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Performance: Hartland's Brenden Tulpa
February 1, 2018
Brenden Tulpa
Hartland junior – Hockey
Tied for third in points for one of the top-ranked teams in Michigan, Tulpa considers himself a playmaker setting up Hartland’s potent offense. But he’s driven the Eagles’ three-game winning streak as a scorer, putting in two goals versus Northville in a 3-0 win, another against top-ranked Livonia Stevenson in a 6-5 victory and Tuesday the game-winner to down Brighton 2-1 and earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The junior left wing has nine goals and 11 assists this winter for Hartland, which sits 12-4-1 and ranked No. 4 in Division 2. This recent run has been one of the most impressive by any team in the state this season; in addition to Stevenson holding down the top spot, Northville now is ranked No. 8 in Division 1 and Brighton is No. 3. The win over the Bulldogs clinched the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold title.
Tulpa has nearly equaled his nine goals and 12 assists from last season, when he helped the Eagles reach the Division 2 Semifinals in his first season of high school hockey after making the switch from AAA travel. He hopes to play junior hockey after high school and then eventually at the college level. Tulpa is interested in studying radiology and working in the medical field – he carries a 3.8 grade-point average with math and science among his favorite subjects.
Coach Rick Gadwa said: “What's great about Brendan is that the more success he has individually, the more he compliments his teammates. There's a culture we've built at Hartland, and Brendan has done an exceptional job putting his team before himself. When you look at his individual ability, the way Brendan scores big goals in big games is something every coach prays for in their lineup. He can be straight up lethal. When you combine that with his attitude and work ethic, you have yourself a really good hockey player. Brendan came to our program last season as a sophomore and like most, there was some maturing to do. Watching him take that big step this year not only as a hockey player. but as a human being, is what excites me most. As a coach, I like to focus on the game within the game and attributes like respect, humility, discipline, etc., are all things we look for in our players. Seeing a player like Brendan mature the way he has and continue to follow the process to become the best player, student, and person possible is really what it's all about.”
Performance Point: “Those are all KLAA games, and they’re rivalry games, and we needed them to make it to the (league) championship. We went on a little cold spurt there and didn’t win in three games, and these last three we’ve been on a winning streak against top, top teams in the state, and it’s awesome finally coming together as a team.”
Surrounded by standouts: “I’ve just been trying to keep my pregame rituals the same, keep my mindset the same, and I just think I’ve been getting lucky putting the puck in the net. I guess it’s not luck; playing with Josh Albring (6 goals/23 assists), who was (all-state) Dream Team last year; he’s a Mr. Hockey contender. And Jack Behnke (17 goals/9 assists), he’s just been killing it since last year with points and goals. And Joey Larson (8 goals/12 assists) too; playing with those three guys, it’s kinda hard, honestly, not to perform well. Because they’re so good. Playing with them makes everyone else play better. When they bring energy and make good plays, it starts building up throughout the team. I love playing with them.”
Ready for another run: “Our coach Rick Gadwa pretty much built this program from the ground up, with the help of our athletic office. We really didn’t have a very high-ranked team at all. Before (the goal) was just kinda winning a Regional championship, but the past couple of years, when we don’t win the state championship, it’s a letdown because we feel like we can do it. … We’ve just learned that we can’t be comfortable. Like last year, we only lost two games all regular season. Most of us thought we’d just waltz right in and win it. This year we know we can’t get comfortable. We’ve beaten these last three teams; there’s still work to be done.”
Looking up to Luke: “(2016 graduate) Luke Cowan … he put Hartland on the map his senior year. He was unbelievable to watch, one of the best players I’ve ever seen. He was a skill guy, he got a ton of points, but he also worked his butt off all the time in corners, he was a grinder, he rarely made mistakes and he was just a great role model to play after.”
Proud to wear blue & gold: “(Playing high school hockey) was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I have enjoyed hockey so much more in these last two years than I ever have. We get to skate every day. I’ve built great relationships with kids just seeing them every day after school. And then playing in front of students at your school, the big crowd, it’s awesome.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Hartland's Brenden Tulpa starts a rush during last season's Division 2 Semifinal against Birmingham Brother Rice. (Middle) Tulpa looks to line up a shot on goal.
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Flint's Phillips Named NHL 'Community Hero'
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 20, 2019
Rico Phillips had convinced himself before Wednesday night’s NHL Awards that he wasn’t going to win the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.
It was the easiest way to kill nerves that went along with having to speak in front of a room filled with NHL superstars and legends, as well as a national television audience.
But as the award was about to be announced, and a video montage started playing on the screen, the realization he could win started to come back to Phillips. Then O’Ree said his name.
“When I watched Willie O’Ree say my name, it was like this snapshot of time froze, and I was like, ‘No way,’” said Phillips, an MHSAA hockey official and the founder of the Flint Inner City Youth Hockey Program. “I embraced my wife. She has been the person that has been the best advisor to me, and to have her here with me was an incredible moment.”
