The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
A thankful ode to area high school hockey
In his prep column this week, Chris Lillstrung pays tribute to the area high school hockey community and the strengths and quirks that have made it a joy to cover for nearly two decades.
This is probably one of those beg-for-indulgence moments, but hopefully you won’t mind.
Jan. 19 marks my 19th anniversary at The NewsHerald. The meaning of milestones in general is subject to interpretation, of course. But it is a chance to reflect.
I’d like to pay tribute to a sport that has been kind to me for nearly two decades — high school hockey — and the strengths and quirks that make it such a joy to cover.
In the winter of 2000, I was assigned the high school hockey beat.
My first game was Dec. 10, 2000, between Chagrin Falls and Kenston. Back then, it was the Auburn Ice Palace — but what is now The Pond was brutally cold as the heaters didn’t function fully. I wasn’t even sure where to sit, so the thenChagrin coach offered me a spot at the end of the bench.
It’s a miracle that afternoon — and in hundreds of games since — a puck hasn’t left an impression.
But what has left an impression are the people and the sport.
Hockey is a niche sport — and proud of it. There will never be a need for traffic control outside a rink, but parents and fans are invested and care deeply, as are players and coaches. They know numbers are few, but their belief in their craft is strong.
There’s so many traits and memories that set high school hockey apart.
The “ish” start — if a game is scheduled to start at a certain time, always be sure to add 15 minutes.
The screams for “drop the puck” whenever a certain noted local official has a game assignment. Hockey smell. The beloved green table at the Brooklyn Recreation Center — which they never should have thrown on the scrap heap, by the way.
But really, it’s been the moments that have made this journey worthwhile.
The state titles for University in 2003, when that last two minutes protecting a lead in the state final against St. Edward seemed like 20 for the Preppers, and the triple crown squad in 2009 that swept the Red North, Baron Cup and state titles.
Lake Catholic’s Cardiac Cougars 2011 Baron Cup I run — a moniker that caught on so effectively the student section brought a poster with it for the final.
Gilmour’s state final four runs in 2008 and 2011.
The aura of Baron Cup Sunday at Brooklyn — and the dogpiles at the end of a championship game win.
Being there for one of West Geauga’s first-ever games in 2000, when players struggled to skate forward and a loose puck lay on the ice for several seconds — then seeing that journey through to a Baron Cup III crown more than a decade later.
Feb. 4, 2004, when Mentor stunned Red North champion Padua in Baron Cup I — and Feb. 25, 2008, when the Cardinals stunned Ohio by topping US in a Kent District semifinal.
The 2009-10 Kenston team that started 23-0.
Seeing Ish Qasem’s 97save game for Brooklyn against Chagrin at the 2009 Baron Cup and — with two defensemen playing a full 45 — somehow preventing a mercy rule win by the Tigers.
The then-longest game in United States high school hockey history Feb. 18, 2007, that went eight overtimes at the Kent District between Aurora and Solon, and being behind the net when the gamewinner was scored.
The years during which it seemed Chagrin, Mayfield and NDCL played each other every weekend in Blue Division play — and it meant something.
Chagrin going dormant for a year — and then coming all the way back.
Euclid’s imprint and the fight to keep the program going until the sad day when it no longer could win the numbers game.
Jan. 29, 2016, when Brush snapped a 33-game losing skid — and afterward when they dislodged a glass pane celebrating and a rink attendant said, “You need to act like you’ve been there before,” when unfortunately many of their players hadn’t.
The way Greater Cleveland rallied for Alec Kornet and for Brush and his family last year.
The quintessential allarea rivalry — US-Lake — and what it’s done for the sport locally at its peak.
And I could fill an entire column with names of great players, coaches and parents, so many class acts and personalities that have made every day at the rink more exhilarating and easy to capture.
I’ve said it before, but on a personal note for emphasis: Anything I have achieved and will achieve in my professional life has been in key part thanks to the high school hockey community and that first chance at covering a sport. The loyalty, the trust. And when it hopefully was earned, the respect.
Chapters continue to be added — and while this reflection is admittedly an indulgence, it also serves another purpose. It is a chance to say many words, but two words above all else: Thank you.