Wyandotte Overpowered by Trenton; Season Is Over

A disappointing season ended for on Thursday night as the Bears were bounced from the state playoffs, losing 6-0 to Trenton in the second round of pre-regionals at .

Almost one year ago to the day, Roosevelt (7-17-0-2) knocked the Trojans (20-4-1-1) out of pre-regionals, then went on a magical run all the way to a .

This season, however, the Bears never got their footing and constantly struggled as new members of the tough

Trenton, also new to the MIHL, remained a competitive team in 2011-12, and on Thursday, dropped Roosevelt for the third time this season.

The Trojans grabbed an early lead as sophomore Andrew Sawyer put his team up 1-0 with a shot past Wyandotte sophomore goaltender Frank Cerulla at the 3:34 mark.

Stellar defense by Trenton kept Roosevelt from getting many scoring chances in the first period, and throughout the game. When the Bears did get a few opportunities, outstanding play from Trenton senior goaltender Blake Wojtala kept the puck out of the Trojans’ net.

Trenton added to its lead with about two minutes left in the first period as junior Brenden Torolski scored his third goal of the season. Torolski’s goal resulted in Roosevelt coach Mike Quint benching Cerulla in favor of junior goaltender Dalan Bulchak. 

Unfortunately for the Bears, the netminder shakeup was ultimately to no avail as two quick Trenton goals at the end of the second period put the game out of reach.

The first second-period goal came from senior Michael Lesko at 13:12, while senior Cory Seychel lit the lamp only 21 seconds later to make it 4-0 in favor of Trenton.

In the third period, the Trojans added two more goals, another from Lesko and a goal from sophomore Justin Howard, which was only his second of the year. 

Wyandotte senior Alex Sharpe said afterward that he feels the Bears played strong together as a unit on Thursday, but beating a tough opponent like Trenton requires an even higher level of teamwork.

“All in all, I think we played together as planned,” Sharpe said. “(But we needed to) play as a team a little bit more, just stayed together a little bit more and played as a family.”

Although the 2011-12 season in the MIHL was one of struggles for Roosevelt, Quint said he feels the team will benefit in future seasons as it keeps playing tougher competition.

“Let’s face it, it’s a tough league, there’s no doubt about it,” Quint said. “We think that it’ll make us stronger in the longer run.”

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

To set up Thursday's matchup, Wyandotte knocked off Southgate 7-0 Tuesday night and Trenton beat Woodhaven 6-1, also on Tuesday night.

The Trojans play next at 7 p.m. Saturday in a regional final game against Grosse Pointe South at .

Although Roosevelt’s season has ended, senior , who scored 25 goals this season, is still in the running for the State Champs! high school hockey player of the year. He's currently in first place.

(Editor's note: This story originally incorrectly reported the team that Trenton will face in the regional finals.)