NOAH COLASANTI, WALSH JESUIT (week of Dec. 27)

Walsh Jesuit forward Noah Colasanti sparked the Warriors to victory at the Greg Shupe Memorial Tournament, which Walsh hosts, by scoring five goals in three tournament games.  

Walsh defeated Olmsted Falls (5-2), Mentor (3-1) and Shaker Heights (3-2) to win the tournament.

“Noah has consistently been one of our top two-way players for the past few years,” said Walsh Jesuit head coach Peter Calleri.  “This year he is gaining confidence is his scoring ability and that helped us win some close games against tough competition over the weekend.”

Colasanti also picked up a pair of assists to give him seven points (5-2-7) at the event and has picked up at least one point in nine of his last 11 games, accumulating 16 points (9-7-16) in that span.

PREVIOUS WINNERS – Josh Weiner, Walsh Jesuit (Week of Nov. 22); Mark Berglund, University School (Nov. 29); Shane Helman, Padua Franciscan (Dec. 6); Tyler Lencewicz, Shaker Heights (Dec. 13); Geoffrey Lapsevich (Dec. 20).

Gilmour hosted the Brother James Memorial Tournament December 28-30. The event included four of the top seven teams in Ohio as well as some solid non-OHSAA competition. The Lancers defeated Sylvania Northview while dropping games to #4 Upper Arlington and Orchard Park (NY). That set up a consolation game against GLHL rival University School which GA won, 2-1, in overtime on a goal…Gilmour hits the road for a three-in-three of league games this weekend. The Lancers are at Shaker Heights and Walsh Jesuit Friday and Saturday before returning to the friendly confines of Floyd E. Stefanski Ice Center to host Padua on Sunday. With six points on the table between Friday and Sunday, Gilmour has a chance to position themselves well in the GLHL standings.

Holy Name played their first league game of the season on Tuesday. The Green Wave was the final team in the GLHL to get the league portion of their season underway, and despite a loss to Padua in that first game, the Namers still have plenty of runway in front of them as they attempt to move up the league standings…Prior to the shutout at the hands of the rival Bruins, junior forward Dennis Keeler had recorded goals in three of the previous four games, collecting six points (3-3-6) in that span.

Going back to the Padua Holiday Tournament, the Bruins are 3-2-2 against some pretty stiff competition. The two losses came at the hands of #11 Findlay and #14 Shaker Heights…Brock Bisler scored in sudden death overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 OT win over Shaker on December 30 and has also dented the twine in the two subsequent games for a three-game goal streak. He sits third among Padua’s scoring leaders with 20 points (8-12-20)…Padua is ranked #13 in the state and had a tremendous first half of the season. With four points already in the bank in the GLHL standings, league games against #12 Walsh Jesuit and #7 Gilmour Academy this weekend give the Bruins a chance to make a dent both the state rankings and the league standings.

Shaker split a league home-and-home series with Padua with the loss coming in overtime. They responded with a 4-2 win three days later behind two goals from Tyler Lencewicz and 19 saves from Garrett Ritts…The scoring exploits of Lencewicz (27 goals in 18 games) have been well-chronicled, but the contributions of linemates Sammy Gerber (12-12-24) and Jack Camp (9-12-21) should not be overlooked. Gerber is second on the team in scoring while Camp has 10 points (3-7-10) over his last five games…Cooper Mears has given the Red Raiders consistent goaltending all season. He has not allowed more than three goals in any game while posting a solid 2.24 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.

St. Edward travelled to Erie, PA for their first action in two weeks, defeating Cathedral Prep, 6-1, to give them five wins in their last six games. Geoffrey Lapsevich scored a pair of goals in that game and now has eight goals in his last five games to tie Jack Mansour for the team lead with 10…Zak Bell has points in nine straight games, collecting 13 points (5-8-13) in that span…The Eagles face off with University School in a Friday-Sunday home-and-home GLHL series pitting the #3 and #6 teams in the state rankings. The series begins Friday in Lakewood and concludes at Cleveland Heights Rec Center on Sunday.

After winning seven games in a row between December 4-19, University School heads into their GLHL set with St. Edward having lost four of their last five…Senior goaltender Evan Crawford has been a workhorse for US head coach Andy Gerow. Crawford has started 11 of 14 games for the Preppers, posting a 1.80 goals-against average and .933 save percentage…The usually ambitious schedule that University School plays has been particularly challenging as of late. In their last six games going back to December 19, US has faced the #2 team in the state, Toledo St. Francis, twice as well as #7 Gilmour and #11 Findlay. Their next two games will be against #3 St. Edward.

Listen to Andy Gerow on Eposode 67 of the Ohio Hockey Digest On Air podcast

Winners of eight of their last nine games, Walsh Jesuit moved up to #12 in the state rankings this week. Despite their recent success, and two wins and a tie against Shaker Heights in non-league games, the Warriors enter the weekend looking for their first points in league play. They hope to get in the win column with GLHL contests against Padua and Gilmour Academy…The last game the Warriors lost by more than two goals was a 6-3 non-league loss to Padua on November 28…Through their first 17 games, four different Walsh Jesuit skaters have hit double-digits in goals: Josh Weiner (12), Noah Colasanti (11), Joe Holtzer (10) and Dominick Calleri (10).