Let me just start off by saying that everyone's hats are off to David Marsh. To record 77 saves in a game of that magnitude is an incredible feat. Win, loss, or tie; David Marsh should come out of yesterdays game with a smile on his face. All the recognition and praise is exactly what he deserves. With that being said, Northview and St. Ignatius did live up to the hype. A rematch from the 2010 State Championship when St. Ignatius handily defeated Northview 4-1. The game will go down in history as the longest Championship game and also the best and most bizzare. At 8:18, Northview put the first goal up on the board. Jake Koback netted a rebound goal past the St. Ignatius goaltender. Although after that, the rest of the game was St. Ignatius chances. David Marsh stood about 10 feet tall for the entire game. If it wasn't for an unlucky bounce thrown out front and knocked in late in the third period, David Marsh would have had a 1-0 shutout in the State Final. After 7 overtimes of high school kids pouring their hearts out on the ice, the OHSAA Administrator came out to say he talked with both coaches and they had agreed to call them Co-Champs to prevent further injury. Left many people and Nationwide confused as we have never seen this before. It was the worst way to end the great year that was 2013-2014 but that was how it ended and there is no arguing that. So St. Ignatius and Northview are both hockey State Champs. Congratulations to every Northview hockey player that poured their heart on that ice to bring this one home. Keep making Sylvania proud.

@bosoxtim

Last season when the Northview Wildcats made a run to the state title game, they had 3 main goal scorers leading up to it. Zander Pryor, Nick LaPlante, and Drew Crandall; all seniors and the three goal scorers in the state tournament last year. If you didn’t already know, Jake Koback didn’t get to finish out the season last year due to a fight breaking out in the Bowling Green game which forced him to forgo the rest of the season, and Cody Estrel was stuck playing defense as the Wildcats had a lack of depth of defensemen. How did Northview make it to Columbus without their three leading goal scorers from the previous season? Well Jake Koback and Cody Estrel combined for 5 of Northviews 7 goals leading up to the State Final Four. With Estrel adding a goal in the 3-1 win over Columbus St. Charles that makes it 6 of 8. With the offensive department lacking in last year’s final, could Koback and Estrel be the difference? The top line firing at all cylinders leading up to the tournament definitely helps. Also Jake Koback playing on a line with his brother, Josh Koback, is a huge advantage and Jake Koback and Cody Estrel have played on the same line since Freshman year. The chemistry is remarkable and adds for an exciting first line. Then you add in the second line of Ian Clement, Caleb Rau, and Zack Galecki, the Wildcats definitely have what it takes. It may be hard, but if they work like they have the past few games it is 100% achievable. We will all just have to watch as it all unfolds at 2:00 when the Wildcats look to make history

@bosoxtim

Say what you want about Mike Jones, but you can’t question that fact that he has built a dynasty at Northview. 5 district final appearences, 4 time district champion, 2 time State Runner up, and 1 time State Champion in 6 years as Northview head coach. That is one high achieving resume for just 6 years with this program. When everyone counts Northview out, they always find a way to prove everyone wrong. And you can’t give all the credit to Mike Jones, Northview always seems to get kids who are willing to put in that second effort to achieve greatness. I can only think of one team that did not give Mike Jones their all, but I won’t bring that up here. Northview played in their 3rd straight OHSAA State Semifinal game versus 6th ranked Columbus St. Charles. You can now officially nickname the Northview hockey team “the kids who never quit”. Numerous times this Northview team was told they would not make it back to Columbus and they would never beat St. Johns. So like most games this year, unranked Northview came into the game as an underdog. Well I think that fueled their fire for this game. Northview came out strong in this semifinal. After a scoreless first, Cody Estrel scored just 37 seconds into the 2nd period. This set the tone for the Wildcats as they eased through the rest of the game. Caleb Rau ended up with two goals, one in the second and one to start the 3rd period. Northview got another great game out of goaltender David Marsh, as he recorded 18 saves on 19 shots, only letting in one late third period goal.  Northview will take on St. Ignatius tomorrow afternoon in the State Final. In the last state final meeting, St. Ignatius handily beat Northview 5-0. Northview will come in as the underdog yet again and hope to keep the same mentality they have had for the last 3 games they have played. Good Luck to all of the Northview Hockey team in tomorrow’s State Final. Bring home Northview’s second ever State title and second in three years.

@bosoxtim

For the third year in a row, St. Johns and Northview met in the district finals. This one would shake up as the previous two did. Northview went down early again with two errant passes out in front of Northview's goaltender, David Marsh. That ended Northview's first period in a sour way. Although it seemed as if the Northview players came into the second period with a little bit of amnesia. They came out firing on all cylinders and had plenty of scoring chances early in the second. Caleb Rau started the scoring with a beauty of a goal, a great move and an even better finish. Marsh finished the period with a dozen game saving saves to keep this one to a one goal game. Northview still went into the second intermission down 2-1 even after dominating the 2nd. Northview came out to the third the same way they came out to the second, with a bang. Zack Galecki started the explosive third with a breakaway hustle play, right off the bench. This goal really gave Northview the confidence they needed to finish off the Johnnies. And finish off the Johnnies is what Northview did when Jake Koback netted two goals late in the 3rd. The first one, coming of the work of his line mates Cody Estrel and Josh Koback, a chip in off of a rebound that St. John's goalie Michael Barrett couldn't get a handle of. The second one coming off a face off win, drop back pass from his brother, Josh Koback, that he wristed past Barrett. That sealed Northview's ticket to Columbus for the third straight year, all coming from district final wins over St. Johns. You could say Northview has their number. As the final four shakes out, Northview will take on Columbus St. Charles Prep and the winner will play in the State Final vs. the winner of St. Ignatius and Mentor Lake Catholic. Good to see Northview kept it from being an all private school final four. Money doesn't buy state championships.

P.S. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuge shout out to Kooper Carter staying out of the penalty box. Keep up the good work

@bosoxtim

After dropping the last two meetings against Bowling Green, the Northview Wildcats had to come out with great confidence to put this game away early. That's exactly what they did. From the drop of the puck this game was all out of reach from Bowling Green. End up winning 3-0 with this game never being in jeopardy. The specialty units were at the top of their game, getting one power play goal from Jake Koback and one short handed goal from Cody Estrel. Goals were two by Jake Koback and one for Estrel Goaltending was a complete shut down, stopping every shot that David Marsh faced. The defense stood their ground and played physical like they need to do every game. Kooper Carter stayed out of the penalty box for the most part which will always help. Overall that was a nice warm up game for St. John's next Saturday in the district finals. This will be Northview's third straight district final, beating St. John's in the previous two.