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The Saint Ignatius Wildcats and Sylvania Northview Wildcats battled in the final of the Ohio state hockey championship. The result? A seven-overtime game that was called a 1-1 tie before the eighth overtime. Nobody likes a tie in any game, but in a state championship? For all the marbles? Something's gotta give. Cue the angry tweets:
OHSAA just made an announcement that both teams have been declared co-state champions. What a joke.
— Andy Baskin (@andy_baskin) March 8, 2014
BREAKING: OHSAA will no longer keep score at high school sporting events, and mandatory snacks will be given to each team after the game
— Gavin (@GavinBridegum) March 8, 2014
If you high schoolers are lucky, everybody who just makes it to final exams will get an A no matter what. #ohsaa #ohiohockey
— Kevin Klonowski (@kklonowski) March 9, 2014
Didn't know OHSAA hockey state championships were the CYO championships #everybodywins
— Noah (@NoahBall17) March 9, 2014
No, seriously, everybody hates a tie.
#OHSAA is obviously a joke, but to declare a TIE in a State Championship game? that's about as absurd as it gets.
— Quinton (@QuintonBradleyy) March 8, 2014
The #OHSAA is a joke. My Minnesotan friends are making fun of Ohio hockey because of this nonsense. #ignatius #gocats
— Patrick (@1andonlyPGIBZ) March 9, 2014
As for the trophy for the runner-up in this game, nobody gets it.
Here's the #OHSAA trophy that WILL NOT be awarded. pic.twitter.com/VSFfWYXtac
— Ben Kehoe (@BenKehoe) March 8, 2014
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has already clarified why they called the game after seven overtimes tied at 1-1, stating it was for the health of the student athletes. The OHSAA also noted that shootouts are not allowed, per a national rule. No Gordon Bombay moments for high schoolers, just more questions than answers.
Will they saw the championship trophy in half? And, if nobody is named as the standalone state champion, does anybody win? No. Nobody, absolutely nobody, wins in a tie. It's science.
It's worth noting that this isn't unprecedented, though. The Michigan hockey state championship was called a tie after eight overtimes in 2008.