Brooklyn, Ohio – A new league, what should be a crowd-pleasing, aggressive philosophy and an abundance of rich depth.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to introduce you to the 2013-2014 Saint Ignatius High School Varsity Hockey Team.

The Ice Cats, coming off a 29-6-3 effort in 2012-13 that ended when Rocky River’s now graduated goalie Jake Nicholson turned in a brilliant performance in the Pirates’ District Semifinal victory, are focused on the present and the exciting style of hockey that a four-line attack will allow them to play.

Saint Ignatius, which opens its season against University School on Friday at 4:30 in Quicken Loans Arena, will be competing in the new Great Lakes Hockey League this season. The GLHL is an eight-team circuit that includes the Wildcats, Holy Name, Gilmour Academy, University School, St. Edward, Walsh Jesuit, Lake Catholic and Padua.

In the preseason Coaches’ Poll for the GLHL, which was posted by the corner on Nov. 7, Saint Ignatius received the No. 1 ranking with 53 points and four first-place votes.

The Ice Cats were followed in the voting by Holy Name (43 points and 3 first-place votes); Gilmour Academy (39 points); University School (35 points); St. Edward (30 points); Walsh Jesuit (24 points); Lake Catholic (21 points) and Padua (7 points).

Friday’s opener with University School will also mark the debut game for the Great Lakes Hockey League. For a look at the Ice Cats-Preppers game, see the corner’s post at the end of this preview.

Despite the voting by the coaches in the Great Lakes Hockey League, some of the area’s hockey gurus are looking at the Ice Cats with a wait-and-see attitude. Saint Ignatius did graduate one of the premier players in the history of Greater Cleveland high school hockey in Miles McQuinn (now at The Ohio State University) and also said goodbye to what was an all-senior, goal-tending crew in 2012-13.

The experts certainly have the right to “wait” on the Ice Cats if they so choose, but the leaders of Coach Pat O’Rourke’s 2013-14 program are thoroughly convinced that this season’s team will not only continue the tradition of success under Coach O’Rourke ‘90, but will also bring out one of the most exciting brands of hockey ever produced at Cleveland’s Jesuit Preparatory School.

Now entering his 10th season as the head hockey coach at his alma mater, Coach O’Rourke has 231 career victories. He guided the Ice Cats to a state championship in March of 2010. Saint Ignatius hockey also brought home a state title in 2000 under former Wildcat standout Scott Pick.

“In past years we were 39-1 (a state-best single season mark in 2011-12) and we had a good run last year, too,” said Saint Ignatius senior captain and defenseman Harry Smith. A big-game tested performer, Smith displayed his leadership and selfless approach last season when he willingly moved from a forward position to help Coach O’Rourke’s defense.

“I think we’re always going to have the target on our back,” Smith continued. “That’s how it’s always going to be playing at Saint Ignatius and for the future, too.”

Wildcats senior captain and defenseman Kevin Spellacy, the brother of Paddy Spellacy ’12 (now at Ohio University), who was one of the most prolific players in the history of area ice hockey, said any doubts about the potential of this season’s team will only serve as motivation. Kevin Spellacy was the lone Saint Ignatius player named to the preseason All-Great Lakes Hockey League Team as a second-team selection.

“I like being an underdog,” Kevin Spellacy said. “Being ranked No. 1 (in the GLHL Coaches’ Preseason Poll), I don’t like it!”

The fact that Kevin Spellacy is the only Ice Cat to garner pre-season recognition by the GLHL suits Coach O’Rourke just fine.

“We don’t have the one forward who might score 50 goals, but we have a whole bunch that could score 25 or 30,” said Coach O’Rourke, who is also the Director of Admissions at Saint Ignatius. “We’re going to be very balanced. Sometimes when you have a team where there is a superstar, everyone waits around for him to do something. We don’t have that issue or whatever you want to call it. We’re rolling four lines this year and they can all score.

“I thought we might be ranked third or something like that (in the GLHL Coaches’ Poll),” Coach O’Rourke continued. “But like Harry (Smith) said, we don’t shrink away from that (GLHL preseason top ranking). Our goal at Saint Ignatius is always to win a state title. What we have learned from the past couple of years (losses in the OHSAA Brooklyn district final and district semifinals) is that we’re really going to make a concerted effort to peak at the right time. If we’re 10-0 after November, great, but if we lose a couple and learn some lessons along the way that’s fine too.”

Saint Ignatius senior captain and forward Beck Schultz, one of the underrated players in Northeast Ohio, concurred with Coach O’Rourke’s evaluation as Beck emphasized that this season’s motto is a true “brotherhood.”

“We’re going to have a lot of chemistry this year and that is what is really going to help us,” Schultz said. ‘Like Coach O'Rourke said, we’re going to be running four lines. We’re just going to perfect it (the four-line attack) and then go on from there.”

Kevin Spellacy, who was called up to the varsity as a sophomore, when the Ice Cats finished 39-1 with a talent-rich, two-line approach, said he is very impressed with the work ethic this season.

“With the four lines, everyone is putting in the same amount of time and earning that shot to play," Spellacy said.

Smith emphasized that although the 2013-14 Ice Cats don’t have a Miles McQuinn, Paddy Spellacy or Liam Geither ’12 (one of the OHSAA’s record-book scorers also at Ohio University), he has a real good feeling about the contributions he and his teammates will provide “across the board.”

