The Varsity Hockey team played host to the Flint area Genesee United Generals on Saturday. Lakeland dominated the scoreboard. Goalie Paul Baker showed his offensive prowess earning two assists in the 10-2 Lakeland win. Coach Ronayne: “Paul was floating good clearing passes today. He opened up a new dimension for us. Our guys were firing on all cylinders and spread the scoring out.” Scoring for the game: Luke Weinberger 2 goals and 3 assists. Brennan Grant 1 goal 2 assists. Caleb Kish 1 assist. Regan Voorhies 1 goal. Brendan Day 3 assists. Timmy Hinkle 2 goals (yes 2 goals) 1 assist. Joel Slicker 1 goal. Austin Scanlon 2 goals 1 assist. Mitchell Beller 1 assist. Robby Lewis 3 assists. Ryan Danielson 1 goal 2 assists. Joe Sesi 1 assist. Paul Baker 2 assists. Lakeland closes out LVC league play against SLU on Wednesday night at the KV ice house. 8 pm.

The Varsity Hockey team hosted the Howell Highlanders this past Wednesday night.  Coach Ronayne: "I say it every year.  Howell represents the best of Michigan high school hockey.  They play a brutal schedule against top 10 teams all season and all they do is line up and come at you with everything they have." The Eagles were searching for their 20th regular season win after a tough game just 24 hours earlier vs WLP.   Little did the LHS faithful know they were in store for an Instant Eagles Classic.   Captain Luke Weinberger kicked off the scoring just a minute into the game with what can only be described as a dizzying goal.  The play started deep in Lakeland's end when Timmy Hinkle rounded the puck to Brennan Grant.  Grant put the puck in front of Weinberger who drove the net, tossed aside two defenders and put the puck over a surprised Howell goaltender.   Howell came right back to tie it 1-1.   Weinberger somehow outdid his first goal to regain the lead when Joe Sesi stole a puck north of the blue line and sent it his way.  Weinberger slalomed through four Highlanders and the goalie to tuck the puck in nice and snug while the crowd slowly realized he had just scored. 2-1 after one.   The Eagles uncharacteristically hit a bump in the road and let in three goals in two minutes to go down 4-1.  But senior captain Jason Slicker was in net and quit isn't in his DNA.  (Fun Eagles fact:  Slicker doesn't utter words beginning with Q on game days which have made for awkward pop quizzes.)  Regan Voorhies brought LHS within one with a smart play off an offensive zone face off.  RV tipped the puck past his Howell counterpart, walked around him and blew the puck high glove side.  4-3 Highlanders after two.   Coach McElwee on the 2nd period: "Playing Howell is like attack of the clones.  Every player can skate, shoot and hit like they're handed a stick before they can walk.  You make one mistake and it's a goal for them.  We made three mistakes."   The third period brings us back to Berger time.  Heading into the 3rd,  #11 had half a dozen breakaways on resulting in two goals.  The Howell goaltender had since frustrated Weinberger.  The play went like this: Grant found himself with the puck at the Eagles' blue line and nine-ironed a pass to Weinberger.  Weinberger caught the puck in his right hand, dropped it to the ice and split the Howell blue-liners right down the middle.  Faking left but going back to his forehand he shoveled the tying goal past a diving tender. 4-4 into the last minute of play.    I withheld an important fact.  Head Coach Tim Ronayne is in his 15th(!) season of coaching LHS varsity hockey.  His teams are winless against hockey juggernaut Howell High.   [Pause here for dramatic effect]   With a scant 40 seconds to go junior D Brendan Day zipped a pass to Grant who was already on the go.   Grant walked the puck down the left side of the ice and snapped the go-ahead goal across the Howell netminder.  Both teams scrambled madly for the last 30 seconds but the tying goal wasn't in the stars tonight.  5-4 Eagles final.   20 and 2 Lakeland meets Genesee United (Davison) on Saturday for a 2 pm LIA matinee.   Photo credit: Ainsley Altermatt

