Braves Deliver Message to Cross Town Rivals
Sweep Sycamore, St. Xavier and Moeller in final weekend
On Tuesday, Southern Ohio coaches from Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati gathered to debate the seeding for the District playoffs to commence in mid February in Columbus. The Braves were tied with Moeller for first place in the Southern division of the Southwest Ohio High School Hockey League with their only loss coming to Moeller in December. At the seeding meeting, Moeller was voted top seed, Dublin Coffman and Dublin Jerome the next two, Sycamore the fourth and Talawanda, awarded with the fifth. The Braves coaching duo of Matt Mole and Nate Guerin would take no issue, having lost close contests to the two Columbus entries earlier in the year. Of bigger concern was finishing the season against their cross town rivals with a sweep entering the league and district tournaments. The mission was accomplished with a resounding exclamation point. The three game sweep of Sycamore, St. Xavier and Moeller pushed their league mark to 9-1-1 and the best record in the SWOHSHL.
Talawanda 7 Sycamore 3
The Braves made a statement that 5 on 5 they will be hard to contend with and even when playing short-handed they still pose an offensive threat. Talawanda stole the energy of the Aviators pre-game Senior night with a relentless fore-check that had Sycamore on the ropes early. Three minutes into the game Ben Hoover spotted brother, Drew darting up the middle and the younger Hoover pulled up and whirled a howitzer past the stunned Aves netminder. With 3 minutes to play in the first and Sycamore enjoying the man advantage, junior Braden Park, stripped an Aviator of the puck in the corner, walked to the doorstep and scored to the short side for a 2-0 score. With 22 seconds to play, Park pounced on an open puck in the slot and one-timed a high drive through a maze of players. Zach Phillips and Pat Gray earned the assists on the play and the Braves led 3-1 after one period.
The Braves became hated house guests when Pat Gray scored just 44 seconds into the second. Phillips and Ben Hoover drew assists on the back-breaker and Talawanda cruised to a 7-3 victory. Ben Hoover finished with 3 assists, Phillips a goal and and two assists, Drew Hoover, 2 goals and an assist, Park 2 goals, Gray a goal and an assist. Ryan Gann, with a goal and Matt Finch with an assist, rounded out the scoring. All three Sycamore goals were scored on the power play and Braves goalie Dan Atkin was sharp, when tested, making 23 saves.
Talawanda 3 St. Xavier 1
The Braves showed no signs of wear when they faced off Saturday with the St Xavier Bombers. The game was scoreless after one period but the Braves held a wide territorial advantage with 12 shots to just five by St. X. The Braves again had to generate offense while playing short handed when Senior Patrick Gray provided the 1-0 lead 1:40 into the second period. St. X benefited from a bouncing puck around the Braves net and tied the match 1-1 heading into the third. Goaltender Alan Dowler had no chance on the play and was solid in his debut, turning aside 21 of 22 shots on the night. Drew Hoover provided the go ahead score at 5:15 with assists from Zach Phillips and Ben Hoover. With four minutes to play, Drew drilled an absolute rocket under the cross bar for the important clincher.
Talawanda 3 Moeller 0
The final game of the weekend would decide first place in the regular season. Moeller was smarting from an earlier loss to Sycamore, but a win over Talawanda would restore their first place status. The Braves and goaltender Alan Dowler would have no part in a Crusader party. The Braves were whistled for 6 of the first 7 penalties of the game and Moeller drilled the Talawanda net with 16 shots. Dowler was unbeatable in the first, and the rest of the way, stopping all 32 shots sent his way to pace the win. The Braves were efficient with their scoring chances. Ben Hoover scored short handed at 9:53 of the first with assists awarded to Phillips and Finch to provide a 1-0 lead. Phillips broke up a Moeller power play rush at 6:36 of the second and sent Braden Park in all alone. Park scored to the top shelf to double the lead to 2-0. Phillips provided insurance with an even strength goal at 7:09 of the third with tenacious help around the net by Park and Ben Hoover. The 3-0 win propelled the Braves into sole possession of first place in the south conference of the SWOHSHL. The league tournament commences next weekend where the Braves strive to repeat a league championship.