The Wildcats have established for this season the objective to win enough playoff games to “get to Compuware” in the words of head coach Mike May. The goal reflects a major culture change in progress.

“We’re getting there,” said May of the culture transformation. "We're starting to see a change."

Change happens slowly, but, when it arrives, it arrives suddenly. There’s clear leadership now, most notably from seniors Matt Romund, Tyler Nabozny, Jake Gevaart and Cal Brininger. Junior Ben Coopes, too, who won the starting goaltender job and sports a .903 save percentage after three games.

“They represent the community very well,” said May, who didn’t mention a thing about their hockey skills, only speaking of their character and demeanor.

The leadership exemplifies the buy-in to several important attributes that the program promotes, most notably accountability, acceptance and academics.

“We focus on citizenship,” said May. “We focus on being good student-athletes. We have high expectations for our players on and off the ice, whether you are the best player or the 20th player on the roster. The expectations are the same.”

May is cultivating “a gentleman’s approach” to the game that fosters a welcoming atmosphere where all the players are treated with respect and are recognized for their intrinsic value to the program.

“We expect our players to be good teammates,” says May. “That means helping each other out in any situation—on the ice or in the classroom.”

And it’s a pretty good team too, playing a style that May labels as “blue-collar” where “we work defensively and take advantage of any offensive opportunities we have.”

So far, so good. The ‘Cats are 3-0, with a pair of 4-3 squeakers over Dearborn Divine Child and Portage Northern and an 8-0 mercying of the Kalamazoo Blades, where May almost appeared apologetic.

“We did mercy a league rival,” said May, “but our goals were the kind we like to score, after sustained pressure in the other team’s zone.”

And that’s the thing—Mattawan has a method of hockey to execute that matters more than the outcome on the scoreboard.

“We are really good defensively,” said May. “We transition well and we’re going to score some grinding goals. We focus on getting the puck deep and establishing a forecheck and wearing down the other team. An ideal game for us is winning three or four to one.”

Like the culture change, “it’s getting there.” Two of Divine Child’s goals were on the power play, and Mattawan’s Steve Mohney got the game-winner with a minute left in regulation. The Portage Northern win was in overtime. These are the kind of quality victories over quality programs that validate a coach’s vision for success.

“It’s been a positive start,” said May. “It took two or three years to get everyone going in the same direction.”

Now, it’s a pretty straight geographical path from Mattawan to Plymouth’s Compuware Arena. The 124-mile drive has only one turn onto Beck road from eastbound M-14. Two turns if you count the right-wheel into the parking lot.

But the journey to the MHSAA Final Four that a team makes in a given season is fraught with unexpected twists of fortune and fate. It can end suddenly and pre-maturely or extend against all circumstances.

The irony here is that no matter where Mattawan’s season ends, whether in Wings’ stadium or in Plymouth hoisting the D3 trophy, the program has already arrived.