Catching up on some hockey team results: The Eagles visited the Walled Lake Western/Pinckney united varsity hockey team last Tuesday night down at the KV Ice House in Brighton. The Eagles lugged their 6-0 league record (18-2 overall) along for the ride. WLP was looking for some payback after losing to the Eagles 6-2 in December. After a last minute jersey switch out of their visiting light gray sweaters to their not-as-light gray 3rd jerseys the linesman dropped the puck and off they went. The Eagles had some trouble getting off the ground in the first period. But junior Paul Baker held the WLP attack to a single goal in as much of the play was in front of him. 1-0 WLP after one. Lakeland found its footing in the second netting two goals, the first coming off a clean face of win by senior captain Regan Voorhies directly back to senior D Mason Shaw. Shaw clubbed a shot on net and the puck fell to Barky-on-the-spot Ben Barckholtz who easily flipped the puck in. Later in the period, senior Luke Weinberger scored to give Lakeland the lead (assists to Brennan Grant and Brendan Day). 2-1 after two. Scoring opened up for the Eagles in the 3rd. Sophomore Ryan Danielson scored a beauty when freshman Austin Scanlon (from Robby Lewis) made a perfect pass to the streaking Danielson who buried it up high hushing the boisterous WLP student section. Later in the period, senior Mitchell Beller dangled his way through a few reaching defenders to bury the puck over the WLP goalies other shoulder (assists to Barckholtz and Joe Miller). Finally Weinberger got his second of the night (Grant). 5-2 final. Coach Ronayne on the win: "WLP came out storming for the first half of the game but we weathered it thanks to Baker. Shots were even so goaltending and team defense again was the difference. Also nice to get scoring from 11 different players. Our depth helps us in tough games."

Saturday, the Varsity Hockey team came home to roost after two big road wins last week, welcoming the Walled Lake Northern Knights in the annual Clash for a Cause cancer benefit game supporting the Rainbow Connection. The Eagles donned bright golden jerseys for the game while the Knights wore white and black patterned sweaters. Lakeland split the season series 1-1 last year and were looking for the sweep, while Northern had their sights on breaking up LHS' perfect 15-0 record. The puck dropped shortly after 6:15 pm and the game took off to a thumping start. Both teams traded chances throughout the first period but it was junior Robby Lewis who inked the first goal of the night when he redirected senior Caleb Kish's wrist shot over the left shoulder of Knight goalie Tristan Ortner. Two minutes later Eagles Timmy Hinkle and Mitchell Beller won a down low battle for the puck, centered to a waiting Luke Weinberger who bunted it 20 feet into the air over Ortner and into the net. Northern had a few chances in the period but senior Jason Slicker kept WLN off of the board. 2-0 after one. Lakeland began the period killing a penalty (Hinkle 2 minutes for leaning). Slicker was active on the PK and Weinberger and Austin Scanlon ate the puck along the Lakeland student section long enough to ask for seconds as different Knights tagged in and out of the battle. Once back to full strength, Hinkle made a heads-up play to tap the puck to junior D Brendan Day. D-Day snapped the puck to the net and it was Weinberger again finishing the play and beating Ortner on his left. 3-0 after two. The Knights refused to tighten the reins in the third period as the Eagles moved to lock down the game. Slicker made several point blank saves due to sloppy defense as he worked towards a shutout. Finally with four minutes to go, the WHA line of Weinberger, Hinkle, and Scanlon line wore down the defense with a nifty Scanlon to Hinkle to Weinberger play that we've seen so many times this season. Slicker came into the game with a ridiculously low 1.49 goals against average and earned his first shutout of the season turning back all 25 WLN shots. 4-0 final score. Coach Ronayne: "Between the 2nd and 3rd period we talked about how fortunate we are to have not one but two all-state caliber goalies. Jason was on his game tonight and we were happy he got the shutout. Northern has one of the best offensive talents in the league in (Andrew) Evans and to hold him off the board speaks volumes of Jason and our D corps. Weinberger with the hat trick and Hinkle with three assists. A good night." The teams brought in $4,500 in donations to benefit the Rainbow Connection and each player honored a friend or family member impacted by cancer. The Eagles go to the annual Chelsea Showcase to put their 16-0 record on the line next week facing the Portage Muskies on Thursday and #10 Marquette on Friday afternoon.

