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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.)
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'Team 43' Delivers 1st Livonia Title
March 9, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
PLYMOUTH — Livonia is one of the great hockey communities in Michigan, but had never been home to an MHSAA Finals champion.
Until now.
Livonia Stevenson brought a championship to the birthplace of former NHL star Mike Modano, beating Hartland 5-4 in the Division 2 title game Saturday at Compuware Arena.
Prior to this weekend, Livonia's three hockey-playing schools had combined for only eight regional championships during the 39-year history of the MHSAA tournament and just one semifinal appearance (Stevenson in 1987). It doesn't help that the Livonia schools often encounter some of the state's perennial powerhouses early in the postseason. Stevenson has been eliminated 10 times by Detroit Catholic Central and five times by Trenton in regional play.
"I couldn't be happier for the Stevenson administration, the alumni and the whole Livonia community," fifth-year Stevenson coach David Mitchell said. "We're in the 43rd year of high school hockey in Livonia.
We're the 43rd team in Stevenson history. This is the first chance a Livonia school has had to play in a state final. To get it done, this is not just for Stevenson, but for all of Livonia high school hockey. We've had some great teams and some great kids go through our program. To do it is very special. Hopefully, the whole community can enjoy this."
To win its first championship, Stevenson denied Hartland the same opportunity. The Eagles had won 11 regional titles before this season, reaching the semifinals only twice until playing in their first final on Saturday.
Hartland coach Rick Gadwa praised captains Nick Pleshakov, Justin Bailey and Ned O'Boyle for laying the foundation for Hartland's first march to the championship game.
"These three guys changed Hartland hockey," Gadwa said. "It was their leadership on and off the ice. We put Hartland on the map. That's something that hopefully stays."
Junior Dominic Lutz was the star in Stevenson's historic season, scoring 42 goals with 32 assists in 31 games to easily lead the Spartans in scoring. It was fitting that the 6-foot, 185-pound forward scored the team's biggest goals in the championship game, popping in two in a 2:37 span of the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 advantage. Stevenson never surrendered the lead.
"We've been preaching Team 43," Lutz said. "It's just great to see it all come together in the end. We've got it. It's unbelievable. We're like a family. This is the closest team I've ever played on."
Stevenson senior Travis Harvey, who scored two goals and had two assists in the semifinal on Friday, opened the scoring off a faceoff win at 4:55 of the first period. Hartland junior Austin Flores tied it off a
feed from Chris McRae at 6:26 of the first.
Despite being outplayed in the first period, Hartland found itself on top by a 2-1 count when McRae scored just 54 seconds into the second period.
The pace picked up considerably after that, as the teams combined for five goals during an 8:18 span. Stevenson took the lead for good on two goals by Lutz at 4:30 and 7:07 and Harvey's second goal of the game at
9:10.
O'Boyle brought Hartland within 4-3 at the 9:56 mark, only to have Stevenson regain a two-goal advantage at 12:48 on a goal by Ray Chartier.
"We would rather not play that way," Mitchell said. "We'd rather play a little more defensive and shut things down. These guys, when they see opportunities, they tend to go. We saw a few opportunities and
took some. Give Hartland credit. We were starting to look for goals and they caught us and they turned around and buried some of their own. They played an outstanding game."
"It was just go, go, go," O'Boyle said. "It was incredible emotionally."
Hartland didn't take long to trim the lead once the puck dropped in the third period, making it a 5-4 game on a goal by McRae at the 14-second mark.
The Eagles had eight more shots on net the rest of the game, but couldn't get another puck past Stevenson goalie Connor Humitz. Hartland called timeout with 2:21 left and pulled goalie Nick Wineka in the final minute, but couldn't generate a shot in that time against an aggressive Stevenson forecheck.
"We just want to keep it deep in their zone as much as we can," Lutz said. "Just gain the red line, get it deep and forecheck. We didn't want anything in our zone. We wanted everything down there, just keep
all the pressure off Connor. It seemed like it worked out."
Stevenson finished with a 23-7-1 record, while Hartland ended 19-9-2.
PHOTOS: (Top) Livonia Stevenson players celebrate a goal during Saturday's Division 2 Final in front of their fan section at Compuware Arena. (Middle) Hartland goaltender Nick Wineka makes one of his 35 saves Saturday. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)