Hockey teams begin a two-week the week of February 25 and ending March 7 -9 at the Compuware Arena in Plymouth for the state finals.
Rockford, in Division 1, hopes to be among the teams slightly above the .500 mark to have a good tournament run.
“It’s been an up and down season, mainly because of injuries and the tough schedule we play,” said Rockford coach Ed VanPortfliet. “Of the 22 games we’ve played, 10 of them have been against teams that currently are, or were, ranked in the top 10 of their division. Also, we’ve never been able to dress a full lineup because of injuries, which hasn’t helped.
Trevor Mills at forward and Cam Bathu on defense lead Rockford.
In the postseason, “we will likely face Mona Shores, who is the Tier 1 league champion this season,” VanPortfliet said. “They’ve beaten us twice, 4-3 (OT) and 4-2. They are currently ranked fifth in the state with a record of 20-2-0, so we’ll have to play our absolute best game to beat them. We also are getting injured players back so that will help a lot!”
Tim Blashill, coach of the Big Rapids hockey team, is expecting to see an interesting playoff battle in Division 3.
“We’re playing much better hockey at this point in the year and lost a lot of close games early on,” he said. “We struggled in the win department but played well in a lot of games.”
Mount Pleasant plays Freeland/Nouvel/Valley Lutheran (FNV) and its prolific scorer Josh Koepplinger, with the winner facing Big Rapids.
“I like where our team is at going into playoffs,” Blashill said. “Flint Powers will be a very tough opponent on the other side of the bracket, and we would meet them in the regional final.”
Players to watch
Division 2: Sammi Abdelaziz and Tyler Angers, Heritage; Louis Marr, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Division 3: Josh Koepplinger, FNV; Thomas Rietema, Grand Rapids Christian
Teams to watch
Division 1: Brighton, Brother Rice, Detroit Catholic Central
Division 2: Livonia Stevenson, Trenton
Division 3: Houghton, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook