Repost: State hockey title game ends in 1-1 tie

By MATT SEXTON
WNJ Sports Writer

                COLUMBUS - When the kids from Cleveland St. Ignatius and Sylvania Northview couldn't decide a state ice hockey champion after 101 minutes of play Saturday afternoon, the adults made the decision for them.
                State co-champions were crowned at Nationwide Arena when OHSAA and school officials stopped the state championship game after the seventh overtime, with the game tied at one.

                Officials would have never had to make that decision if not for the amazing play of Northview goalie David Marsh.

                Marsh set a state final record with 77 saves, including 41 in the seven 8-minute overtime periods. St. Ignatius outshot Northview 41-12 in the overtimes and 78-32 overall.

                "I don't know if they have a Vezina Trophy here in high school hockey in Ohio," said Northview head coach Michael Jones. "If not, they might want to create one. Call it the Marsh Trophy. That certainly doesn't take anything away from their goaltender. He did his job as well. He just didn't see quite the rubber.

                "(Marsh) was probably the most aggressive one that wants to go back out (and keep playing). Obviously he's in a zone. Obviously he's feeling it. He was pretty confident there wasn't going to be anything past him. The rate it was going, there wasn't going to be anything past him."

                After the completion of the seventh overtime, officials from both schools met with Ohio High School Athletic Association commissioner Dr. Daniel Ross to discuss how much longer the game would go on.

                "Kind of a weird ending," said St. Ignatius head coach Pat O'Rourke. "But I understand the rationale totally. I trust Dr. Ross ... there was a basic issue of player safety.

                "We kicked around the idea of playing another overtime or two. Ultimately, we were looking out for the students, and that's the job of the adults. I do get it. I agree with it and I'm fully behind it. Adults do this all the time. You tell your kids things they don't want to hear. Later on they realize it was the right thing to do."

                Jones said initially the coaches agreed to play two more overtime periods. However, further discussion took place and everyone involved decided it was time to stop the game.

                "We talked about playing four more minutes," said Jones. "We talked about playing one more OT. We talked about playing one more ice cut which would be two more OTs. We had decided that we were going to go play until another ice cut, then another opinion was thrown in about ending it and having co-state champs.

                "At the end of the day, that's what was settled on. I'm not here to roll anyone under the bus - because that's not what this is about. It's truly about getting kids ... I've got kids that can't walk. They can't walk to the shower. At the end of the day, these are young people. No one wants it on their watch to have something catastrophic happen."

                Like O'Rourke, Jones was on board with the decision to stop playing after the seventh overtime.

                "Would I have loved to see it end with a 2 on our side and a 1 on theirs," said Jones. "Sure. Sometimes you take what you're given in life. There's not always a perfect ending; it's not always a perfect situation. Today is certainly imperfect, but at the end of the day it was probably the right thing to do."

                The OHSAA released a statement after the game. It said, "Many players on both teams were seriously fatigued and neither coach or school administrator objected to ending the game before the eighth overtime began.

                "While the decision is being questioned by fans, the OHSAA commends the coaches and school athletic administrators in reaching this decision together without conflict."

                While many in the aftermath suggested the teams could just play a shootout to determine a winner, the shootout is not permitted per the rules set by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

                Even if the shootout had been an option, neither coach would have wanted the game to end that way.

                "I would never do a shootout," said O'Rourke. "I would have played a thousand overtimes. I hate shootouts. It's a team sport. I wouldn't want to do four-on-four or three-on-three.

                "I know our boys would have kept playing and their boys would have kept playing too. But at some point, the adults have to step in and worry about kids that are totally dehydrated out there. "

                Before the wild finish to the game, there were 101 minutes of great high school hockey.

                Northview got on the board first 6:42 into the first period. Jacob Koback took advantage of a rebound off of a Cody Estrel shot and buried it.

                St. Ignatius carried the play through the second and third periods, but didn't equalize until the 7:15 mark of the third. Beck Schultz circled the net and passed in front to Danny Brogan, who beat Marsh to tie the game at one.

