South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey: Team Archives 2011-12

Hometownlife-  jtheisen@gannett.com 

     South Lyon Unified enters the 2011-2012 season with an exciting new Unified look and an exciting roster. Much of our team returns from last year and we are equally enthused with our excellent additions. South Lyon Unified will be taking the ice with sharp new Unified Silver and Blue uniforms representing South Lyon East High School and South Lyon High School.  Our anticipations are high this year having a very deep and skilled Senior class of 13 players, of which 11 are returners.  

     With the key to success starting in goal, we are fortunate to be led by Senior assistant captain goaltender Lou Carnevale, followed by returning Junior Nate Klebe and welcomed addition Sophomore Aaron Callan.  All three are very talented and capable of leading us to victory.

     We are equally deep and skilled on defense with returning Senior assistant captains Colin Tittle and Zack Zitnik, returning Seniors Ryan Betz and Jeff Gunn, returning Junior Matt Wisniewski, welcomed new Juniors Nick Burton and Grant Braeckevelt, and returning Sophomore Blake Robertson.  Our D-men are tough and talented, a terrific combination to have on the blue line.

     Our depth and skill continues with our forwards and leading the way upfront will be returning Senior Captain Jared Vincek, and Senior assistant captain Matt Burton, also returning Seniors Jake Taiariol, Brad Savard, Troy Surdyk, Jake Telep, and welcomed new Seniors Cody Makinson and Juho-Petteri Maki-Lohiluoma.  Our returning Juniors are Cam Thomas, Cory Haas and Alex Hudgens and welcomed new Sophomore Corey Robertson completes our forward roster.

     Our team possess’ a great deal of speed and when we play with a relentless high energy level we are an exciting, dynamic team.  This will definitively be one of the keys to our success.  Equally, we must have a team commitment to bring defensive tenacity and stinginess to our game to improve our team D.

     The biggest intangible key to our success will be our chemistry.  We have a strong group of leaders and it is imperative that we use that strength to consistently drive in the same direction.  We must strive for mutual success, team success over individual success. Our anticipations are high, our goal remains the State Championship, our leadership within the locker room will determine our success.  The KLAA remains one of the top leagues in the State and on any given night the winner will be determined by execution and effort and will.  We are fortunate to compete in the tough Central division, our league and divisional games are terrific in preparing us for the competition that we will face in the State Tournament.  We enter the 2011-2012 Varsity Hockey season with high expectations!

Hometownlife

     The South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey Team won their first game of the 2011-2012 season with a 8-0 blanking of Rochester United.  The game was the first of two of the Metro High School Invitational, a conference showdown that has five members of the KLAA playing five members of the OAA, all games played at the Novi Ice Arena.

     South Lyon sporting their new unified colors controlled the majority of the play outshooting Rochester 36-14, in the game shortened contest.  Senior Captain Jared Vincek opened the scoring for the game and the season by redirecting a shot from the blue line by Senior Colin Tittle for a power play goal.  A mere .27 later South Lyon tallied their second of the game when Senior Brad Savard knocked in a rebound with assist going to Senior Jake Telep and Senior Troy Surdyk.  The pressure continued in the first period, when again back on the power play Senior Jake Taiariol snapped a low shot from above the circles to extend the lead, assist went to Junior Cam Thomas and Vincek.  The fourth and final goal of the period came by sophomore defenseman Blake Robertson who took a pass Senior Ryan Betz took a shot just over the blue line, inside the far post that turned on the red Light.

     Pressure continued in the second and South Lyon got back on the scoreboard with 3:22 left when Junior Cory Haas found a streaking Tittle for the goal.  The play began with Junior Alex Hudgens relentless fore-check that created a loose puck behind the Rochester goal.  Taiariol scored his second goal on a nice give and go with Vincek, with: 18 seconds left on the clock, Thomas was also credited with an assist on the play.   

South Lyon continued to place pressure moving into the third when Senior Matt Burton found Junior Matt Wisniewski positioning between the forward for a one timer that beat the goalie high to the glove side, senior forward Cody Makinson picked up his first career varsity point with an assist on the play.  South Lyon closed the scoring and the game when Savard knocked in a loose puck with assist going to Betz and B. Robertson.

     Strong special team play drove South Lyon to victory with four power play goals, and defended six Rochester power play opportunities.  The goalie tandem of Louis Carnevale and Nate Klebe blanked Rochester making big saves when called upon.  Betz, B. Robertson, Savard, Taiariol, Thomas, Tittle and Vincek all enjoyed multiple point games.  Nick Burton, Cody Makinson, Corey Robertson, Juho-Petter Maki-Lohiluoma and Grant Braeckevelt all played in their first varsity game for the silver, blue and white.

South Lyon will play the second game of the Invitational, today at 1:30 versus Farmington Hills North/Harrison at Novi.

Hometownlife

Farmington Hills North/Harrison Unified Flyers beat South Lyon Unified 6-4 denying South Lyon of a Metro High School Invitational sweep.  The Invitational played at the Novi Ice rink, a conference showdown consisting of 5 teams from the KLAA and 5 teams from the OAA.           

 After a scoreless first period where South Lyon outshot the Flyers 18-7, the Flyers opened the scoring early in the second period with a short handed goal by Eric Stanis.  During the same penalty South Lyon came roaring back with the equalizer with Senior Jake Taiariol and Junior Cam Thomas assisting on Senior Jared Vincek wrist shot below the right face off circle.  Taiariol and Thomas were at it again 32 seconds later when senior defenseman Ryan Betz forced a turnover in the offensive zone fed the puck to Taiariol who found a wide open Thomas for the lead.  The Flyers scored three goals in a span of 1:26, late in the second to take a two goal lead heading into the third on goals by Michael Tober, Reede Burnett and Frank Awdish.  

 South Lyon came back with two early third period goals to tie the game, the first was by Senior Jeff Gunn an end to end rush with an assist going to Collin Tittle and the equalizer by Senior Brad Savard who found the five hole with a close in shot, assisted by Troy Surdyk and Jeff Gunn.  The Flyers, undaunted by the South Lyon pressure score the eventual game winner on a power play goal by Jake Ladouceur and then an insurance tally by Eric Stanis his second of the game. South Lyon continued the pressure but to no avail.           

 South Lyon net minding duties were shared by Senior Louis Carnevale and Sophomore Aaron Callan who played his first varsity game. Gunn, Taiariol and Thomas had multi-point games for South Lyon as they outshot their opponent 47-33.  South Lyons next game will be at the Icehouse in Green Oak Township as South Lyon plays the home team Brighton Bulldogs in a pre-Thanksgiving match.

Livingston Daily Press and Argus

BRIGHTON — Although his team led 2-0 at the end of the first period on Wednesday night, Brighton hockey coach Paul Moggach was uneasy. "We scored on a couple of power-play goals, but 2-0 leads are nothing if you don't set the mind right," he said. "We went into the second period with false confidence."

As a result, South Lyon scored twice in the second period to tie the game, then took the lead with a shorthanded goal early in the third and went on to take a 4-2 victory at the Kensington Valley Ice House. "We gave up the shorthanded goal at the end of a penalty, and then we took another penalty and the momentum had slipped away," Moggach said. "We never got it back." Keith Keranen and Danny Bosio scored for the Bulldogs (1-1 overall and KLAA Central).

Hometownlife  - Community Briefs

Meet the Team Night at Kensington Valley Ice House on Nov 30th: Come meet the 2011-2012 South Lyon varsity hockey team during Meet the Team Night on Nov. 30 at Kensington Valley Ice House. Watch the action as South Lyon takes on Waterford Mott at 6 p.m. Meet the team and get a free T-shirt autographed by the players after the game. For more information, visit the team's website at www.eteamz.com/slvarsityhockey.

