Similar to Lumen Christi in the South Central Hockey League Preview, the defending champion of the Great Lakes Conference (GLC) is no longer a member. This offseason, Houghton departed the GLC, opting for Independent status in Michigan high school hockey. That leaves the conference throne up for grabs, with several member programs in the hunt for the vacant top spot. Calumet, Marquette and Hancock have all won the conference championship in the past decade, and will likely be favorites to reclaim the crown. But can Escanaba, Kingsford, Jeffers or Negaunee do anything to capitalize on the opening as well?

Last Season’s Champion: Houghton

The ‘23-24 GLC championship was the Gremlins’ fourth in the last 10 years, and third in the last five years. Last season may have been its most dominant run in recent memory, out-scoring GLC opponents 57-8 in 11 games. Marquette managed to play the champs tough not once, but twice last season. They were a senior heavy squad, graduating 12 players from that team last spring, leaving some significant question marks for Marquette. 

A program on the rise, Jeffers, won nine games in the GLC last season. They’re set to return three of their top five scorers, as well as goalie Kasen Helminen. The next step in the growth of the program for the Jets would be to end the season with some hardware.

Escanaba has a forward in Graham Johnson, a defenseman in Nolan Bink and a goalie in Cully Hayes who could all make a case to be the best at their respective positions in the conference. Could the Eskymos factor into the championship picture?

This winter could prove to be the most competitive season in the GLC in recent memory.

Returning Players to Watch

Brendan Boberg, Calumet Senior Forward

He’s a goal scorer. In fact, he produced or assisted on more than one-third of the team’s total offense as a junior last season. Boberg had a good fall campaign with the 18U Wisconsin Windigo as well, playing in the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL).

Graham Johnson, Escanaba Junior Forward

Was second in the conference in scoring with 50 points as a sophomore last season. Johnson showed real signs of explosiveness and being able to play at a fast pace. Can he be that dominant defensively as well? I’d like to see it!

Tevin Stukel, Hancock Sophomore Forward

There’s a place in everyone’s lineup for a kid like Stukel. Win a face-off, block a shot, kill a penalty. Stukel is your guy. He does all the little things right, but will be asked to do the ‘big things’ as well. Hancock graduated nine seniors and lost its leading scorer from last season.

Nolan Bink, Escanaba Junior Defenseman

They were a sub-.500 team a season ago, so I don’t know that Bink got the credit he deserved. The third-year ‘07 should be considered one of the best in the Class of 2026, with a well-rounded skill set, good feet, smooth hands and back-to-back 30-point seasons..

Brody LeMire, Marquette Junior Defenseman

He’s in line for a huge role in ‘24-25 after Marquette graduated three defensemen and lost one more from last season. LeMire and classmate Ian Sheltrow could carry a ton of minutes for a Marquette team that is in ‘win now’ mode.

Cole Kelly, Marquette Senior Goalie

Eight of his 14 starts last season came against Top-25 opponents. Kelly is battle tested against great competition, and maintains a 1.56 goals-against average and .926 save percentage over the span of two seasons. He’s consistent and dependable.

Petey’s Prediction: Marquette

Marquette was one of my favorite teams to watch last season, but 10 players from that squad have graduated. This team will have plenty of new faces in the lineup, but leading scorer Brody Shelton should be back, along with 2009-born standout Seth Sandstrom and Cole Kelly in net. They lost a lot, but still have some key guys coming back. Coach Doug Garrow is exceptional as well, so I don’t expect the ‘new guys’ to take long getting up to speed under his tutelage.  

I’m taking Marquette, but there are plenty of concerns and contenders to be aware of in the GLC. Calumet should take a huge step this winter, potentially returning as many as 18 guys from last season’s roster. That includes both Brendan Boberg and Nathan Londo who were near point-per-game guys as underclassmen. The Copper Kings finished third from the bottom in ‘23-24, but a GLC championship this winter wouldn’t surprise me in the least. 

Hancock was exceptionally young last season as well. The five freshmen and two sophomores come back more mature and more experienced. On top of that, Jackson Sintkowski and Tevin Stukel should make for a good tandem, and I think Brady Axford could have a monster campaign in Year 2 of his varsity career.

With all that said… the best trio in the conference may all be wearing Escanaba sweaters this season. Johnson, Bink and Hayes are exceptional talents in their own right. There’s no shortage of top-end talent for the Eskymos, it’s just that depth proved to be their biggest opponent last season. There were several games where Escanaba only had one active goalie and 10 skaters in warm-ups. If they managed to add just one or two more pieces to the puzzle, the Eskymos could be a major factor in the conference championship picture as well.

Check out Petey’s Picks on Instagram for complete conference standings projections!