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Gahanna vs Upper Arlington

January 30, 2010

After nine years without a victory against Upper Arlington, the Gahanna varsity broke through last year with two wins and on Friday night the team pushed the win streak to three in a row with a 4 to 0 victory over the Golden Bears.

The Lions dominated the action from start to finish and were led on the offensive end by junior forward Quentin Holmes and on the opposite end of the ice by senior goalie Phillip Welmer.

Holmes started the game off quickly by scoring twice in the first period.  This gave Gahanna’s offense some much needed confidence considering the team was facing UA’s senior goalie Drew Cook, who many consider to be one of the top two goalies in the conference.  Despite the goals, Cook maintained his composure and posted a scoreless second period. 

In the third period, Holmes would earn his hat trick due to a very unselfish play by senior Nate Hays.  Hays picked up the puck at center ice and beat his defender prior to crossing the blue line.  With the other UA defender hastily backpedaling, Hays intentionally drew both the defender and the goalie to the right post and waited until the last second to saucer a perfect pass across the goal crease to a streaking Holmes, who tapped it in.  With the hat trick complete, the true Canadians among the crowd followed the age old tradition of tossing their hats onto the surface of the ice.  After the “lucky” hat was retrieved, the game resumed. Senior John Mercurio would close out Gahanna’s scoring with the team’s fourth goal later in the period. 

Over the course of the last five or six games, senior goalie Phillip Wellmer has emerged as one of the top tier goalies in the league and has really found his groove.  Set to a background beat of the Wellmer family tribal drums; Phillip was a wall and easily stopped all 23 shots the Golden Bears had to offer. 

The win ensures that the team’s march to the Blue Jacket Cup continues to be on track. 

    

Gahanna vs. St. Francis DeSales

January 1, 2010

The Gahanna Lions played its second conference game of the season on Friday afternoon and improved their conference record to 2 - 0 with a convincing 10 to 2 win over St. Francis DeSales.  The victory earned freshman goalie David Despas his first varsity win.

Gahanna's offense was evenly spread throughout the team and featured nine different players recording goals.  All of the Lions' goals were scored at even-strength with the exception of a shorthanded goal scored by senior Brad Tarbutton during the third period. 

Junior Quentin Holmes was the only player to score twice and Gahanna's other goal scorers included Austin Hays, John Mercurio, Andrew Winters, Alex Barok, Sean Moser, Brad Tarbutton, Kyle Wetherill, and Nate Hays.  Sophomore Sean Moser led the team with four points and Mercurio, Winters, Barok and Holmes all recorded 3 points each during the game.

Starting his first varsity contest, Despas stopped 14 of 16 shots during the game. 

The Lions have enjoyed two easy victories (Watterson and DeSales) over the past few weeks to open the conference schedule.  As they continue through the Catholic portion of conference, the opponents will get much tougher with St. Charles and Cincinnati Moeller on the calendar for Sunday and next Friday, respectively. 

    

Gahanna vs. Oxford Talawanda

December 23, 2009

The opportunity to play in a wonderful hockey venue, The Goggin Ice Center, partially made up for the schedule makers placing a 5-hour round trip drive on the calendar the day before Christmas break.  The varsity parents should be grateful that this wasn't the 9 pm game at the Cincinnati Gardens that the JV parents had to endure last month.

The Talawanda Braves came into the game with a 4-5-1 record against mostly southwestern Ohio opponents.  Gahanna posted a record of 3-7-2, with their most recent game being an 11 to 1 victory over Watterson.

With freshman Nick Kasubinski in goal, the game was scoreless for much of the first period despite Gahanna dominating the offensive end of the ice, which was reflected in the 18 to 6 margin on shots during the period.  A power play goal at the 5:13 mark would give Gahanna the lead when senior Brad Tarbutton's pass found its way to forward Nate Hays, who was credited with the goal.  The lead would not last long as a freshman mistake, in front of the net, on a failed clearing attempt left a gift wrapped puck sitting only feet away from the goal crease.  The Braves wasted no time in accepting the gift and easily tossed the puck into the corner of the net.  Despite out playing their opponent during the first 15 minutes, Gahanna would end the period in a stalemate, all tied at one each. 

Unbeknownst to the Lions, the Braves best offensive player did not participate in the first period due to disciplinary reasons.  However, on the first shift of the second period, the individual picked up a turnover at center ice and shredded the Lions' defense to give Talawanda the lead.  Only 19 seconds later, the player must have been in the giving mood as he assisted on Oxford's second goal of the period.  Over a span of just three minutes, between the end of the first period and the beginning of the second, the Braves quickly turned a 1 to 0 deficit into a 3 to 1 lead.  Recognizing the advantage of having four varsity goalies on the bench, the Gahanna coaches spun the goalie carousel and off the bench flew freshman David Despas to try to settle the game.  This was David's first varsity action.  Another penalty to the Braves gave Gahanna a spark and seniors John Mercurio and Tarbutton teamed up on a goal that cut the deficit to one.  The spark was quickly extinguished by Oxford as they would score two goals to end the period.  The first goal was the result of a shot on net that was initially saved but then bobbled by the goalie.  The puck bounced off of the glove and pads and eventually rolled into the net despite a diving effort from Despas.  The next goal was the result of a beautiful give and go play that caught the entire Gahanna team watching the action.  As dominate as the Lions were in the first period, the Braves were equally dominating in the second as Oxford out shot the Lions 17 to 5 during the period.  Unfortunately for the Lions, Talawanda was able to capitalize on more opportunities and held a 5 to 2 lead.

To start the third period, the coaches again spun the goalie carousel and into the crease went senior Phillip Welmer.  Welmer would stop all of the Braves' shots during the third period and gave Gahanna the opportunity to make a comeback.  Sophomore Sean Moser's all-out effort on the ice paid off when Mercurio put the puck on net and Moser was able to fight through the scrum in front of the crease for Gahanna's third goal.  The teams would then trade penalties and skate four-on-four for a few minutes.  This benefited Oxford as the Gahanna coaches watched the clock tick down.  Gahanna would bring the score to within one when Nate Hays scored his second goal of the game with only a few minutes remaining.  However, shortly after the goal, all opportunity to get the tying goal was lost when freshman Austin Hays was unable to control his emotions, at the 1:53 mark of the period, and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for his actions after the whistle.  The penalty gave the Braves a power play for the remainder of the game, which they utilized to run out the clock and sealed the victory for the home team with a final score of 5 to 4.

    

Gahanna vs Dublin Coffman

December 18, 2009

An almost perfect first period on Friday night saw the Lions take a 2 to 0 lead on Dublin Coffman, a team that Gahanna has yet to register a victory against during its 11 year history.  Senior goalie Phil Welmer easily stopped all nine of the Rock's shots during the period and juniors Andrew Winters and Alex Barok accounted for Gahanna's scoring.

In the second period, Gahanna continued to dominate a game that Coffman expected to win, which was evident by the fact the team started their backup goalie, Colin Eberhart.  However, when Nate Hays was able to slip Gahanna's third goal by Eberhart, three minutes into the period, the experiment was over and in came senior goalie Alex Rogers to try and shut down the Lions' offense.  And that he did.  Shortly after entering the game, Rogers would be tested by two Gahanna breakaways by seniors Hays and John Mercurio.  Rogers withstood the test and made the save on both attempts.  The game would remain 3 to 0 in favor of Gahanna until the four minute mark of the period.  Gahanna's failure of control junior Sam O'Brien, in front of the net, proved to be a major mistake as O'Brien became a one-man wrecking crew and lead the Rocks back.  Within a span of just 61 seconds, three scrums in front of the goal crease produced three goals to tie the score.  Not satisfied with a tie, the Rocks capitalized on a hooking penalty and roughly 90 seconds into the power play, O'Brien gave Coffman the lead prior to the end of the period.