         South Lyon jumped on the ice after the second period intermission looking to put together another comeback, this time versus the Clarkston Wolves, game1 of the Detroit Skate Club Invitational being played in Bloomfield Hills.  Still feeling a little sluggish from the teams Pre-Thanksgiving come from behind 4-2 win versus rival Brighton.  South Lyon fell behind 3-1 after one and 6-3 after two, while out shooting the Wolves (22-20) over both stanzas. 

            South Lyon began the period on a power play and the comeback began at the :58 mark, Senior Jared Vincek found Senior Jake Taiariol parked alone on top of the crease to close the gap to two goals, Junior Cam Thomas also received an assist on the play.  Junior Cory Haas while on the penalty kill, forced a turnover in the Clarkston zone skated the puck deep, then drove to the net sliding the puck inside the left post to make it a 6-5 game.  With the momentum building, the South Lyon squad tied the game: 53 seconds later on a goal from Thomas with an assist going to Senior Collin Tittle.  The game winner came at the 7:47 mark, with Senior Brad Savard driving the net he found an open Haas below the goal line, Haas quickly moved the puck back to Savard who snapped a shot to take the lead, Tittle also had an assist on the play.  The final goal of the game came with: 41 seconds left, on a wrist shot from the right circle by Senior Jake Telep, with an assist credited to Senior Cody Makinson.            

         A balanced offensive attack led South Lyon to victory as eight different players scored goals:  Sophomore Blake Robertson, Jared Vincek and Sophomore Corey Robertson also contributed tallies.  Multi point games were produced by Collin Tittle (3 assists), Cam Thomas (1 goal, 2 assist) Jake Taiariol, Jared Vincek, Jake Telep and Corey Haas each had a goal and an assist.  Sophomore goalie Aaron Callan picked up his first career win shutting out the Wolves over a period and a half, other milestones went to Corey Robertson first varsity goal and Junior defenseman Nick Burton, his first varsity point on an assist on C. Robertson’s goal. Game 2 of the Invite will be played Saturday at Noon with the Farmington Falcons as the opponent. 

            South Lyon Varsity hockey team won their second game of the DSC Invitational extended their winning streak to three and improved their overall record to 4 wins and 1 loss as the first week of the high school 2011-2012 hockey season came to a conclusion.            

The second game of the Invitational, played in Bloomfield Hills, saw South Lyon Unified defeat the Falcons of Farmington 5-2.   South Lyon no stranger to comebacks found themselves down again after two and mounted a 4 goal rally for their third consecutive come from behind victory.  South Lyon was led by Senior Jake Taiariol who scored a hat trick and the solid goaltending of Aaron Callan who picked up his second win of the young season as well as his first start, stopping 16 Falcons shots.  The win completed the sweep of the invitational for South Lyon.            

 Outshooting Farmington 7-3 in the first period, South Lyon fell behind one to zero late in the first on a powerplay goal from Farmington’s Nick Heffron, South Lyon tied the score on a short handed goal by Taiariol when he received a perfect pass from Senior Jared Vincek to the front of the net on a bang bang play.  Farmington scored the only goal in the second period on a shot from the right point by Senior Defenseman Kyle Gandy with an assist credited to Zack Massa, the Falcons outshot South Lyon 11-8, in the period.            

Moving into the third period a goal down, South Lyon quickly tied the game with the equalizer coming from a goal by Senior Cody Makinson,  Makinson found the back of the twine as he picked up a loose puck in front of the crease.  Seniors Matt Burton and Ryan Betz applying offensive pressure in front of the net picked up the assists on the play, which came at the 14:55 mark.  The eventual game winner came on a well designed played that leveraged the Olympic size ice the teams were playing on and the speed of the South Lyon forwards.  With the draw to the right of Callan, Taiariol cleanly drew the puck to senior defenseman Collin Tittle as speedy forward Vincek broke on the play, Tittle fed Vincek who took the perfect bank pass through the neutral zone on the left wing, outskated the defenseman and went in and scored.  Taiariol extended South Lyons lead to two on a one timer, with an assist going to Junior Cam Thomas and then completed the scoring with an empty net goal picking up a loose puck created by aggressive fore checking from Vincek.            

South Lyon’s next game is also Meet the Team Night and will be played at the Kensington Valley Ice House on Nov 30th: Come meet the 2011-2012 South Lyon varsity hockey team during and watch the action as South Lyon takes on Waterford Mott at 6 p.m. Meet the team and get a free T-shirt autographed by the players after the game.

Hometownlife         

  The South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey Team peppered Mott goalie Jon Furton with 56 shots but could only muster 2 goals as the teams battled to a 2-2 tie Wednesday evening.   South Lyon outshot the Corsairs 56-13, a game played at the Icehouse in Brighton.            

Playing on Meet the Team Night, the home team South Lyon came out firing on all cylinders in the first period dominating all facets of the game.  Mott goalie Furton faced 23 shots in the period with the only goal, a power play tally scored at the top of the slot on a wrist shot by Sophomore Blake Robertson, fed perfectly with a pass from Ryan Betz with the time of the goal coming at the 7:41 mark, Senior Jared Vincek also had an assist on the play.             

The pressure from South Lyon continued in the second period but Goalie Furton was up to the challenge turning away 18 more shots as the home team tried feverishly to pad their lead.  South Lyon goaltender Louis Carnevale turned away all 7 shots he faced as play moved into the third period.            

The visiting team got on the board early in the third, capitalizing on an odd man rush to tie the game.  Spirited by the student section, South Lyon came roaring back to take the lead once again on a goal by Junior Cam Thomas as he picked up a loose puck outside the crease and drove it to the back of the net, Vincek picked up his second assist on the goal.  Undaunted by South Lyon’s continuous pressure the Corsairs scored the equalizer, 1:30 later on the power play.  With the student section, willing the home team to victory, South Lyon continued the pressure but could not reclaim the lead.  Shots on goal during the final stanza were 15-6, favor of South Lyon.             

With the tie, South Lyon extended its unbeaten streak to 4 games and currently has an overall record of 4-1-1, 1-0 in the KLAA.  The Plymouth Rocks are the next game on the schedule this Saturday at the Arctic Edge.  South Lyon returns home for two contests with the first game to be played on Monday evening versus the Mustangs of Northville and game number 2, Wednesday evening as they take on rival Brighton, both games begin at 6 PM.

  Hometownlife         

 The Plymouth Wildcats snapped the South Lyon Varsity Unified Hockey unbeaten streak at five games with a decisive 5-2 victory played Saturday evening at the Arctic Edge hockey arena in Canton.  South Lyon could not overcome two 5 on 3 power play goals that occurred during the final part of the first period that set the tone of the game.            

South Lyon opened the scoring on the first shift of the game as a clearing pass from Senior Collin Tittle sent Seniors Cody Makinson and Jake Taiariol on a two on one odd man rush through the neutral zone with Makinson carrying the puck in the offensive zone where he sent a pass over to Taiariol whose one timer gave South Lyon the early lead.  The Wildcats leveraging their power play strength scored both 5 on 3 goals, 1:07 minutes apart and added another tally to take a 3-1 lead into the second.            

South Lyon no stranger to playing from behind and mounting successful comebacks scored early in the second to cut the lead to one on a goal from Senior Matt Burton who took a pass from Makinson in the slot and drove a backhand past the goaltender, junior defenseman Nick Burton also drew an assist on the play.  Plymouth came back two minutes later on a goal by junior Mitch Claggett, his third of the game.  The quick response from the Wildcats deflated South Lyon’s momentum.            

