Houghton Never Stops Believing, Rallies Late to Claim 1st Finals Title Since 1982
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2026
PLYMOUTH — When entering the town of Houghton in recent years, there is one sign that seems to stick out more than others – at least to the Houghton High School hockey program.
“When you came into town, it said for years and years ‘State champs 1982,’” Houghton head coach Micah Stipech said, referring to the year Houghton last won an MHSAA Finals championship in ice hockey. “Now we can put a new one up.”
Indeed, as the Gremlins can finally once again call themselves Finals champions following a 5-2 triumph over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in Saturday’s Division 3 championship game at USA Hockey Arena.
It’s difficult to fathom that one of the state’s premier programs had gone 44 years without a title, with its last championship the Class B-C-D crown in 1982.
Getting to the Final in recent years certainly wasn’t a problem for Houghton (25-6-1), as it was a runner-up in 2012, 2015 and 2019.
There just always was a downstate powerhouse it couldn’t overcome. But that wasn’t the case this time, thanks in large part to senior forward Jack Sayen.
Entering the game with 15 goals on the season, Sayen accounted for more than 25 percent of that total in the championship game, scoring four times for the Gremlins.
“I guess I was kind of in the right spot at the right time for some of them,” Sayen said. “I don’t care that I scored. I’m just happy our team won.”
Stipech said it was a slow start to the season, with his team breaking in a huge influx of underclassmen and losing six out of its first 10 games.
“We were supposed to be down,” Stipech said. “We had 10 underclassmen. It wasn’t going to be our year. We only won four out of our first 10. We’re on a three-game skid and this group right here are like ‘We got this. We just need some time, and we’re going to be all right. They still believed.”
That self-belief really came to the forefront after St. Mary’s took a 2-1 lead with 14:27 remaining on a goal by senior Dominic Pizzo, who fired a shot from between the face-off circles into the net.
Houghton got only stronger at that point, blitzing St. Mary’s with a four-goal surge over the next 10:54.
Sayen started the rally, tying the game at 2-2 when he stationed himself in front of the St. Mary’s goal, took a pass sent behind the net from senior Noah Maillette and buried the chance under the crossbar.
Sayen then gave Houghton a 3-2 lead with 11:16 remaining, charging the net and jamming the puck past the pads of the St. Mary’s goalie.
Just 1:23 later, Houghton took a 4-2 lead when senior Connor Arko took a neat pass from Maillette, skated in on the St. Mary’s goal and lifted a backhand below the cross bar.
Houghton kept the pressure on and added to its lead, going up 5-2 with 3:33 remaining when Sayen pounced on a rebound and fired the puck in.
From there, the final minutes were a happy skate for Houghton.
St. Mary’s was attempting to repeat as champion, but had to settle for a runner-up finish and a 25-5 record to close the season.
“We just got a little lax down low in front of our net,” St. Mary’s head coach Brian Klanow said. “They took advantage of some not-so-good positioning and they were able to get some shots off the line.”
Houghton opened the scoring on a power play with 12:53 remaining in the first period when Sayen charged toward a loose puck in front of the St. Mary’s goal and buried the chance underneath the crossbar to make it 1-0 Gremlins.
St. Mary’s tied the game with 1:59 remaining in the second period on a goal by junior Thaddeus Raynish, who found a loose puck to the left of the Houghton goal and placed a shot into a half-open net to make it 1-1.
PHOTOS (Top) Houghton players celebrate at the end of the Division 3 Final at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) The Gremlins’ Noah Maillette (13) moves toward a loose puck in front of the St. Mary’s net and goalie Thomas Reeber. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Heritage Rises to Top of New Division
February 10, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
SAGINAW TOWNSHIP — Conventional wisdom suggests that Saginaw Heritage received an easier path to an MHSAA hockey championship with its drop from Division 2 to Division 3 this season.
While competing against smaller schools might improve a team's championship hopes in other sports, that scenario doesn't apply to hockey.
All three divisions in the MHSAA Tournament are loaded with traditional powerhouses. The big schools in Division 1, headlined by Detroit Catholic Central, obviously have strength in sheer numbers. In Division 2, Trenton and Birmingham Brother Rice hold their own against anybody year in and year out. Down in Division 3, the road to an MHSAA championship features formidable roadblocks in the form of non-public school heavyweights like Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and any team strong enough to survive a brutal Upper Peninsula Regional.
So, it's pretty much a case of picking your poison.
"I don't think it matters what division you're in," Heritage coach J.J. Bamberger said. "We saw we were in Division 3, and it doesn't matter. Our first-round game against Flint Powers isn't anything different than us being in our first game against Midland High or Midland Dow the last few years. It's not like it gets any easier in any division you're in. In Division 1, 2 or 3, there are a lot of good teams. Hancock, the Division 3 No. 4 team, just beat the No. 1 team in Division 2. It's not any easier wherever you are."
