PLYMOUTH — Reeths-Puffer’s dream season came to an unfortunate end Friday night at USA Hockey Arena, as state powerhouse Detroit Catholic Central beat the Rockets by mercy rule, 8-0, in the semifinals en route to its fifth straight state championship.
There was no doubt the Rockets faced a tough hill to climb Friday; DCC is the top program in the state across all divisions; while a couple of out-of-state foes have occasionally beaten the Shamrocks, they have not lost to a Michigan team in over two years, since De La Salle beat them Feb. 16, 2022.
True to their hype, the Shamrocks came at R-P (21-8) with an offensive barrage early on, firing nine shots on goal in the first 2:45 of play. However, Rockets’ netminder Huck VanDyke and the R-P defense were able to keep DCC at bay for the first half of the first period, making some sparkling defensive plays.
Had Rockets’ coach Dustin Langlois had his way, the game wouldn’t have been nearly so exciting early on; Reeths-Puffer’s strategy against the potent Shamrocks was to keep the puck near the middle of the ice and basically minimize the action as much as possible.
“They chip the pucks off the glass and they fly guys (up),” Langlois said. “We were basically trying to do the same thing - clog up the middle, keep them to the outside. Essentially, it would be a boring game to watch. It’s just back and forth like a tennis match if executed correctly.
“It’s tough to wrap your head around a new system when you’ve got the shining lights, you’ve got the big (amount of) fans, you’ve got a game of this magnitude weighing on your shoulders too. It’s hard to keep your mindset straight and actually still execute the X’s and O’s of it.”
Detroit Catholic Central has a way of keeping opponents from executing, and R-P getting whistled for three early penalties didn’t help. Eventually the Shamrocks broke through on a slap shot by Reese Hemme with 8:28 to go in the first. Shamrocks’ coach Brandon Kaleniecki said he was impressed with the way his team kept attacking even after VanDyke turned back several chances.
“We didn’t get rewarded right away,” Kaleniecki said. “Their goalie made a couple really good saves...That can kind of start to wear on guys when you feel like you’re doing everything right and nothing’s going in, so it’s nice to finally get one. That kind of calmed everybody down.”
Still, it took another four minutes for DCC to get a second goal, this one on the power play. The Shamrocks added a third before the period break, but considering the circumstances - and the 26-7 DCC lead in shots on goal - it could’ve been far worse.
However, the floodgates had opened, and the Shamrocks turned the second period into a coronation, pouring in five more goals and ending the game after 34 minutes due to the eight-goal mercy rule. They ended the game with a 44-13 edge in shots on goal.
Seven different Detroit Catholic Central players scored, most of them on the team’s nominal fourth line, showcasing the remarkable depth of the state champs’ program.
It was a tough way to go, but playing on the USA Hockey Arena stage was still a dream fulfilled for Jaxon Stone, a three-year varsity player.
“Last year, me and a couple kids came to watch the finals game, and we were joking but maybe serious, ‘It’d be cool to be here on the final four stage and the atmosphere it has,’” Stone said. “Going into the season, I felt confident in our team. Obviously it didn’t start as planned, but as the year went on we started buzzing at the right time. The run we made, I couldn’t be more proud of the team.”
Stone began his career playing at Kenowa Hills - Fruitport did not join the Reeths-Puffer co-op until last season, his junior year. He said he learned a lot about how to lead during his first two seasons.
“I was more focused,” Stone said of his final season. “They’re all looking at me, and I was just trying to help them as best as I can so they can be the leaders when they’re juniors and seniors.”
R-P was a young team, with several underclassmen playing big roles, so the hope is the Rockets won’t have to wait another 10 years before returning to this stage. Kaleniecki, who coached at the smaller Dearborn Divine Child program before taking over at his alma mater for the 2015-16 season, remembers what it was like leading a non-power program. His advice for teams like R-P as they try to pursue the Shamrocks was simple - keep pushing.
“Just keep knocking on the door, and eventually, hopefully, things will line up,” Kaleniecki said. “Every program has got their own goals...Not every team is going to make it here. Sometimes that might not be what you have to determine as a successful season, For every program, it’s finding what their end goal is and kind of shoot towards that.”
Those goals will be there again next year, though star seniors like Stone and Croix Klint will not be as they move on to the next step. However, the accomplishments they leave behind will set the standard for the next group of Rockets.
“I always looked up to the previous team that won the regional championship, and I always wanted our team to beat them,” Klint said; his brother Navarre was on that 2020 squad. “To be able to win a regional and win another game, make it to the final four, is just awesome because now those guys coming up will look up to ours.”