While Gahanna's coaching staff made defensive changes, dropping Nate Hays back to defense to combat the Rock's top line, the Lions' offense sputtered and mounted no real threats during the third period.  Coffman would add a second power play goal prior to the end of the game to cap the 5 to 3 victory. 

    

Detroit Tournament Summary

December 11 – 13, 2009

The Gahanna hockey teams traveled to Detroit over the past weekend to play in the 40th Annual Detroit Invitational Tournament. 

Gahanna vs PRPC

Despite the 180 mile trip to Michigan, the Varsity Lions opened the tournament on Friday night against a Columbus club team, Pickerington/Reynoldsburg/Pataskala (PRPC).  These two teams met in the preseason, which produced a tie and decided nothing. 

Good defense and goaltending highlighted the first period as neither team put anything on the board.  Gahanna’s freshman goalie Nick Kasubinski stopped all nine shots in the period.

In the second period, a penalty to Gahanna put PRPC on the power play and with 30 seconds remaining in the man-advantage, PRPC forward Jake Miller buried a wicked crossing pass from a teammate to take a 1 to 0 lead.  Later in the period, Gahanna would again be sent to the penalty box for crosschecking, giving PRPC another man-advantage.  However, this time, PRPC would underestimate the scoring prowess of the Lions' penalty killing line up, when senior Brad Tarbutton knocked the puck loose in the defensive zone and it was picked up on a rush going the other way by senior John Mercurio and sophomore Sean Moser.  The result was a shorthanded goal credited to Moser with the assist to Mercurio.  Gahanna would add a power play goal near the end of the period when senior Nate Hays centered a pass from the corner to Mercurio.  The period would end 2 to 1 in favor of the Lions.

The third period was again dominated by good goalie play on both ends.  The only highlight of the first 14 minutes and 48 seconds of the period was the game tying, even-strength goal scored by PRPC midway through the period.  With the clock ticking down, the game looked as if it would result in another tie.  However, with 12 seconds left in the game, sophomore defenseman Dom Palombaro made a great defensive save at the blueline to keep the puck in the offensive zone and had two attempts to put the puck on net blocked by PRPC defenders.  Dom’s efforts in the final seconds attracted a crowd; just left of the crease, as Mercurio and freshman Austin Hays joined the fray.  With sticks flying in every direction, the puck was directed towards the net and deflected off the goalie’s pads to the right side of the crease where junior defenseman Alex Barok had pinched in on the play and was waiting for the rebound.  When the goal was added to the scoreboard, the game clocked showed just 1.1 seconds remaining.  Assists on the game winning goal were credited to Mercurio and Austin Hays. With the following face off, the game was in the book as a 3 to 2 Gahanna victory.

Gahanna vs Bell Tire

A last minute substitution for a local Detroit High School team that dropped out of the tournament, the Bell Tire hockey club from Detroit stepped in as Gahanna’s second opponent.

The game was scoreless until the 7:20 mark of the first period when Bell Tire took the lead on an even-strength goal that just slid by senior goalie Phil Welmer.  Phil recovered quickly and was able to shut down the Lion’s opponent for the remainder of the first period as well as the entire second period. 

Gahanna tied the game with 53 seconds to go in the second period when senior Nate Hays scored on a goal that was assisted by sophomore forward Sean Moser. 

An unfortunate penalty call on the Lions, in the third period, gave Bell Tire the man-advantage and, ultimately the lead, when they scored a power play goal at the 11:25 mark.  The Lions had very few real chances to tie the game in the later part of the third period as both teams played very well defensively.  With only a couple minutes left in the game, Gahanna Head Coach Dante Scuderi called for the goalie to come to the bench in a last-ditch effort to get the tying goal.  However, an errant pass by the Lions would end up on the stick of an opposing player and the puck was sent down the ice and into the open net.  The final tally shows a 3 to 1 loss for the Lions in what was a very well played game on both team’s behalf.

Gahanna vs Grosse Pointe

Needing a win to move to the tournament championship game, Gahanna's third opponent in the tournament was Grosse Pointe. 

Gahanna deployed its third different varsity goalie of the tournament as senior Josh Nemec found himself between the pipes for this key game. The action in the game started at the drop of the puck as both teams were able to push the puck up and down the ice with ease, which accounted for many good scoring chances.  Grosse Pointe took an early 1 to 0 lead at the six minute mark but Gahanna would answer with two goals.  The Lions' first score was an unassisted goal by senior forward Kyle Wetherill who gained possession of the puck in front of the crease and pounded it into the net.  Gahanna took the lead in the game when Sean Moser scored on a goal assisted by John Mercurio.  The lead would not last long as Grosse Pointe would score just 37 seconds later to even the score just before the end of the period.

The second period's only score was Gahanna's goal at the 4:53 mark when Sean Moser picked up his third goal of the tournament.  The assist on the goal was credited to John Mercurio and gave the Lions their second lead of the game.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the only scoring highlight of the third period was a game tying goal by Grosse Pointe at 12:03.  With no further scoring in the game, the tie would send Grosse Pointe to the championship game and Gahanna to the consolation game for a rematch against PRPC. 

Gahanna vs PRPC

With the teams facing each other for the third time so early in the 09/10 season, it came as no surprise that this game would become very chippy and the referee's whistles would play a big part in the game.

Gahanna dominated the first period with good physical play, which seemed to frustrate the PRPC team.  The Lions' top line took advantage of the situation when seniors Nate Hayes and John Mercurio rushed up the ice together and scored the first goal of the game.  The goal was credited to Nate with John picking up the assist.  Shortly after the first goal, Nate and John would be credited with assists on Gahanna's second goal scored by senior Brad Tarbutton, which gave the Lions a 2 to 0 lead with 2:33 remaining in a period.  However, on the ensuing face-off, PRPC caught the Lions napping (must have been a catnap) as it only took PRPC seven seconds to respond.  A face-off win, two passes and the puck was in the back of the net.  The period would end 2 to 1 in favor of the good guys.

The only scoring of the second period came as a result of a very puzzling call by one of the officials.  A penalty shot was awarded on a play that involved a missed PRPC shot that was taken from between the circles as the net was being dislodged by a defending skater from Gahanna.  The Gahanna player had clearly lost an edge on his skate, and the impact was not intentional, as the player slid more than 10 feet on the ice before impacting the net.  However, the referee raised his crossed arms above his head and freshman goalie Nick Kasubinski was unsuccessful in stopping the unopposed shot, which tied the game.  

The third period was highlighted by a slew of penalties but no serious scoring threats by either team.  The game would end as a 2 to 2 tie.

Overall, the Lions played well throughout the tournament and left Detroit with a 1-1-2 tournament record and a third place finish.    

    

GahannaLincoln Lions Hockey Renaissance Awards

Gahanna Lincoln High School recognizes student's academic success and performance through the Renaissance program.  The Renaissance program is more than just a honor roll as it factors in school behavior and student attendance in determining its recognition. 

Congratulations to the following student-athletes who were awarded with Renaissance cards (gold, silver, and blue) for the first academic quarter of 2009:

Gold / Platinum
(4.0 grade point and above)

Connor Smallwood

Silver
 (3.5 to 4.0 grade point)

Alex Barok
Nate Hays

John Mercurio

Tyler Mizera

Sean Moser

Brad Tarbutton

Kyle Sloan

Kyle Wetherill

Blue
(3.0 to 3.5 grade point)

Shane Austin

Nicholas Burica

Quentin Holmes

Jack Jander

Ryan Judy

Nick Kasubinski

Ben Martin

Ross Perry

Jeremy Salls

Colin Smallwood

Phillip Wellmer

It’s always important to emphasize the word “student” in the phrase “student-athlete” as the majority of all High School student-athletes will rely on the “student” portion of the phrase to make a living after graduation.  Congratulations.

