Kruzich Family Connections Run Deep Through Mattawan Hockey, Rivalry
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 17, 2023
MATTAWAN — When this season’s South Central High School Hockey League schedule was announced, twins Kaleb and Zach Kruzich immediately circled Feb. 15.
That’s the red-letter day their Mattawan Wildcats face off against the Kalamazoo Eagles, coached by their uncle, Matt Kruzich.
“When Matt told me he was coaching the Eagles (three years ago), he said, ‘I don’t even want you to look at me (during the game),’” Zach Kruzich laughed.
“‘I don’t even want to talk to you at the rink,’ which is perfectly fine by me.”
Adding to the family dynamics, the twins’ father, Bart, is assistant coach with Wildcats’ head coach, Chris Dienes.
“We always really get up for that game, for sure,” Bart Kruzich said. “They beat us last year, so we definitely remember that. It’s always a big game.”
Off the ice, it is back to family.
“We all live on the farm, so we’re all very close and see each other every day,” Matt Kruzich said.
In addition, Dienes and Matt Kruzich are roommates.
“Out of hockey, most of the topics are about fantasy football than hockey,” Kaleb Kruzich said.
Hockey aside, the twins are, so far, the last of four generations of Wildcats.
Their great-grandmother, the late Emma Papierz Kruzich; their grandfather John Kruzich, and their dad all graduated from Mattawan High School.
As for hockey, “We were born into it,” laughed Zach Kruzich.
Their dad played for the Junior K-Wings from 1991-93.
Uncle Matt played professionally for the United Hockey League Kalamazoo Wings in 2002-03.
Oldest brother Jake also played for the Wildcats before continuing as a student only at Michigan State.
Dienes, in his second year as the Wildcats’ head coach, also brings a wealth of hockey experience to the team.
After playing at Western Michigan University from 2013-17, he played professionally for the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder and Jacksonville Icemen, and then with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose in 2017-18.
The twins figure this is their last year of organized hockey — they are not planning to play in college — so they are going all out.
Kaleb is a left-handed defenseman wearing No. 13, and Zach a right-handed forward sporting No. 19.
That is the easiest way the tell them apart.
“My grandparents can never tell who’s who on the ice,” Kaleb said. “They need our numbers. A lot of the fans are the same. They need a roster to differentiate.”
Dienes said he also has trouble telling the twins apart.
“Sometimes I get caught yelling at one and it’s not the right one, but I can tell them apart on the ice easy,” he said.
The twins complement each other during games, but practices are quite a bit different.
“I’m always like, ‘Can I skip you so I can go against Kaleb?’” Zach said. “In games, we’re just teammates.”
Kaleb also looks forward to practices, saying he and his brother grew up competing against each other.
“We definitely try our hardest against each other in practice,” he said. “Definitely some slashes, some punches thrown on the ice, just like quick stuff. It happens. Brothers being brothers, especially when we’re the same age.”
Dienes and Bart Kruzich have an understanding when it comes to coaching.
“He does a good job,” Dienes said. “He allows me to do the coaching of them for the most part. It’s a good mix of me being bad cop sometimes and him being good cop, which is good for him as a dad.”
Bart Kruzich said he talked at length with Mattawan athletic director Chad Yager and Dienes before agreeing to become assistant coach.
“For the most part, I don’t really coach a lot to my own kids. That was an agreement I made with Chris and Chad Yager,” Bart Kruzich said.
“I’m probably harder on my own kids than I am on the others. They’re used to it. It’s been like that since they were 6 years old, and now they’re 18.”
So far, the Wildcats have a 7-4-2 record, 5-1 in the league, where they and Jackson Lumen Christi are the only teams who are not cooperative programs. The co-ops are the Portage Muskies, Kalamazoo United, Kalamazoo Eagles, Kalamazoo Blades, Capital City, and Eastside.
“Our numbers have actually grown over the years,” Dienes said of his team. “When I first started as an assistant (two years ago), we had 21 kids try out.
“Last year we had 39, and this year we had 40. I think that number is going to continue to grow over the years, so it’s exciting.”
The Wildcats won their first playoff game in 10 years last season and hope to build on that.
“The twins and our senior leaders – Colin Swintz, Colin O’Reilly, Aidan Warn and Niko Lewis – have really led the charge,” Dienes said.
Juniors are Colin Porn, Matt Novak, Landis Mills, Jake Mandeville, Gavin Mckeeby, Brody Schripsema, Nathan Whitehead, Nicholas Amos and Edmond Lafleche. Sophomores are Dom Vezeau, Carson Mattern, Carson Smith, Caden Byers, Kibwe Weaver and Brayden Lewis.
Zach Kruzich said most of his teammates have played together since youth hockey which, along with being at the same school, is a big advantage.