Wednesday, the Varsity Hockey team defeated a top-10 opponent, 2-1, to remain unbeaten for the season. See recap below...and remember, tonight is the Clash for a Cause game at LIA. Lakeland @ Flint Powers 2023-01-18 Thanks to a scheduling gaffe the Eagles picked up a game against top 10 team Flint Powers. Coming off a big win the night before against Novi the 14-0 Eagles headed up I-75 to see what they had left in the tank. Coach Tim Ronayne: "Powers is a great program and we're fortunate they had an opening for us. We want to play top teams and #6 overall in the state? What more can we ask for?" What more? Certainly not a better start from Junior goalie Paul Baker as the Chargers stormed out of the gate in the first several minutes. Lakeland found their footing and had half a dozen solid scoring chances of their own in the period. Neither goalie blinked. 0-0 after one. The second period picked up where the first left off. Play was up and down the ice with both teams trading chances. Lakeland was put at a one man disadvantage. One minute into the PK Junior Elliot Smith intercepted a bouncing puck and laced a perfect pass to Luke Weinberger. Weinberger walked in alone on the Powers' goal tender, faked to his backhand causing the goalie to slowly tip over before pulling the puck to his forehand to tuck it in past the left skate for the shorty. Powers responded on their next powerplay with a neat play off of the faceoff to beat Baker from the top of the left circle. 1-1 after two. Coach McElwee: "The last few minutes of the 2nd felt like we lost our focus defensively. If you stand around watching a team like Flint then you might was well be wearing snowshoes. But the team had played good aggressive D up until then and they dialed it back in for the third period." Lakeland would score the only goal of the third period when Weinberger, Timmy Hinkle and Austin Scanlon connected for a goal-scorers tally. Weinberger made a badger-like carry to gain the zone. The puck bounced over to Hinkle on the high left side. Again it was Scanlon circling into the right spot and redirecting Hinkle's shot into the net. The Eagles withstood a furious onslaught for the last 10 minutes of the game capped off by an outstanding 6 on 5 effort by the Weinberger line. Hinkle and Scanlon picked off several passes in the neutral zone including an empty net backhand that missed by inches. 2-1 Eagles final score. Coach Ronayne: "That was a complete game by our guys. Defensively the forwards took ownership and the D and goaltending keeps getting better with every game. A team win. Everybody contributed." Paul Baker was stellar in net turning back 32 of 33 shots. Baker is currently ranked second overall in the state with a .944 save percentage.

Earlier this week, the Varsity Hockey team traveled some 20 minutes south for a friendly game with the Novi High Wildcats (what team? Wildcats!). Novi's KLAA schedule is a demanding one with losses to top 10 teams Brighton, Hartland, Livonia Stevenson along with a non-league game vs undefeated Houghton. So it goes without saying the 'Cats were not intimidated by LHS' 13-0 record. Coach Ronayne: "Novi is a stout team with tough opponents. This game is a real test and we hope the boys did their homework." Just two minutes after puck drop, junior Brennan Grant carried the puck along the near boards faking his shot then letting it go to beat the Novi goaltender Andre Morais (assist to #7 Elliot Smith). Three minutes later Grant's line teamed up for their second goal when Grant and Ryan Danielson battled two Novi defenders near their bench. Danielson came out with the puck, handed off to Grant who found Robby Lewis in the left slot. Lewis used a Novi D as screen and wristed the puck past Morais. Novi would pull within one after a noble end to end effort by #15 Charlie Lewinski. 2-1 after one. Coach McElwee on #15 for Novi: "15 went through us like we were counter butter. He's big, strong and fast. Containing him was a priority." The second period brought two more goals to the Eagles bounty. Senior Mitchell Beller let a slapper go from just inside the blue line. The puck found its way under Morais' blocker (assist to Brendan Day) to stretch the lead to two. Four minutes later the Eagles had sustained pressure in Novi's zone. Sophomore Joe Sesi ripped a puck low to net while fellow sophomore Joel Slicker lurked uncovered at the net to bang home a big fourth goal. A noise complaint was called in to the Novi township offices the next day due to Sesi's post-goal exuberance. 4-1 after two. Novi would swap goalies (Henri Lettman) and pull back within two in the third when Lewinski was handed a gift wrapped puck in the high slot beating a surprised senior goalie Jason Slicker. The Eagles took a couple of penalties and gave Novi a one minute 5-3 advantage but PK held their ground and more. Junior Timmy Hinkle stole their thunder and the puck to go in alone on Lettman. Lettman made the initial save on Hinkle but he picked up his own rebound and found freshman Austin Scanlon maneuvering his way into the slot for his LVC best 26th assist. Scanlon neatly buried the puck and concluded the scoring for the night. 5-2 final. Shots were even at 36 apiece but Slicker made three more saves than the Wildcat duo. Coach Matt Busterna on the big win: "We've had some good practices lately and have not seen the same effort in games. They flipped the switch tonight and put in the same effort we see at practice."

