Title Time Differs Among Hockey States

July 12, 2019

By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor

Next season’s three-week playoff format for the MHSAA Ice Hockey Tournament will fall more closely in line with similar postseasons for state associations around the country which sponsor the sport.

According to 2017-18 National Federation of State High School Associations participation statistics, 18 states sponsor boys ice hockey.

Michigan ranked third in number of schools involved with 240, behind Minnesota (282) and Massachusetts (278). In terms of overall participants, the MHSAA was fourth with 3,353, trailing Massachusetts (7,377), Minnesota (5,751) and New Jersey (3,492) and just ahead of New York (3,088). Wisconsin and Ohio boast more than 2,000 participants annually.

So, how do the tournaments compare among those states similar to Michigan? Most use longer tournament calendars than the two-week span previously employed by the MHSAA.

The timeframe for the season just past in the Minnesota tournament had most play beginning Feb. 21 and ending the same day as the MHSAA Finals, March 9. Some teams started on Feb. 19. The MHSAA dropped the puck for its first games on Monday, Feb. 25. It should be noted that Minnesota crowns just two champions annually, compared to the MHSAA’s three divisions.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin and Ohio, just one school takes the statewide title each year, so it stands to reason that the postseason is spread out even further. Both states began the 2019 playoffs on Monday, Feb. 11.

Wisconsin’s tourney culminated on March 2 at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Madison as teams played the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final over three consecutive days.

Ohio, meanwhile, took a week-long break following District Finals on March 1 or 2, then played the Semifinals and Final at Nationwide Arena in Columbus during March 8-9. This is similar to the rest period the MHSAA will enjoy moving forward from its Quarterfinals to the Semifinals and Finals in 2020.

Just as the season was reaching its pinnacle in Wisconsin, the postseason title chase was merely beginning in Massachusetts, where this year it opened Feb. 25.

Massachusetts is tied for the most divisions of the states studied here with four, but the top division is created with a different twist.

“The top division is often called the ‘Super 8’ or 1A. This tournament is set up differently than the other divisions,” said Massachusetts Ice Hockey Coaches Association President Dan Connolly. “The Super 8 is a double-elimination tournament. The seedlings for this tournament are done by power seeding via a committee using strength of schedule, record, team vs. teams under consideration and win-loss record down the stretch.”

Connolly said just 10 teams are chosen for the Super 8, and seed Nos. 7 through 10 must face off in a play-in game to join the top six. The two teams losing the play-in game return to their respective pre-assigned state divisions and can still win those tournaments. Such was the case in 2019, when Duxbury High lost in its bid to join the Super 8 field, but then won the Division 1 Final.

Like Michigan, those three divisions are based on enrollment, but unlike Michigan, the divisions are seeded based on winning percentage.

The Finals take place on a Sunday at the TD Garden in Boston, a celebration of hockey that features six games (four boys and two girls finals). This year’s event took place March 17, and nearly went into March 18. The Division 1 Final began at 9:59 p.m. as the previous contest, the Super 8 Final, went to four overtimes.

As mentioned, Minnesota’s tournament ended the same day as the MHSAA’s in 2019, and featured one overtime game among its two Finals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul as Edina took the top class over Eden Prairie, 3-2.

The Sunday finales in Boston might seem foreign to followers of MHSAA tournaments, but New York also features a Sunday as the stage for its two state Finals, following Semifinals on Saturday. This year’s playoffs went from Feb. 20-March 10, culminating at the Harborcenter in Buffalo.

Neighboring New Jersey comes closest in length to the old MHSAA format with four divisions – three public and one non-public – taking just 14 days to determine winners at the Prudential Center in Newark. The 2019 titles were determined on Monday, March 4, with Semifinals the Wednesday prior.

PHOTO: Duxbury celebrated Massachusetts’ Division 1 championship this past season after missing out on making the “Super 8” bracket.

Martin Makes Home in Goal for Monroe St. Mary's Boys Lacrosse, Ice Hockey Teams

By Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com

April 29, 2025

Lacrosse isn’t the best sport to choose if you don’t like coming home with bruises every once in a while.

Southeast & BorderFor Chloe Martin, the bruises are just part of the deal.

“I love it,” Martin said of lacrosse. “It’s a fast game and a challenge. I love that.”

Martin is a senior on the Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central boys lacrosse team. SMCC doesn’t offer girls lacrosse, so she plays on the boys team. That’s nothing new to her, either. She was also a member, representing SMCC, of the Downriver Unified cooperative boys ice hockey team this past winter.

