Special Teams Set Powers Catholic Apart as Chargers Finish Repeat Title Run
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2026
PLYMOUTH — Before claiming its first MHSAA Finals title in 2023, in Division 3, Flint Powers Catholic was arguably the state’s most snakebitten ice hockey program.
Up to that point, Powers had lost all seven of its previous trips to the state championship game and hadn’t won a title despite 35 Regional championships.
Now, Finals championships are becoming a rite of March for the Chargers.
They captured their second straight and third over the last four years Saturday, repeating as Division 2 champions with a 4-1 win over Livonia Stevenson at USA Hockey Arena.
It was the second-straight Finals meeting between the teams, with Powers prevailing 3-2 in overtime in 2025.
“I think our program has changed dramatically the last five years,” Powers head coach Travis Perry said. “When I say that, it’s not about the wins and the losses. It’s about the mentality. Our mentality coming down here used to be, ‘We just hope to compete with Cranbrook, Calumet or whoever we are playing.’ Now, we know we can compete. We have players and a great coaching staff.”
The difference for Powers this time was special teams.
Perry said his power-play unit entered the title game scoring at a 37-percent clip and had been “carrying us most of the year,” so it was fitting that unit played a major role again.
Powers scored the first two goals of the game on the power play, which provided a cushion it ultimately didn’t relinquish.
On the other side, the Chargers killed off all six Stevenson power-play chances.
“Our PK was really the backbone of the team today,” Perry said. “You’re trying to stay out of the box, but sometimes it happens.”
Stevenson first-year head coach Jay Thompson said his team’s special teams had also been good throughout the year, but championship games can be a different challenge.
“In these games, things tighten up,” he said. “We just fell short a little bit.”
Powers (27-5) opened the scoring with 14.1 seconds remaining in the first period by scoring on a two-man advantage.
Sophomore Owen Perry skated from behind the goal, pounced on a loose puck and placed a shot underneath the crossbar to give Powers a 1-0 lead.
The Chargers scored on another power play in the second period, going up 2-0 with 11:12 left when senior Gavin Vorwerk pounced on a loose puck in front of the Stevenson goal and chipped a shot into the net.
Stevenson (20-10-1) got on the board with 13:45 remaining in the game on an ordinary-looking play that turned into a goal.
Senior defenseman Dawson Wells fired a shot from the point that somehow got through a horde of bodies and went into the goal to make it 2-1 Powers.
Stevenson continued to pressure and created two golden opportunities on breakaways, but Powers senior goalie Hunter Clark stopped them both to preserve the lead. Clark ended up giving up just one goal throughout the entire MHSAA Tournament.
Trying to get the equalizer, Stevenson pulled goalie Drew Allen with just over two minutes remaining and off a face-off dumped the puck into the Powers zone.
That’s where Chargers junior defenseman Ethan Haley took a gamble that paid off, firing a shot from behind his own net that cleared the zone and went all the way down perfectly into the empty net to give Powers a 3-1 lead.
Powers then made it 4-1 with 1:02 remaining in the game on a wraparound goal by senior forward Ayden Cook after Stevenson put Allen back in net.
“They played very well today and structured hockey,” Thompson said. “I thought our guys did everything they could and gave our team an opportunity to win that hockey game. It just didn’t go our way.”
Powers is filled with players who have competed and won at the travel level, but to a man they say winning championships in high school is much better.
“Seeing everyone at school, you’re always saying, ‘Hey what’s up? What do you have for your next class? What do you want to do after school?’” Powers senior forward Parker Bendall said. “You’re just with them 24/7, five days a week at minimum. It’s just great being around every guy.”
PHOTOS (Top) Flint Powers Catholic players celebrate during their Division 2 championship win Saturday at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) Stevenson’s Tyler Breitbach (4) gets a stick on the puck in front of the Powers net and goalie Hunter Clark. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
DCC Follows New Leader to 3rd Straight D1 Win
March 12, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
PLYMOUTH — The biggest challenge to Detroit Catholic Central's hockey dominance has come from within.
For the third straight season, the Shamrocks took the ice this winter while trying to adapt to the demands of a new head coach.
No worries. Because, for the third straight season, the Shamrocks are the MHSAA Division 1 champions.
Top-ranked Catholic Central controlled the game from start to finish to beat second-ranked Brighton, 3-0, on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena in a championship matchup featuring the two teams that have won 13 of the 17 Division 1 crowns.
Catholic Central (24-7) has won 10 of those titles under the guidance of five head coaches. Brandon Kaleniecki helped begin that run as a senior with the Shamrocks in 2000 and kept it going as a first-year head coach this season. He followed in the footsteps of Doug Itami, coach of the 2013-14 team, and Danny Veri, coach of the 2014-15 squad.
"There are some differences, but a lot of similarities," senior forward Brian Kearns said of the three coaches for whom he's played. "They're all preaching the same stuff. They all preach to play as hard as you can. You've got to play for the two Cs on your chest. They were all different, but they were all great in their own way and they all added a piece to the puzzle to go win three. It was huge for us. Coach Kal was the perfect coach to finish it all off."
Kaleniecki credited the leadership of Kearns and fellow captain Nick Macari for making his job easier as he took over one of Michigan's iconic hockey programs.
"They were without a doubt my best ally in terms of coming in this year," said Kaleniecki, an all-state forward for the Shamrocks in 1999-2000. "These are two guys who have been around the program. They've had three different coaches. They could've made things real challenging for me. Instead, they made it absolutely phenomenal. Anything I needed, I could tell them and it was done. The reason we're here is because of guys like this. We can point them in the right direction, but they're the guys driving it."
Having a background in the Catholic Central program helped each of the three coaches gain credibility with the players. Itami was an assistant coach, while Veri coached the junior varsity team.
"It's a good thing knowing our coaches have been in our shoes before," Macari said. "They have that experience. They know what they're talking about. We know we can listen to them, because they're telling us the right things to do."
The championship was the 13th for Catholic Central, moving the Shamrocks within one of Trenton for second-most in MHSAA history. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood holds the record with 17.
It was the 10th time out of those 13 championship victories that the Shamrocks won by at least three goals. They outshot Brighton, 29-15.
"They were just all over us," Brighton junior Jake Crespi said. "Positionally, they were great. Every time we would touch the puck, there were two guys on us."
Crespi gave Brighton (22-9) its best chance to grab some momentum when he was awarded a penalty shot with 11:44 left in the first period. Crespi, who shared Brighton's goal-scoring lead with 20, was slashed from behind on a shorthanded breakaway. He tried to get the puck between the pads of Alec Calvaruso on the penalty shot, but the senior goaltender closed off the opening to make the save.
"I was going to go five-hole on the breakaway, also," Crespi said. "I had my mind set when I was going out there; I should've buried it. I think it could've been a different game if I could've put that one away for the boys. Maybe we'd have some momentum going."
The game remained scoreless until Glynn Robitaille pounced on a loose puck near the crease and scored at 7:56 of the second period. Macari set up the goal by rushing down the left side and putting a shot on the net.
"Coach Kaleniecki always tells me I need to drive the net more often and I need to shoot more often," Macari said. "I kind of listened to what he said; I drove to the net and it worked. It ended up on my player's stick, and he got it in the net."
On a similar rush, Macari made it 2-0 as he buried a shot into the upper-right corner of the net from the left circle with 2:38 left in the second period.
"Same thing," Macari said. "Drive wide and shoot the puck is what he's been telling me to do. I did it and, once again, it worked."
With the shots 23-10 in the Shamrocks' favor after two periods and having been shut out in the teams' regular-season meeting, the Bulldogs faced the daunting task of scoring at least twice in the third.
Catholic Central didn't allow Brighton an opening, making it a 3-0 game on Cody Borke's goal with 15:16 left in the third period.
"We knew we could come back, but that kind of hurt when they got that third one," Brighton defenseman Nick Foran said. "We didn't stop battling, but it didn't exactly boost our confidence."
Brighton was trying to beat a sixth straight ranked opponent in the playoffs. The Bulldogs beat No. 13 Jackson, No. 8 Howell, No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary's, No. 11 East Kentwood and No. 6 Grandville before coming up short against the No. 1 Shamrocks.
The Bulldogs didn't score a goal and had only 25 shots on goal in two matchups with Catholic Central this season. The Shamrocks won 3-0 with three third-period goals on Nov. 21.
"Playing six games in two weeks is emotionally and physically draining," Brighton coach Paul Moggach said. "I think it does have an impact mentally and physically when you go to that third period down. It's a lot easier to find your legs if you're in a position to win it; we just never were. After that first period, we tried to find a way, but we weren't finding the opportunities to make a game of it. You've got to give credit to C.C. They played a great game. They beat us twice. We haven't scored a goal and they scored six."
PHOTOS: (Top) Glynn Robitaille (20) and Nick Macari celebrate during Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Brighton’s Joey Clifford (7) works to create a shot while DCC goalie Alec Calvaruso blocks the side of the crease. (Click for more from Andrew Knapik.)