Marquette’s Joseph Phillips, center, guides the puck in Kingsford’s defensive zone on Thursday night, Dec. 22, 2016, at Lakeview Arena in Marquette. (Journal photo by Rachel Oakley)

MARQUETTE — A pair of Marquette Senior High School hockey players received Division 2 Second Team all-state recognition recently.

Joey Phillips made the forwards category while Tyler Bergwall was named among goalies.

The list is compiled by the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association and is available on a state hockey website, www.mihockeynow.com.

Phillips, a 6-foot, 175-pound junior, tallied 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 28 games, according to MSHS head coach Doug Garrow.

“He was our best player and a threat to score every time he went on the ice,” Garrow said. “He’s got the ability to play for junior teams, and I don’t know if we’ll have him back next year. He’s that good.”

Bergwall, a first-year varsity player, is a 5-5, 120-pound sophomore. He compiled numbers of 2.01 goals-against average, a .916 saves percentage and 8-4-1 record.

“He was also well deserving of the all-state award, he was just a little bit above Dylan (Sibilsky), though both were good in net,” Garrow said. “It’s impressive for a new kid coming in the way he was poised. He’s such a competitor and always looking to get better.

“You could see the improvement he made as the season went along and he’s been recognized for that.”

Phillips and junior defenseman Aydin Frost were Redmen who earned Second Team honors from the Great Lakes Hockey Conference, while Bergwall was honorable mention.

In each of the MHSAA’s three hockey divisions, there were 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goalies named to both the First and Second teams, with a varying number of honorable mentions, too. Each division also had a Coach of the Year.

Marquette had the only Division 2 all-state players from the Upper Peninsula, while in Division 3, 15 U.P. players from Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and Sault Ste. Marie earned all-state mention.

Marquette has played up a division for several years, joining 15 schools statewide that voluntarily play Division 2 when they could be in Division 3, according to information on the Michigan High School Athletic Association website, www.mhsaa.com.

Statewide, each division had 50 or 51 schools in it this season, with about 50 of them cooperative programs such as Negaunee’s, which also draws from Ishpeming, Westwood, Gwinn and Republic-Michigamme high schools. T

he Miners’ co-op is another Division 2 program that voluntarily played up a division, too.

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