Roque Shines as Sault Ste Marie Surges
January 14, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
SAULT STE. MARIE – Abby Roque has taken a somewhat unusual route to reach another high level of hockey.
The Sault Ste. Marie High School senior, an accomplished international player on the women's side, is the only female playing on her school's boys hockey team, as she’s been each of her four seasons with the Blue Devils. She is the only girl to have ever played for the Sault, which is home to one of the top boys programs in the state.
The Blue Devils, two-time MHSAA champions who finished second in the Division 3 playoffs in 2013 and 2014 and reached the Quarterfinals last year, are 10-4-1 this winter.
Roque, a forward who also plays on the team's top power play unit, has five goals and 14 assists. She has received a scholarship to play for the University of Wisconsin, which has one of the nation's premier women's hockey programs. The Badgers, coached by former Olympian and NHL star Mark Johnson, are currently ranked second in the country.
"It has really helped me see how college hockey will be," Roque said before a recent practice as the Blue Devils prepared for the Sault Lions Showcase this weekend and games against Dearborn Divine Child and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice. Sault Ste. Marie is ranked No. 9 in Division 3 this week.
"It's been a good four years. It has helped me improve every single year," she added. "I've never been the best player on the team, but that has made me work hard to try to be the best player on the team.”
Last season, Roque was one of 15 girls who played on boys high school hockey teams in Michigan and earned Division 3 all-state second team honors.
She also played on the U.S. Women's Under-18 International Ice Hockey Federation world championship team that won gold in 2015.
"The speed of the guys high school game has helped me prepare for women's college hockey," she said.
While not as fast on the high school ice, Roque knows how to compensate against the boys. Asked for her primary strength, she said, "my smarts on the ice. The guys are very fast, they are very powerful. I have to make the right pass. My stick handling skills are good."
Those skills also give her a decided edge when she does play against other females, such as the IIHF world tourney, where she led the world juniors in face-offs. Even though checking is not allowed in the girls game, her experience in the more physical brand of boys hockey has helped provide a major advantage.
"I do enjoy the checking. The physical part of hockey is great," she said with a chuckle. "Girls hold the puck longer. Guys come at you (faster and harder) and you have to move the puck faster."
Getting knocked around in the corner in boys games is no problem. "I'm not intimidated by anyone on the ice," she said. "I've gotten stronger playing with the guys. I'm clearly not as strong, but I hold my own. It is all really just hockey to me at this point."
Her Sault coach, John Ferroni, said many opposing players and fans are not even aware there is a female on the ice. "She has definitely learned how to manage herself in the boys game," he said. "She is very competitive, sometimes even too competitive."
Indeed, she says, "I try to be the intimidating one on the ice."
That is not surprising since she has grown up with hockey a major part of her life. She began playing at age 4 and her father, Jim, is a former hockey coach at Lake Superior State University. Her uncle, Tom Bissett, is hockey coach at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
"If kids inherit things from their parents, she has inherited her dad's hockey IQ. She picked up the sport and has had a lot of hockey conversations with her father, and she comes from a hockey family," Ferroni said, noting her mother also has a strong athletic background.
Roque, who also has played golf and soccer and boasts 4.0 grade-point average taking advanced placement classes, said playing boys hockey was not a hard decision. She played in the strong Sault boys youth program from day one and realized the boys were the direction to take after playing girls hockey in the fall as an eighth grader.
"She always played with good hockey players, and they always accepted her as a girl," said Ferroni, in his fifth year as Sault coach. He said Roque "understands the game real well and made the commitment a long time ago. She is very dedicated to the sport."
Ferroni said Roque "has decent speed and decent quickness at the boys level. She is a strong skater and is very hard to knock off the puck. She is very elusive and always seems aware of what is going on around her."
That ability to see the game makes her "a playmaker without question" according to Ferroni. "She passes the puck extremely well; she has good, strong passing skills."
Ferroni admits he "had to look at a lot of things before taking her" on the team. After that process concluded, he said, "I knew she would be fine, but no way did I think she would rise to the level she has risen to. I didn't see that (second team all-state) coming."
