News and Announcements

The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks, a Junior Hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League have signed Aaron Schmitt and AJ Bogdan for the upcoming 2014-15 season. The Jr. Jacks are coming off a great season where they earned a playoff berth and battled hard in the NA3HL playoffs falling to Flint in the quarterfinals. The Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks play their home games at the Cleveland Heights Community Center Ice Arena in Cleveland Heights, OH and will kick off their 2014/15 season on the road against the Metro Jets in Lakeland, MI.

Schmitt, last season's Captain, played three seasons for North Royalton and ranks 2nd on the Bears all-time scoring list in career goals (64), assists (78) and total points (142). "Aaron stepped up big time for us last season and exceeded our expectations, his development over the last three years has been remarkable- It's never easy to lose a character guy like Aaron," said Bears Coach Jeff McCarthy.

Bogdan, a Bear for two seasons finished his North Royalton career with 67 points, 42 coming during his Senior season where he netted 21 goals and picked up 21 assists. "Every team needs an AJ, he is a versatile player that can play anywhere on ice in any situation," remarked McCarthy. The Bears coach added, "If he can keep his focus, he will no doubt be an impact player for the Jacks."

The Southern Tier Xpress, a Junior Hockey team in Jamestown NY, made their final cuts Monday morning and North Royalton's Branden Walsh secured his spot on the roster. The Xpress, playing in the North American 3 Hockey League, had more than 70 participants try out for the team. Twenty-six players made the team, with players from as far as Sweden and Russia locking up spots on the roster. The team will be playing its home games at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena, with the home opener slated for Sept. 6.

"Walsh made it off merit and earned it- we were happy to offer him a contract," Xpress coach Rylan Galiardi said. "He fit the mold as far as the culture we want to set here- If you don't have work ethic and character, you can't play for us."

Walsh, a 2014 North Royalton High School graduate, played his four high school years with the North Royalton Bears Hockey team- a USA Hockey High School Varsity program. "Branden's impact on the North Royalton hockey program has been huge; in his 4 years on the team we have won 105 games, been to the USA Hockey Ohio State Championships 3 times and just last year placed in the top 8 at the USA Hockey High School National Championships," said Bears coach Jeff McCarthy. McCarthy added, "It will be an odd feeling for me this year as this will be my 5th season behind the bench for North Royalton and my first without Walsh, he will most definitely be missed as a leader off the ice as well as for his on ice production."

Walsh has been the Bears most prolific scorer in team history and holds team records in career goals (134), career assists (160) and career points (294).

 

 North Royalton Post News Article- Click HERE

 

Congratulations to the following players- Michael Dzoba and Tyler Roesch for being named North Royalton Hockey's 2014 Most Valuable Player(s)- Christian Fernandez for being awarded North Royalton Hockey's 2014 Rookie of the Year Award- and Logan Kieklak for being awarded North Royalton Hockey's 2014 7th Player Award.

NR Hockey- 2014 Awards:

2014, MOST VALUABLE PLAYER(s): #19, MICHAEL DZOBA/ #33, TYLER ROESCH This award is bestowed upon the best performing player judged to be the most valuable to his team by his teammates and coaches. All positions are eligible to this award as are players from any grade level. This award can be easily summed up as, “This is the player whom is the most valuable to the North Royalton Bears Hockey Team”.

2014, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: #18, CHRISTIAN FERNANDEZ This award is given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition for the North Royalton Bears.” This player does not necessarily need to be a freshman but to be eligible for the award, a player cannot have played more than one additional season at the Varsity level for another organization. This player does not to have the most goals, assists or points; this player simply needs to stand out in all categories among their fellow rookies.

2014, 7TH PLAYER AWARD: #28, LOGAN KIEKLAK This award is given annually to the player who has exceeded the expectations of his teammates and the coaching staff. This player is not necessarily the most improved player during the course of the season, rather he is the player who has played above and beyond expectations consistently throughout the season in practices and games. This individual can be defined as the player who pulled on his sweater and did the dirty work that wouldn't always show up in the box score, but always won the respect of his opponent, teammates and coaches.

Also, a very special congratulations Branden Walsh, North Royalton High School Hockey's All-Time Leading Scorer. Branden, a 4 year member of the North Royalton Bears High School Hockey team, holds the school record for goals (134), assists (160) and points (294).

Great job, boys.

North Royalton hockey has a lot to be proud of this season; the Bears finished the season as the USA Hockey, Ohio State High School Championship Runner-Up, placed in the top 8 at the 2014 USA Hockey, High School Hockey National Championships and won a team best 37 games this season.

North Royalton qualified for Nationals as a result of their solid play in the USA Hockey, Ohio High School State Championships where they placed second, falling to the Jackson Polar Bears in the State Championship game, 1-0. The National tournament featured the top 32 USA Hockey High School Varsity teams from across the country battling for the National Championship. The tournament featured 8 different pools of 4 teams each with every team playing a 3 game round robin within its own pool. North Royalton’s pool included Stoneman Douglas HS (FLA), Alton HS (MO) and Lake Central HS (IN).

