Picks for the first annual West-Michigan Showcase

Houghton, Bay Reps, Allen Park, Trenton among some of the guests in attendance

Craig Peterson

December 4, 2024

The first year is always the hardest. Getting a tournament — or in this case, a showcase — off the ground, from concept to reality, is the biggest hurdle. Whether it’s a league event or invite-only, there’s a lot of coordination behind the scenes and buy-in required from necessary parties to make an event like the West-Michigan Showcase grow legs. It’s a lot of work, but the hope is Year 2 and beyond go much smoother now that the groundwork for the inaugural event is complete.

East Grand Rapids, Forest Hills Central and Forest Hills Northern-Eastern programs joined forces to host the event intended to bring top-level competition to the Grand Rapids area. This weekend’s invitees include No. 6 Houghton and No. 13 Trenton, as well as 2024 Final Four participants Bay Reps and White Lake Lakeland. Big Rapids and Allen Park are also on the guest list, set to take on local programs Caledonia, Grand Rapids Christian and the three host programs.

In total, 11 programs from the upper peninsula, northern Michigan and metro Detroit will head west to take on a range of talented west-Michigan teams. A recap of the standings this season before we get into this week’s picks:

Petey: 21-9-2
Public: 18-12-3

Friday, December 6th

Caledonia vs. Big Rapids

Alpena cracked the code on Caledonia last week, handing the Fighting Scots their first loss of the season. But I’m not sure Big Rapids has the comparable horses to go toe-to-toe with Caledonia the same way the Wildcats did. The Cards can generate some offense in this matchup, but Tony Kauffman and Ty Lewandowski may just be too much to stop. Scots win 6-3.

Petey’s Pick: Caledonia

Forest Hills Central vs. White Lake Lakeland

Sneaky good matchup of the weekend. Lakeland traded blows with No. 13-ranked Trenton last week without production from its big guns Nate Dell and Austin Scanlon. If those guys get going, the Eagles can be hard to stop. They’ll take on a Forest Hills Central team with some vulnerabilities. In four games, the Rangers have allowed eight power-play goals against and if they continue to forge a path to the penalty box, Lakeland can make them pay. Close game, but my faith in the Rangers is strong enough to edge out a tough 4-3 win.

Petey’s Pick: Forest Hills Central

East Grand Rapids vs. Houghton

Back-to-back wins over No. 8 Marquette last weekend made a statewide statement that the upper peninsula is still owned by Houghton. Now, the Gremlins make a rare trip downstate to take on a banged up No. 9 East Grand Rapids. Pioneers played inspired hockey last week in the face of injuries and adversity to upend No. 14 Byron Center in an OKC matchup. But Connor Arko and company are a completely different animal and I’m not sure you can ‘smoke and mirrors’ your way through a matchup with Houghton. Gremlins win handedly, 5-2.

Petey’s Pick: Houghton

Forest Hills Northern-Eastern vs. Allen Park

An uncharacteristic start to the season has Forest Hills Northern-Eastern at 1-5-1 out of the gate. The Bird Dogs have also managed to score just one goal over their last four games. A winless Allen Park team comes to town, though, providing FHNE an opportunity to ignite the offense a little bit. Jags aren’t going to lay down; they’ll put up a good fight, but I do anticipate Sean Hall and Logan Spykerman to work their way back onto the score sheet here after a long drought. Both teams feel good about producing some offense, but FHNE comes away with a 5-3 win.

Petey’s Pick: Forest Hills Northern-Eastern

Grand Rapids Christian vs. Bay Reps

Tyler Boynton-Fisher is the ultimate equalizer for the Bay Reps. In all five of his starts, the Reps have been out-shot — in some instances, by a significant margin — yet he’s managed to steal wins 2-1 over Romeo, 2-1 over Saginaw Heritage and 3-1 over Big Rapids. Josh Hooper and Brody Baysore from Grand Rapids Christian are going to have a lot of chances in this game but TBF has held up well against similar competition. Logic suggests the Eagles have more resources at their disposal, but the Reps goaltending is good enough to keep them in the hunt. I’m torn, tough pick, I’ll hesitantly take the Eagles in a defensive stalemate 3-1.

Petey’s Pick: Grand Rapids Christian

Saturday, December 7th

Forest Hills Central vs. Houghton

It’s not often you get a chance at a do-over. For Forest Hills Central, this matchup against Houghton is — in a way — a second chance at last week’s matchup with Hartland. The Eagles and Gremlins share a lot of similarities, especially when considering their top-end players. The pressure of taking on the No. 3 team in the state may have gotten to FHC last Saturday as Hartland got out to a 4-0 lead before rolling to a 9-2 victory. Rangers put together a better showing with a second crack at a Top-10 team, but Houghton’s still too much to handle. Gremlins grind out a 4-2 win.

Petey’s Pick: Houghton

Grand Rapids Christian vs. White Lake Lakeland

Special teams may be the story in this one. Both sides have talented players who thrive in open space. I could see three or four goals coming by way of the man advantage in this one. Goaltending then becomes the key, as your guy in net needs to be your best penalty killer. Both teams playing on short rest, not knowing who’s going to get the start on Saturday. A lot of unknowns in this one. I don’t have much hockey sense behind it but I’m going with leading scorer Killian Voorhies and Lakeland to win a fluky 5-4 game.

Petey’s Pick: White Lake Lakeland

Forest Hills Northern-Eastern vs. Trenton

After four straight games against Top-25 teams to open the season, Trenton’s offense finally exploded for six goals against Lakeland last Saturday. I think that’s just the launching point the Trojans needed and the offensive onslaught continues at FHNE’s expense. Guys like Gabriel Polyviou and Zach LaMay feast in a favorable matchup and the Trojans roll 6-1.

Petey’s Pick: Trenton

East Grand Rapids vs. Bay Reps

The Pioneers may out-shoot the Reps 4-to-1 in this game and the score could still be 2-1 late into the third period. Boynton-Fisher played both games in a weekend set to open the season, winning both 2-1 on short rest with 30-save performances in each. If he’s called upon to make both starts again at the West-Michigan Showcase, this game becomes very intriguing. It’s a frustrating game for a Pioneers offense that currently averages 5.6 goals per game, but East eventually breaks through for a low-scoring win.

Petey’s Pick: East Grand Rapids

Caledonia vs. Allen Park

The Fighting Scots opened the season on a five-game winning streak, and after a slight hiccup against No. 23 Alpena, may go streaking again. A sweep at the West-Michigan Showcase could propel Caledonia on another lengthy run before crossing paths with GR Christian and FHC prior to winter break. Kauffman, Lewandowski, Henry Simon, Harmon Esch… All the Scots get in on the fun this weekend as they ignite another streak, starting with two wins on the weekend.

Petey’s Pick: Caledonia