Moeller High School 1995-96 Hockey Articles

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY

Simply put, 'Z-VI:s Moeller icers show discipline

By Michael J. Schmaltz Contributor Simplicity is breeding success for the Moeller hockey team and head coach Steve McGrinder.

The former Cincinnati Cyclone and native of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada takes a disciplined approach to the game and it has translated into a 4-3-2 start to the season.

"I believe in keeping it (the game) simple, working hard consistently and staying out of the penalty box. When you do that, you can win a lot of hockey games," McGrinder said.

The Crusaders ended last weekend with a 1-1 record after beating Sycamore 2-0 and falling to Southwest Ohio High School Hockey League nemesis Centerville 7-3.

It was a tale of teams during the two-game series as Moeller received a strong defensive performance against Sycamore, but surrendered seven goals to Centerville one night later.

Top efforts from junior goaltender Greg Ziegler, boasting a 2.33 goals-against average, and strong third-line play from junior Matt Kindberg and seniors Jason Goellner and Ed Paff earned the win over Sycamore. " G r e g turned in our best effort by a tender this season,"

"Centerville worked extremely hard and played very good hockey," McGrinder said.

"They outshot us 35-16 and skated just as hard in third period as they did in the first."

Moeller's defensive shortcomings against Centerville were uncharacteristic of the Crusaders.

"Our defense is the strongest part of our team right now," McGrinder said. "I'd feel comfortable putting any of my six defenders on the ice at any time."

Bruckert and classmate Pryor anchor the Moeller defense.

Joining the senior tandem on the defensive front are freshman Michael Walsh and seniors Walton; Axle Kordelin (a foreign exchange student from Findland), Shawn Sadler, the team's third leading scorer last season, and Andrew Dewel.

"Walton (a transfer student from Canada) has been a welcome addition to the team. He works 100% on every shift and had one goal and one assist in his first two games," McGrinder said.

"Walsh also has played extremely well and, while he has no points, he's a solid, solid defenSJVe player who rarely

"I want to play a non-conference

JVlci..Jrtnaer gets oeat onesaid. on-one," he "It was his added. first real presAlternating sure game and with Ziegler stopped 14 on Moeller's Sycamore Moeller hockey coach last line of shots and defense IS Steve McGrinder senior goalgave up no rebounds. tender Ken Goellner, Paff Brodeur. and Kindberg Brodeur has were forced to skate double- logged 270 minutes in net and shifts and each played an excel- has a GAA of 3.833. lent game," he added.¡ On the opposite side of the Moeller outshot Sycamore Moeller blue-line Riehle, the 24-14. The Crusaders took a 1- second-leading scorer last sea0 lead at the 4:22 mark of the son with 19 points in 28 first period when junior center games, Berigan, Pryor and John Riehle scored off assists junior center Joe Payne, the from Kindberg and junior left leading scorer last season with winger Brett Berigan.

21 points in 28 games, fuel the Ziegler and the Moeller offensive attack. defense held the 1-0 lead until Each brings a special talent the 13:19 mark of the third to their lines. period when Riehle netted a "Riehle is a finesse player feed from senior defenseman who has the knack for making Roger Pryor and sealed the 2-0 a play where there is no play," WID. McGrinder said.

Against Centerville, Moeller "Brent is our best all-around took a 1-0 lead when senior player and works harder than defenseman Gary Bruckert anyone on the team, while Joe scored at the 10:01 mark of the is our most consistent player first period on assists from and unsung hero," he added.

Kindberg and sophomore forMcGrinder said he's seeing ward Cameron Walton. good contributions from junior The Elks came back to even right winger Chris Megois in . the score at the end of the peri- his first varsity season . od and stuck the knife deeper McGrinder, in his third. in the Crusaders with three Moeller season, plans to build quick goals to begin the second the program in small steps with period. a tough schedule and a¡ system Centerville led 4-1 in the stressing even playing time. second until Moeller answered "I want to play a non-conat the 6:28 mark when winger . ference schedule against teams Jason Moore knocked home a that should beat us," Pryor feed. The Crusaders McGrinder said. trailed 4-2.

