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

Livonia Churchill
New coach Jason Reynolds takes over a Churchill squad that has unfinished business from last season. Reynolds says team chemistry and a strong work ethic will be his team’s biggest strengths. Churchill will be led by senior forwards Tommy Carey, Brad Milks and Matt Sinclair, senior defenseman Nick McGee, and junior defensemen Evan Gibboney and Drew Puishes.

Walled Lake Northern
Walled Lake Northern returns many starters from last year’s KLAA-finalist squad. However, coach Claude Tunison says that his team needs to work to get their four sophomores and two freshmen up to speed quickly. He will be counting on impressive seasons from Austin Sansom, Eric Woolf, Joe Rozek, Jack Paulson, Daniel McCormack, Keegan Brown, and senior goaltender Grant Luzynski.

Woodhaven
Woodhaven has 10 seniors returning, which means coach Bryan Sullivan is expecting a big season. The Woodhaven coach says to expect big seasons from Mike Williams and Dominic Moore up front, and Mike Perry and Jake Hernandez on the blue line. Woodhaven also has to replace a four-year starting goaltender they lost to graduation; Trevor Monaco and Stephen Hurley, two juniors, will compete for time between the pipes.

Traverse City Central
Traverse City Central returns both their goaltenders and 11 players from last year’s season, which coach Chris Givens says means plenty of the “all-important” senior leadership. He will be counting on good performances from Bill Vermetten, Mike Wittersheim, Brady Brantley, Cooper Macdonell, Cam Givens, Nico Saco, Mitchell Ward and Rhys Adle. A young defensive corps learning quickly will be crucial to their success.

Waterford Kettering
Coach Dan Whitener says that Waterford Kettering’s main strengths this season will be overall team defense and goaltending. Their key players include Kyle Soncrainte, Brandon Lopez, Justin Haley, Steven Brewer, Christian Kettenbeil and Jacob Delekta. For them to have success, Whitener says they must improve on converting on scoring chances.

Birmingham Unified
Birmingham is in a state of transition, having graduated 15 seniors from last year. Only one returning player skated for the varsity team for the whole season last year. They also have a new coach in John Chateau. He will be counting on senior leadership from Adam Susalla, Kevin Kristopik, Zach Taylor, Michael Madigan, Kenny O’Hanlon, Patrick Blair, Mark Deacon and Jacob Saroli.

Bedford
Coach Randy Menchaca has a solid core of veterans returning this season, for a significantly tougher schedule. Bedford has moved into the top NHC division that has three schools with OHSAA championships over the last three years. Strong seasons will be needed from Kyle Kuhr, Dominic and Michael Pisanti, and goaltender Adam Glick. For the first time, they will be competing with a full 22-man roster.

Alpena
Alpena will lean heavily on their first-line scorers and their goaltending this season. Coach Pete Doubek will be counting on key players Sam Rumbles, Jared Kwiakowski, Zach Nash, Jesse Boilure and Brett LeTourneau. They will need to improve on their team defense to be successful.

Marysville
Coach Paul Moretz says his team is looking to build off their success of last season, yet that they have to replace some scoring lost to graduation. Expect strong seasons from Kyle Hyde, Dom Chreck, Kyle King and Michael Gaffney for the defending MAC champions.

Livonia Franklin
Dennis Gagnon takes over as the new coach at Livonia Franklin this season. Luckily for Gagnon, he has a strong senior class to lean on. This season’s top players will include Mike Diaz, Adam Stadler, Elijah Grimm, CJ Cromie, Josh Dudek, Andrew Golem, Daniel Pedersen, Ryan Pace and sophomore goaltender Matt Monendo. “With our returning players and an influx of senior talent, we may be pretty competitive this year,” Gagnon said.