In his 17 total years with the Saint Ignatius hockey program, Coach O’Rourke said this is the first time he can actually say that the Ice Cats have four good lines.

“You put up Schultz’s line and they’re going to wear people down, you put up Stepka’s line and they’re going to wear on you,” Coach O’Rourke said of fast and furious sophomore forward Jared Stepka. “That’s our hope, to wear people to the ground. Maybe not on the scoreboard right away, but by the time the second and third period comes around if they’re (the opponent) only playing two lines, like most people do, or 2 ½ to three lines, we’ll wear them down. And we haven’t been able to truly say that until this year. That’s why it is so exciting.”

Coach O’Rourke also emphasized that with four promising lines, it will enable the Ice Cats to apply relentless pressure defensively.

With the program having graduated its goalies, Coach O’Rourke said he will be turning to sophomores Wes Deacon and Dylan McKeon. McKeon played on the junior-varsity level last season, while Deacon competed for the well-known Barons youth program.

“They’re talented, we know that,” said Coach O’Rourke of Deacon and McKeon. “But that’s the big question mark. We’ll give them an extended look and see who can step up in the big games. They’re going to give up a bad goal at some time, but like a quarterback in football and a closer in baseball, they can’t have a memory. You learn from it and move on.”

As Smith pointed out, with talented, but unproven goalies, it puts extra pressure on the defense to block or prevent a lot of shots. But then that’s a challenge Smith, Spellacy and the rest of the defenders seem to relish.

Among some of Coach O’Rourke’s other key players, players who will allow the Ice Cats to apply the four-line pressure, are junior forward and Assistant Captain Jack Wiegandt; endless energy forward Matty Geither, Liam’s brother; forwards Brian Fitzgerald and Danny Brogan; forward Aidan Spellacy, Kevin’s and Paddy’s brother; the much-improved forward Ethan Whitney; forwards Brian Russell, Cam Gerard, Kevin Yarcusko and Jack Mazanec, and defensemen Brady Wells, Nick Gajkowski, Logan Sellers, Riley Ellis, Jimmy Grisanti and Chris Rini.

The Ice Cats return 11 of their 12 forwards from last season and, along those lines, Schultz couldn’t say enough about the tremendous progress Ellis had made in moving from a forward to a defender.

That’s high praise coming from one of the area’s most versatile players.

A GREAT OPENING VENUE

The Lake Erie Monsters and Quicken Loans Arena couldn’t have picked a better opening-week match up, as the Ice Cats and the University School Preppers, two of the classiest programs in Ohio, will get the new Great Lakes Hockey League season underway on Friday afternoon. The puck will drop in the Q at 4:30 PM and the game will be broadcast live over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network.

Saint Ignatius and University School, which is under the direction of one of the premier coaches in Ohio – 300-plus career game winner Bill Beard, are no strangers. Many of the Ice Cats and the Preppers played for Team Cleveland in preseason and postseason competition.

Coach Beard’s 2013-14 Preppers will feature two All-Great Lakes Hockey League preseason first-team selections in forward Evan Krueger and defenseman Clarke Jones.

Although it is almost always a memorable game when Saint Ignatius and University School get together, the Ice Cats and the Preppers put forth one of the greatest displays of talent and heart last winter when they met in a Baron Cup 1 semifinal on the ice at Brooklyn’s John M. Coyne Recreation Center.

It wasn’t until Danny Brogan’s game winner off an on-the-money assist from Beck Schultz in the fifth overtime that the ‘Cats were able to edge the Preppers, 4-3, in what was determined by the Baron Cup Staff at Brooklyn as being the longest game (more than three hours) in the history of the 42-year-old, tradition-rich tournament.

Here are a few paragraphs from this corner’s story on that memorable destiny’s child night in the “Big Barn on Memphis."

Brogan, who was expecting to play the role of a supporter from the bench, was called on to take center stage just moments before the Ice Cats’ Baron Cup I semifinal match up with the always talented and well-schooled Preppers from University School.

To say Brogan accepted the challenge with strength, both mentally and physically, would be understatement.

“When I got here, I found out I wasn’t dressing,” said Brogan, who also provided the goal that gave the Wildcats a 3-1 lead with 12 minutes and 14 seconds remaining in the third period, before the Preppers staged a furious comeback.

“But then coach told me I should dress,” Brogan continued. “We started playing and using three lines. I was out there with Beck (Schultz) and Jared (Stepka) and we started flowing really well together.”

Saint Ignatius head coach Pat O’Rourke ’90 revealed just how destiny made its call to Brogan.

“Brogan wasn’t going to play tonight,” Coach O’Rourke said. “He was not in the starting lineup originally. One of our centers was at Special Olympics this morning and went home and took a nap. He thought the game started at 6:30 and didn’t get here until about 10 minutes before game time. So we had already put Brogan in the lineup. Isn’t that crazy? That’s good coaching.”

****Just a reminder that all tickets for Friday’s game are $15 and that price includes admission to the Lake Erie Monsters versus the Oklahoma City Barons game at 7:30.

Here is the information from the Lake Erie Monsters on how to purchase tickets and also the info on what is another Youth Hockey Night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Ticketing Questions? Contact David Aitken with the Monsters at 216-420-2519, or email DAitken@theQarena.com

YOUTH HOCKEY Night at the Q - $1 Hot Dogs and $1 Sodas, presented by Sugardale and Pepsi, and a FREE Post-Game Skate (must have your own skates), presented by Hudec Dental.