Upstart teams aiming for perennial favorite PRPC

As seen in ThisWeek News
Thursday, February 21, 2008

CORY STEGER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

By Andrea Kjerrumgaard/ThisWeek Canal Winchester freshman Kyle Baughman and the PRPC hockey team will open play in the Blue Jackets Cup at 7:10 p.m. Friday against Westerville or Olentangy at the Chiller at Easton.

AT A GLANCE: Below is the schedule for the first and second rounds Blue Jackets Cup club hockey tournament to begin today at the Chiller at Easton: Today: Olentangy vs. Westerville (5:30 p.m.); Newark vs. Hilliard/Southwest (7:10 p.m.); Athens vs. Northeast (8:50 p.m.) Friday: Newark-Hilliard/Southwest loser vs. Athens-Northeast loser (5:30 p.m.); PRPC vs. Olentangy-Westerville winner (7:10 p.m.); Newark vs. Hilliard/Southwest winner vs. Athens-Northeast winner (8:50 p.m.)

The last five Blue Jackets Cup championships in the Greater Columbus High School Club Hockey League have been won by Westerville or Pickerington/Rey-noldsburg/Pataskala/Canal Winchester, but the field this year looks to be wide open.

PRPC again seems to be the favorite after winning its fourth league title in the last five years.

The event will be today at the Chiller at Easton. Games will continue Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a second championship game at 5:30 p.m. Monday, if necessary.

The Prowlers didn't believe they would be as strong as past seasons, but came up with some exceptional goaltending by Jeremiah Holland, who played on the junior varsity last season.

"We thought it would be a rebuilding year, but we've really come together as a team and a lot of guys have stepped up," PRPC coach Jay Catherine said. "Goaltending was a big question for us, but Jeremiah has really stepped up a lot this year and leads the league in all the categories."

Holland led the league in save percentage (.916) and goals-against average (1.58) and has allowed just 23 goals in 16 games. The Prowlers also feature a finesse attack led by Adam McGrath, who tied for the league lead in goals (30) and led the league in power play goals (8).

"I think our depth is really what's come into play for us this year," Catherine said. "We have four solid lines of players. Every player is defensively responsible and has the ability to score goals."

Challenging PRPC will be Newark, Athens and Westerville. Newark lost to PRPC 6-2 in the final of last year's Blue Jackets Cup, but coach Don Jennings believes the Generals are entering the tournament with a better team than last season.

"We were runner-ups last year and we would like to win it this year," he said. "Westerville has been there a couple times and PRPC has always been strong, but it has only been in the last three years that Newark has competed well. Every team has an opportunity to win it but it could come down the top three (in the league standings) of us, Athens and PRPC."

The Generals, who pride themselves on being one of the more physical teams in the league, are led by left wing Jake Metcalfe (20 goals) and center Joe Parini (15).

Athens looks to have its strongest team in six years behind Zack Brainard (18 goals, 11 assists) and Nick Gates (15 goals, 15 assists). The Bobcats play similarly to Newark, placing a lot of emphasis on a physical style with lots of checking.

Westerville has not enjoyed the same level of success this season as it has in the past but is not to be overlooked. The Warcats traditionally have been one of the strongest teams in the tournament, winning it in 2005 and 2006 and finishing as runner-up in 2002. Offensive production has not come easy for the Warcats this season as they have just two players in the top 25 of both points and assists, and just one player in the top 10 in goals with Gaston Dircks ranking seventh with 15.

Rounding out the field are Olentangy, Hilliard/Southwest and Northeast. The three have combined for just one Blue Jackets Cup final appearance. Olentangy was runner-up to PRPC four years ago.

Olentangy may not have the depth of teams like Newark and PRPC, but the Braves do have forward Christian Periera, who has 19 goals and 10 assists.

Hilliard/Southwest also features one of the best players in the league in center Tim Hahn, who is tied for the league in goals (30) and leads the league in short-handed goals with four. The Wildcats could be considered a dangerous team as they are the streakiest team in the league and easily could catch fire at the right time.

"We're hoping that we're just rounding out for a solid finish in the Blue Jackets Cup," Hilliard/Southwest coach Mike Barboza said. "The way we've played teams in our league, we feel we have as good a chance as anybody else to be successful, but it's not going to be an easy task."

"For us to be successful, we have to be disciplined and defensively our game has to be strong. Our team has success when we play good defense."

It has been a difficult season for second-year coach Joe Recktenwald of Northeast. After spending last year going back to basics and working on fundamentals, Recktenwald believed the Storm could be better, only to see them go 1-19-3 in league play. The Storm are led by forward Nico Keels, who ranked 10th in the league with 14 goals.

"When you have those top players, you have to watch them," Catherine said. "When it comes to the playoffs, it only takes one good player to knock you out of the winner's round."

The usual favorites are there, but this year the gap between the teams is closing. Even the teams that finished in the lower half of the standings are entering the tournament with confidence.

"We're expecting that we need to very sharp to be successful, but we can be a competitive team in this tournament," Barboza said. "It's really wide open and we're excited."