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Marquette Senior High School hockey team lets shots fly in 7-1 quarterfinal victory over Traverse City Central

GAYLORD — The shot-making machine known as Marquette Senior High School hockey just kept chugging along on Saturday as the Redmen dumped Traverse City Central 7-1 to advance through the MHSAA Division 2 quarterfinals.

This will mark MSHS’ fourth straight appearance in the semifinals, though Marquette is just 0-2 in those games with its 2020 appearance canceled before it could be played due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Redmen play at 5 p.m. Thursday at USA Hockey Arena in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth against Hartland. Hartland advanced with a 5-2 win over Byron Center, also played Saturday.

A win there puts Marquette in the state championship game at 11:05 a.m. Saturday at the same site against either Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice or Trenton.

The Redmen have now taken 169 shots on goal in three tournament games with more than 50 in each game against Negaunee, Escanaba and TC Central.

Saturday’s total was 55 as MSHS forced Central goalie Grant Neuhardt to make 48 saves, including at least 10 each period.

In contrast, Marquette’s Wylen Cambensy was only called on to make 19 stops, nine coming in the opening period.

MSHS head coach Doug Garrow hardly had a chance to grow any new gray hairs before the Redmen’s Brayden Grange scored just 66 seconds in as Colin Nemacheck and Jacob Garrow got assists.

“Obviously with getting a quick goal like that, you can relax a bit and it’s easier when you’re playing ahead than from behind,” Coach Garrow said.

“We were definitely the faster team and I thought we used our speed to our advantage. We try to just keep coming at them.”

He mentioned that quality depth — his team is one of the few he’s seen this season that uses four full lines — makes it easier to play a more aggressive style.

“We played physical and it cost us a few penalties,” Coach Garrow said. “But I’m all right with that, those kind of penalties.

“Winning doesn’t just happen — you have to learn how to play with the lead and you have to know how to play from behind.

“A big core of our guys have played together for a lot of years. They don’t panic because they have confidence in themselves.”

The score remained 1-0 until the final 90 seconds of the opening period when Owen Riipi and Jack Sides scored to make it 3-0 after one.

Riipi’s goal was assisted by Theo Adams and Joe DeMattia, and Sides’ goal by Dylan King.

The Redmen’s Ethan Phillips got the only two goals of the middle period, making it 5-0 as Sides got an assist on the first goal as the second one was unassisted.

MSHS got its only power play tally about seven minutes into the final period on a Jacob Garrow goal assisted by Grange and Nemacheck.

And it became 7-0 when Kody Moyer scored at almost exactly the midpoint of the third as he was assisted by Grange and Nemacheck.

TCC got its only goal with 4:16 remaining off the stick of Koen Buckholder.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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