By Miles McQuinn
There are not enough
words that have been said about it in the past 24 hours not just
statewide, but nationally as well. One thing is for certain. The events
that happened at Nationwide Arena on March 8, 2014 for the Ohio High
School Athletic Association State Ice Hockey Championship will never
be forgotten.
In what was the strangest
ending to any high school hockey game Ohio has ever seen, let alone a
state title contest, the state championship between Saint Ignatius
Wildcats and the Sylvania Northview Wildcats was decided as a 1-1 tie
after the seventh overtime period.
Saint Ignatius (30-4-6)
and Sylvania Northview (17-13-2) began play on Nationwide Boulevard
at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. An electric atmosphere was in the
air inside the arena as both teams had phenomenal fan support.
Northview struck first
blood 8:18 into the opening frame as Josh Koback skated into the
right side of the Ignatius zone after taking a pass from Cody Estrel
and fired a shot towards sophomore goalie Dylan McKeon. Jake Koback
took the rebound off the right pad of McKeon and wristed it past the
sophomore's blocker, putting his team up 1-0.
Saint Ignatius, coming
into the contest ranked No.1 in the state, peppered senior goalie
David Marsh consistently for the next two periods. The Northview
defense held on for as long as they could, but the Wildcats finally
broke through on a goal with 7:45 remaining in the game by senior
Danny Brogan. Senior captain Beck Schultz took a shot that was saved
by Marsh, Schultz kicked the rebound to his stick, went around the
net to the left of Marsh, came out on his right hand side, and found
Brogan in the low slot who buried it into the back of the net,
deadlocking the score at 1.
The third period ended,
but the game was just getting started. The David Marsh show was about
to begin.
For a mass amount of time
in the first three overtime frames, McKeon did not see a shot from
any Northview player. While the Northview shot tally remained at 19
for over two of those overtime periods, Ignatius' increased at a
rapid pace. Shot after shot, save after save, Marsh was there every
time. The man donning the number one on the back of his jersey stole
the limelight. The Blue and Gold were simply frustrated, especially
hitting multiple posts during the overtime periods, trying to find
the winning goal.
The game took on a life
of its own.
The Saint Ignatius
Broadcast Network, the broadcasting home of Wildcat athletics at West
30th and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, shattered every
record the club had listener-wise on Saturday. Thousands had tuned in
to begin with. Then the listeners grew, and grew, and grew to a level
that you couldn't imagine a high school broadcast network would have.
By the end of the contest, there were over an astounding 32,000
people that had tuned in to listen to Ohio high school hockey
history.
As far as records go,
there were a solid amount broken as a result of the game.
The record for longest
game played was broken for both teams. The longest OHSAA hockey game
in history was an eight overtime affair between Aurora and Solon back
on Feb. 18, 2007. The game was won by Aurora 2-1. The way this
contest was being played, it would certainly break that mark.
On top of that, Marsh was
approaching the OHSAA record for saves in a game. The senior made 77
saves on 78 shots after 101 minutes of play, a state championship
record. The record for saves in a game was 97 held by Ismael Qasem of
Brooklyn against Aurora in a game played on Feb. 9, 2009.
Several
OHSAA state ice hockey records including David Marsh’s record 77
saves in a championship game were set. St. Ignatius set the OHSAA
state ice hockey championship game record for shots on goal by a team
with 78. The 2014 OHSAA state ice hockey championship game is the
longest state championship game in OHSAA state ice hockey history and
the second longest OHSAA ice hockey game all-time.
Northview fired 32 of
their own shots on McKeon who had a fantastic game on his part.
National media members
were taking note too. Specifically, ESPN Sportscenter anchor John
Buccigross retweeted messages from hockey fans on Twitter to over
195,000 of his followers about the events taking place in downtown
Columbus.
Several eight minute
overtime periods came and passed. Still no winner. The seventh extra
period once again proved nothing. The two teams went back to their
respective locker rooms for yet another 15 minute break period.
The restless fan bases
were anxious. The concession stands closed after the third period. It
had been hours since anyone had eaten. The tension inside of
Nationwide Arena could be cut with a knife. History was being made
with thousands watching and tens of thousands tuning in online.
The ice was resurfaced
for the eighth overtime period and play was set to begin once again.
Saint Ignatius took the
ice, lined up five players, and looked determined to begin the next
overtime period. The officiating crew was also prepared and ready to
go.
The problem was, Saint
Ignatius' opponents didn't come out of their locker room. Something
extraordinary was happening, leaving the fans to begin speculation.
Confusion ensued as it
originally seemed as if Northview head coach Mike Jones might have
been using “stall tactics” to buy his team a few extra minutes of
rest. This move would've been completely understandable as his team
displayed the most impressive defensive stand Ohio high school hockey
had ever seen and were completely exhausted in every way, shape, and
form.
Only this wasn't what
happened.
In a turn of events that
will go down in the Ohio high school hockey history records, a
decision was made to stop the game.
Behind the scenes
discussions were taking place, during the 15 minute break, between
the seventh and eighth overtimes. The head coaches and athletic
directors from both Saint Ignatius and Northview met with OHSAA
officials and it was determined, for player safety reasons, that the
game should no longer continue after nearly four hours and forty
minutes of play.
OHSAA Commissioner Dr.
Dan Ross made the announcement over the speakers at Nationwide Arena
and received heavy criticism from the fans. Below is the official
statement from the OHSAA:
“By
mutual agreement of the head coaches, school administrators and
OHSAA administrators, today’s ice hockey state championship game
at Nationwide Arena was ended after seven overtime periods. The
game shall be recorded as a 1-1 tie and Sylvania Northview and
Cleveland St. Ignatius shall be declared co-state champions.
After
the seventh overtime, the head coaches, school athletic
administrators and OHSAA administrators had a lengthy discussion.
Many players on both teams were seriously fatigued and neither
coach or school administrator objected to ending the game before
the eighth overtime began.
By
national rule, there is no shootout procedure in high school
hockey.
While
the decision is being questioned by fans, the OHSAA commends the
coaches and school athletic administrators in reaching this
decision together without conflict.
This is an
opportunity to show that wins and losses, even in a state
championship game, are not more important than player safety. Had
a player been seriously injured in the eighth overtime due to
fatigue, the decision to allow the game to continue would have
been seriously questioned more than the decision to end it.”
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Game over. Shock,
confusion, disbelief, happiness, and anger are only a few of the many
emotions that players and fans alike were feeling after the
announcement. Several Saint Ignatius players were seen smacking
sticks and tossing equipment on the ice in frustration.
Northview was brought out
of their locker room after the announcement to share in their claim
of the state title.
In summary, it is an Ohio
high school hockey story that will be retold for decades. Never in
the 37-year history of the OHSAA State Ice Hockey Tournament has
there been Co-Champions. With new rule changes expected to come to
prevent an outcome like this again, it will surely be the last.
As for now, it is etched
in stone. On that fateful Saturday, March 8, 2014, as tens of
thousands collectively were dialed in from not just Nationwide Arena,
but from around the country, two teams played the great game of
hockey and didn't stop until they were forced to. The Saint Ignatius
Wildcats and the Sylvania Northview Wildcats, forever linked, 2014
OHSAA State Co-Champions.
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