Early returns mixed for top-ranked Gremlins

December 14, 2022

As of Nov. 28, the Houghton Gremlins hockey team is the top-ranked squad in Division 3, according to the Michigan High School Hockey Hub poll. They are also the No. 2 team in the Super 10, which ranks the teams regardless of division. The Gremlins are 6-0 on the season thanks to wins this past weekend against Saginaw Heritage and Kingsford of 6-3 and 6-2, respectively. Houghton had not surrendered a goal until their fourth game of the season, a rivalry matchup against Hancock at the Dee Stadium last Wednesday. So, why don’t the Gremlins feel like the best team in the ...

Fourth line comes to play

December 7, 2022

After Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Northern Michigan Wildcats, the No. 18 Michigan Tech Huskies hockey coach Joe Shawhan was quick to praise a trio of forwards. The Huskies’ fourth line of sophomore Levi Stauber, junior Nick Nardella and junior Tyrone Bronte logged a regular shift the entire night. “Wow,” said Shawhan. “I mean, wow. That is all I can say. They were incredible.” Shawhan sometimes slid sophomore Marcus Pedersen onto the line in place of Bronte, and the results were much the same. Shawhan felt that the adjustments the team made between Friday night and ...

I scored a goal, but didn’t like it

November 30, 2022

After winning our first five games of our Oldtimer’s season, CSI was 5-0. We had won our last two games, 8-0 and 9-1. We were on a roll. It seemed like we might never lose. That came crashing down the next week. We jumped out to a 1-0 lead against Calumet Electronics, but found ourselves in a 1-1 tie at half time on Nov. 20. In the second half, the proverbial wheels fell off our bus. We surrendered five more goals in a row, and lost 6-1. It felt like nothing we could did worked. We stopped shooting. We stopped skating. We just struggled collectively. The next weekend, we took ...

World Cup in full swing in Qatar

November 29, 2022

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has just wrapped its first week. Although the governing body of international soccer and the host nation have faced heavy criticism in preceding weeks from both teams and fans, the opening group stage of the competition has proven to be as thrilling as ever. Though this year’s tournament is being held in November and December to account for Qatar’s brutal year round heat, the nature of the competition remains the same. The chance to lift the legendary trophy for team and country is an accomplishment unlike any other in the sport. As an ...

Jennings has built something special at Michigan Tech

November 23, 2022

When head coach Matt Jennings took over the Michigan Tech Huskies volleyball program in 2012, things appeared to be at their worst. Under former coach Orlando Gonzales, the Huskies had gone from being a 14-15 team that qualified for the GLIAC Tournament to a 2-25 team that lost all 19 GLIAC matches they played just two years later. It took Jennings three seasons to turn things around for the Huskies. In 2012, the team went 12-19 overall, and 7-11 in the GLIAC. The following year, they went 11-19 and 7-11 again in GLIAC play. In 2014, they took a step, going 11-16, but 8-10 in GLIAC ...

Scramble a great way to start hockey season

November 16, 2022

Last Thursday, Corey Markham, Scott Mikesch, Pat Nettell and Doug Garrow brought their high school hockey teams to the Dee Stadium to play in the revived scramble, a scrimmage tournament that gives players a taste of high school hockey while also giving coaches a chance to see players attempt to build some early confidence and chemistry. As a player for the Houghton Gremlins from 1995-97, I had the opportunity to play in the scramble twice. The first time was as part of a team that was looking to build off a state semifinalist run the year before. We were a pretty loaded squad with ...