A tough schedule to start of the year is starting to show its benefits as the battle tested Varsity Wildcats continue to show steady improvements through the holidays and into 2023!
After an up and down showing at the always tough Padua Invitational the Cats showed steady improvement at the Gilmour Brother James tournament and capped off the new year with an impressive showing this past weekend in the NHC and a signature win over #1 state ranked St. Ignatius.
The Padua tournament got off to a rough start. 3 tightly contested games all resulted in 1 goal set backs to #2,#3 and #5 ranked teams. St Eds was up 1st and though the Cats showed some glimses they suffered a 3-1 loss after giving up an empty net goal. Benny Seals provided the only offense in the loss. The next morning the Cats got on the board early vs #2 Olentangy Liberty as Tryston Harrell converted a stretch pass from Landon Elliott for a 1-0 lead. However Liberty scored 1 in the 2nd and another late in the 3rd to spoil a magnificent effort from Senior netminder Austin Nowak in a 2-1 final. The Cats finished off the round robin play with #5 state ranked University School. Sophomore Chase Bean scored his 1st career goal and senior Drake Symbolik also scored but the Cats once again fell by a goal in a 3-2 loss. The Cats would take on Shaker Heights in the consolation round. Benny Seals Hat trick along with a single goal from Landon Elliott provided the offense and Nowak shut out the Raiders in a 4 to 0 win.
Spurred on by the momentum of finishing strong the Cats returned to league play just before Christmas for a game with Anthony Wayne. Symbolik and Liam Diesing scored a pair of goals and Riley Ames, Seals and Bean also scored in the lopsided 7-1 win. The win gave the Cats sole possession of 1st place in the NHC Red division race.
The Cats headed back to Cleveland between the holidays for the Brother James Gilmour tournament. University School once again clipped the Cats by a goal as Northview was unable to capitalize on additional chances after Seals goal in the 1st staked them to the lead. 2 late goals from the Preppers provided for yet another 1 goal loss. Northview needed a quality win and a pick me up and that’s just what they got the following morning vs Orchard Park Buffalo. Symbolik gave the Cats the only goal they would need and Nowak tied the alltime school record with his 4th shutout of the season and 15th career. Bean added an insurance goal in the 3rd and Riley Ames played buzzer beater with a full ice empty netter for the 3-0 win. The Cats played for a chance to get into the finals that evening vs Newark. After failing to start the game on time the Cats picked up their play to cruise to a 8-3 win. Liam Diesing & Benny Seals each scored a hat trick and Landon Elliott added 4 assist. Ben Graeff picked up his 1st career goal and Bean continued to chip in with some secondary scoring to send the Cats into the championship game. In the Championship game the Cats held the lead on 2 separate occasions thanks to goals from Riley Ames and the Career 1st from Zach Denny. However the Lancers tied it up both times. After skating to a 2-2 tie through regulation and a 4 on 4 overtime the game went to a shootout. Unfortunately the Cats didn’t fair well in the shootout and finished as runners-up.
After a few days off to enjoy the New Year the Cats returned to NHC action and Tam-o-Shanter this past Friday vs Bowling Green. Looking to build off their recent strong play the Cats overwhelmed the Bobcats by a final of 9-0. Tryston Harrell led the way with a hat trick as part of his incredible 6 point night. Seals and Symbolik added a pair along with Bean and Elliott and strong team defense helped Nowak set the school record with his 16th career shutout!
Northview would travel back to Cleveland this past Saturday for a marquee matchup with #1 state ranked St. Ignatius. Though they had been in every game with top 5 opponents this season the Cats were still looking for that big win. After a scoreless 1st in which both teams had some narrow misses the Cats took control of the game by erupting for 3 goals while outshooting Ignatius 16-6 during the 2nd period. Mason Crandell finished off a great transition play that went from Lehman to Graeff and Elliott to stake the Cats to the 1-0 lead. Seals finished a 2 on 1 with Symbolik 5 minutes later and Chase Bean score the 3rd of the period with less than a minute to play. The Cats didn’t rest and jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Seals 2nd of the game. That was plenty enough for Nowak and a strong defensive unit of Lehman, Wiltshire, Hacker, Denny and the Ames Brothers. Nowak stopped 28 of 29 giving up the shutout with just over 2 minutes to play for the impressive 4 to 1 win. The win pushed the Cats to 11-7-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the NHC Red division.
Northview will finish their final tournament this weekend as defending champions of the Mark Rasmus Invitational at Tam-o-Shanter. Friday night they get another shot at University School after 2 tough 1-goal losses. Saturday they will play 2 Cincinnati Schools with St. Xavier and Moeller and they will finish up tournament play with a seeding game and possible championship game Sunday. Tickets for all games will go on sale later this week. Look for ticket links via social media.
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