D2 Preview: Familiar Opponents Reconvene at USA Hockey Arena
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 9, 2022
This weekend’s Division 2 Hockey Finals bracket includes three teams back from last season and a fourth that missed making that trip but is plenty used to finishing up at Plymouth’s USA Hockey Arena.
Reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice plus 2021 semifinalists Marquette and Trenton will be back for Thursday’s Semifinals, joined by top-ranked Hartland as it seeks its first championship since winning back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
SEMIFINALS – Thursday, March 10
Hartland vs. Marquette, 5 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Trenton, 7:30 p.m.
FINAL – Saturday, March 12 – 11 a.m.
Tickets cost $13 for both Semifinals (per session) and Finals and are available exclusively from GoFan. All Semifinals and Finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with subscription, with free audio broadcasts via the MHSAA Radio Network.
Below is a glance at all four Division 2 contenders taking the ice this weekend. Click for the full program.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 14-13-1, No. 4
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Kenny Chaput, sixth season (104-47-9)
League finish: Fourth in MIHL North
Best wins: 3-1 over No. 3 Livonia Stevenson, 5-2 over No. 6 Trenton, 3-0 over Division 3 No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 5-2 over Division 3 No. 7 Calumet, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 4 Houghton, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 4-2 over Division 3 No. 10 Grosse Pointe South.
Players to watch: Andrew Marone, jr. F (12 goals, 18 assists); Peter Rosa, jr. F (26 goals, 18 assists); Matthew Herb, sr. D (1 goal, 11 assists); Luke DuCharme, sr. D (3 goals, 13 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice is back after winning its first title last season since 2017, and has put together another solid run after starting this winter 4-7 while matching up with many of the state’s top programs. Marone, Rosa and Herb all are returning all-state first teamers, and DuCharme made the second team last season. Senior forward Luke Washe (11 goals/5 assists) and junior forward Jack Cassidy (8/10) also are among top contributors on the offensive end.
HARTLAND
Record/rank: 23-5, No. 1
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2018 and 2019, runner-up 2013 and 2014.
Coach: Rick Gadwa, 11th season (230-66-13)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West and overall
Best wins: 3-1 and 3-0 over No. 3 Livonia Stevenson, 7-2 over No. 7 Canton, 3-1 over No. 6 Trenton, 4-3 over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 5-2 (Quarterfinal) and 7-3 over No. 10 Byron Center, 3-2 over No. 5 Muskegon Mona Shores, 3-0 over Division 1 No. 7 Rockford, 3-1 and 2-1 over Division 1 No. 2 Brighton, 6-3 over Division 1 No. 5 Saginaw Heritage.
Players to watch: Ashton Trombley, sr. F (19 goals, 16 assists), Jack Paweski, sr. F (18 goals, 13 assists), Ben Pouliot, jr. F (11 goals, 19 assists), Lucas Henry, jr. F (13 goals, 17 assists).
Outlook: Hartland has played plenty of top teams on the way to returning to the Semifinals after missing last season; in addition to the results above, the Eagles also have wins over Division 3 powers Calumet, Houghton and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s this winter. Juniors Braden (11 goals/17 assists) and Brendan Pietila (9/19) are two more major offensive contributors as the team has scored four or more goals in 15 games including all three during the postseason. Senior Kameron Ragon has a 1.31 goals-against average and four shutouts in goal.
MARQUETTE
Record/rank: 22-5-1, No. 2
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), four runner-up finishes.
Coach: Doug Garrow, ninth season (162-67-13)
League finish: Tied for first in Great Lakes Hockey Conference
Best wins: 7-1 over No. 9 Traverse City Central in Quarterfinal, 4-3 over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 3-1 over No. 5 Muskegon Mona Shores, 7-2 over Division 1 No. 10 Lake Orion, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 5 Saginaw Heritage, 5-0 and 7-3 over Division 1 No. 9 Traverse Bay Reps, 3-1 and 9-1 over Division 3 No. 4 Houghton, 3-1 over Division 3 No. 7 Calumet.
Players to watch: Kody Moyer, fr. F (19 goals, 15 assists); Brayden Grange, sr. D (15 goals, 22 assists); Jacob Garrow, jr. F (12 goals, 24 assists); Joe DeMattia, jr. D (8 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: This will be Marquette’s fourth-straight trip to the Semifinals, and after another impressive run not only through the best of the Upper Peninsula but against downstate powers as well. Senior defenseman Owen Riipi (4 goals/15 assists) made the all-state second team last season, and DeMattia earned an honorable mention. Junior forward Ethan Phillips (12 goals/11 assists) and sophomore forward Caleb Fries (10 goals) also have put up double-digit goals, and senior forward Drew Dellies (9/23) is among 10 with double-digit assists.
TRENTON
Record/rank: 17-11, No. 6
Championship history: 14 MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), eight runner-up finishes.
Coach: Chad Clements, eighth season (143-73-7)
League finish: Tied for second in MIHL South, first in Downriver League
Best wins: 5-3 over No. 7 Canton in Quarterfinal, 7-5 over No. 5 Muskegon Mona Shores, 4-2 over No. 10 Byron Center, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 10 Grosse Pointe South, 2-1 over Division 3 No. 2 Warren De La Salle Collegiate, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 3 Salem.
