Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett posts 3-0 shutout in D3 championship

By Brian Kalisher –

PLYMOUTH – Hockey is a game of momentum, and the Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett Knights had it on their side for all three periods of play in the Division 3 state title game.

Led by a two-goal performance from junior James Counsman, a 17-save shutout from freshman Lucas Soyka, and a combined team effort to outshoot their opponent by 16 shots, the Knights defeated the Houghton Gremlins 3-0 for the state title at Compuware Arena March 10.

“I think what it shows is, that we have an extremely deep team and they work very hard,” fourth-year coach Robb McIntyre said.  “We’ve found different ways to win all year long.  We talked about it in the room, we just had to be prepared for anything and just understand no matter what went on that we have the ability to come back, the ability to win late, the ability to win in the second, the first, the third, and it was just really maintaining that.”

McIntyre believes his team beat a great opponent in the relentless Houghton squad.

“I thought they were great,” McIntyre said.  “I think they came out extremely hard and they really never faltered.  We got a couple power-play goals and I think we tired them out a little bit here and there, but not really.  My plan was to go out and wear them down, and I didn’t think it ever happened.

“I think they played us as well as anyone has, they had a good game plan.”

With the win, the seniors who came in four years ago with McIntyre created memories for themselves that they won’t soon forget – and ones that seemed unlikely a few years ago.

“It’s just grown every year,” McIntyre said.  “We’ve really built this on the backs of these guys.

“We talked a lot about legacy and what they’re going to leave behind.  It’s something that they can be proud of and the guys that were builders that have left already [can too], guys before who really did what they had to do to stay on that team.  I think we’ve made a growth, it’s really pretty hard to find a comparable situation.”

On the losing side, Houghton senior goaltender Tony Peltier stopped 30 shots and held his team in the game with an outstanding performance between the pipes.  With the back-end taken care of, the only thing missing from the Gremlins’ performance, according to coach Corey Markham, was more offensive punch.

“The only thing we didn’t do real well was create a lot of offense,” said Markham, who is in his 13th year coaching the club.  “We struggled in that area, defensively we played well, we kept them to the outside and they didn’t have a lot of grade-A chances, a couple at first but I was happy with how we did that.”

Despite a fast-paced first period, the opening frame ended without a goal from either side, but there were plenty of chances.

A giveaway by a Liggett defender paved the way for a hard Gremlins shot on goal.  Seconds later, Houghton was awarded a penalty shot that saw sophomore Connor Hannon ring one off the left goalpost.

The Knights started the second frame with an early goal from Counsman – his first of the night.  Speedy junior defenseman Mark Evan Auk rifled a shot from the point that Counsman tipped to give his team the 1-0 lead.

After exchanging power-play chances, Liggett maintained pressure and kept the puck in the Houghton zone for the majority of the period.  Tony Peltier made some of his best stops in this frame, saving nine and keeping his team alive.  Counsman nearly scored again for the Knights with three minutes remaining in the period, when he cut across the crease and was stoned on the backhand attempt.

A couple minutes later, at the 1:41 mark, Counsman made up for it by posting his second goal of the evening, roofing it past Peltier during a huge scrum in front of the net, making it 2-0 for Liggett to round out the second.

The third period consisted of the teams exchanging power play chances before Liggett’s Jacob Soyka netted the team’s third goal to put the game all but out of reach.  The junior, and brother of goalie Lucas (there’s actually three Soyka brothers on the team), cut in front of the net and shot it high on the goalie.

Despite a Houghton power play with two minutes remaining in regulation, the Knights held on to win the game 3-0, and claim the D3 title.

“We’re pretty proud of ourselves,” McIntyre said.