"Each year we want to add Riehle brought Moeller to some wins so I plan to use a within one goal at the 10:05 system where most everyone mark of the second period plays to create depth. It may when he buried a Berigan feed. cost us some games now, but in in the net, but Centerville the long-run we'll be consistent would strike one more time in contenders in the playoffs and the second and twice in the beyond," he added. third period to secure the 7-3

schedule against teams that should beat us."

WID.

MOELLER HOCKEY WRAPUP The Moeller Crusaders traveled to Dublin Ohio to participate in the North/South Challenge the weekend of January 13 and 14.

Moeller was one of four teams representing the South division.

The others were Centerville, Talawanda and Sycamore. Nprth division participants were Dublin, Ottawa Hills, Sylvania Northview, and Upper Arlington.

The format for the tournament was a three-game round robin with the top points getter in each division playing for the championship.

The Crusaders started out strong with a 3-1 victory over Ottawa Hills. Their next opponent was Upper Arlington, a team Moeller had already beaten twice this year. The results were the same, as Moeller posted a 6-2 win.

Next up was Toledo :!:\lorthview, who had beaten Moeller in the first game of the Christmas tournament.

The Crusaders just could not get the puck pa:st the Northview goalie and were shut out, 2-0. Even with two wins, it was not enough to advance Moeller to the playoff round.

The Crusaders moved to an 117-3 record for the season following the North/South event. ~

The Moeller Crusaders were in Indianapolis the weekend of January 20-21 to play in a tournament hosted by the North Central Panthers. The Crusaders fir~t opponent was the Lake Forest Scoub, one of the top 10 prep schools in Chicagu The Scouts dominated the first period, but the goaltending of Ken Brodeur kept them from scoring.

The period ended in a scoreless tie. ln the middle of the second period, Moeller took the lead when Jonathon Riehle found the top shelf with a wrist shot over the stick side. With seven seconds left in the period, the Scouts capitalized on Moeller penalties and tied it up 1-1.

Lake Forest took the lead 2-1, five minutes into the third period.

The Crusaders pulled their goalie to get another attacker with 24 seconds left in the game, but could not get it passed the Scout goalie. Final score, Lake· Forest 2-1.

Next up was the

Cathedral/Chatard Blues out of Indianapolis. Right off the bat Moeller was in trouble, giving up two power-play goals in the first period. The Blues scored again in the second period for a 3-0 lead.

Riehle got Moeller back in the game when he picked up a loose puck and beat the Blues goalie low on the glove side.

The momentum seemed to be shifting as Jason Gollner scored ()[) a one·timer from Brent Berigan to pull the Crusaders within one as the second period ended. Cathe dral/Chatard came out strong in the third period and scored again Moeller could not get the puck in the net and lost its second game uf the tournament, 4-2.

The Crusaders had one more chance against the Clay Coloniab from South Bend. Joey Payne scored on a drop pass from Jason Moore on a 2-on-1 breakaway to take a 1-0 in the first period. The game was tied 1-1 when the Colonials scored in the beginning uf the second period.

Riehle streaked around the ntt and scored a wrap-around goal to put the Crusaders up by one. A deflection by Payne from a shot hy Riehle made the score 3-1, Moeller.

Payne got his hat-trick from a pass

by Riehle for a 4-1 lead at thl· rnd of the second period. Neither tt·am scored in the third period to giH· Moeller the wm.

Moeller's rt~l:ord i~ 12 9 ~ and the Crusaders have a tough Wl·t:k end ahead with gJ.mn again~t Sycamore, Hamilton and North Central.

A12

Suburban Life

MOELLER H()CKEY On Friday, January 26 the Moeller Crusader varsity icehockey team played Sycamore in a critical league game. Moeller had shut out Sycamore earlier in the year, 2-0, so the Aviators were out for revenge.

