Preview: Hopefuls Eye Chance for 1st Title
March 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Seven of 12 teams playing in this weekend's Ice Hockey Semifinals find themselves a mere two victories from the first MHSAA championship in their programs' histories.
If pre-tournament rankings continue to play out, at least one of those hopefuls will celebrate Saturday at Plymouth's USA Hockey Arena.
The pairings are as follows:
Division 2 – Thursday
Saline vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, 5 p.m.
Birmingham Brother Rice vs. Hartland, 7:30 p.m.
Division 3 - Friday
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Calumet, 11 a.m.
Warren DeLaSalle vs. Dearborn Divine Child, 1:30 p.m.
Division 1 – Friday
Northville vs. Brighton, 5 p.m.
Grandville vs. Detroit Catholic Central 7:30 p.m.
FINALS – Saturday
Division 2 - 10 a.m.
Division 3 - 2 p.m.
Division 1 - 6 p.m.
All Semifinals and Finals will be streamed live per subscription basis on MHSAA.tv, with live audio available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Click for a full schedule of this weekend's games plus full results as they come in. Player statistics below are through the Regional round except for Grandville's, which include the Quarterfinal.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record/rank: 22-6-1, No. 3
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2013), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Paul Moggach, 22nd season (411-144-43)
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Central and Kensington Conference.
Best wins: 2-1 (Regional Final) and 5-3 over No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2-1 over No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 7-2 over No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 1-0 and 1-0 over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson, 4-3 over Division No. 5 Livonia Churchill, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 7 Plymouth.
Players to watch: Jake Crespi, senior F (28 goals, 26 assists); Adam Conquest, jr. F (15 goals, 18 assists); Ben Peterson, sr. F (11 goals, 19 assists); Logan Neaton, sr. G (1.55 goals-against average, 5 shutouts).
Outlook: Make it five Semifinal appearances in six seasons as the Bulldogs are back after finishing runner-up a year ago. Brighton has beaten the best, including top-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s a second time to get here, and done so after going 1-3-1 to finish the regular season. Neaton made the all-state first team last season, and Brighton has given up only two goals over four playoff games.
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 21-7-1, No. 2
Championship history: 13 MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), four runner-up finishes.
Coach: Brandon Kaleniecki, second season (42-14-1)
League finish: Second in Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League North.
Best wins: 5-2 over No. 8 Utica Eisenhower in the Regional Final, 2-0 over No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 4-0 and 5-1 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 4-0 over Grandville, 4-1 and 4-1 over Division 2 No. 6 Trenton, 4-2 over Division 2 No. 3 Grosse Pointe South, 3-1 over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson.
Players to watch: Brendan West, jr. F (12 goals, 22 assists); Michael Considine sr. F (15 goals, 9 assists); Zach Sprys-Tellner, sr. F (17 goals, 9 assists); Sean Finstrom, sr. G (1.71 goals-against average, 6 shutouts).
Outlook: The Shamrocks ran their championship streak to three last season and have won 10 of their last 11 games as they pursue a fourth straight title. DCC has given up four goals total over four postseason games, and for the season Finstrom and senior Joe Pernecky have combined to give up only 49 goals with nine shutouts. Although DCC graduated an experienced core last spring, this team also is loaded with upperclassmen and balance, as 10 players had at least 14 points entering this week.
GRANDVILLE
Record/rank: 19-10, unranked
Championship history: Division 1 runner-up 2015.
Coach: Joel Breazeale, seventh season (126-61-6).
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier I.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 8 Utica Eisenhower, 4-1 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern, 3-2 over Division 3 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch: Trevor Gelfius, jr. F (16 goals, 18 assists); Zach Tykocki, jr. F (18 goals, 14 assists); David Breazeale, jr. D (9 goals, 18 assists); Shane Haggerty, jr. F (15 goals, 6 assists).
Outlook: Grandville has won six Regional titles over Joel Breazeale’s seven seasons as coach, and this one after entering the final stretch .500 before rattling off nine straight wins. After a 5-7 start, it’s been a great comeback for a team with only six seniors, not counting two more in net. The Bulldogs have scored 26 goals over their four tournament games and boast 11 players with at least 10 points, including seven of nine players on their top three lines.
NORTHVILLE
Record/rank: 22-6-1, No. 4
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Clint Robert, eighth season (147-57-15)
League finish: Second in KLAA Central.