The Varsity Hockey team celebrated its nine senior Eagles on Saturday night at the LIA. At stake: a perfect record and two points vs LVC league opponent Lakes Area United. Coach Ronayne tees up the game for us: "Lakes Area is a goalie factory. Also their team improves as the season progresses. They went the distance with Milford last week and we know they'll be looking to knock us off our streak." Coach proved to be spot-on as Lakes goalie Tyler Long turned back all 18 LHS shots in the first period. Senior Jason Slicker faced six shots to leave the score 0-0 after one. In the second period the Eagles scored their first goal of the night around the ten minute mark when junior Timmy Hinkle and freshman Austin Scanlon sandwiched a Lakes Area defender on the right hashmark. Hinkle came up with the puck and shoveled it to Luke Weinberger as all three line-mates spread out in a flying V towards the net. Weinberger took the puck and the goalie wide right and moved the puck to Scanlon who canned it home. Lakes Area didn't think much of the goal and just 20 seconds later sprung a 3 on 1 to beat Slicker high glove side. 1-1 after two. The third period was scoreless. Lakeland hit some iron, some glass and some Long but left the back of the net undisturbed. The Eagles were headed to an eight minute OT for the second time this season. On just the second shift of OT junior Brennan Grant won the faceoff deep in Lakeland's zone. He retrieved the puck on his own and carried the puck to the blue line before handing it off to senior Mitchell "Mike" Beller. Beller fed sophomore Ryan Danielson on the left side who took it along the boards and ripped an NHL worthy shot high on Long's far side - the puck glanced off his shoulder and into the net for the 2-1 Eagle's OT win. The Eagles tested Long with 50 shots while Slicker turned back 19 of 20 shots. Notable - both Slicker and junior goalie Paul Baker rank in the top 10 in the state in both Save Percentage and Goals Against Average. Coach Ronayne on the win: "We have a lot of offensive weapons. Ryan's line has about 20 goals so far this season and delivered a big one tonight. Danielson has four goals in the last four games and we're expecting that to continue. Slicker was steady in net and we know goaltending is a huge part of our success. Keeping Lakes to just one goal was key to the win." Next up Novi @ Novi on Tuesday night 7:45 PM.

The Varsity Hockey team hosted a young Troy United team on Wednesday night at the LIA. Lakeland posted 10 unanswered goals in the first two periods, resulting in a 10-0 mercy win. Goals and assists: Austin Scanlon two goals and one assist. Brennan Grant had a four point night with two goals and two assists. Linemate Ryan "Wheels" Danielson scored two of his own. Captains Regan Voorhies and Luke Weinberger each notched a goal and two assists. Sophomore Joel Slicker scored two goals in the third and rounding out the assists were Elliot Smith, Joe Sesi, and Timmy Hinkle. Eagles' goalie Paul Baker turned back all shots for his second donut of the year. Coach Ronayne: "Troy is a young team and have had some losses this season. Their coaches and players are doing what needs to be done to keep their program alive. They never gave up and showed a lot of character." Join the Eagles in honoring the 2023 Seniors on Saturday (1/14) evening at the LIA when they host Lakes Area United.

Hockey team moves to 11-0 with 3-2 win over Royal Oak. Lakeland vs M-1 United Griffins 2023-01-04 Lakeland varsity hockey went back to work on last Wednesday night hosting the M-1 Griffins. The Griffs were looking to spoil Lakeland's perfect unbeaten and untied record - and they've played the spoiler role before. Rewind the clock to 2020 when the Eagles took their unbeaten squad to Royal Oak and were unceremoniously sent packing in an 0-2 loss. Ruffled Eagle feathers indeed. Senior goalie Jason Slicker was on the team in '20 and recalled the stinging loss "Yeah they were hollering at us in the parking lot after the game." Back to the present – both teams started tentatively and the first period ended scoreless 0-0. Slicker turned back six shots to the Eagle’s eleven. In the second period, senior captain Regan Voorhies surprised the Griffins with a shot directly from the face-off circle to the left of the M-1 net. Voorhies snapped the puck fresh from the referee's hand and banked it off an M-1 defender's leg into the net. After a quick consultation the officials called good-goal in spite of Voorhies not calling backboard. Later in the period Voorhies relentlessly hounded the half-eagle/half-lion defenders eventually winning the puck and finding junior Brennan Grant for a casual one timer. Grant’s seventh goal of the season left the score 2-0 after two. With 10 minutes remaining in the third period M-1 got on the board thanks to some careless Eagles 4 on 4 play. Lakeland's leading goal scorer Luke Weinberger pumped some air back in to a two goal cushion just three minutes later when he blocked a Griffin shot, burst down the ice and fired the puck low blocker side. The Griff's dialed up the drama scoring again with under two minutes to play thanks to a 6 on 4 empty net advantage. The Eagles’ PK held fast for a final 3-2 score. Coach Ronayne on the 11th win of the perfect season: "We've learned there is no such thing as an easy win for us. But bottom line is we found a way to win again. RV (Voorhies) had a couple of points and Luke willed yet another game winner past their goalie. Goaltending is a core strength for us and Jason made one more save than their guy for the win.". Next up the Eagles host Troy United Wednesday January 11th at 7:20 pm.

