Finals to Continue at USA Hockey Arena
July 12, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Ice Hockey Semifinals and Finals will continue to be played at USA Hockey Arena through at least 2022 thanks to a five-year extension confirmed today.
The arena, in Plymouth, has hosted the season’s championship weekend since 2003. The Semifinals and Finals will be played this upcoming season March 8-10, 2018.
"The MHSAA is excited to continue our longstanding partnership with USA Hockey Arena on keeping the MHSAA High School Hockey Championships in Plymouth," MHSAA assistant director Cody Inglis said. "We are happy to keep the Finals in a great venue that has been updated to a first-class arena facility by USA Hockey. The familiarity and geography of USA Hockey Arena to high school hockey fans and the dedicated USA Hockey Arena staff that have embraced the MHSAA to make this tournament special for student-athletes across the state encouraged us to extend our agreement."
USA Hockey Arena is a multi-purpose arena that opened in 1996. Originally known as the Compuware Sports Arena, it was renamed USA Hockey Arena in 2015 when the USA Hockey Foundation purchased it. USA Hockey Arena encompasses approximately 190,000 square feet with one main seating level, private suites and press boxes. The creative design of the arena affords the opportunity to provide 3,504 seats for hockey games and 4,500 seats for concerts and other performances.
"We are ecstatic to extend our relationship with the MHSAA," USA Hockey Arena general manager Mike Henry said. "We have enjoyed hosting the top high school hockey teams in the state for the past 15 years and look forward to helping create more memorable hockey history in the future."
PHOTO: USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth has hosted the MHSAA Finals for 15 years and has signed on to do so through 2022.
Last-Second Goal Sets Off Brother Rice Celebration
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 27, 2021
PLYMOUTH – Second chances don't come along very often in hockey, especially in the final seconds of a hard-fought state championship game.
But Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice's Alec Hamady made good on his Saturday, jamming a rebound into the net for the game-winning goal with 6.7 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to an eventual 2-1 victory at USA Hockey Arena.
The championship was the fourth in Division 2 and fifth overall for the Warriors (15-4).
For Byron Center (17-1), it was a sudden, heart-stopping end to a memorable season.
"There's no way to describe it," Hamady said of winning Saturday after his team's 2020 championship bid was thwarted when the season ended before the Semifinals due to the coronavirus.
The winning goal came as the Warriors were swarming in front of the Byron Center goal.
"I hit (the goalie’s) blocker, and the puck slid back to me," Hamady said. "I hit it backhanded, and it slid under his blocker."
The Bulldogs then pulled goalie Carson McKenzie for an extra attacker during the final seconds, but Brother Rice shot the puck into the Byron Center end with three seconds left and began celebrating.
The first two periods were a defensive battle, led by McKenzie and Brother Rice goaltender Drake Danoo.
The spell was broken when Brother Rice's Carson Moilanen scored on a rebound with 10:56 left in the third.
But the Bulldogs responded immediately when Logan Nickolaus skated in on Danoo, then passed to Mason Breit, who tied the game just 10 seconds after Moilanen's goal.
Brother Rice coach Kenny Chaput, who won his second Finals title, said his team's response was critical.
"We could have collapsed," he said. "We told the kids it was the same game as before and to keep playing. They did a good job of that."
Byron Center was playing in its first Final after it reached the 2020 Division 1 Semifinals before the season ended early.
"We have 10 seniors who built this program from nothing," Byron Center coach Taylor Keyworth said. "I couldn't be more proud of our team. No one's had it tougher than the teams that got cut short last year at the end of the season. We go into this season thinking we had a good team, only to get cut short in November. We finally get a chance to play and our guys stayed positive and stuck with it, banded together and had a fantastic season."
After the game, several Brother Rice players, including Hamady, skated to their Byron Center counterparts.
"I used to play with those kids on the TPH Top 80 team," Hamady said. "I became really close with them. I told them they played an outstanding game, they are amazing players and not to worry. It was a battle."
PHOTOS: Brother Rice celebrates after scoring the eventual winning goal with six seconds to play in Saturday's Division 2 Final at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) Brother Rice's Alec Hamady and Byron Center's Ryan Pratt line up for a face off. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)