    

Gahanna vs Centerville

December 4, 2009

The Gahanna Lions varsity faced off against a tough Centerville Elks team last night in Dayton.  The Elks were the winner of the Columbus bracket in the State Hockey Tournament last year and represented the central Ohio region in the final four.  To make things even more challenging for the Lions, the team was missing two of its top line upperclassman (senior Connor Smallwood and junior Quentin Holmes) due to injury. 

Centerville quickly showed that graduation didn't take much away from the team from year ago as within the first few minutes of the game they were able to put the puck in the net three times.  Taking advantage of a Gahanna penalty, the Elks made it 4 to 0 prior to the close of the period. 

Gahanna's determination and grit was evident in the second period and showed the Elk's that there would be no quitting from this team.  When the Lions' huddle broke to start the period, a different team emerged.  Gahanna went back to the basics (play the body and win the battles in the corners) and the results were immediate.  With sophomore defenseman Dom Palombaro and others leading the physical charge with a series of crushing checks, the Lions woke up.  Senior forward Kyle Wetherill won a puck battle in the corner and was able to feed a pass to junior forward Andrew Winters for his first goal of the season.  Shortly after, the Lion's momentum got a boost from the Elks as a physical tussle in the corner for the puck between freshman Jack Jander and an Elks defender drew a roughing penalty.  The Elks player was unable to control his emotions and drew an additional penalty by running his mouth to the referee on the way to the box.  The Lion's took advantage of the power play and freshman forward Austin Hays scored his first goal of his varsity career.  Shortly after, senior John Mercurio pounded the puck into the back of the net while standing on the edge of the crease.  Having assisted on the previous two goals, sophomore Sean Moser decided to put his name in the scorer's column of the score sheet.  Moser crashed the net, on a shot off the stick of junior defenseman Alex Barok from the blueline. The rebound popped out and Sean buried the puck into the back of the net.  The Elks were able to add a goal, which left the score 5 to 4 in their favor at the end of the period.

Unfortunately, the Elks responded to a tough second period with three quick goals to start the third period.  With only 15 players on the bench, which included three goalies, the ice time began to show on the Lions players and the Elks were able to add two more goals later in the game.  The game ended with a final score of 10 to 4. 

    

Attention all Parents and Coaches.  In order to access the Fairground's Arena you will need a fairgrounds parking pass.  Below is the link from the Easton Youth Hockey Website, the fairground pass link is on the right hand side of the screen.  We recommend that you print 5 or 6 pages and tuck them away in your glove box. 

http://www.eyhaicedragons.com/

Thanks, Gahannaicehockey.com

    

Varsity Capital Hockey Conference Schedule

GahannaIceHockey.com

June 12, 2009

The 2009/2010 CHC hockey schedule has been released. 

Two new teams, Bishop Watterson and Archbishop Moeller from Cincinnati, have been added to the league. 

Due to the growth of the league to 13 teams, the two division format from last year has been eliminated.  Starting this year, each team in the conference will play every other team just once.  The conference regular season will consist of 13 games.  The reconfiguration of the year-end tournament, The Blue Jackets Cup, has yet to be announced. 

Here is how the schedule is constructed for the Lions:

December 19               Bishop Watterson                   Away (TBD)

January 1                     St. Francis DeSales                 Away (Easton)

January 3                     St. Charles                               Home (Easton)

January 8                     Archbishop Moeller                Home (Easton)

January 9                     Olentangy Braves                   Away (North)

January 10                   Dublin Coffman                      Home (Easton)

January 22                   Thomas Worthington              Home (Easton)

January 23                   Olentangy Liberty                   Away (North)

January 24                   Dublin Scioto                          Home (Easton)

January 29                   Upper Arlington                      Home (Easton)

January 31                   Olentangy Orange                   Away (North)

February 6                   Dublin Jerome                         Home (Easton)

February 7                   Worthington Kilbourne           Away (North)

Game times will be announced at a later date.  Each game has been added to the master schedule.   

Schedule highlights: 

• Gahanna will play seven games at home and six on the road. 
• To begin the season, the Lions will need to say four “Hail Marys” to escape unscathed from the back to back to back to back Catholic school games. 
• No watching the ball drop on New Year Eve for the varsity team as they will need to hit the ice on Friday, January 1 for the game against DeSales. 
• Olentangy Braves on January 9 and Olentangy Orange on January 31. 

We are only in June and its beginning to feel a lot like Hockey Season. 

    

Gahanna Teams in Action – Chiller's High School Summer Hockey League
GahannaIceHockey.com
June 7, 2009

The Chiller's High School summer hockey league kicked off on Saturday night with both Gahanna teams taking the ice. 

The Blue team was matched up against the Olentangy Braves and the Blue Lions were victorious in a hard fought battle.  John Mercurio dominated the game on the offensive end of the ice and the team benefited from good goaltending throughout the game.  The highlight of the evening might have been watching Phil Wellmer skate out.  There is still a great debate among the parents as to whether or not he actually had shine guards on. 

The Gold team’s roster was a bit depleted, with the recent injury to Brad Tarbutton and an uncooperative work schedule for Josh Nemec.  However, the Gold Lions competed hard against the Upper Arlington but came up a bit short on the scoreboard. 

There is seven more weeks of action to go, so be sure to check out and support our teams. Also, circle July 25 on the calendar as the schedule has the Gahanna teams going head-to-head to conclude the High School summer league action. 

The remaining schedule is as follows:

Saturday, June 13

Blue vs Olentangy – 5:10 pm; North Chiller

Gold vs Northeast Storm – 6:20 pm; North Chiller

Saturday, June 20

Blue vs Scioto – 6:10 pm; North Chiller

Gold vs Thomas Worthington – 8:00 pm; North Chiller

Saturday, June 27

Gold vs Upper Arlington Black – 5:00 pm; Easton Chiller

Blue vs Newark Generals – 8:00 pm; North Chiller

Wednesday, July 8

Blue vs Thomas Worthington – 5:10 pm; Easton Chiller

Gold vs DeSales Stallions – 8:00 pm; Easton Chiller

Saturday, July 11

Gold vs Olentangy – 5:00 pm; North Chiller

Blue vs Northeast Storm – 7:20 pm; North Chiller

Saturday, July 18

Blue vs DeSales Stallions – 6:10 pm; Easton Chiller

Gold vs Orange Pioneers – 6:10 pm; North Chiller

Saturday, July 25

Blue vs Gold – 5:00 pm; Easton Chiller

    

Gahanna High School Summer Weight Lifting Program

GahannaIceHockey.com

June 6, 2009

Starting on Monday, June 15^th, Dave Clancy, Certified Personal Trainer, www.daveclancy.com, will begin our summer weight lifting training program with the varsity and junior varsity teams.  Incoming freshman players are strongly encouraged to attend.  Seventh and eighth grade players are also invited to participate. 

These sessions are extremely important, as Dante Scuderi’s coaching philosophy fully embraces the physical side of the game.  The weight room training is just one step in preparing your body for this style of play. 

Dave provides an incremental approach to both the weight room training as well as the summer conditioning program that follows in August.  Each session builds on the results from the prior and he pairs players with those of similar size and maturity to ensure that each individual gets the most out of these workouts.  The progress seen from day one as a freshman to a player’s senior year is enormous. 

Sessions will be every Monday, Wednesday & Friday starting at 7:00pm and usually last for approximately one hour.  Please arrive by 6:50 pm to ensure you are on time for the instructional portion of the session.  There will be no session on July 3^rd.  Each session has been added to the hockey team's calendar on our home page.

The High School weight room is located at the Main School and faces Hamilton Road at the north end of the school.

