MAHA State Tournaments
April 11, 2011 Volume 21 : Issue 20
Ironwood completes undefeated season with Squirt B state title BY JAY SIMON
In this day of social media and instant communication, it’s difficult to say which is the more impressive feat: an undefeated record, or keeping the undefeated record from being discussed. Well, there is no reason to keep it a secret now. The Ironwood Polar Bears capped a perfect 42-0 season by taking the MAHA Squirt B state title with a 5-1 win over the Cadillac Vikings on March 20 at the Wexford Civic Center in Cadillac. Caleb Baxter broke a 1-1 tie just 14 seconds into the third period off an assist from Brett Heil, and Tyler Morrison notched a hat trick as the Polar Bears used a four-goal barrage to finish the game. “We’re a third-period team,� Ironwood head coach Scott Kellett said. During the season, as the wins piled up, Kellett said he put a moratorium on discussing the Polar Bears’ undefeated mark, whether on Facebook or other sites where parents congregated. After the championship game win, though, Ironwood fans serenaded the players with chants of “42 and 0!� “I’ve been telling these kids, ‘You’re a good team, but you have to work to be a great team,� said Scott Kellett. “This (title) is all about the kids’ work ethic.� Early in the final game it was all about the goaltenders, the Polar Bears’Matthew Clemens and the Vikings Zakk Izzard, who made some terrific stops. The Vikings killed a power play chance midway through the first period, but the high-scoring Ironwood attack got on the scoreboard first moments later on an Ethan Roehm goal, assisted by Morrison and Nathan Garnell. Cadillac, though, responded less than a minute later as Hayden Watkins finished an Allan Scheurer feed to tie it, 1-1, which is how the first period ended. Neither team could find the back of the net in the second period, as both goaltenders stopped several good scoring opportunities. In the third, though, the floodgates opened. Baxter’s goal gave Ironwood the lead before Morrison found the top shelf off an assist from Heil. Morrison iced the contest by securing his hat trick, redirecting a Roehm shot from the blue line past Izzard with just under seven minutes remaining, then scoring again from the slot off a Garnell assist with five minutes to go.
Despite the loss, Cadillac head coach Jeff Izzard was pleased with the way his kids improved over the season. “We had a good group of second year players who started the season carrying us while our first years got going,� he said. “I can’t say enough about the way they grew over the season. “I’m very happy with the way our kids played,� he added. “To look back at the start of the season, I never imagined we’d be here.�
SQUIRT B NOTEBOOK Ironwood blanked Holland, 4-0, in the first semifinal. Tyler Morrison scored twice, Hanna Koivisto notched a powerplay goal, while Sydnee Lorenson assisted on an Ethan Roehm goal ... In the second semifinal, Cadillac came back from two goals down to top Tawas, 4-3. Jacob Cook scored twice, and David Carpenter and Brendan Phillips picked up single goals in the win. Scottie Ulman scored twice and Gavin Evans had the other goal for Tawas‌ Cadillac opened round-robin play with a 2-1 win over St. Clair Shores. Phillips and Allan Scheurer each scored for the Vikings, and Salvatore Sieracki scored for the Longhorns ... Westland’s Donovan Vesey scored twice and notched an assist in the Blazer’s 4-3 win over Livonia. Brenden Preiss lit the lamp twice for the Bruins ... Zachary Stevens, Caleb Van Heest and Ben Gawlik all scored as Holland topped Saginaw, 3-1. Ty Ditmar scored for Saginaw‌ Tawas got two goals from Mason Buresh, a goal and assist from Scottie Ulman and a single goal from Brandon Plawicki in a 7-4 loss to Ironwood. Morrison had a hat trick and Baxter scored four goals in the Polar Bears win... Cook notched his own hat trick for Cadillac as the Vikings beat Saginaw, 6-1. Rebecca Alfano scored for Saginaw ... St. Clair Shores’ Eric Satterlund and Alex McEnroe picked up goals in a 2-2 tie with Holland . Pawlik scored twice for Holland... Tawas came from behind to beat Westland, 4-3, on goals from Ullman (2), Gabe Martin and Mason Burush. Westland goals came from Gabe Sellers, Joey Burton and Jack Mortson. St. Clair Shores got a hat trick from Eric Satterlund in a 4-0 whitewash of Saginaw‌ Jacob Cook scored for Cadillac and Kyle Eveland scored for Holland in a 1-1 tie ... Tawas beat Livonia 9-6 behind a hat trick from Mason Burush. Brandon Priess scored four goals and Adam Sinclair added two in the Bruins loss‌ Ironwood topped Westland 7-1 to close out round robin play.
Hockey Player Hometown Age Height Weight Team Position Coach School Grade Favorite Team Favorite Player
Kyle Fugedi
Hockey Player Hometown Age Height Weight Team Position Coach School Grade Favorite Team Favorite Player
Zachary Fortress
Livonia 8 4'8" 80 lbs Livonia Predators F/D Tim Kielb Grant Elementary 2nd Ottawa Senators Steve Yzerman
Shelby Twp. 10 4' 8" 76 lbs Rochester Rattlers RW Derek Burkhart Morgan Elementary 4th Red Wings Steve Yzerman
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