Detroit

A true classic

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

Cranbrook and Catholic Central

hockey teams make history

DETROIT — There were plenty of times Andy Weidenbach wondered if this day would ever come.

There were moments when doubt crept into his mind, leaving him wondering how, when or if things would ever come together.

But now, in this moment, he was alone on his team’s bench with only his thoughts. A wry smile dominated his face and a sense of accomplishment propped him up.

This day had finally arrived.

“It’s all pretty cool,” Weidenbach said softly, as not to jinx what seemed like a dream come true. “This is all pretty cool.”

After months of preparation, hours of crunching numbers, countless phone calls to would-be sponsors and even a prayer or two for Mother Nature’s cooperation, the 2010 Outdoor Classic was a reality, pitting two of the state’s top hockey programs of all time — Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood and Novi Detroit Catholic Central — against one another for the 75th time in their storied history; this time in an outdoor game in front of 2,000 or so fans.

Simply perfect

Back in November, still some two months before the puck would drop on the Outdoor Classic, Weidenbach, the Cranbrook coach with seven state titles to his name, recalled just how and why he came up with the idea for an outdoor game at the high school level.

“I was watching (the 2009 NHL Winter Classic), and I thought to myself, ‘Why couldn’t we do something like this?’” Weidenbach recalled. “Playing an outdoor game seemed like such a cool idea. I know myself and a lot of older guys grew up playing hockey outdoors. The treat in those days was getting the chance to play indoors.”

So, in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge, the Cranes and Shamrocks took to the ice at Clark Park in downtown Detroit.

“I’ve played pond hockey before, but nothing anything like this,” said Cranbrook senior Patrick Brown, whose father, former Red Wings forward Doug Brown, began the event with the ceremonial puck drop. “This is something we’ll never forget. I mean, you watch things like this at the NHL level, but to actually be part of it, it’s just incredible.”

“You couldn’t have scripted things to go any better,” Catholic Central coach Todd Johnson said after the game, a 5-2 victory for his squad. “There are so many positives to take from this for the sport of high school hockey. To showcase the talent of all these kids in a venue like this is outstanding.”

So much went right

Once the idea for the game was formed, one of Weidenbach’s first tasks was finding a location that would work. Clark Park seemed perfect thanks to its regulation boards and glass, and the refrigeration abilities for the ice. But as quickly as Weidenbach saw promise in Clark Park, he came face to face with his first obstacle, seating that could hold “maybe 100 people.”

But with the help of Little Caesars, the event’s main sponsor, bleachers were brought in to accommodate a crowd that ended up being nearly 2,000 strong.

“Even the weather cooperated,” Weidenbach boasted of the 34-degree temperatures and overcast sky. “We were certainly worried. They were calling for 40s and sun. That would have really made things difficult. This was nearly perfect.”

Donning retro jerseys — Cranbrook’s from the 1930s and Catholic Central’s from the 1960s — the junior varsity teams began the day, followed by back-to-back alumni games, before the varsity squads finally took over.

The main event

Just shy of 2:30 p.m., Catholic Central, 13-0 and ranked No. 1 in Division 1, and Cranbrook, now 10-3 and ranked No. 1 in D-3, took to the ice.

The Shamrocks scored the first two goals, but Cranbrook had evened things up before the second period ended. Two quick strikes in the third, however, and an empty-net goal with 62 seconds remaining sealed the 13th win of the season for Catholic Central.

Following the game, the final score seemed to play second fiddle to the teams involved. The long-time rivals, each of whom won a state title last year in their respective divisions, came together at center ice for a “team” photo. Players shook hands, exchanged stories and began reliving the moment, just seconds after it had ended.

 “You couldn’t anticipate something this awesome. To be part of this was incredible,” said Catholic Central junior Austin Hervey

Hervey, Brown and both coaches agreed there was actually very little adjustment needed to get used to the surroundings. Each team practiced at the park two weeks ago, although the temps that day hovered in the single digits.

“You know, you look back at all this and there are so many things that could have gone wrong and so many things that had to fall into place,” Johnson added. “Every person involved with this did such a great job.”

And of course, with something this successful, as was the case with the NHL’s initial Winter Classic, there’s that inevitable temptation to wonder if anything like this will happen again.

“We’ll see,” Weidenbach said with a smile as he walked from the ice to the locker room. “This took a lot of work to pull off, but look around, look at everything here — I think it was worth it.”

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