Early in the first period, Joey Payne won a face-off giving the puck to Brent Berigan for the score and a 1-0 Crusader lead.

Sycamore came right back to tie

January 31, 199€

-------the game at 1-1 on a power-play goal.

The Crusaders got in penalty trouble again, going two men down, and Sycamore took advantage to go up 2-1 at the end of the first period.

In the second period, Akseli Kordelin surprised the Sycamore goalie with a hard slapshot from the point to tie the game at 2-2.

Now it was Sycamore's turn in

the penalty box and the Crusaders capitalized.

Jason Moore set up behind the net and passed to Jonathan Rit·hlt waiting in the slot. He beat thl· Sycamore goalie to take a 3-2 lead. It looked like Moeller had the momentum going into the third period.

The Crusaders took a two ·goal lead when Berigan scored on a pass from Moore in the middle ot

WRAPUP

the third period. With a man ad\antagc, the Aviators scored to come within a goal. Seconds later Sycamore tied the game at 4-4 and the momentum was shifting.

The third unanswered goal by ~ycamorc gave the Aviators the lead, S-4, late in the period. !'vlodkf pulled its goalie with a minml' lett, hut wuld not beat the Sycaruorl' goaltender. Final score Sycamorl' 5-4, and the first win

I.

for the Aves in the four-game series with Moeller.

Saturday was senior night as Moeller hosted a Hamilton Midget team. The seniors, Ken Brodeur, Akseli Kordelin, Matt Kindberg, Andrew Deuel, Roger Pryor, Jason Goellner, and Gary Bruckert were honored with their parents before the game.

The Crusaders were emotionally and physically drained from the loss the night before and could not get into the game. Hamilton went on to win by a score of 3-2 to avenge the loss to Moeller earlier in the year.

The North Central Panthers

out of Indianapolis came to town on Sunday to play the Crusaders.

Moeller stayed out of the penalty box and dominated the game.

North Central had a. long bus ride back as the Crusaders posted a 41 win to end the weekend on a positive note.

Moeller still maintains a winning record at 13-11-3 going into the final weeks of play.

The league tournament is February 2 to 4 at Icelands where Moeller, Sycamore, Talawanda, Centerville, and Upper Arlington will play.

-Ed Paff adult sports correspondent

MOELLER lCE HOCKEY

Crusaders give Elks 7-7 tie The Moeller High School hockey team travf'led tn Kettering w take on the Centerville Elks in a crucial league match-up January 5.

Right off the bat Mueller was in trouble, giving up a power-play goal as Centerville took the lead 1-0. Moeller tied the game, 1-1, with a backhand shot over the stick-side shoulder of the Centerville goalie through the hustle of Cameron Walton. A two-on-one breakaway by Moeller re3tdtt:el in a go-ahead goal with a heautiful cross-ice pass from Jason Moore for the score by Joey Payne. The first period ended 2-1.

Once again, the Elks took advantage of Moeller pen~¡tlties to tie the game at 2-2 with a power-play goal in the beginning of the second. Then Moore crashed the net to grab a rebound and put Moeller back on top, 3-2.

Roger Pryor slapped home another Moeller score from the point for a 4-2 lead. Minutes later, Moore got his second goal of the game to make it 5-2 Crusaders. But Centerville

would not quit and came roaring back to tie the game at 5¡5 a~ the sewnd period ended.

The third period started with a goal by Jonathan Richk a~ the:: Crusaders took the lead again, 6-5. Moeller went up by two when Shawn Sadler set up behind the net and found Payne for his second goal of the game.

The Elks came within one with just under two minutes left in the game. Centerville had the momentum and pulled its goalie to get an extra attacker. With 25 seconds left, the Elks scored to tie the game 7-7.

The teams skated to a deadlock in the fiveminute overtime and finished the game tied.

