Hartland Patch Whiz Kids of the Week — Prep Hockey Players Win State Title

Whiz Kids: Brett Bandyk, Justin Bailey, Matt Caris, Cece Dicicco, Andrew Gilhooly, Austin Flores, Jordan Lutz, Jimmy McCann, Matt McCarthy, Chris McRae, Hunter Mechigian, Ronnie Miller, Mike Oberstaedt, Jack Orrico, Eric Parry, Anthony Rechul,  Josh Ruthig, Trevor Sudbay, Austin Tripp and Brendon Yaroch.

Grades: Most are freshmen and sophomores at ; three are juniors and Matt Caris is a senior.

Organization: Hartland Prep Hockey club, which is not affiliated with the high school and competes in the Great Lakes Prep-JV Hockey League.

Accomplishments: Won the JV/High School Division 2 state title for the first time ever with a 6-1 win over Midland earlier this month. Senior Matt Caris won Most Valuable Player for the tournament. The team also won its conference playoff tournament and the regular season title. The Eagles finished the year with a 56-6-4 record.

Key to Awesomeness: Hartland Prep Hockey coach Kevin Travers said the team has a lot of talent, but what sets it apart to make them successful is how players developed a camarderie that extends off the ice. One example is many players eat lunch together at school.

"They really are a tight-knit group," Travers said. "They do alot of things outside of hockey. They hang out and do fun stuff together and it translates back ino the game."

"This was a unique group. They answered every bell."

Travers also said Matt Caris, the team's starting goalie, held the Eagles together in tough moments with his spectacular play, winning the playoff tournament MVP. While the league is designed to be a junior varsity team, Matt was granted a waiver to play on the team as a senior because there are few goalie spots on varsity teams. Matt will attended Kettering University in Flint in the fall.

"He never flinched," Travers said. "He was the backbone of the team. He really was a brick wall for us (all season)."