This week marked the beginning of playoffs for both basketball and hockey; thanks to wins by both teams, I had a game to shoot every day from Monday through Saturday. So yeah, this is a long post.
Monday: Basketball
In Milan’s recently-built but dimly-lit gym — why is it that several of the area’s newer high school gyms also are some of the darkest? — Chelsea defeated Milan, 76-49. In a fun coincidence, Chelsea beat Milan by 27 in the first round of last year’s playoffs, too. (That score was 63-36.)
Tuesday: Hockey
Chelsea defeated Gabriel Richard, 9-1, probably because GR’s jerseys bore a bit too much resemblance to the previous generation of Dallas Stars jerseys. If you’re going to pattern your jerseys after a professional team, follow the good example of Canton and use a real hockey franchise.
Also notable: senior Kyle George scored four goals. This makes me wonder: if three goals is a hat trick, then what would four goals be?
Wednesday: Basketball
In the second round of last year’s playoffs, Chelsea’s 20-1 freight train met Erie-Mason and administered an 85-26 beatdown that highlighted the absurdity of the MHSAA’s all-inclusive basketball playoffs. In the second round of this year’s playoffs, Chelsea’s 11-10 midsize sedan met Erie-Mason and administered a not-quite-beatdown that was still a lopsided 64-41 victory.
Also, if Chelsea’s first two playoff opponents next year are Milan and Erie-Mason, I’m going to be irritated. Seriously: can we shake up the brackets a little bit? After all, to quote Lloyd Carr, “If nothing changes, nothing will change.”
On a lighter note, one of Erie-Mason’s players had award-winning hair. I’m not being snarky with that comment; his ‘fro truly was amazing and worthy of fear.
Thursday: Hockey
In a game featuring roughly five thousand penalties (many of which were matching, so there weren’t that many power plays), Chelsea defeated rival Jackson Lumen Christi, 8-1. Kyle George again scored four goals, giving him a two-game total of two extremely depressed goalies. Oh, and eight goals.
Friday: Basketball
In the district final, Chelsea faced Ida. Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking, and if I thought there was a joke they haven’t heard about their town name, Ida made it by now. But I think they’ve all been used, so Ida ppreciate it if you’d let it go.
Anyway, after being down for most of the game, Chelsea staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback capped by a Matt Schwarze three-pointer that gave Chelsea the lead with eight seconds to play; however, those eight seconds proved to be seven too many. Ida’s Nic Jobe scored with one second to play, and Chelsea lost, 53-54.
Saturday: Hockey
In the regional final, Chelsea dug a hole it couldn’t un-dig and lost to Allen Park, 2-4. On the bright side, Allen Park’s pre-game music included the Hockey Night in Canada theme, which is the hockeyest music ever written (and one of my current ringtones). Please, please, someone introduce that theme into Chelsea’s hockey music rotation next season!
Epilogue: No, Really, Parting Is Pretty Much Just Sorrow At The Moment
