Heritage Rises to Top of New Division
February 10, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
SAGINAW TOWNSHIP — Conventional wisdom suggests that Saginaw Heritage received an easier path to an MHSAA hockey championship with its drop from Division 2 to Division 3 this season.
While competing against smaller schools might improve a team's championship hopes in other sports, that scenario doesn't apply to hockey.
All three divisions in the MHSAA Tournament are loaded with traditional powerhouses. The big schools in Division 1, headlined by Detroit Catholic Central, obviously have strength in sheer numbers. In Division 2, Trenton and Birmingham Brother Rice hold their own against anybody year in and year out. Down in Division 3, the road to an MHSAA championship features formidable roadblocks in the form of non-public school heavyweights like Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and any team strong enough to survive a brutal Upper Peninsula Regional.
So, it's pretty much a case of picking your poison.
"I don't think it matters what division you're in," Heritage coach J.J. Bamberger said. "We saw we were in Division 3, and it doesn't matter. Our first-round game against Flint Powers isn't anything different than us being in our first game against Midland High or Midland Dow the last few years. It's not like it gets any easier in any division you're in. In Division 1, 2 or 3, there are a lot of good teams. Hancock, the Division 3 No. 4 team, just beat the No. 1 team in Division 2. It's not any easier wherever you are."
What seemed like a break for Heritage quickly changed when the opening-round pairings were drawn. Right off the bat, the Hawks will face one of the premier Division 3 programs in the state in Flint Powers Catholic at 6 p.m. Feb. 29 at Saginaw-Bay Ice Arena, the Hawks' home rink. Powers has been in the Quarterfinals 14 times in 16 years of Division 3 play, winning a record 32 Regional championships since the MHSAA began sponsoring a hockey tournament in 1974-75.
It will be Heritage's first postseason game in Division 3 after being a Division 2 squad ever since the MHSAA went to a divisional format in 2000. Heritage has made the Quarterfinals six times in Division 2, reaching the Semifinals three times.
Having home-ice advantage against Powers will be a boost for the Hawks, though they may not need one. They have already made a statement to the rest of Division 3, going into Powers' home arena on Feb. 2 and skating off with a decisive 5-2 victory over a team that was riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and No. 2 ranking in Division 3 at the time.
"They're pretty deep," Powers coach Travis Perry said. "Their top line has got a lot of speed, and they gave us a lot of problems. We have to find a way to get ready for them."
That victory put Heritage in sole possession of first place in the Saginaw Valley League, the only thing that mattered to the Hawks on that night. Any thoughts of the game being a postseason preview were brushed aside.
"It's a big win," junior goalie Danny Yockey said. "We haven't won the Saginaw Valley League in seven years; it's ours to lose now."
"It's part of our process of trying to win our league," Bamberger said. "We're taking it one game at a time. We're not worried about anything come playoff time. I told the guys, 'Let's not make this about anything other than tonight.'"
Perhaps an even greater statement was made the following weekend when Heritage ended Hancock's 11-game winning streak, beating the currently second-ranked Bulldogs 4-3 on Feb. 5 in Trenton. The next day, the Hawks won 3-0 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which was No. 14 in Division 3 last week.
A four-game winning streak following an 11-1 loss to Toledo St. Francis on Jan. 29 had the Hawks at 17-2 and ranked No. 6 in Division 3 entering this week. The most recent rankings, which came out Wednesday, saw Heritage climb to the top spot.
"It's the chemistry," junior forward Sam Spaedt said. "Most of us juniors and seniors mesh together. We're having fun in the locker room. We're having fun on the ice. The coaches are great, too. The leadership is good. That's what's getting the job done."
Spaedt is far and away Heritage's leading scorer with 42 points, but there's plenty of depth throughout the rest of the lineup. Devan Bayne has 27 points, Gavin Dietrich 26, Chris Cornford 21, Zach Dornseifer 20, Brandon Ashley 17, Hunter Parasiliti 17 and Spencer Vondette 16.
Dietrich's 15 goals and Spaedt's 31 assists are team highs.
"We have a lot of forwards who can really go and really skate," Bamberger said. "We get some different scoring from different lines. I don't consider our fourth line a fourth line, because a fourth line generally doesn't play. Our fourth line not only plays, but they contribute. Each line had a goal (against Powers). From a tenacity standpoint, our guys keep going, keep going; you're going to wear teams down."
Spaedt has been the consummate setup artist for the Hawks, with his point total leaning heavily toward assists. He has 11 goals to go with his 31 assists. Three of those goals have come while shorthanded. His goals have come in bunches, with four two-goal games. He's had at least three assists five times.
"I'm always in a pass-first mentality," Spaedt said. "The guys are great. They bury the puck after I give it to them. If I have a chance to score, I'll take it. I'm happy if the guys give me the puck. The team really meshes well; that's part of the points, too."
For all of his playmaking prowess, Spaedt still ranks third on the team in goals.
"He scores, too," Bamberger said. "To be honest with you, I didn't realize that he's got (11) goals and 30-some assists. I think it's because he's a real smart player. More so than that, we have a lot of finishers on our team. We have a lot of guys who can put it in the net. Whoever he's giving it to, they're putting the puck in the net."
