Team of the Month: Byron Center Hockey

January 13, 2023

Byron Center ice hockey has done nothing but trend upward since its start as a program in 2016-17, with Regional titles the last four seasons, two trips to the Semifinals and a Division 2 runner-up finish in 2021.

There aren’t many rungs left to climb – but if the start of this season is an indication, the Bulldogs may be nearing that final step as this winter rolls past its midpoint

Byron Center is 14-0 heading into this weekend’s trip to Traverse City for the Rick Deneweth Memorial North-South Showcase, where the Bulldogs will face Marquette tonight and Lake Orion on Saturday. Byron Center also is ranked No. 1 in Division 2 in part on the strength of a December that saw the team win eight games while giving up a combined 10 goals – earning the Bulldogs the honor as MHSAA/Applebee’s “Team of the Month.”

They’ve played one game since the end of holiday break, shutting out Rockford last weekend after heading into the two-week layoff by also shutting out the Rams. Byron Center total has five shutouts total this winter and allowed only one goal in four others games, backstopped by senior goaltenders Carson MacKenzie (1.30 goals-against average) and Devon Lay (1.07).

It’s also not just how the Bulldogs have won, but who they’ve defeated. They started December with a shutout of Midland Dow – which admittedly is having a rough go this season, but remains the reigning Division 3 champion. Byron Center followed with a 4-1 win over current Division 3 No. 2 Flint Powers Catholic, and also picked up wins during December over Division 1 No. 6 Muskegon Mona Shores (6-3) and Division 3 No. 8 Grand Rapids Catholic Central (4-2). Those were in addition to handing Division 3 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern its first loss, 3-1, on Nov. 25.

The Byron Center team is a cooperative that includes players from Wayland and Grand Rapids South Christian. The Bulldogs are a combined 123-46-4 under coach Jordan Steger since that start in 2016-17, and a 2019-20 Division 1 tournament run was stopped in the Semifinals when the season was abruptly ended due to COVID-19.

MacKenzie made the all-state second team last season and is one of four all-state honorees back from a year ago; senior forward Brady Breit, junior forward Jackson Froysland and senior defenseman Josh Philo also made the all-state second team at their positions.

Breit and senior forward Logan Nickolaus lead with 12 goals and Nickolaus has a team-high 28 points, with Breit at 23 points and Froysland at 10 goals and 22 points total. Junior forward Cade Pratt has eight goals and 17 assists for a team second-best 25 points.

Past Teams of the Month, 2022-23

November: Martin football - Report
October:
Gladwin volleyball - Report
September:
Negaunee girls tennis - Report

After Waiting His Turn, Goalie Plays Lead Role In Latest DCC Finals Win

March 9, 2024

PLYMOUTH — At any point, Mathieu Chernauckas could have looked for a way out.

As a junior at Detroit Catholic Central, he was still a goaltender on the junior varsity hockey team, separated from the glory that comes with being on the perennial MHSAA championship varsity squad.

There were no guarantees he would ever play on the varsity, let alone see much ice time.

But he kept plugging away, first by making the varsity this winter, then by winning a three-man battle for the starting position.

His patience and determination paid off Saturday night when he stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory over Brighton in the MHSAA Division 1 Final at USA Hockey Arena.

“I just love a story like that, because he didn’t get anything given to him as a freshman,” Catholic Central coach Brandon Kaleniecki said. “He had to wait three years just to have a chance to be on the team. With the world we live in, with the transfer portal and everybody in a rush, he had to bide his time. You love the persistence and you love to see a guy like that get rewarded. The guys loved him. You could see how excited they were for him. That tells me a lot.”

Chernauckas was in a goaltending rotation early in the season with juniors Joe Bedells and Bobby Brandt before seizing the starting job by midseason.

He finished the season with a 21-1 record, a 1.19 goals against average and a .937 save percentage.

The Shamrocks' Cael Rogowski (8) maintains possession despite a challenge from Brighton's Freddie Londo (17).“It was the most fun hockey season of my life,” Chernauckas said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“It was difficult (at first). I wasn’t going to start the first couple games. I got my chance. I took advantage of it, and I went from there.”

It was the fifth-straight MHSAA Finals championship for the Shamrocks and the third in a row defeating Brighton in the title game.

There have been Finals in which it didn’t seem to matter who was between the pipes for Catholic Central, which dominated puck possession more often than not. But this was an even battle against a perennial Division 1 contender, one in which the Shamrocks held a slim 28-25 advantage in shots.

They needed Chernauckas to be strong in net to secure this one.

“The big crowd, the atmosphere, those big guns they have are always dangerous and they created some chances,” Kaleniecki said. “He had to make some big saves. We had to block some shots. We had to gut it out. There’s some years we’ve been in control and have the puck in the offensive zone. That wasn’t the case this year. That’s a lot of credit to them. It was also credit to our guys to kind of have to find a way to win it. It wasn’t just steamroll over an opponent. We had to gut it out.”

Brooks Rogowski leads a DCC rush.The Shamrocks opened the scoring at 10:56 of the first period when Joseph Curtin buried a shot from the top of the right circle on the power play.

It remained 1-0 until Cael Rogowski pounced on a turnover in front of the Brighton net, took a shot, then knocked in his rebound with 13:45 left in the game.

The Shamrocks not only tied their own record of five straight MHSAA championships won from 1999-2003, they extended their streak of victories against in-state competition to 54 and their MHSAA Tournament winning streak to 30 games.

The last team to beat Catholic Central in the postseason was Brighton in the 2018 Semifinals.

Brighton has had the misfortune of running into the Shamrocks during one of their peak dynasty runs.

“Our seniors were unbelievable, not just this year, but their whole careers,” Brighton coach Kurt Kivisto said. “I’m real proud of the work they put in, their leadership, their dedication to the program. I’m just proud of what they accomplished. We didn’t get the state championship today, but it’s just a tremendous group of young men.”

Levi Pennala, who has started the last three Division 1 Finals, made 26 saves for Brighton.

Click for the full box score

PHOTOS (Top) DCC's Mathieu Chernauckas makes a stop during his shutout Saturday. (Middle) The Shamrocks' Cael Rogowski (8) maintains possession despite a challenge from Brighton's Freddie Londo (17). (Below) Brooks Rogowski leads a DCC rush. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)