Columbus Youth Hockey is celebrating a pair of state championships, achieved by one of the smallest communities in the state to field teams.
The Columbus Icemen won the Indiana State High School Hockey Association Class 2A championship, and the Columbus Flames 14U team won the Indiana Youth Hockey State Championship 14U Hoosier Division this past weekend.
In addition, the Flames 10U-B team finished second in the Hoosier Division in the Indiana Youth Hockey State Championship tourney.
“It’s a great experience, and it’s a really special moment,” said Isaac Coy, Icemen head coach and coaching director for all coaches in Columbus Youth Hockey. “Having the facility that we have in Columbus and the community that supports us and a great board and great youth hockey program, it’s all just coming together. It’s amazing to me that we have so many hockey players come out of this community.”
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The Icemen beat Central Indiana Knights 4-2 on Saturday to take the title. Andrew Clark, John Ferguson, Joe Neal and Brayson Bennett scored goals for Columbus. Evan Federle had two assists, and Ferguson added one assist. Jake McMullen recorded 21 saves on 23 shots.
The state championship was the sixth for the Icemen. They previously had won a Class A state title in 1994, a 3A championship in 2008 and 2A titles in 1997, 2002 and 2018.
“To have two state championships in the past four years, it doesn’t happen very often,” Coy said. “We’re very, very proud. It really is a blessing to have the opportunity we’ve had over the past few years.”
The Flames 14U team beat Fort Wayne Force 4-1 Friday morning and tied Indy Junior Fuel 0-0 Friday night in pool play. That advanced them to Sunday’s semifinals, where they were No. 3 seed and beat No. 2-seed Indy Junior Fuel 3-0.
In the title game, the Flames and No. 4-seed Fort Wayne PSM Force were tied 1-1 after regulation, with Jack Warble scoring the Flames goal. After neither team scored in 4-on-4 overtime, Wyatt Warner and Warble scored in a shootout, and goalie Zach Goggins stopped both Fort Wayne attempts to give the Flames the victory.
“I think we outplayed them considerably, but definitely came up with some big ones when it counted,” assistant coach Geoff Hannen said. “Having gone about .500 and having some ups and downs, it was nice to see the kids come together and have a good moment. That was pretty awesome.”
Head coach Steve Nelson said he wasn’t expecting a state title after a rough start to the season.
“It was very much a surprise, mainly because it’s been such a crazy up-and-down year that has impacted the kids’ focus and discipline,” Nelson said. “We had just a horrible start to the year, so I was a little nervous going in. But I was trying to temper that with the fact that two years ago, the core of this team were 12U champs.”
The Flames 10U-B team battled back from an opening round loss to advance to the championship game of its tournament. The Flames took an early 2-0 lead, but the Carmel All-Stars rallied for a 3-2 win.
Bentley Hampton and Cooper Ross each netted three goals and one assist over the weekend to lead the Flames. Nolan Sparkman scored three goals; Henry Jamerson, Eli Dykstra and Garrett Uy all had one goal, Logan Barringer recorded three assists and Luke Getchell added one assist.
“Columbus Youth Hockey has been such a great feeder for high school hockey in Columbus, and the past few years, it’s gotten so much more talented and competitive in the state,” Coy said. “It just goes to show you that we’re a true competitor in hockey in Indiana.”
