Cranes Capture Thanksgiving Tournament Trophy

After successfully recapturing the Cranbrook Thanksgiving Tournament trophy, Cranbrook (3-1-0, 2-0-0) is heading to Calumet (1-1-0) next weekend for a two game series with the Copper Kings.

Cranbrook and Calumet High School are two of the more storied programs in Michigan high school hockey: During the period 2000 – 2009 Cranbrook and Calumet claimed 8 of the 10 MHSAA Division III State Championships. CK won in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2009. Calumet won in 2003 and 2008. In the early years Calumet won 4 MHSAA Class B-C-D Championships – 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998 and CK won 8 MHSAA Class B-C-D Championships – 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1997. Head Coach Jim Crawford has been behind the bench for all of Calumet’s 6 State Championships and Andy Weidenbach has been at the helm of CK for 7 State Championships. Weidenbach likes playing Calumet, “We look forward to playing Calumet every year because of the great tradition of this rivalry. Jim Crawford has run a class program in Calumet and you always know that the games will be a battle.”

The Cranes will head north on a bit of a roll. Except for the 1st period against Trenton, the Cranes have played well with a good blend of defense and offense. In their first game of the season, Cranbrook breezed by MIHL opponent Port Huron Northern 8 – 0. Senior co-captain Patrick Brown led the Cranes with 5 goals and 1 assist with linemate senior Ryan Doucet adding 1 goal and 3 assist.

Against Trenton, Cranbrook fell behind 3 – 0 in the first 10 minutes of the 1st period and although the gained their composure they were never able to catch the Trojans ultimately losing 4 -2. Senior co-captain Kevin Collon and sophomore Cameron Heath scored for the Cranes.

In the first game of the Cranbrook Thanksgiving Tournament, Cranbrook faced off against MIHL rival U of D Jesuit. The Cranes took a commanding 3 – 1 lead in the 1st period on goals by Patrick Brown, Cameron Heath and senior Will Miller. Junior Brendan Kirk increased the lead for Cranbrook scoring a powerplay goal in the 2nd period. Patrick Brown and senior Alex Lowenstein added goals in the 3rd period to put the game on ice for the Cranes. U of D Jesuit added two goals late in the game to make the final 6 – 3.

In the championship game against Clarkston, senior goaltender Thomas Scoggin registered his second shutout of the season and the Cranes offense put up 4 goals. Alex Lowenstein opened the scoring early in the 1st period with a powerplay goal set up by senior defenseman John Stockman. Patrick Brown followed suit early in the 2nd period with a powerplay goal assisted by Lowenstein. Junior Tyler Waterman and senior Kyle Lynch closed out the scoring for the Cranes as each registered their first goals as members of the CK Varsity team.

“Except for the first period against Trenton, I don’t have many complaints. We do have some things to work on, but we rebounded well and played two good games against two good teams. Both U of D Jesuit and Clarkston gave us a real battle. Our defense played well and the offense provided timely scoring, it was a good balance”, commented Weidenbach