The 2014 MIHL Prep Hockey is in the books and by all accounts it was a tremendous success.  The competition amongst the 40 teams was intense and evenly matched – 8 games were determined by a Shootout, 7 additional games were determined by one goal and 10 games were decided by two goals.  “Our strategy has always been to schedule very competitive games.  It benefits the teams as they prepare for the state tournament, the fans get into it and the scouts want to see the best players compete against each other,” explained Scott Lock, member of the Scheduling Committee.

Several teams won both games they played in the Showcase certainly establishing themselves as teams to be reckoned with in the state tournament: Northville, Livonia Stevenson, Divine Child, Houghton, Saul Ste. Marie and Grosse Pointe South to name a few.

It has been often said that a team could lose both games it played and still have a positive experience.  This view was reinforced by Mike Hayes, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit, “As a first year team, we weren't sure what to expect other than it would be very competitive hockey.  Even though we were 0-2, the showcase exceeded our expectations.  Our kids came away with a great experience.  It was first class in the way it was run and the hockey was fantastic.  We are definitely interested in returning to represent Ohio again.”

Rochester United Head Coach Craig Staskowski thinks it’s just a great weekend for high school hockey, “The state tournament is every team’s goal, but the Showcase is very special.  The culture, the excitement, the quality of the competition – it’s just all positive.  The coaches enjoy socializing with one another and interacting with the scouts, it’s the place to be.”

Outstanding performances worthy of recognition are the 5 goals scored by Brighton High School’s Danny Bosio against Cranbrook (Cranbrook ultimately won 6 – 5 in a shootout) and the fine play of goaltender Dominic Stankiewicz of Divine Child who registered two wins with one shutout and one goal against.

Colin Walters won the David Mannino Scholarship given annually at the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase.  Colin is a senior at Midland High School and plans to apply the $1,000 scholarship at either University of Michigan or Michigan State University in the Fall of 2014.

MIHL President, Andy Weidenbach summed it all up, “I think this year’s Showcase was an unqualified success and it met all of our goals. All the teams, the players and the coaches who participated benefitted.    The fans in attendance saw some great games and the scouting community grows in number every year so we must be doing something right. The MIHL would like to thank the Trenton hockey community (over 100 volunteers) and Capital Mortgage Funding, who joined with us to make the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase what it is today.”