                Marsh would see a ton of St. Ignatius shots - many of which were outstanding scoring chances. He was equal to the task. St. Ignatius outshot Northview 18-2 in the first three overtimes combined.

                While he didn't have the quantity of saves that Marsh did, St. Ignatius sophomore goalie Dylan McKeon was equally as good. When he was challenged, he stood tall to keep his team alive.

                Both goalies continued to trade saves into the seventh overtime. It appeared as if St. Ignatius was going to get a huge power play with 1:07 left in the seventh overtime. Aiden Spellacy was hooked up high by Kooper Carter.

                However, after a brief discussion, Spellacy was taken to the box as well for embellishment. The teams would remain five-on-five through the end of the seventh overtime, when school officials decided to stop the game.

                "That (game) was absolutely amazing," said Jones. "I've never in my entire life seen - let's be honest - 40 kids ... it wasn't just my 20, it was their 20 as well. I've never seen 40 kids do what they just did. They just fought and clawed and scratched and hit and checked and stuck each other.

                "They did it out of the sake of competition. I'm certainly proud of my group, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

                The 78 shots on goal for St. Ignatius was a state finals record, and the 77 saves for Marsh also set a state record. The two teams combined for 110 shots on goal, which was a finals record as well.

                "Both teams played great," said O'Rourke. "We had the better of the play a little bit. We outshot them, but their goaltender was outstanding. We probably wouldn't be sitting here as co-champions if we had a better shooting percentage."

                O'Rourke will be happy not to see the senior Northview goaltender in the opposing net again.

                "I'll go to his graduation party," O'Rourke said. "I'll drive him to the airport or wherever he's going to college. I don't know if we ever would have solved him again.

                "We were peppering him. We hit a couple crossbars, a couple pipes. I felt like if we kept playing, we'd eventually pop one. Who am I to say that? He was stopping everything. That's got to be one of the all time great state championship performances."

                McKeon finished the game with 31 saves. While a bit overshadowed by Marsh, the sophomore kept St. Ignatius in the game with some big saves.

                "He's been outstanding all year long," O'Rourke said. "His performance shouldn't be lost because he came up with some big saves. It's almost harder when you're the goalie were they didn't have as much consistent pressure. You've got to stay sharp back there."

                As unbelievable a finish as it was, the very same thing happened six years ago in Michigan. At the Michigan Division I state championship game in 2008, Marquette and Orchard Lake St. Mary's were declared co-champions after the two teams played eight overtimes and 109 minutes, with the score tied 1-1.

Summary

@ Nationwide Arena

St. Ignatius 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 1
Northview 1 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 -- 1

FIRST PERIOD: Scoring - 1, Northview, Jacob Koback (Cody Estrel, Josh Koback), 6:42. Penalties - Kevin Yarcusko, SI (contact to head) 10:56; Bailey Breitigam, N (interference) 13:15; Kooper Carter, N (Hooking) 14:48; Kevin Yarcusko, SI (charging) 14:48. SECOND: Scoring - None. Penalties - Josh Koback, N (cross-checking) 2:11; Harry Smith, SI (tripping) 14:50. THIRD: Scoring - 2, St. Ignatius, Danny Brogan (Beck Schultz), 7:15. Penalties - Team, SI (too many men) 2:44; Beck Schultz, SI (hooking) 9:11; Kevin Yarcusko, SI (interference) 14:55. OVERTIME: Scoring - None. Penalties - Josh Koback, N (hooking) 0:47. OVERTIME 2: Scoring - None. Penalties - Ian Clement, N (interference) 6:52. OVERTIME 7: Scoring - None. Penalties - Kooper Carter, N (hooking) 6:53; Aidan Spellacy, SI (embellishment) 6:53.

Shots on goal: St. Ignatius 7 - 12 - 18 - 5 - 9 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 8 - 7 - 78. Northview 8 - 4 - 8 - 2 - 0 - 0 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 4 - 32. Power plays: St. Ignatius 0 for 4; Northview 0 for 5. Goalies: St. Ignatius, Dylan McKeon (32 shots-31 saves). Northview, David Marsh (78 shots-77 saves). T: 1:57.