This past Friday night I headed to the Cincinnati Gardens with a couple of my buddies from high school. Earlier in the week we had decided to go watch our alma mater ice hockey team. This would be the first game we have seen the Moeller Crusaders play since we all played our last games for the team and graduated. When we were playing our home ice was out at SportsPlus and we played in the Southwest Ohio High School Hockey League. Now they play their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens and play in the Columbus based Capital Hockey Conference.

Cincinnati Gardens

Friday nights game would be against the top team in their current league, Dublin Jerome. The Crusaders came out full of energy and gained a quick 2-0 lead over the Celtics. Both teams added a goal each in the second period to make it 3-1. After another Dublin Jerome goal in the third, it looked like the game would end 3-2, but that all changed starting with another Celtic goal with just 17 seconds left in the game. With the score tied at 3, the game went into a sudden death overtime period. It seems that the Crusader team is young and full of speed, but that they grew increasingly tired as the game went on.

Moeller Cruader Hockey

The game was quickly over in the overtime period, as Dublin Jerome scored after just one additional minute of play. It was a great game overall, and I’m glad we went. The young team is now 11-9 with about a month of regular season games still left to play. Only two of the remaining twelve games are at home, so it will be a tough end to the season. I hope to attend more of their games in the future though I don’t know if I’ll make it this season. With eleven juniors returning for next season, it could be an exciting year for the team.