With the loss South Lyon falls to 1-1 in the KLAA and 4-2-1 one overall.  South Lyon outshot Plymouth 26-24, their lowest shot total of the season.  South Lyon plays at home Monday evening, as the Mustangs from Northville makes the track to Icehouse in Brighton for a 6:00 start

  Hometownlife         

  South Lyon dropped its overall record to 4-3-1 and 1-2 in the KLAA with a 3-2 loss versus the Northville Mustangs at the Kensington Valley Icehouse, Monday evening.            

South Lyon led after the first period on a power play goal from junior Cam Thomas as he took a pass from Sophomore Blake Robertson at the right circle and snapped a shot over the goalies glove.  Senior Cody Makinson picked up an assist on the play.  South Lyon took the lead into the second period, shots were even 8-8 after 1.  Big saves by South Lyon goalie Louis Carnevale helped South Lyon to preserve the lead.           

  Northville tied the game early in the second period on the first of two goals by Clayton Neal, the powerplay goal was assisted by Connor Brown and Buddy Debrander.  J.P.  Maki Lohilouma scored his first varsity goal for South Lyon to put the team in the lead, the foreign exchange student from Finland wrap around goal was assisted by Makinson and Thomas.  The multi point game was the second in a row for the first year varsity player, Makinson.  Northville tied the score at the 5:03 mark of the second to send the game into the third, all even.           

  End to end action was played in the third period and the contest was looking to go into overtime, but with Northville pressing in the South Lyon zone, forward A.J. Bradley drove a loose puck past a sprawling Louis Carnevale for the eventual game winner.  With the goalie pulled South Lyon mounted pressure to tie the game but to no avail. Northville outshot South Lyon 32-21 the first time South Lyon has been outshot this season.  Next game for South Lyon will be this Wednesday at 6 pm, as rival Brighton Bulldogs are the opponent for the second time this season.

            South Lyon made a valiant coming against the Brighton Bulldogs, Wednesday evening at the Icehouse in Brighton as the rivals battled on the ice.  The unified squad down 3-0 heading into the third period scored twice, the second with 4:02 left in the game but saw their furious comeback fall short losing the game 3-2. 

            Brighton led after the first period 1-0 and after the second three to zero out shooting South Lyon by a margin of 11.  Senior goaltender Louis Carnevale was peppered with 25 shots at this point of the game, 17 of them coming in the second period alone making big save after big save to keep South Lyon in the game

.   South Lyon comeback started early in the third period as on the first shift, Senior Jake Taiariol on a pass from Junior Cam Thomas lit the lamp from between the circles to get on the board.  With the Bulldogs going into a defensive shell, South Lyon pulled the game within one when Senior Matt Burton picking up a loose puck in the defensive zone, blew past the Brighton defense in the neutral zone and went in on the goaltender alone for the goal.  Moments later, Senior Troy Surdyk stripped the defense of the puck in the neutral zone and rang one off the cross bar as the momentum increased.  With Carnevale pulled for the extra attacker and tension building in the crowd, the unified squad buzzed around the Brighton goal but could not obtain the equalizer.

 With the loss South Lyon dropped to 1-3 in the KLAA, and 4-4-1 overall.  South Lyon looks to snap their winless streak Saturday, as they travel to the Chelsea Ice Arena to take on the Pirates of Pinckney.

             Junior Cam Thomas scored three goals, Senior Jake Taiariol added a goal and three assist, and Senior Jared Vincek had a goal and two assist to lead the visiting South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey team to a 6-1 victory over the Pinckney Pirates, on Saturday night. 

              Junior Goaltender Nate Klebe picked up his first win of the season stopping 18 of 19 shots, Senior Jake Telep added an unassisted tally, Juniors Matt Wisniewski and Nick Burton, Sophomore Blake Robertson contributed assists.  An assist by Thomas capped a four point performance from the forward, as the win ends a four game winless streak.

             With the game tied 1 to 1 late in the second period, South Lyon in the midst of a scoring drought of late, averaging only 2 goals of offense per game during their winless streak, exploded for four goals in the last 1:09 of the period.  The Unified squad scored two goals on the power play, one on a 5 on 3, the other on a 5-4 by Thomas and Taiariol at the 1:09 mark and :49 mark respectively.  South Lyon seizing the momentum added to the lead scoring 12 seconds apart, when Taiariol won the faceoff to the left of the Pirate goalie, sending the puck to Thomas who went top shelf over the goalies out stretched glove.  The final goal of the period, padding the lead to four, came at the buzzard with pass from Wisniewski to Taiariol, who drove a shot to the net that initially was stopped by the goalkeeper with an alert Vincek at the doorstep jamming the rebound home.  Pinckney was outshot, 20-4 in the middle stanza and 34-19 for the game.

             With the win, South Lyon improved their overall record to 5-4-1 and has two remaining games before the holiday break.  Wednesday, 12/14 when they visit Canton to play the Chiefs and a home contest 12/21, when the Stevenson Spartans ventures to the Icehouse.

            Senior Collin Tittle had four assists, Junior Cam Thomas scored two goals, Senior Jake Taiariol added a goal and an assist, and Senior Jared Vincek had two assists to lead the visiting South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey team to a 5-3 victory over the Canton Chiefs, on Wednesday night. 

             Senior goalie Louis Carnevale came off the bench to relieve injured starter Sophomore Aaron Callan turning aside 17 of the 20 shots he faced, for the victory.   South Lyon outshot the Chiefs 29-24 for the game, but was outshot 9-4 in the final stanza as Canton closed the scoring to one goal but could not net the equalizer.             Unlike most of the season where the varsity team found itself down early, South Lyon led after the first period, outscoring Canton 4-2.  South Lyon first goal came from Senior Juho-Petteri Maki-Lohiluoma as he picked up a shot from Senior Jeff Gunn in the corner and stick handled to the slot to open the scoring.  Later in the period while on the powerplay, South Lyon increased the lead to two, when Thomas scored on a nifty give and go with Taiariol, with the second assist going to Tittle.  29 seconds later, with Canton trying to get build some momentum, Collin Tittle moved the puck up the left wing board to Vincek who skated into the offensive zone on a two on one.  He flipped a pass over the sprawling defenseman to Taiariol who one timed it waist high to take commanding 3 to 0 lead.  The Chiefs closed the gap quickly, scoring two goals in less then two minutes to get back in the game.  South Lyon responded before the period would end, on a back hand goal from senior forward Matt Burton, with senior Jake Telep and Tittle attaining assist on the play. 

            The second period came and went without any scoring.  South Lyon had numerous powerplay opportunities to pad their lead, with two 5 on 3 added to the mix.  Canton was called for 5 minor penalties in the frame and while South Lyon peppered 14 shots, none of them crossed the goal line.

             Early in the third period South Lyon found themselves in penalty trouble of their own, even though they killed off their first infraction, a powerplay goal by Canton made it a one goal game with exactly 8 minute’s left with a shot from the point.  Canton increased the pressure to force a deadlock, with much of the play in front of goalie Carnevale. With the time of the third period dwindling down, the Chiefs pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.  Collin Tittle stripped the puck from a Chief forward and cleared the defensive zone, Vincek forced a turnover in the Chiefs zone and passed the puck to Thomas who clinched the game with an empty net tally. With the win, South Lyon improves their overall record to 6-4-1, 2-3 in the KLAA.  The next and final game before the holidays will be played at home, 12/21 as South Lyon welcomes the Stevenson Spartans to the Icehouse with a 6 pm start.

