ON AIR

Solon's own EMack Bentley takes us through his path to NCAA Division III hockey starting with the Cleveland Barons, junior hockey in New Hampshire and Texas, and finally onto the campus at Middlebury College in Vermont where he heads into his junior season and is able to combine high-level hockey and academics.

Aidan Spellacy and Quinn Warmuth both played at Saint Ignatius and ended up playing NCAA Division I hockey at Robert Morris University, but they had different experiences in between.

Spellacy recounts his three-year stint as captain at Saint Ignatius, playing in the famous seven-OT tie in the state title game in 2014, and a successful junior career in the NAHL before becoming RMU's Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2018-19.

Warmuth talks about leaving home to play junior hockey at 17 and getting traded three times and playing for five different teams in four years before being summoned to Robert Morris in the middle of the 2019-20 season.

Steve Morris is Miami University's all-time leading point-scorer (202) and a two-time team captain of the Redhawks that was elected into Miami's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. Since 2002, he has been the head coach at Amherst Steele. The Comets will move up to the Red Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League this season after winning three consecutive Baron Cup II championships to go along with matching Southwest Conference Tournament titles in 2018, 2019 & 2020.

Head Coach Jeff German has been around the game of hockey for over 40 years, as a player and as a coach. He took over the team in 2015 and continues a strong commitment to establishing Denison University among the nation's top ACHA hockey schools. Growing the program exponentially since taking the helm, Coach German has established a team culture of both academic and athletic excellence. North Olmsted native Tim Gettinger came up in the Cleveland Barons AAA organization before moving on to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League where he wore a letter for three seasons and was captain of the team that advanced to the 2018 OHL championship series. He has played in NHL games in each of his first two years pro and joined the New York Rangers in the Toronto Bubble during the NHL Return to Play.

2018-19 was A Year Without Hockey at Bowling Green High School, but the iconic OHSAA program returned to the ice last season. Head coach Jamie Ruffner and senior defenseman Dylan Cox join the podcast to talk through the process of breathing life back into the Bobcats. Trailblazer Steve Rymsha becomes the first On Air guest to earn a two-part interview. He wraps up his discussion with The Boys about what to focus on when coaching youth hockey, what scouts are looking for in prospects and what he likes about working for Warrior Hockey.

Nick Petraglia spent 20 years on the campus of Miami University before his recent move to the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets where he is Executive Vice President. He looks back on the things he learned from some great coaches in Oxford as a student-athlete, coach and administrator and looks forward to what lies ahead for the AAA Blue Jackets. Warrior Hockey rep Steve Rymsha regales The Boys with stories from his playing days in Junior B, college, the North American minor pro ranks and Europe - from inspiring pre-game speeches in the ECHL to almost signing away his NCAA eligibility because of his dad's poorly-timed bathroom break, being chased around a rink by the guy he was traded for in the Central League and being shunned by grocery clerks in Germany.

Mike Chiellino is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Gilmour Academy boys prep hockey team. Named the 2017 Midwest Prep Hockey League (MPHL) Coach of the Year, his expertise on the ice has allowed him to assist numerous players of his advance to Junior, NCAA, ACHA and even professional hockey, including the NHL. He was a regional scout in the United State Hockey League (USHL) with the Central Illinois Flying Aces, and currently works as an evaluator for the Mid-American District (Ohio, Western Pa., Ind., Kentucky, W. Va.) Select Camps. Olentangy Liberty head coach Kevin Alexander was a Division I collegiate hockey player and four-year starter for the University of Illinois at Chicago. During his collegiate career, this left winger helped UIC to become a perennial top ten program. After his collegiate career he played professionally for the Greensboro Monarchs and Columbus Chill. Coach Alexander has been instrumental in the success of Liberty’s program in recent years by helping them reach the State Frozen Four in 2017 and a District Runner-Up finish in 2018. Sam Turner starred for Olentangy Liberty from 2014-2018 and now patrols the blue line for Ohio University's DI team. Andy Keeler will be a senior goaltender for the Patriots in 2020-21.

Lake County native Lauren Bernard represented USA Hockey at the 2019 U18-World Championships in Japan, winning the Silver medal. She skated for the Pens Elite program out of Pittsburgh, PA before heading to Clarkson in 2019 where she made an impact offensively and defensively playing all 37 games. Put up 13 points and posted the third best plus/minus for Clarkson at +23, tops on defense. Before deciding on Clarkson, which has made eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, Lauren was also recruited by Providence, Vermont, Quinnipiac, Yale, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota State, Boston University and Cornell.

University of Akron head coach Matt Koch “Coach Cookie” has over thirty years of coaching experience. He has coached every level of hockey from Mites to College. Coach Cookie is a Level 5 USA hockey coach. Cookie believes that while it is important to win games and become better hockey players, his primary job is to help young men graduate from college in a timely fashion and get a job. Akron assistant coach Greg Revak started coaching the Zips in 2016. Greg's main focus is on developing players individually. Including on-ice skill development, but more importantly, personal development. Coach Revak is an alumnus of the University of Akron, playing three seasons, leading the team in scoring each season he suited up for the Zips. In addition, Greg also played for the roller hockey team on campus.

Tri-States Collegiate Hockey League commissioner Tim Driscoll talks about channeling the competitive fire that he used behind the bench at the University of Dayton and Xavier University into running "The T" and making it the premier ACHA conference, the excitement he feels about bringing the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry to the TSCHL, and looks forward to the league's 2021 tournament at Bowling Green's Slater Arena. Kenny Miller talks about his junior hockey journey that took him from Toledo through Alpena and Marquette in the NAHL before coming full circle back to Toledo with the Cherokee of the USPHL where he has been general manager and head coach since 2013. He discusses what junior hockey managers and coaches look for in players, the differences between the Michigan and Ohio high school scenes and where you can get his mother's egg, cheese and mayo sandwiches

Ben Simon starred for the Shaker Heights Red Raiders and the Cleveland Barons of the NAHL before going on to play at Notre Dame and then a 11-year pro career that included time in the NHL with Atlanta and Columbus. As a coach, he guided the Cincinnati Cyclones to the Kelly Cup Finals and is now the head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Simon helped the Orlando Solar Bears win the IHL’s Turner Cup in 2001 before hoisting the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2002. He represented Team USA at both the 1997 and 1998 World Junior Championships, earning a silver medal in 1997. Former Bowling Green Falcon and two-time CCHA All-Academic Team member Dan Bylsma is a 2009 Stanley Cup champion and 2011 Jack Adams Award recipient who is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings. Bylsma served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2008-14. After taking over as Pittsburgh's head coach during the 2008-09 season, Bylsma guided the club to an 18-3-4 regular-season finish en route to defeating the Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. Bylsma who won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach in 2009-10, and owns a career mark of 320-190-55 as an NHL head coach. He also guided the Buffalo Sabres from 2015-2017, and was the head coach for Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics. As a player, Bylsma appeared in 429 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks between 1995-04.

Tyler Harkins came up through the Cleveland hockey ranks with Rocky River, St. Edward, and Team Ohio before moving on to junior hockey. He just finished a successful four-year college career at Ohio University where he racked up 158 points in 126 ACHA games. Russ Sinkewich has worked his entire career as a proud ambassador of Cleveland Hockey. Russ operates the Ohio Hockey Project - including the Summer Elite League and Futures Hockey League - and is Cleveland’s preeminent skill development leader.