourth time this season in an 8-3 win over University School Friday night. It was Shaker’s first league game since a 2-1 loss to St. Edward on January 4...The Red Raiders have scored 103 goals in 28 games so far this season (3.7 per game).
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: University School lost in overtime to North Broward (FL) at the Father Welsh Tournament at Brooklyn on Sunday. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Preppers. US has won three of its last five league games and are tied for third place in the league standings. They only have two GLHL points still on the table, however, as their last league game remaining is their regular season finale against Gilmour at home on February 9.
WALSH JESUIT: The Warriors of Walsh Jesuit played a front-loaded league schedule, playing four GLHL games before Christmas and three more in the first 10 days of January. They will close out their league slate when they host Holy Name at KSU Ice Arena on Saturday (2:00 p.m. puck drop).
GLHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK—DEVIN CAMPBELL, SHAKER HEIGHTS
Shaker Heights senior forward Devin Campbell is the Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Week for the week ending January 26. Campbell scored four goals in Shaker’s 8-3 league win over University School on Friday, including a pair of goals in a five-goal second period that saw the Red Raiders pull away from the Preppers.
He also figured in both Shaker goals, soring one and assisting on the other, in a 5-2 loss to Anthony Wayne on Sunday.
Campbell, who put together a nine-game point streak between December 20 and January 3, leads the Red Raiders in assists (18) and his 30 points put him second on the team and tied for sixth in the league.
“Devin is a model student-athlete and has been an important part of our program for several years,” said Shaker Heights head coach Matthew Bartley. “He does a great job doing the little things well, such as putting himself in the right place at the right time, and that definitely paid off for him over the weekend.
PREVIOUS WINNERS—Brennan Dickey (Holy Name), December 1; Lucas Newton (St. Edward), December 8; John Pape (University School) December 15; Milo Henry (Holy Name), December 22; Patrick Ehlert (Holy Name), January 3; Shane Helman (Padua Franciscan), January 10; Anthony Iacobell (Gilmour Academy), January 24
GLHL PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: BILL HOLTZER, WALSH JESUIT ‘21
Bill Holtzer, a junior forward at Walsh Jesuit, was a member of the U. S. team that competed at the Deaflympics in Valtellina Valchiavenna, Italy from December 12-21. Holtzer was the second-youngest member of the team which defeated Canada for the gold medal.
Holtzer’s teammates ranged in age from 16 to 34 and, of the 23 players on the roster, 16 were returnees from previous international competitions. Team USA won a bronze medal at the 2015 Deaflympics held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Amherst, NY.
Competing with the U. S. team was a tremendous experience for the young Warrior forward.
“The highlight of the tournament was being able to play with other deaf hockey players just like me at such a high level,” said Holtzer. “It was a privilege to represent the U.S. In Italy. It was an experience like no other.”
The team was all business while in Italy, but they did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing.
“When the team landed in Milan we had a couple of days to check out the city’s cultural and historical sites,” he said. “However, we had practices almost everyday, even on game days.”
Holtzer says competing in the Deaflympics was an “absolutely amazing” experience and he would like to compete in future Games.
The U. S. also played teams from Russia, Finland and Kazakhstan at the event.
