Flint Powers 1 GRCC 0

GRCC senior Clayton Brackett wheeled into the defensive zone at full speed, gathered the puck and launched a 180-foot slapshot as the horn sounded. It sailed high and wide, and within seconds there was a pile of orange and blue jerseys in front of the Flint Powers net. Brackett took a stride toward center ice then dropped to a knee and hung his head. All around him, his teammates from Grand Rapids Catholic Central went to a knee or leaned on their sticks. There were tears and disbelief. There was stunned silence.

Grand Rapids Catholic Central will not be playing in the D-3 finals for a third year in a row, following a 1-0 loss to a very talented Flint Powers in the quarterfinals played in Lansing tonight. The game was everything it promised to be going into it. These were two senior-laden teams with lots of skill and grit and a passion for the game. The goaltending was exceptional at both ends.

In the end, you could tell it was one of those games that was going to be decided by a funny bounce or an ugly goal. So it was really no surprise when a Flint Powers player threw the puck at the net and had it deflect off two sticks, hit the post and wobble into the net behind Cougar goalkeeper Adam Janecyk. Powers defenseman Carson Curran, who proved himself one of the best defensemen in the state tonight, got credit for the goal with an assist going to Spencer Irvin.

The goal came at the 7:48 mark of the third period, and GRCC didn't panic. Instead, they cranked up the intensity. They crashed the net and threw everything they could at Powers' goalie Matt Crowder, who was up to the task, even when a teammate took a penalty with 2:05 left to put GRCC on the PP. Cougar Coach Alan Kranzo called a timeout and sent six skaters back out, leaving his two-time all-state goalie Janecyk on the bench. He'd done the same thing a few weeks back at the Trenton Showcase, and it had paid off with the game-tying goal. At the time, he told me: "We think at this stage of the season, this was a great opportunity to put the kids in a situation where you try something like pulling the goalie in a critical moment to see if they can handle it. Because this is the kind of thing you might do in a state tournament game when there is no tomorrow."

The magic almost worked again, as GRCC was able to control the puck and get several good scoring chances, but they couldn't get the equalizer. Down a man, Powers was able to ice the puck and run out the clock. Final shots were 28-25 in favor of GRCC. Janecyk was splendid in net tonight, matching his counterpart Crowder from Powers.

There is, of course, a tomorrow scheduled for the 23 young men who donned Cougar blue and white this year, but it won't include a practice at Griff's to prepare for the state final four at Compuware. They'll be back at school, answering questions about what happened and figuring out what's next. (Open hockey on Saturday night at East Kentwood for some of them, no doubt.)

Congratulations to the entire Cougar team on a great season. Special kudos to the senior class -- Matt Kane, Clayton Brackett, Kevin Boman, John Dery, Paul Ziemke, Tyler Godfrey, Mark Koenigsknecht, Jacob Jeffers, Lucas Mcshosh and Adam Janecyk -- for its great three-year run. Three regional championships. Two trips to the state finals. 70+ wins.

Their legacy, though, will not be the trophies or the won-lost record. It will be the tradition they've begun of winning and excellence achieved through hard work. As the saying goes: "Tradition never graduates."