Clay's hockey season started off with a bang, with a second-place finish in the Thanksgiving Classic in Dublin, Ohio, and ended with a 4-2 postseason loss to Whitmer.

he Eagles finished 13-15 overall and 5-5 in the Northwest Ohio Hockey Conference White Division under second-year coach Mike Heck.

“We had very high expectations of ourselves,” Heck said. “We set our goal at winning our division but fell short of the championship bracket with a single loss to Bedford.”

Anthony Wayne captured the White Division title, while Clay finished fifth.

“Win or lose, the players never let up,” Heck said. “They tried their hardest every minute of each game. I commend our players for their level of play this season. They beat some really tough teams and when they lost, they did so with dignity and respect for the other team and their coaches. They received many compliments from other coaches and officials for their clean, hard style of play.”

The Eagles graduate nine players from this years' team but will return 14 players next season.

“We will miss those nine players considerably,” Heck said, “but we look forward to new skaters entering our program from the house and travel leagues.”

Clay will have to figure out a way to replace its top scorer in conference games, Devon Eckman. The senior defenseman led the Eagles with 14 goals and seven assists, while junior forward Logan Myers had five goals and three assists and junior defenseman Hudson Sabin had three goals and two assists in conference play.

Senior goalie Josh Utter had 326 saves in 10 conference games, more than any other goalie in the conference.

“Josh Utter did a tremendous job for us in net,” Heck said. “Devon Eckman was our powerhouse, both offensively and defensively, as one of the best skaters in the league. He was our leading playmaker.”

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