There is no fee for this training.  Dave is a proud supporter of Gahanna Hockey and has volunteered his time and efforts to the program for the last few years.  For more information about Dave's services, please visit his website at www.daveclancy.com. 

    

The spring/summer car wash schedule has been published.  This year the team will be hosting four car washes. All events are on Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm.

May 23        Burger King (Hamilton Road)

June 27       Walmart (Morse Road)

July 18        Burger King (Hamilton Road)

Aug 15        Burger King (Hamilton Road)

Note that we have a new location and host for three of the four events.  The Burger King located on Hamilton Road, in front of the new Kroger Market Place has offered to host three of these events.  The other event will be at Walmart on Morse Road.  

As the Board did last year, any player that works at least three of the four events will earn a $200 credit towards their hockey fees for the 2009/2010 season. 

We are also in need of parent volunteers to help run the event.  Please contact Mark Nemec if you can help in any way.  Thanks.

    

John Mercurio (right) of Gahanna Lincoln tries to gain control of the puck while tryimg to avoid Dublin Jerome's Chris Beeler during the Lions' 3-1 loss last Friday at the Chiller North. Photo by David Rea/ThisWeek

Wednesday,  February 18, 2009 2:39 PM
By ANDERS LARSON
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Gahanna Lincoln High School hockey coach Dante Scuderi agrees with the line of thought that it's tough to be an opponent three times in one season, and he's making no secret that after two losses to Beavercreek during the regular season he likes his team's chances in a third meeting in the second round of the district tournament.

 "I thought the third time would be a charm," Scuderi said. "It's tough to beat a team three times in the same season. With that being said, we felt that would be a good draw for us."

The Lions are looking for their first postseason win since their inaugural season, when they upset St. Charles 3-2 in the first round in 2003. Even after a record-setting season last year, the Lions fell to St. Charles 2-1 in the first round.

The Lions aren't going to be able to top the 22 wins they had last season, but players said a win or two in the district tournament would be a big step forward for the program.

"We've never really gone far in the state tournament, so it would be huge to beat (Beavercreek) and get through to another round," forward Drew Laurent said. "Hopefully we can carry some momentum on and go further."

The Lions finished sixth in the Blue Jackets Cup, which concluded last Sunday. Even though the CHC has expanded to 12 teams, the result was somewhat of a disappointment to Gahanna, which had been shooting for a second consecutive top-three finish. St. Charles beat Gahanna 4-2 in the fifth-place game last Sunday.

Beavercreek has been involved in two of Gahanna's most memorable games this season. In the final of the Erhnfelt Memorial Invitational on Jan. 19, the Lions fell in double-overtime 3-2 to Beavercreek. If it had not been the tournament final, the game would have ended in a tie after the first overtime.

The Lions also played Beavercreek in Nationwide Arena on Jan. 27. Despite a 4-1 loss, senior Brad Stelmach described the experience as a "once-in-a-lifetime thing." In that game, the Lions were unable to recover after allowing a goal less than a minute into the game.

Gahanna outshot Beavercreek in both games.

"I'm excited to play them," forward Brad Tarbutton said. "I want to beat them."

"We lost to them in that championship game and then at Nationwide, and we outplayed them in both games," Laurent said. "Luck just went their way. This time, it's going to pay off."

Beavercreek enters Saturday's game at 18-10-2 overall. Scuderi said that Beavercreek is one of the few teams that can match the Lions' physical style of play, and the Beavers also have one of the best goalies the Lions have faced in junior Kyle McClure.

The Lions hope the return of Nate Hays will give their offense a jolt on Saturday. Hays, who moved from defense to forward earlier this season, carried much of the offensive load in January but missed several games after being injured in a 6-5 win over Kettering Alter on Jan. 30.

Without Hays in the lineup, however, the Lions still have managed to pick up their play on the offensive end, and Laurent said he expects that to pay dividends in the postseason.

"We're moving faster, we're moving the puck better, crashing the net better, and it's all going to add up," he said.

    

Easton Chiller

Gahanna vs DeSales

February 7, 2009

The weekend's goal of winning all three games was derailed on Saturday night when the DeSales Stallions were victorious in a 4 to 3 win over the Gahanna Lions. 

The Stallions took an early lead after they won the opening face off and then proceeded to drive down the right side of the ice and fired the puck into the net. 

Gahanna would respond with a power play goal by Brad Tarbutton that was assisted by Connor Smallwood.  This marked the beginning of what would be a classic seesaw battle. 

DeSales closed out the first period with a goal on a nifty move by their senior captain Dominic Locilento, who picked the puck up off of a Gahanna turnover, weaved his way through the offensive zone, and backhanded the puck into the net.  The period would end 2 to 1 in favor of DeSales. 

Gahanna quickly evened the score at 2 to 2 early in the second period when junior John Mercurio scored on a feed from senior Drew Laurent.  Shortly after the goal, a penalty was called on the Stallions and the all important momentum factor seemed to have swung in favor of the Lions.  However, halfway through the power play, DeSales would capitalize on a Lions' mistake and scored a shorthanded goal to retake the lead, 3 to 2.

Early in the third period, Gahanna would tie the game for the third time when freshman Sean Moser picked up his second goal of the season.  Senior Steve Resch was credited with the assist.

With just over five minutes remaining in the game, DeSales would score the game's final goal when they caught Gahanna being to aggressive in the offensive zone.  With four Lions players down deep, the puck slipped out across the blue line and created a two on one rush the other way.  The DeSales player drove to the right circle and fired the puck over the shoulder of the goaltender.

The Lions had a few good chances to score within the game's final minutes as two penalties called on DeSales gave the Lions a 6 on 3 man-advantage with the goalie pulled.  To no avail, the Lions failed to put the puck in the net and DeSales walked away with their first victory over Gahanna since joining the league. 

Final shots on goal were in favor of the Lions, 41 to 23. 

    

North Chiller

Gahanna vs Olentangy Orange

February 7, 2009

The Gahanna Lions completed step one of their three step program.  With three victories this weekend, the Lions will finish the conference season in second place of the Jackets division. 

On Friday night, the Lions defeated Olentangy Orange with a 5 to 3 victory at the North Chiller.  What looked to be an easy victory on paper turned out to be a bit more challenging for the Lions, at least in the first period.

The Orange scored on two of their first four shots to take an early 2 to 0 lead.  Despite out shooting the Orange and controlling the play for much of the first period, the Lions were unable to put the puck in the net during the first twenty minutes and went to the locker room trailing. 

The motivational speech in between periods by Dante Scuderi must have worked as the Lions came out with vengeance.  Hard hits on the first two shifts of the period set the tone and goalie Phillip Wellmer began to get into a rhythm. 

Just over five minutes into the period, sophomore defenseman Alex Barok got the Lions on the scoreboard when he picked up the puck in the neutral zone and beat the goalie on the left side.  The goal signaled the end of Olentangy's composure as seconds after the goal an Olentangy player cross-checked junior Brad Tarbutton to the ground.  Less than a minute into the ensuing power play, the Lions added their second goal when senior Drew Laurent buried a puck received from Steve Resch and Connor Smallwood.   

With the loss of the lead, Olentangy continued to self destruct.  A high sticking call on Olentangy's Dar Faroughi put the Lions back on the power play and the player's inability to control his mouth sent him to the penalty box for ten more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.  While the Lions weren't able to capitalize on the power play, they continued to dominate play and the Gahanna crowd seemed to sense that it was only a matter of time before more goals poured in. 

With only a few minutes remaining in the period, the Lions would take the lead on a goal by Connor Smallwood, which was assisted Kyle Wetherill. Three unanswered goals in the second period by the Lions turned the game around while Wellmer was stopping everything.    

The momentum from the previous period carried into the third period as the Lions scored two goals within the first minute of play to take a 5 to 2 lead. 

