The camaraderie and brotherhood of MAC hockey showed itself at the Macomb Area Conference hockey media night Nov. 4 at Macomb L’Anse Creuse North High School.
By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | C&G Newspapers | Published November 7, 2024
MACOMB COUNTY — As L’Anse Creuse Unified head coach Jon Nader said before the night began, the Macomb Area Conference was “flying by the seat of our pants” as nine teams gathered for the inaugural media day event.
Media days have been extinct for several years in the MAC across all sports, so it was a refreshing, exciting, and also anxious moment for MAC hockey as L’Anse Creuse Unified played host for the first-ever MAC hockey media day Nov. 4 at Macomb L’Anse Creuse North High School.
Coaches exchanged pleasantries and various team members from opposing schools conversed, ending in laughter and a sudden urge to step on the ice and show who the better team was this season.
But most importantly, it was a stepping stone in efforts for MAC hockey to grow its popularity and recognition in the path towards what other conferences have built on the hockey scene – such as the Oakland Activities Association and Kensington Lakes Activities Association.
Maybe it will set the tone for other MAC sports to bring back media days of their own, but for now all the attention was set on the hockey scene and what each team is going to bring to the table this year.
Below is a summary of the 2024-2025 MAC hockey field.
Romeo
League: Macomb Area Conference Red
Last season’s record: 18-6-2
After winning the MAC Red and capturing a regional championship courtesy of wins over league rivals Utica Eisenhower and Chippewa Valley United, Romeo set up a matchup with Detroit Catholic Central, who had four-straight Division 1 state titles to its name.
The Bulldogs held its own heading into the third period down only 3-2, but DCC, who would go on to win its fifth-straight championship, put up four goals in the final period to walk away with a 7-2 win.
The quarterfinals matchup was far closer than the score indicated, and it’s been a talking point for Romeo as they enter the 2025 campaign.
“We have to be connected as a team,” senior defenseman Noah Sarrach said. “They were a whole system as a team. Anything we were doing, they were prepared for it. They knew basically, I felt like, what we were doing before we even did it. Not that we had any luck because we worked for what we did in that game, but at the same time we had to go out of our way to do anything possible just to get what we did. They pretty much dominated us.”
A loaded senior class will help the Bulldogs stay composed while they’re as good as anyone in the MAC offensively.
The Bulldogs return double-digit goal scorers in senior forward Spencer Groszkiewicz (15 goals and 26 assists), an all-State honorable mention, senior forward Drew Basha (23 goals and 17 assists), senior forward Dillan Basha (10 goals and 14 assists), and junior forward Brody Meier (18 goals and 6 assists), forefronting the heart of Romeo hockey.
“It’s our offensive talent (that sets us apart),” senior forward Lincoln Lipasek said. “We have a lot of kids that can score goals on our team, and that was our strength last year. I think it will be a big strength this year as well.”
Romeo, who won a Division 2 state championship in 2016, will look to work its way back into the state contender conversation while also defending its MAC Red title in the process.
Chippewa Valley United (Co-op of Chippewa Valley and Macomb Dakota)
League: Macomb Area Conference Red
Last season’s record: 19-9
This senior group has really turned around the hockey program, posting 21 and 19 wins, respectively, the past two seasons while becoming regulars in the regionals finals.
Now it’s about getting over the regional finals hump and making some noise in the tournament, and a playoff loss to league rival Romeo last season might be just exactly what the team needed.
“It's honestly inspiration for us. I think we have the talent to come back and do it again,” junior forward Cameron Staskowski said. “We lost two years in a row, so we think this is our year.”
Posting 19 goals and 25 assists last season, Staskowski, who was voted team captain and second team all-State last year, leads an experienced group alongside senior forward and assistant captain Kevin Dolney (23 goals and 12 assists) and senior defenseman Andrew Johnston (4 goals and 16 assists).
Chippewa Valley united, comprised of Macomb Dakota and Chippewa Valley, formed a co-op for the first time last season as Chippewa Valley joined Dakota’s already established hockey program.
It took a moment for the team to gel and understand how each other plays, but by the end of the regular season Chippewa Valley United was on an 11-1 run, including nine-straight wins, and playing its best hockey yet.
The 2025 campaign will be all about building off the success and finally capturing a regional championship, and who knows where the journey goes from there.
“We just have a really good bond on our team and we all get along,” Johnston said. “I think that will help us make a run this year because we have something to prove.”
Utica Eisenhower
League: Macomb Area Conference Red
Last season’s record: 7-19-1
The bottom of the league is never the place you want to be, but Eisenhower isn’t letting last season’s struggles define who they are.
