The Red Raiders were the obvious choice to join the GLHL based on their track record of success on the regional and state stages:  12 Baron Cups, 10 district titles and seven Ohio state championships. As a matter of fact, no other high school hockey program in Ohio has won more games in their history than Shaker Heights.

Shaker head coach Matt Bartley is excited about the challenge of competing in Northeast Ohio’s power conference, although he admits the Red Raiders are leaving some history behind after competing in the Barons Cup for almost 50 years.

“Leaving the Baron Cup is definitely difficult,” Bartley admitted.  “With our long history in the tournament, it has created some great memories for our program and the Shaker Heights community.” 

But the move creates the opportunity to re-kindle some epic post-season rivalries with the likes of University School and St. Edward.

“February will feel much different for our program this season without the Baron Cup on our schedule,” said Bartley.  “The Cleveland Cup is obviously a new experience for us and we hope to build the same type of memories.”

Bartley said that there were pros and cons with the decision to leave the GCHSHL, but ultimately, it was decided that it was the best move for the program.

The switch in leagues played less havoc with Shaker’s schedule than you might think.  The Red Raiders had a healthy dose of GLHL teams on their schedule in non-league games over the past few seasons.

Last season, they proved they were ready for the challenge of playing in the Great Lakes Hockey League.  They played 13 games against their new league rivals, posting a 7-4-2 record and recording wins over Holy Name, Lake Catholic (3x), Padua (2x) and University School while tying St. Edward and Walsh.

Bartley’s charges will be young in their inaugural GLHL season, but he sees that as an exciting opportunity for the players.

“Our team this season is a great group of student-athletes and we have a good mix of youth and experience,” he said.  “We lost a lot of talent the past three seasons, but it is a great opportunity for some younger players to step up.”

Gilmour Academy is represented in the GLHL by their “Varsity A” squad, which feeds their Prep team in the Midwest Prep Hockey League (MPHL).  Gilmour struggled in the early years of the league, but the Lancers enter the 2018-19 season as the reigning Cleveland Cup champions.

Head coach John Malloy has generally been forced to compete with a younger group of players than some of the traditional powers in the region, but last year it all came together.

“For a number of years our varsity program was not competitive with the top teams in the state and it showed in our league performances,” said Malloy.  “Last year was a step in the right direction and winning the Cleveland Cup gave our program a big boost of confidence.  Going from last place to first was very exciting. Now the challenge will be to continue to perform at a high level.”

Malloy enjoyed winning for sure, but never takes his eye off the bigger picture.

“In the end, I just want my players to be the best versions of themselves in everything they do,” said Malloy.  “While we will strive to win every game, I want my players to understand that you can still be great, even when your team loses.” 

Unfortunately, the Lancers failed to carry any momentum from the league tournament to the Kent District.  The Lancers were eliminated by Mentor, out of the GCHSHL, in the second round of the district tournament.

“I do believe that winning the Cleveland Cup last year, but bowing out early in the state tournament, will help our returning players be more focused and work harder,” Malloy observed.  “I also think it will help them mentor our new players as to what it is to be a Lancer hockey player.”

There will be two big holes in the GA lineup as they go about their title defense.

“We are going to need our senior class to step up with the graduation of John Treppo and Matt Mangel,” said Malloy.  “They were 75% of our offense last year and filling that void will be very important.”

The Lancers will move some players up to the Prep team, but the still have a strong core of returnees and some new faces ready to contribute.

“I see senior defenseman Eamonn Mulkern, forwards Charlie Valenti, Dominic Casamatta, Evan Enrich and Dylan Wharton as being key pieces to our success,” Malloy said.  “The good news is that we also have a number of other returners who I see as making big contributions like juniors Preston Watkiss, Bryce Hofstrom and Jake Howse and sophomores Kessel Richards and Charlie Tuggey. New to the team full-time will be junior Justin Evans, sophomore Cole Peterson and then we are happy to add some brand-new players to Gilmour, senior David Zarycki, juniors Gavin Riddle, Jac Lymn and Anthony Icabell, and sophomore Tobias Herlong."

The Lancers look like they are ready to make a serious run at defending their league championship, going undefeated through their first seven games (6-0-1).  They won their first two league games and defeated St. Edward, 5-4 in overtime, to win the Cold Tukey Shootout tournament.

Tim Sullivan is in his 16th season at the helm of the Green Wave.  He started the varsity program at Holy Name from scratch in 2002, joined the Blue Division of the GCHSHL in 2005-06, and began pushing up the ladder from Blue to White to Red, elevating the profile of the program to the point that it was included in the “Original 8” of the Great Lakes Hockey League in 2013-14.

The Namers were peaking just as the GLHL was formed and they were 7-3-0 in league play that first season with the likes of league Player of the Year and scoring champ Joey Meehan and current Utica College sophomore Jamie Bucell but the inevitable rebuilding period followed that peak season and the Namers won just three games in league play in each of the next three years.

In 2017-18, things were back on the upswing for Holy Name as the Green Wave was 7-3-2 in the league and in the hunt right to the end.

Last year’s leading scorer Tyler Guarniere (15-18-33) has graduated, along with Spencer Melcher (9-13-22), but top goal-scorer Sabastino Layne (19-11-30) returns.

Brennan Dickey was a key piece on defense last year as a sophomore, recording 16 assists (2nd on the team) and 21 points (4th), but Sullivan is transitioning his puck skills to play forward as a junior.

Jacob Van Cleave is the only senior on a young blue line.

Last year’s #1 goaltender, Anna Cvitkovich, posted a stellar .915 save percentage and is now playing NCAA Division III women’s hockey at Trine University.  In her first collegiate start, October 27 at Aurora College, she posted a 19-save shutout, and has a 1.60 goals-against average and .941 save percentage through her first five games.

Senior Ross Conforto (2.55/.897/2 shutouts), who pushed Citkovich last year, now has the crease.

The Green Wave lost their league opener to St. Edward, 3-2, at Winterhurst, but rebounded for a 7-1 victory over Walsh Jesuit at Kent the next night and have also posted decisive non-league wins over Toledo St. John’s and Meadville (PA)

It’s all about the (participation) numbers for head coach Justin Vance and his Lake Catholic Cougars.  The 13 skaters on the 2018-19 roster should get all of the ice time they can handle, as will the lone goaltender, senior Patrick Kristo.

Kristo helped fill the void left by All-League performer Charlie Denner after he graduated in 2015.  Denner backstopped John Carroll to the CHMA tournament title last February, earning the tournament MVP award.  Now in his fourth year in the league, Kristo is one of the steadier and more experienced goaltenders in the loop, so he is an ideal fit for the Cougars who could find themselves running out of gas late against some of the deeper powers in the league that can roll four lines.

Seniors Cole Horvath (29 goals) and Jacob Schmitt (18) thrived with all of the double-shifting last year, combining for 47 goals.  They are back at it again with Horvath sitting atop the league scoring race through the Thanksgiving Tournaments and Schmitt not far behind.

In addition to the three players mentioned above, Cade Walnsch, Jack Rowell, Joe Wright, Seth Miller, Jacob Parker and Mate Prpic are all seniors.

Lake Catholic tuned up for the season with four games at the Chiller Thanksgiving Classic in Columbus, then won their league opener, 8-2, over Padua at Quicken Loans Arena.

Head coach Perry Cohagan has some work to do to get the Padua Franciscan Bruins back in the mix in the GLHL, but he also has a deep group of young talent with which to make it happen. 

The Bruins have gone from 14 wins in 2015-16, to eight in 2016-17, then down to three last year (3-28-0).  But, if Cohagan and the Bruins can lay a foundation with his group this season, they could return to the thick of things in the next year or two.

For now, the Bruins are looking at a building year.  Top scorer Justin Eles and starting goaltender R. J. Schuette are two of just four seniors on the roster, along with forward Jack Hostelley and defenseman Liam Bandura.  Giovanni Tabasso is the only junior on the sophomore-heavy roster.

Eles is still in the fold after scoring a dozen goals last season.  The Bruins need him to eclipse that total in his senior season.  Brandon Brown was the second-leading scorer on the team last year as a freshman and it will be interesting to see how he builds on his rookie season.

Schuette was the primary goaltender last season and will likely carry a heavy load this year with only freshman Michael Mason backing him up.

The St. Edward Eagles, owner of 11 state championships, enter the 2018-19 season with one of their younger teams in recent memory.  But, while the Eagles are young, they are very talented and not without experience.

Tanyon Bajzer broke onto the scene last year by leading the team in assists (35) and points (54).  His sophomore season is off to a strong start as well, as he claimed GLHL Player of the Week honors.

