Semifinal #1
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The first semifinal of the 2022 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Semifinal was between Gates Mills Gilmour Academy and Lakewood St. Edward at Nationwide Arena.
This was Gilmour’s fourth state tournament appearance while St. Edward made their 23rd state tournament appearance. Gilmour started the game strong as Junior forward Matt Bauman scored a solo goal less then two minutes into the game.
No goals were scored until the third period when Matt Bauman assisted Junior forward Justin Wen late in the third period to give Gilmour a 2-0 victory over St. Edward. St. Edward registered 32 shots to Gilmour’s 16. Senior Goaltender Ian Anderson kept a shutout and registered 32 saves in the process.
With the victory, Gilmour advanced to their second ever state final and will be looking to win their first title in program history.
Semifinal #2
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The second semifinal of the 2022 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Tournament was between Upper Arlington and St. Francis De Sales at Nationwide Arena.
This was St. Francis’ 13th state tournament appearance and Upper Arlington’s fourth. Late in the first period, St. Francis broke the deadlock through a goal by Junior forward Jake Myers. St. Francis Senior goaltender Jackson Smalley had 23 saves throughout regulation to keep the game 1-0 until Upper Arlington pulled their goaltender and scored a last minute equalizer through Senior forward Carson Gresock. This took the game into overtime.
The deadlock was finally broken late in the second overtime by St. Francis’ Senior forward Chris Meyer. Upper Arlington outshot St. Francis 30-26. Jackson Smalley ended the game with 29 saves.
St. Francis advances to their second consecutive state final appearance, and will be looking to win back to back state championships for the first time in school history.
Championship
COLUMBUS, OHIO – The 2022 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Final matched up St. Francis De Sales against Gates Mills Gilmour Academy at Nationwide Arena.
Reigning state champions St. Francis were looking for their first back to back state final victories in program history while Gilmour was making only their second appearance to the big dance. St. Francis picked up right where they left off, scoring a first period goal through Senior forward Chris Meyer.
The game was a stalemate through the second period. St. Francis registered more shots then Gilmour in that period, 9-6. Gilmour Senior goaltender Ian Anderson kept St. Francis at the single goal advantage through the second period.
Gilmour came into the third period with motivation and energy as they tallied 15 shots compared to St. Francis’ 3 shots. The increase in shots paid off as Junior forward Justin Wen scored in the middle of the period to tie the game at 1. St. Francis Senior goaltender Jackson Smalley kept Gilmour at bay for the rest of the period, tallying 14 saves in the period. The horn blew at the end of the third period with the game still tied at 1-1.
In the first overtime and second overtime, both teams has some chances, but neither were able to put one past their opposing goaltenders. Gilmour tallied 10 shots through the first two overtimes while St. Francis had 6.
The deadlock was finally broken with less then two minutes remaining in the third overtime when Gilmour Junior forward Matthew Bauman, who scored the first goal of the semifinals and assisted the tying goal of regulation, scored the last goal of the season to give Gilmour a 2-1 victory over St. Francis.
With the victory, Gilmour secured their first ever Ice Hockey State title. This was St. Francis’ fourth time being the runner-up to go along with their three state titles.