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2020 Brooklyn District Preview

By Scott Harrington, 02/21/20, 9:30AM EST

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Can anyone stop Saint Ignatius?

The Saint Ignatius Wildcats are on an unprecedented run of four consecutive Ohio state championships and hope to make it five in a row, and six in seven years, with another title next month.

The rest of the field is doing what they can to avoid them.  The bracket has taken on a rather lopsided look that could very well result in some prime match-ups happening in the early rounds on the other side of the bracket.

St. Edward and Holy Name, for example, have met in district semifinal classics four times since 2013.  The first three were all decided by a single goal and the Green Wave won, 2-0, last year.  But we may see a quarterfinal match-up between the two rivals because Holy Name, the #4 seed, didn’t want to have to go through Ignatius in the semifinals and placed themselves on the opposite side of the bracket. 

You can’t blame them.

THE FAVORITE

Saint Ignatius – There is only one team in the top tier in this district.  Saint Ignatius has won the state tournament four years in a row and there is no reason to believe they can’t do it against this year.  They have been #1 in the coach’s poll all season – most weeks by a unanimous vote – and have beaten #3 Gilmour Academy and #4 St. Edward head-to-head.

A few minor cracks have appeared in recent weeks, giving the rest of the field a ray of hope.  The Wildcats, who didn’t lose a game until January 25, lost three consecutive late-season contests against teams from Michigan…but could that actually help them by waking them up and reminding them that they can lose?

“I don't think any of us ever really thought we would go undefeated because our schedule is so tough,” said Saint Ignatius head coach Pat O’Rourke.  “So that was never really a goal of ours, nor did we feel any pressure to do so.  The sole purpose of our scheduling has to do with playing tough competition, whether it's in-state or out-of-state.  Our players enjoy playing a tough schedule, and so do our coaches.  We think it's makes us all better and keeps us sharp.”

There are 15 seniors on the Saint Ignatius hockey team that know nothing other than state championships.  Six of those seniors are going after their third state title in as many years:  forwards Alex Bilardo, Camden Kurtz, Aidan Millett and Rory Zawadzki and defensemen Charlie Erbs and Clay Gazdek.

Two players – blue liners Michael Boehm and Greg Langermeier – are attempting to do something no other high school players in the state of Ohio have ever done and win their fourth, having contributed to the 2017 championship as freshmen.

The Wildcats enter the 2020 district tournament with a 112-29-5 record over the last four seasons – a winning percentage of .784.

There is no safer bet than O’Rourke and his team being in the district final on March 7 and playing one of St. Edward, Holy Name or Rocky River.  But the Wildcats won’t take their passage for granted even if Amherst Steele – a GCHSHL White Division team – is the highest seed they could encounter before that.

“We do not take any of our opponents for granted as we know that we are only guaranteed one game for the rest of this season unless and until we earn another one,” said O’Rourke.  “So, we will scout each potential future opponent and treat them like the Boston Bruins.  That's the only way I know how to approach things.”

But they are not playing the Boston Bruins in their first district game on Saturday.  They are playing Avon, the #13 seed.  Their second-round game will most likely be against #10 seed Olmsted Falls.  Amherst is likely next, or maybe Strongsville, but those are the only three games they will play in a 20-day span between their regular season finale and the district final where somebody might be able to give them a run for their money.

Saint Ignatius can only play the games in front of them, so they cannot be blamed for this situation, but it does highlight some major problems with the way the OHSAA runs the post-season for hockey.

THE CHALLENGERS

St. Edward – As the #4 team in the state, and Great Lakes Hockey League runner-up in both the regular and post-season, the St. Edward Eagles are the team that Saint Ignatius has to worry about the most – ancient rivalries aside.  Head coach Tim Sullivan, in his first season behind the bench of his alma mater, has worked diligently all season to change the culture in the Eagles’ room and this is the time of year he will find out how much he and his staff have succeeded in moving the needle in that department. 

Sullivan, who won the Cleveland Cup with Holy Name in 2019, would have liked nothing more than to see his Eagles claim the league title.  Despite the 3-1 loss to Gilmour Academy in the final game, St. Edward will benefit from playing three competitive games in a four-day span in the league tournament.

“I think the level of competition and the atmosphere was a good dress rehearsal for the districts where every single shift counts,” Sullivan said.  “I think the only thing we were missing against Gilmour was our finish.  We have been working on finishing every play and will continue to work on that.”

Holy Name is the likely quarterfinal opponent on February 26.  That will bring things to a head pretty quickly on that side of the bracket, but the way the seeding played out is not something that Sullivan or the Eagles are thinking about.