The first goal was a beauty.  Kyle Wetherill gathered the puck near the left side board and fired a centering pass into the goal crease to a charging Brad Tarbutton who tapped it in.  Twenty seconds later, Laurent scored his second goal of the game with Resch and Barok picking up assists.  The remainder of the period was physical as Brad Stelmach, Steve Resch and others looked to be having fun. 

The game would end with a score of 5 to 3 as the Orange were able to pick up a power play goal in the closing minutes of the game. 

    

With the addition of two new varsity teams to the CHC this year, the Blue Jackets Cup’s bracketing system has been reconfigured. 

2009 BLUE JACKETS CUP – VARSITY DIVISION SCHEDULE

Friday, February 13, 2009

Game #1:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 5:15 PM                   Jackets Division First Place Team 
                                                                                                             vs. Blue Division Fourth Place Team

Game #2:                Chiller North - # 1                  5:30 PM                   Blue Division Second Place Team vs. 
                                                                                                             Jackets Division Third Place Team

Game #3:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 7:15 PM                   Blue Division First Place Team vs.
                                                                                                             Jackets Division Fourth Place Team

Game #4:                Chiller North - # 1                  7:30 PM                   Jackets Division Second Place Team vs.
                                                                                                             Blue Division Third Place Team

Saturday, February 14, 2009   

Game #5:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 1:40 PM                   Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2

Game #6:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 3:40 PM                   Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4

Game #7:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 5:40 PM                   Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2

Game #8:                Dispatch Ice Haus                 7:40 PM                   Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4

Sunday, February 15, 2009

5^th Place Game

Game #9:                Dispatch Ice Haus                  3:40 PM                   Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #8

3^rd Place Game

Game #10:              Dispatch Ice Haus                  5:40 PM                   Loser Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6

Championship Game

Game #11:              Dispatch Ice Haus                  7:40 PM                   Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 

ADDITIONAL GAMES – BOTTOM FOUR

Friday, February 13, 2009

Game A:                  Dublin Chiller - # 1                8:40 PM                   Jackets Division Fifth Place Team vs. 
                                                                                                            Blue Division Sixth Place Team

Game B:                  Dispatch Ice Haus                9:15 PM                   Blue Division Fifth Place Team vs. 
                                                                                                            Jackets Division Sixth Place Team

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Game C: Dispatch   Ice Haus                               8:30 AM                   Loser Game A vs. Loser Game B

Game D: Dispatch   Ice Haus                             11:40 AM                   Winner Game A vs. Winner Game B 

    

February 3, 2009

The Capital Hockey Conference (CHC) is approaching the last weekend of conference play.  Dublin Coffman and Liberty are at the top of their respective divisions and barring a total meltdown, Coffman should walk away from the weekend as CHC regular season champions due to their heads up victory over Liberty. 

In the Jackets division, positions second through fifth place will be determined this weekend.  The divisional placement is used for both tournament seeding and the cross divisional match ups during the upcoming Blue Jackets Cup (a.k.a. CHC Tournament). 

The Gahanna Lions currently stand in fourth place of the Jackets division with 12 points.  St. Charles is in third place with 13 points and Kilbourne is second with 15.  However, Gahanna has played one less conference game than both Kilbourne and St. Charles.  This weekend, the Lions will play three conference games (DeSales, St. Charles, and Kilbourne).    

Assuming that Coffman defeats Kilbourne on Friday night, the Lions will control of their own destiny.  

With a weekend sweep, the Lions would finish conference play with 18 points.  The victory over St. Charles would take two important points away from the Cardinals and leave them with no more than 15 points.  If Kilbourne losses to both Coffman and Gahanna this weekend, they would finish conference play with 17 points. 

Go Lions.   

    

Each week the Columbus Dispatch honors local high school athletes for their accomplishments on the playing field.  On January 17, 2009, Gahanna forward, Nate Hays, was recognized as the “top performer” in the sport of ice hockey.  Below is the excerpt that appeared in the Dispatch detailing his performance. 

Nate Hays

GAHANNA, ICE HOCKEY

Hays, a junior, had six goals and two assists in three games. He had three goals and two assists in a win over Worthington Kilbourne, two goals in a victory over St. Charles and scored a goal in a loss to Dublin Jerome.

    

Easton Chiller

Gahanna vs Upper Arlington

January 2, 2009

For the 2008/2009 Season, the Gahanna Lincoln Golden Lions are celebrating the program’s 10^th anniversary by wearing commemorative patches on their home and away jerseys. 

On Friday night, the Varsity Lions celebrated another watermark for the program with its first victory over the Upper Arlington Golden Bears.

The Lions dominated the game from start to finish.  Junior forward John Mercurio scored the Lions' first goal at the 12:07 mark of the first period on a nice fed from Senior Captain Drew Laurent.  Less than two minutes later, the pair would team up again with assists on a goal scored by Senior Steve Resch.  At the end of the first period, Gahanna led 2 to 0 as the defense smothered the Golden Bears and allowed just four shots on net. 

The second period can be characterized as chippy as both teams were sent to the penalty box numerous times.  The teams skated more than 10 consecutive minutes on either the power play or penalty kill during the period.  Despite the penalties, neither team was able to take advantage of the situation.  The period ended scoreless with shots on goal favoring the Lions 8 to 5.

Junior Connor Smallwood closed out the scoring for Gahanna with his goal at the 12:32 mark of the third period.  Assists were awarded to Juniors Brad Tarbutton and Kyle Wetherill.  The goal really iced the victory for the Lions as the Golden Bears weren't able to mount any type of real challenge for the remainder of the game.  Final shots on goal were 27 for Gahanna and 14 for Upper Arlington with Junior Josh Nemec picking up the victory in net.

    

The Ohio High School ice hockey rankings have been published for the first time this season.  The state rankings are published throughout the season. 

To my knowledge, the rankings are NOT used for the formal seeding process of the state tournament nor do they serve any real purpose.  However, it is fun and entertaining to see how teams and regions stack up against each other and how clubs move up and down with key wins or losses.

Gahanna’s scores will be submitted to the website weekly to ensure the accuracy of our results. 

While the Lions are currently ranked in 49^th position, the season is young and there is always room for improvement.  A great start would be knocking off Cincinnati Moeller, currently ranked 9^th with a record of 6-1-1, on Sunday, December 28 at the Garden.    

Here is the link to the rankings. 

http://www.ushsho.com/ohrank.htm

    

Brad Tarbutton of Gahanna Lincoln scores a goal as Dublin Scioto goaltender Jake Reed looks back for the puck during the Lions' 7-1 drubbing of the Irish last Friday at the Dispatch Ice Haus. By Jim Metzendorf/ThisWeek

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 3:09 PM

By ANDERS LARSON

ThisWeek Staff Writer

No coach wants his team relying on one or two players to carry the scoring load, but occasionally, when a special type of player comes along, it's bound to happen.

The GahannaLincolnHigh School hockey team was fortunate enough to have a couple players of that caliber last season. The Lions weren't exactly a two-player show - they got contributions across the board as they posted a program-best 22-11-2 record - but the offense primarily ran through two players. Of the team's 130 goals, 64 came from Jeff White and Kyle Tarbutton, and the two scored or assisted on more than 60 percent of the goals.

"A lot of times we just relied on them to score," junior Brad Tarbutton said.

"Aside from the physical part, those guys played a big leadership role," sophomore Alex Barok said. "As a freshman last year, I looked up to them a lot."

White and Tarbutton have graduated, but on the whole, Gahanna has nearly every other player back.

Second-year coach Dante Scuderi wants his players to keep both of those facts in mind. Although the Lions might not have a physical presence like White or a veteran scorer like Kyle Tarbutton, they have a more experienced lineup on the whole and more viable scoring options than they had last season.

