The Mighty Mack
March 13, 2012
Mackenzie MacEachern sat between teammates Thomas Ebbing and Chris Wilberding after Saturday’s Division 2 hockey championship game, and said he was just happy to win it with his “buds.”
A decision he made nearly a year ago allowed for that opportunity.
The Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice senior is a rarity in high school hockey. As reported by the Oakland Press a few weeks ago, MacEachern was drafted into the North American Hockey League last spring – but instead of leaving for that next step up the hockey ladder as is usually done, he put it off to play one more year. Instead, he continued to play with his high school friends – and claimed the championship that eluded them the year before.
After falling in the 2011 Division 2 Final, MacEachern and Brother Rice beat Grosse Pointe South 4-1 on Saturday to claim their first MHSAA championship since 2005. He’s committed to join Michigan State’s hockey program sometime in the new two years, and will now play at the junior level for at least a season before making the college jump.
“It was unfinished business, basically. We didn’t win it last year,” MacEachern said. “I wanted to come back and try to win it with my team. And it happened.”
MacEachern gets one of this week’s Second Half High 5s after what was arguably the most impressive season of any player in Michigan this winter.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound forward finished with 42 goals and 48 assists despite playing in the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League, which features most of the best teams from the Detroit area including half of the eight semifinalists in Divisions 1 and 2 at Compuware Arena.
His final-week stat sheet was a snapshot of his season as a whole.
MacEachern followed a five-assist performance in the Quarterfinal with four goals and an assist in a 5-0 Semifinal win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern. He added one final goal in the 3-1 win over Grosse Pointe South.
“(He) gives us the opportunity to let other guys step up and be that guy,” Brother Rice coach Lou Schmidt, Jr., said. “Mack has scored a lot of points for us. Thomas Ebbing, he’s also one of the guys; he’s a junior. We’ve got Russell Cicerone, Ross Haffey; these guys are going to be seniors next year. They’ve got a lot of points to fill, but I’ve got complete confidence that they’ll fill it.”
MacEachern and the Warriors finished 25-4-1 this season.
“We’ve grown up together. Our chemistry is just unbeatable,” Ebbing said. “I just give him the puck, and I know he’s got the greatest shot. You can tell by his goals. He’s a great player to play with.”
NFHS Network Touts Hockey Powers
January 21, 2015
By John Gillis
Courtesy of NFHS Huddle Up
This Friday, two talented Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League (MIHL) teams will take to the ice in what promises to be a highly competitive contest that will be broadcast live on the NFHS Network and is being featured this week on the NFHS website.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (11-1-1-1), ranked No. 1 in Division 3, will host Division 2 No. 3 Detroit U-D Jesuit (11-3) at Wallace Ice Arena. (Click here to watch the broadcast.)
Last season, Cranbrook Kingswood went 26-2 overall, placed first in the MIHL North Division at 12-1, and advanced to the MHSAA Quarterfinals where it fell to the eventual champion.
According to longtime Cranes coach Andy Weidenbach, his team and U-D Jesuit's Cubs likely will engage in a spirited game.
“This will be another tough battle in the MIHL – you can’t take a game off and be competitive in this league,” Weidenbach said. “U of D Jesuit and Cranbrook enjoy a friendly rivalry, and each game between them is generally highlighted by close checking, tough defense and low scoring.
“Experience has to be one of our stronger points. There are 13 seniors on the roster, including two senior goalies and four senior defensemen.
“Among our top players is 6-foot, 165-pound senior forward Austin Alger, who centers the No. 1 line, is our “go-to” player, and is committed to Miami (Ohio) University. Five-nine, 165-pound senior defenseman Cooper Stahl plays his position well, handles the puck well, and has great awareness on the ice. Both are team captains who have made significant contributions to the success of the program during their four years at Cranbrook.
“Spencer Applebaum – who is a senior goalie – has an outstanding record in MIHL play, was in net for the state championship game as a sophomore, and the team has confidence with him in the nets.
“As a high school hockey program, Cranbrook is honored that the game with U of D-Jesuit was selected to be highlighted by the NFHS Network. Our school, our students, our fans and the MIHL share in this honor.”
U-D Jesuit coach Rick Bennetts fosters great respect for Cranbrook and concurs with Weidenbach regarding the upcoming game.
“Cranbrook is always one of the best teams in the state, if not the best team in the state each year, and this year is no different,” Bennetts said “They are such a well-coached team that they rarely beat themselves. We have been able to beat them only three times in our 20-year history, so we will have to bring our ‘A Game.’
“We really don’t have top players – we have 10 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders who all work to get the job done. Our leading scorers are Christian Wirth-Karbler and Teddy Apap with 13 points each, followed closely by Sam Knoblauch at 11 points. Our goalies – Jack Deines and Jake Robinson – are also top players for us. As they go, we go.
“We are truly humbled and honored to be a part of this webcast – it’s something we have never had the opportunity to do as a featured game in our 20-year history. We are the only high school in the city of Detroit to have high school hockey ,and our school has stayed in the city of Detroit for almost 140 years educating young men for the Greater Glory of God. One hundred percent of our students go on to college every year, and we currently have 10 former hockey players playing junior and/or college hockey, as well as one playing professionally.”
Huddle Up is published on the National Federation of State High School Associations website and covers everything from legends of the past to the inspiring stories of the present and the record breakers of the future. Click to read more.
PHOTO: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood players huddle up before last week's game against Orchard Lake St. Mary's.