Best wins: 3-2 over No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the Regional Final, 3-2 over No. 3 Brighton, 3-1 over No. 7 Lake Orion, 3-1 over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson, 5-2 over Division 2 No. 5 Livonia Churchill, 4-1 over Division 2 No. 7 Plymouth.
Players to watch: Bret Miller, sr. G (2.06 goals-against average, 2 shutouts); Nick Bonofiglio, sr. F (20 goals, 14 assists); Alex Iafrate, sr. F (9 goals, 16 assists); Nick Williams, jr. D (2 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Northville finished second to Brighton in their league, but will play in its first Semifinal since 2004 after making its first Quarterfinal since 2007. Miller made the all-state second team and Williams earned honorable mention last season, giving the Mustangs some headliners defensively to go with an offense featuring seven players with at least 20 points entering the week. Senior Daniel McKee (12 goals) and juniors Danny Scorzo (15) and Devin Laba (13) are also among top scorers, with senior Ty Kilar (four goals, 20 assists) centering the top line and junior Jack Sargent (seven goals, 17 assists) partnering with Williams.
Division 2
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 23-4-1, No. 1
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2015), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Kenny Chaput, first season (23-4-1)
League finish: First in MIHL North.
Best wins: 6-3 over No. 3 Grosse Pointe South in the Regional Final, 7-2 over No. 7 Plymouth, 7-5 and 7-1 over No. 6 Trenton, 4-0 over No. 2 Hartland, 5-2 over No. 10 Marquette, 5-2 over Division 1 No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 5-1 and 4-3 over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 4-3 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton, 5-0 over Division 1 No. 4 Northville, 7-1 and 5-2 over Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3-2 over Division 1 No. 6 Rochester, 8-0 over Division 1 No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 5-2 over Division 3 No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic.
Players to watch: Blake Tosto, sr. F (27 goals, 23 assists); Jack Clement, sr. D (17 goals, 28 assists); Mitchell Shults, sr. F (6 goals, 27 assists); Michael McInerney, sr. F (14 goals, 29 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice has earned the reputation this season as best team in Michigan regardless of division, with wins over the top six ranked teams in Division 1 in addition to a solid win over Division 2 No. 2 Hartland, and the Grosse Pointe win last week avenged one of the Warriors’ four losses. Shults and Clement earned all-state honorable mention last season but are among many cogs in a loaded lineup – six Brother Rice players had at least 11 goals entering the week, and nine had totaled 13 or more assists.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN/EASTERN
Record/rank: 19-8-2, unranked
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Tom Bissett, sixth season (88-68-11)
League finish: Second in O-K Conference Tier 2.
Best wins: 4-1 (Pre-Regional) and 7-2 over No. 9 Grand Rapids Christian, 3-1 over No. 6 Trenton, 3-2 over Division 1 No. 8 Utica Eisenhower.
Players to watch: Nathan Nickelson, jr. F (24 goals, 25 assists); Wyatt Radakovitz, sr. F (26 goals, 33 assists); Ian Famulak, jr. F (16 goals, 29 assists); Joel Brandinger, jr. F (13 goals, 27 assists).
Outlook: Northern/Eastern is back in the Semifinals for the second straight season led by two high-scoring lines but also an offensively potent defense; junior Josh Boverhof had 10 goals and 31 assists as part of the top pair entering the week. Radakovitz made the all-state second team last season after earning honorable mention as a sophomore, and Famulak and Nickelson also were offensive leaders a year ago. Northern/Eastern is 7-0-1 after a midseason stretch with four losses over six games.
HARTLAND
Record/rank: 25-2-1, No. 2
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2013 and 2014.
Coach: Rick Gadwa, sixth season (121-42-9)
League finish: First in KLAA West, Lakes Conference and overall.
Best wins: 3-0 (Quarterfinal) and 3-0 over No. 4 Livonia Stevenson, 5-3 over No. 5 Livonia Churchill, 4-2 over No. 7 Plymouth, 6-5 over No. 9 Grand Rapids Christian, 3-2 over Division 1 No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 4-2 over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central, 3-2 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton, 3-0 over Division 1 No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Players to watch: Josh Albring, jr. F (22 goals, 50 assists); Jed Pietila, sr. F (19 goals, 34 assists); Jacob Behnke, jr. F (22 goals, 20 assists); Blake Heier, sr. F (21 goals, 17 assists).
