Trenton skaters again on solid footing

Despite a couple of unusual slip ups – losses to local teams Gabriel Richard and Allen Park – The Trenton hockey team finds itself in the middle of another solid season.

Through January 18, the Trojans find themselves with an 11-4 record and they are ranked among the top 10 Division 2 teams in the state.

On Jan, 18, coach Chad Clemens’ team beat Grosse Pointe South 5-1. It was Trenton’s second win of the year over the Blue Devils and the Trojan’s third win in a row. It was also the team’s fifth win in six games.

Grosse Pointe scored first in the game, but Trentin Goalie Evan Sivi shut out the Blue Devils the rest of the night. He stopped 21 of 22 shots.

Netting goals for the winning home team were Josh Bogema, Nathan Sparks, Donovan Durbin, Blake Boike and Owen McAlister. Bogema and John Medvich each had a pair of assists.

Trenton is 4-1 in 2023 as the Trojans started the new year with a 3-1 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary followed with a stunning 3-2 loss to Allen Park and then beat Grosse Pointe North (10-0), Port Huron Northern (8-0) and Grosse Pointe South.

Those games set the stage for an intense stretch of the schedule as the Trojans hosted Brother Rice on Jan. 21 and will host old rival and nemesis Novi Detroit Catholic Central on Jan. 26. Catholic Central is undefeated this season and ranked as the best team in Michigan.

There has been no shortage of goal scoring during Trenton’s recent run of wins.

Against Grosse Pointe North, in an outdoor game played at Detroit’s Clark Park, nine different players scored for Trenton before the game was called after two periods because of the mercy rule.

Bogema had two goals that night and Micah Kneiding, Sparks, Finn Aitkens, Carter Allen, Medvich, Jay Cormier, Durbin and Will Barrett had the others.

In the blowout of Port Huron Northern, it was another share-thewealth night for Trenton as Durbin had two goals and six others also scored. The other goal-getters were

Sparks, Carter, Barrett, Landon Leone, Caleb Kidd and Gabe Polyviou.

Trenton outshot Port Huron 43-10 in the game and Trenton netminder Noah Miklos stopped all 10 Huskies shots.

Unlike the other games, the first game of 2023, against OLSM, was a thriller and Trenton did not close out the 3-1 win until Cormier scored an empty net goal with less than a minute to play.

The game was scoreless until late in the second period when Jake Wiseman scored on the powerplay. The lone assist went to goalie Miklos.

Trenton would never trail in the game, but Orchard Lake did tie the game early in the third period.

It remained 1-1 until just over two minutes remained in the game when Durbin netted the game-winner.

Kneiding and Leone drew assists in the even-strength goal.

The one sour note in Trenton’s recent string of successes was a 3-2 loss to Allen Park in Allen Park on Jan. 7

In that game, Trenton more than doubled the Jaguars in shots on goal, but The Trojans fell behind early, tied the game, fell behind in the second period and could never catch up.

Trenton had 49 shots in the game to just 23 for the Jags. Wiseman and Sparks scored, but it was not enough.

Prior to the beginning of 2023, Trenton put together a 7-3 record with wins over Warren DeLaSalle, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook, Grosse Pointe North, Woodhaven, Grosse Pointe South, Livonia Stevenson and Carlson. The Trojans lost twice to U-D Jesuit and to Gabriel Richard.

Trenton now heads into the final portion of its regular season schedule.

After playing Catholic Central, the Trojans will face a rematch with DeLaSalle and then host the 21-team annual Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase.

At the Showcase, Trenton will face state-ranked Alpena at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 3 and Calumet at 9 a.m. on Feb. 4.