GCHSCHL tourney title up for grabs

As seen in ThisWeek News
Thursday, February 16, 2006

Jeff Hunt
ThisWeek Staff Writer

By Paul Vernon/ThisWeek Geoffrey Killian (center) of Pickerington/Reynoldsburg/Pataskala/Canal Winchester scores in front of Northeast goalie Gareth Burghes while being hit by Zach Adair on Feb. 5 in the Chiller at Easton.

AT A GLANCE: Below are the final GCHSCHL regular-season standings and the schedule for the Blue Jackets Cup Club Division double-elimination tournament that will be held today through Monday at the Chiller at Easton (CE), the Chiller North (CN) and the Dispatch Ice Haus (IH): Team W L T Pts. Athens 16 6 2 34 PRPC 14 7 3 31 Westerville 13 7 4 30 Hilliard/Southwest 13 7 4 30 Olentangy 11 12 1 23 Newark 8 12 4 20 Northeast 0 24 0 0 SCHEDULE -- Today: Winner's bracket first round: 5:30 p.m. -- Game 1: (5) Olentangy vs. (4) Hilliard/Southwest (CE); 5:30 p.m. -- Game 2: (6) Newark vs. (3) Westerville (CN); 7:30 p.m. -- Game 3: (7) Northeast vs. (2) PRPC (CN); Friday: Loser's bracket first round: 6 p.m. -- Game 4: Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser (IH); Winner's bracket semifinal: 7 p.m. -- Game 5: (1) Athens vs. Game 1 winner (CN); Winner's bracket semifinal: 9 p.m. -- Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner (CN); Saturday: Loser's bracket quarterfinal: 8 a.m. -- Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 loser (IH); 10 a.m. -- Game 8: Game 1 loser vs. Game 6 loser (IH): Winner's bracket final: 5:30 p.m. -- Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (CN); Loser's bracket semifinal: 6 p.m. -- Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (CN); Sunday: Loser's bracket final: 8:30 a.m. -- Game 11: Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 loser (IH); Championship: 2 p.m. -- Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner (IH); Monday: Championship (Game 2 if necessary): 7:20 p.m. -- Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 winner (IH)

Athens might have won the regular-season championship in the Greater Columbus High School Club Hockey League, but as Pickerington-Reynoldsburg-Pataskala-Canal Winchester proved last season, the No. 1 seed doesn't guarantee a championship in the Blue Jackets Cup tournament.

Second-seeded Westerville upset top-seeded and two-time defending champion PRPC 4-3 in triple-overtime last year to win the Blue Jackets Cup. This year's double-elimination tournament starts today.

The Warcats earned the Cup last year after finishing second with 40 points (19-3-2) in the regular season, trailing PRPC (42, 21-3).

Athens has earned the top seed this year with 34 points (16-6-2), but the Bobcats lost five of their final six of the regular season, including 3-1 to Olentangy last Sunday, to move to 23-7-4 overall. The Bobcats, who won the inaugural Cup in 2002, earned a first-round bye.

"Every team is competitive and it goes to show anyone on any night can take a win," Westerville coach Bryan Larrison said. "Athens didn't finish the way they wanted, I'm sure. Olentangy has played well lately, too, so it doesn't matter where you're seeded. You just have to come out and play."

After winning its last two, including 5-3 over PRPC last Sunday, Westerville earned the No. 3 seed (30, 13-7-4). The Warcats tied Hilliard/Southwest for third, but was 2-0-2 against the Panthers in the regular season.

"These last two wins after our January gives us momentum," said Larrison, whose team went 2-3-2 last month and is 14-9-4 overall.

PRPC coach Marty Laroche said the league parity played a factor in his opinion of which teams are the top contenders.

His team is seeded second (31, 14-7-3) and fell to 14-11-3 with the loss last Sunday. That snapped a five-game winning streak.

"This tournament is up for grabs," Laroche said. "This is the first year that I've been involved that five or six teams have the capability of coming out on top."

Nick Hess, a junior at Pickerington Central, is leading the PRPC and is second in the league in scoring with 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points.

Tyler Walcutt, a senior at North, trails Hess in points (22-13-35) but is the team's leading goal-scorer. The two each had a team-high 33 goals last season as the Ice Prowlers finished 28-8.

Hilliard/Southwest is the surprise of the league. The Panthers are 17-12-5 and 14-7-3 after having finished 4-17-3 (11 points, sixth) in the league last year.

Zach Wilburn and Chase Newcome are two reasons for the turnaround, as both had 21 goals in league action. Newcome also had 25 assists to finish with a league-leading 46 points.

Justin Sachs leads Westerville in points with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points, which is also third in the league in scoring. He is followed by Sean Hundley (21-13-34), Joseph Peruzzi (16-15-31) and Aaron Archibald (10-18-28).

Although Olentangy is the fifth seed (23, 11-12-1), the Braves finished the regular season well with wins in five of their last six and are 10-21-1 overall.

The Braves lost to PRPC 7-6 in the Blue Jackets Cup final two years ago and advanced to the inaugural Buckeye Cup state tournament.

Newark finished 9-27-6 overall and earned the No. 6 seed (20, 8-12-4) and Northeast is seeded seventh (0, 0-24).

# BUCKEYE CUP -- The second Buckeye Cup will be played in Columbus this year after being held in Canton and Wooster last season.

The tournament will be played March 10-12 with sites to be determined. The top four teams from the GCHSCHL -- Athens, PRPC, Westerville and Hilliard/Southwest -- advanced, as well as the top four teams in each the North Coast High School League (NCHSL) and the Cincinnati High School Hockey League (CHSHL).

Medina, Lakewood, Gilmour and Jackson will represent the NCHSL. The teams from the CHSHL have not been determined.

# ALL-STAR GAME -- The inaugural all-star game will be held March 18 at the Chiller in Dublin.

Thirty-six players will be selected by the league's coaches. Teams that finished first, fourth, sixth and seventh in the regular season standings will comprise Team White, and teams that finished second, third and fifth will be Team Red.

Athens coach Jack Pepper will lead the White, and Laroche will coach the Red. The other five head coaches will serve as assistants.