Yockey has played the majority of minutes in goal for Heritage, posting a 12-2 record, a 2.64 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage. In his last three games, all against state-ranked Division 3 teams, he has a 1.67 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Devin Wolfgang is 4-0 with two shutouts, a 0.57 GAA and a .966 save percentage as the backup goalie.
"The forwards are really good at back-checking and we're just smart in our zone," Yockey said.
Before Heritage can focus on the rematch with Powers, the Hawks will look to close out the Saginaw Valley championship with games against Mount Pleasant tonight and Bay City Central on Feb. 17. The pre-tournament tuning-up phase will include a game against Howell, the seventh-ranked team in Division 1, on Feb. 24.
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. 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’s Mitch Wise, right, prepares for a faceoff during a recent game against Flint Powers Catholic. (Middle) Leading scorer Sam Spaedt rips a shot for the Hawks. (Photos by Bill Khan.)
DCC's Championship Dream Comes True
March 9, 2019
Second Half reports
PLYMOUTH — Brendan Hill was hooked on high school hockey long before he played his first shift at Detroit Catholic Central.
“When I was like 8 years old, I would come to these games and watch and see how rowdy the student section is,” said Hill, a senior defenseman. “I had a dream to play at C.C. It just happened. There’s no words for it.”
The dream came with a dream ending for Hill and the Shamrocks’ 12 seniors, as their final act in a Catholic Central uniform was celebrating an MHSAA Division 1 championship after a 3-1 victory over Saginaw Heritage on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena.
The game was played before an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,000 fans, including two large and vocal student sections.
“You have all your closest buddies up there going bananas,” senior forward Carter Korpi said. “It’s awesome. It makes it that much better.”
The atmosphere in which the game was played is the biggest selling point for coaches like Catholic Central’s Brandon Kaleniecki when they try to persuade students in their own hallways to choose the high school game over the travel ranks.
Another selling point is the caliber of play in Michigan. There was a time when Catholic Central would steamroll through the MHSAA Tournament, facing little opposition. Those days are gone.
The Shamrocks, heavy favorites to win it all this winter, had to survive a 1-0 Quarterfinal with Salem and a 4-2 Semifinal with Rochester United and needed an empty-net goal in the final minute before they could exhale against Heritage.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of big programs out there,” Kaleniecki said. “That’s what makes winning so difficult, because you never know. The last three games were all close, tight games that required everything we had to get through it. There is a lot of talent in the state of Michigan. There is a lot of talent in high school hockey.
“If you watched all the games today, the environment speaks for itself and why more and more kids are going to want to play high school hockey. Guys from this team are going on to play juniors. That option is there. People are starting to realize that; hopefully more do, because you get to experience something like this. As a coach, I love it. I’m so excited to be a part of it.”
This senior class was at risk of being one of the few at Catholic Central to not win an MHSAA championship during its time in the program.
It was the 14th MHSAA title for the Shamrocks, tying them with Trenton for second most all-time. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood leads the way with 17 titles. Only three times in the last 22 seasons has Catholic Central gone more than one year without a championship.
The Shamrocks fell short against Brighton each of the last two seasons, losing 5-2 in the 2017 championship game and 2-1 in the 2018 Semifinals.
“When you have that good of players on the ice and off the ice, when they’d lose it’s tragic,” Catholic Central senior forward Mitch Morris said. “I’m really happy we all got to celebrate. It’s bittersweet. You feel bad for (the last two senior classes). You wish you could have done more. I hope all the underclassmen realize that’s why you play.”
Catholic Central took a 1-0 lead when senior forward Rylan Clemons skated in from the left circle and put a shot from close quarters under the crossbar over the right shoulder of Heritage goalie Jack Jesko at 9:22 of the first period.
Jesko kept it a one-goal game when he made perhaps the save of the year in high school hockey. Down on his side during a scramble around the net, Jesko made a glove save on a shot by Zach Borchardt, who appeared to have almost the entire net available with 7:29 left in the second period.
“I was just trying to throw my glove out and give myself a chance,” said Jesko, whose 44 saves on 46 shots ranked fifth for an MHSAA Final. “Happy to hit it. I just kept my focus and acted like it was just a normal save; don’t get too high and don’t get too low.”
The Shamrocks finally got some breathing room when Ryan Marra deflected a shot from the point by Luke Collins past Jesko with 10:41 left in the game.
The Hawks pulled Jesko for an extra attacker with 2:12 remaining and quickly cashed in, cutting the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by Edison Symons with 1:56 to go.
Marra scored into an empty net with 54.4 seconds left to seal the Shamrocks’ victory.
For Heritage, it was the second straight loss in the MHSAA championship game against an established power. The Hawks lost to Brighton, 5-2, in last year’s title game. Before last year, the only team from Saginaw to reach a championship game was Saginaw Nouvel, which lost in the 1990 Class B Final.
“We’re really trying to make strides in getting our team noticed throughout the state, and not just in our area,” Heritage coach J.J. Bamberger said. “This is our fifth final four appearance and second state championship game, coming up short both times. For a school like ours in our area, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central players celebrate their Division 1 championship with their fans Saturday night at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) Heritage goalie Jack Jesko stretches to block the net as DCC’s Zach Borchardt winds up for a shot.