This Time, It's DCC in Division 1
March 8, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
PLYMOUTH – Detroit Catholic Central had one way in mind it hoped to finish this season’s MHSAA Hockey Finals at Compuware Arena.
And the Shamrocks had one opponent in mind to end against.
DCC wanted a rematch with Brighton, the two-time Division 1 champion and opponent that kept the Shamrocks from the title a year ago.
They got their wish – and their first MHSAA title since 2010 – with a 5-1 win over the Bulldogs in Saturday’s final championship game.
“We came in and we wanted to play Brighton,” DCC senior defenseman Carter Cerretani said. “We know we didn’t have the biggest team. But we definitely had the fastest, and we had to utilize that speed. Going in, we knew the crowd was going to be big. But we had to act like it was any normal game.”
Detroit Catholic Central (24-7) already had beaten Brighton once this season, 4-3 in the former’s second game and the latter’s opener this winter.
But the Shamrocks wanted a rematch where it counted most after falling 2-1 in the 2013 Final.
They dominated at the start, with junior Ryan Burnett and then Cerretani (off a Burnett assist) both scoring during the game’s first five minutes. Then DCC dominated on the check, frustrating the Bulldogs’ offense and allowing only 19 shots after giving up exactly twice that many in last season’s championship game.
“We had a handful of boys in the locker room who remembered that feeling,” said first-year DCC coach Doug Itami, who formerly served as an assistant. “We had a purpose.”
And the Shamrocks also capitalized when Brighton provided opportunities, scoring three power play goals and a fourth into an empty net with 2:32 to play. One of those power play goals came with a 5-on-3 advantage and another came just after another 5-on-3 ran out but before the Bulldogs had killed the second penalty.
Still, Brighton did have hope after senior Danny Bosio scored off a rebound on a power play 5:48 into the second period to make the score 2-1. The Bulldogs also had trailed Detroit U-D Jesuit 2-0 in the Semifinal before coming back to win 4-3 in overtime.
“We love to go down 2-nothing and then come back,” said Brighton coach Paul Moggach, tongue-in-cheek. “We’ve got the same attitude that we can come back. When we got that first goal, we thought we had momentum. But we didn’t sustain it the way we needed to.”
Senior Domenic Mancinelli put DCC up 3-1 with five minutes left in the second period, and then Cerretani and Burnett both added their second goals of the game to round out the scoring in the third.
Junior Mitch Ossowski assisted on three of the Shamrocks’ goals, and junior Spencer Wright allowed just the one, with 17 saves in goal. In a touching moment at the end, the trophy was presented on the ice to senior Matt Sorisho, a standout on last season’s team who was paralyzed from the waist down during a travel league game this fall.
Junior goalie Jimmy Milletics, another star of the 2013 Final, made 27 saves for the Bulldogs, who finished 23-7-1 but graduate a strong group of nine seniors who have played big parts over the last two seasons.
“It’s a loss in the biggest game of the season, and it’s not fun losing like that,” Brighton senior Aaron Sturos said. “Just being on this team, this is a heck of a team. We’re all really close, having fun out there, so it will be tough to leave.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central celebrates one of its five goals Saturday in the Division 1 Final. (Middle) DCC athletic director Aaron Babicz presents the championship trophy to senior Matt Sorisho (18).
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) DCC’s Ryan Burnett gets the first goal of the Division 1 Final at the 3:54 mark of the opening period. (2) With a two-man advantage on a power play, Detroit Catholic Central gets its second goal of the finale from Carter Cerretani. (3) The Bulldogs got their only goal on the power play at the 5:48 mark of the second period from Danny Bosio. (4) About 6 minutes later, DCC counters with another power play goal by Domenic Mancinelli to take a 3-1 lead.
Romeo Icers' Goal: Make More History
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
January 15, 2016
ROMEO – It’s often been said that if a school has a successful football season, that excitement generated in the fall will carry over to the other athletic programs.
