Coach Jay Thompson admits the Livonia Stevenson hockey team is still figuring things out.
To be fair, some of that comes with the territory. The Spartans (11-7, 4-0) play one of the tougher schedules around and have recently taken on state powers like East Grand Rapids, Marquette and Flint Powers Catholic, last year’s Division 2 champion.
Some of it also comes with change. This is Thompson’s first season as head coach after longtime coach David Mitchell stepped down following 17 seasons and four state finals appearances to coach juniors with the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL. Coaching turnover is never easy, even when the new guy is a longtime assistant with deep ties to the program.
Still, it hasn’t all been bad.
On Jan. 21, Stevenson won a must-win game 6-1 over second-place Canton to clinch another Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East title and earn a berth in the league championship next month.
Only storied programs can have an up-and-down season and still hang pelts on the wall like that.
“I think it’s good because you want to stack up small victories and small moments like that through the year,” said Thompson, whose team went undefeated against East opponents, including beating Plymouth 3-1, Salem 8-0 and Livonia Red, the co-op between rivals Churchill and Franklin, 5-1. “I think those moments all add up and will give our team confidence going down the stretch, but we are still trying to figure it out.
“We’ve figured out who we’re not. So, we’re trying to attack those areas because we don’t want to be those things in the future, and we want an identity that includes the things that we’re not right now.”
The Spartans have learned plenty about themselves in the new year.
Entering their East finale, they had lost three of their previous four games, including a 9-1 loss to Powers in a rematch of last year’s state championship and a 2-1 defeat to Marquette during a Traverse City showcase. They also dropped a 5-4 nail-biter to East Grand Rapids after surrendering four early goals in a rough first period.
“I think Powers showed us if we don’t play the right way, we’re not disciplined and we don’t defend, that’s what can happen to us,” Thompson said. “When we play the right way, everybody buys in, we defend and are disciplined, then we can compete with teams like that.”
Stevenson showed that last week with a 6-3 win over Hartland and again against the 9-9 Cobras, a game that saw six different Spartans score. Dawson Wallis and Evan Wilson scored in the first period, followed by goals from Tommy Petit, Nic Agar, Bennett Eckerman and Colin Stroble in the second. Goalie Drew Allen stopped 18 shots, allowing just one goal to Cyris Knowles.
“Beating Hartland was a big win for us, and I think it showed us that we can compete with anybody if we play the right way, and I think (first-year coach Aaron Schwartz) is doing a great job with the Canton program, and I really think it’s going in the right direction,” Thompson said. “We’ve been working really hard on defending and being disciplined. And those are the two things that we’re going to take down the stretch. We need to continue to be disciplined in terms of penalties and disciplined in the way we play, staying on script and not getting off script.
“We need everyone pulling in the same direction.”
That approach was especially important against Canton, which entered just one game behind Stevenson in the standings. Had the Cobras pulled off the upset, they would’ve only needed a win over last-place Livonia Red to steal the division title.
Instead, Stevenson took care of business on the road at Arctic Edge Ice Arena and now waits to see who it’ll face in the KLAA championship in February.
There’s a strong chance it’ll be No. 1-ranked Howell, which needs a win over last-place Novi on Jan. 26 to finish unbeaten in the West and punch its ticket as well.
Until then, Thompson and the Spartans will keep their heads down and focus on being more disciplined.
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I just focus on the next game,” Thompson said. “Now that we’ve won our side, we’ll see what happens on the other side. But whoever it is, it will be a hell of a matchup.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Livonia Stevenson hockey beats Canton, wins KLAA-East
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
