Hockey: ‘Hot’ goaltender Fansler helps lead St. Charles past Olentangy Liberty in regional final
Saturday, March 2, 2024
By Scott Gerfen
sgerfen@cbussports.com
St. Charles’ AJ Frost holds up the regional championship trophy after the Cardinals’ win over Olentangy Liberty Mar. 2 at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. Photo: Joshua Morrison
The biggest fear defending state champion Olentangy Liberty had going into the postseason was coming up against a “hot” goaltender, according to interim coach Jonathon Falvo.
St. Charles sophomore Dylan Fansler fit that description Saturday, leading a strong defensive effort in the Cardinals’ 4-2 victory over Liberty in an OHSAA regional final at OhioHealth Ice Haus.
“I just get dialed, and I don’t think about anything,” said Fansler, who had 27 saves on 29 shots on goal. “I trust my defense, and I trust my team to score goals, and they did. It’s awesome. I’m super-happy for our seniors, who get to keep playing.”
St Charles is headed to the state semifinals for the first time since 2014, when it lost to Sylvania Northview 3-1.
The Cardinals (24-11-3-1) will face Hunting Valley University on March 8 at Nationwide Arena, with the winner advancing to the March 10 state title contest against Toledo St. Francis DeSales or Cleveland St. Ignatius.
Olentangy Liberty’s Carter Randle draws a tripping penalty in front of St. Charles goaltender Dylan Fansler during the Patriots’ game with St. Charles at the OhioHealth Ice Haus Mar. 2. Photo: Joshua Morrison
“We have some good goal-scorers on our team, and (Fansler) was up to every challenge that we sent at him,” Falvo said. “His defense played phenomenal in front of him, and they really packed the house, which made it difficult for us to get second and third chances in front. In a game like this, you just have to tip your hat to St. Charles.”
Ahead of the postseason, Falvo was named interim coach following the suspensions of head coach Kevin Alexander and assistants Darwin McClelland and Richard Smith, who are on paid administrative leave while the school district investigates unspecified allegations.
Alexander guided Liberty (24-11-0-1) to the state title last season, the first won by a central Ohio team.
St. Charles appeared to be in complete control when junior defenseman John Vincent III scored with 11 minutes, 33 seconds left in the third period to make it 3-0.
But Liberty didn’t quit.
Senior forwards Andrew Leonard and Jake Bachus each found the net with back-to-back goals scored 39 seconds apart at 10:08 and 9:29. Referees disallowed two earlier Liberty goals because the net became dislodged, according to Falvo.
Olentangy Liberty’s Brannon Spencer is checked hard by St. Charles’ Hogan Mickey during their game at the OhioHealth Ice Haus Mar. 2. Photo: Joshua Morrison
“We just had to get back to our game,” first-year St. Charles coach Danny Greiner said. “We dominated them and got to three-nil, and then we kind of shut off and thought the game was over and started resting on our laurels a little too quickly.”
The Cardinals got their defense back in gear, holding off Liberty, which pulled its goaltender, allowing junior forward Danny Roncone to find an empty net from beyond center ice with 45 seconds left.
Senior forwards Sean Moore and Nicholas Scharfenberger also had goals for the Cardinals.
Both teams were expected to be among the top teams in the Capital Hockey Conference this season.
Liberty and St. Charles split two CHC games, with Liberty winning 11-3 on Dec. 1 and St. Charles winning 4-2 on Feb. 2. Liberty won the CHC-Red title by one point, 27-26, after going 13-2-0-1 in conference play, topping St. Charles (12-2-1-1).
“It’s a testament to all the players we have,” Greiner said. “They were able to battle and compete.”
Olentangy Liberty’s Nicholas Greco consoles Patriots goalie Thomas Morgan after their heartbreaking loss to St. Charles at the OhioHealth Ice Hause Mar. 2. Photo: Joshua Morrison