The Eagles 2024 graduation class certainly didn’t do this year’s squad any favors by taking away the top-6 point scorers, but the returning core of senior forward/defenseman Adam Morrison, senior forward Brendan Chateau, and senior forward Jacob Blanzy, and senior defenseman Dylan Rodgers will help Eisenhower continue to progress.
“We have a lot of heart,” Chateau said. “We never give up. If we're down two goals in the third, we’re going to score and come back.”
Eisenhower will also return all of its goaltenders from last season, bolstering the defensive side with veterans.
First-year head coach David Erwin will need his seniors to step up and be leaders if the Eagles are going to find its footing early, which has been a struggle in the past.
Building a successful foundation should be the point of focus for Eisenhower, and Morrison said he and the seniors are ready for the challenge.
“These kids are going to be playing for the next couple years, so if we want to keep growing the program we have to show these kids what to do in the future,” Morrison said.
Utica-Fraser Unified (Co-op of Utica, Utica Ford, Sterling Heights Stevenson, and Fraser)
League: Macomb Area Conference Red
Last season’s record: 11-14
What a year this could be for Utica-Fraser Unified.
Holding only 16 players on the roster last season, and at some points just 10 skaters during games, Utica-Fraser Unified’s roster has retooled from 16 to 28 courtesy of Fraser and Sterling Heights Stevenson joining.
More players means more line changes and cool down periods for its skaters, which bodes well for a team that won 11 games last season on the backs of a limited roster.
“I feel like we’re going to be one of the better teams this year with the amount of players we have and the bodies keeping us fresh and energized,” junior goaltender Eli Chodun said.
Chodun is one of the primary returners this year alongside senior forward Niko Lajb (28 goals and 10 assists), sophomore forward Nate Sheridan (14 goals and 14 assists), and senior defenseman Ashtin Fertik (8 goals and 19 assists).
With more firepower and depth, expect Utica-Fraser Unified to showcase improvement, and potentially build towards something special in the coming years.
“Our offense has been really strong for us, and our goaltending has been really good too,” Lajb said.”I think we can beat a lot of people with our offense and goaltending.”
New Baltimore Anchor Bay
League: Macomb Area Conference White
Last season’s record: 19-8
Anchor Bay ended the regular season on a heater, posting a 6-1 record, but a regional finals loss to league rival Chippewa Valley United would be the end to its season.
Motivated by a bitter taste in its mouth courtesy of key league losses in the MAC Red title game and the regionals finals, Anchor Bay’s veteran group will look to put a final stamp on their high school hockey careers.
Led by senior forward Kaden Leigh (18 goals and 20 assists), senior defenseman Wyatt Blaskowski (10 goals and 15 assists), an all-State honorable mention, senior forward John Sheker (11 goals and 12 assists), and senior forward Cade Carr (12 goals and 8 assists), the Tars have talent across the board that can showcase both its physicality and goal-scoring ability.
The defensive side, because of its physical identity, will always be a strong suit for a Tars team that allowed just under two goals per game and held eight shutouts last season with all-State honorable mention Luke Christensen in net, a 2024 graduate.
This year, expect Anchor Bay to showcase a lot more of its offensive attack with its dynamic goal scorers.
“I think we’re getting more shots on net and we’re burying more of the dirty goals than the pretty ones,” Carr said.
The MAC is heating up to becoming one of the more premier leagues in the state, and expect Anchor Bay to be right back in the thick of things.
Blaskowski said he expects a storybook run this season with a senior-loaded squad ready to leave their legacy.
“Our bond is like no other,” Blaskowski said. “We got 15 seniors this year. We’ve all grown up together, played travel together, and are all the same age and friend group. It’s probably going to be one of the best years of my life.”
L’Anse Creuse Unified (Co-op of LCN and LC)
League: Macomb Area Conference White
Last season’s record: 12-14
The father-son trip with the whole team has been a tradition under head coach Jon Nader, which will feature three days and three cities this year with Tawas, Traverse City, and Gaylord.
“It’s a lot of bonding time,” junior goaltender Perez Silva said. “Once we’re done with the bus trip we usually stay in rooms with our teammates. It’s just a great bonding experience where we can all get together and just really get close with each other before the season.”
Since L”Anse Creuse Unified was unable to make the trip last season, maybe that’s why a team who’s had sustained success in both the regular season and playoffs was eliminated in the first round.
But what each player agreed upon was that they’re coming into the season with a “chip on their shoulder,” and the weight of the success will be laid on its senior core consisting of senior forward Aiden Suchocki (14 goals and 13 assists), senior forward Justin Brooks (12 goals and 15 assists), senior forward Vince Pica (16 goals and 10 assists), and senior forward Drew Halaas (12 goals and 10 assists).
