Tobias Herlong made 34 saves as Gilmour Academy defeated St. Edward, 3-1, to win the Great Lakes Hockey League’s Cleveland Cup at OBM Arena in Strongsville Saturday night.

Matt Bauman – a freshman called up from the Gilmour Academy U16 team and playing in just his second varsity game – scored the only goal of the first two periods as the league’s post-season tournament came down to a battle between the #3- and #4-ranked teams in the state of Ohio.

“This was just a classic championship game that could have gone either way,” said Gilmour head coach John Malloy. 

The action intensified as the two teams continued to trade chances and the game remained 1-0.

St. Edward senior goaltender Nate Cappellazzo made a huge save in the first minute of the third period, robbing Gilmour’s Luke Robertson with his glove from 10 feet out.  But, at the 2:25 mark, Justin Evans skated down the right wing with the puck and ripped a slap shot over Cappellazzo’s blocker from the right faceoff circle to make it 2-0 GA. 

“Games can turn at any moment,” said Malloy.  “And that was a heck of a shot by Justin Evans that was a big moment because it gave us a little breathing room.”

With 4:56 left in the game, a holding penalty put Gilmour on the PP for the first time.  Less than a minute later, the Eagles compounded their situation with a second penalty that put the Lancers on a 5-on-3.

St. Edward killed both penalties, and were ready to make their push, but Bryce Hofstrom’s wrist shot from the left faceoff dot made it past the blocker of a screened Cappellazzo and the Lancers were in control, 3-0.

“When a team kills a five-on-three that is a great momentum opportunity,” Malloy said.  “I always say the minute after a power play can be just a big as the power play especially when you don’t score.”

St. Edward ruined Herlong’s shutout bid when Matt Smith re-directed Kostka’s shot from the point with :36 left in the game.

Gilmour heads into the Kent District as the favorite, #1 seed, and the top challenger to Saint Ignatius in the northern part of the state as they go after their fifth consecutive state championship.

St. Edward and Holy Name have had some memorable meetings in the districts in recent years and they look like they are on a collision course for a quarterfinal game in the Brooklyn District on Wednesday, February 26.

All three Baron Cups came down to the favorite defeating their top challenger.

The culmination of the GCHSHL Red Division season came down to Mentor-Rocky River as expected, but after four Cardinal goals in the first period, the game was a bit anti-climactic.

Mentor repeated as Baron Cup champs with a 6-1 win and goes into the Kent District with a 30-2-1 record and the #2 seed behind Gilmour Academy.

The Cardinals cannot look ahead to GA, however.  Both of Mentor’s losses this season came at the hands of Shaker Heights, and the Cards may have to get past the Red Raiders before they get their shot at Gilmour.

River heads to districts with a strong 22-8-3 mark.  St. Edward is the top team on their side of the Brooklyn bracket.

Amherst has dominated the White Division for three seasons now, winning both the regular season and tournament championship all three years.

They adding a third Baron Cup II to their trophy cabinet with a 4-2 win over Avon Lake - their fourth win over the Shoremen this season.

With the Red Division operating as a seven-team loop maybe it is time for the Comets to move up and round out the field in the top tier?  A good test for that will come in the second round of the Brooklyn District tournament where Steele, which sports a 24-4-0 mark, will take on a Red Division opponent – either Strongsville or Benedictine – assuming they get past Westlake.

Avon Lake will try to take the championship game loss as motivation as they jump right into the fire with a game against Padua Franciscan in the opening round of districts.  The Shormen will be looking to add to their impressive season total of 25 wins.

The Orange Lions out-scored their Blue Division competition 24-7 over three games on their way to the Baron Cup III championship.  Their 7-5 win over Normandy in the championship game exacted a measure of revenge for the Invaders handing them a 9-5 loss at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse nine days earlier.

Orange now heads to the Kent District where their reward, should they get past Nordonia in their first game, will likely be a date with Gilmour Academy, the #3 team in the state, next Wednesday.

Normandy’s semifinal win over Westlake was their 20th of the season. They drew Avon in an early game in the Brooklyn bracket, so they will need a big win on Tuesday night to keep their season alive.

Upper Arlington remained undefeated through conference tournament play with a 3-0 win over St. Charles to capture the 2020 Blue Jackets Cup. 

The Golden Bears got a scare from Dublin Jerome in the semifinals, but slipped through by a 2-1 score, and went on to defeat the Cardinals and claim the CHC post-season trophy for the first time in school history.

St. Charles, ranked in the Top 10 in the state, tied UA earlier in the season and head into the Columbus District tournament with high hopes of getting another shot at the Bears.  If the early rounds of that bracket go as expected, the Cardinals will have to get past Olentangy Liberty – also a Top 10 in Ohio.  The Patriots have beaten St. Charles twice this season, but the Cards won the last meeting.

Consolation Bracket

St. Xavier won a couple competitive games, 4-2 over Dublin Coffman and 3-2 over Thomas Worthington in overtime, to win the consolation bracket of the CBJ Cup.

The Bombers will try to carry that momentum into the district tournament where they could end up meeting CHC White Division champ Olentangy Orange in the second round.

Worthington is in a group of four teams seeded 9-13 who will compete go through the Upper Arlington section of the bracket in the quarterfinals.

The Talawanda Brave stormed through the SWOHSHL tournament, out-scoring three teams by an aggregate 23-1.  That includes an 8-1 win over Beavercreek in the title game.

The Brave and Beavers could potentially meet again in the second round of the Columbus District tournament should they get past Springboro and Worthington, respectively.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest