If a rising tide lifts all boats, the waters for high school hockey in Central Ohio are deeper than ever before.
As the number of schools playing hockey in Columbus has increased, so too has the talent level for area squads. That was proven a year ago when Olentangy Liberty became the first Central Ohio school to win a state championship, losing just one game all season on the way to beating Cleveland-area powers St. Ignatius and University School in the state final four at Nationwide Arena to win it all.
As excited as the Liberty community was to do it, their enthusiasm was shared by their biggest rivals as well. All the schools in the area wish they had been the one to hoist the trophy, but at the same time, they also recognized what it meant for the Central Ohio hockey community to get to the top of the mountain for the first time.
“Somebody has been trying to break through for so many years, and to finally do it and have one of our own here in Central Ohio win it, it’s terrific for the area,” said Olentangy Berlin coach Tim Pennington, a longtime coach for area high schools. “It’s great for Central Ohio because it hopefully encourages more kids to join and start playing as well.
“We’re so proud of Liberty, and that’s another Olentangy school, so we’re happy for that too. I think it’s great for Central Ohio that Liberty won.”
As you might imagine, Liberty head coach Kevin Alexander felt the same way.
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “Even as good as our team was last year, I don’t think we necessarily thought we were going to get through Ignatius and U School and win the whole thing. It was an amazing, unexpected, total shock. For me and (assistant coach) Darwin (McClelland) in our 50s who played a pretty high level of hockey, we haven’t been involved in games that awesome in many years, so it was great.”
It takes a lot of people and a lot of work to create something like that, but the Blue Jackets have been at the forefront of building high school hockey in Central Ohio, from recognizing teams from around the state in the Hall of Hockey to the annual High School Hockey Scholarship to hosting the annual Blue Jackets Cup and the state tournament. And at last week’s High School Hockey Night, the McConnell Education Foundation awarded grants to 35 Columbus-area hockey programs for the 26th consecutive year.
More than $1.8 million has been donated over the years to Capital Hockey Conference and Ohio Scholastic Hockey League teams to help defray the costs of running programs, and more than 1,100 players, coaches and families were in attendance for last Tuesday’s game vs. Los Angeles to see the sport up close at the highest level. In addition, CBJ forward and Columbus native Jack Roslovic addressed the captains of each team in a pregame reception.
“We get so much support from the Jackets in so many different ways,” Pennington said. “This is incredible that they give out dollars to each of the teams out there to help fund the programs because hockey is an expensive sport at times. It just shows that they give back to the community. We’re so appreciative of it.”
As participation in hockey has grown steadily since the Blue Jackets started playing in 2000, so too have the resources available to develop players at the highest level. Such Columbus-area natives as Roslovic and fellow Blue Jackets Sean Kuraly and Carson Meyer have made it to the NHL, and the AAA Blue Jackets have produced hundreds of players that have gone on to play at the junior, college and professional levels.
As such, it’s no surprise high school hockey has continued to grow, with 17 teams participating in Capital Hockey Conference action this year at the varsity level. Thomas Worthington was the first team to make it to the state final four in 2003, and Dublin Jerome captured the first-ever semifinal win at the tournament in 2019 before Liberty broke through this past year.
For those who have been in the area for a long period of time, they’ve seen slow but steady growth over the years.
“To see where high school hockey is today compared to when I played 20 years ago, it’s remarkable,” said Danny Greiner, the first-year coach at St. Charles and a Cardinals alum. “When I played, the Olentangy schools like Liberty and Berlin didn’t even exist, so to see the growth and expansion, it’s awesome.”
“I’m a kid that grew up in Metro Detroit, and I’ve seen high school hockey here getting better and better and better,” Alexander added. “That’s been a lot of fun to watch. When I first got done playing for the Chill, I actually helped a CAHA team back in 1994, and it was pretty rough back then. It’s come a heck of a long way.”
So who will be the next team to win it all? Time will tell, but all the coaches believe this year’s Capital Hockey Conference race will be a tight one leading up to February’s Blue Jackets Cup and March’s state tournament at Nationwide Arena.
St. Charles and Liberty are at the top of the standings in the early going, but the coaches agree it’ll be a close race in the six-team Red Division between those teams as well as Cincinnati Moeller, Upper Arlington, Berlin and New Albany.
And when it’s all over, whoever emerges from the Central Ohio bracket will feel like they have a chance to go all the way.
“It feels more possible than ever,” Greiner said. “Why not us? Why can’t it be us this year? That’s what we’re telling the kids. That’s our goal for the year. If (Liberty) did it, we can do it.”