Outlook: Like Brother Rice, Hartland also has wins over the top three ranked teams from Division 1, and its only in-state loss was to the Warriors. The Eagles haven’t given up a goal during the postseason – junior goaltender Andrew Heuwagen had eight shutouts total this winter heading into the week. Senior Zach Sexton was an all-state defenseman as a sophomore, and Albring made the all-state first team last season. Sophomore wing Joey Larson adds more firepower with 15 goals and 10 assists after the Regional round.
SALINE
Record/rank: 22-5-1, unranked
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2006.
Coach: Paul Fassbender, first season (22-5-1)
League finish: First in Metro League West and Southeastern Conference Red.
Best wins: 5-4 over No. 5 Livonia Churchill in the Quarterfinal, 6-2 over Division 1 No. 10 Troy.
Players to watch: Brendan Murphy, soph. D (25 goals, 25 assists); Mikhail Lozovyy, soph. F (15 goals, 25 assists); Logan Dejanovich, soph. F (15 goals, 20 assists); Collin Clark, soph. F (15 goals, 20 assists).
Outlook: Saline may not have a list of ranked opponents as long as the other three semifinalists, but it proved it belonged with the Quarterfinal win and has to be scary to the rest of Division 1 with no seniors – but five sophomores – among its top seven scorers this season. In fact, the team has only three seniors: two defensemen and a goalie. Fassbender formerly served as coach at Plymouth, Ann Arbor Pioneer and with the Eastern Michigan University club team.
Division 3
CALUMET
Record/rank: 22-6-1, No. 3
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2008), four runner-up finishes.
Coach: Dan Giachino, second season (37-14-4)
League finish: First in Great Lakes Hockey Conference.
Best wins: 2-1 (Pre-Regional) and 5-2 over No. 4 Hancock, 4-0 (Regional Final), 3-2 and 7-1 over No. 8 Houghton, 3-0 and 6-1 over Division 2 No. 10 Marquette, 4-1 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton, 7-2 and 2-1 over Division 1 No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 6 Rochester.
Players to watch: Rory Anderson, sr. F (24 goals, 34 assists); Trevor Johnson, sr. D (5 goals, 22 assists); Brent Loukus, soph. F (29 goals, 29 assists); Ed Beiring, sr. F (17 goals, 20 assists).
Outlook: After opening 0-4 with doubleheader sweeps by reigning Division 3 champion Hancock and Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Calumet went on a tear proving it can play with teams in any division. The Copper Kings not only came back to beat Hancock twice but also three of the top 10 in Division 1. Anderson and Johnson both were first-team all-staters last season, and Loukus is an exciting sophomore; they are three of seven players who had at least 20 points entering the week.
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Record/rank: 12-15-2, unranked
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2002, runner-up 2001.
Coach: Dominic Scala, second season (21-31-3)
League finish: Fourth in Metro League East.
Best wins: 5-1 over Division 2 No. 5 Livonia Churchill, 4-3 over Division 2 No. 3 Grosse Pointe South.
Players to watch: Vincenzo DiDomenico, sr. F (9 goals, 13 assists); Jose Sanchez, sr. F (14 goals, 10 assists); Ian Juszczyk, jr. F (15 goals, 16 assists); Josh Lucas, sr. G (2.31 goals-against average, 1 shutout).
Outlook: Divine Child is one of the surprises of the tournament, avenging an earlier loss to Chelsea by downing the 2016 semifinalist 4-3 in this week’s Quarterfinal. The Falcons have scored 19 goals over four playoff games, more than a quarter of their goals for this entire season. Scala, in his second as head coach, was an assistant four seasons and formerly a defenseman at Detroit Catholic Central during its 2005 Division 1 title run.
FLINT POWERS CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 28-1, No. 1
Championship history: Seven runner-up finishes (most recent 2010).
Coach: Travis Perry, 11th season (232-64-13)
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League.
Best wins: 3-2 OT (Quarterfinal) and 2-1 over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 5-1 over Dearborn Divine Child, 5-0 (Pre-Regional) and 4-2 over No. 9 Saginaw Heritage, 4-3 over Division 1 No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 7 Lake Orion, 4-0 over Division 1 No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 2-0 over Division 2 No. 4 Livonia Stevenson.
