Wildcats hockey buying into culture shift under first-year head coach

NOVI — There’s something to be said for the effect that a revolving door of head coaches can have on a team.

Players exert their energy every practice to the type of style a coach wants to implement and build some form of connection, but in a matter of a season, it’s the same process all over again.

Having four different head coaches the past four seasons, Novi hockey must’ve had some reservations when former Farmington United head coach Anthony Lietz, a 2010 Farmington High School graduate, departed from his alma mater to become the front man for the Wildcats.

But if an early December holiday party at senior captain Luke Londo’s house showcased anything for the Lietz-Novi relationship, it’s that he’s been welcomed in as family, especially if he brings his 4-month-old daughter around the parents more often.

“My daughter kind of stole the show,” Lietz said. “Everyone wanted to hold her.”

Under Lietz, Novi has posted its hottest start since the 2020-2021 season, when Novi reached the state quarterfinals, holding a 7-5 record.

Londo has built off his second team all-state season in 2024 with a team-high 25 points (12 goals and 13 assists) and continues to show why he’s one of the most talented players in a loaded Kensington Lakes Activities Association conference.

The senior captain also has plenty of skilled returning veterans behind him with senior captain Trevor Reed (20), senior assistant captain Teddy Donahue (16), senior Marco Medico (17), sophomore Brady Chippa (13), and senior assistant captain Jack Beardsley (10) all posting double-digit points so far. Medico, Chippa and Beardsley have already surpassed their point totals from 2024.

It’s really been an offensive explosion for a Wildcats attack that is averaging 5.1 goals per game and has netted seven or more goals in five of its 12 contests, and Londo said it’s courtesy of every player being on the same wavelength.

“I think it’s just the buy-in from all the guys,” Londo said. “This year, I think everyone is really focused on the same goal of getting to the next game and playoffs.”

What makes a group of high school players want to buy into a team and its vision is having a head coach who cares about them and the route they’re going.

Being able to build a successful culture has been something Lietz has prided himself on, and his time at Farmington United was a perfect example.

Not only did the school seem to take more pride in the team, as players recalled the bleachers being more full than they ever were during their high school tenures, but also improvements occurred in the win/loss column as Farmington went from a pair of brutal seasons in 2021 and 2022, Lietz’s first year, to a winning season in 2024, its first in four seasons.

Talent isn’t the question mark that has revolved around Novi the past few years, so day one of practice for the Lietz regime had a feeling as if he’d been there already.

“I wanted to do my part and do my best in making it seem like I’ve been here a long time,” Lietz said. “I didn’t really want to do the whole, ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to do things.’ I remember my first practice with them, where we just got on the ice and went right after it as if I were doing a skill skate somewhere. From there, you start to learn personalities and tap into those individuals or groups.”

Novi hit the ice hard from day one and the drive has been there ever since, and not even a three-game losing streak after starting 4-0 could stop it.

The Wildcats are in a different headspace this season.

“He (Lietz) really brings the intensity each day and tries to get the best from us,” Londo said. “He’s got a really good attitude, and I think he’s just a really good fit for this team.”

Londo, Reed, Donahue, Beardsley and junior assistant captain Gabe Morais have done their part as well to get the best from their teammates, especially with newcomers Lucas O’Brien (sophomore), Collin Hoppe (freshman), Cori Hastoy (sophomore), Evan Specht (freshman), Nathan Wright (sophomore), and Gabe Lelli (junior).

Lelli is one of the more fascinating stories on this Wildcats roster, basically making Novi a co-op team with Livonia Clarenceville High School all on his own.

Novi graduated both of its goalies, and transitioning a skater to goalie isn’t as easy as some might think, especially convincing a skater to do so, so Novi was in desperate need of someone to fill the void.

In comes Lelli, a Clarenceville student who now receives funny looks at school when he wears his Novi gear to class.

Lelli has plenty of hockey experience with a Birmingham prep team and Lake Orion High School JV, but this was going to be a year where he could really showcase his talent.

With two shutouts, an .877 save percentage and a 3.46 goals against average, Lelli has found his place with Novi.

“It was more just the boys accepting the information I yelled at them,” Lelli said. “I really don’t know how they accepted the words I yelled at them, and I don’t know the words I yell at them some of the time, but they seem to enjoy it.”

On the skater side, O’Brien, currently fifth on the team in points with 15 (8 goals and 7 assists), made the jump from AAA hockey to high school.

O’Brien introduced himself to the high school hockey world with a hat trick in his first high school game Nov. 16 in an 8-0 win over Walled Lake United.

“(High School hockey) is way more fun,” O’Brien said. “There’s not a lot of screaming. In AAA, you’d get screamed at for doing something wrong. Here, you get more opportunities to do stuff.”

High school hockey is much more fun especially when you’re winning, but Novi’s turnaround still hopes to include the Wildcats fighting back to the top of the KLAA, where they finished last in 2024, but it really comes down to state playoff hockey for Novi.

A KLAA team typically finds itself at USA Hockey Arena competing for a state championship, and the Wildcats are hoping it can finally be them again after 14 seasons.

“We do have talent, but a lot of the guys we have were here last year and didn’t get the results they wanted,” Lietz said. “I think it’s a full group effort from the coaching staff and our senior leadership that have really turned things around. That’s what we pride ourselves on — the team stuff.”