Oiler Hockey

Monday Matinee

2012-02-21T10:36:00.003-05:00

On Monday the 20th of February, Mt. Pleasant hosted a rare, school day Matinee when Lansing Catholic came to town. The two teams squared off a year ago in a holiday tournament in Lansing that the Oilers were crowned Champions of.

As Mt. Pleasant ran a full compliment of three lines and five defense man, every player on the roster logged minutes and at the end of the day the Oilers found their record improving to 8-13.

Mt. Pleasant opened the scoring on a nice wrap around goal from Sophomore Max Heeke with an assist going to Sophomore Theron Krapeck. The teams headed to the first intermission with the Oilers holding a 1-0 advantage.

Lansing was able to answer, knotting the game at one just two minutes in to the second period and from there it was a back and forth, at times sloppy and un-disciplined period that ended with the Oilers holding a 6-3 lead heading in to the third.

Scoring goals in the second period for the Oilers were Robert Backus (2), Nick Coscarelly (2) and Dan Pulver with assists to RJ Cilibraise, Erc DeLorenzo, Backus (3)and Pulver. Adam Salisbury was relieved after the second by Freshman Nick Burkholder. Salsibury made 18 saves on 21 shots faced.

The third period was a much more disciplined, defensively sound period played by the Oilers, allowing Lansing only 5 shots on net. They were able to get one past Burkholder on a great individual play by Tory Brown of Lansing.

The Oilers added to their lead on goals by Pulver, Nathan Pittsley and Jesse McDevitt-Irwin. Helpers were handed out to Backus, Pittsely and Derek D'Artagnan.

The Oilers will travel to Midland Wednesday night to take on High at 7PM.

The game must go on

2012-02-21T10:01:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while a team must suffer through adversity to learn to come together and play as a TEAM. Whether they are losing by a goal, winning by 5 or simply working hard in practice, hockey is a sport that must be played by the ever changing 5 guys on the ice and cannot be dominated by any single player.

Sometimes this lesson can be a tough one for young hockey players, but the sooner they learn it, begin to accept it and pull together, the more successful the team will be regardless of the scoreboard and stat sheet.

Mt. Pleasant traveled to Saginaw Wednesday night facing some adversity of it's own and although the scoreboard reflected a 4-2 defeat to Heritage, the young Oilers team showed signs of the teamwork it will take to accomplish the goals they set out at the beginning of the year.

Several questionable calls on Mt. Pleasant led to Heritage scoring two power play goals and ultimately was the deciding factor in a tough conference loss.

Oiler scoring was provided by Nick Coscarelly and Robert Backus with a lone assist to Drew Dickinson. Adam Salisbury recorded 40 saves in the loss. The Oilers, now 6-13 will host Saginaw Nouvel on Saturday night for it's own Senior night.

Cold Winter nights....

2012-02-21T09:53:00.002-05:00

Amidst a snow storm, icy roads and temperatures in the single digits, the Oilers traveled to frigid Gaylord, Michigan to take on the Blue Devils Friday night.

What turned out to be a very physical, hard fought game didn't end the way the Oiler faithful had hoped as Mt. Pleasant fell to 6-12, with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils.

A game that had a combined 34 penalty minutes and only 3 goals had plenty back and forth action and strong goal tending on each end of the ice. Adam Salisbury made 31 saves in a losing effort for the Oilers, while only one of Mt. Pleasants 19 shots were able to find the back of the net.

Mt. Pleasant will next face Heritage and try to redeem an earlier season defeat when they travel to Saginaw on Wednesday night.

Rematch with Bay City

2012-02-21T09:48:00.002-05:00

The Wolves came in to Mt. Pleasant Wednesday night looking to sweep the season series with the Oilers and that's exactly what they did.

Scoring three goals in the third after and evenly played first period proved to be too much for the young Oilers to overcome and they fell in defeat to Bay City.

The lone Oiler goal was scored by Junior Nathan Pittsley with an assist going to Nick Coscarelly.

The final score was not an indication of how close the two teams played, but again the Oilers couldn't overcome penalties and lost 4-1 in a Saginaw Valley League game.

On Friday the Oilers will travel up 127 to take on Gaylord.

Oilers return to Midland

2012-02-21T09:37:00.002-05:00

On Saturday February 4th, the Oilers returned to the Midland Civic Center to take on the Tri Valley Titans. Attempting to avenge and earlier 4-1 defeat to the Titans, the Oilers came out of the locker with some hop and took the play to the Tri Valley.

It was the Titans however, who capitalized on an Oiler mistake early in the game to take a 1-0 lead. An inadvertant bounce off the boards and a mis-directed pass caught a few of the Oilers playing out of position and led to a goal that would cause the Oilers to chase the remainder of the game.

The Titans added to it's one goal lead half way through the second and took a 2-0 lead in to the third.

The Oilers lone goal was scored by Nick Coscarelly with assists to Robert bakus and Evan Huber. Sophomore Adam Salisbury suffered a tough defeat making 34 saves on 36 shots. The Oilers now fall to 6-10 and will host Bay City next Wednesday at the Ice Arena.

Conference Foe defeated.....

2012-02-21T09:22:00.002-05:00

Playing back to back nights against teams that you gauge your program against has it challenges, throw in the fact both games being away and having to play shorthanded due to injury and suspension and the Midland Dow/Mt. Pleasant conference game on Wednesday night seemed to leave no question as to the outcome.

However................there is a reason the games are played!

The Oilers rolled in to Midland, still reeling from last nights tough loss to Big Rapids at Ferris. The boys played as if they had everything riding on one game and at the end of the night would enjoy the short bus ride back to Mt. Pleasant.

The first period was completely dominated by Dow as they out shot Mt. Pleasant 12-0, but strong goal tending and a good penalty kill held Dow off the scoreboard allowed the Oilers to get in to the locker room and regroup.