Phillips was honored for founding and directing his organization, which has given a cost-free opportunity to play the game to about 150 kids ages 8-11 in Flint since 2010. He was one of three finalists, along with Tammi Lyncy of Washington, D.C., and Anthony Benavides of Detroit.
Fans submitted candidates for the award, and the field was whittled to the final three who were then voted on by the public.
The award is named after Hockey Hall of Famer O’Ree, who broke the NHL color barrier in 1958, and who has worked as the league’s diversity ambassador for more than 20 years. It is given to “an individual who – throughout the game of hockey – has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society,” according to a release from the NHL. This was the second year it has been awarded.
“It was surreal, would be the first word,” Phillips said. “I felt an incredible honor – having just met Willie a couple months ago in person, he brings with him this magic. To look over and hear him say my name, it was like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening. Willie O’Ree – Willie O’Ree! – is giving me this award.”
Those who know Phillips could certainly believe it was happening, and that it was a well-deserved honor.
“I wasn’t surprised; I thought if anybody deserved that award, it was Rico,” said Steve Berriman, who serves as assigner and referee-in-chief for the Flint Ice Hockey Referees Association. “I was so darn proud; it was so well deserved. He’s immersed himself in the hockey culture. Whatever he’s accomplished has been all on Rico. He’s done it all himself. From where he’s started to where he’s come, and then the starting of this program, it’s 100 percent on him.”
Phillips, who is a firefighter in Flint, was introduced to the game during the 1980s and fell in love with it. He served as a student trainer for the hockey team at Flint Southwestern, and thanks to plenty of time spent with the officials while in that position, was convinced to get onto the ice wearing the stripes. He became an MHSAA registered official for ice hockey beginning with the 1990-91 season.
“I took up that challenge, and it was terrible at first, because I could barely skate,” Phillips said with a laugh. “One of the other challenges, besides learning how to skate, is that I was met with racial slurs and taunts. I was young, and it was tough. I thought, ‘What did I get myself into?’ I had some people who helped talk me through it.”
Phillips said those mentors explained to him that quitting would give those who taunted him what they wanted, and more than 30 years later, he’s still on the ice. He said he officiates about 40 high school games per year and has worked three MHSAA Semifinals and a handful of Quarterfinals.
It was during the late 1990s that the idea for the Flint Inner City Youth Hockey Program came to Phillips.
“As a hockey referee, in particular, it wasn’t just playing, I know the lack of cultural diversity (in hockey),” Phillips said. “It didn’t bother me, so to speak. But I thought, you know what, there’s something that can be done about this.”
About a decade later, he put the wheels in motion and went to the Flint-based Perani Hockey World to ask for financial assistance. Perani took things a step further, offering to outfit all of the players from head to toe, giving Phillips and his organization 54 sets of gear in total in the first year.
After that first year, a funder fell through. But four years later, the United Way stepped in and provided funding to pay for ice time. The Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League have since stepped in to assist with ice time.
“One of the things I appreciate about our program is that it’s a community collaborative effort,” Phillips said. “These folks give to us without a non-profit status.”
Since its inception, Phillips said that the program has served about 150 players. Each player not only receives gear and instruction at no cost, but also transportation to and from the arena.
“We have 12 that went on to continue playing hockey, which is huge,” Phillips said. “I’m very proud of that – I didn’t expect that. We help and seek out additional funding for our participants that come through to help with the cost as they move on. The kids that come to our program, they don’t understand or know about hockey or even ice skating. We’re taking these families and teaching them to love this sport.”
Phillips has been saddened by the decline of the sport in the Flint area, saying that when he began officiating there were more than 20 high school teams in the area, and now there are fewer than 10. He said he also struggles to fill his program each year.
He hopes that will change with the exposure that has come with this award.
“What I’m hoping is this opens up the doors a little more, that this brings some gravity,” Phillips said. “On the flip side, when talking about funding, (since he was announced as a finalist for the award) I’ve had owners of pro teams and others coming up to me saying, ‘We’re going to send you equipment and send you some funding.’ This definitely puts our program on the map – on the bigger map. It means a lot of more intense work that I have to do.”
The award also shined a positive light on Flint, which is something Phillips did not take for granted.
“It was an overwhelming response that I received from the community,” Phillips said. “There were watch parties – I just saw a video a little while ago of when the announcement was made, and they just went crazy. It means the world. I say this a lot of times, but there seems to be a dark cloud that likes to hang over Flint and has for decades. There are so many of us that are little lights that shine, and this was a big shining light. Every opportunity we get in Flint to pick our heads up and be proud is important.”
Click for more on the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award.
PHOTOS: (Top) From right, Rico Phillips, wife Sandy and NHL Hall of Famer Willie O'Ree. (Middle) Phillips drops the puck for a face-off during the Division 3 Semifinal between Houghton and Riverview Gabriel Richard this winter. (Below) Phillips, left, with his award and the Nashville Predators' P.K. Subban. (Top and below photos courtesy of Rico Phillips.)