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Brooklyn District Update

By Scott Harrington, 02/24/20, 3:00PM EST

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Holy Name, Strongsville face resistance but advance

There were no huge upsets in the first week of play in the Brooklyn District but there were a few close calls. 

Holy Name, the #4 seed, found themselves tied, 2-2, early in the third period against #11 North Olmsted, but the Namers’ skill took over in the third period of a 6-3 win.

It took double-overtime, but #6 Strongsville got past Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League Red Division rival Benedictine, the #9 seed, 5-4.

Avon Lake, a GCGSHL White Division team, knocked out Padua Franciscan of the Great Lakes Hockey League, but the Shoremen (4-3 winners) went into that game as the higher seed so no upset to see here.

The only game that could be considered an upset would be Lakewood’s 2-1 win over GCHSHL White South champ and #12 seed Parma.  Lakewood is the #14 seed and a member of the Blue North Division, but the Rangers won 21 games this year and the teams were seeded closely, so it is a relatively minor upset.

Lakewood was rewarded with a chance to play neighbor St. Edward on Sunday.  They were eliminated, 11-0.

That’s 10 games and one instance of a lower seed advancing.

The Brooklyn District utilizes mid-week quarterfinal games, so we will see the following match-ups followed by a pair of district semifinal games on Saturday afternoon:

Tuesday, February 25:

5:30 p.m. #1 Saint Ignatius vs. #10 Olmsted Falls

8:00 p.m. #5 Amherst Steele vs. #6 Strongsville

Wednesday, February 26:

5:30 p.m. #2 St. Edward vs. #4 Holy Name

8:00 p.m. #3 Rocky River vs. #7 Avon Lake

The Ed’s-Holy Name match-up is the marquee game of what has the potential to be a pretty entertaining quarterfinal round.  It pits two GLHL rivals with a recent history of classic district battles going up against each other earlier in the bracket than usual.

Most of the Green Wave roster began their varsity careers playing for Eagles head coach Tim Sullivan, who made the move from Holy Name to his Alma Mater prior to this season.

It should be a good one and I hope somebody supplies frequent Twitter updates because I’ll be at a middle school band concert…

River-Avon Lake will be a great battle of closely-matched West Shore rivals, but look for the Pirates prolific offense to propel them into the semis.

The tilt between Amherst and Strongsville should be a good one as well.  Amherst has dominated the White Division of the GCHSHL for three years now, while Strongsville plays in the higher Red Division.  The fact that the winner will be the next sacrificial lamb for Saint Ignatius takes a little bit of the intrigue out of this one, though, doesn’t it?

If you wanted to place your money on an Ignatius-Ed’s district final happening on March 7 that would be a pretty good bet, but the road will not be an easy one for the Eagles.

 

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest