Source: Observer/Eccentric

Author: Dan O'Meara / Lisa McAree

Farmington Hills Mercy's hockey team proved once again defense is indeed the key to winning a championship.

The top-seeded Marlins blanked both opponents in the recent Michigan Metro Girls High School Hockey tournament and won their second Division 2 state title in three years.

Mercy eliminated the defending champion P-C-S Penguins in a March 12 semifinal at Eddie Edgar Arena, 2-0, and they routed second-seeded Bloomfield Hills in the final game two days later on the same ice, 7-0.

Looking at the list of Michigan Metro scoring leaders, the Marlins should have lost decisively to the Black Hawks in the title match. From an offensive standpoint, that is.

Bloomfield Hills had the league's top four scorers and five of the top eight, led by senior Carolyn Andonian with 27 goals and 24 assists.

The five Black Hawks had a combined total of 94 goals and 187 points, but the Marlins managed to hold them scoreless in the big game.

"Our team defense has been really good all year," Mercy coach Joe Jones said. "It starts with our goaltenders. We have two excellent goaltenders. I'm not sure which one is best. They're equally capable.

"We were fortunate this year to have a lot of depth on the blue line. We have seven defensemen and a real deep corps. One is a junior and the rest are sophomores and freshmen. They really stepped up."

Top-notch goalies

Caitlin Somerville is the Mercy goalie who pitched the shutout in the final game, and Katy Kouvaris kept the Penguins off the scoreboard in the semifinal. Both are juniors.

"Katy made some big, big saves early in that game when it was 0-0," Jones said. "She was the difference maker in that game. Caitlin was just as outstanding in the final game. She had to make some big saves in that one as well."

Somerville and Kouvaris were the second- and third-best goalies in the league, statistically. Among those with substantial minutes played, they would be Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Somerville had a .900 goals-against average with 448 minutes of game time. Kouvaris allowed an average of one goal per game through 497 minutes.

The Mercy defensemen include juniors Riley Ruffing, sophomores Hannah Hamilton, Natalie Masopust, Amelia Bartels, Cassie Roberts and Maddie Jones and freshman Taylor Mackenzie.

Roberts was injured and didn't play in the championship game. Sophomore Sophie Van Acker dropped back from her forward position to help on defense, too.

"They have some girls on that (Bloomfield Hills) team that can really score," Joe Jones said. "We were relentless with our defensive pressure, but I didn't feel comfortable until halfway through the final period.

"Even with a 5-0 lead after two, I was still concerned, because I knew they could score a lot of goals in a hurry. I wasn't fully comfortable until the final buzzer went off."

Good offense, too

The Marlins also had some offense of their own. Balanced scoring was a team hallmark throughout the season, and the statistics from the final game reflected that as six girls scored goals.

Senior captain Anna Julien scored two goals and had one assist for three points. Jones (one goal, one assist) and freshman Cara Hodgins (two assists) notched two points each.

Sophomores Emily McCann and Mary Reeber, freshman Makena Duval and Van Acker contributed one goal apiece.

Seniors Ana Kiafoulis and Julia McAree, sophomore Natalie Vaitas and freshman Maddie Rennie also assisted on single goals.

McCann, the only Mercy player among the Michigan Metro leaders with 18 goals and 31 points for sixth place, and Julien scored goals in the semifinal win.

"We played a minimum of three lines, sometimes four and even a fifth for some games," Jones said. "In the championship game, all 22 girls played and contributed to the outcome.

"We had some very balanced scoring. Even though our team was the best team in the league, we didn't have anybody at the top of the leader board in points. We were definitely a team and not a couple of individuals.

"We gave up 22 goals in 23 games. With our depth at forward, we tend to have the puck a lot, and the other team can't score if we have the puck."

Season-long gains

Jones thought the Marlins had a chance to be successful at the start of the season. With such a young team, he wasn't sure how it would perform, however.

"We got better and better as the year went on," he said. "We didn't play very well in the semifinal. We played like we were nervous. We got the bugs out of the system going into the final game and played really well.

"Scoring the first goal in the final was huge for us, because I think it gave us a confidence boost. We were consistent throughout the game.

"Fortunately, I was able to roll all my lines in the third period, and everybody was able to get in the game."

The Marlins finished with a 19-3-1 record, losing only to Division 1 teams Grosse Pointe South, Grosse Pointe Liggett and Livonia Ladywood.

Ladywood won 3-2 in double overtime in the Catholic League final. South defeated Liggett in the D1 state final, 2-1.

Jones said he's proud of the team's record, but the most important thing for him is how the team performed relative to what it is capable of doing.

"I thought we were close to meeting our capabilities in almost every single game," he said. "I was extremely happy with the character of our players, too. Grade-wise, the girls did really well.

"A big key to our success was the tremendous team chemistry we had. Between the two captains (Julien and McAree) and the other two seniors (Kiafoulis and Jensen Pecora), we had tremendous senior leadership."

Junior forwards Natalie Cieslak and Abbey Przekop completed the Mercy roster.

New challenges

With so many players due to return next season, Mercy will have the potential to remain a powerhouse team and have another outstanding season.

"Obviously, we're going to have a target on our back," Jones said, adding the Marlins will probably move up to Division 1.

"We're looking forward to that challenge. Having so many sophomores and freshmen, they're only going to get better.

"I think we're going to be pretty good. It'll be a much tougher schedule for us. We're going to have harder games. I think the girls look forward to that.

"They want to be challenged every time they step on the ice, and those are the kind of players I like to coach."