By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

PLYMOUTH — As he leaned forward, his stick resting on his knees and his eyes focused directly to the ground, Patrick Brown said he had just one thought racing through his mind, “this is for a state title.”

A moment later, in what Brown described as “slow motion,” the puck left the linesman’s hand and smacked on the ice. His focus unchanged, Brown watched as his stick and the puck connected with eerie perfection, sending the frozen rubber to the near corner where a mini-battle, some six seconds long, ensued.

“From the bench, it felt like an eternity,” Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood coach Andy Weidenbach later explained. “It didn’t seem like that horn would ever go off.”

But it did.

And in doing so, it brought a very familiar program back to the top of the Division 3 hockey world.

Brown’s faceoff win, with just six seconds remaining in the third period of Cranbrook’s 4-3 victory against Big Rapids March 14 at Compuware Arena in Plymouth in the Division 3 final, restored what for years has almost seemed customary for mid-March.

The Cranes, for the 14th time in program history and the fourth time in the past six years, are once again state champions.

“All I could think was, ‘If I win this faceoff, we are going to be state champs,’” Brown, a junior forward, said after the game, a smile painted across his face. “As soon as I got the puck to the corner, I knew it was over.”

Brown did his job in controlling the draw, after that, his teammates did the rest, freezing the puck in the corner and preventing Big Rapids from a last-ditch effort to force overtime.

The play acted as the perfect parallel to the type of season Cranbrook enjoyed. Success, as expected, was a mainstay. But unlike championship teams of the past, this was truly a team effort in every sense of the phrase.

There are no “Mr. Hockey” candidates on this roster and no sure-fire All-State standouts to brag about.

This is a team, one that fought every battle together and one that since last year’s triple-overtime loss in the quarterfinals, united with one objective in mind.

“This makes up for last year,” senior Scott Williams said with a smile.

“It never gets old,” Weidenbach said of the title. “Each team and each year has its own story. The thing about this team was how balanced we were all season. You look at our leading scorers, and nobody jumps out at you. What we had was a great group of guys who worked very well together. They committed themselves to something. Today we got to enjoy the benefits.”

The weekend was extra special for Weidenbach, who led the team a 21-7-2 final record.

 In the semifinal, a 1-0 victory against Flint Powers Catholic, he earned his 300th career victory. The March 14 win was his seventh state title since becoming Cranbrook’s coach in 1993.

Still, as he was questioned about his personal accomplishments, the veteran leader deflected it all to his players.

“This is for them,” he said. “Seeing them experience this is what means the most to me.”
The experience certainly hit home with his players, many of whom weren’t part of the last state title in 2007.

“You feel like you’re on top of the world right now,” said senior Aaron Rivkin, who scored two goals and added an assist in the final game. “There’s no real way to describe this. It’s been a dream of mine since I was 5, and now here I am, a state champion. How do you even put it into words?”

“To be honest, it hasn’t even sunk in yet,” said Brown, who aside from the critical faceoff win added a goal and two assists in his first state title win. “This is why you play at Cranbrook. This is what you work toward all season. To actually get it done … it’s just incredible.”

Brown and Rivkin spoke with the same emotion that seemed to overwhelm the entire team when the horn finally sounded to end the game. Senior Gregg Leonardo is the only four-year varsity player. Most of the guys, like Brown and Rivkin, had never tasted the sweetness of a state championship — until now.

This was also a team with 11 seniors on its roster, the most Weidenbach has ever coached in one season.

“We’re going to have to rebuild a bit next season,” he said.

Assistant coach Pat Ronayne laughed at that assumption.

“Andy says that every time we win a state title,” Ronayne joked. “Nobody is going to believe we’re rebuilding.”

“No, I think we all expect to be back here again next year,” Brown said without hesitation. “That’s the expectation surrounding this program.”

For the 14th time, expectations gave way to celebration.

You can reach Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1038.