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.”

Click for a full box score.

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.

Highlight Reel: Ice Hockey Finals

March 14, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
 

This MHSAA hockey season came to a close Saturday with all three championships won by teams from the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League. 

Click below for highlights from all three Finals, with one for each of the six teams that took the ice at Compuware Arena.

Division 1: Detroit Catholic Central 5 Grandville 2 

BANG-BANG BULLDOG GOALSGrandville got both of its goals 14 seconds apart. Jacob Baum on the power play, and Gianni Vitali on a scramble in front of the net closed the CC lead to 3-2.

BUT CC ANSWERS A power play gave Detroit Catholic Central an opportunity to quell the Grandville rally. Evan Rochowiak scores the first of his two goals a minute after the Bulldogs pulled close.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here. 

Division 2: Birmingham Brother Rice 6, Livonia Stevenson 3

STEVENSON TIES IT UPLivonia Stevenson got two goals two minutes apart in the second period to tie the Division 2 Final at 2-2. Joe Alcantara scores for the Spartans on the deflection. 

PYC-ING UP THE REBOUNDBrendan Pyc put Birmingham Brother Rice on top to stay with two power play goals late in the third period. Here he scores his second on a rebound with 40 seconds left.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Division 3: Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 3, Houghton 0

CRANES LIGHT IT UP QUICKLY It took less than a minute for Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood to get on the board in the Division 3 Final against Houghton. Mason Schultz goes top shelf on the rebound.

ADASKAVEG ADDS TO THE LEAD Cole Adaskaveg picks up the second goal for Cranbrook Kingswood with Sean O'Leary getting his second assist of the game on the play. 

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here