“With the competition, and when we play them, my thoughts are we have to play them all to get out of the tournament,” he said.  “So, it is what it is when it comes to when in the tournament we play certain teams.”

The veteran coach has had 32 games to get to know his personnel, allowing him to make more informed decisions than he could earlier in the season on line combinations and which players to deploy in different situations (Saint Ignatius beat the Eagles, 5-0, on December 28).  Sullivan is confident that he has a full roster of players looking to impact the games moving forward.

“I like this lineup and we can count and trust all 20 guys that suit up every night,” he said.  

Holy Name – The Namers head into the district tournament with the confidence that comes with wins over ranked teams like Toledo St. Francis, St. Charles, Sylvania Northview and Olentangy Liberty over the course of the season.

First year head coach Craig Patton also has three GLHL All-Stars at his disposal:  30-goal scorer Milo Henry, defenseman Patrick Ehlert and Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Year Brennan Dickey.  Dickey enters district play with a whopping 44 goals and 90 points.  North Olmsted will likely get a full dose of #22 on Sunday as he makes a run at a 100-point season.

The Green Wave scored over four goals per game this season and, while their goals-against were in the middle of the pack in the GLHL, they have showed improvement in that area, allowing two goals of fewer in five of their last eight games. 

A pair of juniors – James Light and Brendan Greller – have split time in goal and both have contributed to the solid play of late.  Patton can be confident turning to either Greller, who has a 3.15 goals-against average and .913 save percentage dating back to January 28, or Light (2.93/.907 since January 18).

Rocky River – The Pirates played second fiddle to Mentor in the GCHSHL this year, but that does not mean they don’t have a district run in them.  Mentor was an exceptional GCHSHL Red Division team this year – earning Top 5 ranking in the state. 

Take out their five games against Mentor, and River is 22-4-2, with three of the four losses coming by a single goal against Erie Cathedral Prep (beat St. Edward in January) and GLHL members Walsh Jesuit and Shaker.

Rocky River actually scored more goals this season than Mentor (194-181), so don’t sleep on the Pirates, Matey…

THE DARK HORSES

Amherst Steele – Amherst has won three straight regular season championships in the GCHSHL White Division with three Baron Cup II titles to go along with them.  That’s a lot of banners. 

The Comets rarely punch up a weight class, so they don’t have any resume-building wins to point to like Holy Name.  Still, while we don’t know what to expect from Amherst as they get deeper into the tournament, they have to be taken seriously due to their domination of second-tier competition.  Assuming a win over Westlake (sorry, Demons fans), the Comets would go up against a Red Division team in the district quarterfinal – either Strongsville or Benedictine – and we will find out a lot about them then.

Jacob Kramer is one player to watch as he has scored over 200 career goals.  That included lighting the lamp a half-dozen times against North Olmsted in the Baron Cup II semifinal.  In all, he put up 17 points (13-4-17) in three BCII games.

That is impressive, but Mentor kept him off the board as the Cardinals shut out the Comets twice.  Will Kramer be able to keep turning the red light as the competition ramps up? 

For a team that has established itself as a White Division power, and has reached the Brooklyn District quarterfinals on a fairly regular basis over the past 10-12 years, this might be their best chance to advance as far as a district semifinal since their only other trip – a 5-3 loss to St. Edward in 2011.  A 6-5 OT loss to Olmsted Falls prevented a semifinal date with Saint Ignatius last year.

Strongsville – The Strongsville Mustangs reached a Brooklyn District semifinal three times in a four-year period (2006, 2007, 2009), but have not been back since.  Due to the scenario outlined above, this could be the year they get back.  They go up against GCHSHL Red Division rival Benedictine first, but have defeated the Bengals all three times they faced them this year – although it should be noted Benny pushed them to OT in the most recent meeting.

Senior Jake Schuette has scored 31 goals this season, while classmate Nate Rajecki (27-28-5 in 24 GP) and junior Nathan Dubsky (24 goals) have been big contributors as well.

Avon Lake – After a horrible first two weeks of the season, Avon Lake has been very good.  Since an overtime loss to North Olmsted on December 3, the Shoremen are 23-4-1.  Against teams other than Amherst Steele, they are 23-0-1.

The Shoremen also have a goalie that can steal games in Dillon Aslaksen.  They may need him to do just that as they go up against Padua Franciscan in an intriguing first-round game. 

If they get past the Bruins, they will likely meet their West Shore rivals from Rocky River in the second round and they would have their hands full in that match-up.

Seniors Justin Share, Tommy Kacmarcik and Nick Ospelt will have to be at their absolute best, and Aslaksen will need to stand on his head, for the Shoremen to advance as far as the district semifinal.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest