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Recent CHC Blue News

Clear #1 Seeds Established for All Four OHSAA Regions

By Scott Harrington 02/15/2023, 11:00am EST

This season's final look at the MHR rankings for Ohio

The top four teams in the Ohio high school rankings each reside in a different region of the state playoff structure, leaving open the possibility of all four ending up in Columbus for the state tournament in March.

Saint Ignatius won a tournament at Notre Dame to solidify their status as the state's top-ranked team.

#2 Olentangy Liberty continued their dominance, posting three consecutive shutouts on their way to the Blue Jackets Cup title as tournament champions of the Capital Hockey Conference. The Patriots (33-1-1) have not lost since November.

Sylvania Northview defeated #5 St. Edward last weekend and, as a result, moved up to #3.

University School, now ranked #4, played in the Great Lakes Hockey League's tournament final for the sixth time in 10 years and won the Cleveland Cup for the first time, defeating #6 Gilmour Academy, 3-2. 

There were upsets aplenty in the GCHSHL tournament as Benedictine won the Baron Cup for the first time since 1971, defeating Amherst in the championship game.

The unranked Comets knocked out #25 Rocky River and #16 Mentor before falling to the Bengals, while Benedictine also eliminated #23 Hudson in the semifinals.

There is no tournament in the Northwest Hockey Conference, but regular season champ Northview added to their resume with the road win at St. Edward.

And Beavercreek, ranked #34 in the state, defeated Elder and Troy to win the SWOHSHL tournament championship. The Beavers will open the regional playoffs in Columbus against Gahanna Lincoln.

Teams that saw a boost in their ranking this week in addition to Northview included Olentangy Berlin, Shaker Heights, St. Xavier and New Albany.

Baron Cup finalists Benedictine and Amherst sit just outside the Top 25 along with Western Reserve Academy, Dublin Coffman and Thomas Worthington.

Capital Hockey Conference also introduces the Joel Siegman Award this year

For two decades, you could have called Joel Siegman "Mr. High School Hockey" in Central Ohio. 

The Blue Jackets manager of fan development loved the sport, dedicating plenty of time to ensure the success of Central Ohio's high school hockey league, the Capital Hockey Conference, as well as the annual OHSAA state championships. 

"Joel was heavily involved in high school hockey when he was working for the Blue Jackets, and even after he retired," Dublin Jerome head coach Pat Murphy said. "He spent countless time doing rankings, the state championships, the Blue Jackets Cup. He did a lot for high school hockey in Central Ohio. He was a terrific guy." 

After Siegman passed away in May of last year, Murphy and others in the area's high school hockey community were looking for a way to honor his memory. At this weekend's Blue Jackets Cup, the tournament that caps the CHC season, the first annual Joel Siegman Award will be given to...

Read the full story, including a Blue Jackets Cup preview, at www.nhl.com

 

Through the first several weeks of the high school hockey season, usual contenders have come to the forefront with others trying to achieve success that has eluded their programs.

Two-time defending district champion Upper Arlington and last year’s district runner-up, Olentangy Liberty, are ranked in the top 12 statewide and are undefeated in CHC play. Dublin Coffman and Gahanna Lincoln were in first place in the CHC-White and CHC-Blue divisions, respectively, entering weekend play.

Here are five storylines from the first month of the season:

Read the full story at www.dispatch.com

 

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