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2017 Ice Hockey State Tournament Recaps

State Championship

Cleveland St. Ignatius Wins Fifth Ice Hockey State Championship, Defeats Toledo St. Francis de Sales 5-1
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland St. Ignatius (30-7-2) earned a 5-1 win over Toledo St. Francis de Sales (26-7-0) in the 2017 OHSAA ice hockey state championship game on Sunday at Nationwide Arena to capture its fifth ice hockey state title.
 
The Wildcats were making their eighth trip to the ice hockey state tournament and captured their second-consecutive state title, their third since 2014. St. Ignatius earned a 4-3 (3OT) victory over Hunting Valley University School on Saturday in the state semifinals.
 
St. Francis de Sales (26-7-0) was making its 10th trip to the ice hockey state tournament and its fourth appearance in the state championship game. The Knights earned an 8-2 win over Powell Olentangy Liberty in the state semifinals on Saturday.
 
The Knights held a 36-26 shot advantage over the Wildcats, but a strong effort by sophomore goalkeeper Benny Savarino limited St. Francis de Sales to just one goal while recording 35 saves. St. Francis de Sales also held a 38-22 advantage in faceoff victories over St. Ignatius.
 
Leading the way for St. Ignatius was senior captain Connor Koehnke, who recorded two goals and two assists. Sophomore forward Connor McGowan scored one goal and dished out two assists. Senior forward Seth Whitney finished with one goal and one assist, and freshman forward Michael Boehm finished with one goal.
 
For St. Francis de Sales, senior defenseman Blake Storer finished with one goal, and juniors Gabe Barrow and Tim Organ each finished with one assist for the Knights. Sophomore goalkeeper Jacob Coward recorded 21 saves.
 
St. Ignatius struck just 10 seconds into the first period, as Whitney scored on assists from McGowan and Koehnke to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead. Then with 5:15 left in the first period, Koehnke scored a goal of his own on an assist from freshman Greg Langermeier to take a 2-0 lead through the first period.
 
The Wildcats extended their lead early in the second period, as McGowan scored on assists from Whitney and Koehnke just 56 seconds into the period, giving St. Ignatius a 3-0 advantage. Boehm would score with just 1:30 left in the period on assists from Billy Baumann and junior Bain Kurtz to extend the St. Ignatius lead to 4-0 going into the third period.
 
St. Francis de Sales would cut into the Wildcats’ advantage with 2:23 left in the third period, as Storer scored on assists from Barrow and Organ to cut the Knights’ deficit to just 4-1. But St. Ignatius’ Koehnke scored his second goal of the day with 2:23 left in the game on an assist from McGowan, pushing the lead to 5-1 and earning the second-straight ice hockey state championship for the Wildcats.

Semifinal 1 - Toledo St. Francis de Sales 8 Powell Olentangy Liberty 2

Toledo St. Francis de Sales Advances To Fourth Ice Hockey State Championship, Defeats Powell Olentangy Liberty 8-2 in State Semifinal
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Toledo St. Francis de Sales (26-6-0) defeated Powell Olentangy Liberty (32-7-0) by a final score of 8-2 in a 2017 OHSAA ice hockey state semifinal game at Nationwide Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
St. Francis de Sales outshot Olentangy Liberty by a 58-21 margin, tying an OHSAA ice hockey state semifinal record for shots on goal in a game by one team. The Knights also held a 39-23 advantage in faceoff victories. 
 
Leading the way for St. Francis de Sales was senior Kevin Hack, who finished with three goals and three assists. St Francis de Sales senior Warren Natyshak added two goals and one assist for the Knights.
 
For Olentangy Liberty, senior James Bursinger finished with one goal and junior Ron Ambrosia also recorded one goal.
 
St. Francis de Sales held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, but five third period goals would seal an 8-2 victory. Natyshak scored with 12:36 remaining in the final period on an assist from Hack, giving the Knights a 4-2 advantage. Then just 3:20 later, junior Ben Mitchell scored on a shorthanded goal with an assist from junior Gabe Barrow to increase the Knights’ lead to 5-2. Barrow would score with 7:45 remaining, then Hack added two late goals to earn an 8-2 win for St. Francis de Sales.
 
The Knights will face the winner of Cleveland St. Ignatius (28-7-2) against Hunting Valley University School (28-9-1) in the 2017 OHSAA ice hockey state championship game at Nationwide Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Semifinal 2 - Cleveland St. Ignatius 4 Hunting Valley University School 3 (3OT)

Cleveland St. Ignatius Earns 4-3 (3OT) Win Over Hunting Valley University School In State Semifinal
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cleveland St. Ignatius junior Bain Kurtz scored a goal on assists from junior Michael McCaffrey and senior Matt Wiegandt just 11 seconds into the third overtime period to earn a 4-3 win for the Wildcats over Hunting Valley University School in a 2017 OHSAA ice hockey state semifinal game at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
 
St. Ignatius (29-7-2) will face Toledo St. Francis de Sales (26-6-0) in the 2017 OHSAA ice hockey state championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. The two teams faced one another in the 2016 OHSAA ice hockey state semifinal, in which the Wildcats defeated the Knights by a final score of 5-1.
 
The Wildcats held a 56-30 advantage in shots over the Knights and recorded a 50-36 advantage in faceoff wins.  
 
Four different Wildcats recorded goals, including Kurtz, senior Chris Revnew, senior Andrew Zedella and freshman Michael Boehm.
 
University School (28-10-1) was led by sophomore George Brinn, who finished with one goal and one assist. Senior JD Clemens recorded one goal, and junior Reid Anderson also finished with a goal for the Preppers, who were making their 13th appearance in the OHSAA ice hockey state tournament.