Brighton meets St. Mary’s in hockey regional final — with broadcast link

//

After winning the pre-regional at Grand Oaks Ice Arena, the Brighton hockey team eagerly turned its focus to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

“That’s going to be a big one,” Brighton senior forward Jake Crespi said. “We’re really excited to get that one done.”

The teams meet today at 4:30 p.m. in a Division 1 regional final at the Kensington Valley Ice House.

It will be broadcast on The Livingston Post. 

“We’re looking forward to the opportunity,” Brighton coach Paul Moggach said. “We get a couple more guys healthy and we’ll be even better.”

The Eaglets (15-6-2) have been red-hot lately, going 12-1-1 in their last 14 games after starting the season with a 1-4-1 slate.

Brighton (20-6-2) started the season 17-2 before a late-season slump. The Bulldogs have been wracked with injuries throughout the season and, this week, illness. They were four varsity players short in both games at Grand Oaks and called up two players for depth from their JV squad.

The teams met the night before Thanksgiving, with Brighton winning 5-3. That started a three-game losing streak for St. Mary’s, and it’s a game that, in hockey terms, is so long ago Moggach says it should have no bearing on today’s action.

“I went to watch them play Clarkston Monday,” Moggach said of a contest St. Mary’s won 9-0. “It was hard to get a read on them. They have two good lines and move the puck well without pressure. We’ll see how good they move the puck with pressure.”

A large crowd is expected, and while Moggach is a little nervous about his team getting too amped up at home, “I’d rather play at home than here,” he said, laughing. “The downside is sometimes we get into the fans, and the fans get into us. They’ve sold a lot of tickets, and they’re bringing a lot of students. It should be a raucous place.”

Either way, the coach said, the final game of the season for his team on its home ice is something to look forward to, and savor.

“When you get to the regional final with an opponent like Orchard Lake, how could you not be happy?” he said. “It’s been a long season, and we’re going to the last week of it. Having a game like that in front of us is very exciting. ”

 

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

We don’t spam!

Sharing is caring!