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Raiders Shake(r) up Great Lakes Standings

By Scott Harrington, 01/12/23, 2:30PM EST

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Great Lakes Hockey League Weekly Vol. 10 No. 5

PHOTO: ShakerVarsityHockey Facebook page

Shaker Heights won twice over the weekend and tightened up the 2022-23 Great Lakes Hockey League points race as a result.

Every GLHL team now has a loss in league play except Gilmour Academy, which won their second league game on Tuesday, defeating first-place Padua Franciscan.

The points picked up by the Red Raiders and Lancers have created a situation where the top four spots in the league standings are separated by just two points.

Each team in the GLHL will play eight league games this season – home and away against each of their league rivals.

MLK TOURNAMENTS – The members of the GLHL will all go in separate directions to play in tournaments over the holiday weekend.

Walsh Jesuit will host their annual MLK Tournament, Gilmour will cross into Canada to play at a tournament hosted by St. Andrew’s College in Ontario, Shaker Heights will head east to Pennsylvania to play at the Meadville (PA) MLK Tournament and University School will be in the Toledo area to play in the Mark Rasmus Memorial Tournament.

Padua Franciscan will be idle, which is just fine with Bruins head coach Perry Cohagan, as his team is battling the flu.

GILMOUR ACADEMY LANCERS

Gilmour Academy suffered its first loss since December 17 against Cathedral Prep (PA) when they dropped a 2-1 decision to St. Francis in Toledo on Sunday. As a matter of fact, it was Gilmour’s first loss to an OHSAA opponent since the November 23 opener against St. Edward (3-2 OTL)…Senior goaltender Evan Underwood played both games in Toledo and stopped 39/41 shots, including a 17-save shutout of BG. He made another 26 saves in a 6-2 league win over Padua on Tuesday night. Colton Fairchild doubled his season goal total by popping in a three-goal hat trick and adding an assist for good measure…The Lancers have allowed more than three goals in a game just twice this season: a 4-3 loss to the Dayton Stealth in the second game of the season, and a 5-1 loss to Shattuck St. Mary’s (MN) at the Cornfield Cup in Indiana on December 9. In games that GA allows two or fewer goals this season it is 7-2-1. It allowed 3 or more goals eight times in the first nine games but just twice in the last 11…when Gilmour returns from the trip to Canada, six of the final seven regular season games will be league contests – including a three-in-three Feb 3-5 to close out the regular season. The only non-league game remaining will be against the top-ranked team in the state, Saint Ignatius, at Brooklyn Rec on January 21.

PADUA FRANCISCAN BRUINS

Padua Franciscan, ranked #7 in the state, kicked off their weekend with a 3-0 win over Walsh Jesuit on Friday. Aidan Knox has Walsh Jesuit’s number this season. The senior goalie shut out the Warriors for the third time this season. In all, he has faced Walsh four times (all Bruins wins) and stopped 91 of 94 Warrior shots (.968) in the process…Thanks to a flu outbreak, Padua was forced to play shorthanded and dress five JV skaters for their league game at Gilmour Academy on Tuesday and allowed five second-period goals in a 6-2 loss. A rare MLK weekend off (and maybe some chicken soup) is exactly what the Bruins need...Padua, which still sits in first place in the league standings with six points, only allowed a single goal in its first four league games. Even after allowing all six goals in that game, Knox still boasts a .935 save percentage in four league games…Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Shaker Heights at OBM Area was the fourth time the Bruins have lost a game by a 1-0 score this season.

SHAKER HEIGHTS RED RAIDERS

After losing their first three GLHL games of the season, Shaker Heights scooped up four big points in the league standings last weekend with wins over Padua Franciscan (1-0) and Walsh Jesuit (4-3 in OT). The two W’s actually put the Red Raiders in a second-place tie with University School, but the Preppers have two games in hand. By points percentage the Raiders are fourth…With no margin for error, senior goaltender Cooper Mears stopped all 20 Padua shots for his second shutout of the season. He made another 37 saves in the win over Walsh. Padua will have a chance to break through against Mears and the Raiders when league play resumes January 21 at Thornton Park…Senior forward Jack Camp scored the lone goal of the game against Padua.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL PREPPERS

University School picked up another signature win on Sunday morning, knocking off #3 St. Edward, 3-1, at Winterhurst. US also defeated De La Salle (MI) at Winterhurst by a 3-1 score on Saturday. The Preppers have now won six of their last seven games, and 10 of their last 12, after a 5-4-0 start that included four one-goal losses. In all, five of University School’s six losses this season have been by a single goal…US finished off a tournament in Jamestown, NY with a 4-0 win over St. Joseph’s (NY) on December 4. That started a stretch of 14 games where they have allowed more than two goals just once (a 3-0 loss to #1 ranked Saint Ignatius on December 21)…Sam Wade assisted on all three goals against St. Edward and has collected nine points (8 of them assists) in his last three games. Wade leads the Preppers in assists (12) and points (21) this season…The Preppers have beaten #4 Sylvania Northview twice now this season but, despite that fact and the win over #3 St. Edward, the Preppers dropped to #5 in this week’s MyHockeyRankings. US will face Northview again this weekend at the Mark Rasmus Memorial Tournament.

WALSH JESUIT WARRIORS

The Walsh Jesuit Warriors ran into red-hot Padua goalie Aidan Knox who shut them out for the third time this season on Friday, 3-0, and came up short in overtime against Shaker Heights on Saturday. At 0-4-0 in league play (a 5-2 win over Shaker on December 27 was at a tournament), Walsh will attempt to use their own annual MLK Tournament as a springboard down the final stretch of the GLHL regular season. The Warriors have league games remaining against Shaker, US and Gilmour Academy (2x).

Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Week

Shaker Heights forward Jack Camp figured in three of the Red Raiders’ four goals in a 4-3 win over Walsh Jesuit on Saturday, scoring a goal and assisting on two others – including Gavin Richards’ overtime game-winner.

The senior forward then scored the lone goal of the game as Shaker defeated Padua 1-0 on Sunday.

For his efforts in two league games, Camp was named the Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Week.

“Jack had a great weekend and set the tone for the rest of our team with his energy and hard work,” said Shaker head coach Matt Bartley. “This season he has committed himself to be a strong two-way player and has done an excellent job leading by example.”

Camp leads the Raiders with 17 points (6-11-17) on the season.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest