Prowlers will attempt to reclaim title

As seen in Pataskala Standard
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Kurt Snyder

Tournament Trek The PRPC Prowlers are the No. 2 seed in this weekend's Blue Jackets Cup and will play either Hilliard or Athens in the second round at 8:50 p.m. Friday at Chiller Easton.

COLUMBUS --The PRPC Prowlers could not complete their third straight regular-season championship last week, but the Prowlers have a new goal in mind.

This weekend, the Prowlers will attempt to reclaim a trophy and a title that had been theirs. The Prowlers were upset during last year's defense of the Greater Columbus High School Club Hockey League's Blue Jackets Cup. They lost back-to-back games, finishing 0-2 in the double-elimination tournament.

"Now, we can go and play to win the league, which was another goal of ours," said first-year coach Joe Tonello. "It is the next one we are going to go after.

"It is behind them, and now they are refreshed to get back at it."

The Prowlers, who are the second seed after losing out to the regular-season champion Newark Generals, will play either the Hilliard Wildcats or the Athens Bobcats at 8:50 p.m. Friday at Chiller Easton.

A victory Friday could give the Prowlers a rematch with the Generals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Chiller Easton. The loser-bracket final is Sunday morning with the championship game Sunday night.

"It is spread out enough with the exception of Sunday if we lose Saturday," Tonello said. "These kids are young. They can rebound quick enough. Now when you play multiple games in a day, that is a little different. The fact they have a whole day in between it is plenty of time."

The Prowlers' chances at a regular-season title ended in what turned into a defacto title game with the Generals on Feb. 12 in Newark. The Prowlers fell behind 3-0 before clawing back to a 3-2 margin, but the Generals scored the final goal.

The Prowlers gained some momentum at the end of the second period when Watkins Memorial sophomore Jake Miller scored with one second left to bring the score to 3-1.

Miller stole an errant pass and just beat the horn on his breakaway goal to give the Prowlers some life.

Miller also scored in a 4-4 tie with Northeast last Friday to finish league play with 15 goals, tied for third in the league.

Licking Heights sophomore Sean Straker finished among the league leaders in hits.

The Prowlers practiced Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to regain their momentum before starting the postseason. After the Blue Jackets Cup, they will be playing in the Buckeye Cup for the top club teams throughout the state March 6-8.

"It is another chance for kids to play more hockey," Tonello said.

The regular-season title for the Generals and Pataskala resident Josh Roslan is the program's first title since they joined the league in its infancy in 1999. Roslan is a senior at Newark Catholic.

Kurt Snyder can be reached at (740) 328-8556 or ksnyder@ nncogannett.com.