Hockey brings home long-awaited title

Dominic Apap ‘24

Covid-19 has impacted everyone to this point, and sports teams are no exception. When MHSAA hockey shut down in the state semifinals last season, forward Brenden Cwiek was devastated.

“There is no good way to put the utter disappointment that everyone on the 2020 team faced,” he said. “The only reason I was ‘lucky’ was because I still had another season.”

Once Cwiek realized he wouldn’t be defending CC’s 2019 championship, he began to focus on 2021. “Being prevented from playing hockey only made me want to play more.”

Almost 11 months later, CC was finally ready to get back out onto the ice. According to Cwiek, a 2-0 win against Cranbrook set the tone for the rest of the year. “It was probably the most nervous I had been for a game in a while,” he said. “But getting the first goal really solidified the feeling of ‘We are back!’”

The Shamrocks rolled through the rest of their opponents, losing only once.

When the playoffs came, though, the team learned of a positive test within the program. Luckily, Coach Brandon Kalenieki was preparing for this situation since the season started. “It was really tough to have to deliver that type of news to the guys,” he recalled. “But we also knew it was always a possibility. We tried to remind them of that throughout the season.”

Seven hours before the regional semifinals, the JV blue team was informed they would be stepping in for the regional semifinals against Berkely, a game they won 7-1.

However, their next game, the regional final against Troy, was much tighter, with CC churning out a 2-1 win.

“This stubborn mentality is what I think gave us so much confidence in our JV team. We may have been nervous watching those games from home, but that was because we knew the JV guys had all the ability to win,” said Cwiek.

Once the varsity team returned, CC won three straight games to clinch a state title, beating Rockford 5-1 in the championship. “I think our team won for not only the seniors of this year, but also the seniors that didn’t get to finish last year as well,” said junior Kaden Hemme.

According to junior goalie Nick Galda, the championship game was filled with great emotion. “It was the best feeling in the world,” he recalled. “I just remember hopping off the bench and skating to the boys and hugging Bobby.”

Galda and junior Bobby Masters competed for playing time at goalie throughout this season. “Bobby’s a really really good goalie and he really pushed me this year to bring my best every time I hit the ice whether it was a practice or game,” Galda said.

This sheds light on the program’s depth, which Coach Kaleniecki spoke about at the championship assembly. “You choose to go to CC because you want to be great, and sometimes, there’s a lot of barriers put in your way,” Coach Kaleniecki said.

Fifteen players were recognized for personal achievements this season, but Cwiek cares most about the championship.

“The state championship was the only thing on my mind when starting the season. Even if I was nominated for hockey player of the year, I wouldn’t be able to celebrate it with others like I did the state championship.”

According to Coach Kaleniecki, “Each season has different hurdles and adversity so it’s hard to say one means more than another because each one represents a group of players that went through a lot to achieve something special.

“I think this one will definitely be the most memorable though because of all the things that this team had to go through in the last year,” he added.

Even through a worldwide pandemic and a positive test in the playoffs, this year’s CC hockey team encompasses what it truly means to be a Shamrock.

The Champs parading the halls before the championship assembly

Photo by Gomez