After checking out girls programs, Roque and Ferroni realized the Sault High School boys team would be the best path to follow. Ferroni said playing against other girls was not fast enough, and the puck movement among the boys was much better.
"We afforded her and gave her a great opportunity," Ferroni said. "She walked into a good, strong program as a freshman and was not just being a player, but was a real solid player. She definitely has raised the bar around here for girls.
"She has helped us as much as we have helped her."
Roque said Wisconsin "was the right fit for me. I loved everything about it, about Madison. Everything is about hockey. I just couldn't go anywhere else."
Roque also received scholarship offers from women's programs at North Dakota, Boston College and Boston University, among other schools.
This school year's participation figures will not be compiled until the spring, but about 250 girls total played on MHSAA boys teams in 2014-15.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Abby Roque positions herself near the net during one of her team's games. (Middle) Roque is the first girl to play on the Sault's boys hockey team. (Below) Roque, here on her U.S. Under-18 team, brings international experience to the high school season. (Photos courtesy of the Sault Ste. Marie athletic department.)
Preview: Ice Powers Rise Again
March 12, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There’s a perception that hockey is one of those sports in Michigan highlighted by the same powerful programs each season.
Often that may be true. But not this winter.
Nine of 12 teams playing in Semifinals on Thursday and Friday didn’t make it to Plymouth’s Compuware Arena a year ago – including near-annual favorites Birmingham Brother Rice and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
In fact, it's guaranteed that at least one of this weekend's contenders will play in an MHSAA championship game for the first time.
The pairings are as follows:
Division 2 – Thursday
Escanaba vs. Livonia Stevenson, 5 p.m.
Grosse Pointe South vs. Birmingham Brother Rice, 7:30 p.m.
Division 3 - Friday
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Riverview, 11 a.m.
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Houghton, 1:30 p.m.
Division 1 – Friday
Detroit U-D Jesuit vs. Detroit Catholic Central, 5 p.m.
Bay City Central/Western vs. Grandville, 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. Players statistics below are through the Regional round and were submitted by participating schools, except for Escanaba stats, which are through Quarterfinals.
Division 1
BAY CITY CENTRAL/WESTERN
Record/rank: 17-10-1, unranked.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Mike Kayner, 19th season (271-167-22).
League finish: Third in Saginaw Valley Association.
Best wins: 4-3 over No. 14 Holland West Ottawa, 3-0 over Saginaw Heritage, 4-3 over Grand Blanc in the Regional Final, 1-0 over Division 3 No. 7 Flint Powers Catholic.
Players to watch: Carson Eby, senior forward (27 goals, 28 assists), Trenton Pashak, senior forward (20 goals, 18 assists), Hunter David, junior forward (16 goals, 19 assists).
Outlook: After back-to-back Quarterfinal losses, the Wolves broke through this season for their first trip to Finals weekend. They are 9-0-1 over their last 10 games, a run that has included arguably their three best wins this season. Eby, Pashak and David make up the top line and sophomore Kyle VanOcten (10 goals, 15 assists) is part of the top defensemen pair, but the team also gets a nice dose of offense from freshman forward Tyler David (14 goals, 14 assists).
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 22-4-1, No. 1.
Championship history: 11 MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), four runner-up finishes.
Coach: Danny Veri, first season (22-5-1).
League finish: Second in Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League North.
Best wins: 4-2 over No. 7 Brighton, 5-1, 9-5, 7-1 and 8-0 (Regional Final) over No. 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 4-0 over No. 2 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 4-1 over No. 6 Grandville, 4-0 over No. 8 Northville, 7-0 over No. 13 Troy in the Quarterfinal, 4-2 over Division 2 No. 1 Birmingham Brother Rice, 6-5 and 4-3 over Division 2 No. 5 Trenton, 5-0 over Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson.
Players to watch: Mitch Ossowski, senior forward (13 goals, 17 assists); Ryan Burnett, senior forward (11 goals, 23 assists), Spencer Wright, senior goaltender (1.39 goals-against average, .929 save %, seven shutouts).
