Today In The MHSAA: 3/24/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 24, 2021

The final week of hockey and first week of boys basketball playoffs began Tuesday, as the first four ice rink contenders earned trips to USA Hockey Area in Division 2 Quarterfinals – with a matchup of the top two ranked teams one of the highlights of the season so far.

1. Hockey: Top-ranked Byron Center downed No. 2 Hartland 2-1 to advance to the Division 2 Semifinals – FOX 17

2. Hockey: No. 10 Trenton earned its fourth-straight trip to the Semifinals with a 3-1 win over No. 5 Novi in Division 2 – Southgate News-Herald

3. Hockey: For the second-straight season No. 6 Marquette downed No. 9 Traverse City Central in a Division 2 Quarterfinal, this time 1-0 – Up North Live

4. Hockey: No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice advanced in Division 2 with a 6-0 win over No. 8 Port Huron Northern – Oakland Press

5. Boys Basketball: Tugg Nichols’ last-second 3-pointer gave Montague another close win over Muskegon Oakridge, this time 66-63 in a Division 3 District opener – Local Sports Journal

6. Boys Basketball: After two losses to Battle Creek Lakeview over the last week, Battle Creek Central won a third matchup 44-39 in a Division 1 District opener – Battle Creek Enquirer

7. Boys Basketball: Brennan Parachek’s 3-pointer at the buzzer took Dexter past Brighton 52-49 in Division 1 – Chelsea Sun Times News

8. Boys Basketball: Bronson got past White Pigeon 57-54 in overtime in Division 3 – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Boys Basketball: Cass City also won in overtime in Division 3, 48-43 over Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker – Huron Daily Tribune

10. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central scored during the final seconds to get past Rockford 52-51 in Division 1 – FOX 17

Today in the MHSAA: 2/11/21

February 11, 2021

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

More contenders earned trips Wednesday to this month’s Ski Finals, while some of hockey’s best started their seasons as teams took to the ice across both peninsulas.

1. Skiing: The Traverse City Central girls and Traverse City West boys won Division 1 Regional championships – MI Sports Now

2. Boys Basketball: Grand Rapids Catholic Central banked a last-second 3-pointer to get past South Christian 58-56 – Grand Rapids Press

3. Hockey: Flint Powers Catholic avenged last season’s playoff loss with a 2-1 season-opening win over Midland Dow – Mid-Michigan Now

4. Girls Basketball: Plainwell earned a 35-32 overtime win over Three Rivers, which finished 21-3 last season – JoeInsider.com

5. Hockey: Livonia Stevenson opened with a 4-0 win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Boys Basketball: Kalamazoo Christian won the 130th meeting with rival Hackett 51-45 – Kalamazoo Gazette

7. Hockey: South Lyon Unified scored first, but Saline pulled away with a 5-2 win – Saline Post

8. Boys Basketball: Otsego ran its Wolverine Conference winning streak to 43 with a 63-45 victory over Sturgis – Kalamazoo Gazette

9. Hockey: Kaleb Miller scored the game’s lone goal in overtime as Traverse Bay Reps got past Big Rapids 1-0 – Up North Live

10. Hockey: Murphy Kehoe had a hat trick as Traverse City West downed Petoskey – MI Sports Now

Also of note …

Wrestling: Comstock Park is mourning the death of longtime coach Jim Olson – Grand Rapids Press