Livonia Stevenson High School has a rich history of high school hockey.
The principal of Livonia Stevenson High School was a former player for that program and a MHSHCA Hall of Fame inductee.
The current coach for Livonia Stevenson was also once a Livonia player himself.
Livonia hockey players have gone on to become pillars of the community.
The City Council president is a former high school player and currently coaches multiple teams for the city.
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That tradition relies on the hockey dads who brave the wicked harsh elements of Michigan winters to make those frozen sheets safe and available.
First State Title in School History
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP - Livonia Stevenson captured the first state hockey title in school history Saturday afternoon as the Spartans defeated Hartland, 5-4, in the Division 2 championship game at Plymouth's Compuware Arena.
Stevenson (23-7-1) scored four goals in the second period to take a two goal lead, then hung on for the victory as Hartland (19-9-2) started to rally.
Junior captain Dominic Lutz and senior Travis Harvey each scored two goals for Stevenson, while junior Ray Chartier scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 4:12 left in the second period.
Senior Connor Humitz made 25 saves in the win.
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The state title was the first in program history for Stevenson, and coach David Mitchell said he was proud to win not only for the school, but the community as well.
"I couldn't be happier for the Stevenson administration, alumni and the whole Livonia community," Mitchell said.
"We talked about this at the beginning of the year - we're the 43rd year of high school hockey in Livonia, 43rd team in Stevenson history and this is the first chance a Livonia school has had to play in a state final.
We've had some great teams and great kids go through our program, and to do that was very special."
Stevenson and Hartland were tied 1-1 following the opening period after goals from Harvey and Hartland’s Austin Flores, but the Spartans found their scoring touch in the second period to take control of the game.
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Hartland’s Chris McRae scored just 54 seconds into the second period to give Hartland the lead, but that lead was short-lived.
Stevenson scored three times in less than five minutes of game time to regain a 4-2 lead.
Lutz scored twice in that span, the first goal unassisted and the second assisted by senior Jake Kierdorf.
Harvey made it 4-2 after driving to the net, deking to his right and sliding the puck past Hartland goalie Nick Wineka while falling down.
Lutz said he never doubted the team would regain the lead if it kept fighting.
“The whole year (the coaches) were preaching to make the goalie make the save and throw the puck on net,” Lutz said.
“They have great goaltending; we just had to hope something bounces in.
Luckily we got a couple of good shots, couple of good bounces and got the lead right back.”
Ned O’Boyle answered for the Eagles, putting his own rebound over the blocker of Humitz to make it 4-3, but less than three minutes later Chartier’s shot from the point found its way to the back of the net to extend the lead back to two.
Mitchell said he would have preferred a more defensive second period, but he couldn’t fault his team for taking advantage of offensive opportunities.
“We’d rather not play that way; we’d rather play a little more defensively,” Mitchell said.
“Our team saw the opportunity to take that time to go, and it’s something where when we start going we got a few opportunities.”
McRae scored again for Hartland just 14 seconds into the third period to make it a 5-4 game, which Mitchell said forced a change in strategy to a more defensive style.
“They kind of changed our game plan a little bit when they got that early goal,” Mitchell said.
“Everybody always says, and I didn’t say this to my team, but a two-goal lead is not the best to have in hockey.”
The strategy worked as Hartland was held to just eight more shots and Stevenson held on for the win, setting off a wild celebration.
Lutz said it felt great to make history as a part of Stevenson’s first state champion team.
“It was great to see it all come together in the end, and we got it; it’s unbelievable,” Lutz said.
Hartland, which was also making its first state championship appearance, fell just short of its goal, but coach Rick Gadwa said he was proud of the team’s effort.
Gadwa said he wanted to avoid a high-scoring contest going into the game, but liked the way his team battled.
“That wasn’t the game plan to get into a shootout with them,” Gadwa said.
“It’s a 5-4 state championship game, crowd screaming; you can’t ask for a better game.”
Gadwa said he thought McRae’s goal in the third gave the Eagles a lot of momentum, but they couldn’t capitalize on it.
“That second period was wild, absolutely, and I think going into the third we got an early one and got a lot of momentum,” Gadwa said.
“We were really pushing there at the end and got a couple crossbars, hit some posts and good saves from the goaltender.
We just couldn’t buy that tying goal.”
Gadwa said after the game he was proud of the effort his team showed, especially that of his three captains: O’Boyle, senior Nick Pleshakov and senior Justin Bailey who he said “changed Hartland hockey.”
“Hartland had never made it to a state championship game, and in two years we won a regional and we made it to the state final,” Gadwa said.
“This is why - these three guys and their leadership on and off the ice.
I couldn’t be happier with their effort, and I just want everyone to know I’m proud of them and our entire team.
A Historic Performance
HARTLAND - It was a performance that had onlookers racking their brains afterward, trying to recall if they’d ever seen it happen before.
The consensus: Nobody could remember another hockey player doing what Livonia Stevenson senior Seth Lause achieved Saturday night.
Lause scored three shorthanded goals for the second-ranked Spartans in a 5-2 victory over third-ranked Hartland at Hartland Sports Center.
There are no MHSAA records listed for most shorthanded goals in a game.
In the 102-year history of the National Hockey League, a player has scored three shorthanded goals only once (Calgary’s Theo Fleury on March 9, 1991).
Lause’s first goal gave Stevenson a 2-1 lead with 6:44 left in the second period.