D2 Preview: Regulars Aim to Rule Again
March 6, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There will be plenty of familiarity to the Division 2 bracket this weekend at USA Hockey Arena.
Three of four teams are returning from a year ago, which concluded with Hartland downing Trenton 4-2 to earn its first MHSAA Finals championship on the ice.
Those two and Birmingham Brother Rice are back, Trenton with a win over Hartland this season and tie against the Warriors. Hartland also has a win over Brother Rice. The unfamiliar foe will be Marquette, which will be playing in the Semifinals for the first time in a decade but is plenty familiar with success at this level having most recently won Division 1 championships in 2004 and 2008.
This weekend’s pairings are as follows:
Division 2 – Thursday
Hartland (25-4) vs Birmingham Brother Rice (16-8-4), 5 p.m.
Marquette (21-5-2) vs. Trenton (24-4-1), 7:30 p.m.
FINALS – Saturday
Division 2 - 10 a.m.
All Semifinals and Finals will be viewable live per subscription basis on MHSAA.tv, with live audio available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Click for a full schedule of this weekend's games plus full results as they come in. Player statistics below are through the Regional round for Marquette and Trenton and Quarterfinals for Brother Rice and Hartland.
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 16-8-4, No. 4
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2017), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Kenny Chaput, third season (56-24-6)
League finish: Second in Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League North.
Best wins: 6-1 over No. 11 White Lake Lakeland in Regional Final, 10-4 over No. 8 Plymouth, 4-0 over No. 3 Livonia Stevenson, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 1 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 3-0 over Division 1 No. 2 Saginaw Heritage, 6-3 over Division 1 No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Players to watch: Ethan Nystrom, sr. D (7 goals, 22 assists); Nick Marone, jr. F (15 goals, 19 assists); DJ Dixon, jr. D (16 goals, 21 assists); Chris Andoni, sr. F (7 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice has ridden an 8-0-1 run to its third straight Semifinals, with six of those wins over ranked opponents. In addition to those listed above, the Warriors also have beaten Division 3 No. 2 Calumet, No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, No. 6 Detroit Country Day and No. 10 Grosse Pointe South. Nystrom made the all-state first team last season and Andoni earned honorable mention. Eight players total have at least 20 points and five have scored at least 11 goals, with seniors Keaton Vogel (14 goals/11 assists) and Brendan Danou (13 goals/9 assists) also among leaders. Senior Matteo Vitale is carrying a 1.92 goals-against average and has been in net for 12 of the team’s wins.
HARTLAND
Record/rank: 25-4, No. 1
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2018, runner-up 2013 and 2014.
Coach: Rick Gadwa, eighth season (170-53-10)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West.
Best wins: 6-0 over No. 12 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern in Quarterfinal, 8-0 over No. 7 Davison in Regional Final, 7-1 and 4-3 over No. 8 Plymouth, 7-1 over No. 10 Howell, 7-0 over No. 6 Saline, 5-1 over No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice, 2-1 over Division 3 No. 1 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 5-3 over Division 1 No. 2 Saginaw Heritage, 8-4 over Division 1 No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 4-0 over Division 1 No. 4 Brighton.
Players to watch: Joey Larson, sr. F (25 goals, 20 assists), Gabe Anderson, sr. F (17 goals, 16 assists), Owen Pietila, sr. D (18 goals, 10 assists), Brett Tome, sr. G (1.48 goals-against average, five shutouts).
Outlook: Hartland is making its sixth Semifinal trip in seven seasons and broke through last year with its first title. The Eagles have outscored their four playoff opponents by a combined 31-1 and won 10 of their last 11 games. Larson and Tome are returning all-state first teamers, and senior wing Brenden Tulpa has been a main scorer for multiple seasons, contributing 10 goals and 22 assists this winter. Nine players total have scored at least 10 goals. Hartland also has wins over Division 3 No. 2 Calumet and No. 5 Houghton.
MARQUETTE
Record/rank: 21-5-2, No. 9
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Doug Garrow, fifth season (102-52-12)
League finish: Third in Great Lakes Hockey Conference.
Best wins: 5-3 over No. 7 Davison, 1-0 over Division 1 No. 11 Traverse City Bay Reps, 1-0 over Division 3 No. 9 Alpena, 3-0 over Division 3 No. 10 Grosse Pointe South.
Players to watch: Gaetanno Cammarata, jr. F (12 goals, 22 assists); Tanner Phillips, sr. F (14 goals, 14 assists); Sean O’Connor, sr. F (17 goals, 16 assists); Tyler Bergwall, sr. G (1.46 goals-against average, eight shutouts).
Outlook: Marquette is returning to the Semifinals for the first time since 2009 with a combined 15-1 scoring edge over three postseason opponents. The Redmen prepped against a league schedule that included Division 3 No. 2 Calumet and No. 5 Houghton, and in addition to the wins above earned ties with Division 1 No. 6 Salem and No. 12 Utica Eisenhower. Junior Ryan Baldwin has added 14 goals and sophomore Ansel Frost 12. Phillips and Bergwall both earned all-state honorable mentions last season.
TRENTON
Record/rank: 24-4-1, No. 2
Championship history: Fourteen MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), seven runner-up finishes.