Never short on talent, Oakland County should once again be the class of hockey in Michigan for the 2011-12 season. If past championships — the county has won 15 of the 30 MHSAA state championships over the past decade — doesn’t say enough, then the fact that seven county teams were ranked in the first state rankings of the 2011-12 season should speak volumes on the level of hockey in Oakland County.
Novi Detroit Catholic Central is ranked No. 1 in Division 1, and is quite possibly the best team in the entire state. Birmingham Brother Rice holds down the top spot in Division 2, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood is No. 2 in Division 3.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, always a threat to win a state championship, is also ranked in Division 1, as is Novi. Oxford and Walled Lake Northern earned Top-10 rankings in Division 2.
Yep, the stage is set for Oakland County teams to once again dominate the hockey landscape come March. But first, here’s an early-season preview of sorts, a look at the Top-10 teams the county has to offer:

1. Novi Detroit Catholic Central

Players come and players go in high school hockey. Novi Detroit Catholic Central coach Todd Johnson is hoping that his team can step up and overcome the loss of Michael Downing, who was drafted third overall in last year’s USHL Future’s Draft. Downing, who would have been a junior this year, will be hard to replace.
But so far, the team has found a way to do just that. The Shamrocks entered the season ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and, so far, have not disappointed. They are a perfect 7-0, with wins over ranked opponents Port Huron Northern (No. 2 in Division 2), St. Mary’s (No. 4 in Division 1) twice, Birmingham Brother Rice (No 1 in Division 2), Warren De La Salle (No. 3 in Division 2), Wyandotte (No. 5 in Division 2) and Grosse Pointe North (No. 9 in Division 1).
Losing Downing was a blow, but Johnson said a revitalized Nolan Gluchowski, who was a second-team all-state selection last year, entered the season on a mission and has delivered.
“He’s always had offensive skills, but this year he’s in elite condition,” Johnson said of Gluchowski, a senior. “He’s going to be a plus-plus player for us, shift in and shift out.”
Junior Nick Daigneau and sophomore Carson Gatt have also provided great play from the blue line, while Johnson’s offense has been paced by a talent-rich group of six forwards. Seniors Pete Halash, Steven Haydon, Tyler VanNorman and Joe Steele, and juniors Charlie Green and Michael Babcock, along with Gluchowski, lead the team in scoring.
Junior goalies Derek Moore (4-0, 1.50 goals-against average) and Ryan Mulka (3-0, 1.00) have allowed just nine goals in Catholic Central’s seven games.


2. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Defense was a concern heading into the season for coach Andy Weidenbach’s squad. The Cranes had just one returning defenseman from last year, junior Jeff Martin.
So to help shore up the position, seniors Cameron Heath and Ethan Weiss were moved back to the blue line. So far, the move has paid off, as Cranbrook has jumped out to a 6-1-1 record this season, 5-0 in the MIHL.
On offense, junior Alex Alger (11 points), sophomore Christopher Brown (10) and Jeremy Loewenstein (7) have formed a potent line, as have Blake Manginell, Kevin Shand and Billy Young.
Heath and Weiss haven’t forgotten how to score, either, combining for 14 points through the team’s first eight games.
Austin Alger and Sam Miletic (10 points each) have also provided the Cranes, who are averaging four goals a game,with some much-needed offense.
Cranbrook is deep at the goalie position this year, with seniors Aaron Alkema and Justin Kirk sharing time. With Kirk battling an early-season injury, the team has relied heavily on Alkema, who has a 4-1 record and a 2.78 goals against average in six games.
“As a staff, I think we’re excited. The players are enthusiastic, have a good work ethic and appear to be coachable,” Weidenbach said. “As a coach, you can’t expect much more than that.”


3. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

No team has made it into the Division 1 state championship game more often over the last five seasons than Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. And after a 4-0 loss to Novi in last year’s title game, the Eaglets are eager to get back to Compuware again this season.
Coach Brian Klanow’s team is 3-3 on the young season. But, like the other MIHL teams from Oakland County, the Eaglets have a stacked schedule. St. Mary’s wins have come against the Nos. 1-, 2- and 4-ranked teams in Division 2, while its losses have come to Catholic Central (No. 1 in Division 1) twice and Cranbrook (No. 2 in Division 3).
So far, the team has been led by the balanced scoring of sophomore Cody Milan (7 points), junior Cooper Anstett (6), senior Luke Rogers (5), senior Shane Bednard (5) and sophomore Mitchell Vanderburg (4). Klanow expects that to be the case all season long for his team, which is currently ranked No. 4 in Division 1.
Klanow will be relying on seniors David Muth and Stephan Beauvais to anchor his defensive unit, and for goalie senior Austin Julvezan to keep the puck out of the net. Julvezan has a 3.60 GAA and a .886 save percentage in five games this season.
The team’s schedule slows down a bit over the holiday break, with games against Dearborn Divine Child and U-D Jesuit coming up. But after the break, things are back to normal with a pair of Toronto-based teams (Hill Academy and PEAC) coming to Michigan to face the Eaglets in the Spartan Cup, and the MIHL schedule resuming.


4. Birmingham Brother Rice

To show the depth of high school hockey in Oakland County, consider the Warriors example No. 1. Brother Rice currently sits in fourth place in the MIHL (behind Catholic Central, Cranbrook and Trenton), yet it is ranked No. 1 in the state in Division 2.
Coach Lou Schmidt Jr.’s team has what many consider to be the best player in the state in Mackenzie MacEachern. The senior is the reigning MIHL scoring champion and was co-MVP of the league last year, to go along with his first-team all-state honor. He has 18 points through the team’s first six games, as the Warriors are the highest-scoring team in the league.
He’s not alone in providing firepower for Rice. Junior linemates Thomas Ebbing and Russell Cicerone have 11 and seven points, playing alongside the MSU-bound MacEachern. Others who have or are expected to produce offensively are sophomore Blake Bazzi (8 points), senior Eric Dibble and juniors Ross Haffey and Jon Reschke.
Defensively, all-county returnee, senior Chris Wilberding, will lead the way, along with junior Andrew Roye and sophomore Bobby Cross. Wilberding is a three-year starter and a co-captain (with MacEachern and Ebbing). Also helping to shore up the defense are juniors Hunter Clark and Connor Duncan.
Sophomore Jack Bowman has amassed a 4-2 record in goal for the Warriors.
The Warriors lost 16 players off last year’s state-runnerup squad and return just six this year. Schmidt said being ranked No. 1 is flattering, but he knows his team has a long way to go to get back into a position to play for a state championship.
“There are many quality teams in Division 2 this year,” the coach said. “So we hope to stay healthy, and with a little luck, we can make it back to Compuware in March.”



5. Farmington Unified

Experience returning and good depth at the forward and defense positions usually translates into success in hockey. That's what makes Farmington Unified one of the favorites in the Oakland Activities Association Red division this winter.
Coach Ken Anderson’s team consists of 11 seniors and seven juniors, many of which he’ll be counting on to help the team compete for a Red championship. Most of the competition feel it will be a battle between the Flyers and Lake Orion for the title.
Anderson said he expects senior forwards Jake Ladouceur, Derek Ried, Kyle Wood, Jared VanValkenburg and Michael Tobar and junior Eric Stanis to lead the offense, while seniors Justin Brereton and Shane Moran, juniors T.J. Zak and Reede Burnett and sophomore Steven Coulter anchor the defense. Third-year senior Keith Ladouceur is the starting goalie and has a 3.45 GAA and .908 save percentage in the team’s early non-league schedule.
The team has picked up a couple quality wins early on this season. It beat eighth-ranked Novi, 3-2, and South Lyon, 6-4, to open the year. And it knocked off seventh-ranked Northville, 5-4, on the road in late November.
“We’ve been a little inconsistent up to this point, but it’s still pretty early in the season,” Anderson said. “Once we get 100 percent healthy, I’m confident we will be a good, solid team that won’'t be fun to play against. We have 11 seniors on this team, which creates a good mix of experience and youth.”