“I didn’t expect to enjoy (lacrosse) as much as I did, but once I started playing and started playing with the boys, I fell in love with the sport,” Martin said.

Martin picked up ice hockey at the age of 8 while a student at Triumph Academy, a K-8 school near Monroe. She was hooked, but under one condition – she wanted to be in the net.

“When I was younger, I played forward and defense, but I didn’t really enjoy it,” she recalled. “When someone on the team said they needed a goalie, I raised my hand right away. It’s a lot of fun. I don’t think I would be playing if I wasn’t playing goalie.

“I like getting shots coming at me. It’s fun.”

Martin, from Monroe, joined the SMCC lacrosse team as a high school freshman. She played ice hockey as a sophomore and again as a senior. “I played travel hockey my junior year and, to be honest, I kind of regret it,” she said.

As a sophomore, she was able to be teammates with her brother, Walker.

Martin, without a protective mask, which she wears for two sports.“He was one of my biggest inspirations playing hockey,” she said. “We had a strong connection, and I wanted to play with him and his friends. That was one of my favorite teams to ever play on.”

Her brother also got her started in lacrosse.

“The reason I joined lacrosse was because of my older brother,” Chloe said. “Our coach saw that I was a goalie for hockey and wanted me to be a goalie for lacrosse. I agreed and played lacrosse.”

Lacrosse – for both boys and girls – is played in the spring in Michigan. The sport involves a ton of running and highly-skilled passing and catching. It also takes teamwork.

Martin prefers the boys game over the girls game. She’s tried both.

“I love playing against the boys. I tried playing girls lacrosse, and it wasn’t my thing,” she said. “For girls, there are different rules and I don’t really like it. I’m trying to get into it because I want to play either college hockey or lacrosse.”

She’s not sure which sport she likes better: “It’s not that big of a difference. There is more padding for hockey and less for lacrosse. You have a crease, and you are moving in the same type of direction. Lacrosse is less wear-and-tear on my hips. I have bad hips.”

While lacrosse has a bigger field, Martin said there is more action.

“Lacrosse is quicker than hockey,” she said. “You can have the ball in the other zone but three seconds later they can be down shooting on me.”

This season has been a strong one for Martin in net.

Earlier this month she helped the Falcons to a one-point win over Jackson at Albion College, recorded her first varsity shutout April 16 against Brownstown Woodhaven and made a school-record 19 saves on April 4 against Ypsilanti Lincoln. That save total was high enough to make the MHSAA record book.

“Nineteen is kind of a lot of shots,” Martin said. “I’ve faced more than that in hockey. I’d say facing 19 shots in lacrosse is kind of like facing 50 shots in hockey.”

SMCC athletic director Jared Janssen said Martin has been a key factor in the team’s success and that she’s an inspiration to others.

Martin monitors the puck while in net for Downriver Unified.“Chloe stands out as an excellent player with the boys and performs at a high level in both hockey and lacrosse,” he said. “She has been a leader for hockey and lacrosse, and that has led to more girls participation in both programs. Our girls lacrosse program has grown from only one girl to four this year.”

Goalie remains her favorite position.

“It’s a lot harder to be goalie than you think. You don’t expect the ball coming at you as hard and as quick as they are. You kind of get used to it. You don’t get used to getting hit, but you get used to seeing the ball and where the players are shooting from.”

The 17-year-old daughter of Alison and Nathan Martin loves mountain biking, fishing and baking. She has her sights on playing a sport in college and becoming a nurse. That stems from the time her dad got COVID and pneumonia at the same time.

“He was in the ICU for three months,” Martin said. “When that happened, I just decided I wanted to be a nurse and help people. That’s what I love doing.”

As for the bruises, Martin is getting used to them. She wears a chest plate, elbow pads, glove and mask. There are no shoulder pads in lacrosse and little other protection, especially for the legs.

After a recent game, she had a bruise the size of softball on her leg.

“It’s rough. I get a lot of bruises, but I love it,” she said. “It’s mostly on my legs. It hurts a lot, but after a few seconds it goes away. There are so many bruises I get in lacrosse. I’ve never gotten this bruised from hockey.”

Doug DonnellyDoug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Chloe Martin defends her team’s goal during a lacrosse game. (Middle) Martin, without a protective mask, which she wears for two sports. (Below) Martin monitors the puck while in net for Downriver Unified. (Action photos by Stephanie Hawkins; posed photo provided by Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.)