Week 13
Week 12 Recap (#36 Adrian College)
The 2024-2025 season continued this past weekend as the Golden Grizzlies took to the ice against MCHC-East rival #36 Adrian College. Coach Stirling and his staff were 6-2-2 coming into the weekend all-time against Adrian. With the second semester starting, the first ranking period came out on Friday the 24th with the Golden Grizzlies falling to the #4 spot in the National Tournament picture.
In the Friday night contest, the Grizzlies were back in action with a game at the Grizzlies’ second home in Birmingham Ice Arena. The Grizzlies had three first-period goals that started the offensive outburst for the game. Adrian would match the Grizzlies in the second period with two goals apiece. The Grizzlies would take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission. In the final frame, the Grizzlies scored five times and completed the contest with a final score of 10-2. Scoring in the game for the Grizzlies were the following goal scorers, Jules Sainte-Marie (x2), Brendan Danou (x2), Jack Abbo (x3), Grant Dickinson, Connor Crawford and Austin Fertik. In goal, Tate Potteiger made 25 saves on the 27 shots for his 9th win of the season. For Adrian, Rex Goldberg was in the net where he made 61 of 71 saves.
In the weekend’s second game, the Grizzlies traveled to Arrington Ice Arena on Adrian’s campus for the Sunday afternoon battle. The Grizzlies would open the scoring in the first with a 1-0 lead off the shot of Jules Sainte-Marie that would carry them to the first intermission. The Bulldogs would not go away as they were able to score the next goal early in the second period which matched a goal by Brendan Danou late in the second period. The Grizzlies would carry a 2-1 lead into the third period where the Grizzlies would open the door with four goals in the final frame to win 6-1. Scoring in the third period were Jake McCatty, Ryan Kotchi, Grant Dickinson, and Danou. Returning in goal for the Grizzlies was goalie Evan Hays who made 22 of 23 saves in the contest. Hays improved to 5-1-0 on the season and has a team-leading 1.90 GAA.
After 12 weeks of play (record of 17-2-1-1), the team highlights are below:
Leading in Goals: Brendan Danou (28)
Leading in Assists: Brendan Danou (28)
Leading in Points: Brendan Danou (56)
Team Powerplay: 23 of 76 (30.26%)
Team Penalty Kill %: 67 of 78 (85.90%)
Leader in Wins: Tate Potteiger (9)
Leader in GAA (at least 200 minutes played): Evan Hays (1.90)
Leader in Save % (at least 200 minutes played): Caleb Godlewski (93.2%)
Week 13 Preview (#11 University of Michigan (11-5-0-0))
The #4 ranked Golden Grizzlies continue their 2024-2025 season this coming weekend with the MCHC-East Rival University of Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines enter the weekend with a record of 11-5-0 over the season so far with wins against U of M – Flint in the weekend prior. The Wolverines are led by head coach Cal Stripling and currently sit 3rd in the MCHC-East standings. Coach Stirling and his staff are a troubling 2-9-1 against the Wolverines all-time. In the prior season, Oakland won the series by scores of 5-4 (OT) and 6-5. These wins were late in the season when both teams were vying for a National Tournament spot.
Looking at the Wolverines, the Wolverines tend to play a lower-scoring and cleaner style of hockey than most in the MCHC. In other action this season, Michigan has wins against like opponents Michigan State, Miami of Ohio, Adrian, and U of M – Flint. The Wolverines’ losses include games against Notre Dame, Hope, and LTU. Michigan currently sits 3rd in the MCHC-East standings.
The Wolverines are led by forwards #14 Connor Chi (Pittsburgh, PA), #9 James Newton (Dexter, MI), and #12 Daniel Sullivan (Westwood, MA) who are all above one point per game this season. Chi leads Michigan with 31 points in the 16 games played so far this season. Returning forward Thomas Shea was added at the break and has 6 points in the first four games. In the net for Michigan has been the tandem of Anthony Remick and Aaron Loch who have split time throughout the season. The two have combined for the following stat lines:
- #31 Anthony Remick GP: 7, Record of 4-2-1, GAA: 3.00, 420 minutes played
- #35 Aaron Loch GP: 7, Record of 5-2-0, GAA: 3.39, 425 minutes played
As many teams do during the semester break, the Wolverines appear to have added forward Tommy Shea and Kyle Kahan to the second-half roster.
Other News and Notes:
The fifth ranking period of the season was announced last Friday via social media and the ACHA website. The Golden Grizzlies moved down two spots in the National Rankings and claimed the 4th spot in Ranking #5. Rankings #6 will be announced on February 7th with everything played through February 2nd and will include the Adrian and Michigan games. The rankings will continue throughout the season on a bi-weekly basis until the final ranking period on March 7th. The top 16 teams with some automatic bids for league winners will make the tournament which is hosted in St. Louis this season. This is the highest the team has been ranked in the fifth ranking period since the 2016-2017 season.
Out-of-Town Schedule for Week 13 Relevant Games (Rankings from Ranking #5)
#1 Hope vs #6 GVSU
#11 Michigan vs #3 LTU (Sunday)
#40 Wisconsin vs #5 Notre Dame
#49 Indiana vs #16 Purdue (Sunday)
#26 Northern Arizona vs #15 Arizona State University
#24 Miami vs #21 FGCU
#36 Adrian vs #42 U of M – Flint (MCHC-East Games)
MCHC – East Standings (As of 1/28/2025)
1 | Oakland (6-0-0-0) | 12 |
2 | LTU (5-0-0-0) | 10 |
3 | Michigan (4-1-0-0) | 8 |
4 | CMU (3-5-0-0) | 6 |
5 | Adrian (1-7-0-0) | 2 |
6 | U of M – Flint (0-5-1-0) | 1 |
Please visit our website https://oaklandhockeyd3.acha.hockeytech.com for more information about game times, stats, and more.