Trenton Showcase: GRCC Wins Thriller

Grand Rapids Catholic Central came back from a 2-0 deficit with three goals in the third period to defeat Brother Rice, ranked #2 in Division 2, at the Trenton Showcase.

"We showed some serious heart," said Coach Alan Kranzo, who himself showed some serious guts. With the Cougars trailing 2-1 and 2:12 left in the game, Kranzo made one of those coaching decisions that would either prove disastrous or brilliant. Brother Rice took two consecutive penalties to give the Cougars a 5-on-3 advantage. Kranzo called a timeout, and then pulled goalie Adam Janecyk to make it a 6-on-3 advantage. The strategy worked, as GRCC scored about 15 seconds later, when John Dery drove home a rebound off a point shot from Clayton Brackett. With the game tied and GRCC still on the powerplay, Janecyk went back to the net and then Brackett got the game winner on a wrist shot with 38 seconds left. Asked about the gutsy move to call a timeout and pull the goalie in a 2-1 game, Kranzo said: "We were really taking it to Brother Rice and the ice felt tipped in our direction. The great thing about the Showcase is that it's such a great atmosphere and the coaches thought why not put them in a great position to tie the game."

Paul Ziemke scored the other goal for the Cougars, the critical first one that gave them some energy early in the third period. After being outshot 21-11 through two periods, GRCC came back strong with an 8-3 edge in shots in the third. Final shots were 24-19 in favor of Brother Rice. Janecyk gets the win between the pipes.

"This is a great win for the team...they showed some serious heart," Kranzo said. "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."

Special thanks to East Kentwood dad Jon Post who sent me these pictures. This is what makes the West Michigan hockey community so awesome!