They won 24 games, an outright Metro League East division championship and the program’s first regional title in 10 years. 

By all accounts, Divine Child outperformed its expectations with an extremely young, but talented group of underclassmen. The ‘25-26 squad showed similarities to Rochester United just two years ago. Budding, young, sophomore prospects like Kole Boike and Cullen McGowan who played significant roles at both ends of the rink. Eerily similar to a young Nolan Hizer and Mason McCaughtry back in ‘23-24. And like Rochester United two years ago, the Falcons stockpiled win after win, with unbeaten streaks of nine and 10 games on two separate occasions. 

I don’t think anyone had league champs, much less regional champs on their bingo cards for DC this time last year. Now that leading scorer Brody McNamara, Boike and McGowan have each produced 50-point seasons, climbed the mountaintop of the Metro League and won a wooden mitten before their senior years? This group — just like RU — has fast-tracked their development and made the Falcons a sneaky contender at the state level. 

Last Season’s Champion: Divine Child, Pioneer/Grosse Ile/Wyandotte

In one of the more bizarre scenarios, I believe Ann Arbor Pioneer, Grosse Ile and Wyandotte engaged in a three-way tie atop the Metro League West Division standings. Each team posted an 8-2-0 record; each team won and lost games to the other two. The outright winner determined last February by way of goal differential tiebreaker. Each team may very well be in the mix to contend for West Division champs yet again this season.

Eli Harrell, Ethan Ivity and Ethan Roe are all set to return for Wyandotte. Grosse Ile gets brothers Adalar Hovis and Erik Hovis back; they combined for 30 goals and 64 points. Aydin MacDonald gives the Pioneers an outside shot as well. 

If the Metro League lacks a bonafide powerhouse by statewide metrics — Liggett was the highest ranked league member in the state last season; 23rd according to MyHockeyRankings and unranked by my Top 25 — it makes up for it with competitiveness through the league itself. Not much separates first-place Divine Child from third-place Country Day. 

Returning Players to Watch

Kole Boike, Divine Child Junior Forward

The 2009-born junior has reached 71 goals and 112 points, just now at the halfway point of his varsity career. Kole Boike scores in bunches, and has had a busy offseason between Team Michigan Festival in the spring and split season with the fourth-ranked Birmingham Rangers. 

Adalar Hovis, Grosse Ile Senior Forward

Adalar Hovis may be the only player in high school hockey this winter to have led his team in scoring each of the previous two seasons. He’ll head into his senior year looking to eclipse the 35-point threshold for the fourth consecutive season.

Brody McNamara, Divine Child Senior Forward

Brody McNamara led the Falcons in scoring last season with 32 goals and 84 points. He’s an active forward who keeps his feet moving and buzzes in all three zones. DC will go as far as McNamara can take them.

Cullen McGowan, Divine Child Junior Defenseman

He finished second in the state among defensemen in scoring with 54 points in 30 games. Cullen McGowan is a well-rounded defender who’s constantly involved in the play. It’d be hard to find a more impactful D-man in the Metro League this season.

Ethan Ivity, Wyandotte Senior Defenseman

At 6-foot-7, he is massive on skates and his reach is crazy. What’s most impressive is Ethan Ivity’s footwork; for a player of his stature, his feet are pretty fluid. Ivity scored a career-high 35 points as a junior last season.

Mason Ninness, Lumen Christi Senior Goalie

Played 10 games last season for Lumen, and maintains a 0.86 goals-against in the Michigan Developmental Hockey League (MDHL) this fall. Mason Ninness has real good size and takes up a lot of net; Titans looking for a bounceback season will lean on him heavily.

Petey’s Prediction: Divine Child, Grosse Ile

It took Grosse Ile a little bit to get going last season. The Red Devils went 3-6-1 in the first 10 games under first-year head coach Scott Sebastian. Once key players like the Hovis brothers, Nathan Taulbe and Adam Moomey started to pick up new systems and structure, we finally started to see what this group was capable of, finishing 12-6-0 down the stretch.

The Red Devils add a pair of former AAA prospects to the mix as well, with Reid VanNoord and Joey Budres slated to join the team this winter. The schedule gets harder with former Metro League Member Riverview Gabriel Richard on the non-con schedule along with Trenton, and an invite to the MIHL Showcase. No ties this time around; Hovis brothers lead Grosse Ile to an outright Metro League East Division championship in coach Sebastian’s second year behind the bench.

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