6. Lake Orion

The Dragons made school history last season, slicing their way through the state tournament and into the final four at Compuware Arena. The team lost a few key pieces to graduation and also its coach.
But the team was deep, and it brought in a well-respected man to lead the team in Nick Field. The new coach saw his team open the season with a brutal schedule, suffering losses to Top-10 teams Northville, Livonia Stevenson and Warren De La Salle. Since then, however, the Dragons have rebounded, winning four straight, including a solid, 4-2 win over No. 3-ranked Howell on the road.
Seniors Shane Stockwell and Nick Balavich lead the team with nine and seven points through the team’s first eight games and will be counted on to lead the way throughout the season. Seniors Brad Bogus, Daniel Chapie and Justin McKelvey and freshman Ryan Szydlowski can also put the puck in the net.
Defensively, the team will be led by senior Dylan Rosen and junior David Otto, who has five points — including four assists — so far this season. Otto, along with senior goalie Drew Galasso, are new to the team after having played travel hockey last year. Galasso has allowed just 1.61 goals per game this season.
Field said one of the team’s goals is to win the OAA Red, and he expects to have to battle it out with Farmington Unified and Clarkston.



7. Novi

Last year was a magical one for the Novi hockey team. It set a school record with 24 wins en route to a Division 1 state championship. A lot of that success could be attributed to the outgoing group of seniors that paved the way for the team to make its run.
Four first-team all-state players graduated, and coach Todd Krygier also lost second-team selection, and son, Brock, when he decided to play travel hockey his senior year.
So it’s no surprise that this year’s team got off to a slow start to the season (3-4-1). The Wildcats were swept this past weekend by top-10 ranked Canton and Brighton, the latter of which currently sits in first place in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association’s Central Division. The entire division is tough, as Brighton, Novi, Livonia Stevenson and Northville are all ranked in Division 1. And South Lyon is a team on the rise.
Krygier will rely heavily on a small corps of players back from last year’s team to guide the Wildcats through a rigorous KLAA schedule in 2011-12. Seniors Curtis Herzog and Dylan Shepard and junior Jon Mencer up front, and senior Kent Burnett at defense will lead the way.
We should have won a few of (our early losses), but we didn’t,” Krygier said. “We have had a relatively slow start to this season because we have so many inexperienced players.”



8. Clarkston

The Wolves achieved a great deal of success last year, winning a regional championship before being ousted by eventual champion Novi in the Division 1 quarterfinals. Clarkston was expect to be back in the thick of things again this year.
But the team suffered a big loss when senior Brad Pizzey received a call to play for the Michigan Warriors of the NAHL. It was an opportunity too good for the Wolves’ best player to pass up. And coach Bryan Krygier has had to find a way to fill in the void left by Pizzey.
So far it hasn’t been easy. Clarkston lost its first four games of the season, albeit against Livonia Churchill, Novi, South Lyon and Brighton, three of the four of which are ranked among the top-10 in Division 1. But the Wolves have picked up their play of late, having won three of four games (3-0-1).
Part of that success has been due to the play of the younger players on Krygier’s roster. Sophomore Chase Wiedemann leads the team with 10 points, while linemates Jacob LaPorte, also a sophomore, has nine points and senior Adam Bruderick has eight. Sophomores Garrett Polish (nine points) and Carter Rea are teamed up with senior Adam Seel, a four-year player, on a potent second line as well.
“The sophomore class is going to be very important and are going to get better as the season goes on,” Krygier said.
The defense is led by junior Adam Larkin, who can also provide some much-needed offense. He is tied for second on the team with nine points. He’ll be joined on the blue line by junior Adam Johns and sophomore newcomer Eric Matynowski.
“This year is going to be a learning year, a year for us to gain experience, a year where the kids get properly taught,” Krygier said. “I’m not focusing on the wins and losses, as opposed to making proper decisions on the ice and out-working our opponents.”



9. South Lyon Unified

South Lyon Unified coach Bill McCreary has his sights set high for the 2011-12 season. He wants a state championship. That’s the goal of any great program.
But he’ll have quite a challenge ahead of him, just to win a KLAA divisional title. The Unified team has top-10 teams Brighton (No. 5), Livonia Stevenson (No. 6), Northville (No. 7) and Novi (No. 8) to contend with.
That said, South Lyon does have a plethora of returning talent to take on that challenge. The roster is filled with 13 seniors, 11 of which are returning from last year's team.
The team’s top line is anchored by senior center Jake Taiariol (16 points) and senior captain, Jared Vincek (20 points). The third member of that line, junior Cam Thomas, also has 20 points.
“This line has the potential to evolve into one of the top lines in high school hockey,” McCreary said.
Defensively, senior assistant captain Colin Tittle leads the way. He has a goal and 11 assists in his team’s first 12 games. Sophomore Blake Robertson (eight points) and seniors Zack Zitnick, Ryan Betz and Jeff Gunn also provide experienced leadership on the blue line.
In goal, senior assistant captain Lou Carnevale leads a talented trio which also includes junior Nate Klebe and sophomore Aaron Callan.
“Our team possesses a great deal of speed and when we play with a relentless high energy level, we are an exciting, dynamic team,” McCreary said. “We have a strong group of leaders and it is imperative that we use that strength to consistently drive in the same direction.”



10. Waterford Mott

The list of players gone from last year’s regional championship team is long, and many of those players were extremely talented. Still, the Corsairs return some good talent and have had some players step it up early this season.
Offensively, senior Scott Cuthrell has and should continue to put up great numbers. He already has eight goals and 14 assists. Another pair of returning players from last year’s team, Austin Sereno and Max Vancil, have also had success lighting the lamp early on.
Sereno has a team-leading 12 goals to go with six assists, while Vancil has a pair of goals and six assists for eight points.
Defensively, Tyler Vaughan and Austin Mass lead the unit, and Jon Furton is the team’s No. 1 goalie.
Mott, along with Walled Lake Northern, should be the class of the KLAA North Division.
“We don’t have the depth we had last season, and we lost some size,” coach Marty White said. “But we have good team speed and play with a lot of heart. We need to stay focused on the game and play three hard, aggressive periods while staying out of the (penalty) box.”

            The last game before the holiday break occurred, Wednesday evening as the Stevenson Spartans invaded the Kensington Valley Icehouse in Brighton, for a KLAA varsity hockey game.    The Unified squad down 4-1 heading into the third period scored twice, the second a shorthanded tally with 1:00 left in the game, but saw their furious comeback fall short 4-3.

             Stevenson led after the first period 3-0 aided by two powerplay goals and after the second 4 to 1.  Junior goaltender Nate Klebe, who came in at the start of the second period kept South Lyon in the contest by making big saves as the Unified squad tried to get untracked.   Ten seconds into the third period, South Lyon comeback began, when Junior Cory Haas on a pass from Senior Brad Savard lit the lamp from the right faceoff circle to cut the lead in half.  South Lyon continued to press but to know avail as the game moved deep into the third.  All hope seemed lost when South Lyon picked a minor penalty for cross checking with 2:12 left in the contest.

       The Unified team went on an offensive mode and the move paid off, when with exactly one minute left in the game, Senior Jake Taiariol on a feed from Senior Collin Tittle scored from on top of the circles to cut the deficit to one.  With Klebe pulled for the extra attacker and the penalty expired South Lyon had an opportunity to tie the game with the faceoff deep in the Spartan zone, the unified could not control the faceoff and the time expired.

