Brighton, Hartland, Howell hockey teams getting hot before playoffs

Livingston County’s three high school hockey teams appear to be peaking at the right time.

Brighton, Hartland and Howell beat state-ranked opponents Wednesday night to maintain their hot streaks in the final week of the regular season.

Hartland, ranked No. 2 in Division 1, won 3-1 at Trenton in a rematch of last season’s state Division 2 championship game.

Brighton, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, won 2-1 over Birmingham Brother Rice to close its regular season with three straight victories over ranked opponents.

Howell, after struggling for much of the season, extended its winning streak to four games with a 6-3 victory over sixth-ranked Lake Orion.

Brighton has scheduled Brother Rice, the fourth-ranked team in Division 2, in the final week of the regular season for eight straight years. The Bulldogs are 4-3-1 in those games.

“They’re a team we put on the schedule late for a reason,” Brighton coach Kurt Kivisto said. “It’s one of those opponents who will give you a good test going into playoffs. I’m happy where we’re at. We get time to rest before playing our first playoff game. Hopefully, that’s a benefit to us.”

Brighton’s next game is at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 in the regional semifinals against Ann Arbor Pioneer or New Boston Huron at Kensington Valley Ice House.

The Bulldogs (18-7) took a 2-0 lead on Brother Rice on a shorthanded goal by defenseman Mattix McMullen with 3:03 left in the first period and a goal by Aiden Seiter with 1:04 to play in the second period.

The Warriors got within a goal when Caiden Ramos scored just 14 seconds after Seiter, but Levi Pennala closed the door the rest of the way. Pennala made 29 saves.

Hartland 3, Trenton 1

Jack L’Esperance continued his torrid scoring pace by scoring two third-period goals after Hartland trailed 1-0 through two.

L’Esperance tied the game at 2:29 of the third and put the Eagles ahead at 10:44. James Storm made it 3-1 43 seconds later.

“Really, it was two periods of us almost feeling like we didn’t get off the bus, which is unacceptable at this point in the season,” Hartland coach Rick Gadwa said. “This group has been resilient at times throughout the year. It’s something we’ve done lately, as well, is being able to mount comebacks, which is a positive.”

An all-state defenseman last season, L’Esperance moved to forward early this season and has 12 goals in his last six games.

“When Jack wants to be elite, he’s one of the better players in the state of Michigan,” Gadwa said. “Not that it’s always a pick-and-choose for him. Part of it is him getting right physically, getting right mentally. Now you’re seeing a guy feeling good about where his game’s at and we get the pleasure of watching it.”

The Eagles (18-6) have won four straight games. They conclude their regular season at 4 p.m. Saturday against Saginaw Heritage at Hartland Sports Center.

Howell 6, Lake Orion 3

With the game tied 1-1 after one period, Howell got goals from Marco Wolf and Dwight Bekkala in the first 3:32 of the second period to take the lead for good. The Highlanders tacked on two more goals before the end of the period to take a 5-1 lead into the third.

Hayden Sturos’ second goal of the game made it 6-1 57 seconds into the third.

Wolf scored two goals. Tanner Sauve had Howell’s other goal.

Howell was 6-13-2 before putting together a four-game winning streak to end the regular season. The Highlanders will open the postseason at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Grand Blanc at Hartland Sports Center.

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.