What's Happening in Cougar Country

For the past year, a giant banner has hung in both rinks at Mentor Civic Arena, announcing Lake Catholic hockey's return.

So, now, amongst all the other things that are involved with restarting a varsity program, Lake Catholic head hockey coach Tim Okicki (’06) needs to get new banners.

“They’ve already been ordered,” he said. “Those were to promote that we’re coming back. Now that it’s here, we’re getting new ones that we’ll get up there.”

“It’s here,” marking the start of the 2026-27 hockey season and the return of Lake Catholic hockey, which hasn't been around since the program ended after the 2018-19 season because of a lack of participation.

It’ll be just over one year from the day the school officially announced the return (November 11, 2025) that the puck will drop on the newest iteration of the program.
The Cougars take on Olmsted Falls on Friday, November 13, at 745p at Mentor Civic Arena; and then they’ll make a quick turnaround and return to the ice against St. Ed’s Gold team at 4p on Saturday, November 14, also at Mentor Civic Arena.

Starting the new program

Before the announcement that the team was returning, a lot of work had to be done to make it a reality.

There was always a want, from both the school and alumni, to bring hockey back to Lake Catholic. But as Athletic Director Erik Schroeder said, wanting it isn’t enough.
After conversations with several athletic directors from schools around the area and within the North Coast Conference, Schroeder has followed what he calls the “Holy Name- and Benedictine-model.”

“It starts with absolutely having the right person to build a program,” he said. “We have other alumni who can coach, but they don’t necessarily have the network. (Okicki) is heavily involved in youth programs. He has a recognizable name in hockey. And he wanted to do it.”

“Schroeder reached out, and I told him he needed someone in the hockey community; he needed someone who kids know; and someone who has the time to build a program. I told him it has to be me,” Okicki said. “I have a lot of relationships with hockey families and kids in the area. But the biggest credit goes to the families. They had to believe this would take off.”

Since his hiring and the announcement of the program’s return, Okicki has been working nonstop to fill out a roster.

“Last winter was the first time I didn’t coach a team,” he said. “It wasn’t a question of whether or not we’d have a team this year, but it was more a question of whether we’d have 11 players, which we could do, or have 18-20 players.”

This year’s roster is set at 18 players – four juniors, two sophomores, and 12 freshmen. 

“I was excited when I found out we were getting our own team,” said junior Jimmy Aliff, who played for Mentor High School last year. “It’s great to play for and represent our own school.”

Putting a roster together

The last time Lake Catholic put a team on the ice, it did so with a senior-laden team that, once the season ended, left the program with just a handful of underclassmen to continue. So the team ceased operations.

To make this time around sustainable, Okicki knew they’d have to rely heavily on incoming freshmen.

“My brother (Alex (’11)) and I would look at schedules for the weekends, and we’d split our time going to see and talk to kids in the area who were still looking at schools and let them know Lake Catholic was going to have a team,” he said.

In the one-year span since the announcement that the program was returning, 36 students have shadowed Lake Catholic because of hockey, according to the school’s admissions department records.

One such student is now a current freshman, Ben Trem, who admitted he wasn’t even considering Lake Catholic before the announcement.

“Okicki came to one of our practices at Euclid. We had high school coaches in all the time so they could tell us about their programs,” Trem said. “A big factor in my decision was that I wanted to go somewhere I could play soccer and hockey, so Lake (Catholic) wasn’t on my radar until he came and told us they were going to have a team here.

“I’ve known him since I was younger. I would go to his skills sessions and camps. He knows what he’s doing. It sounds cool to be a part of building the program back up. So I came and saw the school, and I really liked it. (Okicki) was here on my shadow day, and I know he was at others too. He talked to all of us at the end of each day and just asked how we liked it.”

But that’s just one part of the roster. 

The other is the three juniors and one sophomore who have played high school hockey before – juniors Aliff, Gianna Ducsay, and Bryce Cindric, who all played for Mentor last year, and sophomore Wyatt Basham, who transferred in from NDCL.

“It’s a new program with a lot of freshmen, so the leadership does just kind of fall on us, and I think we’ve accepted that responsibility,” Aliff said. “Everyone has their role on the team, and the young guys are figuring it out. But credit to them, because they do listen and follow us.”

“They are our leaders,” Okicki said. “There’s no standard, no culture here. We’re making it. And they’re doing a great job. I’m learning just as much from them as they’re learning from me.”

The final piece of the puzzle was finding a goalie. 

Enter Bobby Horn, who had never played goalie before this season.

“He has put in a ton of work,” Okicki said. “We sent him to camps and goalie clinics, and he gets extra work with (Alex). He’s even wearing Alex’s mask and pads. He’s a great kid and really working hard to learn the position, and you can tell he really wants to be good at it.”

Season Preview

The Cougars will be playing in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League’s White Division, the middle of the three divisions.

“We’re in a league that we can compete with. We figured if we’re going to play, we might as well try to win a championship,” Okicki said. “These teams are at a similar level with us. So we’ll see how it goes.”

With such young players and a team that’s never played together, both the coach and the players are realistic with their expectations.

“We know we might not necessarily be the best team, but we know we can beat teams,” Aliff said. “We just need to stick to our fundamentals, stay positive, and just keep getting better each day.”

As well as breaking in a new goalie, Okicki said he still hasn’t figured out all his lines/shifts. He said they are still figuring out who plays best with whom, including putting players in positions they aren’t necessarily used to.

“We have to be flexible,” Okicki said. “We’re very forward-heavy. So, some of our defensemen were forwards last year.”

Now that the Cougars are about to play their first game, the players have an idea of what they want opponents to remember about them.

“We want to reestablish the Lake Catholic name in the hockey world,” Trem said. “When we go to games, we want people to know who we are, that we will compete, and we’re there to win.”