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.
Hancock Finishes Long Trip as Champion
April 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As the Hancock hockey team bus rolled into town to end last month’s Division 3 championship run, coach Dan Rouleau warned his players that the celebration was just getting started.
“I told these kids on the bus coming home, they were going to be rock stars over the next month,” he recalled Thursday. “And they certainly are.”
That’ll happen when a hockey-crazed community earns its first MHSAA title since 1999, along the way beating 17-time champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 2-1 in overtime in the Semifinal and four-time finalist Grand Rapids Catholic Central 4-2 in the championship game.
And despite the Bulldogs’ No. 2 ranking heading into the postseason, the run was made all the more incredible considering Hancock, with 262 students, had the lowest enrollment of among hockey schools in Michigan this winter and was paced by two underclassmen leading scorers and a sophomore goaltender.
“I told the guys before the season started that we’ve got a chance to do something special. I really felt like we had the chance to do this,” said Rouleau, who was an assistant for the 1999 team that won the Class B-C-D title. “When we were looking at who was coming back for the other teams, when we got to the Quarterfinals we told (our team) there are seven teams that could beat you guys, and seven that you could beat. It was that close.”
The Bulldogs are the Applebee’s Team of the Month for March after finishing the run as the best of that final eight, but also with a school-record 24 wins to go with only six losses – four decided in overtime and the other two by only one goal apiece.
Seniors Jack Fenton and Dylan Paavola made the Division 3 all-state first and seconds teams, respectively, bringing a veteran presence to the group of blueliners. But behind them, all-state goalie Dawson Kero was only a sophomore. Sophomore right wing Teddy Rendell was the team’s leading scorer with 24 goals and 36 assists, making the all-state first team, and freshman left wing Alex Nordstrom made the second team with 33 goals and 26 assists. (They were centered by senior Danny Hill, who joined Fenton and Paavola as captains.)
But on-ice dominance was only part of what made Hancock’s run so memorable. Here’s some of the rest:
Hancock, just over the Portage Lake Bridge on the Upper Peninsula’s Keweenaw Peninsula, is one of Michigan’s northernmost towns – and located 540 miles from USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, home of the MHSAA Finals. Hancock also is 100 miles from Marquette, where it faced Sault Ste. Marie in a Quarterfinal on March 9, two days before it would take on the Cranes in their Semifinal.
First-year athletic director Steve Aho knew if his team won Tuesday in Marquette, it wouldn’t return home but would keep going all the way to Plymouth – so he was charged with planning for a potential five days of hotels, transportation, meals and more. He also started on plans for a fan bus that would bring students to the championship game if Hancock won the Semifinal that Thursday.
Neither trip would come cheap, of course. But that’s where Hancock’s wide-reaching web of supporters stepped in.
Teams making the long trip downstate frequently fund-raise to offset costs, Aho said. In this case the Bulldogs decided to try a GoFundMe crowd-funding web page, asking for $6,000 to combine with what the MHSAA gives teams for travel.
Aho had the team’s seniors write their story before the Quarterfinal, so the request would be in their voice and from their perspective. He published it immediately after the Bulldogs beat Sault Ste. Marie – and by Wednesday, $3,000 had been raised with funds coming in from alumni spread all over the Midwest and beyond. Within two days, the $6,000 was raised, which when combined with funds from the MHSAA paid for the trip.
Rouleau said as the bus traveled south, his players watched the donations come in on their phones – and also the inspirational messages left by alums, including the Chicago Blackhawks’ Tanner Kero. “These guys knew they were involved in something special at that point,” Rouleau said.
Meanwhile, the school’s athletic boosters paid for most of a fan bus that was filled with 51 (for 53 seats) who made the trip to root on the Bulldogs – then got right back on the bus for the long trip home.
But what a trip back it was for the team. A Marquette County Sheriff’s deputy escorted the bus through that county, then passing the Bulldogs off to a Baraga County deputy. From Munising homeward (about 150 miles) the parade continued to grow until it swelled to roughly 40 rescue vehicles followed by fan vehicles for another mile (see the long line arriving in town on the video below).
It was a trip none of the players or coaches will forget. Rouleau had enjoyed the 1999 championship with his son and nephew on the team, but this run certainly rivals if not surpasses the first – not only is Rouleau now the head coach, but he also was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease six years ago and was hoping he’d have another opportunity to take a team downstate before his health would make him step down.
With the players Hancock should bring back next season, his team's next trip to Plymouth might come after a much shorter wait.
Past Teams of the Month, 2015-16:
February: Petoskey boys skiing – Report
January: Spring Lake boys swimming & diving – Report
December: Saginaw Heritage girls basketball – Report
November: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard volleyball – Report
October: Benton Harbor football – Report
September: Mason and Okemos boys soccer – Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Hancock players celebrate after their Division 3 Final win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central last month. (Middle) The Bulldogs turn to salute fans who also made the 500-mile trip to USA Hockey Arena.