Another strength is team depth, Bart Kruzich said.
“This year, we have 13 forwards and six defensemen, and we feel like we can put any of those 13 forwards out there and we’re competitive with all 13 of those kids,” he said.
“When we get into a good game, we can roll three and one-half lines and kind of tire teams out. Our talent pool is pretty deep.”
While the twins are enjoying their senior year on the ice, neither plans to continue hockey in college. Both hope to attend Miami of Ohio, joining their sister Katie and leaving their parents as empty nesters.
Meanwhile, hockey tends to be the topic of the day at home.
“After games, we go home and (Dad) loves watching (tapes of) the games, sometimes a little too much, but we talk about it,” Zach Kruzich said.
Bart Kruzich said his wife, Kristen, is a super fan.
“I give her a lot of credit,” he said. “She’s always been awesome at really encouraging the team, especially the twins.
“She doesn’t pay attention to only her kids; she really been supportive of the whole team.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Twins Zach (left) and Kaleb Kruzich take a moment for a photo during a Mattawan game night. (2) Kaleb Kruzich winds up to shoot. (3) Mattawan hockey head coach Chris Dienes. (4) Zach Kruzich, left, stands with dad and assistant coach Bart Kruzich and brother Kaleb. (Photos by Avian Townley.)
Farmington Finishes Fantastic Run as #1
March 8, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
PLYMOUTH – Goaltender John Lethemon was right on all week for the Farmington hockey team.
In net, he was nearly unbeatable. And after the Falcons finished an unpredictable run Saturday with a 2-1 win over Sault Ste. Marie and their first MHSAA title, he said what everyone else was thinking.
“I don’t really think anybody in Michigan besides these 19 guys, our four coaches, the trainers and obviously our parents believed we could do this,” Lethemon said. “We knew all along that if we caught fire at the right time, some bounces would go our way … and we all just busted our butts the whole six games."
Well said.
It was tough a week ago to see the Division 3 tournament unfolding the way it did over the last five days, with reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood considered the best by many in any division and a likely champ if the Cranes somehow were to stumble.
That was before Lethemon made 60 saves in a 3-2 win over Cranbrook-Kingswood in the Quarterfinal, 21 more in a 2-1 win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Friday and a final 29 as the Falcons dispatched of the Blue Devils – and then accepted his championship medal to student section chants of “M.V.P.”
But the Falcons felt the impact of a number of contributors this week.
In front of Lethemon were a strong group of defensemen including seniors Austin Meltzer, Grant Newton and Roman Firestone, who all likely played close to 40 minutes during the Final. Keying the offense was sophomore Jason Petras, who scored once in the Semifinal and both goals in the championship game.
And keying Petras, in part, was his guardian angel.
Jason’s mom Kim Petras, also a teacher in the Farmington district, died Feb. 4 after a fight against colon cancer. He played for the Falcons that night, and with his teammates has since rallied to her memory.
Farmington coach Bill Newton – himself currently battling the same form of cancer – called Petras “a warrior and the catalyst of this hockey team from that point.”
“My mom was watching down, definitely helping me,” Petras said. “I knew she was with me through thick and thin. She’s my number one fan, and I knew she had a lot to do with how I played the last couple of games; that’s for sure.”
Farmington had scored first in all of its first five postseason games, and Petras giving the Falcons the lead again just 38 seconds in provided another jolt of confidence to go along with their teammate defending between the pipes.
Petras added his second goal at 13:17 of the first period.
Blue Devils senior Blake Mastaw got his team on the board 18 seconds into the second period. But Lethemon and his crew of blueliners took care of the next 36 minutes and change.
“We thought if we could play with a first-goal lead, that might take them out of their comfort zone and leave their goaltender hanging out on odd-man rushes,” Sault Ste. Marie coach John Ferroni said. “But they got the first goal, and we had to play a different style.
“They always thought, hey, we could steal this game. A 2-1 game is just one good shot on goal and you’re back tied again.”
Sault Ste. Marie finished 25-3-2 and runner-up for the seventh time as it pursued its first MHSAA hockey title since 1989.
Farmington ended 21-10, giving Newton a championship in his first season as head coach after a decade as an assistant. Brother to Michigan State University assistant coach Tom Newton, Bill quoted Tom in describing how a coach never sits too far away on the bus from his goalie – and how he was careful to not let Lethemon too far out of his sight.
Nor did his teammates as they piled onto him moments after finishing their run.
“You can’t call me M.V.P. These guys played great the whole time,” Lethemon said. “I just made the saves I had to make.”
PHOTO: (Top) Farmington goaltender John Lethemon makes one of his 29 saves Saturday in the Division 3 Final. (Middle) Sault Ste. Marie players bump gloves, led by senior Benjamine LaCross. (Middle photo by Andrew Knapik/Southgate.)