"What we want to do is to get everybody shooting equally," Scuderi said. "We've got about five or six guys on offense who we think can score the puck. So instead of having the dominance of two guys, we just want to distribute a little bit of responsibility to six guys to carry that load."

As expected, there have been some growing pains to start the season. The Lions split their first four games at the Midwest Thanksgiving Classic, concluding with a 4-0 loss to Duchesne (Pa.) on Nov. 30.

"It was a good eye-opening experience for us," Scuderi said. "We lost a lot of small battles. Loose pucks, they were quicker getting to it. It wasn't necessarily that they were quicker than us, but they were quicker than us in that game. They just responded quicker."

Heading into the Adam Allgeyer Tournament today through Sunday at the Chiller in Dublin, the Lions are 3-2. The Lions do not begin CHC play until Dec. 19 at the Chiller in Dublin against Dublin Scioto.

The Lions have been spreading the offensive load, at least statistically. Junior Connor Smallwood leads the team with four goals, followed by senior Drew Laurent, Brad Tarbutton and sophomore Quentin Holmes with three. Barok and senior Steve Resch have one.

Still, Scuderi sensed early in the season that some players have been pressing, trying to step right into the roles played by White and Kyle Tarbutton.

"We have guys that are trying to step up and fill those shoes, and so they're stymying themselves," Scuderi said. "They are their own worst enemies right now. Instead of distributing it to everybody, two or three guys are trying to step up and say 'I'll be the guy.'"

Scuderi doesn't expect the learning curve will be too steep. Not only do the Lions have a lineup full of returning letterwinners, they have players who are now comfortable with Scuderi in his system. In particular, they are accustomed to playing what he calls a "three-dimensional game," where the emphasis is on drawing defenders to the puck before distributing it across the ice.

That system, though, still requires a little tweaking with the different personnel that the Lions have this time around.

"We have to rely on our speed a lot more this season because we lost a lot of size," Brad Tarbutton said. "We lost five seniors, and Jeff, he was a big hitter. We don't have half the size we had last year. It's more about speed and moving the puck."

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the Gahanna Lincoln hockey team:
Nov. 28 - Defeated Ironton St. Joseph Central 4-3 in opener. Connor Smallwood, Steve Resch, Brad Tarbutton and Drew Laurent scored.
Nov. 29 - Def. Westerville club team 5-4 (4-3 in shootout). Laurent scored two goals and Smallwood and Alex Barok added one.
Nov. 30 - Lost to Kettering Alter 2-0; lost to Duchesne (Pa.) 4-0
Last Friday - Def. Dublin Scioto 7-1. Quentin Holmes scored three goals and Tarbutton and Smallwood had two.
Today - At Chiller in Dublin vs. Dublin Jerome in Adam Allgeyer Tournament
Friday - At Chiller in Dublin vs. Centerville in Allgeyer
Saturday - At Chiller in Dublin vs. Cincinnati Sycamore in Allgeyer
Sunday - At Chiller in Dublin in placement round of Allgeyer

    

Dispatch Ice Haus
Gahanna Lincoln Golden Lions vs. Dublin Scioto Irish

December 5, 2008

After two consecutive games of being held scoreless, Coach Scuderi and the Gahanna Lions' varsity offense were looking for answers.  The solution was found on Friday night in the form of sophomore forward Quentin Holmes.  A first year varsity player, Holmes successfully completed a hat trick by scoring three consecutive goals in a 7 to 1 victory over Dublin Scioto.    

The Lions got off to another slow start.  Maybe it was from the lack of the team's favorite motivational jams; maybe it was the unfamiliar, larger, ice surface at the Ice Haus.  Either way, play was scoreless for the majority of the period despite the Lions’ having a four minute man-advantage that was killed off by the Irish.  The only score of the period came at the 1:42 mark when Connor Smallwood’s goal gave Gahanna a 1 to 0 lead going into to the locker rooms.  Shots on net for the period were 11 to 1 in favor of Gahanna. 

The second period saw the emergence of Holmes on the offensive end of the ice.  Holmes netted his first goal of the game on a backdoor tap-in that was delivered from the top of the left circle by Brad Tarbutton.  Quentin’s next goal came on the power play, a result of a boarding call on the Irish’s captain.  Sophomore defenseman Alex Barok fired a shot from the right-side board; the rebound was directed back on net and off the goalie’s pads by freshman Sean Moser.  The puck shot into the air, over the goalie, and came to rest in the crease just inches from the goal line.  A mad dash ensued with both Moser and Holmes diving stick first towards the puck.  The strips credited the goal to Holmes and the Lion’s led 3 to 0.  The period would end with Gahanna continuing to dominate in shots, 26 to 4. 

Just a minute into the third period, Holmes completed his hat trick with a rebound goal on a shot taken by Smallwood.  The line of Smallwood, Holmes, Tarbutton, Kyle Wetherill, and Brad Stelmach would remain on the ice after the goal and only 21 seconds later would increase Gahanna’s lead to 5 to 0.  Two more goals by the Lions (Tarbutton and Smallwood) in the later part of the period closed out the scoring for Gahanna and made it 7 to 0. 

With less than two minutes to play in the game, and the shutout on the line, the puck was cleared out of the Lion’s offensive zone and sent down the middle of the ice.  Junior goaltender Phillip Wellmer took two strides towards the puck and then decided to start a retreat backwards towards the goal crease.  The slight hesitation by Wellmer was all that was needed for the Irish forward, who was skating full speed, to gather the puck and deposit it into the back of the net.  Despite the loss of the shutout, Wellmer and the defensive corps played well, limiting Scioto to just 9 shots for the entire game.  Gahanna recorded 17 shots in the final period for a total of 43 for the game.

With the victory, Gahanna’s record moves to 3 wins and 2 losses on the season.     

    

Chiller North

Gahanna vs. Kettering Archbishop Alter

November 29, 2008

Gahanna’s third opponent in the Midwest Thanksgiving Classic was a familiar foe in Kettering Archbishop Alter Knights.  The teams met twice last season with each club winning on their home ice. 

With the earlier tournament wins over St. Joe’s and Westerville, Gahanna needed only three of the five points available in the Alter game to advance to the championship game of the Midwest Thanksgiving Classic.  Alter came into the game having lost both of their earlier matches against St. Joe’s and Westerville.  However, on Saturday, Alter was still riding high on the euphoria experienced from the school’s 21 to 6 win over Steubenville in the state football championship game on Friday night.

During the first period, it was obvious that the day’s earlier game against Westerville had taken an emotional and physical toll on the Lions.  With less than three hours to recover, the team appeared very sluggish and disconnected during the early stages of the match.  With only a few minutes off the game clock, Alter took the lead when an outlet pass from their defensive zone found a Alter forward who had slipped behind the Lions’ defense and junior goaltender Josh Nemec couldn’t come up with the save.  Near the end of the period, the Lions gave Alter a prime opportunity to take a commanding lead when, within a span of 40 seconds, senior forward Steve Resch was called for tripping and junior defenseman Nate Hays was guilty of roughing.  The penalties gave Alter a 5-on-3 man-advantage for the last minute of the period.  The Lions fought off the advantaged to keep the deficit at one point at the end of the period.  Alter out shot the Lions during the period 10 to 4. 

The Lions offense continued to struggle during the second period.  Despite enjoying a two-minute extra man-advantage, the offense was only able to generate nine shots during the period.  The defensive efforts of the Lions’ team held their opponent to only two shots in the second period.  Unfortunately, one of the two shots resulted in Alter’s second goal of the game.  Cumulative shots at the end of 30 minutes were Gahanna 13 and Alter 12. 