Players to watch: Brendan Smith, sr. F (35 goals, 39 assists); Jake Polakowski, sr. D (2 goals, 38 assists); Conor Witherspoon, sr. F (31 goals, 48 assists); Mason Weiss, soph. F (9 goals, 27 assists).
Outlook: The story of Powers’ season has been if this is the team to finally earn the program its first MHSAA championship. Witherspoon was an all-state honorable mention last winter as the team didn’t win a Regional title for the only time over the last decade; he and the Chargers have stormed back, and he and Smith lead an offense that’s played with the best with six players scoring at least 10 goals entering the week and 12 tallying at least 10 assists. Sophomore goalie Parker Rey had seven shutouts in nine games entering this week, and total the team has given up only 27 goals.
WARREN DELASALLE
Record/rank: 18-9-1, No. 5
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Craig Staskowski, first season (18-9-1)
League finish: First in MIHL South.
Best wins: 4-1 over Division 2 No. 1 Birmingham Brother Rice, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 3-2 over Division 1 No. 8 Utica Eisenhower, 6-5 and 3-1 over Division 1 No. 9 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 2-1 over Dearborn Divine Child.
Players to watch: Greg Pine, sr. F (22 goals, 25 assists); Thomas Hernandez, sr. F (19 goals, 21 assists); Matthew Pelto, sr. F (12 goals, 17 assists); Austin Scott, sr. F (8 goals, 12 assists).
Outlook: Staskowski has led DeLaSalle to its second Semifinals in four seasons after a successful five-season run coaching Rochester and stops as well at Utica and with Warren Sterling United. DeLaSalle has cruised through the playoffs with three shutouts over unranked teams, but showed it can play with the best as well with significant wins over teams from Divisions 1 and 2. Ten players had at least 10 points entering the week, and there’s a nice blend of seniors and players who should be back next winter. While the top two lines are senior-heavy, there are only two among the top six defensemen and starting goalie.
PHOTO: Northville's Alex Iafrate (4) and Danny Scorzo (20) battle for the puck during a December win over Livonia Stevenson. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
'Miracle' Comeback, Memorable Finish
February 27, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
At some point, Jay Jones is sure, he and his friends from Traverse City West will reminisce about playing in the second-longest hockey game in MHSAA history.
Erik Anton always will remember sending the shot into the top corner of the net that made the score 2-1 in favor of his team and ended the seven-overtime marathon against Jones and the Traverse City Bay Reps – but there’s no way Anton will be the one bringing it up.
No need. His goal as midnight approached Monday immediately became legendary in the Traverse City area – complete with a captivating back story as well.
Anton’s shot ended the game after 103 minutes and 33 seconds – or 4:33 into the seventh overtime.
A little more than year ago, Anton couldn’t skate, or for that matter walk – he was hospitalized in Grand Rapids, paralyzed from the rib cage down because of a viral infection.
And among his visitors was Jones, a friend since childhood and the Bay Reps goalie Monday who stopped 48 shots before Anton potted the game winner.
“I don’t think it’s something where I’ll be like, ‘Remember that?’ But obviously it will be in our memories,” Anton said. “We were trying for such a long time. (For them) it was such a heart-breaking experience.
“(But) I might tease him about it a little bit.”
Anton and Traverse City West live on, having also beaten Manistee on Wednesday to advance to Saturday’s Division 1 Regional Final against Grand Rapids West Catholic. A trophy-earning win that night surely would add to an incredibly memorable week.
But it already has been an unforgettable year for the Titans junior wing, even as his most “miraculous” feat came against a friend who has been among those rooting him on these last many months.
Suddenly sidelined
Anton has played hockey since he was 3, and he has six goals and eight assists this winter. It’s his number one sport – although he also plays tennis and lacrosse.
Needless to say, he’s always been an active guy.
Until December 2012. Anton contracted transverse myelitis, an infection affecting the spiral cord caused in this case by a virus. His immune system, mistaking that part of his nervous system for the virus, attacked – causing the paralysis that sent him on a trip to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.
“How I describe it, I was lying down and somebody just put 1,000 pounds on top of my legs,” Anton said. “You try to move your legs and you can’t.
“(The doctor) would take a pen and touch the bottom of my foot, and it felt like they were taking a lighter to the bottom of my foot.”