Last Saturday, the Eagles awoke with an 8-0 record in blustery Mackinac City ready to take on a hearty Hamilton Inn breakfast followed by a late morning brunch with the Kzoo Eagles. The team had a look at Kalamazoo the on Friday when Walled Lake Northern beat them 2-0. Coach McElwee: "They looked like a hard skating team with a goalie that sees the puck well. Just the kind of team that we have not been putting away. So we gave the team a second challenge for the weekend. If we get up on them early then don't let them back off the mat." Lakeland's line of Luke Weinberger, Timmy Hinkle and Austin Scanlon heeded the call combining for five of the Eagles' seven goals. Weinberger netted four goals, Scanlon one and Hinkle assisting on all five goals. All three players had five points with Weinberger scoring a natural hattie in the third period. Junior Brennan Grant notched a couple of goals as well, Brendan Day and Robby Lewis with assists. Goalie Jason Slicker stopped 12 of 13 shots. Final score 7-1 Lakeland. Coach Ronayne on the win: "It was nice to win one decisively. The kids strayed from our game plan in the second period but got back on track and put the game away. Kalamazoo never quit but we put the pedal down and the goals went in for us."

Last Friday night found the Eagles in chilly Cheboygan to take on the hometown Chiefs. Cheboygan knocked off the Eagles in 2021 and the team was looking to set things right. Coach Ronayne: "It is a pleasure to head north and experience the small town hockey atmosphere. The city really supports their high school hockey and coach (Craig) Coxe rolls out the welcome mat every year for us. It's a big deal for us to be guests at their annual showcase." Maybe it was the long bus ride or perhaps the blaring 80's rock between face-offs, whatever the reason the Eagles came out of the gate slow and sputtering. Junior goalie Paul 'Mullet' Baker turned back all shots in the first while his Cheboygan counterpart Chaston Rose did the same. 0-0 after one. In the second the teams couldn't break either goalies' egg until the Eagles' powerplay hit pay dirt. Junior Luke Weinberger put the Eagles on board - cramming a rebound home off of a Timmy Hinkle point shot. Junior Brennan Grant also assisted. 1-0 after two. Coach Ronayne broke out his bag of tricks and shook up the lines in attempt to spark more offense. It worked in the third when Weinberger scored again this time thanks to a long pass from Hinkle to freshman Austin Scanlon. Scanlon collected the puck, circled the net and flipped a shot into Rose's pads. Weinberger caught three Chiefs looking for the puck before finding it himself and beating Rose just off the post. Lakeland wasn't content with their two goal lead and had to kill a late penalty to seal the game. Cheboygan pulled their goalie to the bench and put on an extra attacker. Hinkle countered the pressure, won the puck in Lakeland's end and head manned it to Weinberger who bounced it back to Hinkle. Hinkle took a look at the open net and in a most unselfish manner passed to Weinberger to complete his hat trick. Hinkle would garner three assists for the night and leads the team in apples for the season. Baker won the first shutout of the season. Coach McElwee on the team defense: "Before the first we challenged the boys to get donut for Paul. Both Paul and Slicker have held up their share of the load to keep us undefeated so it was nice to get a shutout for Paul." Final score 3-0 (Empty netter).

Lakeland Varsity Hockey vs SLU recap: LHS 5, SLU 2 The Eagles took the LIA ice on Wednesday (12/14) vs South Lyon Unified. Lakeland and SLU have battled for LVC champ bragging rights since the birth of the league in 2017 with South Lyon earning the first three titles and Lakeland winning the past two seasons. Lakeland put the scoreboard to work in the first minute of the game thanks to a blistering snap shot by freshman Austin Scanlon (assists to seniors Joe Miller and Timmy Hinkle). Senior captain Regan Voorhies put the Eagles ahead later in the first on a nice outlet pass again from Miller via Reid Sutherland. 2-1 after one. SLU tied the game in the second in spite of a large Lakeland shot advantage. Miller wasn’t done assisting on the third goal of the night and second for Voorhies who took Miller's pass to the SLU slot and shot left while moving right. The balance of the game was spent in the South Lyon end as Lakeland nursed their one goal lead. Brennan Grant (Luke Weinberger) finally ripped off the bandage to put the Eagles up by two. Sutherland and Scanlon each got their second points of the night when Scanlon found Sutherland at the point and he found the net thanks to a heavy snap shot. Final score 5-2 Lakeland. Coach Ronayne on the league win: "Every league game is important especially vs. SLU. We outshot South Lyon but didn't put the game away until much later. And we gave up too many scoring chances. We need to be better."