The third period offered little hope for the Lions as the period can only be described as “ugly”.  Alter packed its defense into their zone and iced the puck numerous times to fend off any serious Lions’ attack.  This strategy held Gahanna to 10 shots on goal during the period, while the Alter took only 6.  The game ended without any real challenge from Gahanna.  The final score was 2 to 0 with the Knights taking four and half of the five available points, which prevented Gahanna from reaching the championship game.  These two teams will meet again later this season at the Ice Haus on January 30 for a non-league game.    

    

Chiller North

Gahanna vs Westerville

November 29, 2008

The Gahanna Lions and Westerville Warcats faced off in a rare "club team" versus "varsity team" match up in the second game of the Thanksgiving Tournament.  Both teams were victorious in their first round match up.   

Westerville came out hot scoring two goals within the first minute of play.  Gahanna had to quickly regroup and began to establish their physical style of play to stabilize the game.  At the end of the first 15 minutes of play, the score remained 2 to 0 in favor of the Warcats.  Shots on goal during the period were all even at 11 a piece. 

While the final 14 minutes of the first period were scoreless and all about defense, the second period was an offensive showcase.  Gahanna's offense came to life early when junior forward Brad Tarbutton dropped the puck back to the blueline and sophomore defenseman Alex Barok fired a slap shot over the left shoulder of the Warcat goalie.  Westerville answered back, 90 seconds later, with an even-strength goal to reestablish a two goal lead.  At the 8:53 mark of the second period, Gahanna scored again when passes from freshman forward Sean Moser and junior forward Brad Tarbutton landed on the stick blade of Connor Smallwood who put the puck in the back of the net.  A bit frustrated from the goal, Westerville forward Michael Birch took a rough penalty and headed to the box giving the Lions their first power play of the game.  Gahanna's man-advantage was nullified a minute into the power play when Smallwood was called for a roughing penalty and joined Birch in the box.  With the teams playing 4-on-4 with open ice, Gahanna’s speedsters took over as Brad Tarbutton fed Drew Laurent the puck, which he skillfully slipped pass the goalie to draw the score all even at 3.  With Birch's penalty over, Westerville found itself on an abbreviated power play and they didn't waste any time taking advantage of the situation as they made it 4 to 3 before the Lions’ penalty expired.  The period would end with no more scoring.  Shots on goal through two periods favored the Lions 30 to 17. 

As the minutes of the third period ticked off, both teams seemed to tighten up in the one goal game.  Two sets of offsetting penalties kept both teams from enjoying the man-advantage until Gahanna senior forward Steve Resch was called for an inadvertent high stick with only 3:44 remaining in the game.  Gahanna's penalty kill made two huge clears and held the Warcats to only a single shot until Resch was released from his incarceration. With seventy seconds remaining and down by a goal, Coach Scuderi called for the goalie, Josh Nemec, to head to the bench and on came the Lions' sixth attacker, junior forward John Mercurio.  For the second night in the row, when the Lions needed a goal the puck magically endes up on the blade of senior Drew Laurent.  This time it was the result of the Lions’ forwards pressuring the Warcats’ defensemen into make a critical mistake.  Drew picked up the turnover and quickly fired it past the goalie for the unassisted game-tying goal with only 47 seconds left.  As the final seconds of regulation ticked off, both teams seemed accepting of the tie and, as the final buzzer sounded, the teams began to skate to the goalies for the customary hugs and kisses.  However, due to the tournament's point system, ties are for businessman and the referees informed the teams that a shootout was required.  Final shots in regulation were Gahanna 42 and Westerville 22. 

The shootout rules had both schools select four shooters and the team with the most goals in the four-round shootout would win the game.  If still tied at the end of the initial shooters the teams would head to sudden death. 

Coaches Dante Scuderi and Ted Lucky scanned Gahanna’s bench and pulled out their sharp shooting upperclassman.  The first four names were as expected: Tarbutton, Smallwood, Hays, and Laurent.  Westerville, the visiting team, was required to shoot first throughout the shootout and in the first round junior goalie Josh Nemec quickly stoned the Warcats’ captain.  Gahanna's first shot was also denied as the puck rolled off the stick blade of Tarbutton prior to releasing the shot.  Westerville's second shooter scored on a double move but Smallwood went to the top corner of the net, glove side, to even the shootout at one goal each.  The third round of shooters gave Westerville a 2 to 1 lead when Nate Hays' shot was saved by the Warcats’ goalie.  When the fourth Westerville shooter failed to get the puck past Nemec on his game winning attempt, the outcome of the game fell on the shoulders of Gahanna's magic man, Drew Laurent.  Laurent didn't disappoint as he flipped the puck into the top of the net on the glove side, which forced the shootout to sudden death.  The fifth round of shooters were scoreless, but in the sixth round the Lions again found themselves in a must score situation when Westerville's sixth shooter scored.  This time, the Lions' coaching staff went to first-year varsity player sophomore Quentin Holmes for the needed goal.  Quentin must have been watching his upperclassman earlier in the shootout as he followed the lead of Smallwood and Laurent and buried the puck into the upper corner, glove side, to save the game for the Lions.  The goalies denied both shooters in the seventh round and when Nemec stopped the 15th shooter of the match it gave Gahanna their first opportunity to win the game.  The Lions sent sophomore defenseman Alex Barok to the red line to take the puck.  Barok started out skating to the right and then faded to the left side of the goal.  As he approached the goalie, he pulled the puck from his backhand to the forehand and fired the puck into the top of the net, blocker side.  GAHANNA WINS, GAHANNA WINS and a frantic celebration ensued on the ice, in the stands, and in the scorer’s booth.    

It was visually apparent that both teams were physically and emotionally drained from the contest as they congratulated each other at center ice on a game well played.  With the win, the Gahanna Lions move to 2 wins and 0 losses on the season. 

    

Chiller North

Gahanna vs St. Joseph’s

November 28, 2008

The Gahanna Varsity team opened the regular season on Friday night at the 10th Annual Midwest Thanksgiving High School Hockey Classic in Columbus.  The tournament featured 48 high school teams from eight states and Canada.  The Lions’ first round opponent was St. Joseph's from South Bend, Indiana.  St. Joe's was the defending 2007 champion of the Midwest Thanksgiving Classic.

As the first period started, Gahanna forced the action from the drop of the puck.  Just 2 minutes into the game, junior defenseman Nate Hays skated the puck to the back of the net and threw a centering pass into the crease.  Sophomore forward Quentin Holmes fired a shot on net.  Quentin's shot was saved by the St. Joe's goalie, but the rebound was redirected into the net by junior forward Connor Smallwood to give Gahanna the early lead.  Gahanna maintained the one goal advantage through the end of the period despite being out shot by St. Joe's 12 to 9. 

The Lions would add to the lead at the 10:06 mark of the second period when Smallwood fed a pass to junior forward John Mercurio who put a hard shot on net.  The shot was deflected off the goalie's pads over to Gahanna senior forward Steve Resch, who buried the shot into the back of the net.  The score was a power play goal as St. Joe's had a man in the box for elbowing.  Gahanna made the score 3 to 0 with only 1:11 to play in the period when junior forward Brad Tarbutton assisted on a goal scored by senior Drew Laurent.  Despite trailing by three goals, St. Joe's continued to out shoot the Lions 24 to 16 and Gahanna’s junior goalie Josh Nemec had to fend off numerous excellent scoring chances to keep the shutout going through two periods. 