The second period would prove the deciding factor as Mt. Pleasant answered Dow's quick goal and subsequent 1-0 lead with two of its own by Junior Nick Coscarelly and Senior Eric DeLorenzo. Assists were handed to Dan Pulver & Coscarelly and the Oilers headed in to the third carrying a one goal lead against their conference rivals.

Strong goaltending and defensive play was once again the form as Dow out shot Mt. Pleasant 13-1, with the lone Oiler shot resulting in a unassisted goal by Danny Pulver, which gave mt. Pleasant a 3-1 lead with ten minutes to play in the period. The Oilers played sound positional hockey, allowed a lone goal with 3:45 left in the game, then really buckled down and controlled the flow the last three minutes of the game earning a much needed conference win.

Freshman goaltender Nick Burkholder allowed two goals on 39 shots and was able to help preserve the win for the Oilers, now 6-9 and will face Swan Valley on Saturday.

Playoff Preview??

2012-02-21T09:12:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday night, the Oilers traveled to Big Rapids to take on the Cardinals at Ferris State University. In a possible preview of the Pre-Regional playoffs, Mt. Pleasant played a very spirited game against the team that knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago.

Robert Backus got the scoring started in the 1st period, with assists to Evan Huber and Senior Derek D'Artgnan. Unfortunately the lead would last less than a minute as the Cardinals quickly answered to tie the game at 1 and send the game in to the locker room even.

The second period had plenty of action as the teams combined for five goals along with several scoring chances and physical play.

The Oilers tallied three goals scored by Evan Huber and two more by Backus giving him hat tricks in back to back games. Assists on the three goals went to Danny Pulver and Tyler Jackson.

The third period started with Mt. Pleasant holding on to a 4-3 lead, but two very controversial goals in the period for Big Rapids allowed the home team to sneak out with a victory.

Adam Salisbury made 44 saves in the loss.

Flint Township, here we come....

2012-02-03T16:52:00.004-05:00

The Oilers traveled to Flint Township Friday night to the Iceland Arena for their match up with the Tri-City Chiefs. The Chiefs, a three team cooperative between Lake Fenton, Linden & Durand.

The Boys were looking to avenge a 1-0 loss to the Chiefs at home last year and avenge they did!

The very young Chiefs had their backs up against the wall from the moment the puck dropped and although Mt. Pleasant jumped out to a 1-0, they had a brief scare when a defensive zone face off was lost and a shot from the slot was deflected by a defnesemen tying the game and bringing a loud roar from the home crowd.

However, the crowd didn't have long to cheer as it was all Mt. Pleasant aafter that, scoring four more times int he first and taking a 5-1 lead in to the locker room.

They came out in the second, kept the foot on the gas and ended the game after two periods with a five goal performance in the second. The Oilers spread it around as wel with 11 of the 13 positional players who dressed for the game registering at least a point.

Goal scorers were:

Robert Backs (3, hat trick), Eric DeLorenzo, Jesse McDevitt-Irwin, Logan Elliot, Bryce Bolles, Max Heeke, Dan Pulver and Evan Huber. Assists were handed out to Backus (2), Huber (4), Drew Dickinson, Pulver, Nathan Pittsley & RJ Cilibraise.

Freshman goalie Nick Burkholder picked up the win making 5 saves on 6 shots. The Oilers, now 5-8 will travel to Big rapids Tuesday night for a game that was originally scheduled to be played on the 11th of January but cancelled due to the flu epidemic and the school district cancelling all activities.

The Chemics come calling

2012-02-03T16:42:00.003-05:00

Midland High strolled in to town Wednesday night boasting a 14-2 record and looking to add to that against the Oilers.

The bad news, Midland out shot Mt. Pleasant 54-11, the good news is goalie Adam Salisbury made 50 saves, the bad news is Mt. Pleasant couldn't muster a goal..........

Although Mt. pleasant played valiantly and Salsibury set a career high in saves, the Chemics were just too sound for Mt. Pleasant to fight back from the early 2-0 lead Midland jumped out too in the first.

The Chemics added an empty net goal at the end of the game for a 4-0 victory dropping the Oilers to 4-8 and they will be back at action on the 27th when they travel to Flint to take on the Tri-City Chiefs.

Saturday Matinee

2012-02-03T16:32:00.003-05:00

A new team on the schedule brought hopes of the Oilers notching there 4th win of the season and that's exactly what they did when they traveled to Saginaw to take on Nouvel Catholic on the 21st.

The Oilers came out of the gates flying and quickly jumped to a three goal lead in the first period. Scoring were Robert Backus, Jesse McDevitt-Irwin and Evan Huber with assists going to Huber, Bruce Bolles, Dan Pulver and Backus.

The second period between the two teams was entertaining from a fans point of view but frustrating from a Coaches point of view. NCC scored two goals climbing back in to the game, but Mt. pleasant added two of their own keeping their lead at 3. Nick Coscarelly and Evan Huber both scored in the 2nd and both goals were assisted by Dan Pulver.

The third was even more frustrating as the Panthers out shot the Oilers heavily 19-3, but Sophomore goalie Adam Salisbury was able to make 17 saves on those 19 shots and Mt. Pleasant escaped with a much needed 5-4 victory.

Our record now sits at 4-7 and we will battle Midland next Wednesday night at home.

Clash of the Titans

2012-02-03T16:21:00.003-05:00

The Tri-Valley Titans strolled in to Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday night for a 7PM showdown with the Oilers, fresh off their shutout of Gladwin.

Both teams played to a scoreless tie at the end of the 1st period with a lot of back and forth and feeling each other out.

The second period was again tight and had each team notching a goal. The Oilers goal was scored by Evan Huber with an assist going to Robert Backus. The period ended as the first did in a tie.

One minute in to the third a controversial goal was counted by the officials, giving The Titans a 2-1 lead. The play was originally waived off by the official on the goal line, however the head ref skated in from center ice and said the goal was good as he deemed the puck crossed the line before the net came off its mooring. The Oilers had a tough time bouncing back from the call and allowed another goal on the power play just two minutes later.

