DIVISION 1
Brighton emerged as the Division 1 state hockey champion this season, thanks to an exciting 4-3 victory over Grosse Pointe North in the title game March 10 at Compuware Arena.
Brighton had only 11 shots on goal, with the big one coming with 1:32 left in regulation off the stick of Chet Daavettila.
Brighton, which won 2-1 in double overtime over Orchard Lake St. Mary in the semifinals, ended its season at 24-4-2
Troy Marrett, Zach Morgan, and Tommy Kivisto also scored for the champions over Grosse Pointe North, which ended the year at 15-15.
Brighton had a 10-game winning streak to end the season. It allowed only six goals in six playoff games.
“We weren’t generating a lot of offense,” coach Paul Moggach said. “I think our defensive composure under their pressure ended up winning it. I thought that ended up being the difference. I think a lot of teams would break under that pressure. This team found a way to stay calm under pressure. I don’t think they were ever rattled.”
Moggach recalled that after the team was picked last fall, he had an overnighter for the players, and he picked up the notion that it could be a very special team.
“I felt them there; they were having fun with each other and they had some skill,” Moggach said. “Knowing the returnees we had from the prior year, if we had the chemistry and if they worked hard together, there was an opportunity at that point.”
Moggach said stressing defense and working on that end was a key factor for this team.
“We had to believe in each other,” he said. “That’s what ultimately happened, we went with D first and believed in each other.
Tom Kivisto was the team’s leading scorer this season, with 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points.
“I think we had a couple of lines that can do some scoring and a third line that can play with anybody,” Moggach said. “But everybody contributed.”
Moggach also coached the 2006 Brighton team that won the school’s last state crown.
“The other team was more dominating offensively,” Moggach said. “This team dominated with better defense and with good mental toughness. The other team was more skilled and there wasn’t as much pressure on them. We won by four goals a game.”
DIVISION 2
Brother Rices’s Russell Cicerone scored two goals and goalie Jack Bowman held Grosse Pointe South to only one goal, which allowed Brother Rice to claim its second ever Division 2 title with a 4-1 victory.
Nine games into the season, Brother Rice was 5-4. However, it finished the rest of the way unbeaten en route to a 25-4-1 record and its first state title since 2005.
It’s coach Lou Schmidt’s second state title with Brother Rice. He has a nine-year record of 157-77-15.
“I’ve always put the boys first,” Schmidt said. “Me, personally, it’s certainly gratifying to have a program like this…it’s all about the boys and I like to think they come to Brother Rice and we make them better hockey players. You expect to win state championships because you’re developing them as a team and you’re developing them as players.”
Brother Rice was in the state finals last season but lost 4-1 to Wyandotte Roosevelt.
“Grosse Pointe South had a fantastic season,” Schmidt said. “We knew they were going to battle us. We battled back. Thank God we were on the winning side this year.”
“Playoffs are nerve-racking,” Schmidt said. “It doesn’t matter who you play. You know you’re going to get their best. You know in some cases, we’ll run into hot goalies. We told the boys to be prepared. The boys stayed focused the whole time. They never panicked. They came out and played hard.”
DIVISION 3
University Liggett School blanked Houghton from the Upper Peninsula 3-0 for the Division 3 title.
Junior James Counsman had two second-period goals, while junior Jacob Soyka had a third-period goal to lift the team to its first state title since 1990. University Liggett ended its season at 27-3. In the playoffs, the Knights outscored their six opponents by a score of 41-5.
Lucas Soyka, a freshman for University Liggett, had 17 saves in recording the shutout. Houghton ended its season at 24-5.