Brighton Completes Impressive Repeat
March 10, 2018
Second Half reports
PLYMOUTH — Harrison Fleming pictured himself in this moment, throwing his gloves in the air as the final buzzer sounded, getting mobbed by teammates in a wild celebration on the ice at USA Hockey Arena.
He envisioned this even when his status on Brighton’s hockey team rarely had him in the crease on game nights.
“Honestly, I kind of did,” Fleming said. “I told myself I wanted that. I didn’t want to ride the bench any more. So, I did whatever I could to start. I’m just glad it came out that way. Hard work pays off.”
It paid off for Fleming and his Brighton teammates in the form of a fourth MHSAA Division 1 championship in the past seven seasons. The Bulldogs repeated as Division 1 champs with a 5-2 victory over Saginaw Heritage Saturday night.
Fleming started only two of Brighton’s first 16 games until starter Robert Pegrum, last year’s varsity backup, got injured. Fleming, the junior varsity goalie last season, played well enough to earn the No. 1 spot for the playoffs, even when Pegrum returned.
Fleming allowed more than two goals only once in 13 starts, a statistic that is even more impressive considering nine of those starts were against state-ranked teams.
The 6-foot-2 junior turned aside 21 of 22 shots in a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central in the Semifinals before stopping 23 of 25 shots against seventh-ranked Heritage.
“It’s unreal, but I couldn’t have done it without all them,” Fleming said of his teammates. “They played their butts off for me. That’s all I can ask for. Great outcome.”
Fleming went 6-0 in the playoffs with a 1.20 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.
Fleming’s first big start of the season came Jan. 30 against Hartland. The Bulldogs lost, 2-1, but he played well enough to open the eyes of the coaching staff.
That Hartland team, which is Brighton’s biggest rival in Livingston County, won the Division 2 championship eight hours earlier. The quality of hockey in the county is a source of pride.
“I played with a lot of people on the Hartland team,” Brighton defenseman Brody White said. “Jake Gallaher, (Josh) Albring. I’m happy for them, just as happy as for us.”
“I’ve got a lot of friends on that team,” Brighton defenseman Sam Brennan said.
White and Brennan are rare four-year varsity players, coming in together as freshmen in 2014-15 and leaving together with two MHSAA championships and a runner-up finish as sophomores.
“It’s amazing,” White said. “I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else, that’s for sure. It’s definitely been the best four years of my hockey career.”
Heritage did its best to dispel the notion that the Semifinal game between perennial powers Brighton and Catholic Central was the de facto championship game. After surviving a 3-2 overtime Semifinal against Traverse City West, the Hawks had plenty in the tank to push Brighton for the full 51 minutes.
“It went down right to the end,” Heritage coach J.J. Bamberger said. “After the game, for a few minutes, I reflected. For anyone who said it was a shame Brighton and C.C. weren’t playing in the championship game, I hope they watched what our boys did, because our boys played their hearts out and were in that game the entire time.”
The Hawks (22-5-3) were only the second team from Saginaw to reach an MHSAA Final. Saginaw Nouvel lost 6-0 to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett in the 1990 Class B-C-D title game.
It was a one-goal game until Evan MacDonald poked the puck into the net while breaking up a pass in front of the Heritage goal with 5:07 left in the third period.
“He was coming up the middle,” MacDonald said. “He was going to make a pass to the guy on the stretch side. I just put my stick down and it ended up bouncing in.”
Will Jentz put his second goal of the game into an empty net with 57.7 seconds left.
“They’re a quality team,” Brighton senior Adam Conquest said of the Hawks. “We were not expecting it. We knew they had skill. We knew they could score. They had us the first two periods, but we pulled it out. It was a really good hockey game. I give them all the credit in the world.”
Brighton (24-6-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 12:22 mark of the first period on goals by Mathew Kahra and Jentz. Heritage cut the deficit to one goal on a power-play goal by David Helpap with 2:47 remaining in the period.
Following a scoreless second period, freshman Nate Przysiecki temporarily gave Brighton some breathing room by scoring with 15:49 left in the third. The Hawks kept pushing, getting back within a goal on John Michael Watson’s power-play score with 12:27 left.
PHOTOS: (Top) Brighton players celebrate their second straight Division 1 title. (Middle) Brighton and Heritage players work for position in front of the Hawks’ net.
Always Better Together, 'Tilden Boys' Bring Special Bond to Shores Hockey
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
December 13, 2024
Nathan and Brady Tilden realized a long time ago that they are better together than apart.
The “Tilden Boys,” as they are known to almost everybody in the Muskegon Mona Shores school community, came into the world on the same day 18 years ago as identical twins and have made a conscious decision to spend almost all of their waking moments since together.
“The way we look at it, God made us twins for a reason,” explained Nathan, who is 18 and one minute older than his brother.
“There is no way that I would be where I am today, in hockey or in school or really anything, if Brady wasn’t with me. He is my best friend, and we do everything together.”
They have pushed each other to great heights in the classroom, taking the same demanding classes and both maintaining a GPA of better than 4.1.
They hold each other accountable to go to church every Sunday and take care of every detail at school, where they have emerged as leaders and role models.
But perhaps the place where their special twin chemistry really manifests itself is on the ice, as senior assistant captains and standouts on the Mona Shores hockey team which is off to a 4-1 start heading into games this weekend at Wyandotte Roosevelt and Allen Park.