Tri-Valley added an empty netter at the end of the period and went home with a 4-1 victory. The Oilers are looking forward to there rematch against the Titans on February 4th at their barn.

The Oilers fall to 3-7

Defensive Juggernaut

2012-02-03T14:17:00.003-05:00

The Oilers suffered a tough loss two nights ago to Bay City and responded by having one of their best practices of the year yesterday and then traveled up the highway to take on Gladwin on the coldest night of the winter so far in one of the coldest barns on the schedule.

From the moment the puck dropped fans could sense this was going to be a tough fought battle, with some huge hits, back and forth action and a fast pace to the game.

Mt. Pleasant opened the scored halfway through the 1st on a fifty play setup up by Jesse McDevitt-Irwin and Robert Backus allowing Evan Huber to bury the puck in the back of the net.

In the second period Huber returned the favor to line mate Backus allowing the Oilers to take a 2-0 lead. DeLorenzo also got an assist on the play. A minute later McDevitt-Irwin threw a saucer pass to Nick Coscarelly who lit the lamp and gave the Oilers a 3-0 lead.

That was more offense than Sophomore goalie Adam Salisbury would need as he held on through a late flurry by the Storm to secure the 3-0 shutout and improve Mt. Pleasant's record to 3-6.

Next action for the Oilers will be on January 11th as they travel to Big Rapids.

Back in action

2012-02-03T14:00:00.003-05:00

Mt. Pleasant traveled to Bay City for a rematch of an earlier season loss to the Wolves in the Thanksgiving tournament.

Bay City outshot the oilers 30-12 and outscored the Oilers 5-1. The lone bright spot for the Oilers was a goal by Max Heeke with an assist going to Robert Backus.

The Oilers played a little sluggish and seemed to be affected a little by the long layoff.

They have to turn it around as they travel up to Gladwin Friday night to take on the Storm from Mid Michigan.

Last game of 2011

2012-02-03T13:20:00.003-05:00

Mt. Pleasant traveled down to Okemos to take on the Chieftains before the Holiday break and played as if they were ready for Christmas.

The Oilers once again could not stay out of the penalty box and it bit them hard. Tallying a total of 22 penalty minutes, the Oilers spend a large part of the game on the penalty kill and allowed Okemos to score two power play goals.

Matt Luberto from Okemos netter a hat trick scoring two in the first and another in the third. Mt. Pleasant did try to fight through adversity with a goal in the first from Jesse McDevitt-Irwin cutting the lead in half. DeLorenzo and Pulver were given assists.

The lone goal in the second period was scored by the good guys, Coscarelly took a nice pass from McDevitt-Irwin and made it count, tying the game.

After getting down early in the third to Luberto's hat trick, Mt. Pleasant rallied, pulled there goalie and Sophomore Max Heeke scored his first goal of the year with 1 second left on the clock, tying the game and sending it to overtime. Assists were given to Pulver and Huber.

Okemos scored a couple minutes in to OT ending Mt. Pleasant's comeback and sending the Oilers on break with a 2-5 record.

They will be back in action after the break when they travel to Bay City on January 4th.

Losing streak ends

2012-02-03T13:10:00.005-05:00

The Oilers losing streak ended Saturday afternoon as they played the Mid Michigan Storm at the I.C.E. Arena.

In a very physical, hard fought game that was marred by 11 minor penalties including 6 taken by the home team, the Oilers were able to fight back from an early defecit and end there four game losing streak.

After the 1st period ended with the Storm up 1-0, the Oilers were resilient and came out in the 2nd with all guns blazing.

Junior nick Coscarelly opened the scoring with assists going to Dan Pulver and Jess McDevitt-Irwin. Sophomore Evan Huber added an unassisted goal and Coscarelly netted his 2nd of the game with another helper going to McDevitt-Irwin and Nathan Pittsley. The second period ended with the Oilers holding a 3-2 lead.

The 3rd period was one of the most spirited periods played all year and Freshman goalie was up for the challenge stopping all 6 shots he saw. McDevitt-Irwin added an unassisted goal to go with his two earlier assists and Mt. Pleasant finished off the 4-2 victory improving to 2-4.

They will travel to Okemos next week on the 21st.

Struggles continue..

2012-02-03T12:57:00.004-05:00

The second conference game of the year went much like the first one of the year as the Oilers hosted Saginaw Heritage at the I.C.E. Arena on December 14th.

Mt. Pleasant's trend of giving up early goals continued as Heritage had a 2-0 lead before much of the crowd had a chance to get settle in.

The Oilers fought back and scored to cut the lead in half on a goal from Junior Dan Pulver with the lone assist going to Junior nick Coscarelly.

Heritage wasn't done though and for the second game in a row Sophomore goalie Adam Salisbury was chased from the game as Heritage went in the locker room after 1 up 5-1.

Mt. Pleasant opened the scoring in the second with an unassisted goal from Pulver, unfortunately Freshman goalie Nick Burkholder didn't fair any better and Heritage added 3 more tallies.

Mt. pleasant never quit and fought valiantly in the 3rd and even though they weren't able to get anything past Heritage's goalie, they played the best period of defensive hockey on the season and did not allow Heritage to score anymore.

The Oilers fall to 1-4 and will next host the Mid Michigan Storm on the evening of the 17th.

Conference Opener

2012-02-03T12:47:00.004-05:00

On December 7th, The Oilers opened up the Saginaw Valley Conference schedule with a home tilt against rival Midland Dow.

The Chargers skated in to the I.C.E. Arena and took early control of the game. The Chargers scored just three minutes in to the game and took that lead in to the locker room after 1 period.

The second period opened in favor of the Oilers as they scored a quick one right out of the gate. Nathan Pittsley got the puck back to Senior Defenseman Eric DeLorenzo who fed fellow Senior, Jesse McDeveitt-Irwin who got his shot past the Charger goalie and even the game at one apiece.

