Country Day Caps 22-Win Streak on Top
March 10, 2018
Second Half reports
PLYMOUTH — Carter Elrod’s contributions in the final seconds of the MHSAA Division 3 championship hockey game won’t show up in the box score.
What will show up in the records from here on out is that Detroit Country Day is the 2017-18 Division 3 champion because Elrod sacrificed his body for the cause.
The senior forward blocked two shots in the final seconds, including a prime opportunity just before the buzzer, to preserve Country Day’s 2-1 victory over Livonia Churchill on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena.
It’s a dirty, often dangerous job, which Elrod does unflinchingly.
“Earlier in the season, I broke my hand blocking a shot,” Elrod said. “It’s a thing Coach stresses every day that we have to do to win games. Every time we go out there, we don’t think, we just go out there and block the shot.”
If shots get to the net, Country Day has one of the best goaltenders in the state to clean up the mess. Junior Sam Evola stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced, but appreciated not having to face a 32nd shot when Churchill’s Conor Burnette had a glorious chance in the high slot in the final seconds.
“A lot of it is guys like him blocking shots out of nowhere,” said Evola, who had a 1.00 goals-against average and .953 save percentage during the regular season. “I think they might have scored if he hadn’t blocked that one shot; I didn’t see it.”
Churchill was trying to become the second team this weekend to force overtime after trailing 2-0. Traverse City West did it against Saginaw Heritage in the Division 1 Semifinals, only to lose, 3-2.
Seth Kucharczyk’s goal with 7:53 left in the game got the Chargers within a goal. They kept pressing with their goaltender pulled at the end, but couldn’t get a puck past Evola — or Elrod.
“This guy could definitely have more points, but he does so much,” Country Day coach Frank Novock said. “People who know hockey know how important he is out there, blocking shots, winning face-offs, penalty killing, getting pucks. In the first period, he was probably our only forward going, how hard he was working. It kind of caught on a little bit. Night in and night out, his work ethic and determination were amazing.”
After losing in the Quarterfinals the last two seasons, Country Day won its first MHSAA hockey championship since 1981 by holding six postseason opponents to a combined five goals.
It was the longest stretch between championships among past MHSAA title winners, eclipsing the 22 years between Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s 1990 and 2012 titles.
The Yellowjackets (28-2-1) won their last 22 games after losing 3-0 to Liggett on Dec. 16. Upset with his team’s effort that night, Novock had a no-pucks practice two days later.
“We weren’t very good,” he said. “I put 51 minutes on the clock and said, ‘You guys owe me another game, because we didn’t play one Saturday.’ That was the last game we lost all season. The guys didn’t complain; they took their medicine. It was three 17-minute periods they owed me. They just went through it like they did these last 22, so I consider that a win, also.”
The championship game nearly went two full periods without a goal, as Churchill’s Chris Sergison stopped the first 14 shots he faced to do his part in keeping the game scoreless.
Country Day got the break it needed when Mickey VanAntwerp took a pass from Jacob Thomas, split the defense at the blue line and went in on a breakaway. He scored, then crashed into the net, with 38.1 seconds left in the second period.
Tim Stebbins deflected a shot by defenseman Jacob Thomas past Sergison on the power play with 10:53 left in the game to give Country Day a 2-0 lead.
Churchill cut that in half, but couldn’t get the equalizer.
It was the first Finals appearance for the Chargers, who lost in the Quarterfinals after each of their previous six Regional championships.
“The overall experience has really been incredible,” Churchill coach Jason Reynolds said. “The atmosphere has certainly been electric. This is something we’ve been looking forward to. We had an opportunity to kind of embrace it and get our bearings about us (Friday) when we played the game. We were successful there. It was important for us not just to get here, but to get to Saturday.”
Churchill (16-12-3) was 11-11-3 during the regular season, but plays in the tough Kensington Lakes Activities Association. The KLAA had teams in all three championship games, with Brighton playing in Division 1 and Hartland in Division 2.
