Semifinal #1
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Hunting Valley University School defeated Sylvania Northview 4-0 in the first semifinal of the 2023 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Tournament at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
This was University School’s 16th appearance in the state tournament while Sylvania Northview was making their 13th appearance.
It took a little time for both teams to get into the game, but University School broke the deadlock with a power play goal around the nine minute mark in the second period by junior forward Sam Wade. The Preppers scored four minutes later to take a 2-0 lead off the stick of junior forward Anthony Messina.
Two more goals in the third period, one by senior forward Samonte Martin and the other by Wade, gave University School a 4-0 victory and a spot in Sundays state final. This will be their sixth time in the state final and they will be looking for their third state championship.
Semifinal #2
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Olentangy Liberty defeated Cleveland St. Ignatius 4-3 in the second semifinal of the 2023 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Tournament at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
This was Olentangy Liberty’s fourth appearance in the state tournament while St. Ignatius was making their 13th appearance.
St. Ignatius started fast, scoring two goals in the first six minutes. Junior forward Dario Piazza scored within the first three minutes of the game then three minutes later freshman forward Cal Basile doubled the Wildcats’ advantage.
Five minutes later, Liberty answered with three goals in the span of two minutes as junior defender Jack Hamilton scored off the powerplay, followed by two even strength goals by sophomore forward Jack Struck and senior forward Charlie Hughes. This gave the Patriots a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.
Ignatius tied the game back up within two minutes of the start of the second period off the stick of junior forward Zack Baker. Liberty retook the lead 10 minutes later off of a goal from junior forward Andrew Leonard.
The Patriots held on for the rest of the game to secure a 4-3 victory and a berth in their first ever state championship match.
Championship
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Olentangy Liberty’s senior forward Charlie Hughes scored a state record four goals as the Patriots defeated University School 6-2 in the 2023 OHSAA Ice Hockey State Final on at Nationwide Arena on Sunday.
This was Liberty’s first appearance in the state final while University School was making their sixth state final appearance. This marked the first time a school from central Ohio has won the OHSAA ice hockey state championship in its 46 years of existence. This was University School’s fourth time receiving runner-up honors.
Liberty got on top midway through the first period as Hughes scored his first goal of the game to give the Patriots a 1-0 advantage heading into the second period.
Olentangy broke away with three goals in the span of just over three minutes. Hughes scored with just over five minutes gone in the second period before his teammate senior defender Carson Reynolds scored the Patriots third a minute and a half later. Just under two minutes later, Hughes would get his hat-trick to give Liberty a 4-0 lead with around 11 minutes to play in the second period.
University School fought back into the game with two quick goals near the end of the second period. Senior forward Samonte Martin and junior forward Luke Palmer both scored within 30 seconds of one another to make the score 4-2 in favor of Liberty heading into the final period.
The Patriots would gain that momentum back as Hughes scored his fourth goal of the match midway through the third period. Liberty scored one more goal for comfort, this time off the stick of senior defender Vinny Rengel, to give them a 6-2 victory over the Preppers.