State Champs! Sports Network

Boys Hockey Rankings: Hartland moves up three spots to No. 3; Houghton rises seven spots to No. 9

By: Sean Baligian, February 11, 2018, 2:24 pm

1. Detroit Catholic Central. The Shamrocks improved to an impressive 16-0 record in-state with a 2-0 victory over Livonia Stevenson.
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. The Eaglets are unbeaten in their last 14 games in-state with a stellar 13-0-1 mark during that time.
3. Hartland. The Eagles are red hot with a 7-game winning streak that includes five wins over teams in our rankings this week (Northville, Livonia Stevenson, Brighton, Trenton, and Flint Powers).
4. Brighton. The Bulldogs bounced back nicely from a one-goal loss to Hartland with a one-goal win over Hancock.
5. Livonia Stevenson. Coach David Mitchell’s squad went 2-1 in-state since our last ranking, with wins over Grandville and Livonia Franklin, and a tough loss to Catholic Central. 
6. Plymouth. The Wildcats went 2-1-1 since our last rankings, and remain one of the teams to watch in Division 2.
7. Grandville. The Bulldogs had quite the showing at the MIHL showcase, losing in overtime to Livonia Stevenson, and defeating Birmingham Brother Rice.
8. Hancock. The Bulldogs went 1-3 since our last ranking. One-goal losses to Plymouth, Brighton and Houghton are not exactly bad losses.
9. Houghton. The Gremlins are heating up at the right time with five straight wins in-state, and right on the heels of Hancock for bragging rights in Division 3.
10. Utica Eisenhower. The Eagles are on a 5-0-1 unbeaten streak and senior forward Matt Haist has an incredible 37 goals in only 20 games.
11. Detroit Country Day. Eleven straight wins for the Yellowjackets, and junior goalie Sam Evola features a spectacular .087 goals-against-average.
12. Saline. The Hornets bounced back from a loss to Northville to tie mighty Plymouth 2-2. Coach Paul Fassbender deserves serious consideration as Coach of the Year in Division 2.
13. Brother Rice. The defending Division 2 champs bounced back nicely from a loss to Grandville with a 5-2 win over U-D Jesuit.
14. Trenton. The Trojans sandwiched one-goal losses to Hartland and Warren DeLaSalle with a one-goal win over Plymouth.
15. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood. The Cranes went 1-1 since our last ranking after knocking off Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern-Eastern, and falling in overtime to Houghton.
16. Calumet. The Copper Kings survived a brutal stretch of the schedule going 2-2 and knocking off Flint Powers and Negaunee. They lost tight games to Hancock and DeLaSalle.
17. Salem. A win [Saline], a tie [Eisenhower], and a loss [DeLaSalle] for the Rocks since our last rankings.
18. DeLaSalle. The Pilots went 3-1 since our last rankings with wins over Salem, Calumet and Trenton. The loss was to O.L. St Mary’s,
19. Northville. The Mustangs stay in our top 20 and host Salem on Friday night in a big KLAA showdown.
20. Saginaw Heritage. The Hawks continue to soar under coach JJ Bamberger and travel to face a suddenly hot Howell squad on Tuesday.
21. Davison. The Cardinals showed they can play with anybody losing to Plymouth 3-1, and settling for a tie against Marquette.
22. Flint Powers. The Chargers have dropped three straight, and look to get back on track against a tough Midland Dow squad on Wednesday.
23. Kingsford. The Flivvers make their debut in our top 25 as they are unbeaten in their last seven (6-0-1), and have outscored their opponents, 50-14, during that stretch.
24. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett. The Knights have won 6-of-7, and look to be an intriguing team come playoff time in Division 3.
25. Marquette. The Redmen are unbeaten in their last three (1-0-2) and have a big game looming Tuesday when they travel to Hancock.

 

Breakdown by Division. Division 1: 9 teams Division 2: 9 teams. Division 3: 7 Teams.