CAAC, SW Teams Find Home in New League
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 21, 2020
Two struggling hockey leagues found a perfect match, thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of commissioners, athletic directors and coaches.
The Capital Area Activities Conference, a multi-sport league, had just four hockey teams.
The Southwest Michigan High School Hockey League was down to five.
Merging the two leagues was a no-brainer for all involved.
“We learned (the CAAC) was a small league like us,” Portage Northern athletic director Chris Riker said. “It’s tough to have a league with just five teams. By putting our two leagues together, and we had already played a lot of those teams, it just made a lot of sense.”
The new 10-team league, called the South Central High School Hockey League, is bringing a new excitement to both areas and came together very smoothly in less than a year.
Forming a new league boiled down to one thing: “survive and thrive,” said Randy Allen, a former MHSAA assistant director and retired CAAC commissioner.
“I’m tickled pink, and I give high marks to the coaches and athletic directors.”
The league is divided into the Central and South divisions, with five teams in each.
Most teams in the league are co-op teams with Jackson Lumen Christi in the Central and Mattawan, Portage Central and Portage Northern in the South the only teams made up of students from one school.
Other teams in the Central Division are the Capital City Capitals (DeWitt, Lansing Catholic, Mason, St. Johns), Mid-Michigan Marauders (Holt, Grand Ledge, Eaton Rapids, Portland, Potterville), East Side Stars (East Lansing, Williamston, Haslett, Bath, Laingsburg) and Okemos (with Fowlerville).
Co-op teams in the South are the Kalamazoo Eagles (Gull Lake, Battle Creek Harper Creek, Battle Creek Pennfield, Paw Paw, Parchment, Plainwell) and Kalamazoo United (Loy Norrix, Kalamazoo Central, Hackett Catholic Prep).
The first big showcase event featuring all 10 teams is set for Friday and Saturday at Wings West in Kalamazoo.
“One of the other cool things about this new league is we’re bringing them all together for the ‘Annual Youth Hockey Fights for Autism’ at Wings West Feb. 15, and all 10 teams will be playing,” said Frank Noonan, commissioner of the old SWMHSHL and now commissioner of the new league.
Riker said the new league “creates some excitement the way we structured the season with playing in your division and playing crossover games.
“We’re going to have a big championship game where the two No. 1 teams play each other, the second-place teams meet and so on (Feb. 22 at Wings West).”
There are other benefits as well, Noonan said.
“The best thing for hockey in the area is they have set opponents they’re going to play every year and, for the kids who earn (end-of-season) awards, it means more,” he said.
“There are 10 teams competing for the awards rather than our typical six-team old division, so it’s more prestigious, more of an honor to win an award in the new league.”
MHSAA Assistant Director Cody Inglis, who took over administration of hockey for the Association when Allen retired in 2014, put Riker – a member of the MHSAA’s Representative Council – in touch with Allen. The two jump-started talks last March.
One key was getting the Eagles to become a school-based team rather than a club one.
“Karyn Furlong (Gull Lake athletic director) was willing to jump on and sponsor the Eagles,” Riker said. “She did all the leg work in getting the schools on board.
“The Eagles organization also deserves a lot of recognition for saying, hey, we’ve been in this club status and now we’re willing to come in and be a school sport.
“Now they have the opportunity to play in the state tournament, which they’ve never had.”
The MHSAA Semifinals and Finals are set for March 12-14 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
Allen, who went on to serve as commissioner of the CAAC until retiring at the start of this school year, first floated the idea of merging the two leagues to coaches from his conference.
“They were all in favor of it,” he said. “(Inglis) talked with (Riker), and we met to talk.
“At the athletic directors conference (in March 2019), we kept inching closer to forming a new league. We did not hear one word of objection through the entire process. We had 110-percent backing.
“After everybody covered all the bases, we made it final and came up with the official name.”
Allen said the new league has “great leadership from the athletic directors and (Noonan), who took the lead on everything.”
He added that one perk of the new league is getting officials together. “Now we get officials to be part of one overall group, and there is a possibility of mentoring,” Allen added.
Capital City Capitals coach Travis Van Tighem likes the new league.
“It’s great to get some more natural rivals,” he said. “Our league got to be so small we played a lot of other (non-league) teams or showcase games.
