Givens to lead team in state games

Hockey

LOCAL FLAVOR

Area players among the 20 on Team North:

Player, year, position Team

Michael Elliott, Jr., F Reps

Frank Gilbert, So., D TCC

Cooper Macdonell, Fr., F TCC

Kyle Froese, So., D TCC

Jake Peacock, Jr., F Reps

Alex Grizzel, Fr., F TCW

Chris Dienes, Jr., D TCW

Chris Givens, Coach TCC

* TC Central junior goalie Chris Grunst is an alternate.

Related Photos

Cooper Macdonell skates during a Team North practice Tuesday. Record-Eagle/Keith King

June 24, 2010

Seven locals on 20-player team

By JAMES COOK jcook@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Fri Jun 25, 2010, 01:43 PM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Team North could just as easily be named Team Traverse City, Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette.

But Team North has a better ring to it.

Aside from Big Rapids forward Seth Adams, the 20-player team in the Meijer State Games of Michigan this weekend is all from Marquette, the Soo and Traverse City.

It's also coached by TC Central's Chris Givens.

Former East Kentwood coach Ron Baum approached Givens about having some involvement with the team, one of eight that will compete in the games that start today.

"I was selected by Ron Baum for the hockey steering committee to get this whole thing started," Givens said. "We were at our first organizational meeting in Grand Rapids in December and we went through a list of names for potential coaching candidates and then Ron and a couple guys just asked me if I wanted to do it. I was caught off guard, because I went down there for a steering meeting, not expecting being asked to coach it.

"It's kind of like, 'What are you going to say?'" Givens said, "but at the same time, it's an honor."

Givens finished his 15th year as Traverse City Central's head coach last year. He's amassed a 220-146-21 record, along with a Division 2 state championship in 2006, three regional titles, five Big North Conference crowns and one Great Northern Hockey Conference championship.

The state is split into eight regions, including four representing the Metro Detroit area, plus the North, West, Central and South squads.

Team North will open play today against Team West at 7 p.m. at the Kentwood Ice Arena, then face Metro North Friday at 12:30 and match up with Metro West on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The team will play against Saturday evening as the top two teams from their Griffins Division face the top pair from the Red Wings Division in the semifinals. The tournament finals are Sunday.

To keep the travel and associated costs down, Givens held one tryout on March 27 in Marquette and another in Traverse City on April 17 as 24 schools were eligible for Team North, everything north of Big Rapids and the Upper Peninsula.

Twenty-eight players attended the Marquette events, while 52 showed in Traverse City.

Once the eighty-player pool was whittled down to the final 20, seven from the Traverse City area made the squad.

The team had one practice together on Tuesday prior to its first game.

"We're really solid on the back end," Givens said. "Michael McAuliffe (Marquette) and Cody Jodoin (Sault Ste. Marie) are the two goalies. And then we're really hefty with our defensive group — Cody Wickstrom and Nick Weston from Marquette, Nico Talentino from the Soo."

Those defensemen are in addition to three from Traverse City — Central's Kyle Froese and West's Frank Gilbert and Chris Dienes.

Other area players on the team include forwards Michael Elliott and Jake Peacock of the Bay Reps, West's Alex Grizzel and TC Central's Cooper Macdonell.

TC Central goaltender Chris Grunst is an alternate for the squad, which is open only to returning prep hockey players who haven't graduated.

On the web: stategamesofmichigan.com