        Taiariol led South Lyon with 2 goals with Haas picking up the other tally, other offensive contributions came on assist from Seniors J.P. Maki-Luhi Louma, Jared Vincek, Brad Savard, Collin Tittle and Junior Cam Thomas.   South Lyon outshot Stevenson 32-26 for the game.  With the loss South Lyon dropped its overall record to 6-5-1. 

            The South Lyon Unified Varsity Ice Hockey team kicked off the 2012 in style with a 7-4 victory over the Big Rapids Cardinals, a non league contest played Friday evening at the Kensington Valley Ice House in Green Oak Township.

               South Lyon came out strong, dominating both ends of the ice scoring quickly and often, building a 3-0 lead after the first period and  growing the lead to 5-0 after the second, out shooting the Cardinals 18-8.  Momentum changed in the third period with the Big Rapids hockey team capitalized on numerous South Lyon penalties.  The Cardinals closed the gap to 6-4 with all the tallies coming on the power play, 2 coming on 5 on 3 advantages.  South Lyon sealed the victory on a late goal with 4 minutes left.  The Unified squad outshot the Cardinal 23-18 for the game.

             Offensively, South Lyon were led by Senior Collin Tittle who had three assist, Senior Brad Savard with 1 goal 2 assist, Senior J.P. Maki-Lohiluoma 2 goals and Sophomore Blake Robertson 2 goals both on hard shots from the point.  Other offensive contributors for South Lyon were goals scorers Senior Jake Telep and Junior Cory Hass, helpers came from Juniors Matt Wisniewski and Alex Hudgens.  Sophomore goalie Aaron Callan picked up the victory turning aside 14 of 18 shots.

               With the victory South Lyon improved its overall record to 7-5-1 and will hit the ice with a KVAA home contest this Monday as the Patriots from Franklin High School in Livonia invade the Ice House for a 6 PM game. 

            The South Lyon Unified Varsity hockey team remains unbeaten in 2012 picking up their second consecutive victory, a 9-0 league win over the Franklin Patriots, a home contest played at the Kensington Valley Ice House in Green Oak Township.

             South Lyon dominating the game from the opening face off exploding for seven first period goals, five in the first five minutes to put the game away.  Offensively, South Lyon were led by Seniors Jake Taiariol (3 goals), Jared Vincek (3 assist), Matt Burton (2 goals), J.P Maki Lohiluoma (1 goal, 2 assist) and Jake Telep (one goal, one assist).  Other contributors were Junior Cory Haas (one goal, one assist) and Sophomore Blake Robertson (2 assists) additional helpers came from Seniors Zack Zitnik and Jeff Gunn and Juniors Cam Thomas and Matt Wisniewski.

                         With the victory South Lyon improves their overall record to 8-5-1 and their KLAA mark to 3 and 4.   The varsity team looks to extend their unbeaten streak this Thursday as the Lake Orion Dragons come to the Ice House for a non league game.

          Senior goalie Louis Carnevale stopped all 31 shots and Junior forward Alex Hudgens chipped in with a goal and an assist to the lead the South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey team to a 4-0 victory over one of the top teams in the state the Lake Orion Dragons, a home contest played at the Ice House in Green Oak Township Thursday evening.

              Gearing up for the state playoffs, South Lyon played one of their most complete games of the season, skating with urgency at both ends of the ice to extend their winning streak to three games. South Lyon opened the scoring in the first period when Senior Juho-Petteri Maki-Lohiluoma found defenseman Senior Ryan Betz streaking between the circles to beat Lake Orion goalie Drew Galasso with a one timer high above the blocker, Senior Jared Vincek picked up the additional helper on the eventual game winner.

  The quick paced first period saw end to end action by both squads with Lake Orion outshooting South Lyon 12-11. South Lyon broke the game wide open with three tallies in the second period to take a 4-0 lead heading into the third.  Junior Cory Hass found the back of the net on a pass from Senior Matt Burton at 13:02 to open the scoring.  The third goal, came as Senior Troy Surdyk rushed the puck in from the neutral zone and found Hudgens, who one timed the puck along the ice for the goal at the 8:45 mark.  Senior Jeff Gunn who also assisted on the goal started the play by breaking up a pass at the defensive blue line and fed Surdyk with the pass.  The last goal of the evening came as Hudgens found Senior Jake Taiariol with a pass, with Taiariol moving the puck behind the net. he slipped the puck to Senior Collin Title to complete the scoring.  Despite the scoring barrage, South Lyon was outshot again 13-12. With the Dragons working feverishly to get on the scoreboard, Goalie Carnevale came up big in the third, making a low glove save with 3:09 left, on a shot that was destined for the lower right hand corner of the goal.

  In the last two minutes of the game, South Lyon overcame a Lake Orion power play opportunity to preserve the shutout, the second consecutive for the unified team. South Lyon’s next game is this Saturday at 3:00 PM.  The game will celebrate the 2012 senior players; Heritage High School from Saginaw will be the opponent for the Senior Night festivities.

   All South Lyon and South Lyon East students coming to the game will be allowed in free of charge.  All students must have a current school I.D. 

            The Heritage Hawks snapped the South Lyon Varsity Unified Hockey unbeaten streak at three games with a decisive 4-2 victory played Saturday afternoon at the Kensington Valley Ice House, disappointing the well attended fan base that were there celebrating the 2012 graduating class of Seniors.  South Lyon could not overcome three Hawk goals that occurred the early part of the third period erasing a 2-1 South Lyon lead.

             South Lyon opened the scoring in the first period when Senior Matt Burton wrist shot found the back of the net with assist going to Senior’s Ryan Betz and Brad Savard.  With the scored tied 1 to 1 South Lyon again captured the lead as Senior Captain Jared Vincek tapped in a loose puck in the crease to take a 2-1 lead, Senior Troy Surdyk and Junior Alex Hudgens assisted on the play.

   South Lyon could not muster any offense the remainder of the game, which led to their first lost of the new calendar year.  With the loss South Lyon falls to 9-6-1  overall.

               The South Lyon fan base want to wish the best of luck to all the seniors on their future endeavors as the winter season moves close to the playoffs.  The following seniors were saluted at a ceremony on the ice following the game, Goalie Louis Carnevale, Defensemen Ryan Betz, Colin Title, Jeff Gunn and Zack Zitnik, Forwards Matt Burton, Cody Makinson, J.P. Maki-Lohiluoma, Jared Vincek, Brad Savard, Troy Surdyk, Jake Telep, and Jake Taiariol.

            Senior Jake Taiariol pumped in two goals and had three assists and fellow Senior Jared Vincek contributed one goal and also had three assists to lead the South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey team to a 7-4 victory over the Salem Rocks Tuesday evening at the Kensington Valley Ice House.

             The goaltending tandem of Sophomore Aaron Callan and Junior Nate Klebe stopped 14 of 18 shots, while the Unified squad of South Lyon pumped 37 on the Rock goalie.  Callan was awarded the victory guarding the South Lyon cage before being replaced by Klebe due to a lower body injury in the third period. South Lyon opened the scoring .27 into the game, breaking out of their own offensive zone the Senior trio of Taiariol, Vincek and Collin Tittle moved the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone with precision as Tittle found Taiariol on top of the crease for the goal, Vincek picked up an assist on the play.  The second goal began when Junior defenseman Nick Burton broke up a clearing pass at the blue line and sent a pass to Vincek whose shot was deflected wide, Taiariol picked up the loose puck and banked it off the goalie to take a 2-0 lead a mere 2:53 into the game.  The third and final goal of the first period came on the powerplay with South Lyon controlling the puck in the Rock zone Taiariol found Junior Cam Thomas all alone, Thomas found the back of the net on a one timer by sending the puck high past the out reached glove of the net minder. The period finished 3-1 with South Lyon leading outshooting Salem 10-6.

