Event & Arena News

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Toledo St. Francis DeSales, Shaker Heights, Cincinnati Moeller and defending champion Lakewood St. Edward each won their respective district championships last week and qualified for the 28th Annual Ohio High School Athletic Association State Hockey Championships to be held at Nationwide Arena this weekend.

The first Semi-Final on Saturday, March 5, will pit Toledo St. Francis DeSales against Shaker Heights at 10 a.m. The second Semi-Final features Lakewood St. Edward taking on Cincinnati Moeller. The start time for the St. Edward-Moeller game has been pushed back from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. The winners will meet in the State Finals at 2 p.m. on Sunday. All three games, as well as the Senior All-Star Game on Sunday at 10 a.m., will be played at Nationwide Arena, home of the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets.

On Friday, March 4, all four teams will conduct practices at Nationwide Arena – Toledo St. Francis, 12 p.m.; Cincinnati Moeller, 2 p.m.; Lakewood St. Edward, 5 p.m. and Shaker Heights, 6:15 p.m.

Third-seeded Toledo St. Francis (22-7-1) captured the Sylvania District championship with wins over Ottawa Hills (16-0), Findlay (7-3), Sylvania Northview (4-3) and Toledo St. Johns (4-3 OT). They will meet Shaker Heights (23-7-0), the top seed in the Kent District, who toppled Garfield Heights (12-0), Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (9-0), Mentor (8-2) and Mentor Lake Catholic (4-2).

Defending champion Lakewood St. Edward (19-9-1) was the top seed in the Brooklyn District and beat North Olmstead (6-2), Parma Normandy (6-2), Avon Lake (7-1) and Parma Padua Franciscan (5-0) to capture the district title. Cincinnati Moeller (28-6-0) was the third seed in the Troy District and advanced to Columbus by beating Thomas Worthington (7-1), Beavercreek (3-1), Columbus St. Charles (3-2) and Upper Arlington (1-0).

Tickets for the OHSAA Semi-Final and Final games are $10 for adults and $7 for students (Saturday’s ticket is good for both games). To order tickets, call (614) 246-PUCK (7825), visit www.BlueJackets.com or call 614/246-PUCK for more details. Individual tickets can also be purchased at the Nationwide Arena Ticket office.

For the second straight year, the Ohio News Network (ONN) will televise the championship game live to a statewide audience. ONN will broadcast the final game with the play-by-play and color commentary being handled by the Columbus Blue Jackets Radio Network team of George Matthews and Bill Davidge. Blue Jackets Head Coach Gerard Gallant will join Matthews and Davidge in the booth during the third period and post-game coverage. ONN will also replay the broadcast on Tuesday, March 8, at 8 p.m.