Liberty, Jerome face off for the sixth time
The Olentangy Liberty hockey team displays a banner on its bench that reads “Leave No Doubt” along with a retired Patriots jersey with the number 6.
The first is the team’s mantra, adopted from the book “Leave No Doubt: A Credo for Chasing Your Dreams” by Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock. The latter is a tribute to their fallen teammate, junior varsity player Gavin Schlotterbeck, who with his friend Hunter McClelland was killed in a car crash in July.
The Patriots were delivered another blow when coach Jack Hoogeveen resigned Feb. 22. Hoogeveen, who shared duties with co-coach Keith Alexander, cited personal reasons for his sudden departure, but maintained the show must go on.
“Leave no doubt: Attack adversity with the positive,” said Hoogeveen, who finished his Liberty tenure with 259 victories over 11 seasons.
The Patriots (28-6-3) will next attack Dublin Jerome on Saturday at the Ice Haus in a district final, which presents another hurdle in Liberty’s quest for consecutive state tournament appearances.
“No matter what happens, you give everything in school, everything on the ice and in life,” Alexander said. “We’ve knocked down everything (this season), except Jerome.”
The Celtics (29-43-2) have a 3-2 record against Liberty, wining the previous three, but have just an 11-10 aggregate advantage, and neither team has scored more than three goals in any game. Jerome beat Liberty 3-1 in the Blue Jackets Cup on Feb. 11.
A sixth game between them leaves little room for mystery.
“Our teams are so equal. I doubt they’re changing their plans and we’re not changing ours,” Alexander said.
Jerome’s Pat Murphy, who was named Ohio’s coach of the year, agreed. “We always have great games against Liberty, both staffs would recognize that. It’s not a fluke that these teams are playing (Saturday).”
Goaltender Harrison Graff has been steadfast for the Celtics, allowing just seven goals in five postseason games, carrying a 1.26 goals-against average, 1.42 overall.
“We take a lot of pride in the way we play team defense,” Murphy said “(Graff) has given up more than three goals twice this season. That’s a credit to our defense.”
Carter Patchett leads the postseason charge with 14 points (10 goals) through six games and has a nine-game goalscoring streak.
Liberty will counter with all-state defenseman Sam Turner’s 72 points (29 goals, 43 assists), and forwards Connor Hisaw (47 points), Ron Ambrosia (45) and Austin Barok (39).
“We don’t want to leave anything out on the ice,” Turner said. “None of us want to say we wish we could have given more.”