Hockey season of struggle leads to promising future

The 2022-2023 Season was a significant sign of growth for the Woodhaven Hockey Team as they finished 4-21-1. The squad showed how to keep getting back up, despite all the hills to climb.
Their schedule had several teams that ranked high in the state, and although they lost, they were not defeated. Ignoring their record, the team developed more self-assurance as the season went on.
Captain Ethan Gilevich said “There were a lot of ups and downs, but I knew the most important thing was to keep pushing. No matter what went wrong or how many losses the team had I always gave it my all.”
The team was under a new head coach for the third year. It is difficult for a young team to prosper without a solid foundation. Luckily they reinstated their stability and fought through all adversity.
Their first win came three games into the season against Southgate. The final score was 9-1.
Three games later Gilevich hit a game-winner in OT that would allow Woodhaven to beat Riverview for win number two.
The halfway point was the real test to see what kind of team they were. They focused on growing as a team and remaining confident. As the end of the season drew near, they were facing off against the best teams in the state led by a core group of senior leaders. Their third but first significant victory came in the league game against Carlson, where Captain Ryan Simonson scored the game-winning goal in overtime to send the Marauders home. Simonson stated “The game-winning shot against Carlson was like no other. It lifted everyone’s spirits going further.”
In the following game, the Warriors tied Detroit Country Day, a team ranked 15th in the state; these two teams also met earlier in the year where Country Day won 9-1.
The team went into the playoffs with a renewed confidence and won the regional quarterfinals. Their playoffs run ended in the semifinals with a loss against Saline.