Outlook: The Shamrocks are coming off their first MHSAA championship since 2010 and haven’t slowed a bit; their only losses were to Culver Academy of Indiana, twice, and top-ranked Division 3 teams Cranbrook Kingswood and Forest Hills Central. Ossowski and Burnett were all-state first team forwards last season and again man the top line, but junior JoJo Mancinelli has added 14 goals playing with them and senior Evan Rochowiak has scored 14 on the second line.
DETROIT U-D JESUIT
Record/rank: 21-6-1, No. 2.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Rick Bennetts, 20th season (256-230-33).
League finish: First in the MIHL South.
Best wins: 4-2 over No. 11 Salem in the Quarterfinal, 3-1 over No. 9 Plymouth, 5-2 and 3-2 over Division 2 No. 5 Trenton, 3-2 over Division 2 No. 1 Birmingham Brother Rice, 4-1 over Division 2 No. 14 Muskegon Mona Shores, 4-2 over Division 3 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central.
Players to watch: Jack Deines, senior goaltender (1.62 goals-against average, .916 save %); Christian Wirth-Karbler, senior forward (15 goals, 23 assists); Sam Knoblauch, junior forward (16 goals, 26 assists).
Outlook: Jesuit has played in Semifinals the last two seasons and nearly broke through to its first championship game last season before falling in overtime to Brighton. The Cubs are loaded offensively, with 10 players scoring at least 11 goals this season – leading goal scorer Matt Morgan has 19 goals and 21 assists as a defenseman. Deines is the team’s returning all-stater and remains a force in the crease.
GRANDVILLE
Record/rank: 24-3-2, No. 6.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Joel Breazeale, fifth season (87-46-5).
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 2.
Best wins: 9-1 over No. 14 Holland West Ottawa in the Pre-Regional, 4-0 over No. 12 Traverse City West in the Quarterfinal, 6-4 over Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central, 4-2 over Bay City Central/Western.
Players to watch: Brandon Rozema, senior forward (26 goals, 26 assists), Mitchell Parsons, senior forward (22 goals, 40 assists); Thomas Breazeale, junior defenseman (3 goals, 17 assists).
Outlook: Grandville has won four Regional titles in Joel Breazeale’s five seasons, but this team has six more wins than any of the other three previous champs and will play in a Semifinal for the second straight winter. The Bulldogs are loaded with scorers; seniors Gianni Vitali (24 goals, 39 assists) and Jacob Baum (25/31) and juniors Noah Weigle (14/19) and Ryan Wolfe (12/12) are among those also keeping the offense humming. Rozema made the all-state second team last season, and Thomas Breazeale earned an honorable mention.
Division 2
BIRMINGHAM BROTHER RICE
Record/rank: 22-6, No. 1.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Lou Schmidt, 12th season (214-101-18).
League finish: Third in MIHL North.
Best wins: 4-3 over No. 2 Livonia Stevenson, 3-1 and 5-4 over No. 5 Trenton, 8-0 and 4-3, 4 OT (Quarterfinal) over No. 4 Hartland, 5-3 over Division 1 No. 7 Brighton, 3-1 over Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central, 7-0 and 7-3 over Division 1 No. 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2-1 over Division 1 No. 8 Northville.
Players to watch: Nick Rosa, senior forward (20 goals, 26 assists), Joey Vassallo, senior forward (19 goals, 24 assists), Matthew Manning, senior forward (7 goals, 21 assists).
Outlook: Brother Rice is back in Division 2 after two seasons in Division 1, but has beaten most of the best from both – and with some incredible goal totals. The Warriors have scored five or more goals in 12 games and had four players with at least 10 goals this season at of the end of the Regional. Manning was a second-team all-state selection last season and teams with Rosa and Vassallo on Brother Rice’s top line.
ESCANABA
Record/rank: 18-10-1, No. 12.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Matt Hughes, second season (34-18-4).
League finish: Fifth in Great Lakes Conference.
