Last season was a charmed year for Olentangy Liberty hockey, with the Patriots not only winning the Blue Jackets Cup for the first time in 12 seasons but going all the way to capture the first OHSAA state championship ever for a Central Ohio team.
A year later, can the Patriots do it again?
If so, it will begin this weekend with the 2024 version of the Blue Jackets Cup, the season-ending championship bracket of Central Ohio high school hockey.
Games in this year's championship bracket will run from today through Sunday, with quarterfinal games taking place tonight at the OhioHealth Chillers. There is also a consolation bracket that begins tomorrow.
Semifinals in both the championship (Chiller North) and consolation varsity brackets (Chiller Dublin) will be held Saturday, with the championship final Sunday at 4:10 p.m. at the Ice Haus and the consolation bracket final taking place at Chiller Dublin at 4:50 p.m.
In the championship bracket, Olentangy Liberty again earned the top seed by a single point over St. Charles by virtue of posting a 13-2-0-1 record in the Capital Hockey Conference Red Division. Coach Kevin Alexander’s team is led by the league leader in all scoring categories, Jake Struck (26-30-56), as well as forwards Andrew Leonard (15-25-40) and Brain Savage (14-16-30) from last year’s title-winning team.
The Patriots will open the tournament against New Albany, which had a 6-10-0-0 record in the CHC Red Division. Quinn Blaney finished sixth in the CHC Red Division with 12 goals, while Matan Lefebvre added an 8-13-21 line.
St. Charles earned the No. 2 seed and will open against seventh-seeded Dublin Jerome in the first round. The Cardinals under first-year coach Danny Greiner posted a 12-2-1-1 record in CHC Red play to finish right on the heels of Olentangy Liberty, with Sean Moore (20-15-35) and Nicholas Scharfenberger (11-1-4-25) leading the way.
In the matchups between Liberty and St. Charles, the Cardinals posted a 4-2 win Feb. 2, while Liberty won by an 11-3 score back on Dec. 1.
A traditional Central Ohio power that won a game at the 2019 state tournament, Jerome went 9-4-3-0 in the CHC White Division. The Celtics are led by forwards Max Swift (nine goals) and Sean Covitz (eight goals), while goalie John Michael Beuselinck had a .921 save percentage.
The No. 3 seed is Upper Arlington, another one of the top programs in the area. The Golden Bears finished 8-6-2 in CHC Red play and are led by goalie Mason Herndon, who posted a .920 save percentage to place second in the CHC Red Division. They will take on No. 6 seed Olentangy, which finished atop the White Division at 11-3-2 thanks to balanced scoring from Grant Levins (13-10-23), Jacob Schlade (12-11-23) and Ben Dorbish (8-12-20).
In the 4-5 matchup, Cincinnati Moeller has parlayed a strong season including an 8-7-1 record in CHC Red play to earn the fourth seed. Goalie Noah Smith leads the way with a .910 save percentage. The Crusaders will take on fifth-seeded Olentangy Berlin (6-6-2-2 CHC Red) in the opening round, with the Bears led by veteran Myles Edgson’s 8-12-20 line.
The last two finals were all-Olentangy affairs, with Liberty avenging a loss to Berlin in the 2022 Blue Jackets Cup final by taking a 3-0 win last season over the Bears.
For a full bracket and to see the consolation bracket led by top seeds St. Xavier and Olentangy Orange, visit the Capital Hockey Conference's website.
The Ohio Scholastic Hockey League club championship featuring club teams from around Central Ohio will be held the next weekend. The Dayton Stealth leads both the varsity and JV standings.
Everything leads up to the OHSAA state tournament, to be held at Nationwide Arena on March 8 and 10.
