Hartland Ices Rematch To Finish Repeat
March 9, 2019
Second Half reports
PLYMOUTH — When Adam Pietila won a national championship with his travel hockey team last April, nobody in Hartland outside of his family knew about it.
When he won an MHSAA Division 2 championship with Hartland on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena, he did so in front of a large student section and with his best friends at the school.
“This is better,” said the Hartland sophomore, who scored the Eagles’ third goal in a 4-0 shutout of Trenton. “Going to school with everybody every day is just a great time.”
It’s the experience of playing for one’s school, in front of kids that players see every day in class, that coach Rick Gadwa pitches to talented players at Hartland who are on the fence about playing high school hockey.
The scene at USA Hockey Arena, with players jumping up against the glass to celebrate with the student section, could be Exhibit A in that sales pitch.
“You want to have a place where guys can come play where they’re feeling the love, where maybe sometimes they weren’t or it’s a different look or another stop for them,” said Gadwa, who played for Hartland 16 years ago. “More important, the pride of high school hockey, the pride of playing for your school, that stuff you don’t get in AAA or AA hockey. It’s a real special thing when you can come play for your school.”
Two of the newcomers to the Eagles in their quest to repeat were the Pietila brothers, Adam and Owen. Owen, a senior, scored two goals eight seconds apart to break a scoreless deadlock late in the first period after Hartland failed to cash in on a long five-on-three power play.
Owen Pietila made up his mind to play for Hartland after watching the Eagles beat Trenton in last year’s championship game.
“It looked like fun,” he said.
The Division 2 ranks were dominated all season by four powerhouse programs: Hartland, Trenton, Livonia Stevenson and Birmingham Brother Rice.
In the end, there was no doubt which team was the best in the division. Hartland (27-4) beat Brother Rice, 6-2, in the Semifinals before outshooting the Trojans, 44-13, in a dominant performance in the title game.
“We had a good plan here to start the playoffs,” Gadwa said. “We kept building and building and building. We got to the top at the end. The buy-in and effort as strong as it was is hard to beat, no matter how good you are. We played some good teams. Brother Rice and Trenton are unbelievable programs. Hat’s off to them on another great year.”
Trenton was hoping to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Eagles in last year’s championship game. The Trojans (25-5-1) came in with confidence, having shut out Hartland, 2-0, on Feb. 1. But Hartland was in command from start to finish, getting the first 11 shots of the game and 17 of the first 18.
“The first time we played them, we had a few bounces go our way,” Trenton coach Chad Clements said. “They had a few bounces go their way tonight. They outshot us two-to-one the last time we played them. I kind of expected that, just because of how offensive they were. I was fine with being outshot. As long as we kept the shots from the outside, we were fine with that.
“It’s their night again. We beat them this year, just not when it mattered.”
Adam Pietila’s goal at 13:47 of the second period came on the rebound of a Benny Tervo shot on a breakaway. Gabe Anderson completed the scoring with 4:33 left in the game.
Brett Tome made 13 saves to backstop the Eagles to the Division 2 championship for the second straight time. He had a 12-0 career record as a playoff starter, allowing only seven goals and posting seven shutouts.
“It means a lot to me to not lose a single game in the playoffs,” Tome said.
On the other end of the rink, Joey Cormier made 40 saves to keep the Trojans in the game most of the way.
“Joey’s just a tremendous competitor, the backbone of our team,” Clements said. “Without him, it could have been much worse. He gives us a chance to win every time that he plays.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Hartland players celebrate clinching their second straight Division 2 championship at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) The Eagles’ Owen Pietila tries to stuff a shot past Trenton goalie Joey Cormier during Saturday’s Final. (Photos by Andrew Knapik.)
