Brendan Smith’s blast sends Flint Powers Catholic hockey back to Compuware Arena
DIMONDALE, MI — Brendan Smith may only be a sophomore, but he handled himself more like a veteran senior Wednesday night.
Smith had no problem recounting his game-winning slap shot in overtime that helped the Flint Powers Catholic hockey team to a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in the Div. 3 quarterfinals, but he quickly changed the subject.
Powers Catholic (20-8) return to Compuware Arena in Plymouth, site of the MHSAA hockey finals, for a semifinals matchup at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Houghton.
“I’m ecstatic,” Smith said outside the Chargers dressing room at the Summit Ice and Sports Complex. “We just had to stick to our game and get pucks to the net and outwork them in the corners. On the last play, it all worked out. “But we can’t get too high or too low right now. We’ve got to go into this next game even keel.”
It will be the second trip to Compuware in three years for a Powers Catholic team that has reached the state semifinals 19 times in program history. This year though, between injuries and a more difficult-than-usual schedule, the road has been a little bumpier.
Smith himself missed 13 games this season with a forearm injury he suffered in the season opener. He returned in late January but it took him seven games (Feb. 14 vs. Port Huron Northern) to get on the scoreboard again. Since then, he’s tallied seven goals and 11 points in the last seven games.
“He’s one of the top guys in the area as a sophomore,” said Powers Catholic coach Travis Perry. “He’s just getting into the hang of things, and it was nice to see him put one on the board.”
Smith’s goal, coming on a power play 2:14 into overtime, followed a third period that saw Forest Hills Central control the puck most of the way. The Chargers struggled to mount any type of serious attack as Forest Hills chipped away at goaltender Austin Kane, eventually tying the game at two.
“Going into OT we knew where we were at,” senior Mike Forman said. “We knew we needed to pick it up a little bit. I feel like we came out with a good start in overtime - (we) got a few more good breaks and kept moving our feet. Good things happen to good teams that work hard.”
Forman (goal, assist) put the Chargers up 1-0 13:52 into the first, a lead that blossomed to 2-0 in the second when junior defenseman Brendan Walker fired a shot from the blue one a second after Forest Hills Central had killed a penalty.
“He’s got one of the hardest shots on the team, and he got all of it,” Perry said. “There was no doubt when it left his stick.
“The guys are excited. I couldn’t be happier for this group. We’ve got a great group of seniors — we’ve got nine — and we’re just happy to go back to practice (today).”
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