Prowlers have eyes on state hockey dominance

Reprinted courtesy of The Pickerington Times-Sun/SNP ©2005
Thursday, February 9, 2005

CHRIS MILES
Staff Writer

They've proven themselves to be the best club ice hockey team in Central Ohio the last two seasons, winning the Blue Jackets Cup, a season-ending tournament, in both 2003 and 2004.

And while the 2004-05 Ice Prowlers -- a team consisting mostly of students from the two Pickerington high schools as well as Reynoldsburg and Canal Winchester -- are currently tied for first place in the Greater Columbus High School Club Hockey League, players and coaches know there's much more at stake than just being the best club team in the Columbus area this season.

This year will mark the first time the four best club teams from Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland will all get together for a season-ending tournament, the Buckeye Cup, to determine a state champion.

"This tournament will allow us to see how our league compares to other leagues in Cleveland and Cincinnati," Prowlers coach Martin Laroche said. "It's going to be something new and we're excited about it."

The Prowlers (18-5) entered the week tied for the league's top spot with the Westerville Warcats. Both will be among the four squads representing the Columbus area in the Buckeye Cup.

But Laroche said before his team can start thinking about meeting the best from Cincinnati and Cleveland, it's got to take care of business a little bit closer to home.

"At this point, the biggest focus has been our league and getting ready for the Blue Jackets Cup," he said. "We need to focus on the games for each upcoming weekend and not start thinking ahead."

The biggest difference between this year's squad and previous teams is the 2004-05 version has a number of key contributors, rather than just one or two standouts.

Senior Anthony Kantor (Pickerington North) currently leads the team with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists), while sophomore Nick Hess (Pickerington Central) has tallied 39 points (21 goals, 18 assists).

Other standouts include junior Taylor Walcutt (North), who currently has 33 points, senior Eric Willard (Reynoldsburg) with 32, senior Eric Weinhold (North) with 27 and sophomore Cody Berkebile (North) with 23.

"In the past, we'd have one or two kids that would lead the way," the coach said. "This year, we've got a mix of seven or eight guys that all want to be the one to score that winning goal.

"There's more of a competition amongst the guys on the team and that's really made a difference this season."

The coach said in addition to having a number of go-to players, the fact there are seniors, juniors, sophomores and even freshmen contributing heavily to the success of the team makes his job even easier.

"There's a strong core of seniors on this team," Laroche said. "But there's a good balance among the classes, which is always good."

Freshman goalie Miles McGrew has led the way between the pipes, posting a solid 13-3 record with a 1.55 goals-against average.

Other players having solid seasons include senior forward Mike Miller (15 points) of Canal Winchester, sophomore defenseman Brian Rossi (12) of Pickerington North and junior forward Ben French (11) of Pickerington Central.

"This is a unique team," Laroche said. "We can score goals with the best of them and we can shut teams down with our defense.

"We've got a solid group of guys that just really enjoy playing the game of hockey. I really don't like to compare teams from different years because there's a different dynamic, but this is a really good team."

The Prowlers' next game will be Friday (8:40 p.m.) against Olentangy at the Easton Chiller. They will also be in action Sunday against Athens (6 p.m.) at the CoreComm Ice Haus.

Read more Central Ohio Community News at the Suburban News Publications Web site, SNPonline.com.