2025 MDHL Playoff Recap

The 2025 MDHL season came to an end today, in one of the most surprising MDHL Championship matchups in recent history, where the 5^th place (Black) and 6^th place (White) teams in the regular season earned their way to the finals with some great quarterfinal and semifinal wins.  In what was a tightly-contested championship game, White eventually got the upper hand, winning the game 4-1 (with an empty net goal).

White’s Path to the Finals:
White earned their spot in the finals by topping Red 5-1 in their quarterfinal game and by beating Blue 4-3 in the semis.

In the quarterfinals, White rode big offensive games by Detroit Catholic Central’s Sam Masek (3A) and Gabe Thompson (2G) in a game that they controlled from start to finish.  Howell’s Chase Rayburn was almost perfect in net, saving 37 of 38 shots faced (97.4% save percentage) and frustrating Red throughout the game.    

Shots were 43-38 in favor of White.

In their semifinal matchup with Blue, it was more of the same from White.  Howell defenseman Dylan Flamini had a big game offensively, scoring the first (a one-timer on the powerplay) and last (a game-winning top-shelf wrist shot from the top of the circle) White goals of the game. Masek was great defensively and Brighton’s Tim Peterson was quietly effective as well, putting up 3 points (1G, 2A).  In net, Rayburn continued his hot streak, saving 33 of 36 shots (91.7% save percentage) and turning away numerous grade-A chances from in close.  Blue made it a game in the third, scoring with the goalie pulled and 1:28 remaining to make the score 4-3, but they couldn’t get another one past Rayburn before time expired.  Northville’s Ethan Egelski put in a great effort for Blue, contributing on all three goals (1G, 2A), but it wasn’t enough to overcome White’s goaltending and early three goal lead.

Shots were 36-28 in favor of Blue.

Black’s Path to the Finals
Just like White, Black didn’t have the luxury of a first game bye.  They had to win their quarterfinal and semifinal games to make it to the finals.

In the quarterfinals against Orange, Black came out firing and jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the end of the 1^st period.  Their top players handled the load, with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Dominic Pizzo (2G, 1A), Howell’s Luke Storm (3A), and Utica Eisenhower’s Joey Zelenak (1G, 1A) leading on offense, and with Livonia Stevenson defenseman Colin Stroble (2A) contributing offensively to go along with a solid defensive effort.  Orange wasn’t able to dig out of the five goal hole and the game ended 7-2.

Shots were 35-26 in favor of Black.

In the semifinals, Black took on top-seeded Green, in what proved to be one of the more exciting games of the season.  In a span of under 45 seconds in the 1^st period, Green scored to go up 1-0 on a power play goal by Mona Shores’s Quinn Addicott, Black tied it 1-1 on a Colin Stroble goal, and Green went back up 2-1 courtesy of Mona Shores’s Cullen Conrad.  After that, the game settled down a bit until just over 6 minutes left in the 2^nd period, when Green’s Landon Smith (West Catholic) scored on a great forehand shot, extending Green’s lead to 3-1 going into the 3^rd period.  Green goalie Tyler Boynton-Fisher (Bay Reps) was perfect in his one period of play in the 2^nd, turning away all 14 shots he faced. 

In the 3^rd period, the momentum started to swing in Black’s direction, starting with a nice goal in front by Brighton’s Mitchell Wysocki to cut Green’s lead to 3-2 with a little over 14 minutes left in the game.  Shortly after that, Black’s Liam Simone (Detroit Catholic Central) created a turnover at the blue line and went in all alone on Green’s Sam Hoag (Caledonia), who made the first save but couldn’t stop the rebound that Simone put in to tie the game at 3 apiece with 12:40 remaining.  A minute and a half later, Black would take the lead for the first time of the game on a great shot from Howell’s Lincoln Frantti off an offensive zone faceoff.  Green fought back and had a number of prime chances, but Black’s Connor Holmes (Utica Eisenhower) stood tall in net, stopping all 11 shots he faced.  Green pulled their goalie with a little over 3 minutes remaining, but Black’s Dominic Pizzo iced the game 5-3 with an empty net goal off a turnover in Green’s zone.

Shots were 32-29 in favor of Black.

Championship Game Recap:
In the finals, both teams were feeling each other out for the first 10 minutes, with minimal scoring chances for either side.  Around the nine minute mark, things started to open up when Black turned the puck over in their own zone and Utica Eisenhower’s Bode Farr and Forest Hills Northern’s Justin Halverson came in on a 2-on-0, with Farr sliding the puck over to Halverson for the easy goal to put White up 1-0.  Just a little more than a minute later, Black’s Dominic Pizzo rushed the puck all the way down the ice, made a strong move to the net, and created a rebound that Frantti buried behind Rayburn to tie the game 1 to 1 at 7:14.  The rest of the period was uneventful, and the score remained tied heading into the 2^nd period.

The second period started with a little more action, as Gabe Thompson won a stick battle at center ice and came in all alone on Black’s Andrew Partipilo (Midland), where he deked to the backhand but hit the cross bar.  Moments later, Farr had a point blank shot from the point that Partipilo turned away.  White kept the pressure on from there, generating four or five more high quality scoring chances over the next few minutes – all of which Partipilo turned away.  In the second half of the period, Black pushed back hard and eventually earned their own breakaway, where Pizzo fired a laser off the crossbar that bounced into the corner and out of harm’s way.  Each team traded some solid chances from there, but the period would end tied 1 to 1.

Shortly into the third, Pizzo sent another shot off the crossbar, just missing a chance to put Black up 2 to 1. With 16:53 remaining, Flamini took a hooking call that put Black on the power play, but they weren’t able to generate any scoring chances with the man advantage.  At 11:36, Black took their own penalty, but White wasn’t able to put anything together with their extra man advantage.  That all changed with just over 7 minutes remaining, when Halverson caught a stretch pass that put him in on a breakaway.  Holmes made the initial save but Halverson was able to put his own rebound into the back of the net, putting White up 2-1.  With just under 3:30 remaining, Halverson completed the hat trick, putting a nice pass from Howell’s Bryce Eskola past Holmes to put the game out of reach for Black. 

With a number of great scoring chances (and more crossbars hit) to end the game, Black just couldn’t find a way to get anything past Rayburn, who was just outstanding in all three playoff games (he saved 39 of 40 shots in the championship, posting a 97.5% save percentage).  Farr added an empty net goal with a few seconds left, securing the championship 4-1.

Shots were 40-26 in favor of Black.

This was a great game that could have been won by either team, and was a fitting way to end the season.  Congratulations to team White – finishing in last place in the regular season and finding a way to get it done in the playoffs.

Good luck to everyone in the upcoming high school season, and thank you to EVERYONE involved with making this another successful MDHL season!