Thanksgiving Week Rivalries and Primetime Matchups

13 Key matchups in our first Games of the Week preview of the season

Craig Peterson

November 23, 2025

Photo by Tim Arrick | The Livingston Daily

The ‘25-26 Michigan high school hockey season officially got underway Nov. 5th, when first-year co-op Huron Valley kicked off action with a 5-2 win over M-1 United. But with the new format — MHSAA allowing teams to play a 27-game schedule — the typical slate has been a bit erratic in the month of November. Some teams had played as many as five games prior to this past weekend, while other programs across the state have yet to log a single game.

Nonetheless, the week of Thanksgiving is the perfect time to kick off our weekly picks segment where I focus on key matchups from Top-25 tilts to high-stakes rivalries and evenly matched teams. Last season, I went head-to-head with you, the public tracking the picks we got right… and the ones we got wrong.

2024-25 Records

Petey: 44-20-3
Public: 41-22-4

A new season, a new slate. Think we can do better this time around.

Liggett vs. Divine Child
11/24, 7:10 p.m. @ Taylor Sportsplex

Big Metro League tilt on Monday, with two teams in need of a win. Liggett comes in after losing a tough one to Country Day. In Divine Child’s lone game so far this season, the Falcons topped Ann Arbor Pioneer 6-2 last Wednesday. This is a great test of DC’s youth versus Liggett’s experience. I think the Falcons get a big performance in net from whoever gets the start, and young guys like Kole Boike and Brody McNamara get the job done for a confident, young bunch.

Petey’s Pick: Divine Child

Escanaba vs. Jeffers
11/25, 6 p.m. @ Michigan Tech

Traverse City West had a pretty stellar game plan to blank the Eskymos 2-0 on Friday. I don’t expect that level of chess match to happen here between Escanaba and Jeffers; I actually think it could be a high-scoring affair. Set the over/under at 9.5 total goals in this game. All signs point to Jeffers in this spot, but This Escanaba senior class is too easy to root for. This would be an important early-season ‘W’ for Nolan Bink and company, give me the Eskymos.

Petey’s Pick: Escanaba

Novi vs. Northville
11/25, 7:30 p.m. @ Novi Ice Arena

Tensions run high in this rivalry! Eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by three goals or fewer. A young Novi team has struggled a bit out of the gate, just 1-3-0 so far, but an inspired effort from Brady Chippa and Cori Hastoy should keep this thing close at least in the early going. Ethan Egelski and Tommy Marinoff pull away as the game wears on for Northville but expect this one to be uncomfortably close for a while.

Petey’s Pick: Northville

Genesee vs. Dexter
11/26, 7 p.m. @ Veterans Memorial Ice Arena

Two similar teams that look evenly matched, at least in the early portion of the season so far. Jacob Joffe has emerged as a viable running mate with Jeremy Schroeder four games in. Similarly, Brennan Bernard and Connor Combs play off of leading scorer Logan Beckwith well too. It’s gonna be a top-v-top affair in Ann Arbor on Friday. Dreads will have last change, but I’m gonna take the Generals to pull off a bit of a heist in this one and steal a nice road win.

Petey’s Pick: Genesee

OLSM vs. Brighton
11/26, 7 p.m. @ Biggby Coffee Ice Cube

A rivalry that’s not a rivalry but gets treated like a rivalry because they play every Thanksgiving Eve since at least 2013. This would be a big win for No. 12 Brighton, but I just don’t think they match up well with the deep and diverse St. Mary’s squad. Eaglets are 3-0 to start the season with wins over out-of-state Culver Academy and St. Ignatius, and a 9-0 drubbing of Port Huron Northern. I worry this one could get ugly too. St. Mary’s feasts before the Thanksgiving feast, dominating 6-1 win.

Petey’s Pick: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Ann Arbor Pioneer vs. Saline
11/26, 7:30 p.m. @ Ann Arbor Ice Cube

Like a square peg into a round hole, I am forcing myself to like this Ann Arbor Pioneer team. But they sure ain’t making it any easier on me after dropping that 6-2 loss to DC last week. My Saline Hornets enter this matchup 5-1-0, and Brayden Ash, Wyatt Church and Antonio Giacalone have a good thing going offensively. I’m gritting my teeth and taking Pio here but this is Custer’s last stand. Lose this, and I’m out ✌️

Petey’s Pick: Ann Arbor Pioneer

Utica Eisenhower vs. De La Salle
11/26, 7:30 p.m. @ Big Boy Arena

If one more person tells me to ‘look out for Eisenhower’ my head might explode. I like this team, and so does everyone else, apparently. So, if Bode Farr and Nate Schilkey and Joey Zelenak are as good as advertised, this should be a landslide victory for the Eagles. Coach Chad LaRose’s Pilots aren’t just gonna roll over though. Expect De La Salle to respond well to the hype train on the other end of the rink. A close, 3-2 game but if Ike is the real deal, they find a way to win this game in the face of adversity.