Last Saturday, the Hockey team hosted Milford. The LIA was packed to the rafters with the biggest crowd in years. Lakeland Coach Matt Busterna observed: “It’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen in years.” The pulsing student section was bolstered by numerous Lakeland and Milford alumni and family. Everyone expected a classic and the teams were poised to deliver like Amazon on Christmas Eve. Spectators not on the edge of their seat were politely asked to leave the arena. At stake: the vaunted Matt Langley Memorial trophy*. The Mavericks came out roaring, putting the Eagles on their heels forcing junior goalie Paul Baker into hero mode early on as he turned back a dozen shots. The teams traded scoring chances throughout the first but only managed to dial up the tension in the building to ‘night before the SAT’ levels. 0-0 after one. In the second Lakeland beat a path to the penalty box for much of the period. Not to be outdone, Milford took a five minute major on senior Robby Lewis’ helmet. Emotions were on the rise while the game clock ticked on. The Mavericks’ PK unit was up to the challenge and killed off Lakeland’s entire man advantage. Finally with 1:25 to go in the 2nd the line of Brennan Grant, Luke Weinberger and Ryan Danielson tip-tapped the puck to each other as they entered the Milford zone. When the music stopped Grant found the puck on his stick and he fired it low, beating Junior Cooper Langley as Danielson and Weinberger drove the net. The Lakeland student body erupted led by Blue Crew captain Chey Whitney who best summarized the home crowd’s relief at Lakeland getting on the board: “GYYAHHHHHHH!!!!!”. 1-0 after two. Lakeland stingily held on to the 1-0 lead. Pucks were sent deep into Milford territory as the Eagles buttoned up their defense. A quick Google search tells us one component of a Classic Game is that both teams must score. And the Mavs did just that taking advantage of a mishandled puck to walk in on Baker alone to tie the match. Scroll further into the search results and you’ll find the second component of a Classic is overtime heroics. 1-1 after three. Please read on. The Eagles found their stride in the extra period putting 12 shots in Langley’s direction with Baker facing none. As it turned out the baker’s dozen(th) shot provided the winning goal. Facing forecheck pressure deep in the LHS zone, junior Brendan Day blew a tire as he cleared the puck to junior Elliot Smith. Smith made a risky gum-swallowing mid-ice pass that was eventually picked up by Day who had found his footing. Day gained the offensive zone and smartly centered the puck. It fell again to the Grant Danielson Weinberger line as Danielson picked up the puck in the high slot and sent it to the crease where Grant made the play of the game to find Luke Weinberger ready and willing to slam the puck home. 2-1 final. Coach Tim Ronayne: “One word – Milford. Toss everything out the window. This game is played on emotion, talent and hard work. Coach (Dennis) Gagnon always has his team prepared and stoked for battle. Both goalies played lights out hockey. We had a season high seven penalties but the bottom line is we won. There is a ton of respect between our programs and win or lose it’s special because both teams leave it all out on the ice.” *Matt Langley is a former Lakeland Eagle Varsity hockey player who we lost at a very young age to undiagnosed cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart). The trophy is a symbol of the Matt Langley Foundation which has partnered with Beaumont Student Heart Check program to build awareness of the often undetected condition and facilitate student testing. The Foundation also awards two $1,000 college scholarships annually to a Milford and Lakeland varsity hockey senior.

Lakeland varsity hockey kicked off a huge weekend home stand with a decisive victory over the newly combined Walled Lake Western – Pinckney hockey programs aka Western-Pinckney Unified. Both teams entered the game unbeaten in LVC play. Assistant Coach Matt McElwee on Friday’s opponent: “WP-U can strike fast and score goals in bunches. Their top line is as good as you’ll find in the LVC and beyond. If we don’t put the work in to contain them they will hurt us.” Nate Behmlander set the tone early in the first period thanks to some hard work by sophomore Reid Sutherland. Sutherland, a defenseman, turned the puck up-ice and followed his dump-in behind the WLP net. His forecheck bounced the puck to senior Mitchell Beller who found Behmlander driving the net for a back door strike. 1-0 Lakeland. Goal two for Lakeland came just five minutes later. Junior Timmy Hinkle snapped a pass to junior D Elliot Smith. Smith wristed the puck on goal where senior captain Luke Weinberger picked it out of the air. The puck landed on Senior Robby Lewis’ stick for an easy weak side strike. Goal #3 was Lewis again redirecting a pass from Hinkle at the end of a Timmy-Special 3 zone rush. 3 – 0 after one. Lakeland added two more goals in the second period. In the 11th minute, Weinberger fought through two defenders shoveling the puck to Bellar at the WLP blue line. Bellar drew a defender and rewarded Weinberger’s hard drive to the net with a return pass. The goaltender could not corral the shot and as the puck wobbled in the crease Luke tapped in his own rebound. On a subsequent Lakeland short-handed penalty kill, Weinberger scored his second of the game with an individual effort. Weinberger outworked the WLP point man and found himself alone and cleared for approach on the right side of the circle. Luke befuddled the WLP goaltender and calmly roofed the puck into the top of the net. Video review confirmed the opposing water bottle traveled 1.5 feet from right to left as a result. 5-0 after two. Lakeland needed their two period cushion when WLP scored two quick goals early in the third. Coach Ronayne used his first time-out of the season to calm the Eagle’s ruffled feathers. WLP continued their onslaught but senior Jason Slicker was stalwart in net. Turning back 30 of 32 shots to go 3-0 for the season with a top-10 in the state .945 GAA. Final score 6-2 LHS. Coach Ronayne on the win: “They outshot us and we spent more time in the box. So that’s not good. And I know they were missing at least one top forward. We’re happy we won. Luke had a nice Hattie and we played good enough D to win. The next meeting with Western is circled on our calendar.”