Best wins: 4-1 and 4-2 over No. 8 Marquette, 6-3 over No. 13 Berkley, 7-3 over No. 9 Traverse City Central in the Quarterfinal, 4-2 over Bay City Central/Western.
Players to watch: Levi Wunder, senior forward (45 goals, 46 assists), Nicholas Aird, junior forward (12 goals, 28 assists), Chris LeMire, sophomore forward (19 goals, 21 assists).
Outlook: The Eskymos are making their first trip to the MHSAA Semifinals and after coming back from a rough streak that included eight losses in 11 games through mid-January and early February. Wunder is a dangerous scorer and was a first-team all-state selection last season – and also is the only senior on the team. Junior defenseman Calvin Pinar adds size at 6-foot-3 and additional scoring with 14 goals and 23 assists this season.
GROSSE POINTE SOUTH
Record/rank: 21-4-1, No. 7.
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2007, two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Bobby McKillop, third season (56-19-3).
League finish: First in Michigan Metro League East.
Best wins: 8-2 over No. 3 Romeo in the Quarterfinal, 5-0 over No. 10 Port Huron Northern, 5-2 and 2-0 over Division 3 No. 6 Detroit Country Day, 4-1 and 4-2 over Division 3 No. 4 Wyandotte Roosevelt, 3-1 over Division 3 No. 14 Dearborn Divine Child.
Players to watch: Adam Pitters, sophomore forward (16 goals, 17 assists); Ian Corbett, senior defenseman (12 goals, 15 assists); Jonathan Theros, junior forward (9 goals, 17 assists)
Outlook: South carries a 10-game winning streak into the Semifinals and has won at least 20 games two seasons in a row. Corbett made the all-state second team as a junior and helps keep order in front of senior goaltender Andy Jakub, who has stopped nearly 93 percent of shots he’s faced and tallied five shutouts.
LIVONIA STEVENSON
Record/rank: 18-5-5, No. 2.
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2013.
Coach: David Mitchell, seventh season (130-45-15).
League finish: Tied for third in Kensington Lakes Activities Association Central.
Best wins: 2-1 over No. 4 Hartland, 4-2 over No. 9 Traverse City Central, 8-5 and 4-3 (Regional Final) over No. 5 Trenton, 5-2 and 5-1 (Quarterfinal) over No. 6 Novi, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 7 Brighton, 5-1 over Division 1 No. 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 3-1 over Division 1 No. 9 Plymouth, 5-2 over Division 1 No. 12 Traverse City West, 4-1 over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit U-D Jesuit.
Players to watch: Andrew Rozenbaum, senior goaltender (1.74 goals-against average, .918 save %); Alex DeFlorio, senior forward (14 goals, 10 assists); Mick Sinclair, senior forward (9 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: Stevenson made a big splash in 2013 with the first MHSAA title in Livonia’s illustrious hockey history, but fell to eventual champion Trenton during last season’s Regional. The Spartans have beaten most of the state’s best on the way back to the Semifinals, despite finishing third in the loaded KLAA Central. Junior Ben Kowalske and senior Vince Glenn both have scored 12 goals to give the second and third lines some added punch, and Rozenbaum made the all-state first team in 2014.
Division 3
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 23-3-4, No. 1.
Championship history: 16 MHSAA titles (most recent 2013), two runner-up finishes.
Coach: Andy Weidenbach, 22nd season (438-149-38).
League finish: First in MIHL North.
Best wins: 9-4 over No. 4 Wyandotte Roosevelt in the Quarterfinal, 4-0 over No. 5 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 5-2 over No. 7 Flint Powers Catholic, 4-1 over No. 6 Detroit Country Day in the Regional Final, 5-4 over Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central, 2-0 over Division 1 No. 2 Detroit U-D Jesuit, 4-2 over Division 2 Birmingham Brother Rice, 2-1 over Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson.
