Written by Adam Burke

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The lockout drags on as fans are left to wonder if there will be a season at all. Despite the fact that the “big boys” aren’t playing, there is no shortage of hockey action within a couple hundred mile radius of northeast Ohio. Hockey-starved fans can find a quality product in a lot of nearby cities if they’re so inclined. All it takes is a little road trip, which hockey fans are predisposed to enjoying anyway.

Obviously, for the fans in and around the Cleveland area, the Lake Erie Monsters provide a solid product at an affordable price. Thanks to the lockout, teams all across the American Hockey League are benefactors of the NHL labor situation. Plenty of NHL players are playing in the highest minor hockey league in North America. Quality of play has gone up league-wide and the Monsters provide a family-friendly atmosphere. Other AHL teams play in Grand Rapids, Hershey, Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario.

But, what are some of the other, less obvious, options? There are several viewing options for hockey fans who want to watch the next generation of hockey player. The NCAA season is in full swing and there are plenty of programs worth checking out in the area. Whether you want to head to Columbus to watch Ohio State, Oxford, Ohio to check out the Miami Redhawks, or even go up to Michigan to check out the Wolverines in Ann Arbor or the Spartans in East Lansing, there are plenty of terrific college programs within driving distance. The beauty of college hockey is that a lot of games are crammed into weekends, so a short drive and an overnight stay should allow for seeing two games.

One of the forgotten treasures about hockey in the Great Lakes region comes in the form of the Ontario Hockey League. Many of the players who are taken in the NHL Entry Draft were plucked from teams in this league. Without crossing the border, fans can go see the Erie (PA) Otters, the Plymouth (MI) Whalers, or the Saginaw (MI) Spirit. Other nearby Canadian teams include the Windsor Spitfires and Niagara Ice Dogs.

There’s more where that came from in terms of junior-aged players. In Youngstown, Ohio, the Youngstown Phantoms call the Covelli Centre home. The Youngstown Phantoms play in the United States Hockey League (USHL), which includes the United States Under-18 and Under-17 development teams. Other local teams in the USHL include the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Indiana Ice. It’s a solid product at a low price and a short drive from northeast Ohio.

The local high school hockey league seasons will be beginning soon. Cleveland has seen some terrific high school hockey talent roll through the area, as has the Toledo area. Thanksgiving tournaments tend to bring in some good teams from other areas, giving hockey-starved fans some good action to watch at a very low price. The Cleveland Barons, a series of travel teams who play home games at Barons Arena in Parma, OH, could also quench your thirst for hockey.

Just because the NHL isn’t playing doesn’t mean that the game has stopped. Hockey is everywhere around the Great Lakes region. Some of it may be a bit of a travel, but enjoy the drive and get your hockey fix.

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An update on the aforementioned Lake Erie Monsters. Their seven-game road trip ends tonight in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The trip, which began November 1, with some downtime in between, has been a positive one for the Monsters, winning four out of six with the seventh pending. As they enter Wednesday’s game, the Monsters are 9-5-0-0, one point behind Abbotsford for the top spot in the Western Conference North Division and fourth in the conference.

The Monsters have been helped to their 9-5-0-0 mark by being 4-0 in overtime/shootouts. Mike Sgarbossa leads the charge for the Monsters with 13 points. Sgarbossa was traded to Colorado in the February 2012 trade deadline deal with San Jose that sent Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi to the west coast. Sgarbossa was an undrafted free agent who played for three different Ontario Hockey League teams.

Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio continue to give the Monsters chances to win games. In 14 games, the two have allowed just 38 goals, turning aside 420 of 458 shots.

The Monsters will play five of their next six at home, beginning Friday night against Grand Rapids. The Rockford Ice Hogs will head into town for the Thanksgiving weekend.