Unfortunately for Oiler fans, it was all down hill from there. The Chargers opened up an offensive onslaught, chasing Sophomore goalie Adam Salisbury from the game with four goals.

Freshman goaltender nick Burkholder saw his first action of the year and played well holding the Chargers to one goal on 15 shots, but in the end Dow was too strong and outpaced the Oilers 6-1.

The Oilers next action will be in a week on the 14th as they host another conference foe in Saginaw Heritage.

New Opponent

2012-02-03T12:30:00.003-05:00

On December 2nd, Mt. Pleasant had their official home opener against The Hudsonville Eagles at 7Pm at the Ice Arena.

The Oilers played a much bigger, Division II team in front of a large, raucous crowd.

Hudsonville opened the scoring in the 1st period with a goal only two minutes in tot he game. They added a second eight minutes and skated in to the locker room with a 2-0 lead after the 1st period.

The second period was a very hard fought, tough, back and forth period with goals by each teams. Hudsonville went up 3-0 and then Mt. Pleasant answered a few moments later when Robert Backus threaded a nice pass to Junior Dan Pulver who walked in all alone and buried the goal. The two teams played the rest of the period even and Hudsonville took a 3-1 lead in tot he 3rd period.

The Oilers could not muster any offense against the Eagles and Hudsonville added an insurance goal with six minutes remaining in the game and essentially icing the victory.

Sophomore goalie Adam Salisbury made 28 saves in the lost and the Oilers saw their record drop to 1-2 on the year. They will host a conference game against Midland Dow on the 7th.

New Season

2011-11-27T10:20:00.004-05:00

It's that time of the year again, another hockey season for the Mt. Pleasant Oilers. Along with a new season comes new faces and new challenges.

After leading the Oilers for the first three seasons of the schools program, Paul Visich has moved on to a new opportunity in his life, taking a position at the University of New England and will be remembered as a competitive coach who led both on and off the ice and exits with a career mark of 29-41-2.

An assistant coach last year with the program, Alex Weisenburger takes over as the programs new head coach. His resume includes coaching stops with Central Michigan University, Florida Gulf Coast University and Grand Valley State. He will be joined by secone year assistant Greg Millis and new assistant Coach Evan Crawford who played for Coach Weisenburger at FGCU and CMU.

The Oilers have been on the ice now for three weeks and have already battled the injury bug and the early season absence of some key players due to the Oiler Football program making another strong run through the playoffs and a Division 3 State Runner-up spot. Congrats to Coach McIntyre and the Oiler football players for an amazing 13-1 season.

The Oiler invite was held this weekend at the Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena, a annual four team tournament including the Oilers, L'anse Creuse North Crusaders, Bay City Central Wolves and Freeland Falcons.

In the opener Friday afternoon, Bay City skated past L'Anse Creuse to a 4-2 victory and advanced to the Tournament Final. In the evening nightcap, the Oilers played an exciting contest against Freeland. Freeland started the scoring and led 1-0 after the first period. The Flacons added to that lead early in the second and the Oilers responded shortly after with a goal from Junior Nick Coscarelly with assists going to Freshman RJ Cilibraise and Sophomore Robert Backus. Mt. Pleasant tied the game on a slap shot from Sophomore defenseman Tyler Jackson, with assists going Nick Coscarelly and Junior Dan Pulver. The game was back and forth with several scoring chances by each team and some solid goaltending by each squad. Both teams headed in to a eight minute sudden death overtime and when time expired without a goal being scored the tournament match was sent to a three player shootout. Each team took turns on the center ice one on one, Freeland going first and Sophomore Adam Salisbury making the save. Coscarelly gave Mt. Pleasant a lead with a goal on the Oilers first attempt. After another brilliant save on Freelands second attempt, Robert Backus had an opprtunity to send the Oilers to the finals and did not disappoint the home crowd, burying the puck in the back of the net and giving the Oilers their first win of the season 4-2.

Salisbury finished the game with 29 saves on 31 shots.

The finals on Saturday was a preview of two Saginaw Valley League conference foes and Bay City cruised to a 8-1 victory over a very shorthanded Oiler squad. The lone Oiler goal was scored by Junior Nick Coscarelly with an assist going to Senior Derek D'Artagnan. Salisbury made 43 saves in the loss.

In the third place game L'Anse Creuse skated to an 8-0 victory that was stopped after two periods due to the High School mercy rule.

Come out this Friday evening to catch the Oilers in action against Hudsonville at 6:00.

Year End Wrap-Up

2011-04-29T11:01:00.005-04:00

The third season of the Mt. Pleasant Oiler Hockey program ended on the evening of March 3rd with a Regional Playoff Loss to the Big Rapids Cardinals in Cadillac by a score of 7-1.

The year was an up and down roller coaster ride trying to mix experienced players in with talented new comers, all totalled we had 7 Freshman see an abundance of ice time and are losing 5 talented Seniors to graduation.

The team endured some early season injury issues to key players that were carried over from the fine run the High School Football team made and then were also stung down the stretch with injuries to some of our top scorers and defenders. Our final record ended up at 9-15-1, not what we had hoped for when the season started, but with the amount of experience our younger players saw we definitely have something to build a future with.

The Seniors we lost will be sorely missed and they really showed the younger players how to lead a team. They are:

Cody Yazzie was one of our top ice-time players, he was used on our 2nd Line, on the power play and also on key shorthanded situations. He was tied for 2nd on the team in goals scored and although Cody is a quiet kid, he often let his play do the talking for him. A very tough player to defend and arguably the hardest shot on the team, he gave us his all every time on the ice. He was All-Academic with a GPA of 3.81. Cody has been accepted to Michigan Tech to study Chemical Engineering and is hoping to play some hockey for the club team in Houghton. He ranks 4th all-time in Goals, Assists and Points for MPHS Hockey.

