Grandville Seniors Striving to Finish Time Together with Another Memorable Run
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
December 19, 2025
GRANDVILLE – A talented group of nine seniors on the Grandville hockey team have been playing together since they first learned to skate.
Now, in their final season on the ice, they have sights fixed on ending their careers with another successful campaign.
“It's been really nice to play one last time with some of the guys you’ve been playing with since the youth hockey years and then playing together all four years in high school,” senior goalie Ayden Karas said. “ The chemistry and bond we’ve had all together really makes it one big family.”
Grandville senior Braden Vander Veen sees it as one last opportunity to make a lasting impact on the program.
“It’s been awesome to play with all these guys, and we have a ton of chemistry,” Vander Veen said. “We know we only have a certain amount of time left with each other, so we are just trying to leave it all out there.”
The Bulldogs, who lost in last year’s Division 2 Semifinal to eventual champion Flint Powers Catholic, have picked up where they left off en route to a solid 7-1-1 start to this season.
Longtime Bulldogs coach Joel Breazeale, who last month was recognized as the Michigan High School Coaches Association (MHSCA) Coach of the Year, said expectations remained lofty this winter with the return of several experienced players.
“Very happy with how we have played and I think the players would say they are pleased, but I don’t think they are surprised,” he said. “I think that’s the standard they’ve come to expect over the past two seasons, especially with this senior class that have been together with me since they were 4 or 5 years old. This is their opportunity to see it all the way through.”
Grandville, currently ranked No. 4 in Division 2, dropped its first game to second-ranked Trenton at the West Michigan Showcase, but bounced back the next day to defeat one of the top teams in Division 3.
The Bulldogs rallied to knock off Houghton 4-3.
“We’ve had some good and solid close games with them, but we never had an opportunity to play them at a neutral site,” Breazeale said. “For our guys, especially with the returning boys, this was an opportunity that we don’t get too often and they just dug a little deeper.
“I thought we played wonderfully the night before against Trenton but the game got away from us, and I felt like the kids came out in the second period (against Houghton) and just picked up where they left off and their coach said that they just couldn't keep up with our guys. We were remarkably consistent with our energy and our ability to stay on top of the puck, constant pressure.”
It was the first time the seniors had beaten Houghton.
“That was huge,” Vander Veen said. “Obviously the night before we played Trenton, which was our first real test, and then beating Houghton, who is one of the best teams in the state, felt great. It really gave us a lot of confidence.”
Six of Grandville’s wins have been shutouts as an aggressive defense and stout goaltending have been complemented by timely goal scoring from a balanced line-up.
“I feel like the season has been going pretty well, we’ve had some good games the past couple weeks,” Karas said. “The defense has been a really big reason why I've performed so well, and they've always been really helpful in front.
“Expectations were really high this year, especially coming off a final four run last year, but it's a new team and a new year.”
A promising group of younger players also have blended in well to provide depth.
“We have a ton of experience, and we took in a lot of young guys this year,” Vander Veen said. “It’s huge being able to mentor those guys and carry on with the success that we had last year. We have a lot of guys coming back who are hungry for more.
“We have definitely put in a ton of work in the offseason and with what we did last year, we were expecting to be up there this year. We are working toward that final four run again.”
Breazeale is looking for continued growth from his team as the season progresses.
“Marginal gains is what we’re focused on with the returning players, and then really hoping to see a jump from the new sophomores and juniors on the team,” he said. “The larger gains from our newest members will really determine how competitive we are with our depth because for any team to be successful it’s going to take more than just the leading cast members.”
The Bulldogs host Hudsonville on Friday before another road test Saturday against Rockford.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Grandville’s Braden Vander Veen (3) gets his stick on the puck as goalie Ayden Karas walls off that side of the net during a game this season. (Middle) Luke DeBoer (19) takes a faceoff against Jenison. (Below) A group of Bulldogs skate side by side, including Vander Veen and Lewis Gardine (18). (Photos by Jenn Bellgraph Photography.)
EGR's Newton Returns to Rink Amid Speedy Recovery from Double Lung Transplant
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
January 22, 2025
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – The last thing Chris Newton wanted to do was miss any time away from the hockey rink this season.
But when the East Grand Rapids hockey coach received a 3 a.m. phone call last month, he knew it was inevitable.
Newton also knew he would be receiving the possibility for a longer life and an opportunity to continue his lifelong passion.
Newton, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 4 months old, received news that a set of donor lungs was available, and he began the process of undergoing a second double lung transplant.