What seemed like a break for Heritage quickly changed when the opening-round pairings were drawn. Right off the bat, the Hawks will face one of the premier Division 3 programs in the state in Flint Powers Catholic at 6 p.m. Feb. 29 at Saginaw-Bay Ice Arena, the Hawks' home rink. Powers has been in the Quarterfinals 14 times in 16 years of Division 3 play, winning a record 32 Regional championships since the MHSAA began sponsoring a hockey tournament in 1974-75.
It will be Heritage's first postseason game in Division 3 after being a Division 2 squad ever since the MHSAA went to a divisional format in 2000. Heritage has made the Quarterfinals six times in Division 2, reaching the Semifinals three times.
Having home-ice advantage against Powers will be a boost for the Hawks, though they may not need one. They have already made a statement to the rest of Division 3, going into Powers' home arena on Feb. 2 and skating off with a decisive 5-2 victory over a team that was riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and No. 2 ranking in Division 3 at the time.
"They're pretty deep," Powers coach Travis Perry said. "Their top line has got a lot of speed, and they gave us a lot of problems. We have to find a way to get ready for them."
That victory put Heritage in sole possession of first place in the Saginaw Valley League, the only thing that mattered to the Hawks on that night. Any thoughts of the game being a postseason preview were brushed aside.
"It's a big win," junior goalie Danny Yockey said. "We haven't won the Saginaw Valley League in seven years; it's ours to lose now."
"It's part of our process of trying to win our league," Bamberger said. "We're taking it one game at a time. We're not worried about anything come playoff time. I told the guys, 'Let's not make this about anything other than tonight.'"
Perhaps an even greater statement was made the following weekend when Heritage ended Hancock's 11-game winning streak, beating the currently second-ranked Bulldogs 4-3 on Feb. 5 in Trenton. The next day, the Hawks won 3-0 over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which was No. 14 in Division 3 last week.
A four-game winning streak following an 11-1 loss to Toledo St. Francis on Jan. 29 had the Hawks at 17-2 and ranked No. 6 in Division 3 entering this week. The most recent rankings, which came out Wednesday, saw Heritage climb to the top spot.
"It's the chemistry," junior forward Sam Spaedt said. "Most of us juniors and seniors mesh together. We're having fun in the locker room. We're having fun on the ice. The coaches are great, too. The leadership is good. That's what's getting the job done."
Spaedt is far and away Heritage's leading scorer with 42 points, but there's plenty of depth throughout the rest of the lineup. Devan Bayne has 27 points, Gavin Dietrich 26, Chris Cornford 21, Zach Dornseifer 20, Brandon Ashley 17, Hunter Parasiliti 17 and Spencer Vondette 16.
Dietrich's 15 goals and Spaedt's 31 assists are team highs.
"We have a lot of forwards who can really go and really skate," Bamberger said. "We get some different scoring from different lines. I don't consider our fourth line a fourth line, because a fourth line generally doesn't play. Our fourth line not only plays, but they contribute. Each line had a goal (against Powers). From a tenacity standpoint, our guys keep going, keep going; you're going to wear teams down."
Spaedt has been the consummate setup artist for the Hawks, with his point total leaning heavily toward assists. He has 11 goals to go with his 31 assists. Three of those goals have come while shorthanded. His goals have come in bunches, with four two-goal games. He's had at least three assists five times.
"I'm always in a pass-first mentality," Spaedt said. "The guys are great. They bury the puck after I give it to them. If I have a chance to score, I'll take it. I'm happy if the guys give me the puck. The team really meshes well; that's part of the points, too."
For all of his playmaking prowess, Spaedt still ranks third on the team in goals.
"He scores, too," Bamberger said. "To be honest with you, I didn't realize that he's got (11) goals and 30-some assists. I think it's because he's a real smart player. More so than that, we have a lot of finishers on our team. We have a lot of guys who can put it in the net. Whoever he's giving it to, they're putting the puck in the net."
Yockey has played the majority of minutes in goal for Heritage, posting a 12-2 record, a 2.64 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage. In his last three games, all against state-ranked Division 3 teams, he has a 1.67 GAA and a .929 save percentage. Devin Wolfgang is 4-0 with two shutouts, a 0.57 GAA and a .966 save percentage as the backup goalie.
"The forwards are really good at back-checking and we're just smart in our zone," Yockey said.
Before Heritage can focus on the rematch with Powers, the Hawks will look to close out the Saginaw Valley championship with games against Mount Pleasant tonight and Bay City Central on Feb. 17. The pre-tournament tuning-up phase will include a game against Howell, the seventh-ranked team in Division 1, on Feb. 24.
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage’s Mitch Wise, right, prepares for a faceoff during a recent game against Flint Powers Catholic. (Middle) Leading scorer Sam Spaedt rips a shot for the Hawks. (Photos by Bill Khan.)