Jose Vasquez was a great kid to coach, always one of the first ones on the ice, he engaged his teammates in friendly banter and a very hard worker in practice. he was an Assistant Captain voted on by the players and always showed his work ethic to the younger players. Jose didn't have the statistics that some of the other Seniors had, but was a great role player killing penalties, winning key face offs and keeping us coaches in line. He was voted by his teammates as winning the "Hockey Spirit" Award for being the most supportive individual. Jose plans on continuing his education at Mid-Michigan Community College and I would bet he will be there next year supporting his Oiler hockey team from the stands.

Josh Watters was another quiet kid that was moved from defense up to forward on the first line and first power play unit this year. The move paid off for the team as he ended up 3rd in overall points and showed a great knack to score and setup his line mates to score. Josh always showed great ice awareness and had the best set of hands on the team. Unfortunately Josh suffered some shoulder injuries down the stretch and missed a few games otherwise I believe he would have challenged for the team lead in Points and Assists. Josh is one of only five players to be with the team since inception and leaves in 2nd place all-time in assists and points. Josh plans on attending CMU and wants to major in Sports Medicine.

Alex Horton was the most intense player on the team which was probably a carryover from his football playing. He missed quite a few games at the beginning of the season due to a football injury and once he was available to play we asked him to drop back and man our young Defense and he did not hesitate. He still managed to lead the Defense in Goals, Assists, Points and Penalty Minutes (all though he will tell you they weren't all deserved) all while playing Defense for the first time. As an opponent you always wanted to keep your head up when #9 was on the ice, I believe Alex loved checking more than scoring. Alex has been accepted in to the Naval Academy and will be trying out for the Football team. Alex was All Saginaw Valley Conference 2nd team, All-Academic with a 3.95 GPA and was voted by his to win the "Ice Man" Award, given yearly to the toughest player on the team.

Ryan Heeke was our Team Captain, our leading scorer, voted by his teammates as our Team MVP, made 2nd team All Saginaw Valley League and had the highest GPA on the team of 3.97. Ryan has played all three years MPHS Hockey has existed and leaves ranked #1 in Assists, Goals and Points. Ryan showed great leadership and although a quiet kid as well, his grit and determination was seen by his teammates as well as his coaches. Ryan has not committed to a University as of yet, but is considering Michigan State and CMU and is planning on pursuing playing baseball and studying Engineering.

After being the only goalie in town for the first two years, Derek D'Artangnan got some help this year from Freshman Adam Salisbury. Each goalie ended the season with four wins and had Goals Against Averages under 4.00. They faced a ton of shots this year and kept the team in a majority of the games played. Of our 15 losses this year, 10 were by 2 or fewer goals, showing that they really did do there part in giving us a chance to win each night. Adam was All-Academic with a GPA of 3.80.

Junior Eric DeLorenzo was our 3rd Assistant Captain and also has been with the team since the beginning. A quiet leader, he played solid Defense throughout the year and will be a key figure in the 2011-2012 season.

Robert Backus led our Freshman in scoring with 4 goals and 9 assists, Nick Coscarelly was our leading Sophomore scorer with 16 goals (led the team) and 5 assists and was named Honorable mention all Saginaw Valley league. Chris Yoder led the way for the Juniors with 2 goals and 11 assists.

Freshman Bryce Bolles was voted as our "Most Improved" Player as well as being All-Academic with a 3.5 GPA.

Other's making All-Academic were:

Freshman Max Heeke with a GPA of 3.30

Sophomore Nick Coscarelly with a GPA of 3.60

Sophomore Jesse McDevitt-Irwin with a GPA of 3.90 also named as Honorable mention All Saginaw Valley Conference

Junior Chris Yoder with a GPA of 3.96 (2nd highest on team)

Junior Eric Delorenzo with a GPA of 3.40

Overall, over half the team made All-Academic, who says Hockey Players are dumb??

Snow delays and conference victories

2011-02-05T11:31:00.003-05:00

The game between Mt. Pleasant and Saginaw Heritage originally scheduled for the 2nd of February at 7pm was rescheduled due to the blizzard that hit Central Michigan with over a foot of snow and winds in excess of 50MPH. The game will be played as a Matinee on February 14th at 2:45Pm at the Saginaw Ice Arena.

The Oilers traveled to the Saginaw Ice Arena Friday night for a rematch against the Swan Valley Titans. Swan Valley handed Mt. Pleasant a 7-4 loss last month in Mt. Pleasant and the Oilers were determined to repay the favor to the Titans.

A very entertaining game Friday evening as both teams played a physical, fast paced game with some great saves by the goalies at both ends that had the fans in attendance on there feet.

Mt. Pleasant opened the scoring when Sophomore Nick Coscarelly scored from an off angle, surprising the Titans goalie with a crisp, accurate snapshot. Senior Cody Yazzie and Junior Jesse McDervitt-Irwin picked up assists on the play. Unfortunately the lead wouldn't last long as the Titans capitalized on a wild scrum in front of Freshman goalie Adam Salisbury and tied the score just 1:40 after the Oilers opened the scoring.

The first period had both teams in the locker room with a 1-1 tie on the scoreboard. However, the second period would belong to the Oilers as they knotted three goals and goalie Salisbury made some key saves to preserve the three goal lead heading in to the third. The "yellow" line for the Oilers was all over the score sheet with goals going to Senior Ryan Heeke and Sophomore Danny Pulver (2) with assists going to Senior's Josh Watters (3), Ryan Heeke (2) and Sophomore Danny Pulver.

The Titans managed to get a goal past Salisbury in the third as talented Sophomore Hayden Ray found the back of the net on the power play cutting the Oilers lead to two with 7:46 left to play.

However that would be all the Titans would muster as the Oilers played solid "D" from that point on, closing the door on any comeback by the Titans and eventually picking up a much needed conference win.

Adam Salisbury finished the game with 29 saves.

The Oilers improved to 6-8-1 will face Lapeer East today at 5PM at the I.C.E. arena in Mt. Pleasant.

Matchup with Midland

2011-02-05T11:21:00.003-05:00

The Oilers traveled to Midland Wednesday evening to face the highly touted Chemics from Midland High.

