Story in Photos: 2025 Ice Hockey Semifinals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 7, 2025
PLYMOUTH – The 2024-25 hockey season will conclude Saturday with all three No. 1-ranked teams at the end of the regular season playing to finish the MHSAA Tournament also on top at Plymouth's USA Hockey Arena.
Division 2 will start Saturday’s MHSAA Finals at 11 a.m. with top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic (24-4) facing No. 4 Livonia Stevenson (18-8-2). Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood will play for a repeat in Division 3; the No. 5 Cranes (19-8-1) will face top-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary's (22-5-2) at 3 p.m. The Division 1 Final will feature top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central (27-2) playing for a sixth-straight title, vs. No. 3 Howell (24-3-2), with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. to finish the day.
Hockey Weekly Action Photos captured plenty of action from the Semifinals – all photos below are by John Castine.
A Howell player works to maintain possession during Friday's 5-4 Division 1 Semifinal overtime win over Salem with Abel Dubanik (84) applying pressure.
Detroit Catholic Central's Nino Suhy (2) rips a shot during his team's 8-0 Division 1 win over Sparta on Friday. He had two goals and an assist.
The Shamrocks' Connor Laird (15) moves the puck up ice as Sparta's Jameson Meendering (5) trails. Laird finished with a goal and an assist.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Painesdale Jeffers players work to gain possession of the puck during the Cranes' 2-1 win in Division 3 on Friday.
Cranbrook's Nick Timko celebrates one of his two goals with teammates GianLuca DiSalvo (9) and Cam Rocchini (10).
Orchard Lake St. Mary's and Alpena face off during the Eaglets' 9-1 Friday win in Division 3.
The Eaglets' Julian Johnston (9) and an Alpena player battle for possession. Johnston finished the victory with two goals and three assists.
Livonia Stevenson goalie Mark Besedin deflects a shot during his team's 6-2 win over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in Division 2 on Thursday.
Stevenson's Tanner Champoux (6) celebrates during his team's win to reach the Division 2 Final for the first time since 2016.
Flint Powers Catholic goalie Hunter Clark walls off a side of the goal as Grandville's Bennett Eisma (21) makes a run toward the crease during the Chargers' 4-3 Division 2 win Thursday.
Powers' Blake Dawson controls the puck as his team advanced to play for a potential second title over the last three seasons.
TOP PHOTO Howell players and fans celebrate their team's 5-4 overtime win over Salem on Friday at USA Hockey Arena.
Detroit Catholic Central Raises Hockey Record with 6th-Straight Finals Title
March 8, 2025
PLYMOUTH — There’s no place Brandon Kaleniecki would rather make history as a coach than at the place he helped make history as a player.
Kaleniecki played two seasons at Detroit Catholic Central during its run of five consecutive MHSAA hockey championships from 1999 to 2003 before going on to play for the University of Michigan.
That was the record for most consecutive MHSAA hockey championships until now.
The Shamrocks broke the record they shared with their predecessors from more than two decades ago, winning a sixth title in a row with a 4-1 victory over Howell in the Division 1 championship game Saturday night at USA Hockey Arena.
“It’s fun as a player, because you’re part of it in such a different way,” Kaleniecki said. “Perhaps it’s more fun as a coach, because you get to sit back and kind of watch them enjoy it more. For a lot of guys, it might be their last years playing hockey. You just want them to go out with this experience, the same experience I was fortunate to have.
“I think that’s what makes it special for me. It’s a different group in that run every year. I can look back and go, ‘It was that senior class or this senior class.’ That’s what makes it fun for me.”
Kaleniecki has won seven MHSAA championships in 10 seasons as the Shamrocks’ coach. From 2010-16, Catholic Central won four Division 1 titles in seven years under four head coaches. Kaleniecki won the fourth championship during that run and has given the Shamrocks stability at the head of the program.
“When I came back to be the coach here, it felt like I just belonged,” he said. “I knew the surroundings, even though it was a different building and school. It felt like that’s where I wanted to be. When I got into coaching, I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be coaching than right here. It really makes it very special for me.”
And each championship is special in its own way for Kaleniecki, because every season brings different challenges and a different set of players.
For example, senior Joe Bedells won this championship as the starting goalie after being the backup last season. He split the starts during the regular season before then-senior Mathieu Chernauckas took the reins for the playoff run.
Bedells allowed only three goals in five postseason games over the last 15 days.
“Last year, I backed up for Mathieu Chernauckas,” Bedells said. “He was an excellent goalie. He rightfully had that starting position. It absolutely drove me to be the best I can for this team and for myself to help win the state championship.”
The Shamrocks took a 2-0 lead on goals by Matthew Naida at 5:25 of the first period and Elian Szerlip at 5:07 of the second.
The Highlanders got back to within a goal when Bryce Eskola backhanded the puck toward the net from the right boards and it went in off the stick of a Catholic Central player at 6:56 of the second.
Catholic Central (28-2) re-established its two-goal lead when Peter Sanin scored with 5:06 remaining in the second period.
The celebration was on once defenseman Ryan Dye scored into an empty net with 50.2 seconds left in the game. It was Dye who scored the biggest goal during the playoff run, an overtime goal in a 2-1 victory over second-ranked Hartland in the Regional championship game.
Heading into the postseason, Warren De La Salle Collegiate defeated Catholic Central in overtime, handing the Shamrocks’ their first loss to a Michigan school in three years. Catholic Central kicked it into gear and went 5-0 in the playoffs, extending their MHSAA Tournament winning streak to 35 games.
“The loss to De La Salle, that was a real defining moment for us, because they kind of flipped the switch and had to find a way down the stretch when it wasn’t easy,” Kaleniecki said.
It was the third MHSAA Finals appearance for Howell, all of which ended with losses to Catholic Central. The first two were in 2009 and 2010.
The Highlanders lost only one game in regulation time all season before Saturday, ending 24-4-2.
“This year we feel like we changed the face of the program across the board,” first-year Howell coach Keith Robertson said. “I told the seniors they changed the trajectory of the program when you take it to the state Finals. It’s special. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. They’ve changed things forever in Howell.”
The Shamrocks outshot the Highlanders 41-10. Henry Lansky made 37 saves for Howell.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Catholic Central players raise their championship trophy Saturday at USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) The Shamrocks’ Nick Leiter (3) and Howell’s Ben Huotari contend for a loose puck. (Below) Matthew Naida (12) contemplates his next pass as Bryce Eskola (17) moves in to apply pressure.