The Bears kicked off their week at the National Championships with an embarrassing, 8-2, loss to Stoneman Douglas (FLA) Eagles on Wednesday, March 26th. “It was our worst performance in quite some time” said North Royalton head coach Jeff McCarthy. “Sadly, we just looked happy to have been invited.” The Bears found themselves trailing 3-0 after the opening frame but managed to get on the board early in the 2nd when Branden Walsh buried a Michael Dzoba feed; also assisting on the goal was Aaron Schmitt. In picking up the helper, Dzoba eclipsed the 100 point mark on the season- a feat that Walsh had accomplished just a few games earlier. The Bears didn’t seem to gain any momentum with their score as they surrendered three more Eagles goals before adding another one of their own- Walsh again scored with assists being awarded to Dzoba and freshman, Logan Kieklak. The Bears entered the final period trailing 6-2 and showed little fight giving up two more Stoneman Douglas goals.

North Royalton looked like a new group in their 2nd game of the tournament on March 27th, settling in and defeating the Alton (MO) Redbirds, 6-2. The Bears took the early lead when Branden Walsh scored his third of the tourney, this one on the power play, assisted by Steven Vinyard and Aaron Wynbrandt. The Redbirds evened the score at one apiece midway through the 1st period only to see the Bears take a lead they would never give back as Walsh beat the Alton keeper back door assisted by Michael Dzoba. The Bears took a 2-1 lead into intermission and came out flying in the middle period scoring the next two goals. Angelo Nero buried the Bears 3rd goal of the game from the slot assisted by Timmy Orlosky and AJ Bogdan and Michael Dzoba deposited the Bears 4th goal assisted by Walsh. Alton scored late in the period to cut the lead to two entering the break. North Royalton came out in the final period with purpose and scored two more to extend their lead to 6-2. Aaron Wynbrtandt crashed the net hard and was rewarded for his efforts tapping home a Dzoba feed, also assisting on the goal was Walsh and AJ Bogdan capped off the scoring for the Bears with just two minutes to play in the game assisted by Nero.

The Bears needed two things to happen on day three, March 28th; a win in their 3rd game of pool play and an Alton win over Stoneman Douglas to clinch the pool and make it to the quarter finals; they got both! The Bears left little doubt that their opening game loss was a fluke defeating the Lake Central (IN) Indians, 6-1. “We picked a good time to execute on the power play, we struggled all year with the man advantage but not today” said Coach McCarthy referencing the fact that all six of the Bears goals were scored on the power play. Michael Dzoba scored the Bears first goal assisted by Aaron Schmitt and Steven Vinyard and Schmitt added North Royalton’s 2nd goal with assists being awarded to AJ Bogdan and Branden Walsh. Schmitt’s goal was his 100th point of the season putting him with his linemates Branden Walsh and Michael Dzoba as the only three Bears in North Royalton hockey history to eclipse the century mark in a single season. The Bears put the game away in the middle frame scoring four times to take a commanding 6-0 lead into the final period. Branden Walsh scored the Bears 3rd goal assisted by Dzoba and the 4th goal assisted by Dzoba and Angelo Nero. Timmy Orlosky scored the Bears 5th, tapping home a Nero rebound, also assisting on the goal was freshman, Christian Fernandez. Nero capped the Bears scoring at six with less than a minute to play scoring a beauty assisted by Dzoba and Jeremy Gripp. North Royalton did their part, defeating Lake Central, but still needed some help and thankfully they got it as Alton scored nine times to defeat Stoneman Douglas, 9-7.

The Bears as a result of their win and a Stoneman Douglas loss clinched their pool and a berth in the quarterfinals where they would face off against the Des Moines (IA) Oak Leafs. The Bears took to the ice on March 29th for their quarterfinal matchup falling, 6-1, to the Des Moines (IA) Oak Leafs. “We have nothing to hang our heads about, we went further than any team from our home state and lost to arguably the deepest team we have played all season” said Coach McCarthy after the loss. The Bears hung tough for most of the game thanks in large part to their senior tender, Tyler Roesch, who led the tournament in shots against and saves made. In regards to his keeper, McCarthy beamed, “without Tyler, we’re not here- it’s that simple- Tyler stepped up big time, his performance throughout States and now Nationals makes him MVP of our club- no doubt about it.” Scoring the lone goal for North Royalton was senior Branden Walsh, his goal putting him in a tie for 1st on the Nationals leaderboard for goals and tied for 3rd in points with 10 tallied in the tournament.

The Bears finish the 2013-14 season, their most successful season in team history, with an overall record of 37-19-1.

The North Royalton Bears Ice Hockey team has earned a spot in the 2014 USA Hockey High School National Championships in Omaha, NE.

The Bears have proudly accepted their invitation and will represent the state of Ohio, along with the Jackson Polar Bears, at Nationals the week of March 26-30th. The tournament features the top 32 USA Hockey High School Varsity teams from across the country battling for the National Championship. The tournament will feature 8 different pools of 4 teams each with every team playing a 3 game round robin within its’s own pool. North Royalton will play on Wednesday, March 26th, Thursday, March 27th and Friday, March 28th against each team in their pool. The winner of each pool plays in a quarter final game in the morning of Saturday, March 29th with the winner of that game advancing an Saturday evening semi-finals match-up. The championship game will be held on Sunday, March 30th at 9:00am.

For more information; please visit http://nationals.usahockey.com/page/show/998787-high-school-boys-varsity

Go Bears!!