Hoover Vikings

Weekend Recap - Hoover vs. Mighty Barons, Hoover vs. Gilmour

It was a busy weekend for the Vikings. Friday night, the team hosted the Cleveland Mighty Barons Sled Hockey Team at Center Ice. It was a great experience for the boys to play in sleds against a talented Barons team. The Vikings lone goal came from Dylan Oney well into the third period. Despite hard work by the Hoover team to move the sleds and the puck, they fell to the Barons 10-1. North Canton Middle School student Keegan O'Reilly, who plays for the Barons, scored a hat trick in the game! High attendance at the game generated more than $750.00 for the Mighty Barons organization.

Saturday the team traveled to Gilmour Academy. In a close and hard fought game, the Hoover team scored first on a goal by Sam Hankins, assisted by a great pass by Zach Lawson. Gilmour came back to score late in the first, tying the game 1-1. Gilmour scored first in the second period, but the Vikings responded with a goal by Preston Mackert, assisted by Brad Harcourt. Hoover let up the last two goals of the game well into the third period, with a final game score of 4-2. Goaltenders Kirk Greenho and Korey Davis split the net and stopped close to 40 shots in the game.

The Vikings will play next weekend in the Turkey Bowl Tournament in Cleveland Heights against Rocky River Club, St. Ignatius, Riverside and Medina Club.

Come out to support the Vikings and the Cleveland Mighty Barons on Friday as they take to the ice for a sled hockey match. The Mighty Barons Sled Hockey Team is comprised of a group of players with disabilities that have them playing in sleds. The team will provide sleds for the Hoover players, and the game will be played with sled hockey rules, with 15 minute periods.

Ice sled (sledge) hockey was invented in the early 1960’s in Stockholm, Sweden, by a few hockey play­ers who would not let their phys­i­cal dis­abil­i­ties get in the way of doing what they loved. They mod­i­fied their equip­ment and played on a lake south of Stockholm. However, it was not until 1994 at the Winter Paralympics Games in Lillehammer, Norway, that it became an offi­cial event. It is now prac­ticed in 12 coun­tries. Sled hockey has been played in Canada and the United States for sev­eral decades and many teams are registered with USA Hockey, playing an aggressive game and tournament schedule each year.

Proceeds from donations at Friday's game will benefit the Mighty Baron's organization. Hoover Hockey Manager Knute Hankins said that the team will be challenged: "The last time our Hoover team played the Mighty Barons, they had a tough time keeping up with the team. Using the sleds is an adjustment, and many of the Baron's kids are talented players. Friday's game should be a good one."

More than 200 fans packed Center Ice Arena last night to watch the Hoover Vikings scrimmage the Jackson Polar Bears.  In a game riddled with penalities, Hoover was only able to squeeze one puck past Jackson's netminder in the second period of play. 

Period one went scoreless with Kirk Greenho in net until there was 1:23 left of play.  Tough defense kept Jackson to only five shots.  The Vikings scored first in the second period only 3 minutes into play, with Zach Lawson on a beautiful, unassisted top shelf goal.  That goal was answered by Jackson seven minutes later, and then again with only 3:50 left in the period, leaving the Vikings down 2-1 in period two.  Goalie Korey Davis stopped seven shots from the Bears.

The third period saw more offensive action from Jackson, with 14 shots on net, and 3 goals scored.  Hoover's offense was kept to only 3 shots which weren't enough to allow a point. 

Next up for Hoover is a game versus the Mighty Barons Sled Hockey team on Friday, November 18th at 5:50 at Center Ice, followed by a trip to Gilmour Academy on Saturday to play Gilmour's Varsity B team at 3:00 pm.  GO VIKES!!

The Hoover Vikings had their first pre-season scrimmage today against Wooster Club, with tight scores in all three periods.

The Vikings scored first in the first period of play, less than one minute into the game, with Chaz Gordish burying the puck on a pass from John Derosiers.  Wooster came back to score two minutes later, but that goal was answered by Bradley Harcourt's short-handed, unassisted goal less than one minute later.  That goal proved to be enough to give Hoover the win in the first period, with netminder Kirk Greenho playing tough in the net.

In second period play, the Vikings went scoreless even though the Wooster squad racked up 8 minutes in penalties. Goalie Korey Davis held Wooster to only two goals with his first net appearance.

The third period saw Hoover in the penalty box twice, with the lone Viking goal coming 4 minutes into the period.  Although the official scoresheet shows Preston Mackert scoring unassisted, it looked to those of us watching that the goal was scored by defenseman Zach Lawson on a pass from Mackert.

Next up for the Vikings is Jackson next Friday at Center Ice.

The Hoover Vikings are set to kick off their pre-season this Saturday, November 5th in a scrimmage against Wooster.  The puck drops at 3:40 pm at Center Ice!

The Vikings welcome back 11 returning lettermen, and welcome 9 new players to their varsity roster.  The team has been preparing for the season since August with Captains' workouts, ice sessions and skill and agility training.  With more than 30 games scheduled including tournaments, the Vikings will have a busy fall and winter season with competitive play in the newly aligned Blue Division of the GCHSHL. 

 Come out and support our Vikings this Saturday!  GO VIKES!