Squirt A

Steven Fredrick nets hat trick in 4-2 win over Farmington Hills in the final

With the score tied 2-2 heading into the third period of the Squirt A state championship, Troy coach Patrick Moore had a message for his team.

“There are only 12 minutes between you and a state championship,” he said. “How bad do you want it?”

The Sting responded with two goals in the final period to beat the Farmington Hills Fire, 4-2, and win the Squirt A state title on March 11 at the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena.

Troy started quickly when Tommy Parrottino drove up the right side and centered a pass to Steven Fredrick who scored a minute into the game. The Fire then killed two penalties to keep the game close.

In the second period Fredrick made it 2-0 when he tapped in a goal almost identical to his first on a right side feed to the slot from Parrottino. But the Fire responded Tyler Sensky fed Jacob Pierce who faked a Sting defender and scored on a low wrist shot from the right circle.

A minute later on the powerplay, Farmington Hills tied the game on a nice passing play from Eric Marson and Dillion Jones that set up Austin Alger’s top shelf shot from in front.

The game stayed tight in the final period until Fredrick took advantage of a neutral zone turnover, split the defense and slipped a backhand in the net. The Sting sealed the game on a powerplay goal from Matthew Acciaioli, who took a pass from Ryan Matusik and fired a wrist shot from the left circle.

“We’ve had great success this season,” said Moore after the game. “We won regional Silver Stick, International Silver Stick and now the state championship. It’s rare that you get a great group of kids like this together.”

With a hat trick in the final, and ten points in the tournament, Fredrick was named MVP.

“It feels great,” he said.

Farmington Hills’ coach Joe Jones was proud of how his players performed in the tournament and all season.

“We had a great season and we played really well,” said Jones. “The Troy Sting are an outstanding team, and we battled them hard the entire game. My boys gave their best all year long, and with the help of some great coaches like Gary Becker, Tom Anastos, and Mike McCullough, they progressed continuously. It is a privilege to be able to coach such a fine group of boys, and we are already looking forward to next year.”

And even though the Fire didn’t win the final game, they had a tournament full of experiences.

“The spotlight introductions was really cool,” said the Fire’s Tyler Sensky. “We’re a little disappointed, but we played a great game.”

Squirt A Notebook

In the semifinals, Troy’s Brendan Pyc contributed a goal and two assists in the Stings’ 7-0 win over Southgate… Farmington Hills took a 4-0 lead against Flint in the other semifinal before Bobby Lynch scored two goals and an assist and held on for a 4-3 win…Southgate’s Billy Brock scored a hat trick and Tommy Proudlock earned a shutout in the 4-0 win over St. Clair Shores… Farmington Hills’ Jacob Pierce tallied two goals and an assist in their 8-2 win over Calumet… Troy’s Ryan Moore earned a goal and two assists and Steven Fredrick scored two goals in their 5-0 win over Flint…Traverse City’s Jordan Mitchell chipped in two goals but it wasn’t enough as Grand Rapids’ John “Jay” Stecco recorded two goals and two assists in a 6-2 win… On Saturday, Farmington Hills’ Drew Anastos had two goals and an assist in the Fire’s 5-2 win over St. Clair Shores… Southgate’s Billy Brock scored his second hat trick of the weekend in a 4-4 tie vs. Calumet… Chad Beckett and Bradley Arvanitis split the shutout in Troy’s 6-0 win over Grand Rapids… Flint’s Spencer Stark tallied three assists in their 4-1 win over Traverse City… St. Clair Shores Marshall Moise netted the game-winning goal in their 2-1 victory over Calumet… Farmington Hills Austin Bottrell registered a hat trick and Collin Juszczyk had four assists in their 5-0 win over Southgate… Traverse City’s Jordan Mitchell scored the lone goal in their 9-1 loss to Troy… Flint’s Jacob Gwillim earned a shutout with help from his team that scored two goals in the third period in a 2-0 victory over Grand Rapids.

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