Performance: Stevenson's Seth Lause
January 9, 2020
Seth Lause
Livonia Stevenson senior – Hockey
The four-year varsity center accomplished one of the rarest of hockey feats Saturday against No. 3 Hartland, scoring three short-handed goals in No. 2 Stevenson’s 5-2 win to earn the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.” Although the National Federation of State High School Associations does not keep a record for short-handed goals in one game, it is possible that Lause was only the second player nationally to score three at the high school level, following Lucas DeBenedet of International Falls, Minn., in 2011.
Lause is tied for the team lead in goals this winter with eight and ranks second with 12 assists as Stevenson is off to a 9-1-1 start. He made the Division 2 all-state second team last season with five goals and 12 assists over 19 games. The MHSAA also has not previously tracked a record for short-handed goals in one game – but for added perspective, the feat has been achieved only once in NHL history. Lause’s first goal came in the second period, and his second and third scores came during the same power play over 1 minute, 29 seconds, during the third period.
Stevenson has had one of the state’s strongest programs over the last decade, making at least the Quarterfinals five straight seasons, finishing Division 2 runner-up twice and winning the championship in 2013. After helping his team to another title pursuit, Lause hopes to continue playing at the junior level after graduation in the spring. Whether he begins college later or right away, he’s interested in the medical field and particularly psychology – and carries a 4.4 GPA at Stevenson.
Coach David Mitchell said: "Seth is a tireless worker ... both on the ice and in the classroom. He is an extremely high-character student-athlete that works tirelessly on his craft. It's been a real honor and pleasure to watch him grow as a player, as a person and as a leader. The sky's the limit for Seth with regards to his future. He is for sure leaving his mark on Livonia Stevenson hockey."
Performance Point: “The first goal was just a fortunate bounce. I think one of their guys missed a pass, and I ended up being on a line rush 2-on-1 with my teammate Noah (Turner). I was just looking for a shot on the first one, just trying to go low stick, since he had the low stick kinda showing me a little bit of that, and the rebound just came out to me when I shot it there, and I ended up burying it,” Lause said, describing his three goals. “The second one was (Ian) Kimble had a good play with his stick. He poke-checked it around one of their defensemen, came in, and created space for himself in the zone and saw my flying into the net. And so he threw it down into the corner and I picked it up down low, and I came around the net on my backhand side and I was looking around to see where everyone was at. I kinda looked off the goalie, and the goalie I saw was low and he had the high short side open, and so I flipped it up over and went up on the high far side. And then the third one was just a good play by Adam Heard. I was calling for it. I got behind their D at the far blue and he found me and gave me a great pass on my tape, and I just came in and shot it high glove. Honestly I didn’t even know we were still short-handed on my third goal, but everyone told me after the game that it was still short-handed and I’d scored three shorties, and I thought it was pretty cool. At first … I didn’t realize to scale how big of a deal it was.”
Fueled by fun: “It’s just been fun. Last year, I was more focused on just doing as much as I could to win. I still do now, but I don’t put as much pressure on myself now. It’s just a great thing, since it is my last year, just kinda taking a different approach to it this year and just letting everything go and going out and having a blast. This may or may not be my last moments playing; with my friends and for my high school, obviously this is the last year. It’s just been a lot of fun playing with these guys. I think that’s just been the big difference – me letting go mentally and just having a blast doing it. … I’ve always known there’s been something special (with this team), just every year we’ve been here. But this year especially, it’s been just a lot of guys bought in earlier. It just happens quicker with some teams than others. The approach that we’ve had has just been a lot more relaxed, a lot more fun. This group has really connected with one another, and everything’s just clicking right now.”
Play hard, cheer hard: “We usually go to all the other events that we have (at school). So basketball, swimming, volleyball, other sports – we always attend their games. We try to show support that way by going and trying to create a small student section if you will, the whole hockey team. We go to every sport that we can, even tennis we go to. …. Our coach really takes pride in that too, because for everyone who comes to our games, all the peers who come to our games, he likes to give back to them and say thanks, honestly, just for a support they give us. Without them, it’s totally a different environment.”
