Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

Detroit Catholic Central beats Rochester United in first D1 state semifinal (with photos)

 

By @MichaelCaples –

PLYMOUTH – The scoreboard at USA Hockey Arena posts two statistics every game.

Detroit Catholic Central dominated in one.

Things were a lot closer on the other.

While the Shamrocks out-shot Rochester United 55-10 in the first Division 1 state semifinal of the 2019 MHSAA playoffs in Plymouth, it was a 2-2 game until the 6:40 mark of the third period.

Two goals from that point out led DCC to a 4-2 victory over RU, which puts Brandon Kaleniecki’s team back in the state championship game for the third time in four seasons.


Still, despite the substantial advantage in the shots department – Catholic Central recorded 29 in the first period alone – the Shamrocks had a nail-biter on their hands for the majority of the game at their home rink.

Much of that credit goes to RU goaltender Domenico Munaco, who stopped 51 shots in the game.

On the other side, Stephen Sleva stopped only eight for DCC – credit is due to him, as well, for keeping focused during substantial portions of the game where he wasn’t seeing much action.

Justin Roe, Luke Collins, Mitch Morris and Carter Korpi scored the goals for Catholic Central, while Jack Myers had both of the RU tallies.

Detroit Catholic Central will now face Saginaw Heritage in the D1 state championship game, which will be played at 6:05 p.m. Saturday at USA Hockey Arena.