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.)
Shamrocks Complete Long-Awaited Repeat Run
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 27, 2021
PLYMOUTH – It took two years, but Detroit Catholic Central finally was able to conclude its repeat hockey championship run Saturday.
The Shamrocks (18-1) did so by beating first-time finalist Rockford 5-1 at USA Hockey Arena.
"This was truly a program win," said coach Brandon Kaleniecki, who led DCC to a title for the third time in his six years as Shamrocks coach. "We found a way through."
He wasn't just blowing smoke. The Catholic Central varsity was sidelined last week due to the coronavirus, but the junior varsity stepped up to the challenge beating Berkley and Troy before the varsity was cleared to return for the Quarterfinal.
The Shamrocks also swallowed the bitterness of the sudden end of last season due to the virus.
"We wanted to win it for last year's seniors," co-captain Brenden Cwiek said.
"I was on the team that won in 2019, and it was the most fun team I ever played on in hockey," co-captain Nick Borchardt said. "This year is like the end of the perfect story."
The ending got off to a good start, with DCC scoring twice on special teams
Brennan Sass got the scoring started with a power-play goal at the 7:43 mark. A little over a minute and a half later, William Shields stole a puck during a Rockford power play and scored a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0.
The Shamrocks scored two more in the second period, by Bret Beale and Ryan Wartuck to make it 4-0. Rockford's Carson Korte scored early in the third period to get the Rams back in range, but Kaden Hemme scored late in the third to put it away.
"I think we got a little too comfortable," Kaleniecki said of Korte's goal. "It was a good reminder of how we need to play.”
Rockford (15-6-1) became only the third school from the west side of the Lower Peninsula to reach the Division 1 Final, following Grandville (2015) and East Kentwood (2005).
"They're deep," Rockford coach C.J Pobur said. "There's not many public schools, if any, that can go four lines deep. We thought that 5-on-5 our group was ready to go, but their execution on special teams was exceptional tonight."
The Rams' run to Plymouth was fueled in part by a core of teammates who grew up playing together. Some of the players have been together nearly a decade. That cohesion, along with the addition of Korte and Owen DeVries this year from travel hockey, lifted Rockford to the best finish in school history.
Rockford and Division 2 runner-up Byron Center represented the west side of the state.
"I think it's a great area,” said Pobur, who like Kaleniecki is a Detroit Catholic Central graduate. "I think there's great hockey over there, but it's just not as big. You don't have as many big players. You might have two or three strong programs (on the west side), but they have 10 or 15 on the east side."
While they didn't get the result they hoped for, the Rams went home with heads held high.
"It wasn't a great result," DeVries said. " I think everyone in our locker room can say we gave it (our) all, and that's really all we ask for."
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Catholic Central celebrates its Division 1 championship Saturday at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) DCC's Bret Beale (28) and Rockford's Owen DeVries work for possession. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)