- Boys Basketball
- Girls Basketball
- Boys Bowling
- Girls Bowling
- Competitive Cheer
- Gymnastics
- Ice Hockey
- Boys Swim & Dive
- Girls Swim & Dive
- Wrestling
- MHSAA News
MHSAA Announces Sites, Schedule Details for Winter Indoor Sports Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 10, 2021
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has confirmed sites for its indoor Winter sports championship rounds, including an adjustment for the Individual Wrestling Finals that will allow more fans to attend that event after an increase in spectators limits was put into effect March 5 by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
The Individual Wrestling Finals previously were announced to be competed in full at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. However, a change moving two divisions to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids will allow for more fans, primarily immediate family, to attend. Previously, wrestlers were to be limited to one spectator per participant; with multiple sites, wrestlers will be allowed multiple spectators each.
Similarly, Van Andel and the Breslin Center in East Lansing will host additional events to allow more fans to attend championship rounds in competitive cheer and girls and boys basketball. Both facilities have capacities of more than 10,000 spectators and may host up to 750 per MDHHS guidelines.
The Competitive Cheer Finals will move to Breslin Center to allow more fans to attend compared to other venues that were being considered. Semifinals in girls and boys basketball will be split by divisions between Breslin Center and Van Andel Arena, in part to provide for greater attendance and also to keep those rounds scheduled to just two locations instead of spreading games across a number of others.
The following are sites and schedules for Finals weekends for the remaining MHSAA Tournaments this winter, with further updates to be posted to the MHSAA Website:
Girls Basketball
Where: Division 1 and 3 Semifinals at Breslin Center in East Lansing. Division 2 and 4 Semifinals at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. All four Finals will be played at Breslin Center.
When: Semifinals are April 7, with Divisions 3 and 4 beginning at 10 a.m. at their respective sites followed by Divisions 1 and 2 at 3:30 p.m. Finals on April 9 will be played at 10 a.m. (D4), 12:30 p.m. (D1), 3 p.m. (D3) and 5:30 p.m. (D2).
Boys Basketball
Where: Division 1 and 3 Semifinals at Breslin Center in East Lansing. Division 2 and 4 Semifinals at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. All four Finals will be played at Breslin Center.
When: Semifinals are April 8, with Divisions 3 and 4 beginning at 10 a.m. at their respective sites followed by Divisions 1 and 2 at 3:30 p.m. Finals on April 10 will be played at 10 a.m. (D4), 12:30 p.m. (D1), 3 p.m. (D3) and 5:30 p.m. (D2).
Girls & Boys Bowling
Where: Division 1 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Division 2 at Century Bowl in Waterford, Division 3 at Jax 60 in Jackson and Division 4 at Super Bowl in Canton.
When: Team Finals are Friday, March 26, and Singles Finals are March 27. Both events begin at 8 a.m.
Competitive Cheer
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing
When: Friday, March 26 – Division 3 at 10 a.m., Division 1 at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 27 – Division 2 at 10 a.m., Division 4 at 3 p.m.
Gymnastics
Where: Rockford High School
When: Team Finals on Friday, March 26, beginning at 2 p.m. Individual Finals on March 27, beginning at noon.
Ice Hockey
Where: USA Hockey Arena
When: Semifinals on Thursday, March 25, for Division 2 beginning at 4:30 p.m., and March 26 for Divisions 1 and 3 with first games for those divisions beginning at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. All three Finals will be played March 27, at 11 a.m. (D2), 3 p.m. (D3) and 7 p.m. (D1).
Boys Swimming & Diving – Lower Peninsula
Where: Division 1 at Hudsonville High School, Division 2 at Jenison High School, Division 3 at Hamilton High School (diving) and Holland Aquatic Center (swimming).
When: Diving on Friday, March 26, and all swimming Finals are March 27. Start times are being determined.
Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving – Upper Peninsula
Where: Marquette High School
When: Diving this Friday, March 12, 2:35 p.m. Swimming is Saturday, March 13, beginning at 11:05 a.m.
Wrestling – Team
Where: Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Divisions 2 and 4 in the Arena and Divisions 1 and 3 in the Valley for pre-Finals rounds. All Finals in the Arena.
When: March 30. Quarterfinals will be followed by Semifinals and Finals, with start times to be determined.
Wrestling – Individual
Where: Divisions 1 and 3 at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. Divisions 2 and 4 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
When: Divisions 2 and 3 on Friday, April 2. Divisions 1 and 4 on Saturday, April 3. Starts times are being determined.