Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot Photography
JACKSON – For most youth hockey teams, the 2023-24 hockey season is just getting underway.
For the St. Clair Shores 18U team, a state title has already been secured, and they can already start planning out their trip to 2024 USA Hockey National Championships next April.
The SCS squad beat West Michigan Varsity 6-2 Sunday afternoon in the 2023 MAHA 18U AA state championship game. It is the second season in which MAHA crowns a state champion at the 18U AA level in late October so that ‘split season’ teams could compete for a title before they disband for the upcoming high school hockey season.
Split-season play was introduced in 2014 as a joint effort by MAHA and high school hockey leaders to allow for players to compete for state and national titles at the youth level while also playing for their high school team in the MHSAA winter season. Originally, a split-season champion would be crowned in October, and the members of that team would play with their high schools before reconvening in time for the traditional March MAHA state tournament.
With the popularity in split-season play increasing, MAHA made the decision prior to the 2022-23 season to play an official state tournament in late October to crown a state champion; split-season teams could then focus solely on high school hockey at the conclusion of the tournament, and non split-season teams could continue with the rest of their MAHA season. Northern Michigan United captured the inaugural October state championship last October.
This time around, it was St. Clair Shores emerging victorious, with players assembled from a variety of nearby high school programs, including Warren De La Salle, Grosse Pointe South, Eisenhower and Romeo. They bested a West Michigan Varisty squad that was also a high school all-star team of sorts.
SCS will represent Michigan at the 2024 USA Hockey Youth Tier II 18U National Championship in Delmont, Pa., at the Palmer Imaging Arena and Pittsburgh Ice Arena.
St. Clair Shores took advantage of early penalty troubles for West Michigan, as they scored three power-play goals over the course of two and a half minutes in the middle of the opening frame.
Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot Photography
Spencer Groszkiewicz struck at the 6:56 mark of the first period, and Brenden Polek scored 12 sec0nds later to cash in a big five-on-three early opportunity. Cole Paquette stretched the lead to three two minutes later.
In the middle frame, West Michigan’s Noah Partridge scored halfway through to begin chipping away at the SCS lead. With 1:25 remaining in the second, Joshua Trendt also found the back of the net for WM, but in back-breaking fashion, SCS’s Zaccagni scored just 33 seconds later to regain a two-goal lead for his club.
Zaccagni scored again six minutes into the third period, and Gabe Russo had the icing on the cake with an empty-netter from his own end in the closing moments of the contest. Russo ended up leading the team in scoring in the title game, as he had also recorded assists on three previous goals.
Photo by Michael Caples/Take Your Shot Photography
Gavin Szalkowski of De La Salle took care of crease duties for the SCS squad in the title game; he was backed up by Maksim Johns. Szalkowski was the only netminder to pick up more than three wins in the tournament, and he finished with four ticks in the ‘W’ column.
He allowed only one goal from WM’s Partridge, who led the tournament in scoring with three goals and seven assists for 10 points in five games. Partridge was second on the Kenowa Hills high school squad in scoring with 42 points in 23 games last year.
James was the leading scorer for SCS – he finished with eight points over the five games.
Outside of the two finalist teams, William Ballantyne III of Little Caesars Farmington Hills and Wyandotte Roosevelt had an impressive seven points in three games. He was matched by Northern Michigan United and Tawas forward Gage Maxfield.
