Congratulations to the MDHL U18 team, who captured the CCM Invite Motown Supertacks Division championship last weekend. The team went 5-1, outscoring their opponents 23-9 along the way.
After going 3-1 in round robin games, they faced off against MHA Red in the semifinal game on Sunday morning. MDHL controlled the pace of play and possessed the puck a majority of the game, ultimately winning 4-0 behind goals by Connor Dvorak (Sr - FNV), Landon West (Jr - Detroit Catholic Central), Owen Penny (Jr - Stevenson), and Trent Benedict (Jr - Mona Shores). Tommy O’Donnell (Jr. - Brother Rice), and Nick Galda (Sr. - Detroit Catholic Central) were both solid in net, turning away all shots they faced. They were especially good in the second period when MHA had a number of prime scoring chances.
In the finals, MDHL faced off against the Mt. Lebanon Hornets. After winning 5-2 against Mt. Lebanon in the round robin, this game was much tighter. Playing on bad ice at Michigan State University’s Munn Arena, the game didn’t have much flow as conditions limited the ability to even pass the puck cleanly. Each team relied on their defense and goaltending while trying to be opportunistic in the few scoring chances that they could generate.
After outplaying Mt. Lebanon in the first period, the Hornets came out much stronger in the second period, putting a barrage of shots on both MDHL goalies. Once again, O’Donnell and Galda came up big when they had to, battling and surviving Mt. Lebanon’s sustained pressure over most of the period.
The third period saw both teams keeping the game simple and limiting mistakes, but each team had great scoring chances. The game remained tied until there was only two minutes left, when Ryan Beckmon (Sr. - Bishop Foley) found himself near the crease with the puck on his stick. He made no mistake, finding the back of the net and giving MDHL a 1-0 lead. Mt. Lebanon wasn’t able to generate much offense after they pulled their goalie, and with under 30 seconds left, Billy VanSumeran (Sr. - Midland Dow) picked up a puck near his own blue line and took it all the way down the ice, scoring an empty net goal to make the score 2-0 and seal the championship for MDHL.
It was a great weekend of hockey for a group that continued to improve each game.
Leading scorers included:
- Billy VanSumeran (Sr - Midland Dow): 6pts (5G, 1A)
- Hayden Zimmerman (Sr - Grand Rapids Christian): 5pts (1G, 4A)
- Landon West (Jr - Detroit Catholic Central): 4pts (1G, 3A)
- Connor Dvorak (Sr - FNV): 4pts (1G, 3A)
Way to go guys!
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