The game was very entertaining and the young Oilers took it right to Midland right out of the gate in an attempt to spoil Midland's "Senior Night".

The Chemics opened the scoring six minutes in to the game, but the Oilers fought back and with just under three minutes to go, Senior Ryan Heeke got on past the Chemics goalie to even the score and send the Oilers in to the locker room tied at 1 after 1, Junior Jesse McDervitt-Irwin was credited with an assist on the play.

The second period was full of back and forth play with each team adding two goals and sending both teams to the locker room tied at 3 and setting up the final fifteen minutes as possibly a huge upset in the making. Sophomore Nick Coscarelly had both goals in the second for the Oilers with the only assist going to Senior Cody Yazzie.

The stunned crown waited in anticipation and unfortunately the home team did not disappoint in the third. The Chemics came out buzzing and controlled the third period, scoring three goals and out shooting the Oilers 15-5 en route to a 6-3 victory.

The Oilers, who fell to 5-8-1 learned valuable lessons on the defeat and look forward to there match up with the Chemics on their home ice on the 23rd of February.

Junior goalie Derek D'Artangnan made 34 saves in the loss. The Oilers will travel to Saginaw on the 2nd to face Heritage at 7pm.

2011-02-05T11:12:00.002-05:00

The Mt. Pleasant Oilers faced the Midland Dow Chargers for the second time this year on Saturday the 22nd at home. Unfortunately the outcome was the same as these two evenly matched teams played a very competitive, close game.

The Chargers opened the scoring on a breakaway late in the second period and were able to find the net and take a 1-0 lead in to the locker room after 30 minutes of play.

The third period was very entertaining and the pace of play was quick. The Chargers scored two goals in a matter of sixty seven seconds to take a 3-0 lead with eight minutes left to play in the game. The Oilers, however did not lay down and give up, the fought the entire remainder of the game and eventually were able to crack a very solid performance by Dow's goalie when Senior Cody Yazzie redirected a shot from the point from Sophomore Nathan Pittsley with only 1:19 to go in the game. Sophomore Nick Coscarelly also picked up an assist on the goal.

The Oilers were forced to pull there goalie and with just 10 seconds remaining scored again as this time Yazzie setup fellow Senior Ryan Heeke to pull the Oilers withing one. However, the clock was against the Oilers and they simply ran out of time and fell to Midland Dow for the second time season 3-2.

Freshman goalie Adam Salisbury had 17 saves in the loss falling the Oilers to 5-7-1. They will next take on The Chemics from Midland High at Midland on the 26th of January at 7PM.

Swan Valley

2011-02-05T11:01:00.002-05:00

The Oilers hosted conference play Wednesday night as the Swan Valley Titans came to town.

The game was a barn burner as the penalty column on the score sheet equaled the goal tally with a wide open, physical game played by both teams.

The Oilers could not bolster enough offense nor stymie the Titans on defense and were unable to pick up a much needed conference win with the Titans running out of town with a 7-4 victory.

Scoring gaols for the Oilers were Senior Josh Watters, Sophomore's Nick Coscarelly and Danny Pulver and Freshman Robert Backus. Adding assists were Senior's Cody Yazzie (2) and Alex Horton, Junior Chris Yoder and Sophomore Nick Coscarelly. Junior goalie Derek D'Artangnan had 22 saves in the loss.

The Oilers fall to 5-6-1 and will take on another conference foe, Midland Dow on Saturday the 22nd at 3:00 PM at the I.C.E. Arena in Mt. Pleasant.

January 14 against Alpena

2011-02-05T10:49:00.002-05:00

The Alpena Wildcats traveled tot he I.C.E. Arena in Mt. Pleasant to take on the young Oilers in a Friday night showdown. Alpena has a strong tradition and quite a following back home, the game was even televised live on the local Alpena radio station.

The Oilers wasted little time thought showing the Wildcats that they meant business. The scoring opened up just five minutes in to the game when Josh Watters took a nifty pass from Freshman Robert Backus and buried it in to the net. Senior Ryan Heeke was also credited with an assist on the first goal.

Just sixty one seconds later Mt. Pleasant added to their lead when Junior Eric Delorenzo took a pass from Senior Coddy Yazzie and quickly moved it to Sophomore Nick Coscarelly who scored to make it 2-0 Mt. Pleasant.

The heavy hitting affair saw several penalties handed out to each team and the scorekeeper was kept busy writing names down in the penalty column.

In the second period Mt. Pleasant added another goal as Senior Josh Watters returned the favor to his buddy Ryan Heeke who found the net on a great bing bang passing play. The goal gave Mt. Pleasant a 3-0 lead heading in the the final period.

The third period was marred by a fight and again several penalties. but Mt. Pleasant added another goal from Sophomore Nick Coscarelly with assists going to Senior Cody Yazzie and Junior Chris Yoder.

Junior netminder Derek D'Artangnan lost his bid at a shutout with just 1:50 to go in the game as Alpena had an extra attacker and were able to get one past the Oiler goalie. D'Artangnan ended the game with 25 saves.

The Oilers held on to a 4-1 victory to improve to 5-5-1 and will next face Swan Valley at home on the 19th at 7:00 PM.

Saturday Matinee

2011-01-10T11:24:00.003-05:00

The Oxford Wildcats completed a weekend road trip that had them open on Friday in Gaylord and stop in Mt. Pleasant for a Saturday afternoon puck drop at 3 PM.

Oxford, a division 2 team from downstate brought a very fast paced and defensive minded game to the Oilers on Saturday.

However it was the Oilers opening the score on Saturday when Freshman Bryce Bolles took a pass from Senior Center Jose Vasquez and buried it just three minutes in tot he game to give the Oilers a quick 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately by the end of the period Mt. Pleasant would head to the locker room down 2-1 as Oxford took advantage of a hooking call to tie it up and then scored an even strength goal with two minutes to go to give them the one goal lead.

