In the words of the coaches, players and fans of high school hockey the 2019 MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase was a tremendous success.  According to MIHL president Andy Weidenbach it doesn’t happen by accident, “Everyone involved including the City of Trenton and its hockey community, the Staff at the Kennedy Recreation Center, the volunteers and everyone from the MIHL are vital parts of the success of the Showcase”.

The competition amongst the 42 teams was intense and evenly matched – 15 games were determined by one goal and 7 of those were decided by shoot outs.  “Our goal every year is to attract the best high school teams and the best high school players in the area to compete at the Showcase.  The competitive matchups that occur benefit everyone – the teams, the players, the fans and the scouts,” explained Scott Lock, Director of the Scheduling Committee.

Several teams won both of their games in the Showcase establishing themselves as teams to be reckoned with in the MHSAA state tournament: Brother Rice, Traverse City West, Houghton, Alpena, Utica Eisenhower, East Grand Rapids, Houghton and East Grand Rapids to name a few.  And of course some of the top rated schools didn’t get two wins because they played other top rated teams. 

The David Mannino Scholarship given annually at the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase was presented to Joseph Weise, a fine young goaltender with a 3.8 GPA at Woodhaven High School.  Joseph will be attending University of Michigan - Dearborn in the fall of 2019.

Individual performances by some of the players stood out: Alex Schaumburger, Salem - 3 goals, 3 assists, Brendan Dickinson, Port Huron Northern - 3 goals, 3 assists and Rylan Clemons, Catholic Central – 2 goals, 3 assists.  Only five goalies were in the nets for two wins: Carl Mielock (Forest Hills Central), Matteo Vitale (Brother Rice), Jimmy Pietila (Houghton), Cooper Black (Alpena) and Max Grigsby (Traverse City West).

Chris Limback, Head Coach at Alpena High School, had not been to the Showcase and was quite pleased with he experienced. “It was amazing to see the growth of this event since the last time we were a participant. This is a top notch event run by a quality league. The exposure that we received from scouts was more than I could’ve imagined.  The team loved every moment of the Showcase and to come away with two victories made the trip memorable for all. We enjoyed representing the city of Alpena and look forward to a return trip in the future.”

MIHL President, Andy Weidenbach concluded, “It was another great weekend for high school hockey and the Prep Hockey Showcase.  The games were highly competitive which was good for the teams, the fans and the scouting community. The MIHL would like to thank the Trenton hockey community (over 100 volunteers), who joined with us to make the 2019 MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase another positive experience for everyone involved.”