Three down, two left.
That’s the situation for Livingston County hockey teams going into tonight’s regional finals.
Brighton, in Division 1, and Hartland, in Division 2, will play for titles tonight.
Brighton (19-8) is at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (14-12-5), where it will take on the Eaglets for the second time this season.
The game will be broadcast on The Livingston Post.
St. Mary’s won at Brighton, 4-3 in overtime, in the team’s regular-season meeting in November at the Kensington Valley Ice House. Tonight’s game is at St. Mary’s rink; the Eaglets are one of a handful of schools that own their own skating facility.
“We played them early, and we’ve watched them play a couple of times to get a look,” Brighton coach Paul Moggach said. “They’re always a pretty good team and they have some skill, like all the teams in that league (the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League). They’re always tough to play, very physical.”
The teams have nine common opponents this season, with St. Mary’s playing Birmingham Brother Rice three times and Detroit Catholic Central twice.
Brighton will be the home team in the game tonight, which means it gets the final change during face-offs.
“It’s the only advantage we’ll have,” Moggach said. “They have their own locker room, they’ll play with referees they’re familiar with. They have the advantage even though we’re the home team on the coin toss.”
St. Mary’s coach Brian Klanow says that home ice, or home team, neither should have a big influence tonight.
“Brighton’s played here several times, and the crowds should be evenly split,” he said. “It should be an even playing field.”
Lest one think Moggach was complaining about being the home team in uniform only, there’s this: “I like playing on the road,” he said. “I think there’s an advantage for us playing on the road. … I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
At this point of the season, Moggach said, the emphasis in practice shifts.
“This isn’t the time to change much,” he said. “You want them to find a little confidence and have some fun, because you never know what tomorrow brings. We want them to work hard and make it a good experience, even in practice. Seniors, especially, know it could be the last one, so we make it fun and hope it converts to a good game (today).”
Hartland, which rolled past Fenton (8-0) and Lakeland (9-1) in its pre regional, takes on Walled Lake Central tonight in a Division 2 regional final at Novi.
Both have won 22 games this season. Hartland is 22-2-1 and Central is 22-4.
The teams met in January, with Hartland winning 5-2.
“They’ve had a great season, and they’re riding high,” Hartland coach Rick Gadwa said. “I think they have more to prove, and they’re a senior-heavy team.”
The Vikings are coached by Gary Quitiquit, formerly at Milford, and won the KLAA North this season.
While Gadwa says Central has the advantage in senior leadership, he thinks his team’s depth will lift the Eagles.
“Even if we play our C game, we have a couple of ‘A’ players who bring the grade up,” he said. “We’ve been fortunate to be both deep and have top-tier talent. We have leaders pushing us through, and I think that’s the big difference. When we’re not playing well, we’ll have a few individuals who will lift us up.”
The Brighton-St. Mary’s winner will play in a quarterfinal at Munn Arena in East Lansing on Wednesday, while the Hartland-Walled Lake Central winner will take on either Birmingham Brother Rice or Berkley in Novi on Tuesday.
Hartland lost to Brother Rice in four overtimes last year; the Warriors went on to win the Division 2 title.
“We’re definitely not looking ahead,” Gadwa said. “We beat them earlier in the season, but that means nothing now. It obviously fuels their father. It’s a solid program, and we’ll try to get there (tonight).”
