Canfield High School has been removed from the the OHSAA ice hockey tournament for using an ineligible student-athlete in a game.
According to OHSAA, the investigation began after Canfield's 6-4 win over Twinsburg in the tournament's opening game last Tuesday.
The investigation found that Canfield used an ineligible player during that game. Using an ineligible player has a penalty of forfeiture and removal from the tournament.
OHSAA officials say the player was ineligible for playing on a non-school team while competing for the school at the same time.
Canfield Athletic Director Greg Cooper issued this statement related to the violation:
As soon we became aware of the possibility that one of our student-athletes had been playing for a club team, we initiated an investigation concurrent with contacting the OHSAA, acknowledging that, if true, our hockey team might be removed from further play-off participation as a consequence. The information subsequently gathered supported the conclusion that a violation of OHSAA regulations had occurred and that Canfield had thus unknowingly used an ineligible player in our last Tuesday evening play-off game. Under that circumstance, as a member school of the OHSAA that supports the association's goals and regulations, we elected to proactively forfeit our win. Additionally, we will add additional emphasis to our already in-place message to our athletic participants that they cannot play for Canfield High School and a club or travel team at the same time.
Twinsburg will now replace Canfield on the tournament's bracket.