The Oilers fought back in the second when Senior Josh Watters found the back of the net during a wild scrum in front of the Oxford goalie and Freshman Robert Backus was given an assist on the play.

The rest of the game was played very physically, with scrums after several whistles, four minor penalties handed out for roughing and several shots taken by each team.

The end of regulation still found the score deadlocked at 2 and a seven minute sudden death overtime was played only to have goalies from each side make several key stops to preserve the 2-2 tie.

The Oilers goalie, Junior Derek D'Artangnan made 15 saves in the third period and overtime alone for a game total of 28.

Mt. Pleasant will next face Alpena at home Friday evening the 14th at 7pm.

The Oilers now sit at 4-5-1, with another 14 games left on the schedule.

Conference Play

2011-01-10T11:18:00.003-05:00

The Oilers got back in to conference play Wednesday night at the Ice Arena in Mt. Pleasant when they squared off with the Bay City Wolves.

The game was lopsided from the start as the young Oilers found themselves a bit foggy from the long layoff and fell to Bay City 7-0.

The Wolves out shot the Oilers 53-13 and Junior goalie had the highest total of saves for the season with 46. His strong play was not enough and the Oilers were unable to to muster any kind of offense at all and saw there record drop to 4-5.

They will next face the Oxford Wildcats at home, Saturday afternoon at 3 PM.

Holiday Tournament

2011-01-10T10:51:00.003-05:00

The Mt. Pleasant Oilers were invited to play in a Holiday Tournament in Lansing over the school break. This was not originally on the schedule, however the Oilers needed to find two additional games to fill out their 24 game schedule, so this addition worked out very well.

Unfortunately, Head Coach Paul Visich and Assistant Coach Greg Millis were both unavailable to coach as they each had conflicts Holiday travel plans.

A special thank you to Assistant coach Alex Weisenburger who took on the task of running a couple practices and then taking the team to Lansing and playing two games, ultimately winning the tournament and earning the Oilers a nice trophy to be displayed at the I.C.E. Arena in Mt. Pleasant. An additional special thank you to Pete Courtright and Nate Morang for assisting Coach Alex for the week.

In the first game Mt. Pleasant defeated Warren Mott in overtime by a score of 4-3. Seniors Ryan Heeke (two goals) and Josh Watters (goal and an assist) along with Freshman Robert Backus led the scoring attack along with assists from Sophomore Danny Pulver, Junior Eric DeLorenzo and Senior Cody Yazzie. Junior net minder Derek D'Artangnan had 18 saves in the game.

The Championship game featured the host team Lansing Patriots facing off against the Oilers. In a game that had 17 minor penalties assesed, the Oilers won the battle of attrition and the trophy by a score of 3-1. Seniors Cody Yazzie, Josh Watters (goal and an assist) and Ryan Heeke (goal and an assist) all had goals and assists were handed out to above for mentioned as well as Senior Alex Horton, Freshman Max Heeke and Sophomore Danny Pulver. Junior goaltender Derek D'Artangnan was strong in net stopping all but one of the 17 shots he faced.

The tournament championship approved the Oilers record to 4-4.

Trip to Gladwin

2011-01-10T10:37:00.002-05:00

On Saturday December 18th Mt. Pleasant traveled north to take on the Mid Michigan Storm in Gladwin.

The game was a very physical game and Mt. Pleasant played a very disciplined game only being assessed two minor penalties while The Storm were tagged with seven penalties.

The scoring opened up in the second period with a an un-assisted breakaway for the Storm to put them out to a 1-0 lead. However the Oilers answered quickly as they took advantage of a cross checking penalty and scored just seven seconds in to the power play as Senior Josh Watters took a pass from Senior Ryan Heeke and buried it in the net to tie the game at 1.

The Storm opened the third period with two goals just 30 seconds apart and put the Oilers quickly back on their heals. Mt. Pleasant regrouped and Sophomore Danny Pulver stole the puck, skated up ice and hit Sophomore Nick Coscarelly with a nifty pass and Coscarelly scored to pull the Oilers within one.

The Oilers out shot the Storm in the remaining ten minutes of the third period but were unable to get one past Mid Michigan's goalie and fell to the Storm 3-2. Junior Goalie Derek D'Artangnan made 24 saves in the loss and the Oilers record fell to 2-4.

The Oilers look forward to the rematch with the Storm at their barn on Friday February 18th.

Midland Dow

2011-01-10T09:53:00.002-05:00

On December 15th, the Oilers traveled to Midland to face the Chargers from Dow High School. This game was a match up of two teams from the Saginaw Valley Conference.

The game was a back and forth affair with Dow jumping out to an early lead on a power play goal and then adding another at even strength.

As the period expired, Mt. Pleasant went to the locker room down 2-0. The Oilers regrouped a bit in the second scoring an early goal and staying pace with the Chargers in the shot department, with each team tallying 8 shots on net.

The third period proved to be too much for the Oilers as they took a few minor penalties and the Chargers took advantage scoring two power play goals and eventually settling on a 4-2 victory.

Junior goalie Derek D'Artangnan finished the game with 25 saves.

The Oilers record fell to 2-3 in the defeat.

Long Layoff

2010-12-13T21:22:00.003-05:00

After nearly 10 days without playing a game, the Oilers will get back to action this Wednesday evening against the Midland Dow Chargers. The game will test the young Oilers and will be played in Midland at 7 PM at the Midland Civic Arena.

The last game the Oilers played was on the 3rd of December when they hosted the Okemos Chiefs at the Mount Pleasant Ice Arena. The Oilers were outpaced by the Chiefs 4-2.

The first period had the two teams feeling each other out and ended in a 0-0 tie.

The second period proved to be too much for the Oilers. After giving up a power play goal to Okemos, the Oilers turned the puck over in their transition breakout and found themselves down 2-0. A nifty setup from Senior Josh Watters allowed Senior Ryan Heeke to bury the puck in the net and cut the deficit in half. However, the momentum quickly changed with another turnover by the Oilers resulting in a Chiefs goal. Okemos scored another goal late in the second period to take a 4-1 lead in to the second intermission.