Expect junior forward Logan Jarvey (8 goals and 17 assists) and junior goaltender Perez Silva, who was 3-6 with a .913 save percentage, to also be standout players for L’Anse Creuse Unified as well.
L’Anse Creuse Unified’s season took a massive hit at the end of the year when it faced a 2-8 stretch, including seven-straight losses.
“We kind of switched up the lines a little bit and tried new things, and it just didn’t work out,” Jarvey said. “We were somewhat of a younger team. This year will be much better.”
With a motivated, veteran group, expect L’Anse Creuse Unified to significantly improve this year and return to its winning ways.
St. Clair Shores Unified (Co-op of Lake Shore and Lakeview)
League: Macomb Area Conference White
Last season’s record: 13-10-1
St. Clair Shores Unified’s season could’ve taken a different road then it ended up on, and there’s something to be said for that type of turnaround.
An 11-0-1 run in the middle of the season flipped the script on a 2-6 start, which completely changed the mentality of the squad.
“During that last stretch we had last season, we really came together as a team and developed our identity and where we wanted to be as a team,” senior forward Brennen Lenk said. “Practices became more competitive and everything just started to mesh more, and it really showed on the ice.”
There’s also something to be said for how the playoffs turned out for SCS Unified, which was a disappointment.
The Lakers captured the attention of local fans two seasons ago as they made a run to the regional finals, beating both Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South to have a shot at Warren De La Salle.
Going into the playoffs last year, junior forward Gavin Mckee said the team may have gotten a little too excited.
“I think we were thinking more of (Warren) De La Salle than Port Huron Northern, and I think we just got there and we were flat,” Mckee said. “Ever since then, and I remember that last shift against Port Huron Northern because I gave it my all, so I’ve just been continuing that and trying to be my best.”
Lenk (15 goals and 22 assists) and Mckee (16 goals and 20 assists) headline the returning group alongside senior forward Vaughn Zmijewski (14 goals and 20 assists), junior forward Caden Gersch (15 goals and 16 assists), and junior goaltender Will Young, an all-State honorable mention.
The Lakers have all the talent to make it back to the regional finals, and it will rely on its scorers and up-tempo play to take them there.
“We have a pretty high-flying offense,” Lenk said. “We have a lot of playmakers on our team and a lot of kids who can finish and skate. We play well as a unit and pass the puck well with the way we zip it around. We just play with a lot of energy.”
Marysville
League: Macomb Area Conference White
Last season’s record: 14-10-1
The returning MAC White champions are showing no signs of slowing down.
Returning a strong core headlined by senior forward Benjamin LaValley (30 goals and 29 assists), junior forward Luke Thick (22 goals and 20 assists), junior forward Brody Tuffin (12 goals and 17 assists), and senior goalkeeper Nick Adam (9-3, 3.38 GAA), expect the Vikings to be threats once again in the league.
Marysville had the misfortune of facing eventual Division 3 state champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the first round of the playoffs, but facing competition of that nature can only be a benefit for next season.
The Vikings should continue their offensive prowess, which averaged over five goals per game last season.
Port Huron (Co-op with Port Huron, Marine City, Yale, St. Clair, Genesee, Almont, Imlay City, Memphis, and Armada)
League: Macomb Area Conference Blue
Last season’s record: 2-22
Improvement is on the horizon for Port Huron United, who is seeing a significant roster boost from last season.
Similar to Utica-Fraser Unified, Port Huron will have a ton of depth courtesy of its additions in the co-op category, going from just nine players on the roster to now 20.
That’s more shift changes, fresher skaters, and less risk for injury and fatigue.
“Having eight skaters and being on the ice for two or three minutes without getting a shift is pretty tiring,” junior forward Joey Gilbert said. “I wasn’t the only one doing it, but your performance level definitely drops a lot because you’re tired and just dragging along all game. Then there’s penalties because you’re tired. It puts you and your teammates out there longer. With more teammates now, we should be able to get the rest we need and perform at a high level.”
Gilbert led the team in goals (11), assists (10), and points (21) last season, and will be a key returner for a team still trying to figure things out chemistry wise.
Grosse Pointe North
League: Macomb Area Conference Blue
Last season’s record: 1-22
It will be an uphill battle for a Norsemen team graduating its top-3 point scorers, but senior captain Tim Klatt will be a key veteran hoping to lead the squad to an improving season.
Sophomore goaltender Ben Bugeja, who faced nearly 900 shots in his first varsity season, will also return in net for North.