Anyone who thought the defending champ was going down without a fight quickly realized in the third period why this team won the tournament last year.  At the 9:40 mark of the third period, St. Joe's finally got on the scoreboard when a failed clearing attempt ended up in front of Gahanna's goal crease with two St. Joe's forwards pounding away at Nemec's pads.  The puck ultimately found its way into the net and the score was 3 to 1.  Shortly thereafter, Steve Resch and one of the St. Joe's forwards collided at center ice, sending the St. Joe’s player somersaulting through the air.  The player’s landing did not receive a perfect 10 from the judges but the two players did have a short discussion at center ice where they exchanged pleasantries.  The exchange resulted is both players receiving double-minors and they continued to discuss holiday plans as they headed off to their respective penalty boxes.  The collision seemed to fire up both clubs as the remainder of the game was very physical.  Less than 2 minutes after their first goal, St. Joe's drew within a point and then with 5:18 remaining in the game the defending champs tied the game with their third full strength goal in less than 5 minutes.  The momentum really looked to swing towards St. Joe’s at the 3:40 mark of the third period when Gahanna defenseman Kyle Wetherill was penalized for tripping.  This gave St. Joe's their second power play of the game.  The Lion's PK'ers did their job for the first half of the kill and Gahanna received a break when St. Joe's was called for a hooking violation while on the power play.  This opened up the ice for 30 seconds of 4-on-4 play and then the St. Joe's penalty would give the Lions an abbreviated power play for 90 seconds.  With 1:40 left in the game, the Lion's penalty expired and the power play began.  However, the Lions quickly lost control of the puck in their own zone and Brad Tarbutton was called for a slashing penalty when trying to regain control of the puck.  The penalty meant that the remainder of the game would be played 4-on-4.  The face off was dropped just outside of the Gahanna blue line and junior forward John Mercurio won the draw and the puck was dumped into the St. Joe's zone.  A shot on goal rebounded to the blueline, which was sent down the boards on the left-hand side of the rink by a Gahanna defenseman.  A St. Joe's defenseman gained control of the puck and tried to clear but the puck didn't escape the zone.  Gahanna forward Drew Laurent reached the puck a few strides away from the goal line and, with the goalie hugging the near post, Drew fired a tight angled shot (well, actually it was a no-angle shot) that hit the goalie directly in the back and bounced into the net.  The goal was unassisted with only 57 seconds remaining in the game.  The clock ticked down to zero and the Gahanna Lions had defeated the defending champs by a score of 4 to 3.  Shots on goal for the game were St. Joe’s 38 and Gahanna 26. Gahanna begins the 2008/09 season with a victory.

    

During the Westerville game on Saturday, Dale Miller of "In Action Photos" was at the game taking photos of our kids.  He captured some great photos of the game and of the shoot out.  His website is at www.iap.ifp3.com. 

Dale's pricing doesn't look that steep and there are discounts for the purchase of multiple photos.  If you are interested in purchasing only a single photograph and would like to bundle the purchase together with others to get a better discount, please contact Bart Barok (286-2055) or via email ( ) prior to Wednesday.

At a minimum, log on to the site and take a look at some of the photos.  There are some spectacular photos especially of Drew's shoot out goal.  Dale snapped the photo as the puck was half way to the net, headed for the right corner. 

    

Gahanna Lincoln High School recognizes student's academic success and school attendance through the Renaissance program.  Congratulations to the following student-athletes who were awarded with Renaissance cards (gold, silver, and blue) for the 1st academic quarter of 2008:

Gold
(4.0 grade point and above)

Alex Barok

Connor Smallwood

Silver
 (3.5 to 4.0 grade point)

Quentin Holmes

John Mercurio

Tyler Mizera

Sean Moser

Brad Tarbutton

Phillip Wellmer

Blue
(3.0 to 3.5 grade point)

Shane Austin

Nate Hays

Ryan Judy

Scott Keeling

Ben Martin

Kyle Wetherill

It’s always important to emphasize the word “student” in the phrase “student-athlete” as the majority of all High School student-athletes will rely on the “student” portion of the phrase to make a living after graduation. 

    

Easton Chiller

Gahanna vs Beavercreek

November 14, 2008

The Lions' 2008/09 hockey season got underway on Friday night with their first preseason scrimmage game.  The Lions introduced four new players to last year's varsity team.  The newcomers are freshman Dom Palomaro, AJ Gottron, Sean Moser and sophomore Quentin Holmes.  The opponent was a familiar one as the Beavercreek Beavers and Lions met three times last year with Gahanna winning two of the three games. 

Both squads showed early why teams play the preseason.  The first period was very chippy and full of penalties as the teams needed a few shifts to get things going.  Three sets of offsetting penalties nullified power play opportunities for the Lions.  The Beavers couldn't stay out of the box either as they had to fight off a 5 on 3 man-advantage to keep the game scoreless at the end of the period.  The Lions out shot the Beavers by a margin of 12 to 3.  

It didn't take long after the intermission for both teams to get on the scoreboard.  Just 53 seconds into the period, the Beavers took a 1 to 0 lead and a few minutes later momentum really shifted as the Beavers found themselves on a 5 on 3 man-advantage with two of Gahanna's top defenders in the box.  However, as time expired on the first penalty, Drew Laurent found Brad Tarbutton behind the net.  Tarbutton danced left, danced right, and by the time the confused goalie found his way back to the left post, Tarbutton had already bounced the puck off the goalie and into the net.  Gahanna's short-handed goal tied the score at 1 to 1.  It didn't take the Beavers long to regain the advantage with a power play goal 35 seconds later.  At the 6:38 mark of the period, Beavercreek extended its lead to two with a full-strength goal.  The second period ended 3 to 1 in favor of the Beavers who out shot the Lions 13 to 7. 

The Lion's off-ice conditioning and strength training really showed in the third period as hard checking dominated the first 10 minutes.  With less than 5 minutes remaining, the Lions drew (pun intended) within a point on a nifty goal by Senior Drew Laurent.  Freshman Sean Moser threw a centering pass from the right side board into the crease, which was redirected in front of the net by Brad Tarbutton.  Laurent picked up the puck just outside the crease and backhanded it into the upper corner for his first goal of the season.  Watch for this goal to show up on Gahanna's top 10 plays.  Gahanna continued its relentless pressure as the Beavers seemed to shut down the offense in order to protect their one goal lead.  Gahanna received a break when a collision at the goal crease between Gahanna goalie Josh Nemec and a Beavercreek forward produced a minor penalty that put the Lions on the power play for the final 2 minutes of the game.  After a few quick shots to start the power play, the Beavers were able to ice the puck from the zone.  As the Lions escorted the puck back up the ice, Coach Scuderi waived for Nemec to come to the bench.  With the sixth attacker on, the south end of the rink became a shooting gallery and with only 43 seconds remaining on the clock, Connor Smallwood fired a tight angle shot from the left side board that was redirected perfectly by Steve Resch into the back of the net.  All tied at 3 to 3.  The final seconds would tick away with no further scoring thanks to a great save by Josh Nemec with 8 seconds left on the clock.  The Lions out shot their opponent 9 to 2 in the final period and 28 to 18 in the game.

These two teams will meet again on the main ice at Nationwide Arena on January 27, 2009. 

    

In less than eight years, the Capital Hockey Conference (CHC), which represents central Ohio high school hockey, has expanded from four varsity teams to 12 teams.  It is no coincidence that this expansion coincides with the arrival of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the effort they have put into programs to support the development of youth hockey in central Ohio. 

For the 2008/2009 season, the CHC welcomes two new teams to varsity play, Olentangy Braves and Olentangy Orange.  Olentangy Orange will be coached by Tim Pennington and the Braves will be coached by Mazin Habash.  Pennington guided the Olentangy club team to an 18-12-1 record last year.  Both Tim and Mazin have played hockey on many levels and both played club hockey at The Ohio State University. 

Olentangy Orange will join Gahanna in the Jackets Division of the CHC for regular season play.  The Jackets Division now includes DeSales, Coffman, Gahanna, St. Charles, Orange, and Kilbourne. The Braves will even out the divisions by competing in the Blue Division along with Jerome, Scioto, Olentangy Liberty, Thomas Worthington and Upper Arlington.

On a junior varsity level, all three Olentangy schools will combine their junior varsity players and compete as a club team.