Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood adds to legacy with 4-2 win over Sault Ste. Marie in Division 3 ice hockey title game

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood never let off the gas and doubled up Sault Ste. Marie, 4-2, Saturday at Compuware Arena in Plymouth in the Division 3 ice hockey finals, its 16th state championship and first since 2010. The Cranes scored three goals, including one on the power play, during a 4:03 stretch in the second period to increase a 1-0 lead to 4-1.“This is a great group of kids,” Cranbrook-Kingswood coach Andy Weidenbach said. “They play well together and they want to win together. I’ve had two teams that have been this great, this one right here and the 2005-06 team.“This is a special group to work with. Most coaches say that their team is exceptional, but this one truly is.”Alex Alger scored the last two goals for Cranbrook-Kingswood during its second period run. Cranbrook-Kingswood (28-2-1) is ranked No. 1 in Division 3 according to the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association, Myhockey.com and the U.S. High School Hockey Organization, while Sault Ste. Marie (22-9) is ranked fourth, third and fourth, respectively. Cranbrook-Kingswood dominated the game from the start, out taking the first six shots of the game and scoring a goal before the Blue Devils could register a shot on net. At 8:11 of the first period, Austin Alger pounced on a Sault Ste. Marie turnover in the right circle and fired a slap shot past Nickolas McKenzie to put the Cranes ahead 1-0. Kevin Shand started the second period scoring run with a short breakaway and a shot from between the circles that gave Cranbrook-Kingswood a 2-0 lead with Andrew DeClerck and Jack Blumberg assisting. Not wanting Cranbrook-Kingswood to run away with the game, Sault Ste. Marie responded quickly when Eric Hillock and Chase Gamelin set up Kyle Teneyck in the right circle, shooting the puck over Spencer Applebaum’s shoulder to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 8:51. Alex Alger answered the Blue Devils’ goal with two of his own, including a power play conversion, which gave Cranbrook-Kingswood a 4-1 lead as Austin Alger assisted on the first goal at 10:10 and Blumberg got the helper on the second at 11:26.“A goal is always big,” Alex Alger said. “But with our line in particular, we just feed off each other, I do with Austin and Billy (Young). They just add to our talent. I just caught the lucky break on the first one and I was in the right spot and the right time on the other.”Gamelin cut the Cranbrook-Kingswood advantage in half at 5:34 of the third period on a wrist shot that Blake Mastaw and William Gauthier set up, but that was as close as Sault Ste. Marie got for the remainder of the contest.“This season has been wonderful,” Sault Ste. Marie coach John Ferroni said. “We started with 26 kids coming out and I selected 21 of the best. This was a great bunch. We went through some injuries and adversity, but we made through all that. We traveled over 5,000 miles and I do think we have one of the best teams in the state.”Applebaum turned back eight shots for Cranbrook-Kingswood and McKenzie made 34 saves for Sault Ste. Marie. This is the second time Cranbrook-Kingswood and Sault Ste. Marie have met for the state hockey title, with the Cranes winning 5-2 to take the 1988 Class B-C-D championship. When asked if Cranbrook-Kingswood’s regular season victories over Division 1 finalist Detroit Catholic Central and Division 2 champion Livonia Stevenson meant the Cranes are the best team in the state, Weidenbach stated, “I’ll let everyone else decide on their own.”