Players to watch: Nickolas Fields, sr. F/D (13 goals, 16 assists); Hayden Oboza, sr. F (20 goals, 26 assists); Micah Kneidling, jr. F (6 goals, 27 assists); Zach Anderson, sr. F (15 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Trenton is running its Semifinals streak to five seasons as part of a strong stretch of eight wins over 10 games – and after starting this winter 2-5. Fields earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is one of eight Trojans with at least 14 assists; he teams with senior Xaver Gradinscak (2 goals/18 assists) as the top defense pairing. Senior forward Matthew Krueger (14 goals, 15 assists), junior forward Carter Allen (10/8), junior defenseman Jacob Wiseman (9/15) and senior defenseman Aaron Brow (9/14) also have shown plenty of scoring touch.
PHOTO Marquette's Caleb Fries (9), Joe DeMattia (4), goalie Wylen Cambensy, and CJ Carter (16) and Houghton's Jace Deforge get ready for a faceoff in Marquette's zone during their February matchup. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Heritage Follows 1st Final with Fast Start
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 15, 2019
Members of the Saginaw Heritage hockey team said they didn’t need extra motivation this offseason.
With all but three players returning from a team that had made the program’s first MHSAA championship game, the Hawks knew if they put in the time, another special season could be in front of them.
But the schedule makers gave them something to look forward to anyway – a season-opening rematch with Brighton, the team that had defeated them in the Division 1 title game eight months prior.
“There was for sure a little revenge in the back of our minds coming into that game,” Heritage junior forward Brady Rappuhn said. “I think the Finals last year was a stepping stone for us. Even though we didn’t win, just the experience was good for us.”
Heritage won the rematch 7-1 on Nov. 17 and hasn’t looked back, starting the season 11-0 and winning every game by four goals or more. It’s a stunning beginning that includes wins against six ranked teams, including two (Brighton and Salem) top-five teams in Division 1. That dominance has elevated Heritage to No. 2 in Michigan Hockey Hub’s Division 1 rankings, and No. 3 in its Super 10 pooling the best from all three divisions.
And nobody on the team seems surprised by it.
“We only lost three players from last year’s team, and we had a couple guys come in that were real good hockey players,” Heritage coach JJ Bamberger said. “Just the returning core of players we had, we were expecting to have a pretty good run. We talked about at the beginning of the year – last year, we fell short by one game, but we didn’t want to talk about getting back to that point. We just want to work on getting better every time we’re on the ice.”
Several factors have led to Heritage’s amazing start, but the one that could benefit the Hawks most later in the season is their incredible depth. Seven players are averaging at least a point per game, led by Rappuhn who has 14 goals and 15 assists thus far. Two other players – Parker Severson and Edison Symons – have scored 10 goals. Sixteen players have scored at least one goal, and 19 have registered at least one point.
That depth extends to the crease, where starting goalie Jack Jesko has a 1.32 goals-against average and .931 save percentage over eight games. Backup Jacob Winters has played three games and allowed just one goal on 42 shots.
The most remarkable statistics, however, are in the period breakdowns. The Hawks are outscoring opponents 19-5 in the first period, 25-5 in the second and 31-1 in the third.
“That first period a team will hang with us, but we just keep going,” said Bamberger, who noted that each player on his team having a GPA of 3.0 or higher is actually the most remarkable statistic. “I’ve been coaching for 17 years, and it’s the deepest team we’ve had. Sometimes I’ve had top guys who were better, but I’ve never been able to have that many guys coming at you nonstop. If a team plays two lines against us, it’s going to be very difficult to keep up with our speed. There’s no weakness.”
The Hawks’ depth also creates a mental edge for the players.
“We can roll anybody out there, and I think any of our lines can play against anybody,” Rappuhn said. “We have confidence in everybody on our team. We have a trust in our teammates and what our coaches tell us, and that allows us to be a better team.”
It also keeps them sharp.
“If you have a bad game, you know another guy is coming for your spot,” senior defenseman and captain Joe Watson said. “It pushes us forward and gives us a little bit of competitiveness to keep our spots.”
Heritage’s rise didn’t happen overnight. The building blocks were laid nearly a decade ago through the Saginaw Jr. Spirit program, which gives youth players in the area a chance to play together against top-level competition.
“The goal was to have the best players from Saginaw, Midland and Bay City come together,” said Bamberger, who is the director of the Jr. Spirit, and added teams such as Midland Dow and Davison are also seeing the benefits of the program. “It’s one program that was kind of set up for the whole Tri-City Area.”
Much of Heritage’s nucleus played for the Jr. Spirit, many of the current Hawks winning one – or in some cases, two – state titles.
“They won back-to-back state championships, so they knew how to win,” said Watson, one of a handful of Heritage players who did not play for the Jr. Spirit. “That just kind of helped us out.”
With all this positive momentum, there could be a temptation to look ahead to another MHSAA Finals appearance. But the Hawks claim they instead are sticking to Bamberger’s advice of focusing on day-to-day improvement.
“I think our coaches have really put it in our minds that we can’t look ahead, because any team can beat us any night,” Rappuhn said. “We’re a really good team, but there are also a lot of good teams that we’re playing, so if we don’t come ready to play, any team can beat us. We try to worry about that game, and that period, and that shift. We don’t try to look ahead.”
Even when asked to reflect on what they’ve accomplished, and how it would feel to win the school’s first MHSAA title in hockey, the players stayed fairly grounded.
“It’s just been a really good experience to go through,” Watson said. “I strongly believe everyone on the team is not going to take it for granted if we do get back there. It would be pretty good to get there again, and hopefully win it.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage players, including junior Connor Krauseneck (12), celebrate one of their many highlights this season. (Middle) Hawks senior Dane Senkowski (22) pushes the puck up ice as a Grandville player trails him. (Photos by Amy Best.)