Nathan has been on a tear with a team-high seven goals and five assists for 12 points, while Brady leads the team with eight assists plus has scored two goals for 10 points. Throw in junior center Eli Habetler (team-high 13 points) and you have one of the top lines in West Michigan.
“We just know where each other is going to be,” said Brady. “Eli is almost like our third twin. Our goal on every shift is to get a goal, and we don’t care who gets it.”
Special connection
Mona Shores sixth-year hockey coach Chris Benedict said the team’s coaches and players often just sit back and marvel at the way the Tilden boys work together.
“It’s like they literally cloned a hockey player,” said Benedict. “They always know exactly what the other one is going to do, which is a huge advantage in hockey. It’s so much fun to watch them go to work.”
The Tildens, who are both in their third year on the Shores varsity team, were at it again in their first conference game Wednesday night on their home ice at Lakeshore Sports Centre. Nathan scored a goal and added an assist, while Brady chipped in a pair of assists in a 5-2 win over visiting Holland West Ottawa.
But Nathan and Brady, who also happen to be the team’s two best penalty-killers, were most excited Wednesday that other players got involved in the scoring – which they know is necessary if the team wants to achieve its major goal of winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Fischer title and then making a postseason run. Quinn Addicott had a first-period goal off an assist from Vaire VanderWalle, and Cooper Nellis scored a nifty, sharp-angle goal in the third period with an assist from Cullen Conrad.
Another reason for Shores’ hot start is the play of senior goaltender Joey Griffes-Castonia, one of six players the team added in its first year of a cooperative agreement with Whitehall. He had 46 saves in a game last month.
The Sailors opened the season with a loss to Plymouth but have since reeled off four consecutive wins.
Included in that streak were a pair of tight victories in Traverse City over Thanksgiving weekend. Brady Tilden scored the lone shootout goal in a 3-2 win over TC Central, and he and Nathan both had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 overtime win over TC West the next day.
“They have a motor that doesn’t quit,” said Benedict. “They are fast and in-your-face and do an incredible job in the offensive zone. You throw in Eli, and I would put that line up against any in the state.”
Fittingly, their career stats in three years on the Shores varsity are nearly identical. Nathan has 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points, while Brady has 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points.
Second set of twins
The odds of having identical twins are 1 in every 250 births.
But Nathan and Brady are not even the only set of identical twins in their family. There are also the “Tilden Girls” – 23-year-old identical twins Emma and Lily – which put the odds of Bob and Colleen Tilden having a second set of identical twins at 1 in 110,000.
“I’ll never forget I went to what I thought was just a regular doctor’s visit,” recalled Colleen. “A few minutes later, I was calling Bob and telling him: ‘You are not going to believe this, but we’re having twins again.’”
Fast forward 18 years, and neither Bob nor Colleen can imagine their lives without their twin boys.
“They were against the odds, but now we know that they were meant to be here,” said Colleen, fighting back tears. “They are very special boys. They are such a blessing.”
Bob marvels at their dedication and self-discipline, watching them wake up at 4:30 a.m. every Monday and Friday to go get an extra skate in or figuring out a way to get to church every weekend, even with their often-crazy hockey and school schedules.
“They are able to accomplish everything they do because of each other,” said Bob. “Brady is very focused and a good planner. Nathan is the one checking the details and making sure his brother has everything that he needs. They work together on everything, every single day.”
The final piece of the Tilden puzzle is oldest sibling Zach, 26, the only non-twin of the family’s five kids.
Zach was a standout hockey player for Shores, and both Nathan and Brady immediately name him as one of their biggest role models in hockey and life in general.
“What made me love hockey was going to all of Zach’s games and watching him play,” said Brady.
Sticking together
Even though their older sisters went in different directions after high school, Nathan and Brady are sticking together.
The boys will live together at Michigan Tech, where they both plan to major in mechanical engineering.
“There’s no reason for us to go to different colleges,” said Nathan, who pointed out the longest they have ever been apart was two days, when he was sick in 10th grade and had to stay home while Brady went and played in the Brighton Showcase hockey tournament.
“Tech is a hard school and mechanical engineering is a tough major, but together I know we can do it.”
They also know that, eventually, jobs or marriage will separate them physically. But in the meantime, they are determined to continue to work their twin magic and make the most of their final high school hockey season.
They both also play a spring sport, but while Brady continues to play baseball, Nathan switched to golf his sophomore year. That change is one of the only tangible differences between their high school resumes, and even they struggle (often comically) to come up with other differences.
“How are we different? That’s a good question,” said Brady, taking a long pause and several deep breaths, thinking about it. “I mean, I like Subway and he doesn’t like Subway. We don’t drink pop very much, but if we do, he’ll get a root beer and I’ll get a Dr. Pepper.
“There’s gotta be some other differences. Sorry, but I can’t really think of anything else right now.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mona Shores’ Nathan Tilden (8) makes his way up the ice with the puck as twin brother Brady Tilden (18) trails the play. (Middle) The Tildens show off a trophy early in their youth hockey careers, and then take a photo together during the team’s media day this season. (Below) Nathan Tilden raises his leg to allow linemate Eli Habetler's shot past and into the goal against Muskegon Reeths-Puffer last season. Twin brother Brady Tilden looks in on the play. (Action photos by Eric Sturr; posed photos courtesy of the Tilden family.)