St. Charles hockey team looking to build steam in new year
Saturday, December 23, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
St. Charles’ John Vincent moves with the puck during the Cardinals’ win over Gahanna on Dec. 22 at the Ice Haus. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The bar has been set high for the St. Charles hockey team this winter.
Following a 2022-23 season in which they went 16-18-2 overall and reached semifinals in both the Columbus Blue Jackets Cup and district tournaments, the Cardinals brought in a new coach in Danny Greiner after Rob Sangster headed the program the last 11 seasons.
St. Charles lost 4-0 to Olentangy Berlin on Nov. 26 at Chiller Dublin and then endured an 11-3 setback Dec. 1 at the OhioHealth Ice Haus to Olentangy Liberty, which became the first team from central Ohio to win the state championship last winter.
Over their last nine games, however, the Cardinal have responded by going 6-2-1.
Included during that stretch were a 4-1 win over Berlin on Dec. 3 at the Ice Haus and a 4-2 victory over the Bears on Dec. 20 at Chiller North.
St. Charles was 10-5-1 overall and 6-1 in the CHC-Red Division after beating Gahanna 3-0 on Dec. 22 at the Ice Haus and has made it clear that reaching the state tournament for the first time since making its only appearance in 2014 is something it considers a reasonable objective.
St. Charles’ Nick Scharfenberger shoots while Gahanna’s Drew Perry defends Dec. 22 at the Ice Haus. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“For sure, our goal is to be the second team from Columbus to win the state championship,” Greiner said. “That’s what every team has to set their sights on, and that’s what we’re working toward. Every game is a step closer to that journey.”
Greiner is in his first season as a head prep coach but has coached in the Elite Development program since 2020. After attending St. Charles as a freshman and sophomore, where he played for the Cardinals, Greiner transferred to Watterson and competed at the AAA level for his final two prep seasons before graduating in 2007.
He then played junior hockey and at Division III Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. He also has previous coaching experience with the Nichols women’s team for two seasons and as an assistant with the Dublin Coffman boys program.
“This is my first year, and I’m really happy with how they’re battling and competing every game,” Greiner said. “As a new coach, you look for effort and intensity. We have to show up and compete all 45 minutes.”
In the second win over Berlin, St. Charles took a 2-0 lead on goals by senior Sean Moore, including the first on a power play with 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the first period.
Berlin answered with consecutive goals, with its second coming early in the third period, but junior Daniel Roncone scored off a pass from Moore with 5:51 remaining for a 3-2 St. Charles lead.
The Cardinals sealed the win when sophomore Jimmy Zink stole the puck and passed it to junior John Vincent III for the final goal.
Gahanna’s Keaton Brackett (92) and St. Charles’ Sean Moore battle Dec. 22 at the Ice Haus. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We’re doing pretty well, getting better every game we play and trying to figure out who works together,” Moore said. “Hopefully we’ll keep getting better as the season goes along.”
St. Charles, which also has wins over Upper Arlington (2-1 on Nov. 17 at the Ice Haus) and New Albany (6-0 on Dec. 8 at Chiller Easton), has lost to Olentangy Orange (3-2 on Dec. 10 at Chiller North) from the CHC-White Division to demonstrate how deep Greiner believes the CHC will be the rest of the season.
“We’ve gotten off to a pretty good start,” Roncone said. “We’ve dropped a couple we definitely shouldn’t have, but we’re playing well. We want to go far this year.”
Moore has emerged as one of the CHC’s leaders in both goals and assists, as has senior Nicholas Scharfenberger and sophomore Tommy Scharfenberger.
Junior Bren Gronbach has settled in at goalie, including finishing with 20 saves during the shutout win over Gahanna.
“There were times (in our second win over Berlin) where we took our feet off the gas pedal,” Greiner said. “Every team in this league is a good team, and if we let good teams back in the game, they’ll take advantage of those opportunities. Pretty much every league game is going to be tough, and we have to come prepared to compete and skate hard.
“We’ve got a good mix. We have about five to six seniors, five to six juniors and some sophomores. We’re pretty balanced, and I’m happy we can build on those seniors and juniors that have been in the program for a while to build talent.”
Hogan Mickey of St. Charles works with the puck during the Cardinals’ game with Gahanna on Dec. 22 at the Ice Haus. Photo: John Hulkenberg