2018 Ice Hockey State Tournament Recaps

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.