Hockey News Hockey News
News | Roster | Schedules--Results | Archives
3/10/2008-Hockey
Share and share alike
OLSM, Marquette split D1 hockey title after 8 OT tie
By ROB TATE/Special to The Oakland Press
PLYMOUTH--It is no coincidence on Saturday night that both the Marquette Redmen and the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Eaglets hav the color red in their uniforms, the color of a heart.
That's because the performance they put on at Compuware Arena in the MHSAA Division 1 state final they showed a ton of heart as the two teams battled through the longest high school hockey game in state history -- and the second-longest in the nation's history.
Records were shattered, players were exhausted, before the MHSAA finally stepped in, thanking the fans for their support and then calling off the game due to the health risk to the players. That was just slightly after 11 p.m., right after the ice was resurfaced for the start of the ninth overtime, and a little over four hours since the game began.
Both teams showed the heart of a champion and thus the MHSAA awarded each team with a piece of the championship, calling it a 1-1 draw after the eighth overtime.
According to the press release handed out to the media after the sixth overtime, the longest game in Michigan high school history was March 14, 1976, when Calumet and Houghton played six overtimes. The longest high school game in the United States happened in 1955 in Minnesota, which resulted in 11 overtimes played between Minneapolis South and Thief River Falls. Both resulted in wins though, not ties.
Both teams had labored a lot over the past week. Both teams played in hotly-contested semifinal games Friday night.
Each team logged 109 minutes of ice time Saturday and a total of 199 minutes during the week, as each team had played three games since Wednesday.
"You know they had their reasons," OLSM head coach Brian Klanow said afterwards, regarding the MHSAA's decision. "it is what it is and history is what it is. My hat's off to these kids -- what a tribute to high school hockey in Michigan."
The reasons to end the game in a tie were straightforward, even if they weren't universally accepted by the players, coaches or fans from either team.
High school hockey players aren't trained to play in marathon games, and it would be a catastrophe if something happened on the ice like a player getting seriously injured, or an exhaustion-induced mistake led to the game-winning goal.
Both coaches showed a little disappointment in the decision, but looking at the players on the ice shake hands with each other and pose with the trophy, they all looked like they were in shock and in need of a come-like nap.
Marquette head coach Joe Papin reminded everyone afterward again of the fact that these are just kinds and emotions were already high, losing a game in the umpteenth overtime can affect a kid's psyche for a long time.
"It was an administrative decision," said Papin, who traveled with his players and fan base 451 miles from home, just to see a tie. "We have mixed feelings but we didn't want anyone to get hurt. The winner would be tremendously high and the loser would just be miserable. We didn't want it to come down to somebody falling down and the other guy getting the breakaway just because of complete exhaustion. It would just be devastating."
Fortunately for both schools, this was not their first dance in the finals. Both teams played each other last year with OLSM coming out on top, 4-2. Coming into Saturday's game, OLSM (15-12-3) had two state titles in school history, while Marquette (20-5-4) had four state titles to its claim. Both now have a share of one more trophy.
OLSM senior goaltender Ryan Morley-Stockton gave up just the one goal, at the 9:01 mark of the second period, an eternity before he set the MHSAA state finals saves record with 58 saves, surpassing the 48 saves made by Flint Powers goalie Matt Schooley in the 1982 Class B state final.
Morley-Stockton only gave up the one goal since the second period of the state quarterfinal game against Ann Arbor Pioneer last Wednesday. That's just two goals given up in nine periods and eight overtimes.
Morley-Stockton wasn't ecstatic about the decision to end the game in a tie, either, but he found peace with it.
"We aren't happy but, at this point, it's the right decision," Morley-Stockton said. "We are all just beyond tired, some of us might not even be able to walk our bags out of the locker room, honestly. It would be sweet if we could finish it with a shootout or eliminate a player and make it four-on-four."
The reason for the game's extension was a brilliant goal by OLSM senior forward Tim Hooker with a minute and a half to go in the third period, tying the game up at 1-1.
"We didn't play our best (Saturday night) and (Marquette) is a great team," Klanow said. "We were able to pull it out again late in the game with a minute and some seconds left to go. It's just a tribute to my kids and what they have been doing all year."
Copyright 2008, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.