Although Romeo hockey coach Nick Badder doesn’t have any football players who were a part of the school’s Division 1 championship win in November, he’s hoping that success will breed success on the ice.
Romeo defeated Detroit Cass Tech, 41-27, at Ford Field to capture the school’s first football MHSAA title. And the hockey team is off to the best start in school history, as the Bulldogs are 12-0 and the team to beat in the Macomb Area Conference Red.
When asked if there is indeed a carryover effect, Badder initially discounted it – and then reassessed the significance.
“I wouldn’t say so,” he said at first. “It was cool for the guys to go down there (to Ford Field) and win.
“That’s our goal. It was a motivator in the beginning. It was good for (our players) to see. The school spirit was lifted, and we want to get there, too. We want the same thing.”
Should Romeo win the Division 2 hockey title this March, it would be the first time a Macomb County program won an MHSAA title in hockey since Fraser won Class A in 1983.
It’s been a steady rise for this program. Romeo lost to Warren DeLaSalle, 3-2, in a Regional Final in 2014, and last season the Bulldogs reached the Quarterfinals for the first time before losing to Grosse Pointe South, 8-2.
Badder, 26, was an assistant in the program in 2014 and took over as head coach last season.
He said the loss to South was an important lesson to learn, for him and his players.
“We didn’t have big-game experience,” he said. “We didn’t handle the situation well. That’s what we’ve been trying to do this year. We don’t want those 9-5 type of games.”
The first order of business was to tighten up the defense. The fact that Badder returned both goaltenders from last season was a good starting point. Junior Nolan Kare has a .883 save percentage and has started every game. Sophomore Grant Williams is his backup.
Kare is not your typical goalie. He’s not afraid to speak his mind whether it’s on the ice or in the locker room.
“He really gets into the game,” Badder said. “He’s a hard worker and a great kid.”
The biggest improvement from last season’s team to this one is depth. Romeo’s first line returns intact, and center Nick Blankenburg is the catalyst. The team captain, Blankenburg doesn’t get outworked. Highly skilled and packing plenty of power despite his smaller size (5-foot-7, 140 pounds), Blankenburg sets the tone and has 19 goals and nine assists.
“Everyone on the team respects him,” Badder said. “And he’s got a bomb for a shot.”
Fellow senior Logan Jenuwine plays left wing and, just like last season, is the team’s top point-getter. He had 90 last season and has 18 goals and 20 assists in 12 games this winter.
At right wing is junior Brett Lanski. He trails only his line mates in points with seven goals and 14 assists.
Romeo’s objective it to jump the other team quickly, grab an early lead and let its depth wear down the opposition.
“That’s what we do,” Badder said. “They’re a high-flying line. We put them together late last January, and they’ve had a lot of success. We tried something different to start (this) season, but we went back to those three and that’s where they’ll stay.”
Badder lost seven seniors to graduation but said the juniors, who bring travel-team experience, have filled the gaps.
“They all can play,” Badder said. “There isn’t a guy out there who doesn’t belong. If we had an injury (last season) it would have been crippling. Not this year. Even the top guys have nights off. Someone has to pick up the slack.”
Shoring up the defense has been seniors Steven Morris and Logan Ganfield. Badder said these defensemen are his most improved players.
Parts of that strong junior class are center Jake Petry and winger Frank Ruffino.
The breakthrough the team experienced last season, capturing a Regional title, set the groundwork for this winter. Winning breeds confidence, and the Bulldogs are riding that wave.
“Our practices have been tight,” Badder said. “There’s no fooling around.
“I learned a lot last year. Everything I’ve done are the things I would want when I played.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Romeo's Zach Peters looks for an opening against Livonia Franklin. (Middle) Romeo coach Nick Badder, center Nick Blankenburg and goaltender Nolan Kare. (Below) Blankenburg (26), Jake Petri (24), Steven Morris (36) and Kare stand strong as part of a solid defense. (Photos courtesy of Donna Peters.)