“I get a call and it was a 616 number so I knew exactly what it was, but I was totally shocked,” Newton, 35, said. “I definitely didn’t go back to sleep after that, and my mom was there visiting and everyone was surprised that it happened so quickly. If they find a good set, you can’t pass on it.”
Newton, a former Farmington High School goalie and assistant coach, had his first double lung transplant eight years ago.
“It was always in the cards that I would need one,” said Newton, a senior on the 2007-08 team that reached the Division 2 Semifinals and later an assistant coach for his dad, the late Bill Newton, with the 2013-14 Falcons squad that won the Division 3 title.
“I have a weird CF gene, and I don't qualify for the really good medicine they make that has made a difference in a lot of people's lives. A transplant was my only option as my health was decreasing pretty rapidly. And then, after eight years, you get rejection and they call it CLAD (chronic lung allograft dysfunction). The body starts rejecting lungs even though they had been good for like six years.”
Newton was diagnosed with CLAD two years ago, and it started slowly progressing.
He re-listed for another transplant in November, and 14 days later received the good news. It was two days after he collected his 100th career coaching victory.
“In comparison, the first time it was a 3½ month wait,” Newton said. “I had surgery on Dec. 10 at Corewell Health, and I came back to practice on Jan. 6. I missed two weeks of hockey with the three-week break we had, so it worked out.
“I feel great, and it's crazy to be back so quickly, but I feel good. The other sickness I have is coaching. I’m almost addicted to it when it's hockey season, and it’s really the only thing I think about. It’s what I do during these months, and it’s how I’m wired. When it happened, it was like this is perfect timing. I’m barely going to miss anything.”
The EGR hockey community has supported Newton throughout his transplant and recovery, and his players were motivated to give their best effort with their coach on the mend.
“Obviously it's been a long road for him, and it’s not the first time he has had this double lung transplant,” EGR senior center James Albers said. “It’s been pretty incredible, and all the guy wants to do is just coach hockey. He puts in all the fight, so I think the guys rally around him and want to do it for him, get big wins.
“We didn’t talk about it, but we wanted to play our best hockey for him because all he wants to do is show up at the rink for us. I have people at school ask me all the time how he’s doing, and it’s awesome to tell them that he looks incredible and is back on the ice after only a month.”
Senior Owen Stropkai has been on the varsity since his freshman year and has become close with his beloved coach.
“It’s great to have him back, and the positivity that he brings is awesome,” Stropkai said. “Every day it's a new level, and our team pushes for him. What he's been going through is horrible, but we think of him every day and grind together for him. He’s a great guy.”
Grant Newton, EGR’s associate head coach and no relation, took over the program in Chris Newton’s absence.
“We have a really good relationship, and we are close off the ice,” Chris Newton said. “I coached him at Farmington when we won a state championship, and he has helped me get the program to where it is.
“I went to him this summer, and we had a plan in place. I made sure he was comfortable taking over for me, and he did a great job.”
Chris Newton, whose family includes wife Jessie and sons Liam (6) and Carter (3), has transformed EGR into a perennial powerhouse the past few years.
The Pioneers have made back-to-back appearances in the Division 3 Final. They lost to Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood 3-2 in triple overtime last year and suffered a 3-2 loss to Flint Powers Catholic in 2023.
EGR reeled off seven straight wins to open this season and is currently 12-3-1 and tied for first in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Rue despite heavy graduation losses last spring.
“The one thing that is great about this team is we haven’t stopped what we've been doing the last two years when we’ve had success,” Chris Newton said. “We’re sticking to details and making it more about the program than individuals.
“Our motto this year is being uncommon. I wanted that way back in the summer before this even happened. The motto has stuck to me, that I'm uncommon, but I wanted our kids to compete and be uncommon daily, and they’ve done that. It’s been a great group to be around and a group I wanted to get back to as quickly as I could.”
Chris Newton was blessed to have a superb transplant team help him navigate the process.
“The people there were great, and my surgeon was absolutely incredible,” he said. “They are good and talented people, and the nursing staff made it way easier than I expected.
“Obviously, no guarantees or anything, and everything is going well right now,” he added. “I’m still being seen a lot and being tested, but no number can be put on it. Eight years was a good run with the first set, but you just don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball as to what will happen.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) East Grand Rapids hockey coach Chris Newton instructs his team during a practice. (Middle) Newton directs his players on the bench during a game. (Below) Newton takes a photo with members of this season’s EGR team. (Photos by Grant Newton.)