It happened again! It happened, again. Wow… I could see this type of goal scored 100 times and it would never get old. Hell, we’ve all probably seen it close to 100 times as it is and it blows my mind every time.

Wednesday night, I went up to Hartland Sports Center to see Fenton/Linden host Tri-Valley in an MMHC matchup. The Griffins won the first meeting between these two teams with an 8-6 finish on Dec. 7th, but in the rematch it was Tri-Valley jumping out to an early 3-1 lead before Jackson Kocur did this...

Mike Legg was the originator of what’s commonly known as “The Michigan” but Andrei Svechnikov has done it twice this season in the NHL, Evgeni Oksentyuk did it a week ago for the Flint Firebirds and this amazing goal is becoming more and more commonplace across the hockey world. 

Just last season, I wrote about Adam Pitters (Grosse Pointe South, 2017) and Michael Zyrek (Rochester United, 2019) executing the miraculous move on the same day. Pitters pulled it off while playing for the NAHL’s Aberdeen Wings and Zyrek ripped it off in a regular-season game for RU.

It’s just breathtaking and seeing it live for the first time was something I’ll never forget. As Kocur came around the net, I said to myself, “damn, he’s all alone back there with a ton of time, he should try to…” GOAL!!! It happened so swift, so fast, I didn’t even have time to finish my thought before he executed the wraparound flawlessly. 

Tri-Valley is a senior laden squad with key contributors like Kyle Brown to pair with the 6-foot-4 power forward Kocur. A 10th round pick in the 2018 OHL Draft, Kocur is third in the state with 40 points in 12 games. Brown is a gritty forward with a nice motor, whose not too far behind Kocur with 23 goals and 32 points. 

Fenton/Linden on the other hand, is a significantly younger squad. The Griffins’ roster features six freshmen and four sophomores, including promising young D-man Nick Temple. The Titans are ready to make some noise this season with a few dynamic playmakers while F-L has a very exciting future ahead of them with young pieces in place at goalie, defense and up front. 

There’s the potential for a rubber match; a third meeting between these two programs, depending on the playoff draw as they share Region 12 in Division-II. They could be the two lowest ranked teams in that region but don’t count either program out. Both have a couple weapons and could make some noise if the opportunity presents itself. 

Kocur’s creative goal was the best thing I saw think week, do you think that was the goal of the year? Tweet me and share your thoughts on “The Michigan” working its way into MI-HS.