Sports

Gerald Mayhew Has a New Nickname: Mr. Hockey

Bears captain is first Wyandotte player to receive the title given annually to the top high school hockey player in the state.

Fans chanted “Mr. Hockey!” many times when senior captain Gerald Mayhew took the ice this season for the Bears.

On Sunday, the title was officially given to him when the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches' Association honored him as Mr. Hockey 2011.

The award is given annually to the top high school hockey player in the state.

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Votes were taken during the March 12 championship game at Compuware Arena where to become the Division 2 state champs.

The award comes just two day after a was held for the Bears, the first team in school history to win a state sports title. Mayhew is the first Wyandotte player to receive the Mr. Hockey title.

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Mayhew was honored last month as a Wyandotte Patch .

At that time, head coach Mike Quint mentioned the Mr. Hockey possibility.

"I believe Gerald’s a candidate for Mr. Hockey,” Quint said.  “He’s quite a young man. … Gerald is a proven leader. He’s the kind of kid everyone would want on their team. He’s a hard worker and very dedicated.”  

The three-sport athlete already has signed on to play junior hockey with the Kalamazoo Wings next season.

Mayhew said the entire season has been unreal and he will forever remember being the first in school history to receive the accolades.

"We really didn’t think we had this good of a team to win the state championship," he said. "Toward the middle of the season, we had a Christmas party. Everyone started bonding together. We played a bunch of games together. That’s when I felt this could be it.

"After that happened, the next practice and the practice after that and so on, I just kept working hard and getting my teammates to work harder. ….  When things were down, we never gave up. We just kept going strong."


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