Highlight Reel: D1 & D3 Hockey Semifinals
March 11, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The Finals field is set for Saturday's games in the MHSAA Ice Hockey Tournament after Semifinals took place Friday in Divisions 3 and 1 at USA Arena in Plymouth.
Division 3
Calumet 5, Flint Powers Catholic 2
Quick Goal For Loukus - Calumet scored the opening goal of the game just 37 seconds in when Brett Loukus lit the lamp on a turnover. He had two goals in the game.
Smith Gets The Equalizer - Late in the first period, Flint Powers Catholic ties the game at 1-1 when Brendan Smith converts on a giveaway.
Warren DeLaSalle 5, Dearborn Divine Child 2
Renner On The Rebound - Dearborn Divine Child gets on the board first in this Division 3 Semifinal when Nick Renner goes 5 Hole on the rebound of his own shot.
Pelto Makes Them Pay - Warren DeLaSalle gets two shorthanded goals in the second period to take the lead to stay. Here's the first tally by Matthew Pelto.
Shorthanded? No Problem For Hernandez - The second shorthanded goal for Warren DeLaSalle in the second period proved to be the game-winner when Thomas Hernandez took a loose puck and scored.
Division 1
Kahra Makes It 2-0 - Brighton blew its Division 1 Semifinal open with Northville with four third period goals. Here's the first, on a power play by Matthew Kahra, who scored twice in the period.
Miller Comes Up Big - Here's a nice save in the third period by Northville goalie Brett Miller, who made 24 in the game. Miller makes the stop on a power play shot by Brighton's Jake Crespi.
Detroit Catholic Central 5, Grandville 0
CC Stretches The Spread On The Power Play - Detroit Catholic Central scored twice on the power play in the third frame against Grandville. Here's the first of those man-up goals, with Brendan West making a nice feed to Rylan Clemons for his second goal of the game.
Boom-Boom! Shamrocks Score Quick Goals - Detroit Catholic Central finished the scoring with two goals just 29 seconds apart in the third period. The second came by West, finishing a one goal-two assist night.
PHOTO: (Top) Calumet's goalie stops a Flint Powers Catholic shot during a Division 3 Semifinal. (Photos by Andrew Knapik Photography.)
Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
December 7, 2021
Four levels above them, in the press box, a group of prospective broadcasters were touring the facilities. The high school students had spent the Fall sports season streaming games to the NFHS Network and now were learning about a career in broadcasting from Eric Vandefifer, a Montrose High grad currently serving as the radio voice of Saginaw Valley State University basketball and as a contributor to a variety of high school broadcast channels including the MHSAA Network.
Seven years ago, Vandefifer was in a similar situation. He was part of a field trip to Ford Field for the Finals that helped him realize sports broadcasting was a career he wanted to pursue. Those field trips were headed by Tom Skinner and Thom Lengyel, who became mentors to Vandefifer. As a high school junior in 2017, Vandefifer was named Best Student Broadcaster nationally by the NFHS Network.
“With Tom Skinner now deceased and Thom Lengyel retired from the broadcast business, I just felt like I had to continue this and their legacy,” Vandefifer said. “It was important to me to keep it going because when I was in school, it was something I looked forward to.”
Nearly 50 students from Lowell, Montrose, Lake Orion, Mount Pleasant and Ann Arbor Greenhills high schools made the Nov. 26-27 trip to Ford Field. They were able to film highlights, interview players, practice announcing the games, meet other members of the press and more. For Vandefifer, giving back to students who are in the position he once was is very rewarding.
“We had the ability to feel like real media members for a day. I wanted to be able to give other students that same opportunity,” Vandefifer said. “Seeing kids who have a love for sportscasting and that drive to get better gives me real hope for the next generation in this business.”
And after the field trips were done each day, Vandefifer put his headphones on, got behind the microphone and called the two afternoon games for the MHSAA Championship Network.
PHOTOS (Top) Eighth grader Sam Belill, left, and freshman Owen Leitelt from Montrose practice calling a game from the Ford Field press box. (Middle) Mount Pleasant make a stop at the press conference room. (Photos provided by the Montrose and Mount Pleasant School Broadcast Programs.)