Players to watch: Spencer Applebaum, senior goaltender (1.77 goals-against average, .918 save %); Cooper Stahl, senior defenseman (7 goals, 19 assists); Jack Blumberg, senior defenseman (15 goals, 11 assists); Austin Alger, senior forward (24 goals, 31 assists).
Outlook: After being stunned in the Quarterfinal last season by eventual champion Farmington, the Cranes are back at Finals weekend and have beaten the favorites in both Divisions 1 and 2. The slate of teams Cranbrook Kingswood has defeated as a whole is simply incredible; the Cranes also own wins over Division 1 No. 10 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Division 2 No. 5 Trenton (twice). Applebaum, Blumberg and Stahl all made the all-state first team last season and lead the defensive effort, while Alger also made the first team and centers the top line.
FLINT POWERS CATHOLIC
Record/rank: 20-8, No. 7.
Championship history: Seven MHSAA runner-up finishes (most recent 2010).
Coach: Travis Perry, ninth season (184-58-12).
League finish: Second in Saginaw Valley Association.
Best wins: 3-2 OT over No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in the Quarterfinal, 3-2 over No. 6 Detroit Country Day, 3-0 over No. 12 Chelsea, 5-1 over Division 1 No. 15 Farmington.
Players to watch: Mike Forman, senior forward (30 goals, 33 assists); Jeff Polakowski, senior forward (16 goals, 37 assists); Austin Kane, senior goaltender (2.09 goals-against average, .906 save %, seven shutouts).
Outlook: Powers has won seven straight Regional titles under Perry and finished MHSAA runner-up in both 2010 and 2008 under his leadership. The Chargers have caught fire over their last five games; in addition to upsetting Forest Hills Central in the Quarterfinal, they’ve outscored their last five opponents by a combined 38-4.
HOUGHTON
Record/rank: 23-4-2, No. 3.
Championship history: Class B-C-D champion 1982, three runner-up finishes.
Coach: Corey Markham, 16th season (253-151-7).
League finish: First in Great Lakes Conference.
Best wins: 4-1 over No. 15 Sault Ste. Marie in the Quarterfinal, 4-3 over No. 8 Hancock, 6-3 and 4-0 over Division 2 No. 6 Escanaba, 5-0 over Division 2 No. 8 Marquette, 7-2 over Division 1 No. 15 Farmington.
Players to watch: Tristan Foltz, senior defenseman (4 goals, 15 assists); Jon Bostwick, senior forward (15 goals, 23 assists); Reid Pietila, junior forward (26 goals, 22 assists); Cale Markham, senior forward (19 goals, 21 assists).
Outlook: Houghton is 93-19-2 over the last four seasons with four league and Regional titles and was Division 3 runner-up in 2012. The Gremlins are tested both against most of the best of the Upper Peninsula and also against some of the elite from downstate (lost 2-1 OT to Brighton and 4-2 to Trenton, and tied Traverse City Central). Junior Wyatt Liston and senior Spencer Donnelly both add 12 goals from the second line to pump up the offense, and Foltz earned an all-state honorable mention last winter.
RIVERVIEW
Record/rank: 24-5, No. 10.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Coach: Al Taurence, fifth season (80-54).
League finish: First in Huron League Division 3.
Best wins: 4-3 over Okemos in the Quarterfinal, 1-0 over No. 12 Chelsea, 2-0 over No. 14 Dearborn Divine Child.
Players to watch: John Clemente, junior forward (22 goals 31 assists); Dalton Sutherland, senior forward (37 goals, 44 assists), Jacob St. Andre, senior forward (25 goals, 47 assists).
Outlook: Riverview came back from a 3-0 deficit to Okemos on Tuesday to make its second MHSAA Semifinal in three seasons and continue a 12-game winning streak. Sutherland, Clemente and St. Andre man the top line, but senior Noah Vowell has added 18 goals centering the second line, and senior goaltender Thomas Proudlock has a .941 save percentage and six shutouts.
PHOTO: Detroit Catholic Central goalie Spencer Wright prepares to stop a shot by Brighton during last season’s Division 1 Final; he’s expected to be in net again this weekend for the Shamrocks.