What we learned from the first weekend of high school hockey
Howell got the early jump on Wednesday, but now all three Livingston County high school hockey teams have played at least once following the first busy weekend of the season.
Brighton and Hartland made their debuts, while Howell played its second game.
Hartland took a long road trip, going to Minnesota for a scrimmage on Friday before losing 4-2 against Houghton Saturday and playing to a 3-3 draw with Hancock Sunday in its annual Upper Peninsula trip.
Brighton and Howell took considerably shorter road trips Saturday, the Bulldogs winning 4-0 over Detroit Country Day in Southfield and the Highlanders improving to 2-0 with a 6-2 victory at Novi.
What have we learned so far from the early look at the county’s hockey teams?
Taking the next step
Every year, there are players who make a big statistical jump from the previous season.
Part of it is the natural progression that comes with another year of experience. Part of it is getting opportunities for increased ice time that weren’t available the previous season.
Hartland sophomore Jake Pietila showed this weekend he could be one of the players who fills some of the voids left by a strong graduating class.
Pietila scored in each of the Eagles’ games, tying the score 1-1 against Houghton with 4:54 left in the second period and giving Hartland a 3-1 lead against Hancock with 3:01 left in the second.
Pietila had seven goals and four assists in 28 games last season, with five of those goals coming in two games against Northville and Davison. Pietila had a hat trick against Northville on Jan. 4 when given extra playing time because some of the Eagles' regular players were benched.
“He was only a freshman last year,” Hartland coach Rick Gadwa said. “The one thing Jake even had last year is we call it magic on his stick. He can shoot the puck. There’s some other things he’ll have to develop within his game, but scoring is something he can do. Without him, it would’ve been a little tough this weekend. We were competitive in the games. He was a big part of that.”
Scoring their first varsity goals for Hartland over the weekend were junior Johnny Peffer against Houghton and juniors Ty Kraut and Michael Zielinski against Hancock.
Hancock battled back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, earning the tie on Brady Axford’s goal with 2:03 left in the third period. The teams played a scoreless eight-minute overtime.
Howell's production line
Everyone who follows high school hockey is aware of Brighton’s top line, anchored by senior all-staters Cam Duffany and Lane Petit.
Howell appears to have a dangerous top line of its own in Cade Katlin, Joel Eskola and Rory Sturos.
Katlin had three goals and two assists, Eskola had two goals and three assists, and Sturos had a goal and two assists against Novi. Through two games, Eskola has four goals and five assists, Katlin has three goals and six assists, and Sturos has three goals and three assists.
Eskola and Sturos scored 17 seconds apart late in the second period after Novi cut Howell’s lead to 2-1 on Teddy Donahue’s shorthanded goal. Katlin broke it open with two third-period goals.
While the top line is carrying the bulk of the load, five other players have scored a goal in the first two games.
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“We started out the season and wanted to play fast, which is fast puck movement and moving the puck up the ice quickly,” Howell coach Rocky Johnson said. “All three groups of five we used have been real good at that. It puts a lot of pressure on other teams to keep up. We were fortunate we had one group successful at putting the puck in the net, but I really like the three units we have.
“Obviously, you put skilled players together and they’ve been fortunate enough to put the puck in the net. I tell you what, I wouldn’t have other teams sleep on our other units. They’re hitting posts. When they start lighting it up a bit, we’ll be a tough team to play against.”
Another case against specialization
Young athletes and, perhaps more accurately, their parents are feeling increased pressure to specialize in one sport.
For the latest case against sports specialization, we give you Brighton senior forward Marek Alent.
Two weeks after playing in the state Division 1 soccer championship game for Brighton, Alent scored twice in his varsity debut against Country Day.
As expected, Duffany and Petit got the Bulldogs jump-started with first-period goals before Alent scored in the second and third.
“He probably surprised us a little bit with that,” Brighton coach Kurt Kivisto said. “Hopefully he can continue that momentum. The kid works hard. I expect some good contributions from him this year.
“I thought we had three lines that played well. We got contributions across the board. That was the good thing we saw.”
Alent also ran on Brighton’s state-qualifying 3,200-meter relay team during track and field season.
Levi Pennala, who happens to be an All-Livingston County golfer, made 21 saves for the shutout.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: What we learned from the first weekend of high school hockey