Petey’s Pick: Utica Eisenhower

Brother Rice vs. DCC
11/26, 8:00 p.m. @ USA Hockey Arena

GASP! CC lost a game! Huge win for Hartland last week, being the first public school since Grosse Pointe South last did it on Jan. 8th, 2020. It was a different world back then — literally — but one loss to a Top-5 team doesn’t mean the Shamrocks have suddenly fallen from their perch atop the state. Drake England gives Brother Rice an outside shot in this one, but he’d have to be damn near perfect to pull off an upset. CC’s offense is just too deep and this one might get ugly. 6-0 Shamrocks on home ice.

Petey’s Pick: Detroit Catholic Central

Hartland vs. Howell
11/26, 8:30 p.m. @ 140 Ice Den

Here’s your main event of the night, as cross-county rivals Hartland and Howell go toe-to-toe in a big KLAA matchup. Winner of this is in the driver’s seat for the conference championship, which is crazy to say on Nov. 24th. I expect this one to be ugly, chippy and hopefully the refs let the boys play. If that happens, I like the Highlanders’ chances with last change on home ice. But if this turns into a special teams fest, it’s anybody’s game.

Petey’s Pick: Howell

Grosse Ile vs. Bay City
11/28, 5:00 p.m. @ Bay County Civic Arena

An uncharacteristic 2-2 start is Grosse Ile’s worst since the ‘21-22 season when it finished with a 12-11-1 record. Going on the road to Bay City 24 hours after Thanksgiving presents a unique set of challenges in an environment that feels ‘must win’ for the Red Devils. Bay City took one an ‘L’ on the chin from Flint Powers last week 10-2, but nobody in the SVL is beating the D-II state champs. Louis Adair, Kaid DuRussel and Carter Richard could be a real problem in this matchup. Wolves win 5-2.

Petey’s Pick: Bay City

Marquette vs. Houghton
11/28, 6:30 p.m. @ Dee Stadium

The battle for Upper Peninsula supremacy comes down to this weekend; a home-and-home, two-game set between Marquette and Houghton. I think the Gremlins are the better team on paper, but a 6-0 loss to Howell and a 2-2 tie to Hancock doesn’t exactly suggest they’re playing at their best currently. Timing of this matchup bodes well for Marquette, and I like Parker Nevenhoven to help the Sentinels steal Game 1. They head into Saturday with a chance to sweep the season series, but ultimately, I think these two split one game apiece.

Petey’s Pick: Marquette

Grand Rapids Christian vs. Traverse City Central
11/29, 1:00 p.m. @ Centre Ice Arena

Traverse City Central is winless so far and could remain that way heading into Saturday’s matchup here against Grand Rapids Christian. On the other side, Theo Partridge’s Eagles are winners of their last three games, scoring five or more goals in each of those victories. This matchup will be GRC’s third in four days, with the lone off day being Thanksgiving. No practice, no time for film study, plus you gotta travel to Traverse City in there as well. Eagles are certainly the favorite in this matchup but a lot of adversity leading up to this 1 p.m. matchup. I’m taking the Trojans to get in the win column for the first time.

Petey’s Pick: Traverse City Central

Caledonia vs. Alpena
11/29, 4:30 p.m. @ Northern Lights Arena

Everyone’s got Alpena’s Friday night matchup against CC circled on the calendar, and for good reason. The place will be packed and I expect an inspired effort from the Wildcats in that one. But, CC should ultimately win in a decisive fashion. Trying to get back up less than 24 hours later for this matchup against Caledonia that certainly doesn’t have the allure, won’t draw the crowd or energy from the night before, and the taste of the previous night’s defeat still lingers? This is your must-win game of the weekend! Scots get out to an early lead, 2-0 or 3-0 in the first. We’ll see how the Cats respond from there.

Petey’s Pick: Caledonia