The Varsity Hockey team met its first LVC opponent on Saturday night in front of opposing raucous student sections. The Eagles took the ice undefeated and resplendent in their new away gray jerseys. The challenge: take back the Bogie Lake Cup the Walled Lake Northern Knights seized from Lakeland in a dramatic OT win last season. Coach Ronayne on the weight of the game: “It’s Northern. The kids all know each other, played travel hockey together, and are one of our top rivals. They are well coached and have 9 or 10 seniors with solid goaltending. We’re talking serious players who can score before you know what hit you.” And that’s just what happened four minutes into the game when WLN’s Andrew Evans lit the lamp and the Northern crowd to put the Eagles in a 1-0 hole. But the Eagles answered. Late in the period, junior Elliot Smith fed the puck to junior Brennan Grant. Grant delayed along the boards as senior Luke Weinberger made his way to the net. Grant lanced the puck in and Weinberger showed backhand but went forehand tying the game 1-1 after one. The second period featured three Eagles goals. Sophomore Joel Slicker deftly banked in his second goal of the season from under the goal line (assist Nate Behmlander) off of a Northern defender’s shin guard. Lakeland’s powerplay let loose scoring the next three goals. Junior Timmy Hinkle helped kick off the scoring doing what he’s been doing all season – rushing the puck deep into the offensive zone and feeding a teammate. Tonight it was Weinberger’s turn at the table converting Hinkle’s centering pass past the WLN goalie on the ice from the slot. Northern got themselves deeper into trouble allowing the Eagles a two man advantage. The Eagles peppered the Knights with nine consecutive shots that were all turned back. But as in NHL, the continuous barrage of shots paid off and sophomore Ryan Danielson put away the 10th shot of the powerplay to put Lakeland up by three at the end of the period. In the third period Northern scored to come within two until Danielson drilled his second pp goal of the night (assist Grant) from the right circle to put the game out of reach 5-2. Junior goalie Paul Baker was solid in net to gain his 2nd win of the season turning back 24 of 26 shots. Baker on the impact of the hometown crowd: “Having large support like we did really helps fire up the boys. Always easier to play when you know you have your school supporting you.” Up next for the Eagles – a huge test against Walled Lake Western/Pinckney Unified on Friday night 8:20 pm LIA.

Lakeland's Hockey team began the second month of the season by notching their third win in a row, defeating Bloomfield Hills, 3-1. The Eagles dug an early hole when the Hawks popped in their only goal of the night on a messy power play to beat senior goalie Jason Slicker. Late in the first period, senior Mitchell Beller picked off a weak pass deep in the Bloomfield zone. Beller walked the puck along the boards and fed it to senior Nate Behmlander who took a couple of jabs at the puck. The Blackhawks were so focused on Behmlander they forgot about junior Ben Barkholtz who finished the play by tucking the puck in to tie the game at 1-1 after one. Coach Ronayne: “Well we’ve had a bit of a layoff as well as some players out for various reasons. It showed. We came out flat with no legs and not much going on upstairs. Mitchell’s line picked us up and Slick stood fast in the net until we finally got some offense.” In the second period, Lakeland woke up and outshot the Blackhawks 17-8 but couldn’t beat the Hills' goaltender. Thus the third period began with a 1-1 soccer score possibly in a nod to the ongoing World Cup competition. It looked like the game would end in a tie until junior Timmy Hinkle found another gear carrying the puck from center ice to gain the offensive zone. Hinkle had to muscle through two more defenders before finding Beller in the slot who directed the puck over the BH goalie’s left shoulder for a 2-1 lead with 4 minutes to go. The gritty Hawks would not relent and Slicker was pressed into making several athletic saves in the waning minutes. Hinkle, seemingly tired of the one goal lead, took advantage of an LHS power play rushing the puck through three zones and as many defenders to find freshman Austin Scanlon knocking on Bloomfield’s back door. Rather than take the lower percentage shot Scanlon gave the puck to senior Robby Lewis for an easy one touch goal. When asked Scanlon reported “I really wanted to shoot that one.” Opting to pass made for one of the prettiest goals of the young season. Lakeland next battles Walled Lake Northern on Saturday night 8 pm Lakeland Ice Arena.

