Grosse Pointe Woods

With almost whole roster back, Knights have been nearly unstoppable

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Manny Counsman and the Liggett hockey team went 2-0 at the MIHL Prep Showcase last weekend. The Knights have won 16 games in a row. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Manny Counsman and the Liggett hockey team went 2-0 at the MIHL Prep Showcase last weekend. The Knights have won 16 games in a row.

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Jake Soyka remembers his sophomore season.

He remembers a collection of young hockey players flying under the radar, somehow coming together for a 16-win season and eventual trip to a Division 3 regional final.

He also remembers the start of his junior season a few months ago. The expectations surrounding this Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett squad and the potential he felt he and his teammates possessed.

There’s no more need to look back.

In fact, the focus is on quite the opposite.

“We feel like we’re capable of winning a state title,” the now-junior forward said, looking ahead to this year’s playoffs. “That’s our goal moving forward. We have a very skilled team, and when all is said and done, we want to be the best in the state.”

While Liggett is a team that seems to fly under the radar a bit in high school hockey — being an independent Division 3 squad — its winter has been nothing short of amazing.

At press time, the Knights were riding a 16-game winning streak, were 18-2-0 overall and one of the few favorites to go on the type of run come playoff time that Soyka was referring to.

Yet, asked if he was surprised at all about his team and the year it’s putting together, coach Robb McIntyre admits that he is not.

“The truth is, we have some very good players, guys we knew were going to have good years,” McIntyre said. “Our top guys have played like our top guys. They’ve been consistent and done the things we’ve expected. We’ve got good depth in our scoring as well, which was a small concern coming into the year. Our secondary guys have really stepped up.”

McIntyre’s expectations coming into the season were heightened mainly by the experience of the roster coming back. From last year’s team, the Knights lost just one player, senior Connor Wiggins, who moved out of state.

“He’s a kid who would probably have 30 points by now,” McIntyre added. “So that was tough, but the guys have covered up by committee. Every night, we’ve gotten contributions from everyone.”

Liggett’s offense has produced 103 goals so far, a 5.2 goals-per-game average, while the defense and goaltending were giving up roughly two per game.

“The speed we play at seems to give a lot of teams trouble,” said senior defenseman Jake Hodges. “But we entered the year expecting to be pretty good. Last year was that buffer — our chance to figure each other out. Now, we’re putting it all together.”

Like Soyka, Hodges said the expectations for the upcoming playoffs center squarely on a long run. While he vowed not to take any team for granted, admitting that’s what cost them the regional final loss to Detroit Country Day last March, he also knows the path to Compuware for the semifinals will most likely include a date with Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood in a March 7 quarterfinal.

Cranbrook ended the Knights 2010 season in a 6-2 quarterfinal defeat.

“It’d be a great challenge to see those guys again,” Hodges said.

Liggett begins the playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 against Royal Oak Shrine at McCann Ice Arena. Country Day, a team Liggett beat 6-1 this season, will face the winner of that opener in a regional semifinal.

“The approach we’re taking is that, right now, we have to feel like a trip to the semifinals is ours to lose,” McIntyre said. “We have a good path, and if we can set ourselves up the right way, there’s some great things this team can do.”

More great things, that is.

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