By Ben Shanahan

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

Bowling Green State University hockey’s 6-foot-3, 205 pound freshman forward Adam Schankula may be from Perrysburg, but his family has Canadian roots.

Those family ties may explain in part why he is an NCAA Division I hockey player today. But Schankula also credits growing up playing youth hockey in Northwest Ohio.

Originally born in Toronto, Schankula’s first stint in Northwest Ohio started at one year old when his family moved from Toronto to Perrysburg.

“My whole family is originally from Toronto. My dad grew up playing high school in Toronto and chose to go the school route, which moved us to Perrysburg,” said Shankula, who attended Perrysburg High School.

From there, Schankula played his youth hockey in Sylvania, where he learned just how good hockey was in Northwest Ohio.

“It is an underrated hockey area,” Schankula said. “I think at the time, for my age group, we were always in the top 30 or Top 40 in the nation. So I think it’s like there’s a hidden gem here. And that will just continue to grow with Bowling Green and all the surrounding areas,“ said Schankula.

Schankula left the area after he was recruited to play junior hockey for the Maryland Black Bears of the North American Hockey League, where he’d play for three seasons, including being named the alternate captain in his last year.

“I really didn’t know until my first year (playing) under 18,” Schankula said. “My coach at the time said we needed to start figuring out your plan for next year.

”I agreed, and he told me there was this team in Maryland who said they liked me, so I went out there. I really didn’t know anything about college hockey. I kind of just went with it and then got really good advice from people from there who helped me with the recruiting process. It was a really good experience.”

Schankula was tied for the Black Bears scoring lead with 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) through 29 games this season before joining the Falcons. During his career with the Black Bears, he skated in 94 games and tallied 25 goals and 45 assists.

Prior to playing in the NAHL, Schankula played three season in the NAPHL T1ER League for the Tri-State Spartans. During the 2021-22 season he led the T1ER 18U Division in scoring with 49 points.

Recruitment to BGSU started over a year ago, and when the Falcons made an official offer, it was an easy choice for Schankula to join the team midseason.

“I definitely didn’t expect it to happen, but you know, I just started like a year ago. After a subtle conversation, I thought maybe it could happen, and then this year, when I got the call, it was just a no-brainer,” said Schankula.

Schankula’s dream of suiting up for the Falcons came true on January 6 against the Ohio State Buckeyes in front of a sold-out crowd at Slater Family Ice Arena, something that was special for his whole family.

“It was awesome,” Schankula said. “The whole family was super excited. It was obviously a dream since I found out we had one team right in the backyard. I played a couple of youth games, but not in front of 5,000 people.

“That was a special one, playing against Ohio State for the first game, but I probably had like 20 to 30 family members and friends here. That was unreal.”

Schankula capped off his freshman year with his first collegiate goal and the first goal of the Falcons’s three in the third period at Ferris State, propelling BGSU to come back from being down 3-1 and win 4-3. That sparked a six-game win streak, the longest the Falcons had in the 2023–24 season.

Schankula finished his freshman season with one goal, two assists, and six blocks.