             The Unified team matched the early pressure of the first period and increased the lead to three goals, when Taiariol found Tittle in between the circles for the goal .36 seconds into the period, Senior Zack Zitnik also assisted on the play.  The lead was increased by four when Senior Brad Savard won a wild scramble in front and pushed the puck into the net, Senior Jeff Gunn and Junior Cory Haas were credited with assists on the play.  Salem was outshot 15-7 in the period and found themselves on the short end of the scoreboard down 5-2 heading into the third.

             The third period saw both teams trading a pair of goals, with South Lyons goals coming from Vincek a power play tally, with assist going to Taiariol and Thomas and the final South Lyon marker of the evening coming from Haas with assist going to Savard and Senior Troy Surdyk.  South Lyon scored two power play goals for the evening while three of the four Salem goals came with the man advantage. South Lyons next game comes on the road this Friday evening as they travel to Livonia, to play the third rank team in the state Churchill Chargers at the Eddie Edgar Arena.

By Jeff Theisen
South Lyon Herald

Livonia Churchill took advantage of a late South Lyon parade to the penalty box to get a 4-3 KLAA crossover boys hockey victory Friday night at Eddie Edgar Arena.South Lyon successfully killed off a 5-on-3 Churchill advantage in the final six minutes of the game, but a high-sticking penalty with 2:12 to play on South Lyon proved to be the difference.Churchill’s Ben Proben slapped a shot from near the blue line that was redirected in by Mike Gambino with exactly two minutes to play and a 4-3 lead.It was Gambino’s third tally of the game.South Lyon failed to mount any pressure as Churchill clogged up the middle and held on for the win.State-ranked Churchill is now 13-2 overall and 6-1 in the KLAA’s South Division, while South Lyon falls to 10-7-1 overall and 4-5 in the KLAA Central.“It was a good comeback,’’ Churchill coach Pete Mazzoni said. “We spotted them two goals and had to work, but we kept our compsure, stuck to game plan and I think we wore them out at the end.’’The Lions tallied the lone goal of the first when Juho-Petteri Maki-Lohiluoma held onto a pass during an odd-man rush, causing the keeper to react to him. A perfect pass out front left Cory Haas with an open net for the 1-0 lead.South Lyon opened the scoring in the second when Jared Vincek took a long feed off the boards and went glove side for the goal 3:10 into the second.

Churchill got on the board with 7:57 remaining in the period when Gambino scored his first off a rebound right in front of the net off a Proben slapper.The Chargers evened the game when Drew Puishes capitalized on a perfect faceoff win right in front of the net with 6:02 to play in the second. Kevin Louwers took the face-off and got the assist. Churchill took its first lead of the game when Gambino spun off a defender and deposited a backhander by South Lyon keeper Nate Klebe with 2:51 remaining in the second. Brad Milks drew the assist.South Lyon pulled even late in the second when Jared Vincek broke in free off a takeaway and went around a poke check by the keeper for a wide-open net and goal with 21.7 on the clock. The defenses took over in the third period until Churchill cashed in on the only power play goal of the game late in the third.Senior goalie Alex Estes made 17 saves for the Chargers, who outshot the Lions 29-20.

By DINO TAIARIOL
Special to The Oakland Press

NOVI - South Lyon leveraged a balance offensive attack and junior goaltender Nate Klebe stopped 15 of 17 shots, as the South Lyon Unified hockey team topped the Mustangs of Northville High school, 6-2, Wednesday evening in a contest played at the Novi Ice Arena.

Six different goal scores led South Lyon, with 11 players picking up a point via goal or assist.

Senior Colin Tittle started the offensive attack when he picked up sophomore Blake Robertson’s rebound from a shot from the point to stake South Lyon to 1-0 lead. The second goal came on a power play, as senior Jake Taiariol picked up senior Jeff Gunn’s blast that rung off the left post and slid a pass to an uncontested senior Jared Vincek for a power-play tally.

Northville answered back a mere 19 seconds later to cut the deficit in half with 1:19 left in the first.

South Lyon took a 3-1 lead into the intermission, when with 16 seconds left to play in the period, senior J.P. Maki-Lohiluoma outbattled three Mustangs to the puck and found the back of the net with a wrist shot.

South Lyon carried most of the play in the first outshooting, Northville, 10-2.

Northville countered quickly in the second period, just 32 seconds after the puck dropped, to again cut the lead to a goal at 3-2. The score stayed that way for most of the period, but thanks to some tenacious fore-checking by seniors Brad Savard and Troy Surdyk, South Lyon increased the lead again by two when Surdyk, after controlling a loose puck found a wide open senior Ryan Betz, who blasted a shot from the hash marks that hit the twine.

The unified team was outshot 11-8 in the period, killing off numerous penalties.

Northville, down by two with a minute left in the third period, pulled its goalie for an extra attacker in an attempt to get back in the game. With the Mustangs controlling the puck, senior Jake Telep forced a turnover, picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated all alone to put the game out of reach.

Junior Cory Haas finished the scoring by adding a top-shelf goal with Maki-Lohiluoma picking up the assist, adding to his goal for a multi point effort.

For the game South Lyon outshot Northville, 30-17.

South Lyon heads back to Novi Friday, this time to play the defending state champion Novi Wildcats. Game time is 6 p.m.

 Hometownlife           

        Novi’s Ryan Kobylarek deflected a shot to the top of the cage, from a pass directed towards the net by Collin Pew, past the outstretched glove of South Lyon goalie Louis Carnevale at the 6:55 mark of overtime to defeat the South Lyon Unified team 1-0, Friday evening a contest played at the Novi Ice Arena.  Wildcat net minder Pat Carney made 24 saves for the shutout, while Carnevale stopped 30.

              The contest played before a packed house, was all you can ask for played by two evenly matched high school teams.  The quick tempo affair had multiple offensive opportunities, great goaltending and big hits in a playoff type atmosphere.

                        The first period saw the ice lean toward the South Lyon net minder as the Wildcats controlled the majority of the play, forcing the play in the offensive zone by pressuring South Lyon on the fore check or creating offensive opportunities controlling the puck, cycling down low.  Senior goalie Carnevale ensured that the Wildcats remained scoreless for the period by making one big save after another, many using the right pad.  Novi helped the cause by missing the net high from the slot.   South Lyon Senior Cody Makinson had the top opportunity for South Lyon in the period, when he received a pass from Senior Jake Telep he slipped past the defensemen in the neutral zone and slid a shot just wide on a breakaway with both Novi defensemen charging in.  Novi won the shot battle for the period, 11-6.

               South Lyon came out quickly in the second period, pressuring Junior goalie Pat Carney, with the big save of the period a sprawling glove save off the stick of J.P. Maki-Lohiluoma from the top of the crease, brought cheers from the Novi faithful.  The evenly played stanza saw Novi winning the shot battle once more 10-9.

             The third period, similar to the second was a well played evenly matched period of hockey.  As the game moved deep into the third South Lyon pressured the goalie but saw a shot from Junior Cam Thomas trickle wide of the net and Senior Matt Burton’s blast from the right circle dent the cross bar.  South Lyon outshot Novi, 9-7.

  The contest should assist both teams on preparation for the playoffs that begin at the end of the month.