Frank Crisafi (26 goals) and Andrew Tomer (18) graduated so there is some offense to be replaced and Bajzer and his classmate Noah Schultz (14-14-28 last year) are primed to pick up the slack.

The Eagles will count on Ryan Willse and Joe Corrigan for additional offense as well.  They are the only seniors up front for Gray’s squad.

The Eagles are even more green on the blue line.  Puck-mover Tyler Budzar put up 30 points (6-24-30) a year ago.  He and Owen Lisac are the only seniors on a defensive unit with four sophomores and a freshman.

Goaltending standout Andrew Stewart graduated as well, and it looks like junior Nate Cappellazzo has assumed the #1 job over sophomore Evan Wrightsman.

Despite their inexperience, the Eagles have looked strong in November, knocking off Holy Name in their league opener and posting some quality wins at the Cold Turkey Shootout before bowing to Gilmour in OT – encouraging signs for Gray and his staff as they head into the teeth of the GLHL schedule with their young charges.

There was a changing of the guard behind the University School bench where Andrew Gerow has taken over for former World Hockey Association star Andre Lacroix.

Gerow steps into a situation where the bar is pretty high.  The Preppers have won the Kent District four years in a row and appeared in four of five Cleveland Cup championship games.

Gerow, a 2010 graduate of US, is comfortable with high bars.  He won a state championship as a player for the Preppers in 2009 and went on to play collegiately on the club team at Ohio State.

Seniors Jack Henry Muha (19-26-45 a year ago), Tyler Alt (11-16-27) and Henry Saada (11-13-24) lead the attack for University School.

Nick Flowers, meanwhile, played regularly and provided secondary scoring (7-8-15) as a freshman last year and looks like he is ready to make a jump heading into his sophomore year.

The Preppers don’t have to just rely on their forwards to generate offense, either.  Seniors George Brinn and Peter Lehmann will provide stability on a blue line that has seen some turnover. 

Brinn enjoyed a standout junior year.  He was by far the most productive defenseman in the league and it will be exciting to see if he can build on his 40 points (13-27-40) from a year ago.

Senior Critter Coughlin will guard the crease for the Preppers after splitting starts with the since-graduated Kyle Flatow last year.

The Walsh Jesuit Warriors iced a very young team last year and now return a relatively experienced group that will look to build on what they learned and accomplished last season.

A dozen players got their feet wet as freshmen a year ago and many of them will be expected to take on an expanded role in 2018-19.

“Pretty much all the sophomores will be expected to contribute each and every day and they are ready for it,” said Walsh Jesuit head coach Pat McKendry.  “Really it comes down to how hard they are working each day in practice, getting out of their comfort zones in practice, and competing as hard as they can daily.”

“The skills are there, they just have to prove to everyone on the ice that they belong,” McKendry said.  And that only happens by showing it, not talking about it."

One graduated player will be harder than most to replace:  four-year starting goaltender Jakhari Desphy.

"It is amazing that Jakhari was in net for us for so many years,” said McKendry.  “He played more games that anyone in GLHL history at his position.  That is certainly really hard to replace."

There will be a competition among two freshmen goalies, Brodie Lerch and Zack Firment, to replace the departed All-League performer.

"We are very proud of how both Brodie and Zack competed during the summer and pre-season,” McKendry said.  “Both goalies have a ton of skill and potential and both can and will contribute right away to our team.”

You can expect both rookies to get an opportunity to show what they can do early in the season.  A little healthy competition between goalies and classmates could end up paying dividends down the road.

“We hope that each one will push the other to be the best that they can be for the team,” McKendry said.

Seniors P. J. Calleri, Jackson Carrell and Matt Lasker will serve as captains while junior Geremy Davison will lead the offense with help from a pair of sophomores: Sacha Trudel and Anthony Calleri.

McKendry will have some additional help behind the bench this season as well.  Former University School head coach Bill Beard is the new Director of Admissions at Walsh Jesuit and will be an assistant coach with the hockey team.

"What a great addition to our coaching staff and school administration Coach Beard is to Walsh Jesuit,” McKendry stated.  “As a former head coach and staff member in admissions at US and Toledo St. Francis, Coach Beard's experiences are invaluable to our program and school as a whole."

The Warriors got off to a slow start, claiming just one win in their first five games but, if the goaltending pans out, they are well-positioned to have their best season in league play since tying US for the regular season championship in the GLHL’s inaugural 2013-14 season.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest