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.”

Click for the full box score.

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.