U-18 Hounds Advance to State Tournament

The West Michigan Hounds U-18 team beat the Oakland Grizzlies in a best of three play-in series to advance to the Michigan State Championship Tournament.

   The Hounds defeated the Grizzlies in game one with a 2-0 shutout.  "We knew for us to be successful we had to play defensively and win close games."  Said Head Coach Mark Lawrence.  "We cant get into a run and gun kind of game, with these top teams in the nation."

  In game two the Hounds went into the third period with a 2-1 lead.  The Grizzlies scored two unanswered goals in the third to win the game 3-2 and tie the series up at one game a piece.

  Game three was a very intense game with both teams seasons on the line.  The hounds jumped out to a two goal lead in the first period.  "This really helped with calming the team's nerves, and giving us some breathing room."  Said Asst. Coach Rex Trott  The Hounds stuck to their systems, and pulled out a 5-2 victory to clinch the series.

   The Hounds begin the round robin portion of the State Tournament against Honeybaked, Wednesday,March 7th @ 9:00pm.  Game two is against Belle Tire on Thursday, March 8th @ 7pm.  Game three is against Compuware on Friday, March 9th @ 5pm.  All games are held at the Taylor Sportsplex.   

Best of Luck Hounds!!