Olentangy Orange hosted 30 teams competing in the Pioneer Classic over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. There were 4 divisions, upper (Orange) and lower (Blue), for both Varsity and JV teams.

Dayton Stealth topped Perrysburg 4-2 in the championship game in the Varsity Orange Division. Club team Dayton came into the weekend as #5 in the Ohio myhockeyrankings.com for both club and OHSAA teams. All teams ranked higher are from the newly created GOHL.

In the title game, Dayton had two goals by Eli Thompson with additional tallies by Zach Lehman and Joey Ross. Both of Perryburg’s goals were registered by Caden Seiple.

Dayton went 4-0 for the weekend. Their leading scorers were Eli Thompson (2g, 5a), Spencer Thompson (3g, 1a) and Zach Lehman (3g).

Dublin Coffman took home the hardware in the Varsity Blue Division with a 2-1 victory over Amherst. Coffman goals came from Max Patterson and Matthew Bellamy. Amherst score came from Vinny Kelley.

Coffman went 4–0 over the weekend. Through the weekend, their leading scorers were Joe Shevetz (7g, 8a) and Max Patterson (2g, 2a). They also received a notable performance from goalie Alec O’Sullivan held opponents to 5 goals total over the 4 games.

Other notable performances through the weekend include Amherst’s Vinny Kelley (7g, 2a in 4 games), Olentangy’s Grant Levins (2g, 3a in 4 games) and Josh Lambert of Olentangy Orange (4a in 4 games).

This tournament has a waitlist of teams wanting to compete annually. The Pioneer Classic is a parent run tournament and one of Orange’s largest fundraising efforts. It allows the opportunity for more kids to play hockey. It also helps fund a third team for Olentangy Orange, a JV prep team.

The Pioneer Classic has a mix of club and OHSAA teams. This provides participants a chance to matchup against teams they won’t normally see on their regular schedule. 

The tournament is a barometer for teams as they prepare for the end of the season. Tournament director Brian Perry states “From a timing perspective, it comes at a good time for teams to gauge their team’s conditioning by playing 4 games in 50 hours, as they position themselves for the postseason.”

--- Earl Hosack for Ohio Hockey Digest