            Led by a balanced offense, solid goaltending by Senior Louis Carnevale and the defensive leadership of Senior Ryan Betz the South Lyon Unified team opened the first of two games with a convincing 5-1 victory over the St. Clair Shores Lakers.  The game played at the Chelsea Ice Rink Saturday evening, was part of the 2^nd annual Invitational Showcase featuring 53 Public High School Teams from the State of Michigan.  The Invitational is the largest Public High School Showcase in Michigan.

              South Lyon led after the first period 2-0, firing 12 shots on the Lakers Goaltender Senior Joe Sedrowski.  Senior forward Troy Surdyk opened the scoring grabbing a rebound from Senior Jake Telep wrist shot at the 9:02 mark, Junior Alex Hudgens picked up an assist on the play.  The second and final goal of the period came from Betz who saw a wide open right side of the net and snapped a hard shot for the marker.  Senior Matt Burton found Betz with a pass to the point for the goal with Senior Cody Makinson also picking up a helper on the play,  the goal with 1:50 left in the period.

              Early in the second period saw South Lyon trying to fight off a 5 on 3 disadvantage and was half way there when Laker forward Justin Misiak fired in a rebound for the power play goal, Tommy Guzzardo and Austin Buchholz assisted on the lone Laker tally.  Shorthanded once again midway through the second period Senior Jared Vincek forced a turnover in the neutral zone picked up the loose puck and went in uncontested to regain the two goal advantage. Junior Cory Hass out the game out of reach for South Lyon deflecting a slap shot from Junior Matt Wisniewski: 41 seconds into the third period.  Junior Cam Thomas assisted on the play forcing a turnover deep in the Laker zone.  South Lyon final goal came on the power play as Senior Collin Tittle jammed his own rebound under Sedrowski, Seniors Jake Taiariol and Jeff Gunn assisted on the play.

                         Carnevale turned aside 16 of 17 Lakers shots while South Lyon fired 24 shots on Sedrowski.  13 different South Lyon players each had a point in the contest.  South Lyon will play the second game of the Invitational tomorrow at Noon when they face the Unified squad representing Berkley and Ferndale.  Game time is noon and the game would be played again at the Chelsea Civic Arena.

 By DINO TAIARIOL
Special to The Oakland Press      

     South Lyon Unified Hockey lost a chance to sweep the second annual Public School Invitational for the second year in a row to the hands of the Unified team from Berkley Ferndale 5-1, Sunday afternoon at the Chelsea Ice Arena in Chelsea.

             Game two was a complete opposite of the first game for South Lyon with even the final score being reversed.   Berkley Ferndale had the bounce of the puck going their way, minimized turnovers while capitalizing on the turnovers from the opposition.

             The game started off well for South Lyon as early in the first Senior Collin Tittle moved the puck to Senior Jared Vincek who found Senior Jake Taiariol who scored on a one timer with a low quick shot.  That was all the offense South Lyon could muster as goaltender for Berkley Ferndale Sophomore Stephen Wroe stopped 32 of 33 South Lyon shots, had some help from the post and controlled the action around him by minimizing rebounds.

             Hayden Alpert led Berkley Ferndale with 2 goals and an assist with teammate Noah Reiter contributing with a goal and two assists.   South Lyon is off until Saturday, 2/18 when they play in the KLAA crossover game versus Milford, game time 8 PM with the contest being held at the Hartland Ice Rink, in Hartland.

Top performances from this past week
- Eric Stanis, Farmington Unified: Finished with six points (five assists) to help the Flyers past Sault Ste. Marie, 9-0. Derek Ried and Jared VanValkenburg scored two goals each for Farmington Unified.
- Nick Daigneau, Catholic Central: Finished with a goal and an assist in the Shamrocks' 3-1 win over Calumet.
- Mackenzie MacEachern, Brother Rice: Continued his hot season with a hat trick and two more assists in the Warriors' 8-0 win over U-D Jesuit.
- Zac Bensinger, Country Day: Had a pair of goals and assisted on another as the Yellowjackets beat Saginaw, 5-4.
- James Piec, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: The senior tallied two goals as the Warriors edged Belleville-Willow Run Unified, 4-3.
- Blake Manginell, Cranbrook: Had two goals while teammate Michael Romund had a goal and three assists in the Cranes' 6-2 win over Marquette.
- Nolan Gluchowski, Catholic Central: Netted the game-winner mid-way through the third period in CC's big win over Hill Academy (Ont.) at the MIHL Showcase.
- Nicholas Carbone, St. Mary's: Scored two times as the Eaglets knocked of D-2 No. 1 ranked Trenton, 5-1.
- Scott Cuthrell, Waterford Mott: Senior had two goals and two assists while teammates Austin Sereno and Tyler Vaughn had a goal and two assists each in a 7-4 win over Rochester United.
- Christopher Brown, Cranbrook: Scored twice in the third period as the Cranes topped Wyandotte, 4-1.
- Conner Jean and Thomas Ebbing, Brother Rice: Each player had two goals in the Warriors big win over St. Mary's.
- Hayden Alpert and Noah Reiter, Berkley-Ferndale Unified: Alpert had two goals and Reiter tallied three points as the Bears picked up their first win of the season over a ranked team (South Lyon Unified).
- Stephen Wroe, Berkley-Ferndale Unified: The Bears netminder made 32 saves in goal to help his team past South Lyon, 5-1.
- Louis Carnevale, South Lyon Unified: Made 16 stops in goal to help South Lyon knock off St. Clair Shores Unified at the MPHSH Showcase in Chelsea.
- Luke Ortel and Garrett Schilling, Bishop Foley: Each scored twice in the Ventures' 7-3 win over Carleton-Airport.
- Shane Kahn, Walled Lake Western: Stopped 38 of the 39 shots he faced to lead the Warriors past Lakeland, 2-1.
- Nathan Gurzell and John Merola, Troy Athens: Gurzell scored a pair of power-play goals and Merola had three power-play assists to help the Red Hawks past Troy for their first OAA White win of the season.
- Spencer Ray, Royal Oak Shrine: Scored the game-winning goal to help the Knights past Riverview Gabriel Richard.

By DINO TAIARIOL
Special to The Oakland Press

            Led by multi-point efforts by Seniors J.P. Maki-Lohiluoma, Jake Taiariol, Cam Thomas and Junior Cory Hass, South Lyon Unified Hockey defeated the Kalamazoo Eagles 6-2, in the final game of the regular season.  The home game was played at the Icehouse in Brighton, Friday evening.

            The South Lyon specials teams contributed to the effort, scoring two short handed goals and one powerplay while defending eight power play opportunities for the Eagles.  Senior goalie Louis Carnevale turned aside 14 of 16 shots, as South Lyon directed 43 shots towards Eagles goalie Ben Williams.

            South Lyon goal scorers were Jake Taiariol on a power play, Cam Thomas shorthanded, Cory Hass scored twice both even strength with the first tally the eventual game winner, Senior Jared Vincek netted a even strength goal and Sophomore Corey Robertson finished the scoring for South Lyon while short handed.  Maki-Lohiluoma led South Lyon with a pair of helpers, other assist went to Seniors Collin Tittle, Jake Taiariol, Cam Thomas, Brad Savard, Junior Grant Braeckevelt and Sophomore Blake Robertson.

            Offensively for Kalamazoo, Kevin Andrysiak scored with assist going to Cody Lisowski and Brandon Richardson; the Eagles second and final goal came from Carson Miller with assist credited to Alex Wolf and Ben Hoard.

            South Lyon rolls into the playoff with a two game winning streak and will play the defending state champions Novi Wildcats, hoping to avenge an 1-0 overtime loss earlier in the season.  The game will be played this Monday, 5 PM at the Compuware Ice Rink.