In perhaps the deepest field the Capital Hockey Conference has ever had, Olentangy Liberty left no doubt on Sunday who would win the varsity division of the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth.
The Patriots slowly but surely took over the final at the OhioHealth Ice Haus, scoring four times in the second period and twice more in the third to earn a 6-0 win over New Albany, securing the school’s third victory in the high school tournament.
It’s been a roller coaster of a season for the 2023 state hockey champs, who had to play the first few weeks of the season without top players Jake Struck and Andrew Leonard while they were leading the Patriots to the state football title. But with a full roster on hand, Olentangy Liberty excelled down the stretch, winning its final 13 CHC games and then the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth.
“We’re resilient,” head coach Jonathon Falvo said. “We had a lot of ups and downs during the season, but we’re figuring out our game right now and we’re in a good place to go forward. One of our goals this year was to win the CBJ Cup, and we’re here.”
One of the state’s all-time leading scorers and an Ohio State lacrosse commit, Struck had two goals, while Leonard, his brother Alex Leonard, Jake Bachus and Drew Hunkins also scored. Senior Mack Larkin got the shutout in net with 23 saves.
It was a competitive year in the Capital Hockey Conference – Liberty and New Albany tied atop the standings, but Olentangy, Upper Arlington and St. Charles also were in the mix for first place throughout – and six of the top 10 teams in the state rankings call Columbus home.
That showed in a tournament that featured three overtime games, including both semifinals. New Albany needed OT to win its quarterfinal vs. Olentangy Orange and its semifinal vs. Olentangy, while Liberty was taken to an extra frame in its semifinal victory vs. Upper Arlington.
But on this day, the Patriots survived an early push from the Eagles and then pulled away. The Olentangy Liberty penalty kill was 3-for-3 in the opening period and also created its fair share of chances, while Larkin came up big in the first 15 minutes with breakaway stops on New Albany’s Owen Zhang and Aidan Dickson.
New Albany goalie Ryan Myers also was sharp in the opening frame with excellent stops on Hunkins and Struck, but the Patriots broke through in the second period. New Albany thought Zhang had scored 2:50 into the frame, but referees disallowed the goal because the net was off its moorings.
Just 14 seconds later, Liberty got on the board as Alex Leonard came in on the rush and ripped a shot off the crossbar and in behind Myers. Then at 4:32, Hunkins curled to the slot after a faceoff win and scored to make it 2-0.
After another breakaway stop by Larkin on Dickson coming out of the penalty box midway through the frame, the Patriots pulled away with a pair of goals on the power play. Andrew Leonard wristed one home from the right circle with 5:19 left in the period to make it 3-0, then Struck beat Myers through a screen from the left dot with just 54.2 seconds left in the period.
Struck and Bachus added goals in the first six minutes of the third period to set the final score and complete the offensive outburst.
“We have a lot of shooters on this team,” Falvo said. “When they’re able to find time and space, look out.”
Larkin was able to finish out the shutout from there, with the coaches choosing to go with the senior over Thomas Morgan, as the two netminders split time on the season.
“We had a feeling,” Falvo said. “The coaches made the decision here that Larkin has been our guy, and we wanted to give him a shot in a big game and see how he did. He’s a great kid. He battles, he competes, and we know he’ll show up in a big game like he did today.”
Central Ohio varsity teams now move on to OHSAA district play, all leading up to the state final four to be held at Nationwide Arena on March 8-9. The rest of finals of the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth will be held the next two weekends at the Ohio Health Ice Haus.
In the Capital Hockey Conference varsity consolation final of the Blue Jackets Cup presented by OhioHealth, Olentangy Berlin scored in overtime to down Cincinnati St. Xavier by a 4-3 score.