“I cannot deny how strong our KLAA schedule is year in and year out,” Reynolds said. “A lot of guys are focused on our .500 record, but that .500 record has also been against state-ranked teams over the course of the year. Even if we weren’t coming out guns blazing in November and December, the strength of our schedule has allowed us to build and develop and get better, so hopefully when we’re healthy by playoff time, we’re able to go on a run.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day seniors Carter Elrod (left) and Tim Stebbins celebrate the team’s first MHSAA title since 1981. (Middle) Country Day junior Mickey VanAntwerp (25) slides a shot into the net Saturday.
Seniors Earn Spot in Trenton Title History
March 8, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
PLYMOUTH – Trenton senior Andrew Sawyer remembers attending every Trojans home hockey game growing up. He said his parents didn’t miss one for 15 years.
And he and the rest of Trenton’s seniors had contributed their share of memorable moments to one of the most storied programs in MHSAA history – including helping longtime coach Michael Turner become the state’s winningest at the high school level a few weeks ago.
But until Saturday, they had never been part of an MHSAA Finals championship.
Sawyer and six of his classmates closed their careers by helping Trenton to an 8-3 victory over Hartland in the Division 2 Final at Compuware Arena – and in doing so, became the 14th Trojans team to win the highest title and first since 2010.
“I grew up every day of my childhood, … looked up to every single player,” Sawyer said. “It feels amazing to finally be one of the guys I was looking up to at one point in my life.”
Turner, who upped his career record to 628-126-52 over 28 seasons, took his team in front of Trenton’s championship banners earlier this week to give them one last reminder of Saturday’s opportunity.
The Trojans (26-4-1) also received messages from past players wishing them luck with hopes they might enjoy what those past champions once experienced. Trenton trailed only Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood (16) in all-time hockey titles.
“It’s my best moment ever in hockey. It will be my best memory no matter what happens, whether I go on or whatever I do,” senior goaltender Nick Ramirez said. “It was amazing. And it was great to celebrate with my teammates.”
Trenton opened the weekend with a 7-0 Semifinal win over Warren DeLaSalle, then watched as Hartland – last season’s Division 2 runner-up as well – got on the board first in the Final with a goal 4:17 into the game.
But if the Trojans were worried at all, that was the last time during the 2013-14 season.
Trenton scored the next six goals, with three from senior Justin Dunn and two within 12 seconds from senior Mitchell Galea to start the third period. Turner preached to his team all tournament to attack the goal, and Saturday the Trojans took 52 shots as Hartland goalie Nick Wineka made 42 saves, fourth most in MHSAA Finals history.
The Eagles finished 20-10-1 after giving coach Rick Gadwa his third Regional title in three seasons leading the program. They fell to Trenton 5-3 earlier as part of a 1-8 skid to finish the regular season. But they battled back with four one-goal wins during the MHSAA tournament.
Wineka was one of six seniors who were part of all three Regional title teams. They led a lineup that rebuilt this winter with a young defensive corps, and leave having helped build Hartland into an elite program.
“They pulled off some things this year that flashed through my head, and I can’t believe it,” Gadwa said. “To come back this year, you’ve got high hopes, you’ve got a target on your back, and we didn’t have all that we’ve had. … Unbelievable.”
Dunn – whose older brother Cory starred for Turner and dad had him as a teacher – also had two assists for Trenton. Galea added an assist on Dunn’s first goal, and junior Philip Pugliese had one of each.
Trenton opened this season 3-3 before winning its next two games by a combined score of 22-2. Turner watched Ramirez raise his game and knew he could have another contender – a point reinforced when the Trojans finished the regular season on a 9-1 run after going 5-5 over the same stretch a year ago.
Six games later, they stamped their place in Trenton hockey history.
“It’s a tradition. It’s a family atmosphere down here,” Turner said. “They can now take their mark. This is one of 14, and they certainly are going to have that memory for a long, long time.”
Click for a complete box score.
PHOTOS: (Top) Trenton celebrates an 8-3 win and its 14th MHSAA championship. (Middle) Trenton's Nickolas Bondy (10) looks to move the puck around Hartland senior Austin Flores (77).
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Hartland’s first goal by Josh Ruthig. (2) Trenton’s Justin Dunn completes his hat trick with 1 second left in the second period. (3) Mitchell Galea of Trenton completes his hat trick – all three goals came in the third period.