Mt. Pleasant showed plenty of fight and grit in the third period out shooting the Chiefs 13-4, however they could only manage one goal from Senior Cody Yazzie with assists going to Junior defenseman Eric DeLorenzo and Freshman winger Robert Backus.

Junior goalie Derek D'Artangnan made 23 saves in the loss. The Oilers record fell to 2-2.

After the Oilers Wednesday night game at Dow, they will travel to Gladwin on Saturday the 18th to face the Flying G's at 5 PM.

First Road Win

2010-12-03T09:36:00.002-05:00

After spending Monday and Tuesday practicing and working on strength and conditioning, the Mount Pleasant Oilers traveled to Bay City Wednesday evening to play the Bay Area Thunder at the Bay County Civic Arena in Bay City.

The Mt. Pleasant Oilers entered it's first game with a full roster of players, including players who had missed the first two games of the season due to the exceptional run by the football team.

The game got off to a shaky start at the Thunder scored a mere 14 seconds in to the game on a nifty wrap around by Shane Vermeesch. Mount Pleasant regrouped and fought there way through a very fast paced first period.

The Oilers came out buzzing in the second period, scoring three goals. Senior Jose Vasquez netted a power play goal to get the scoring started and Mount Pleasant added a regular strength goal by Junior Eric DeLorenzo. Bay Area scored a full strength goal half way through the period tying the game at 2. Junior Chris Yoder added a power play goal a few minutes later to give Mt. Pleasant a 3-2 lead.

The Oilers took that lead in to the third period and played a strong, disciplined defensive game and held on to the 3-2 victory.

Bay Area Thunder head coach Dave LaCourt stated "Overall we played a good game but had some penalties in the second period and Mt. Pleasant took advantage of them. In the third period we just couldn't get a goal in the net."

Addiding assists were Sophomore Nick Coscarelly with two, Junior Chris Yoder, Seniors Ryan Heeke and Alex Horton.

Junior goalie Derek D'Artangnan made 21 saves in his first start of the season for the win.

The Oilers will host Okemos on Friday December 3rd at 7 PM at the Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena.

Weekend Wrapup

2010-11-30T11:30:00.003-05:00

Another Oiler Invite is in the books and the champs from L'Anse Creuse North walked away with the hardware after defeating their rivals L'Anse Creuse 6-2 in the Championship game Saturday at the Mount Pleasant Ice Arena.

The Oilers took third place by defeating Freeland on Saturday 8-2. The game left the Oilers with a 1-1-0 record on the year.

On Friday evening a young Oilers team was defeated by L'Anse Creuse 4-3 in a very fast, spirited game. L'Anse jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first period and had Mount Pleasant playing on their heals a bit. The team responded with a nice shorthanded goal near the end of the period to close the gap 3-1. The second period had back to back action with the Oilers netting 2 goals, one at even strength and one on the power play to even the game at 3-3 heading in to the 3rd period.

The final period of the game saw several penalties called on each team and Mt. Pleasant was unable to overcome spending much of the period on the penalty kill. LC scored the game winning goal with a few minutes remaining in the game, handing Mt. Pleasant a loss after a very hard fought game. There was a total of 21 penalties in the game, including 9 called on the Oilers.

Scoring goals for the Oilers were Sophomores Danny Pulver and Nick Coscarelly (who had 2) adding assists were Juniors Eric DeLorenzo and Chris Yoder (who had 2). Freshman Adam Salisbury had 21 saves in the loss.

Fridays game against Freeland was played at 3 PM and Mt. Pleasant found a way to bounce back from a very tough defeat the evening before by beating Freeland 8-2. Freeland also boasts a very young team and the game, although a little sloppy at times was played with much fewer penalties as the previous game with only a total of 5 penalties called, three of which were on the Oilers.

The score sheet was full for the home team including a hat trick from Senior Cody Yazzie, two goals from Freshman Jonathon Curtis and a goal each for Junior Jesse McDevitt-Irwin who also tallied an assist, Freshman Robert Backus who also had an assist, and Sophomore Nick Coscarelly. Additional assists were given to Senior Josh Watters, Sophomore Nathan Pittsley (who had 2), Freshman Bryce Bolles, Freshman Andrew Dickinson, Freshman Max Heeke, Junior Chris Yoder and Freshman Tyler Jackson. Freshman Adam Salisbury had 25 saves in securing the win.

The Oilers will travel to Essexville Garber on December 1st.

The next home game at the Mt. Pleasant Ice Arena will be on Friday December 3rd at 7 PM against Okemos.

Game Day

2010-11-26T09:19:00.003-05:00

As all the crazy Black Friday shoppers were up before the sun this morning trying to save a few bucks on a laptop or that hottest toy this Christmas season, the calender has officially hit November 26, 2010 which means today is the first official game of the 2010-2011 game for the Mt. Pleasant Oiler hockey team.

The team will square off against L'Anse Cruese at the Mt. Pleasant Ice arena at 7 PM. This will be a good test for a young Oiler team. The game will be the second game of the evening in part of the Oiler Invite Tournament.

The first game will feature L'Anse Cruese North and Freeland at 5 PM.

The first few weeks

2010-11-19T20:51:00.004-05:00

The 2010-2011 high school hockey season is under way. As a new Assistant coach for the Mt. Pleasant High School Oilers I thought fans may like to get an inside look at what a high school hockey season feels like.

In the next few months I will take you behind the scenes as we prepare our 22 game season. I will give updates on practice, what we do to get these kids ready for game night. I will talk about game performances, wins, losses and how the team is doing. I will give fans information so that you may make plans to attend games, follow the team and become more educated on the great game of hockey.

My goal, no pun intended, in the next few months is to give you, the fan, an inside look at the high school hockey season for Mt. Pleasant High School and keep you informed on the teams progress, standings and future.

Come out and watch these kids play, next home game Friday November 26th.