His doctor gave him a 33 percent chance of recovering fully. Anton was expected to stay in Grand Rapids at the Mary Free Bed rehabilitation hospital for three months.
That first weekend away from home, Anton was visited by teammates and friends, including Jones. Their travel teams growing up had included about half of the current West team, a few who now play at Traverse City Central and a handful more now on the Bay Reps.
“I was shocked to see him like that,” Jones said, “not being able to move a whole lot.”
Friendly support
Jones, a sophomore, attends St. Francis High School. The Bay Reps are a hockey co-op team comprised of students from seven schools. He and Anton never went to the same one, but their families are friends and they became hockey teammates on the travel circuit when they were 8 or 9.
They also started lacrosse together, played tennis together, golfed and more recently snowboarded together.
Jones first heard of what had befallen his friend in the lockerroom after a practice. Stunned to say the least, Jones didn’t say much for the first day or two before he and their friends made the trip to Grand Rapids.
By Jones’ description, Anton is a funny guy, definitely an extrovert. They together were the talkers on their travel teams growing up. Jones found his friend wasn’t much different in this unusual setting, just a little quieter. “He actually got up and we wheeled him around the hospital area,” Jones said. “We were laughing and making jokes like normal.”
“I just remember being in high spirits,” Anton added. “I always love seeing my friends, and having my friends come down and visit me, just being able to be with them again, especially when I was just laying in the hospital ...”
Anton said he knew from the start that he wouldn’t settle for a three-month hospital stay and surely not for paralysis for life if he could help it. He showed enough improvement to go home after just two weeks. And by the end of the spring lacrosse season, he felt back at full strength.
“It is pretty amazing. Once he got back, everyone pretty much treated him like normal,” Jones said. “He was back to his old self.”
Memorable moment
Anton could feel Jones’ stick jabbing at his skates whenever he came close to the net Monday. Anton laughed to himself at the little unspoken competition between the two.
He felt strong going into the third overtime, but by the fourth his legs were feeling heavy. By the seventh overtime his shifts had shortened substantially as players dug for any energy they could muster.
Meanwhile, Jones would smack his stick at the goal posts between periods, swing it at the net – “pretty much trying to stay awake at that point,” he said.
As the overtimes piled up, Jones also began to consider the significance of being part of such a game. It would be talked about for a long time. Everyone would know it was hard-fought. Win or lose, both teams would feel a sense of accomplishment. But if his team lost, he’d be absolutely crushed.
Both he and Anton saw a similar build-up to Anton’s deciding shot. Anton had been on the ice for about 15 seconds. His team was regrouping in the neutral zone when teammate Caleb Breithaupt ended up with a loose puck and pushed it ahead to forward Nick Schultz at the blue line.
Anton took a pass at the top of a circle in front of the Bay Reps’ net. Jones saw him line up the shot. A defenseman skated between them, but remained just off to a side. Anton fired at the high left corner of the net. Jones never saw the puck go by.
It was the Bay Reps’ fifth overtime loss this season. Jones took a knee staring at the ice in front of him. His teammates skated over and provided some support, but the moment was “surreal” – for a moment, Jones said, the ice was completely silent. And then he looked into the corner and saw number 19, Anton, celebrating. He smiled, just a little.
Traverse City West had lost to the Reps in overtime, 5-4, in a 2013 Pre-Regional opener, and then again earlier this season. Those details provide additional layers to an extraordinary experience players on both sides will tell about in the years to come.
It’s what Anton has learned to relish while recovering from his unfortunate circumstance, even if he’ll let others start this conversation the next time he’s hanging with Jones and his other Bay Reps pals.
“I definitely don’t take anything for granted anymore. I always put all my effort into sports, but after going through that, I really try to enjoy it, make the most of it when I can,” Anton said. “I always had a competitive edge, and I still do. Now I definitely try to enjoy it while I’m out there, enjoy the experience.”
Click to read more about Anton’s initial recovery from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City West’s Erik Anton (19) unloads a shot at Bay Reps goalie Jay Jones that Jones stops Monday. (Middle top) Anton, seated, is visited by friends including Jones (gray jacket) during his hospital stay. (Middle below) Anton, left, and Jones take a brief moment from lacrosse during their younger days. (Below) Members of the West and Bay Reps hockey teams hold up Anton’s jersey after a game he could not play in last season. (Photos courtesy of Madelaine Jones.)