Wednesday Night Playoff Hockey

Awesome games tonight, featuring some of the area's best teams. I'm fortunate because I have to be out of town this evening on business. I say "fortunate" because I don't have to choose which game to attend. There are so many great choices -- rivalry games and senior-laden teams squaring off -- that I don't even know how I'd begin to choose. Reality: any game you go to this evening will be a winner.

Forest Hills Central vs. Forest Hills Northern/Eastern (7 p.m. @ Griffs) - FNH/E won the first two times these neighborhood rivals met this season, but FHC has been the hottest team in town over the past month or so. Both teams can wheel and shoot and score in bunches. Both have senior leadership in bunches: Swardenski, Hess, Ullery, Feenie, McSween, Byers, Johnston, Mulder...the list goes on. And I guarantee that both teams will leave absolutely every ounce of blood, sweat and tears on the ice. Get to the rink early, because this will be a standing room only crowd.

Rockford vs. Lowell-Caledonia (7 p.m. @ Walker) - While a game between an OK Tier 1 team and a OK Tier 3 team may not seem very promising on paper (or on Blog), this one will be a good one. L/C has (surprise) two top lines of talented seniors (e.g., Steger, Story, Chittenden, Adams, Kusava) who can light it up and who enjoy the physical game. Rockford can also play physical hockey, which complements their ability to move the puck, lead by (surprise) several very talented seniors (e.g., Beeg, Hall, Glass and Krueze) on both offense and defense. In sum, this is one of those games where both teams have lots of skill, but the winner will be the one who has the most will.

Hudsonville vs. Grandville (6:30 p.m. @ Georgetown) - Broken record alert: Another game that features seniors who are the heart-and-soul of their respective teams. You say "Hudsonville," and I say: Alex Host, Jaron Gregorczyk and Pete Herman. You say "Grandville," and I say: Ian Straayer, Andy Grypma and Tom Lorenz. The styles are different -- H'ville likes to run-and-gun, while G'ville plays a more defensive-minded game -- but expect this to be a close one that comes down to goaltending.

Grand Haven vs. Mona Shores (7 p.m. @ Lakeshore) - The Bucs of Grand Haven are probably wishing they had an extra day to rest after a 5-overtime marathon against Reeths-Puffer that included a 71-save performance by goalie Sean Kittredge. Mona had a tough first-round game, too, as Muskegon Catholic Central took them deep into the third before the Sailors could pull it off. Tonight, Mona will no doubt roll four lines in an effort to wear the Bucs down. Look for the Bucs' Benjamin Rycenga, David Dyksterhouse, Daniel Brady and Vince Rohrs to try put the defensive clamps on Sailors seniors JC Boyd, Adam Meloche and Bret Grevel.

Portage Central vs. Jenison (7 p.m. @ Annex) - The Mustangs are coming off an emotional win on Monday against cross-town rival Portage Northern, but don't expect a letdown. Coach Jim Murray has been around the game long enough to have his talented team -- lead by Jared Hook and Chris Sandmeyer along with soph 'tender Brogan Vandevelde -- ready to play. Jenison has had an up and down season, but comes prepared to challenge tonight with contributions from Taylor Irrer, Ryan Muscat and goalie Tyler VanTinen.

Big Rapids vs. Cadillac (7 p.m. @ Ferris) - The Vikings have beaten the Cardinals both times they met this season, and the second win was a rather convincing 6-2 victory back in early January. But this is February playoff hockey, and Big Rapids has won 5 out of its last seven with the only losses coming to two of the state's top teams: GRCC and Midland. This is where the Cardinals will see if the very tough regular season schedule -- against many of the state's top teams -- pays off.

Traverse City Central vs. Alpena (7 p.m. @ Howe) - TCC has been one of the top-ranked teams in D-2 all season long, having played against -- and beaten -- some of the state's best teams. But Alpena, which is no slouch, has had the Trojans' number, beating them 5-0 and 5-2 in their two league meetings this year. It's no secret that TCC would like to win the third game between the two teams and see if they can continue on a path back to Compuware.