Canton Boy's Hockey Falls to Northville, Salem Tops Plymouth

and Northville faced off Tuesday night at the Novi Ice Arena for the beginning of the MHSAA state tournament.

Northville beat the visiting Chiefs by a final score of 4-2. Though Northville prides itself on its defense, the Mustangs got off to an incredibly fast start, scoring two goals in the first six minutes to grab an early 2-0 lead, taking Canton’s fans out of the game early. Senior forward Stephen Champagne scored Northville’s first (4:54) on a rebound from a Matt Giordano assist, the Mustangs’ junior defenseman. Their next score came from long range, when Brady Marotta set up senior defenseman and captain Logan Hill for a slap-shot from the blue line that he fired past Canton goaltender Spencer Craig’s glove. Both goals came on power plays.

Canton had trouble keeping the puck out of their own zone for the entire first period, and into the second. Even a Canton fast break with 9:08 left in the second could not find the net, thanks to Northville goaltender David Ketelhut.

“We thought we had a good game plan set up and the kids came out and really executed,” said Northville coach Jeff Hatley. “We knew we had to keep them off the power play. We knew we couldn’t give up odd-man rushes.”

Eight minutes into the second, Northville found themselves with two men in the penalty box, giving Canton a 5 on 3 advantage. The Chiefs did not score.

“We definitely got to set the tone we were going to dictate and play, but it would have been nice to put one in there,” said Jeremy Majszak, Canton’s head coach. “But it was definitely a turning point for us because not scoring on that also made them all step up and realize that this [win] just isn’t going to happen, they’re going to have to dig deep for it.”

Though Canton did not score with a two man advantage, they started to get a lot more scoring chances, which they finally capitalized on with under a minute left in the second. Junior Brandon Grillo knocked in the power play goal.

When they hit the ice for the third period, Canton scored another quick goal to tie the game at 2-2. Senior A.J. Rosales scored the game-tying goal (1:57), while seniors Josh Dickson and Jordan Smith recorded assists.

“Scoring two, three goals in a game isn’t a very hard thing for us,” said coach Majszak. “We score a lot.”

On the other hand, Northville has had held opponents to one goal or less eight times this season. In the third period, they “gutted it out,” as coach Hatley said.

After a barrage of glove saves from both goalies in the third, sophomore forward Riley Marotta put the Mustangs ahead with a goal right from the faceoff (11:08). With under five minutes to play, Northville led 3-2 and never looked back.

Hatley was confident in his team late in the game. “It’s not the first time we’ve been in a tight game” he said. “We’re not built for a 7 to 5 win, we’re built for this kind of game.”

Junior Cole Brown added an empty net goal with 15 seconds left, making the game 4-2.

“They got some good players,” said Hatley. “Canton’s a really good team, but we feel our shutdown game is as good as anybody’s.”

For Canton, coach Majszak admits he is disappointed to lose the first game of the tournament. However, his team tied a school record for wins and won the division and Lash Cup, two goals he set for his team before the season. “We’ve got a good returning core next year,” he said. “Even though [this game] hurts the most, there’s a lot more that they’ve done for three months that one night really can’t set back.”

For coach Hatley, he has to look ahead to the game against Salem on Thursday. “That’ll be a tough game, they’re a real quality team.” However, he does not want to worry about that until tomorrow. “I’ve had Canton on my mind for the last two weeks. We’ve done nothing but prepare for this game,” he said. “Right now, we’re just going to enjoy this one.”

Salem played Plymouth on Tuesday in the night’s first game. Salem came away with a 3-0 victory in a game that was a lot closer than the final score indicated.

“They’re a good team, well coached, they were shorthanded with a few guys out, but even with that, they outplayed us for stretches of the game,” said Salem coach Ryan Ossenmacher.” They’re a good, skilled team, and they showed that tonight. Fortunately, towards the end, I think they got a little bit run down and we took advantage of that.”

Salem goalie Brandon Price and Plymouth goalie Mike Justus had were engaged in a defensive battle, as the two teams remained scoreless through the first two periods and most of the third. For Salem, a team with ten seniors, the biggest play of the game came from two underclassmen. With 7:34 left in the game, junior forward Austin Sartorius got the puck behind Plymouth’s net and flipped it backwards to his teammate, sophomore Garrett Paquette in front of the net, who put it in for the eventual game-winning goal. Sophomore Kyle Downey also got an assist on the play. Sartorius and Paquette almost teamed up for another goal on a similar play five minutes later, but Justus was able to turn them away.

Trailing by just one goal with 1:16 left, Plymouth won a faceoff in their own zone. However, while the rest of the Rocks dropped back to play defense, junior Mark McGee attacked the Plymouth defensemen, coming up with a steal and an unassisted goal with 1:04 left, essentially sealing the victory.

“In that situation, we’re up by a goal, playing defensive hockey at that point, but you still need one guy on the puck, and that’s why,” said coach Ossenmacher. “They made a little bit of a mistake, and we capitalized on it. [McGee]’s a skilled offensive player and that’s what he does.

McGee scored a second goal with 21 seconds left when Plymouth pulled their goalie, making it a 3-0 game.

“Obviously it’s a big win, especially it makes it even more special playing Plymouth, our Park rival,” said Ossenmacher. “Most of these guys know them and are friends with them, so that makes it a little bittersweet, but at the same time, a good win.”

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