For the 25th time, the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth will be on the line starting this weekend when the area’s high school programs battle for the trophy.
With the Capital Hockey Conference regular season over and OHSAA tournament play right around the corner, bragging rights are on the line in the single-elimination event that features the area’s varsity and junior varsity teams.
A year after parity reigned in the Capital Hockey Conference, all teams have been chasing St. Charles this year in the top-level varsity Red Division, as the Cardinals finished 15-1-0 in the league regular season. St. Charles outscored CHC opponents by a 55-19 margin during the 16-game campaign and will be looking to capture the CBJ Cup for the second time in program history and first since 2014.
St. Charles shut out three CHC opponents and didn’t give up more than two goals in a game to any league foe.
“First and foremost, our goaltenders, senior Dylan Fansler (alternate captain) and junior Dylan Bell, are two of the best goalies in the state and give us the chance to compete against any team we play,” head coach Danny Greiner said. “We also have great leadership in our defensive corps in senior captain Tommy Scharfenberger, junior alternate captain Harry Hadden and junior alternate captain Alex Martin. Our goalie and defense are built on elite players that give us a great foundation and great leadership.”
It won’t be an easy task, though, to lift the trophy on Sunday thanks to the strength and depth of the teams in the Central Ohio area.
In the first quarter-century of the tournament, eight different programs have won the title at the varsity level. Dublin Jerome leads the way with nine championships, followed by Dublin Coffman (four), Olentangy Liberty and Upper Arlington (three), Thomas Worthington (two) and St. Charles, Olentangy Berlin and Olentangy Orange (one each).
Quarterfinals in the Red Division are scheduled for tonight, with semifinals on Saturday and the final Sunday at 1:10 p.m. at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. View the entire tournament schedule here.
Meet The Teams
Here are breakdowns of the eight teams in the CHC Red varsity division that will be battling for the crown. All stats are from conference play and provided by the Capital Hockey Conference.
(1) St. Charles (15-1-0-0) vs. (8) Cincinnati Moeller (1-15-0-0): As Greiner noted, defense and goaltending led the way for the Cardinals, who made it tough on the opposition to score all season. Bell has posted a .984 save percentage with Fansler at .944, so whichever Dylan gets the call between the pipes will have the Cardinals in good hands. Will Howard leads the attack with 14 goals and 10 assists, while Jack Jensen added 14 helpers.
Moeller found wins hard to come by in Red Division play, with Brody Weast leading the way with eight goals and Christian Rivard adding seven.
(2) Upper Arlington (10-5-0-1) vs. (7) New Albany (3-13-0-0): The 2025 state champs lost first-team All-Ohio goalie Mason Herndon and some other key pieces from their championship run, but the Golden Bears led the CHC Red Division with 4.56 goals per game this year. Tate Rook’s 17-18-35 line led all scorers with Connor Hagkull (16-13-34) and Benjamin Spence (13-18-31) right behind. Finn Otis (.940 SV%) and Zach Lang (.907) have filled Herndon’s shoes in the net.
Coming off a share of the CHC regular-season title a year ago and a loss in the Blue Jackets Cup championship game, New Albany couldn’t quite duplicate that success this year. The Eagles posted just 27 goals in conference play (1.69 per game), while Ben Klueppel has a .886 save percentage in net, but they did post a victory over UA back on Dec. 19.
(3) Olentangy Liberty (9-5-1-1) vs. (6) Olentangy (8-6-0-2): Liberty has cemented itself as a power over the past few seasons, capturing two of the last three CBJ Cups as well as the 2023 OHSAA championship, the first for Central Ohio. Evan Bachus (13 goals) and Drew Hunkins (10 goals, 18 assists) are longtime stalwarts on the offensive side, while veteran goalie Thomas Morgan posted a .888 save percentage.
The Braves were the lone team to deal St. Charles a CHC loss this year, taking a 1-0 victory Dec. 27, and should make this game an interesting battle among rivals. Donovan Roen (13 goals, 11 assists) and Parker Schlade (10 helpers) key the offense, while Collin Guider had a .889 SV%.
(4) Olentangy Orange (8-5-2-1) vs. (5) Dublin Jerome (8-6-1-1): After a couple of tough seasons, Orange is back in the mix and finished in the top half of the Red Division. Maverick Scholvin posted team-high totals with 10 goals and 11 assists, while Neil Risko had a .903 save percentage.
Jerome has a history of success, including the nine CBJ Cup titles and the area’s first win at the state tournament back in 2019, and enters unbeaten in its last four CHC games. Luke Myers (nine goals) and Nick Myers (seven tallies) lead the offense and John Michael Beuselinck (.933 save percentage) is one of the best goalies in the area as the Celtics allowed just 1.69 goals per game in CHC play.
More To Come
There is plenty of talent in the varsity White Division as well, highlighted by Dublin Coffman and Thomas Worthington, who are both in the top 20 of the MaxPreps and MyHockey rankings for the state of Ohio. A year after going winless in conference play, Thomas Worthington had an incredible turnaround, going 12-1-2-0 to finish atop the standings. Dublin Coffman was right behind at 11-2-2-0, while Worthington Kilbourne also reached double digits in wins at 10-5-0-1.
The White Division final will be held Sunday at 3:10 p.m. at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
The JV division of the Capital Hockey Conference as well as the Ohio Scholastic Hockey League varsity division will battle for their versions of the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth next weekend. The CHC JV final will be next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the OhioHealth Ice Haus, while the OSHL varsity final precedes it at 12:40 p.m. The Dayton Stealth have won five straight OSHL varsity championships, and Hilliard went unbeaten in league play this year.
Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth action concludes the following weekend with the OSHL JV competition. The final will be March 1 at 9:30 a.m. at the OhioHealth Ice Haus.
After this, the CHC varsity squads continue to battle in the state district tournament, with one team advancing to the OHSAA Final Four to be held at Nationwide Arena on March 14-15.