Stevenson strong: “We just work hard. Our effort is our floor here. We’ve always prided ourselves on being one of the hardest-working teams, both on and off the ice, also involving ourselves in the community (and) we reach out to a lot of teams. We go to a lot of other team events here at our school. We just put a lot of pride in ourselves and the extra stuff we do. It’s just what makes us, us. We’re very involved in development and trusting the process of development and just being a team that works hard. We really just pride ourselves on that.”
The doctor is in: “Anything medical, I’m really interested in. … I’m mostly focused on the brain. I just love how the brain works. There are other organs like the heart that everyone knows about – we know every single little detail about the heart. But the brain is just something that’s so mysterious that a lot of people haven’t figured out yet. So that’s a thing that intrigues me – what is really going on, and something to just figure out because it’s a developing thing right now.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Dec. 5: Mareyohn Hrabowski, River Rouge football - Report
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Livonia Stevenson's Seth Lause is a four-year contributor to one of the state's top programs. (Middle) Lause also is serving as a captain this winter. (Photos courtesy of the Livonia Stevenson hockey program.)
Painesdale Jeffers Roster Filled with Jets Earns Historic Opportunity
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2025
HOUGHTON — Many talented hockey players have gone through the ranks at Painesdale Jeffers High School.
The team, however, has often been low on numbers.
The situation has changed this winter, and the Jets have a 22-4 record to show for it.
“In the past, we could only skate two lines,” coach Aaron Helminen said. “Now our numbers are up. In the last few years we had 25-27 guys, which gives us some depth. You need numbers to have competition. It makes everybody better because the guys push each other. You have to work harder to keep your spot.”
Although Jeffers is a cooperative hockey program, allowing the Jets to roster players from Chassell, Ontonagon, Dollar Bay, Baraga, L’Anse and Ironwood as well, all 18 of this year’s players are Jeffers student-athletes – which is even more impressive as Jeffers’ enrollment total for classification this school year was just 218.
The Jets began their postseason journey with a 4-1 victory over Calumet in a Division 3 Regional opener last Wednesday. They return to the MacInnes Student Ice Arena at Michigan Tech at 7 p.m. today to face Houghton (18-8), which has won two straight Regional titles.
“We got good shifts from our third line,” Helminen said. “We’re just excited to have an opportunity to play another game. Houghton can skate 3-4 lines. They have a very good team. That will be a revenge game for them.”
The Jets – ranked No. 6 in Division 3 entering the postseason – defeated the No. 2 Gremlins 6-2 in their lone regular-season meeting Jan. 22.
“They’re a very fast and physical team,” Jeffers senior Benton Rajala said. “We have to get guys on the puck and play the body. I don’t recall of Jeffers ever winning a Regional, but I have dreamed about it.”
The Jets, however, did capture a Regional title in 1977. A victory tonight would end their drought.
“It feels great to be moving on,” senior Brit Heinonen said after the Calumet win. “This gets the monkey off our back. Having larger numbers makes a big difference. We have a special group which plays well together. We have good chemistry.”
In last Wednesday’s game, Jeffers outshot Calumet 29-17 with junior goaltender Kasen Helminen stopping 16 shots.
“It feels good to win a playoff game, but I haven’t had much chance to think about it yet,” Helminen said after. “I’d rather have some shots taken at me. Clearing the puck helps me out. In practice, we have one or two drills in which shots are fired at me. I also practice a lot on my footwork.”
What kind of challenges are in store for the Jets tonight?
“They (Houghton) try to beat you with the rushes,” the Jets’ goaltender said. “You have to be aware of their odd-man rushes.
”It would feel great to advance.”
Heinonen had similar thoughts about the Gremlins, who defeated Hancock 5-3 in their Regional opener.
“Houghton has been great for many years,” he said. “Teams around here will battle to the end. In playoffs, anything can happen. We have a good chance.”
The winner advances to the Saturday Quarterfinal contest at Lakeview Arena in Marquette to face the winner of another Regional Final tonight between Escanaba (16-10) and Sault Ste. Marie (11-13-1).
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Painesdale Jeffers’ junior Brogan Turner rips a shot during a game this season. (Middle) The Jets’ Easton Therrian (4) makes his way up ice against Negaunee. (Below) Brit Heinonen advances past the blue line. (Photos by RR Photo.)