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Guess Who's Back

By Craig Peterson, 01/14/20, 4:45PM EST

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Miles immediately goes to the top of the Starting Six picks

Big week for Brady Rappuhn! The senior forward for Saginaw Heritage mounted 10 points in three games last week to surge up the leaderboard and we’ve got movement in the Top 5 performances this season. 

TOP PERFORMERS

WEEK 2

Austin Combs, Milford

6 G, 4 A

16 FPS

WEEK 8

Brady Rappuhn, Saginaw Heritage

5 G, 5 A

15 FPS

WEEK 1

Doug Wood, University Liggett

3 G, 8 A

14 FPS

WEEK 5

Shane Romback, Macomb Dakota

5 G, 2 A

12 FPS

WEEK 3

Mason Kelly, Forest Hills Central

4G, 3A

11 FPS

 

We’ve got eight weeks worth of picks and at six different players per week, I have shuffled through 48 of the top guys in the state already. Without repeating names, the Dream Team of the Week selections are getting tougher the deeper we get into the schedule. I’m always up for a challenge though, and hopefully the next six guys are too! Let’s gear up for a big week.

Week Nine

Monday, January 14th - Sunday, January 19th

 

FORWARD, Senior Nick Marone, Brother Rice

SCHEDULE: 1/14 vs. Port Huron Northern, 1/17 @ Houghton, 1/18 @ Calumet

I’ve been a little quiet on the Warriors in recent weeks, to no fault of anyone, they’ve just played three games over the last month so there hasn’t been much to digest. That changes this week with Marone and company playing a three-game slate with a huge U.P. trip on the books. The 5-foot-10 shifty forward has next-level ability one-on-one and can break down any defender on the rush. He leads Rice with 12 goals and its top line is scary good, generating 28-of-54 goals this season. They’ll be tough matchups, but it’s a special trip for the group and could launch Marone and the Warriors into a monumental second half of the season.

 

FORWARD, Junior Matt Mogle, Jackson Lumen Christi

SCHEDULE: 1/15 vs. Capital City, 1/17 @ Jackson United, 1/18 @ Kalamazoo United

He’s a gritty little forward that works hard and creates lots of opportunities for the Titans. Mogle has four goals and 20 points in 11 games, and has some very favorable matchups ahead with all three opponents ranking No. 94 or lower in the state. Lumen had won nine-of-10 games before Okemos stole one away last Friday, so I could see the Titans and Mogle take out some frustration on this week’s foes and look to pile some wins back up after a salty defeat. He’s a real nice playmaker, with points in all but one game this season and multiple marks in six of those outings; I like him to have a great stretch in Week 9.

 

FORWARD, Junior Brendan Finn, Lake Orion

SCHEDULE: 1/17 @ Macomb Dakota, 1/18 @ Romeo

One of my absolute favorite players to watch this season. I’ve been all about Finn since he came on the scene at MHA’s Top 80 in the fall, exploding out of the St. Clair Shores youth program. The first-year junior leads Lake Orion in scoring with 12 goals and 24 points and marks in every game this season. If you work your ass off, good things happen and Finn is living, breathing proof of that. He’s a buzzsaw on the ice, wrecks the opponent’s breakout, picks defenders pockets, pushes people out of the way along the boards and then buries the puck in your net. I’ll hang up and wait for the rest of the state to respond. Click.

 

DEFENSEMAN, Senior Brendan Miles, Detroit Catholic Central

SCHEDULE: 1/17 @ Cranbrook, 1/18 vs. Cranbrook

He’s baaaaaaaaaack!! There may be more favorable weeks/matchups for CC down the stretch here, but I’m putting Miles in the mix as soon as I can, I’m too excited to see him back in action. Returning from a two-month stint with the Omaha Lancers in the USHL, the 5-foot-10 righty instantly becomes the top D-man in the state for the No. 1 ranked Shamrocks. Miles’ first game back? Just a cool three-point performance against OSLM, and I feel pretty confident he’ll have a couple more of those outings before the season ends. A home-and-home with Cranbrook would be a good time for that.

 

DEFENSEMAN, Junior Corbin Steele, Chelsea

SCHEDULE: 1/14 vs. Dexter, 1/17 vs. Davison

The Chiefs are a squad I haven’t seen much of this year, unfortunately. Off to a respectable 8-4-0 start though and a couple big matchups on the slate this week with a pair of home games. In seven home outings, Steele has found 15 of his 20 points this season so the junior D-man apparently likes the confines of the Arctic Coliseum. Neither the Dreadnaughts or Cardinals give up many goals, so it’ll be a big challenge, but the 17-year-old is highly involved in the offense with eight goals from the blue line and third on the team in points. 

 

GOALIE, Senior Caden Fisher, Grandville

SCHEDULE: 1/17 vs. Saginaw Heritage, 1/18 @ West Ottawa

He’s 9-4-0 on the year with a fantastic .934 save percentage. This week offers up back-to-back Top 25 matchups, which will be his fourth and fifth games against such opponents. Fisher has made 30-or-more stops in six starts this season and could use a little run support, as the Bulldogs average less than three goals per game and maintain a plus-five goal differential. The 6-foot netminder will keep his team in the game and give them a chance to pull off a few upsets here, but it won’t be easy, with Fisher is in search of his 34th — and 35th? — win of his three-year career.

Oh baby! Can’t believe the season is halfway over… Feels like we’re only getting started. So much hockey left to play in 2020, so let’s talk about it on Twitter.