The Eagles faced off against a talented hometown Sault High Blue Devil team on Saturday evening. The teams traded shots early with no goals until Lakeland’s power play unit made good on their chance. Sophomore Ryan Danielson out-muscled two Blue Devil defenders to gain the zone with puck possession. Danielson dropped the puck off to freshman forward Austin Scanlon who, after calmly surveying his options, gave the puck to senior Tim Hinkle for a quick shot from the point tipped in by junior Brennan Grant. The Soo got their own PP goal late in the period. 1-1 after 1. In the second period Scanlon (assists to Luke Weinberger, Grant) shoveled in a PP rebound for his second point of the night to put the Eagles back on top. The Devil’s tied the game up in the third period setting up a nail biting finish. With six and change to go Weinberger found himself alone driving for the net and forced the Soo goalie to make an awkward save. Luke continued his pressure up the far boards when Timmy Hinkle swooped in and stole the puck from three Sault High defenders. Hinkle drew in the remaining Devils and deftly dropped the puck off to Weinberger. Luke delivered a Berger-time special to the Soo goalie who ended up on his back as Luke went to his backhand for the game winning goal. Junior goalie Paul Baker was stalwart in the pipes as he stone walled 26 of 28 shots. Coach Ronayne: “Playing Sault High is an early measuring stick for our season. If we do well against them then we expect to do well back home. Baker was outstanding and outplayed their tender. The defense corps did what we asked of them. Our PP and PK did their job allowing us to use our depth during even strength play. Everyone contributed – a solid team win against a very good team.” The Eagles are off until December when they travel to the big ice at DSC to face Bloomfield High. News article:  https://www.misportsnow.com/2022/11/lakeland-takes-close-victory-3-2-over-sault-ste-marie/?fbclid=IwAR3f7Ul7M823TDWjAF-cKg6PODXz0Rs-LIoGyBvKMV2T8U9D7SzQEBD0faQ

Here we go, our first official results from the Winter Sports season, and they come from Hockey, courtesy of journalist extraordinaire, Matt McElwee: Lakeland 5 Big Rapids 1 Lakeland's Varsity Hockey team migrated north over the weekend for their annual Soo Showcase in blustery Sault Ste Marie, MI. On Friday the Eagles took on Big Rapids to open the season. Lakeland used the first period to tenderize the Cardinals’ goal tender with 21 shots. Senior Eagles goalie Jason Slicker faced just a single puck to leave the score at 0-0 after one period. LHS’ powerplay went to work early in the 2nd. Slicker directed a partial breakaway attack with a neat pad save to sophomore Ryan Danielson. Danielson spied junior Brennan Grant calmly posted at the Big Rapids blue line and hit him with a perfect 120 foot pass. Grant made no mistake on his breakaway, faking a wrist shot to make the BR goaltender sit directly on the ice while he backhanded in the puck for the first goal of the season. The Eagles second goal of the period began with a clearing pass by junior defenseman Mason Shaw that was picked up by senior Robby Lewis. Lewis (three points on the night) outworked the Card’s defender and found Junior Timmy Hinkle driving the net who made no mistake and cleanly beat the goalie. Big Rapids notched a power play goal late in the period to make it 2-1 after two. The scoreboard was quiet until late in the third period when the Eagles finally wore down the BRHS defense. Lewis banged in a rebound to begin Lakeland’s first of three unanswered goals thanks to a Mitchell Beller steal and Nate Behmlander shot. Lewis didn’t wait long to clang in his second goal in less than a minute when senior Luke Weinberger angrily burrowed his way into the zone and found Lewis perched in the high slot. Weinberger then clinched the game for the Eagles on a gritty powerplay goal from Grant and freshman Austin Scanlon. Coach Tim Ronayne on notching the first win: “We’re happy to get the first game under our belts. We let Big Rapids back up off the mat forcing Slicker to keep us in the game until our offense kicked in late. It was a good learning experience for the 8 or 9 players in their first high school game. We like our chances when our D and goaltending can hold a team to a single goal.”