Through Tuesday (1/14), there have been just over 1,000 games played, according to the Michigan High School Hockey Hub. There have been plenty of shockers, stunners and downright upsets that very few saw coming to this point in the season. But what constitutes a true upset? How do we separate an upset from a good, quality win? 

For this, I like to look at MyHockeyRankings, and its rating of all 126 Michigan high school hockey teams in the state. Now, may be a little self-serving but I obviously favor my Top 25 Rankings the most compared to other rankings outlets out there. But I stop at 25 teams, and to measure such things as an upset, you need more metrics and data than just the top tier. And while the Michigan Power Rankings (MPR) are technically the ‘official’ measurement — being that it’s the one used to seed teams in the playoffs — I still find it to be the most inaccurate of the ones available in our sport.

I just don’t understand how our team’s MPR went down in ‘22-23 after we mercied an opponent 8-0?! We would’ve been better off not playing the game at all! But I digress.

Using MHR, there’s a pretty consistent pattern of teams being able to compete with those ranked 15-20 spots ahead and behind them in the statewide rankings. I identified at least 30 games this season in which that trend was bucked, and a team ranked 20 or more spots below their opponent came out shockingly victorious. That is my definition of an upset, and by that definition, here are the 10 biggest upsets thus far this season:

#10-A Alex Kozar’s four-goal game leads Milford hockey past Genesee

It’s no accident that senior Alex Kozar currently leads the state in goals with 33 in 14 games this season. Kozar is a big-bodied forward who is a workhorse with and without the puck. Back in November, his four-goal, five-point game helped earn Milford its first win of the season against a Genesee team that currently ranks 62nd in the state. That’s 33 spots ahead of the Mavericks at 95th. Kozar has scored in all but two games, and this upset special was his first of five games in which he found the back of the net four times. 

#10-B Matthew Brick’s hat trick shoots Stars past TC Central 

This game came in the midst of first-year senior Matthew Brick’s impressive five-game stretch in which he scored 17 goals. In a home matchup against 39th ranked Traverse City Central, Brick scored all three of Eastside’s goals including two in the second period to lift the Stars over the Trojans. It was the Eastside’s third win in a row, and it came against the second-highest ranked team they have faced to date. Currently ranked 72nd in the state, Eastside is 4-3-0 since that game and currently sits 33 spots behind TCC.

#9 Caleb Dominguez’ power-play goal earns season split with RU Hockey

A four-goal third period let Rochester United steamroll past Troy United in a mid-December OAA White matchup. But a rematch this last Saturday netted much different results, as four different skaters found the back of the net for Troy. The final one, a power-play goal from Caleb Dominguez, ended up being the game-winning goal in a 4-3 final where 89th ranked Troy upset 55th ranked RU. It snapped a three-game winning streak for a team that had won six of its last seven and eight of its last 10. 

#8 Junior Jackson Gaudreau makes 31 saves in Manistique’s win over Tri-Valley

It was just the second win of the season for Manistique; a team that currently ranks 101st in the state. At the time, the Emeralds were just 1-8-1 on the season, taking on a Tri-Valley Thunder team that was 6-3-0 overall. Jackson Gaudreau made 31 saves in a 5-1 win over Tri-Valley, handing the 64th ranked Thunder their first loss to a team slotted lower than them in the statewide rankings. It was one of eight games so far this season that Gaudreau has faced 30 or more shots on goal, and the second in which he earned a victory in.

#7 Anchor Bay defeats Top-25 ranked University Liggett for the first time in modern era

At the time these two teams met, University Liggett was ranked among my Top 25 teams in the state. The Knights are currently 30th according to MHR, and while these two teams don’t play annually, Anchor Bay and Liggett do have a decent history going all the way back to the ‘08-09 season. In that span, though, the Tars had never beaten Liggett until senior captain Kaden Leigh’s third-period goal broke a 2-2 tie. Anchor Bay is 47 spots behind the Knights in the current rankings, making this one of the biggest upsets on the ‘24-25 season.

#6 Canton upsets park school rival Salem for the second year in a row

Canton finished last season ranked 94th in the state, winning just five games in ‘23-24. One of those victories came in thrilling fashion; a 5-4 overtime finish over cross-campus rival and 25th ranked Salem. Fast forward to this season’s meeting, and the Cobras couldn’t possibly pull off such a monumental upset a second time, could they? Cameron James’ hat trick in December caused history to repeat itself as current No. 75 ranked Canton once again topped the No. 23 team in the state, Salem, by a score of 5-4.

#5 Utica-Fraser Unified holds off a third-period rally to upend SCS Unified

Alexander Gorgievski, Niko Lajb and Nate Sheriden built up a robust lead for unsuspecting 97th ranked Utica-Fraser Unified. They put the pressure on No. 42 St. Clair Shores Unified in a 6-1 game heading into the third period. Fifty-four spots separated these two teams in the statewide rankings, yet after 34 minutes the score suggested they trade places. Goals from Gavin McKee, Isaiah Pikora, Caden Gersch and Zach Zmijewski dug the Lakers out of a huge deficit. But with time running out, UFU goalie Eli Chodun turned away just enough of the 62 shots he faced to stave off a comeback and hold on to a 6-5 win; one of the biggest upsets this season.

#4 Wyandotte with a flair for the dramatic with its second major upset of the season

It was just the second week of the season, but Wyandotte — who currently ranks 99th in the state — knocked off current No. 68-ranked Divine Child 5-2, securing the Bears’ first win of the season. Separated by 31 spots in the standings, and its not the upset that lands them in the Top 10. No, the Bears would go on three weeks later to top current 42nd ranked Grand Rapids Christian 4-2 on home ice. Wyandotte is one of only three teams to pull off multiple wins over teams ranked 20 or more spots ahead of them.  

#3 Goalie Jared Lang’s 54-save performance stymies Reeths-Puffer

Reeths-Puffer entered the matchup with a 5-1-0 record, averaging 7.2 goals scored per game. That was until the Rockets ran into senior Jared Lang. In this mid-December matchup, Lang stopped 54 of the 56 shots he faced, holding No. 34 Reeths-Puffer in check long enough for leading scorers Trace Delcarmen and Harrison Smith to generate enough offense for the 92nd ranked Knights. A pair of goals from Delcarmen in the second, and a short-handed goal from Smith in the third proved to be the difference, as RP was unable to solve Lang in net.

#2 Henrik McManus with the hot hand for U of D against Trenton

They’re the highest ranked ‘victim’ on this list of upsets, as No. 15 Trenton dropped a 4-3 MIHL matchup at the hands of No. 74 U of D Jesuit. It was just the second win of the season for the Cubs, and first in 43 days. Henrik McManus — a 6-foot-4 junior defenseman who had one career goal in his previous 32 varsity games — exploded with a goal in each period, including an even-strength tally in the third period to complete the hat trick and victory for U of D. Senior Vance Serdoz also factored in on every one of the Cubs goals; he currently leads the team with five goals and nine points. 

#1 A fast start fuels FHNE to the largest upset of the season over No. 18 Grandville

Sophomore Nolan Geno opened the scoring in the second period of this OKC matchup between No. 18 Grandville and 81st ranked Forest Hills North-Eastern. It was his eighth point in the last five games. Just 29 seconds later, senior Ike DeHaan doubled the Husky Hawks’ lead to make it 2-0, leaving the heavily favored Bulldogs rattled. An empty-net goal from Ryan Worden and a late surge from Grandville pushed the final to 3-2, in favor of an FHNE team that currently sits 63 spots behind the Bulldogs.