Although the students are currently on break for the Holidays there’s no time off when it comes to tournament hockey. This year the Avon Eagles will attempt to claim their second consecutive Holiday Tournament Championship, and after Thursday’s thriller against Olmsted Falls they are that much closer to doing just that. Read the full story here.
High School Sports Blog
Avon Eagles Soaring Towards 2nd Title
Friday, December 28th, 2012Basketball Junkies Paradise
Wednesday, December 26th, 2012
Aside from “March Madness”, when it’s basketball night after night after night, this weekend is the best time of the season for the pure basketball “junkie”. Why is that you ask? Because it’s holiday tournament time, with wall to wall hoops in several locations.
On the girls side, the Amherst Holiday tournament will tip off Thursday with Amherst, Elyria, Avon and Sandusky Perkins all hitting the hardwood at the Comet gymnasium at Marion Steele High School in Amherst. The first game Thursday (6p) will pit the Lady Pioneers of Elyria against Avon, followed by Amherst taking on Perkins. The Amherst tournament will conclude on Friday night.
Also Friday night, for the boys, two long-time tournaments will get underway. At Midview, the DiFranco Tournament will commence at 6p, with Amherst taking on undefeated Columbia, followed by Midview facing Cloverleaf. Both games Friday, and both games Saturday from Midview, will be streamed on weol.com! Over at Avon Lake, the Lorain County Holiday tournament will also tip off on Friday night when Elyria takes on Lorain at 6, followed by Avon Lake facing their border rival, the Avon Eagles. Both games on Friday, and the consolation game and championship game on Saturday, will air on AM930 WEOL (and be streamed on weol.com).
Another local boys team involved in a holiday tournament will be Oberlin, as they will travel to Wickliffe for games on Friday and Saturday.
It’s as much a holiday tradition as Christmas music, time with family, and snow on the ground. Holiday tournament basketball. But for someone who loves the game (like I do), it might be the best present of all!
Snow and Ice – That’s the Way I Like It!
Wednesday, December 26th, 2012
With the snow coming down and winter officially here, this is once again a great reminder that it’s hockey season. With the NHL season all but completely cancelled up to this point, there are still plenty of games out there for the die-hard hockey fan. Northeast Ohio alone has over 15 high schools that have a hockey program and there’s also exciting action at the professional level thanks to the Lake Erie Monsters. Next week there will be a unique combination of the two. On Thursday, January 3rd, the Elyria Catholic Panthers face off against the Normandy Invaders at 3:30pm at Quicken Loans Arena. At 7pm the Lake Erie Monsters take on the Charlotte Checkers. Having called hundreds of hockey games at all levels over the course of my career I can only imagine the level of excitement the high school players will be experiencing when they take to the ice next week.
Early high school basketball thoughts
Monday, December 17th, 2012It’s still very early in the season, but some quick thoughts on what has happened so far in boys basketball.
Elyria’s 4-0 start is very impressive, considering three of their four wins have been on the road. Beating Medina on Saturday afternoon in Massillon was a very nice win for Brett Larrick’s Pioneer team. They are a very confident, experienced group right now. Lorain County’s other unbeaten team is Columbia, now 5-0, but the Raiders should get a good test Tuesday when they face Oberlin. The Phoenix have won two straight after opening the season with two straight losses. That could be a great early season battle in the PAC.
I love watching Wellington play under head coach Dan Gundert. His kids really get after it. The Dukes have won three straight, including their impressive come from behind victory on Friday, beating Clearview 51-37 in a game we had on WEOL. Quite a gritty, hard-working bunch.
We are looking forward to what could be a great game this Friday night on WEOL when Medina travels to Avon Lake. The Shoremen got a huge win last Friday night by knocking off previously unbeaten Westlake. That was a real eye opener.
Saturday night on WEOL, it will be Vermilion at Wellington. Then, following a welcome break for Christmas, it will be holiday tournament time! We’ll talk more about the Lorain County Holiday Tournament from Avon Lake and the DiFranco Tournament from Midview as the time draws near!
