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4/10/2008-Hockey
"Senioritis" is a malady that can hamper students in their final high school year. No such disease struck among area hockey players, however, as this year's Observer & Eccentric All-Area lineup features an all-senior first team and a total of three juniors on the second and third teams. The All-Area selections include players from traditional hockey powers along with growing programs such as Farmington High and Troy Athens. The following All-Area teams and the coach-of-the-year were chosen by a panel of area coaches.
FIRST TEAM
FORWARDS
BILLY BALENT, St. Mary's: The top player on the state's Division 1 co-champion, the swift-skating Balent led St. Mary's in scoring with 42 points, including 17 goals, this season. The senior set up the tying and game-winning goals in the Eaglets' come-from-behind regional final victory this season, then added two more assists in the state quarterfinal. He earned his second consecutive first team All-Area nod.
"He was our leader all year," said St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow. "A fantastic player and a fantastic kid. Second year in a row he was first team All-State. I certainly think that he was a Dream Team player, that caliber. He was our backbone."
Balent has received four Junior A tenders but hasn't selected his next team yet.
JACOB FRIEDMAN, Cranbrook Kingswood: Cranbrook lost three All-Area forwards to graduation last season, but Friedman helped pick up the scoring slack in his senior year. In 27 games Friedman netted 19 goals and added 24 assists for 43 points and earned the team's Most Valuable Player award. He was a Division 3 first team All-Stater and a Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League (MIHL) first team choice.
"We lost 82 percent of our scoring last year due to graduation," said Cranbrook coach Andy Weidenbach, "so we needed someone to step up and fill the void; Jake was the guy. He worked hard during the off-season, gaining strength and stamina, and it paid off. We didn't score many goals Ð 12 of our games were decided by one goal Ð but Jake come through when we needed one. He has a quick release and a hard shot that baffled many a goaltender. When we needed offense, Jake was our go-to player."
D.J. VANDERCOOK, Farmington High: Vandercook's lone high school season was a good one. The senior left AAA hockey to play for Farmington and helped the Falcons reach the state Division 2 semifinal. In 29 games Vandercook tallied 65 points, including 27 goals, and earned D-2 first team All-State honors.
"He turned into our MVP," said Farmington coach Mark Vellucci. "Our team was going to be good without him, but he made our team that much better. Bottom line is, if he's not on the team this year we probably lose four or five (more) games. He single-handedly won us a good four, five games."
Vellucci also called the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Vandercook "a good two-way player. He's good defensively, good offensively. He moves pretty well for a big guy. He's got a great snap shot and wrist shot. He scored a lot of goals. He knows where to be position-wise. He's pretty much a complete player."
DEFENSE
SEAN COLLON, Cranbrook Kingswood: A strong two-way defenseman, Collon gained Division 3 first team All-State notice in his third varsity campaign at Cranbrook.
"Sean was a defensive force for us all season," Weidenbach said. "Toward the end of the regular season and into the state tournament he started to score timely goals. As one of our co-captains he provided the leadership necessary to have a successful season. He was our best defenseman Ð he played on the power play, killed penalties and was the first player called on in key situations."
MICHAEL HAMILTON, Brother Rice: Hamilton wrapped up a four-year varsity career by playing tough hockey in his own zone while chipping in with four goals among 15 points. He was a first team All-MIHL and second team All-State choice.
"He's big, strong, very athletic and hits hard," said Rice coach Lou Schmidt. "He's a two-year captain, voted by his teammates. Two-year All-State. Four-year varsity player. He's a very tough defensive defenseman. The type of player that the opposing team doesn't want to play against."
GOALIE
PETER BAUMHART, Cranbrook Kingswood: Baumhart earned Cranbrook's Most Improved Player award this season while posting a 15-4 record with a 1.41 goals-against average and recording three shutouts. Baumhart was a first team All-MIHL selection as well as the league's Most Valuable Player and gained first team Division 3 All-State honors.
