2006-2007 PRPC ICE PROWLERS INFO

2006-2007 CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON RECAP
The 2006-2007 Prowlers started the pre-season as a blip on the radar in the GCHSCHL. The Prowlers were starting their first campaign since 2002-2003 without the weight of being the defending GCHSCHL regular season or Blue Jacket Cup Champions. They had finished the 2005-2006 season with their worst record in years at 19-15-3 and were looking to redeem themselves this year.

After four seasons as the team's assistant coach, Head Coach Jay C. Catherine was taking over the reigns from a very successful Marty Laroche who left behind a 92-33-7 career record. Coach Catherine had been there with Laroche for all four seasons and he knew what it took to win. He brought on staff a former PRPC Prowler and 2004 Blue Jackets Cup Champion in Chris Van Ooyen, who had had coaching success on his own with the Columbus Capitals since graduating in 2004, and they began molding a Championship team.

This year's team lost only four players to graduation in the off season. The team also lost a key offensive player when senior Nick Hess (Pickerington Central) left the program to join the Columbus Junior B Blue Jackets as the fifth Prowler to advance to the Junior B level. The Prowlers received good news in September though when they found out that last season's alternate captain Brian Rossi (Pickerington North) would forgo his Junior B contract to stay with the team for his senior season. Between that and the choice of senior Cody Berkebile (Pickerington North) to stay with the team for his senior year, the Prowlers knew that the meat of their lineup would stay intact and the leadership would be there to take the team to the next level.

After last season's preseason goaltending concerns, senior Justin Lohrman (Pickerington North) proved himself worthy of reclaiming his role as the Prowlers starting goaltender this year after posting a 2.75 goals against average and an .849 save percentage in 33 appearances last year. This season the Prowlers would add depth to their goaltending with freshman Dan Smith (Pickerington North) joining the ranks. The addition of Smith meant that Lohrman would not face the pressure of having to play every game this season and would be more rested going into the playoffs versus being forced to play through injuries like he did in 2005-2006. Smith's addition to the squad gave the Prowlers a one-two goaltending punch that the Prowlers could throw in net any night and know that they would get positive results.

The defense remained the Prowlers anchor this season with Rossi again leading the way. Juniors Zach Wiard (Watkins Memorial) and Ryan Straker (Licking Heights) returned to provide both grit and smart defense to the blue line, while four year Prowler senior Loren Chrisman (Pickerington North) provided veteran leadership to the defensive corps. Junior Tyler Annetts (Pickerington Central) had played JV for the Prowlers the season before as well as a few game appearances in last year's state playoffs but this year found himself as a staple on the Prowler blue line along with sophomore Ryan McMullen (Pickerington North) who was playing his first year with the team. The stingy Prowler defense would allow an average of just 18.5 shots per game on the way to a 1.97 team goals against average.

While the Prowler defense was stingy, the team's offense was non-forgiving, lighting their opponents up with an average of 6.08 goals per game. The offense was led by senior co-captain Cody Berkebile. Berkebile had played defense for the Prowlers over his first three seasons, but when Coach Catherine moved him to forward, it was clearly the right decision. Berkebile set season highs as the only Prowler to ever score more than 40 goals in a season when he eclipsed the mark netting 55 goals on the year. He posted a team season high 81 points to give him the career goal scoring title with 90 career goals and placed him in second with points scored with 167 career points. Berkebile worked his magic on the Prowlers number one scoring line, as well as from the point on the Prowlers power play, where he picked up and amazing 24 goals with the man advantage.

Riding shotgun with Berkebile all season was sophomore Adam McGrath (Pickerington North). McGrath picked up 28 goals on the season, tying him with fellow sophomore Brad Noskowiak (Reynoldsburg) for second on the team, while he also got 38 helpers to lead the team and the GCHSCHL in assists. The Prowler offense was potent with Berkebile, McGrath and Noskowiak leading the way. Junior Taylor Markell (Pickerington Central) was the worker bee on the Prowlers top line scoring a career high 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points after a career total of 6 points in his first two seasons. Other pleasant surprises were senior alternate captain Max Matsanoff (Pickerington North) who had a career best 31 points (14G, 17A) after a 10 point total his first two seasons and linemate and fellow senior Geoff Kilian (Pickerington North) who was second in the league in assists behind McGrath with a career best 43 points (12G, 31A) after just 13 total points in his first two seasons.

Junior Austin Zurbriggen (Canal Winchester) bested his career totals of 28 points by putting up a 29 point season which included 19 goals (4 game winners) while linemate Luke Wilkins (Canal Winchester) produced just 17 points (4G, 13A) despite missing 10 games. Fellow junior Tommy Newhard (Bishop Hartley) increased his goal output netting 7 goals on the season after scoring just 4 goals in his first two seasons. Three forwards who played JV the season before were able to step in and contribute during their first seasons at the varsity level. Sophomore Tyler Cole (Pickerington North) netted 7 goals and junior Bobby Castricone (Pickerington Central) produced 5 goals while freshman Taylor Kantor (Pickerington North) scored 3 goals in his 1st season with the team.

Despite the goal scoring carousel on this year's team, the season did not start out on the note they were expecting. The team dropped leads in six of their first seven games and found themselves at .500 with a 1-1-5 record after their first seven contests. The team's only win was a 5-2 victory over Hilliard with co-captains Rossi and Berkebile out of the lineup playing for Team Columbus. The Prowlers then dropped a tough game in Athens playing without Berkebile and Noskowiak due to illness, but that would be the Prowlers only league loss on the season as the team turned things around shortly thereafter.

Junior Zach Wiard returned to the lineup for the team's November 17th game against Olentangy after a successful run with the Watkins Memorial football team in the state playoffs, and with a full lineup, the team started to click. In the team's first seven games, they had lost 18 man games to injury, suspension and to football and soccer. In fact, it was not until December 15th that the team played a game with its full 20 man roster, but by that point, the machine had started to roll. The team rattled off an impressive three wins in the 2006 Midwest Thanksgiving Classic, leading the tournament in points and playing in the Championship round for the first time. The Prowlers lost 3-1 on an empty net goal to the Dublin Jerome Celtics of the Capital Hockey Conference (CHC) but knew by this point that they could skate with any team.

The Prowlers then rolled off 17 straight GCHSCHL wins on the way to their third regular season title in the last four seasons. The team hosted the West London Nighthawks of London, Ontario in a tune-up game before the GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship Tournament and defeated them 8-3 to win 21 of their last 22 games before the playoffs.

Once in the playoffs, the Prowlers were playing on all cylinders. They defeated the Hilliard/Southwest Wildcats 7-0 in their opening game, before putting together a near perfect game shutting out the second place Athens Bobcats 6-0 to advance to their fifth straight GCHSCHL Blue Jacket Cup Finals. In the Cup Finals they defeated the third place Newark Generals 6-2 to take home their third Blue Jackets Cup Championship in the last five seasons. Senior co-captain Cody Berkebile received the tournament's MVP award and the Prowlers turned their focus quickly to the Buckeye Cup Ohio High School Club State Championships.

The Prowlers started the state playoffs with a bang through the tournament's preliminary rounds defeating the Jackson Polar Bears 4-2 in their opening game before defeating the Badin Rams 11-3 in their second game. The team then put together a perfect game shutting out the two time defending state champion Medina Bees 6-0 to take the number one seed in the tournament's championship rounds. The Prowlers were pitted against Medina again in the semi-finals but this time were not as fortunate giving up the lead three times in the game. It was an unfortunate bounce that ended the Prowlers season as the Bee's scored with just over a minute left to take the lead in the game.

The season ended on a high note with head coach Jay C. Catherine coaching seven Prowlers in the GCHSCHL's second annual All-Star Game. The Prowlers joined players from the Westerville Warcats, Olentangy Braves and Northeast Storm on the White All-Star Team. Senior Geoff Kilian led the All-Star scoring with two goals and an assist, while senior co-captain Cody Berkebile had two goals (and a third waived off). Senior goaltender Justin Lohrman was the only goalie in the game to not allow a goal as the GCHSCHL White team defeated the GCHSCHL Red team 8-4. The Prowlers were represented by second year all-stars, senior co-captain Brian Rossi (1G, 1A), senior co-captain Cody Berkebile (2G), sophomore Adam McGrath (1A), sophomore Brad Noskowiak (1G, 1A) and senior goaltender Justin Lohrman along with first year all-stars, senior Geoff Kilian (2G, 1A) and senior alternate captain Max Matsanoff (1A).

It was the end of the line for the six Prowler seniors, all from Pickerington North. This included the departure of 3 four year Prowlers in co-captain Brian Rossi (#7), co-captain Cody Berkebile (#67), and Loren Chrisman (#2) who were each on the Prowler's 2004 and 2007 GCHSCHL Blue Jacket Cup Championship teams. Also departing were a trio of three year Prowlers in alternate captain Max Matsanoff (#91), Geoff Kilian (#27) and goaltender Justin Lohrman (#36).

The Prowlers turned what looked to be a difficult start to the season into one of the program's most successful seasons to date. With 22 consecutive wins down the stretch, the Prowlers tied the club record with 28 wins in a season while setting a new standard with a record low three losses. The team went on to play in its first Midwestern Thanksgiving Classic Finals and won their third GCHSCHL Regular Season Championship in the last four seasons. With a first round bye as the tournament's number one seed, the Prowlers brought home their third GCHSCHL blue Jackets Cup Championship in their fifth straight Cup Finals appearance. The team represented the GCHSCHL and Columbus for the third straight time in the 3rd annual Buckeye Cup Ohio High School Club Hockey State Playoffs as the number one seed out of Columbus and advanced to the tournament's Semi Final round for the first time in the program's history, as the number one seed none the less after a perfect 3-0 run in the Preliminary Round. After a rocky start, these Prowlers pulled it together to go down as one of the best teams that the Prowler program has seen, culminating in another Championship season. Congratulations to the 2006-2007 Prowlers.

PROWLERS WIN 3RD BLUE JACKETS CUP...
...IN 5th CONSECUTIVE FINALS APPEARANCE.
WIN 3rd LEAGUE TITLE IN LAST 4 SEASONS.
On Sunday (2/18) the Prowlers won their third GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship in the last five years (also won in 2003 and 2004). After winning their last 19 games (24 of their last 25) and finishing 18-1-5 in their league (22-2-5 overall) the Prowlers won their third GCHSCHL Regular Season Championship in the last four seasons. After a bye in the first round, the Prowlers advanced to the Cup Finals after defeating the Hilliard/SW Wildcats 7-0 on Friday (2/16) and the Athens Bobcats 6-0 on Saturday (2/17). In the championship game, they defeated the Newark Generals 6-2 in Newark's first ever Cup Finals appearance to Cap off a near perfect league season. Congratulations Prowlers on the program's third Blue Jackets Cup Championship.

Check out the 2007 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship Tournament rules and bracket.

Check out the Prowler's 2006-2007 schedule.
Check out the Prowler's 2006-2007 preview.

With the success that Prowler Hockey has experienced in recent seasons, they have found some media attention as well. Here we have provided access to articles from the local media to see what was said about Prowler Hockey this season in the community.

• Medina gains revenge by beating PRPC in state semifinal
  by Anders Larson, as seen in ThisWeek News 03/08/2007
• PRPC dominates in Blue Jackets Cup
  Defeats Newark to capture Blue Jackets Cup
  by Jarrod Ulrey, as seen in ThisWeek News 02/22/2007
• PRPC favorite in Jackets Cup, has Buckeye Cup hopes
  by Anders Larson, as seen in ThisWeek News 02/15/2007
• Pee-Wee hockey team heading to Quebec
  (featuring Jude Warner of Pickerington, OH)
  by Don Delco, as seen in ThisWeek News 02/08/2007
• McGrath sets up linemates for PRPC
  by Jeremy Stewart, as seen in ThisWeek News 01/04/2007
• Despite losses, PRPC still aiming for Cup title
  by Jeremy Stewart, as seen in ThisWeek News 11/16/2006
• Walcutt chooses military over sport
  by Forrest Clarke, as seen in ThisWeek News 7/13/2006
• For past articles, check out Prowlers In The News

2006-2007 GCHSCHL Standings:
TEAM	GP	W	L	T	PTS	Vs.
PROWLERS	24 (33)	18 (25)	1 (3)	5 (5)	41	------
Athens	24	18	3	3	39	2-1-1
Newark	24	15	8	1	31	3-0-1
Westerville	24	12	9	3	27	2-0-2
Hilliard	24	7	14	3	17	4-0-0
Olentangy	24	4	17	3	11	3-0-1
Northeast	24	0	22	2	2	4-0-0
* Parenthesis () include non-league games.

Congratulations to our 2007 seniors. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to the Prowler Hockey program.
From left: alternate-captain Max Matsanoff (91 - Pickerington North), co-captain Brian Rossi (7 - Pickerington North), Loren Chrisman (2 - Pickerington North), Geoff Kilian (27 - Pickerington North), co-captain Cody Berkebile (67 - Pickerington North) and in front goaltender Justin Lohrman (36 - Pickerington North)

PROWLERS SELECT CAPTAINS

Rossi	Berkebile

The Prowlers selected their team Captains for the 2006-2007 season. Four year Prowlers, seniors Brian Rossi (Pickerington North) and Cody Berkebile (Pickerington North) were chosen as this year's Co-Captain. They were joined by fellow senior and three year Prowler, Max Mattsanof (Pickerington North) as the team's Alternate Captain. The Prowler captains led the boys to their third GCHSCHL Regular Season Championship, their fifth consecutive trip to the GCHSCHL Blue Jacket Cup Championship Finals, their third GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship, the team's third consecutive trip to the Buckeye Cup Ohio High School Club Hockey State Playoffs and a Buckeye Cup Semi-Finals finish.

PROWLER ANNUAL PRE SEASON TEAM DINNER
VARSITY @ BUTCH'S CAFE IN CANAL WINCHESTER
JV @ WINGS TO GO IN PICKERINGTON
The Ice Prowlers varsity team had their annual pre-season team dinner at Butch's Italian Cafe at 6394 Gender Road in Canal Winchester (in the Waterloo Crossing Center off Rt. 33) on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006. The JV team dinner was held the following week at Wings To Go at 1268 Hill Rd. North in Pickerington on Monday, October 16th, 2006. Both dinners were for the 2006-2007 players and coaches only. Prowler Hockey thanks both Butch's Italian Cafe and Wings To Go for their sponsorship of the Prowler Hockey program.

PROWLERS MOVE UP COACHING RANKS

Ross	Van Ooyen

Prowler hockey is proud to recognize former Prowlers who have moved up in the coaching ranks for the 2006-2007 season. In addition to former Prowler head coach Marty Laroche moving up to head the U16 AAA Ohio Blue Jackets team, some former players are also advancing. 2003 Reynoldsburg graduate Bo Ross is taking over the reigns with the U16 AA Columbus Capitals while 2003 Pickerington Graduate Chris Van Ooyen will be leading the U16 A Columbus Capitals and joining the Prowler Varsity team as an assistant coach. 2003 Reynoldsburg graduate Andy Shank was promoted to head coach of the Prowler JV squad this year, while last year's varsity captain and 2006 Pickerington Central graduate Ben French has been named the JV assistant. All four coaches were members of the 2003 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship team, while Frensh was also on board for the Prowlers' 2004 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship and the team's Captain for the 2005-2006 season.

NICK HESS ADVANCES TO JUNIOR B

Hess

Former Prowler and Pickerington Central senior Nick Hess becomes the fifth Prowler to advance to the Junior B level as he joins the Columbus Junior B Blue Jackets of the Central States Hockey League (CSHL - Junior B). Following in the footsteps of PRPC Alumni Chris Miller, Ryan Markell, Jim Betts and Brian Kay, Hess leaves the Prowlers as the second all time leading point getter in PRPC Prowler Hockey history with 145 points (70G, 75A) in 101 games played, second only to his brother T.J. Hess who graduated in 2004 with 187 points (81G, 106A) in 145 games played. A member of the Prowler's 2004 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship team, Hess finished his last two Prowler seasons at second in the GCHSCHL points race with 42 (22G, 20A) in 2004-2005 and 40 (14G, 26A) in 2005-2006. Good luck to Nick as he takes the ice at the Junior B level.

MARKELL JOINS TRENTON STING IN JUNIOR A

Markell

Former Prowler and 2005 Pickerington Central graduate Ryan Markell continues to enjoy success at the Junior A level. Prowler Hockey is proud to announce that this season Markell will be playing for the Trenton Sting of the Ontario Provincial Junior "A" Hockey League (OHA - Junior A). Ryan finished the 2005-2006 with the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League (NAHL - Junior A) after starting the season with the Cornwall Colts of the Central Junior A Hockey League (CJAHL - Junior A). Markell, the Prowler's 2002-2003 leading scorer (37G-34A-71PTS in 26 games) and a member of the 2003 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship team, had played for the Columbus Junior B Blue Jackets of the Central States Hockey League (CSHL - Junior B) in both 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 before advancing to the Junior A level last season. Good luck to Ryan as he continues his progress at the Junior A level.

INAUGURAL CHRIS MILLER PROWLER ALUMNI GAME
On Wednesday (12/20) Prowler Hockey held the first ever Chris Miller Prowler Alumni Game. The game pitted the current Prowler varsity team against some of the greatest players in Prowler hockey history. The alumni team took a 3-0 lead in the first two periods, but the current team prevailed coming from behind to stake a 6-4 win. It was a great game with incredible fan support from the many friends and family members of both the current and alumni Prowlers. The Prowlers hope to continue the tradition for years to come. Check out the whole story on the inaugural Chris Miller Prowler Alumni Game.

PROWLER ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER
@ SHADE ON THE CANAL
The Prowlers held their annual Christmas dinner at the Shade on The Canal (19 South High Street in Canal Winchester) on Monday, December 18th, 2006. Both the varisty and JV players and families enjoyed great food as gifts were distributed to all of the Prowler players, coaches and board members. Special thanks to Lisa Zurbriggen for putting together another succesful holiday outing.

PROWLERS HOSTED WEST LONDON (ONTARIO)
On Saturday, February 10th, 2007, the Prowlers played a non-league game defeating the West London Winterhawks of the Greater London Hockey League (GLHL - London, Ontario Canada) by a score of 8-3. The Prowlers welcomed the Winterhawks to Columbus as the team was visiting to enjoy a Columbus Blue Jackets NHL game and an Ohio State University Buckeye NCAA DI game during their trip.

PROWLER JV - 1st CUP FINALS APPEARANCE
On Sunday (2/11) the Prowler JV team made their first ever appearance in the CHC-JV Blue Jackets Cup Finals. After defeating Dublin Green JV 7-0 on Friday (2/9) and the Westerville Warcats JV 4-0 on Saturday (2/10) the Prowlers lost to the number one seed Olentangy Braves JV team by a score of 5-1 in the championship game. The Prowler Hockey family is proud of our JV team, advancing to the Finals after only their second year of existance. Congratulations to head coach Andy Shank, assistant coach Ben French, and all of the Prowler JV players on a regular season 2nd place finish and their first trip to the Cup Finals. Good luck in the Newark Tournament (3/16-3/18).

Check out the 2006-2007 CHC-JV regular season schedule and standings. And the 2006-2007 CHC-JV Blue Jackets Cup bracket

PROWLERS IN BUCKEYE CUP STATE PLAYOFFS
After winning their third GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship in the last five seasons, the Prowlers made their third consecutive trip representing Columbus and the GCHSCHL in the 3rd Annual Buckeye Cup State Championship Tournament (March 2nd-4th) in Cincinnati. The Prowlers came in as the number one seed from Columbus and advanced to the Semi-Final round as the number one seed in the tournament after going 3-0 in the Preliminary Round. The Prowlers defeated the Jackson Polar Bears (NCHL/Cleveland) 4-2 in their opening game Friday night (3/2) before defeating the Badin Rams (CHSHL/Cincinnati) 11-3 on Saturday morning (3/3). The Prowlers then put together a perfect game defeating the Medina Bees 5-0 Saturday night (3/3) to advance to the Fianl Four. The Prowlers battled in a rematch with the two time defending Cup Champs from Medina in the Semi-Finals but ended up on the short side of a 4-3 score. Medina advanced to the Finals for their third straight season, but were dethroned by the Lakota West Firebirds (CHSHL/Cincinnati) in the Buckeye Cup Finals.

Congratulations Prowlers on a succesful showing in the State Championship Tournament and to the Lakota West Firebirds on their first Buckeye Cup State Championship.

Prowler details for this year's Buckeye Cup Tournament

Check out the official GCHSCHL Buckeye Cup State Championship Tournament page for more information.

PRPC RECOGNIZED AT THE BLUE JACKETS GAME
PRPC Hockey was recognized at the Wednesday, March 7th Columbus Blue Jacket's Game versus the Los Angeles Kings, for their 2007 GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup Championship. The Blue Jackets won the game 3-2 in overtime, and the Prowlers enjoyed their time as guests of the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The team appeared on the Nationwide Arena jumbotron with the Cup durring a stoppage of play and were recognized by the PA Announcer for their accomplishment of winning their third Blue Jacket Cups.

8 PROWLERS IN GCHSCHL ALL-STAR GAME
Prowler Hockey had 7 players joining head coach Jay C. Catherine in the second GCHSCHL All-Star Game on Sunday, March 11th at the Chiller at Easton. Senior Geoff Kilian (Pickerington North) led the All-Star scoring with two goals and an assist, while senior co-captain Cody Berkebile (Pickerington North) had two goals (and a third waived off). Senior goaltender Justin Lohrman was the only goalie in the game to not allow a goal as the GCHSCHL White team defeated the GCHSCHL Red team 8-4. The Prowlers were represented by second year all-stars, senior co-captain Brian Rossi (Pickerington North) (1G, 1A), senior co-captain Cody Berkebile (2G), sophomore Adam McGrath (Pickerington North) (1A), sophomore Brad Noskowiak (Reynoldsburg) (1G, 1A) and senior goaltender Justin Lohrman (Pickerington North) along with first year all-stars, senior Geoff Kilian (2G, 1A) and senior alternate captain Max Matsanoff (Pickerington North) (1A). Congratulations Prowlers as they joined players from the Westerville Warcats, Olentangy Braves and Northeast Storm on the GCHSCHL White All-Star Team. For more information on the GCHSCHL All-Star Game visit the GCHSCHL website.

PROWLER ANNUAL END OF SEASON PARTY
@ THE BUCKEYE HALL OF FAME CAFE
This year's varsity end of the season party will be held at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe on Sunday, March 18th, 2007 at 12:30 PM. The players and their families hope to enjoy good food and fun games. Each player will be recognized for their success and contributions this championship season. The GCHSCHL Blue Jackets Cup will be on hand as well.

The JV end of season party will be held the following weekend at the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe on Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 12:30 PM.