A small, but definitely mighty conference; the Big North certainly lives up to its name. A six-team league that includes heavy hitters like Traverse City Central, Traverse City West and Alpena. Not to mention, schools like Gaylord and Petoskey that have both won regional championships as recently as four and five years ago.

The Big North championship has come down to the final games of the season each of the last two years. Both times, it was TCC coming up just short in its pursuit of eventual champions Petoskey (in 2022) and Alpena (in 2023). A puck bounces a different way or a game result breaks another direction, and either one of the last two championships could have gone to the Trojans. However, it was Alpena’s 10-0-0 run in conference action that clinched the title last winter. The Wildcats return a few key pieces this fall, as do a few other programs in the conference. So, the Big North should once more be a hotly contested league in Michigan high school hockey. Likely to come down to the final few games of the season yet again.

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