Latest:

MiHockey

Your Hockey – Our Hockey – MiHockey

Editor's picks For Coaches For Fans For Parents For Players High School Slideshow The Latest 

2012-13 high school hockey previews – boys teams

MiHockey Staff

Eisenhower
Eisenhower returns 10 players from last year’s regional championship team, including five defensemen. Sixteen of the players on their roster are seniors, meaning a deep team for coach Bob Hall. Key players include defensemen Dante Assad, Jacob Bird, CJ Kassley, Kyle Dellach and Alex Schnieder and forwards Marcus Leskiw, Frank Saputo, Tyler Fletemier, Ryan Jaros and Eric VanSlembrouck. Hall said they will be looking to “avenge the egg we laid when competing for the MAC Red Championship last season.”

Livonia Stevenson
Despite having a young team, coach David Mitchell says Stevenson’s team already plays with a unified family feel that competes from start to finish. Players to watch this fall include senior goaltender Connor Humitz, junior forward Dominic Lutz, senior forward Timmy Kelly, and senior defenseman Travis Harvey. Mitchell says his young team must learn from their mistakes quickly, and play a consistent game.

Port Huron Northern
Port Huron Northern returns plenty of experience from last year’s team, including senior goaltender Matt Fernandez, four defensemen, and two full forward lines with MIHL experience. Assistant coach Ryan Porte says players to watch include forwards Jimmy Radatz, Kyle Truscott and Bryce Van Horn, along with defenseman Tyler Hughes. The key to a successful season will be if the newcomers can adjust to “Northern Hockey” quickly enough.

U of D Jesuit
Coach Rick Bennetts says his team’s strength lies in their 12 seniors who have been a part of the U of D Jesuit program for all four years. Key players include Craig Pefley, Tommy Apap, Joe Brisson, Pete McMahon, Christian Wirth-Karbler, Chris Morgan, Joe Zelinski, Mike Korte, Alex Von Mach and Oscar Mansky. Team defense and being responsible with the puck in their own end will dictate their success this season.

University Liggett
If the defending Division-3 state champs can control the pace of the game with puck control and relentless speed, they can win plenty more games this year, according to coach Rob McIntyre. He wants his players to play with “busy eyes, busy feet; be creative to be productive.” Key players include Manny Counsman, Jake Soyka, Lordanthony Grissom, Bill Yates and Luke Soyka.

Flint Powers
Coach Travis Perry says he’s excited about the returning players from last year, and the three capable goaltenders that will tend to the Flint Powers’ crease this season. Senior forwards Jared Coulter, Connor Jaggi, Jake Stone and Cam Hite will lead them up front. On the blue line, expect big seasons from Matt Lundeen and Spencer Stark. Casey Korhonen will lead the way between the pipes.

Chelsea
Six returning forwards means plenty of goal-scoring this year, according to Chelsea coach Don Wright. He will be counting on strong seasons from senior forward Jacob Ryan, senior defenseman Joey Olmsted, senior forward Taylor Atchley and senior goaltender Charlie Miller. How quickly the 10 new players on the Chelsea roster adapt to high school hockey will be the difference-maker in the season.

Romeo
Romeo coach John Minjoe says his team’s depth should make them a tough team to play against every night. Minjoe also declined to list key players, stating that all of them are key to a successful season. “We have a very talented group of young players,” Minjoe said. “If they adapt to the high school game quickly, we could be an interesting team to follow.”

Fraser
Fraser may have a short bench most nights, but coach Don Krussman says he likes his team’s overall depth from top to bottom. Krussman will be counting on strong seasons from seniors JR Dellies, Alex Behnke, Jackson Gray and John Goemaere between the pipes. However, for them to find success, they will need to improve on their defensive accountability.

Big Rapids
Coach Tim Blashill says his team’s main strength this season will be their team defense. Four senior defensemen, along with a senior/junior goalie combo, will make Big Rapids a tough team to score against. Blashill says key players include forwards Joe Carney and Pete Daniels, defensemen Zack Cox, Doug Bleeker, Justin Austin and Nate Sigmund, and junior netminder Joey Hinds, who will be their starter.