Prep highlights: Hartland rallies for OT hockey win over Powers Catholic
HARTLAND — It was an entertaining hockey game for the fans, but it’s not the style of play Hartland coach Rick Gadwa wants from his team with the state playoffs around the corner.
The Eagles fell behind by two goals twice before beating Flint Powers Catholic, 6-5, in overtime Wednesday night at Hartland Sports Center.
Jack L’Esperance completed his hat trick with 1:39 left in the eight-minute overtime period to give Hartland another marquee victory.
In the past few weeks, Hartland has beaten Livonia Stevenson (No. 3 in Division 1), Marquette (No. 2 in Division 2), Salem (No. 10 in Division 1), Byron Center (No. 1 in Division 2) and now Powers (No. 4 in Division 3).
The Eagles (16-6), who moved up to No. 2 in Division 1 this week, have three regular-season games remaining.
“We were fighting it, in my opinion, from the get-go,” Gadwa said. “It had something to do with our overall compete level. It just wasn’t where it needed to be at this point in the season. There’s little portions where we looked OK, but OK just isn’t going to get it done at this point.”
Boom! OT winner over Flint! Many of these boys have been playing each other since squirts. @HartlandHockey @statechampsmich @SeanPBali
@IsaacFrantti pic.twitter.com/jBqbEXEfEg— Matt Frantti (@mattfrantti) February 9, 2023
Mason Czarnecki scored four goals for Powers (15-6), including the first two of the game in the first period. Hartland tied in on goals by LJ Sabala and L’Esperance early in the second, but the Chargers regained a two-goal lead on goals by Michael Tucker and Czarnecki before the end of the period.
Goals by L’Esperance and Jacob Lewis tied the game 4-4 with 12:15 remaining. Czarnecki’s fourth goal put Powers up 5-4 with 9:00 left in the third, but Lucas Henry responded by scoring the tying goal with 7:01 remaining.
On the winning goal, L’Esperance took a pass from defenseman Isaac Frantti and fired a shot on the move from near the top of the left circle.
“I told them after the game it’s not about the win or the loss; really, it’s about how we’re competing, how we’re playing as a unit,” Gadwa said. “We need to be able to win games like these, but sometimes efforts like this when it’s one-and-done means it’s the end of your season. We have to make sure we don’t have lulls like this anymore.”
Lakeland 5, Howell 4
Brennan Grant scored with 36.5 seconds left, giving Lakeland the come-from-behind victory.
Howell took a 4-2 lead by scoring three goals in the first 4:50 of the second period. Hayden Sturos had two goals and two assists, while Joel Eskola had two goals and one assist for Howell (6-13-2).
Lakeland tied the game when Luke Weinberger completed his hat trick with 6:28 left in the third.
Boys skiing
Mt. Brighton Divisional
Brighton had four of the top six slalom finishers and the top two in giant slalom to win with a score of 62 points. Birmingham was second out of 11 teams with 96, Charyl Stockwell seventh with 225.5 and Howell ninth with 306.
Brighton’s John Popov won giant slalom in 28.22 seconds and was fourth in slalom in 38.61. Hunter Post was second in giant slalom (28.78) and third in slalom (37.13), Cru Smith was second in slalom (36.62) and 21st in giant slalom (31.65), and Dylan White was 13th in slalom (42.85) and 16th in giant slalom (31.18) for the Bulldogs.
Howell’s Alex Cotton was sixth in both races, while Stockwell’s Teddy Gottbreht was eighth in slalom and ninth in giant slalom.
Girls skiing
Mt. Brighton Divisional
Brighton scored 62 points to win by 19 over Birmingham. Charyl Stockwell was fourth out of 10 teams with 182 points, while Howell was ninth with 277.
Brighton’s Isabella Militello swept both races, winning giant slalom in 30.23 seconds and slalom in 38.64. Charyl Stockwell’s Madelynne Lindsey was second in each race.
Ava Popov was fifth in slalom and sixth in giant slalom, Vivian Flynn was 10th in slalom and 12th in giant slalom, and Abby Storch was 11th in giant slalom for Brighton.
Howell’s Alanna Keresztes-Fischer was seventh in each race.
Snowboarding
West Regional meet
Brighton’s girls finished first with 3,205 points and Hartland was second with 3,194.
Caitlin Thomas of Brighton won two of three races in Varsity Girls 1. Hartland’s Libby Knapp won all three races in Varsity Girls 2.
Pinckney was second to Detroit Catholic Central in the boys meet.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland rallies for OT hockey win over Flint Powers Catholic