Moeller's match against Talawanda Jan. 7 was canceled because of the snow.

"'

The Crusaders traveled to Bowling Green over the holidays to participate in a Christmas hockey tournament.

Their first opponent was the home team Bowling Green. Although the Bowling Green

team was very good, Moeller stayed with them through the first two periods. In the final period, Bowling Green prevailed and shut down the Crusaders for a final score of 4-0.

Next up was Sylv;:~nift Northview ..Mot:ller scored quickly and took a 1-0 lead into the second period. By the em.! of the second period Sylvania had tied the score at 1-1. The third period was all Sylvllnia and the Crusaders lost by a final score of 3-2.

The final game of the three-game round robin was against always-tough TQ}cdo St. John's. Moeller was fired up for this game and took control quickly. By the end of the second period Moeller was winning 3-2. A goal in the middle of the third and an empty-net goal gave the Crusaders their first win of the c::vent with a final score of 5-2.

The position game was next, and Moeller played Sr. John's again. Toledo was out for revenge and Moeller was very flat. St. John's dominated the game and handed the Crusaders their worst defeat of the year. Final score- St. John's 11, Moeller 4.

-Ed Paff, Sports correspondent

File Photo

Moeller's Roger Pryor (15) passes by Sycamore's Lee Crow in a matchup last season.

Moe hockey i -1 ~---

Sycamore i ··,1.7, c;c tops Moeller

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The Moeller High School va ity ice hockey team t veled t the Lee Crow scored on a Chiller in Dublin, Ohi with 3 other hard wrist shot from the area teams to take o non eague point during a power play opponents in a touma ent h sted by with 6:13 left, breaking a tie Upper Arlington. and giving Sycamore a 5-4 At the end of round rob' play the Southwest Ohio High School Crusaders were tied·wjth orth CenHockey League victory over Moeller at lcelands. tral, but had to settle or second Michael Kriston had two place after losing the h breaker for goals for Sycamore, which least penalty minutes. I plays at Centerville ThursMoeller beat a strong Mt. day. The winner will finish Lebanon team out o Pittsburgh in 1 first in the SWOHSHL. its first game, 5-3. e t up for the Sycamore goalie Michael Crusaders was the e en ual champiWinter had 20 saves, 11 in on of the tourname , N rth Central the final period. Moeller from Indianapolis. The Crusaders goaltender~e­ were winning 5-3 ith a few mincoraeai7 saves. utes remaining i the g me, but -GO~s::Krlston 2, Thomas, Ryck~i!Jn, Crow; M-Berigan, Koralain, fliehle, Moore. Re· North Central fouiht bac and tied cords: S 15-9·2 (5·2 SWOH§HL), f.!-12·11l-1 (4·2·1). the game, 5-5. · The. Crusad~rs easi beat Moeller hockey J. - p -.97 Maumee in their third game y scorThe Moeller varsity ice hockey ing I I goals and] holding aumee team broke two records recently while scoreless. In Moell"r's las game beating Troy, 12-4, and Upper Arlingagainst Ottawa Hjlls, the Cnkaders won convincingly' 11-1. \ M~eller's record improved to 183-1 wtth a league record of 4-0. \ -Edfaff adult sports correspondent

Moeller ;squeaks by Aviators rhe Moeller Crusaders handed rival Sycamore a 2-1 loss in action at Sports Plus Cincinnati are111a Jan. 23. The win imp·roved Moeller's reco1rd to 5-19-2, md 2-5-1 in conference play. Sycamore droppelf to 12-7-3, and 6-3 .in con'erence action.

tonT~~-~~am

tied, then beat, the school record for most wins in a single season. The record was 26 and the Crusaders improved to a record of 273-1.

The team also surpassed the season record for most goals. The old mark of 187 fell to the current goal record of 207 (and counting) against their opponents this season.

There are still at least four games remaining in the 1996-1997 ice hockey season for the Moeller squad.