Today in the MHSAA: 3/1/19

March 1, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first Hockey Regional champion of this week was crowned Thursday, headlining a number of key matchups on the ice, while an upset popped up from Boys Basketball Districts and most girls basketball teams finished their regular seasons – some celebrating championships as well.

1. Hockey: No. 9 Marquette downed rival Escanaba 5-0 to clinch a Division 2 Regional title – Escanaba Daily Press

2. Hockey: No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s got past No. 4 Brighton 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Girls Basketball: Southfield Arts & Technology finished a regular-season sweep of second-place Royal Oak to clinch the outright Oakland Activities Association Red title – Oakland Press

4. Girls Basketball: Ann Arbor Pioneer handed Chelsea its first loss in a crossover matchup of Southeastern Conference champions – Chelsea Sun Times News

5. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western locked up the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title with a 55-52 overtime win over Walled Lake Central – State Champs!

6. Hockey: No. 3 Livonia Stevenson got past No. 8 Plymouth 5-1 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal – Observer & Eccentric

7. Boys Basketball: Dollar Bay avenged two regular-season losses with a 70-55 Division 4 District Semifinal win over Chassell – The Upbeat

8. Girls Basketball: Freeland closed out a fourth straight Tri-Valley Conference Central title with a 44-38 win over Alma – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Girls Basketball: Sydney Shafer scored 29 points in becoming Jackson Northwest’s all-time leading scorer during a win over Lansing Waverly – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

10. Hockey: Top-ranked Hartland advanced to the Division 2 Regional Final with an 8-0 win over Saginaw Swan Valley – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Holland Calvary ran out of players and couldn’t finish its season, so those who remained went into coaching – Holland Sentinel

Today in the MHSAA: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press