Novi cruises past St. Mary's for first hockey title

By JASON SCHMITT
Of The Oakland Press

PLYMOUTH - Fourth time's the charm?

That proved to be the case for Novi, which, after reaching the state's final four for the fourth time in school history, finally walked away with high school hockey's biggest prize.

The Wildcats scored a pair of second period goals, tacked on two more in the third and rode the stellar goaltending of senior Michael Pesendorfer to knock off Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 4-0, in the Division 1 state championship game Saturday at Compuware Arena in Plymouth.

"I'm just proud of our guys," said Novi coach Bryan Krygier, who has led the Wildcats to three of the four final four appearances. "They really worked hard. I've had seniors on this team for four years, Nolan (Valleau) and (Michael Pesendorfer), and Joey (Ferriss) came as a junior and elevated the team game. I've had Taylor (Howell) on the team for three years. I've had Zach (Mohr) on the team for three years. The senior class, the leadership they have provided, and then everyone else that came along and just bought into what we were trying to accomplish and do and put the team above themselves, this is the reward."

Novi, which entered the game on a six-game winning streak, took a period to get things going after a clean, scoreless first period.

Novi broke the ice just 1:51 into the second period, as Mohr scored off a one-timer from Valleau on the power play. Junior Brock Krygier sent a pass to the top of the right circle to Valleau, who then sent a perfect pass cross-ice to Mohr. Mohr timed his shot perfectly and beat St. Mary's goalie Joe Janiga stickside for power-play goal and a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats scored again with 6:22 left in the second, as senior Taylor Howell scored off a pass from Michael Kruse to make it 2-0.

Novi took that momentum into the third period, scoring two more times on the power play to jump out to a 4-0 lead.

Ferriss redirected a shot by Valleau past Janiga to make it 3-0. Then, less than a minute later, Howell cleaned up a shot by Ferris in front of the goal, stuffing it past Janiga to give Novi a commanding 4-0 lead.

The goal was Howell's ninth in the past three games. Ferris picked up assists on eight of those nine goals. The chemistry between Howell, Ferris and the rest of the Wildcats was a big reason for their near-flawless run through the state playoffs

"Our team chemistry, I can personally say we have the best chemistry in the whole state," Howell said. "We've been together, some of us, since first grade, the others, since sixth grade. And then the younger guys we just got to know, they just joined the group. We let them in, no problem, they're just one of us once they get in here."

One player who was not new to the team was Pesendorfer. The win was special to the senior netminder. He was the starting goalie on the last Novi team to play at Compuware. He saved 20 of 22 shots against Muskegon Mona Shores in the semifinals in 2009, but Novi lost the game, 2-1. The outcome was much different for Pesendorfer and the Wildcats on Saturday.

"That loss was truly heartbreaking, even though I was a sophomore," said Pesendorfer, who did not allow a goal in his two games this weekend. "Coming back and winning it with a decent, corps group of guys from that team, it's really just unbelievable."

Pesendorfer stopped all 33 shots he faced in the semifinal and championship games.

It was Novi's fourth trip to the state's final four. The Wildcats first appearance came back in 2001, when the finals were held at Flint's IMA Sports Arena. They've played at Compuware Arena three times since the venue took over the state finals. They were ousted in the semifinal round in both 2007 and 2009 before breaking through this year.

For St. Mary's, it was their first trip back to the state title game since sharing the 2008 title with Marquette after the two teams went eight overtimes without deciding a winner. The Eaglets also won the 2007 state title, that year defeating Marquette, 4-2, in the championship game.

"(Novi) is a great team," Orchard Lake St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow said after the game. "Special teams, that's what I told you last night. This is what it was going to come down to, and they had three power-play goals tonight."

OLSM 0 0 0 - 0

N 0 2 2 - 4

First period: None

Second period: 1, N, Zach Mohr (Nolan Valleau, Brock Krygier); 2, N, Taylor Howell (Michael Kruse, Joey Ferriss)

Third period: 3, N, Ferriss (Valleau, Howell); 4, N, Howell (Ferriss)

Records: Novi 24-5-1; Orchard Lake St. Mary's 19-11

Prep Hockey

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