Prior to their March 9 quarterfinal showdown at the Troy Sports Center, Brandon and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s had never faced each other in hockey.
The Blackhawks can be excused if they have less than fond memories of the Eaglets. St. Mary’s totally dominated on both ends of the ice on their way to a 10- 0 rout of Brandon.
The game was stopped with 11:33 left in the third period due to the mercy rule.
With the win, St. Mary’s (18-6-3) advanced to play Big Rapids (19-9) in the Division 3 semifinals March 11 at Compuware Arena in Plymouth. Brandon finished their season with a record of 25-2-1.
The Blackhawks received plenty of crowd support at the game, as a throng of Brandon fans made their presence known, with the Brandon blue counteracting the red of St. Mary’s.
However, the Brandon faithful were deflated about 1-1/2 minutes into the game when St. Mary’s Alex Prough put the puck past Brandon goalie David Hughes. It was all uphill for the Blackhawks from that point.
Maciej Sulka added a hat trick in the first period for St. Mary’s, which took a 5-0 lead after the opening stanza.
Brandon had a scoring chance on an odd-man rush late in the first, but St. Mary’s goalie Shane Trexler made the save. Between Trexler and the St. Mary’s defense, Brandon’s big guns ? Mike Ross, Mike Cybulski and Steve Tallman ? could never get going offensively.
The Eaglets added three more goals in the second period to take an 8-0 lead. For the game, St. Mary’s outshot Brandon 48-15.
Prough added two more goals in the third period to finish with three goals and an assist, while Patrick Nagorsen added two assists and Zack Doyen contributed two goals and two assists.
The Blackhawks advanced to the quarterfinals by routing Goodrich 11-1 in the regional final March 5 at Perani Arena in Flint, capturing their third straight regional crown.
It was the second win in as many tries for the Blackhawks against the Martians this season. On Dec. 11 at Ice Mountain Sports Complex in Burton, the Blackhawks defeated the host Martians 6-3.
Brandon opened the floodgates with three goals in the first period and had a 6-0 lead when Goodrich’s Brian Van Kuren scored the Martians? lone goal with 2:38 left in the second.
After Tallman scored with 2:20 left in third period, the game was called due to the 10-goal mercy rule.
Ross had three goals and three assists to pace the Blackhawks, while Brandon Newman added three goals and two assists.