Midget B

Squad beats Port Huron on late goal from Yaquinto on March 4 in Monroe

Fans of both teams that squared off in the MAHA Midget B MAHA state finals March 4 at the Monroe Sports Center saw inspired play through a back-and forth affair between the Livonia Kings and Port Huron Grizzlies.

Both clubs had their shot at bringing home the state title, but it was Livonia that prevailed 5-4 on a late goal by final MVP Dan Yaquinto.

Yaquinto finished the game with a goal and two assists, but it was his tally with just over a minute remaining in the contest that won the Kings the wooden trophy. Yaquinto picked up a rebound near the Port Huron net and fired a quick shot that dribbled through goalie John Botwin for a late one-goal lead they wouldn’t give up. Mike Alonzi and Nick Gilliland assisted.

Both teams held leads in the game, with the Grizzlies leading 3-2 at the end of a busy first period for both netminders. Port Huron started the scoring early at the :51 mark when Hank Zandarski shelfed a quick wrist shot on a breakaway past the glove of Livonia goalie Colin Beck for a 1-0 lead. Josh Papineau assisted.

The Kings then got two quick goals, starting with Mike Campanella’s power-play goal 5:48 into the period. Campanella scored the unassisted goal when he rung a slapshot off the post and in high on the glove side. Alonzi continued the streak just 17 seconds later when he tucked the puck past Beck for a 2-1 Livonia lead. Yaquinto assisted on the tally.

The Grizzlies scored a pair of quick goals of their own at the end of the first, starting with Austin Zawicki’s goal with 2:35 to go. Jeremy Davis assisted, and also drew an assist on Zandarsky’s second goal of the game with :23 remaining to give Port Huron a 3-2 lead going into the second period.

Each team scored in the second period, with the Kings’ Mike Padgen scoring a shorthanded goal to tie it 3-3 with 4:16 left in the stanza. Zawicki notched his second goal of the game just over two minutes later to send the Grizzlies into the third period with a 4-3 lead.

In the final period, the Kings Kyle Schwarz scored quickly to tie the game, 4-4, with assists going to Mike Aja and Yaquinto.

“We just told them to keep playing hard, drive to the net, and try to get as many shots as we could,” said Livonia coach Don Schwarz.

The two teams then fought a back-and-forth battle until Yaquinto scored the game-winner. Both Beck and Botwin played well, making big saves for each team along the way.

“Colin Beck, he is absolutely outstanding,” Schwarz said. “He made some big saves.”

Schwarz also thought that his team’s depth played a big role in the win.

“We have 17 kids, and I think they had maybe 11 skaters,” he said. “We have a deep bench. We have our leaders also, and you have to count on your bulls when it comes time for that, and they definitely came through.”

Midget B Notebook

Livonia made the final by beating Mackinaw City 5-3 in a semifinal decided by a pair of goals in the last half of the third period from Nick Gilliland… Port Huron cruised into the final with a 7-2 win over host Monroe. The game was tied 2-2 with 6:39 left in the second period, but five straight Grizzlies goals left no doubt. Jeremy Davis had two goals and two assists for Port Huron, while Andrew Clark had two goals for Monroe… The Kings started off with a 4-2 win over Iron Range, where Kyle Schwarz and Ryan Edmonds finished with a goal and two assists apiece, then followed up with an 11-1 win over Monroe… The Grizzlies started the tourney off with a 4-1 win over Belle Tire. They followed up with a 3-3 tie with Mackinaw City before drubbing Ann Arbor 10-3. Hank Zandarsky notched a hat trick in the win over Ann Arbor… Livonia finished off the round robin portion of the draw with a 2-1 win over Wyandotte, with Schwarz and Mike Alonzi scoring the game’s last two goals… Mackinaw City made the semifinal by opening with a 7-1 win over Ann Arbor before ties with Port Huron (3-3) and Belle Tire (2-2) … Monroe started off with a 5-1 win over Wyandotte in the first game, then followed with a 11-1 loss o Livonia and a 6-3 win over Iron Range.

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