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3/21/07-Hockey
OLSM wins school's first Division 1 state championship
By Byron Copley of Hockey Weekly
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It didn't take long for Orchard Lake St Mary's to gain the upper hand in its Division 1 championship final, a 4-2 victory over Marquette, on March 10, at Compuware Arena.
Just 27 seconds into the contest, Colin Bloor found the back of the net with the game's first shot as he stood unguarded on the doorstep. That made two St. Mary's goals in less than half a minute, if you count the double-overtime game ender on March 9, by Clinton Bourbonais that capped a 1-0 semifinal win over East Kentwood.
It was pretty clear from the outset that this final had adopted a different personality from the outset. This was wide-open, end-board-to-end-board hockey throughout, where the neutral zone was a launching pad for quick transitions and wide skating berths, giving of itself freely to both sides. Consequently, it didn't take long for the Redmen to counter. Allen Lancour finished a furious flurry in front of the Eaglets' net 4:05 into the first with his own tap-in.
“Allen has been our leader all year and I think he is a legitimate ‘Mr. Hockey' candidate,” said Marquette coach Joe Papin.
The question of which team would ratchet down its d-zone coverage for the remainder of the game was likely being debated in both locker rooms after the first period, lest this affair become a “last-team-with-the-puck-wins” pick-up skate. But, you know, it never happened, and the neutral zone continued to offer free passage to both teams throughout the game.
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“Let's face it,” said St. Mary's head coach Brian Klanow, with his special brand of transparency, “Last night, (the semifinal) took a lot out of our kids, and they probably didn't get much sleep either. We played Marquette even in the first two periods and we took the game over in the third.”
True enough. But a couple of quick St. Mary's first-period penalties put the Eaglets in a five-to-three hole at 7:56, and Marquette's Brandon Smaby capitalized by sifting a rebound under Joe Savona's right pad to capture the 2-1 advantage. No, this was most definitely not going to be a repeat of the Eaglets' double-overtime defensive semifinal dandy.
Certainly not after Bourbonais buried a slap shot from the blue line at the 2:48 mark. He's one of the few Eaglets' players on the roster who also possesses a Division 3 championship medal from 2005. Bourbonias conceded that this championship might carry more significance.
“I was not one of the key players on that team,” he said, during the post-game press debrief.
“Yes, you were!” interjected Klanow.
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The Redmen carried the play in the early stages of the second, yet failed to convert on several choice chances even though they captured the period's first power-play opportunity after Shane Halaas interfered with a Marquette winger. The advantage then increased to the Redmen's second five on three on Mac Watts' third infraction of the game, an interference call to go with his cross check and head check. But the Redmen could not cash in and the game remained tied going into the third.
“Sometimes the shots go in, and sometimes they don't,” mused Marquette's Papin. “But everyone could see how much our players wanted this championship by the effort they put forth today.”
So, it came down to the final 15 minutes to determine the Division 1 state champion. And that's when the Eaglets' Billy Balent stepped into the limelight. He bulleted a wrist shot top shelf with 8:19 to play to recapture the lead for the Eaglets. Marquette keeper Jon Nezich had zero probability of stopping that screamer.
And the neutral zone had one more gift to surrender, as Balent iced the win with a center-ice pocket pick, turning and burning to the high slot and launching another bullet from the hip on the stick-side high corner with scarcely two minutes to play.
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“I beat him once high, so I thought I'd try it again,” said Balent.
“I think that Jon was fighting the puck a little bit today,” said Papin.
A Marquette penalty in the waning minutes on behalf of Lancour eliminated all doubt that the Eaglets would capture its first-ever Division 1 trophy to go with that aforementioned Division 3 championship.
“We played poorly in only two games all season,” said Klanow. “And those losses helped this team grow. This is a great hockey program and a great school. Now, I gotta get something to eat.”
Talk about a quick transition.
DIVISION 1 STATE CHAMPION ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY'S
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Devon Carr, Dane Muller, Sean Nagorsen, Thaddeus McConkey, Dan Stanisz, Clinton Bourbonais, Shane Halaas, Tony Aukskalnis, Charlie Semaan, Andrew Cloonan, Ben Shields, Brandon Kozlowski, Kasper Bryniczka, Billy Balent, Mac Watts, Brandon Krefski, Aaron Schnieder, Chas Irmen, Joe Savona, Cody King, Jon Falvo, Colin Bloor, Ryan Candela, Steven Tallman, Tim Hooker
Copyright 2007, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
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