Coach: Chad Clements, fifth season (65-42-5)
League finish: First in MIHL South.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 3 Livonia Stevenson in Quarterfinal, 5-1 (Regional Final) and 6-2 over No. 5 Brownstown Woodhaven, 5-0 over No. 6 Saline in Regional Semifinal, 2-0 over No. 1 Hartland, 4-0 over No. 12 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, 2-0 over Division 3 No. 1 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 5-2 over Division 1 No. 6 Salem, 3-0 over Division 1 No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Players to watch: Nolan Szczepaniak, sr. F (16 goals, 15 assists); Cam Blanton, sr. D (10 goals, 16 assists); Joey Cormier, jr. G (1.36 GAA, 7 shutouts); Brandon Clark, jr. F (17 goals, 17 assists).
Outlook: Trenton came within a win of claiming a 15th MHSAA championship last winter, and a number of top contributors are back including all-state first-teamer Blanton, second-teamer Cormier and honorable mention Szczepaniak. Junior center Ethan Holt leads the team with 37 points (14 goals/23 assists), while senior Devin Dunn (10 goals/20 assists) is again among the leading scorers and sophomore Hunter Allen (12 goals/12 assists) also among eight players with at least 20 points. Trenton also has two wins apiece over Cranbrook Kingswood and Grosse Pointe South and one each over Division 3 No. 12 Allen Park and No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle.
PHOTO: Marquette’s Tyler Bergwall comes up with a huge save on Grant Wickham’s shot during the second period of last week’s Regional Final win over Escanaba. (Photo by Cara Kamps).
Goalie, Country Day Lock Down D3 Again
March 9, 2019
Second Half reports
PLYMOUTH — Nobody could have known it at the time, but Houghton’s hockey team reached its quota of goals Saturday after only 56 seconds of play.
Sam Evola of Detroit Country Day might give up one goal, but that’s going to be it when he plays at USA Hockey Arena.
Evola closed the door the rest of the way, backstopping the Yellowjackets to their second straight MHSAA Division 3 championship with a 4-1 victory over Houghton.
Named the state’s Mr. Hockey as a junior last season, Evola is one of the most clutch high school goaltenders to come out of Michigan.
When the pressure is at its greatest, Evola has been at his best, stopping 91 of 95 shots for a .958 save percentage in four Semifinal and championship games the last two seasons in Plymouth. He gave up only one goal in each of the four games.
Over 11 games during the two postseason runs, he gave up only nine goals.
So, it doesn’t matter when the goals have come – there usually isn’t going to be another one against Evola.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but you’ve got to stay focused and keep your eye on the puck and keep your head in the game,” Evola said. “You can’t get distracted by what’s on the outside. You’ve got to keep your focus on what’s inside the rink.”
Evola finished with 25 saves after allowing a goal by Seth Francois 56 seconds into the game.
“One of my mottos is you shouldn’t give up a goal in the first minute or last minute of a period,” Evola said. “I didn’t do that. You’ve got to learn from your mistake, correct it and just keep it up. You can’t keep thinking about that goal. It’s going to egg on you and make you worse; you’ve got to bounce back.”
Country Day (24-4-2) has won back-to-back MHSAA championships after ending a 37-year drought last season. After winning only one Regional in 26 years, the Yellowjackets have become a force in Division 3, winning four straight Regionals.
To hear eighth-year coach Frank Novock describe the evolution of his program, the current players are the beneficiaries of what was built by players from his earlier teams.
“The guys who came before these guys, the captains, we didn’t have the greatest win-loss records, but the bar was set to a high standard,” Novock said. “It’s on cruise control with the leaders and seniors I have, and the same thing with the years past. It’s not always easy, it’s not always fun, but when you put that sweater on here, you’re going to have to be part of it or you’re going to be gone. These guys have continued to carry the torch. I can’t thank the guys enough that came before to set the example. We’re building in the right direction.”
The Yellowjackets regrouped after Houghton took its quick lead, tying the game 1-1 on a goal by Lucas Krol with 1:37 left in the opening period.
Dallas Hood scored what proved to be the winning goal, skating left to right across the slot and putting a shot inside the far post with 1:20 left in the second period to make it a 2-1 game.
The Gremlins (23-6-1) had a five-on-three power play for the first 1 minute, 26 seconds of the third period. Not only did they fail to capitalize on the two-man advantage, but they allowed a goal at the 2:01 mark to Mickey VanAntwerp.
“The biggest turning point in the game was we didn’t score on the five-on-three,” Houghton coach Corey Markham said. “We had a couple good looks and just missed. Very shortly after, they scored to make it 3-1. That was a huge point in the game. We didn’t quite recover and get enough offensive push after that point.”
Krol sent his second goal of the game into an empty net with 52.7 seconds remaining to end the scoring.
Houghton was attempting to win its first MHSAA championship since 1982. The Gremlins have lost four times in the championship game since then.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Houghton senior defenseman Kevin Bostwick said. “Our community is just so special. They’re always behind us. It hurts really bad not to bring this one home to them.”
Houghton goalie Jimmy Pietila made 23 saves.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Country Day players celebrate during Saturday’s Division 3 championship win at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) Houghton’s Milo Schaefer (7) and Ty Halonen (10) do their best to lock down Country Day’s Dallas Hood.