The Canfield Cardinals varsity hockey squad (6-8) looks to finish the 2008-09 season on a strong note, beginning with a game against Orange H.S. this Friday night January 2nd at the Pond in Geauga.  The Cards beat Orange in the Thanksgiving tournament earlier this season 7-3.  January 9th and 11th Canfield continues league play against NDCL (Ice Zone 5:30 p.m. ) and Midview (at Elyria) respectively.  The Cards can make a move in the GCHSHL Blue South standings with strong performances in these three games.  Canfield will not play again until the "Steel Valley Cup" game against Mooney/Ursuline Monday January 19th  (7:45 p.m.) at the Ice Zone.  The game is slated to be on WBBW 1240AM radio, a first for high school hockey in this area.  Thursday January 22nd a schedule conflict for Nordonia forced the Knights to cancel.  The Cards will instead play CVCA (6:15 p.m. Ice Zone) in their 4th battle this season, of which the Cards have won 3 times. 

Canfield has been paced offensively by Joe Geiser (13g 4 a) and Riley Emery (10g 7a) who share the point total lead at 17 while Scott Sittig (8 g 7a) and Tyler Buchenic (8 g 3 a) have picked up the pace of late with 15 and 11 points.  Defensively Nick Carney and Mike Haurin have anchored the blue line logging many effective minutes while freshman Sean Meditz has stepped up and played strong at the "D" position.  In net Roger Geiser has faced some tough opponents and plenty of shots.  He has an 88% save percentage facing 331 shots in 11 games played.  John Neher has also played well with a 3.53 goals against average and saved 83% of 102 shots faced.

The Cards have 10 regular season games left with 7 of those against GCHSHL Blue South opponents. Head Coach Randy Emery had this to say about his teams outlook for 2009, "We are capable of making a move in our division.  We have shown to ourselves that when we play with focus and determination we have a chance to win every game.  The outcome of our season remains in our hands, it's just a question of how we approach the little things, the fundamentals, the determination each shift, and of course staying disciplined.  That will determine the big picture for us."