"I can't say enough about Peter," Weidenbach said. "What a career, and he packed it all into one season. We didn't know exactly what to expect at the goaltender position this year, but he certainly exceeded our expectations. He registered 15 wins, including nine wins in the MIHL. Our goalie coach, Justin Ronayne, worked him hard all season and Peter grew into the position. He played stronger as the season progressed and the team had great confidence in him."
SECOND TEAM
FORWARDS
VICTOR PASQUE, Troy Athens: Pasque spearheaded the attack for a much-improved Athens squad this season, scoring 21 goals among 47 points in 27 games. The senior gained second team All-State notice in Division 1.
"Victor had that knack," said Athens coach Joe Barone, "he could get around pretty much any defenseman to create the scoring opportunity, whether it was getting a shot on goal, or if he was looking to make the pass, to create the opportunity for us to get a goal."
ADAM PHILLIPS, Farmington Unified: The area's leading goal-scorer, Phillips, a senior, netted 34 goals Ð including 12 on the power play Ð and added 22 assists in 24 games.
"He's just a natural goal-scorer," said Farmington Unified coach Ken Anderson. "A big, tall kid, 6-5, he uses his length and his reach, and his great hands, to put the puck in the net. He worked very hard in the offensive zone and got results."
NICK TINETTI, Brother Rice: The senior wrapped up his high school career by leading the Warriors with 23 points Ð including eight goals Ð in 24 games and earning first team MIHL and D-2 All-State nods.
"He's the hardest-working kid that I know," Schmidt said. "It's not always about the points with him, just going out and giving his all every single shift. He's a two-year captain, voted by his teammates, and two-year All-State."
DEFENSE
SPENCER PACKER, Brother Rice: An Honorable Mention Division 2 All-Stater, the senior was a two-way threat on the Rice blueline this season.
"A big defenseman, very offensive-minded," Schmidt said. "He brings the puck up the ice with the best of them. He's very athletic and has great hands."
DEREK SCHLAU, Troy Athens: Another key component in the Red Hawks' resurgence, the senior scored 13 points, including four goals, and was a physical presence with 83 penalty minutes this season. Schlau was an Honorable Mention All-State pick in Division 1.
"He was really our all-around defenseman," Barone said. "If we needed the puck out of the zone he was skating it up for us. If we needed somebody back to cover in front of the net, he was there. Teams hated going into the corner against Derek Ð they'd try to go elsewhere instead of having to match up against him."
GOALIE
JARETH GLANDA, Brother Rice: The only junior among the top 12 All-Area selections, Glanda had a strong campaign in his first season as the Warriors' netminder, posting a 10-8-2 record with a 2.09 goals-against average while earning second team Division 2 All-State honors.
"A big, very athletic goalie," Schmidt said. "He covers a lot of net. Seems to step up and play in the big games. We had a lot of one-goal (victories) that we attribute to him."
COACH OF THE YEAR
MARK VELLUCCI, Farmington High: After coaching the former three-school Farmington Unified team for four years, Vellucci took a year off from behind the bench in 2006-07, then returned refreshed and ready to go this season. Vellucci took over a Farmington High squad that posted a .500 record the previous season and led the Falcons to the Division 2 state semifinals. Farmington, in its second year as a separate team, finished with a 26-2-1 record and out-scored its opponents 148-60.
Vellucci said his one-year break from coaching "definitely helped. It was definitely nice coming back to a team that was pretty much a veteran team. It made it a lot easier.
"We returned 14 guys from last year's team," Vellucci continued. "We had four really good lines, the defense was solid and we had two great, number one goalies. We really had a total package this year. And that was the difference. We had great seniors, great captains."
Vellucci noted that Farmington's strength was its forechecking.
"We played somewhat of a dump-and-chase mode. We forechecked and hit. É We were very well-disciplined, staying out of the box. And we had a pretty good power play, too."
Most importantly, "the guys worked their butts off, on and off the ice," Vellucci said. "I've never coached a team that worked harder off the ice than they did on the ice, which was nice."
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