Farmington High falls in regional final, while Unified squad is ousted by top contender

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — There’s a notion that the 2009-10 hockey season was a relatively good one for the Farmington-area schools.

That notion is not only correct, it is a vast understatement.

With the postseason in full swing, both Farmington High and Farmington Hills Unified saw their brilliant seasons come to an official close in the regional round.

But looking back, it’s a season few will soon forget.

Take Farmington High, for example, a team that ended its year with a 18-6-2 overall record and just about pulled one of the biggest upsets yet.

The Falcons’ season ended March 6 in a 4-1 loss against Trenton High, the two-time defending Division 2 champ.

Trenton led just 2-1 late in the game before adding two empty-net goals.
While knocking off the Trojans would have certainly shaken the D-2 landscape, few can be surprised at the threat the Falcons presented.

After all, this was a team that shared the Oakland Activities Association Division I title with Farmington Hills Unified and knocked off a solid Canton High team 7-0 in the regional semifinal.

Growing expectations
When it comes to the playoff draws, the system doesn’t play favorites to one team or another. Nobody understands this better than the Unified team, which had the joy of facing Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, one of the top teams in all of high school hockey, in the Division 1 pre-regional opener March 1.

The Flyers didn’t back down, however, and nearly pulled an upset.

“We weren’t afraid, and the guys played like it,” coach Ken Anderson said of his team, which lost 3-0 but trailed by a single goal with four minutes remaining in the third.

“It’s a tough draw to have to play someone like that right off the bat, but if you’re going to do things come playoff time, you have to beat the best teams.”

In the regular season, the Flyers were in that “best teams” category.

En route to sharing the OAA D-1 title, the Unified squad finished the year 16-7-2.

“Very pleased with this season and how things went,” Anderson said. “We set some goals that were pretty steep, and these guys did their best to go out and accomplish them. It was a great year.”

And in all reality, should be a preview of what’s still to come.

The Flyers will graduate seven seniors from the current roster, but could return as many as 13 players next winter.

“The expectations are just going to keep going up,” Anderson laughed. “We don’t ever plan on being overloaded with seniors, so each new year we’ll have the luxury of bringing back some veteran guys. Things are set up pretty well for this program to be solid for years to come.”

You can reach Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1038.