St. Mary's Avenges Regular-Season Sweep to Claim 1st Finals Title Since 2008
March 8, 2025
PLYMOUTH — Orchard Lake St. Mary’s never really went away.
Yes, it had been 17 years since the Eagles won their last MHSAA hockey championship, but they’ve always been a factor.
Whether it was running into Division 1 powers Brighton and Detroit Catholic Central when St. Mary’s played in the biggest-school division in the MHSAA Tournament, losing in overtime twice in Regional Finals or getting shut out in two championship game appearances, and even forfeiting due to COVID policies in 2021, the Eaglets had some great teams come up just short in the postseason.
A program that won three MHSAA Finals in four seasons from 2005-08 finally put it all together again for five tournament games, winning the Division 3 championship with a 3-0 victory over 2024 champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena.
Winning MHSAA championships is apparently more difficult than St. Mary’s made it look way back when.
“It’s hard,” said Brian Klanow, who has won 404 games as St. Mary’s coach over 26 seasons. “You’ve got to go through Regionals, and you certainly have to be on your game. Our team is playing its best hockey of the season right now.”
The last time St. Mary’s won a Finals championship was in a game that has now taken on mythical proportions. The Eaglets and Marquette played eight overtimes in the 2008 Division 1 Final tied 1-1 before the game was called and co-champions were declared out of concern for player safety.
So, why was this team the one to end the streak? Certainly, the Eaglets were loaded with talent, as they are most years. But they also had intangibles working in their favor.
“The difference between this year and previous years was we were close this year,” junior co-captain Charlie Roberts said. “Most of these guys have played with each other before. It played a big role. We were like a family out there. You can’t beat that.”
St. Mary’s senior goalie Will Keane has been trying for three seasons to bring a championship back to a school with a strong hockey tradition. He stopped all 26 shots he faced to backstop the victory.
“It’s unbelievable,” Keane said. “I’ve spent now three years here. My first one was a struggle; we didn’t even win a Regional. The guys who were in that room knew it was pretty tough. Last year, we came in and thought we had the team to do it. You don’t get a bounce. You have to get lucky. I don’t think we did last year, but we came back out and knew this year we had the team and we knew we could break that streak. That’s exactly what we did. The result’s unreal, nothing better.”
Keane split the goaltending duties nearly 50/50 throughout the regular season, partially because he missed time in late December with an injury. But St. Mary’s rode him for all five playoff games and he delivered, allowing only four goals for a 0.80 goals-against-average and .968 save percentage.
“Both of our goaltenders have done a great job this year,” Klanow said. “Mason Shea stepped in when Will was injured. They typically would split. It’s probably close to 50/50, 60/40, but I think it’s important to pick a guy and we needed to ride him.”
Cranbrook Kingswood swept the two-game season series with St. Mary’s, winning 4-3 and 6-2. But the Eaglets locked it down defensively this time and did something they were unable to do in the previous meetings — get an early lead.
Emmett Pilch scored 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the game. St. Mary’s nursed that one-goal lead for more than 27 minutes until Matthew Mourad gave the Eaglets a 2-0 lead with 1:14 left in the second.
Jacob Fedor scored into an empty net from a faceoff circle in St. Mary’s end with 2:53 remaining to seal the victory and deprive the Cranes of back-to-back titles.
“The leadership was unbelievable this year,” Cranbrook coach John LaFontaine said. “These guys came together really quick. They always wanted to do the extra things to be a team. We didn’t have individuals, we had a bunch of guys who were battling together. They will keep these memories for the rest of their life.”
Senior forward Nick Timko concurred.
“The bond I made with all these guys, it’s going to be life-long,” he said. “It stinks to end it this way, but I’ll forever be thankful for these years I’ve had with them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s players celebrate their championship win Saturday with the student section and USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) St. Mary’s Charlie Roberts considers his next move with Cranbrook’s David Schmitt defending. (Below) The Eaglets’ Matthew Mourad (11) sends a shot into the net during the second period.
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.)