BOYS HOCKEY PREVIEW: The best got better

¦ Orchard Lake St. Mary's joins an already tough Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League

By KEITH DUNLAP
Of The Oakland Press

Orchard Lake St. Mary's players run through drills at practice Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming season. The Eaglets joined the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League this season and will play some of the county's best teams.
(The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON)

The strength of the schedule might not necessarily change, but the geographical nature of it will.

That should be great news for the Orchard Lake St. Mary's hockey team this winter.

Shortly after losing to Novi Detroit Catholic Central in a Division 1 state semifinal in March, the Eaglets were offered an invitation to join the state's premier high school hockey league, the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League.

St. Mary's quickly accepted, and the league with traditional state powerhouses such as Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Novi Detroit Catholic Central and Birmingham Brother Rice now has only gotten stronger.

The Eaglets usually play top-notch teams from outside Michigan to prepare for the state tournament, but won't have to travel as far this year to go up against quality opponents.

“We always try to play a strong schedule, but this will be a little bit different” St. Mary's head coach Brian Klanow said. “Our student body and faculty will be able to associate better with the schools, and create some rivalries and good atmosphere at the school.”

Not only should league newcomer St. Mary's be a factor in the MIHL this year, but the Eaglets could very well win it with the squad they have.

Even though there were some key graduation losses and other players lost to junior hockey, St. Mary's should be a state force again and enters as the top-ranked boys hockey team in Oakland County this season.

St. Mary's has one of the top goalies in the state back in senior Joe Janiga, as well as a deep, balanced team in all phases.

Senior forwards Connor Lyon, Ryan Foe and Matt Sweet headline the returning offensive players and seniors Christian Black and Matt Latham are back to anchor the defense.

“There's no real stars on this team,” Klanow said. “Everyone has a real good work ethic.”

Orchard Lake St. Mary's may be the best team in the county, but here's a look at the rest of what should be the top teams in the county this winter.

2. Novi Detroit Catholic Central — The two-time defending Division 1 state champions certainly have the ability to make it a three-peat. Key returnees for the Shamrocks are senior goalies Connor Pankow and Alex Nork, who will have to replace all-state goalie Zack Cisek. The offense will be led by senior forwards Ryan Keller and Sean Gaffney and sophomore forward Charlie Green. The defense should also be solid behind senior Mitch Gatt, juniors Nolan Gluchowski, Robert Ault and Steven Haydon. Newcomers to watch will be sophomore D Michael Downing and sophomore F Michael Babcock Jr.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's senior Joe Janiga is among the best goalies in the state and leads a balanced Eaglets team in 2010.
(The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON)

3. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood — Following its 15th state championship in school history last March, the Cranes' drive for No. 16 will be led by senior D Spencer Tamler, senior F Jarett Friedland, senior D Ryan Murray, senior F Ryan Doucet and junior F Cameron Heath. Those are the important returning players, but junior D Ben Isreal, sophomore D Jeff Martin and sophomore F Alex Alger will also play key roles. If there is a concern, it's in goal, where one of three players will have to establish himself as the No. 1 option.

4. Birmingham Brother Rice — The other part of the “Big Four” that annually dominates the county, the Warriors will once again be a state title contender in Division 2. Brother Rice has one of the top netminders in the state back in senior P.J. Bridges, an all-state player who will make it difficult for opponents to score. Protecting Bridges from opposing forwards will be senior defensemen Jake Jaskolski, Matt Stack and Collin Frink, and junior Chris Wilberding. Brother Rice should also be able to score with senior forwards John Hickman, Matt Parker, Robert Lauro and Andrew Sohn returning. Sophomore Thomas Ebbing and junior Mac MacEchern will also contribute points.

5. Farmington — Following a league title last year, Farmington is a good bet to win another this year since the Falcons return 11 players and have 15 seniors on the roster. Seven of the eight forwards returning are going into their third year on varsity. Leading the way offensively will be seniors Nick Elliott, Zach Massa and Alex Schmitt. Rob Goldi will be a key player who comes to the team after playing travel hockey last year. The Falcons should be set in goal with three capable performers in No. 1 goalie Tim Rogers, Josh Cliff and Zach Lietz.

6. Novi — Once again, the Wildcats should be a factor in the KLAA and a team capable of making a deep run in the Division 2 state tournament. Head coach Todd Krygier said his team doesn't have the depth it's had in years past, but still features three solid lines and three good defense pairings. The key players for Novi will be senior F Joey Ferriss, senior D Nolan Valleau, who made the all-state Dream Team last year, and senior GK Michael Pesendorfer.

7. Farmington Unified — The Flyers were one of the best in the OAA last year, and should be again this year with 11 players returning, nine of which are forwards that should rack up plenty of points. Leading the returnees are senior forwards Scott Newel, Peter Kusek, Kyle DeMaagd, Ryan Murray, Caleb Wright, Mike Race and Blake Burnett. Junior Keith Ladouceur will be an important player in goal, particularly since the defensive unit will be young.

8. Lake Orion — A team without any star players, the Dragons should still be a force to be reckoned with since only four players were lost off last year's team that advanced to a regional final. The Dragons should be led by senior defenseman Dan Blascak, senior forward Jesse Camerson, senior forward Corbin Rainey and junior forward Nick Balavich.

9. Clarkston — The Wolves should not be overlooked in the OAA Red since 15 players are back from last year's squad. Clarkston will be strong along the backline and in net with senior defensemen Chad Watton and Adam Matynowski and senior goalies Troy Fassel and Alec Gildner all returning. Clarkston will have to replace Adam Frank, a four-year forward who graduated, but senior Dillon Drayer and junior Brad Pizzey are among the group of players capable of picking up the scoring slack.

10. Walled Lake Northern — If it's true that all it takes is good goaltending, then the Knights should be in good shape because they return what could be one of the state's best goalies in senior Connor Hellebuyck. Northern will have to rely on Hellebuyck early on until some newcomers adjust to varsity hockey, because only six seniors are back. Senior D Andrew Bozomowski and junior forwards Rob Luzynski and Devon D'Angelo are three returnees from last year. Important newcomers will be junior defensemen Logan Johnson and Paul Fowler and junior forwards Chad Bailey, Luke Stone and Justin Fishback.

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