“When more games have meaning or some substance to them, you can see kids growing and there are some natural rivalries that it creates, so it’s exciting.”
Travel is not a problem, Van Tighem added.
“For us in Mid-Michigan, it you go outside the Lansing area, it’s going to be an hour anyway. So coming to Kalamazoo, it’s an hour 20 or hour 15, but if we go anywhere else, except for Jackson, it’s going to be at least an hour,” he said.
“Athletic directors and coaches got together, and it really came together nicely. It’s been great so far.”
Other league facilities besides Wings West are Optimist Ice Arena (Jackson), Summit Sports and Ice Complex (Dimondale) and Suburban Ice (East Lansing).
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Portage Northern and Capital City face off in an SCHSHL crossover Jan. 9 at Wings West. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Frank Noonan, Chris Riker, Travis Van Tighem and Randy Allen. (Below) Northern’s Nolan McCarthy (3) charts his next move with the puck. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)
Manistique Hockey Co-Op Off to Successful Debut
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 4, 2022
MANISTIQUE — There’s a new kid on the block in Upper Peninsula high school hockey this season.
The Manistique Emeralds, who launched a co-op program for the first time, already have made some noise while posting a 5-4-1 record through their first 10 games.
Manistique is fresh from a 2-1 triumph over Painesdale Jeffers on home ice Saturday.
Also included in the co-op venture are Newberry, Munising and Eben Junction Superior Central.
“It feels great to have a high school program here,” said Manistique junior forward Carter Miller. “This is a big change from house league hockey. The high school game is a lot faster. This has been a pretty big transition. We had to get in shape faster and start a little earlier.”
The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Emeralds, who dropped a 6-5 overtime decision to Escanaba on Friday and absorbed a 2-1 loss to Kingsford at Iron Mountain Jan. 25.
“It was a very exciting game last night,” coach John Nutkins said after Saturday’s game. “We trailed by three goals twice and took them into overtime. I think that gave us a lot of momentum for the rest of the season. We outplayed Kingsford, but had trouble putting the puck in the net. The guys are pulling together. We have to keep working and improving. We feel we’re in a stretch where we can win some games.”
The Emeralds travel to the Copper Country this weekend to face Negaunee on Friday and Jeffers on Saturday at Michigan Tech.
“They (Negaunee) don’t have a lot of guys, but they take quick shots,” said sophomore goaltender Alex Noble. “We just have to put pressure on the puck.
“(Defeating Jeffers) is a big W for us. I think this will give us momentum going into next weekend. We’ve been in a lot of close games. We didn’t give up against Esky. That was a real big game for us.”
Dakota Maki, a senior forward from Superior Central, put the Emeralds on the board first in a 6-1 road loss to Escanaba.
“That’s definitely not a game we want to remember,” said Nutkins. “Although, it was exciting to get the early goal. They have a great hockey program, but I don’t think that’s who we are. It’s always kind of a feeling out process. In the first game at Iron Mountain they (Kingsford) were flying. It was kind of a culture shock. I feel we’ve improved a lot from the beginning of the season.”
Manistique dropped a 1-0 decision to the Flivvers on Nov. 18, then tied with Jeffers 1-1 and beat the Hancock jayvees 2-0 at MTU at the start of December.
The Emeralds followed that with a 7-3 triumph over Kingsford in their home debut Dec. 16.
“That was definitely exciting,” said Gavin Nutkins, a sophomore forward from Newberry. “There were more than 300 people here. I’ve never experienced that before. The fans have supported us very well. I think we’ve done very well. We are just getting into game shape, and it’s starting to show.”
Noble stopped 26 shots in Saturday’s victory over Jeffers.
“This is a big step up,” he said. “We just have to work hard for it. This is a bit stronger competition and a faster game.”
Gavin Nutkins said he got interested in hockey at a very young age.
“I played baseball and football, but nothing compares with hockey,” he added. “It’s really hard with school. My dad’s the coach, which makes it a little easier. It’s about an hour’s drive both ways. We usually get home about 9:30 or 10 p.m., then I have to study for 2-3 hours, get about six hours of sleep and go to school. Sometimes you get a little tired.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Manistique attempts to maintain possession against Painesdale Jeffers. (Middle) The Emeralds defend in front of their goal against Escanaba last month. (Photos by Veronica Edwards.)