The Eisenhower Eagles took a 1-0 lead on the Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks in the MHSAA Division 1 state quarterfinals on Saturday, but they only managed to take 11 more shots the rest of the way, falling to the five-time defending state champions, 4-1, ending their season.

Ike’s Sawyer Hotchkiss scored the first goal of the game off of assists by Troy Aliotta and Matt Daoust with 6:56 remaining in the first period. The lead held for over five minutes, but when Dylan Rodgers was sent to the penalty box with 2:22 remaining, Catholic Central didn’t waste any time — Justin Bloink capitalized on the power play, tying the game at 1-1 with 1:36 left in the period.

The difference between going into the first intermission down a goal and being tied was major, said CC head coach Brandon Kaleniecki.

“That’s a huge goal, obviously,” Kaleniecki said. “I mean, the way the goalie was playing already, you could see it was going to be one of those types of nights. He was making some good saves. And, you know, for our power play to step up with a big goal and kind of even it, and kind of keep them from getting too much ahead of us. You could see them, you know, slow, settle things down.”

That goalie was Eisenhower’s Connor Holmes who, coming off a shutout of Romeo in the Eagles’ regional championship win, was stellar again on Saturday. He turned away an eye-popping 68 shots on 71 Shamrock attempts.

“I don’t know if there’s enough superlatives you could use to describe how he’s been for us this year,” said Eisenhower head coach Dave Erwin. “I mean, just an amazing effort on 71 shots on net there. It’s just unbelievable. He’s been huge for us all year. He came up huge again today.”

Holmes’ busiest period was the second. In a frame where the Eagles managed to put only two shots on net, Catholic Central answered by peppering Holmes 30 times — and he made 30 saves.

The teams went into the second intermission with a 46-7 shot differential.

“We experienced that just the other day too, where we were playing really well, and (the) goalie is making some good saves, you know, you always feel like it’s just a matter of time, but then he makes the next one again, and then the next one again,” Kaleniecki said. “You’re like, ‘oh, geez, we’ve seen it before.’ You start to get a little bit, you know, you start to get a little bit frustrated.”

But the Shamrocks kept shooting. They put 25 pucks on net in the third period and, finally, the 17th found the net off the stick of Tyler O’Brien with 7:21 left.

That was the beginning of the end — six minutes later, Peter Sanin moved the lead to 3-1 and, with 41 seconds left, Connor Laird scored on an empty net to bring the tally to its final.

“We thought we were in the zone for a minute, two minutes at a time, and we didn’t want to let the game get into the slower pace, by just not, you know, the shots, the shots, the shots, whistle, shot, whistle, shot, whistle,” Kaleniecki said. “It kind of takes everybody out of their flow. So we’re just trying to keep pushing our pace, and hopefully, you know, continue to wear them down.”

Eisenhower had a chance to win late, but was worn down by the end of the game from defending for a majority of time.

“It’s the worst,” Erwin said. “It’s way harder to play in your defensive zone than it is the offensive zone. But I mean, the kids showed a lot of heart. They had to do it, and they did what it took to give themselves an opportunity in the third period against the best team in the state, and that’s all we could ask for, right?”

Catholic Central out-shot the Eagles 71-13.

The loss ends Ike’s season with an 18-10 record. They won eight of their final 10 games, which included a 2-0 win over rival Romeo in the regional championship.

“I’m proud of the kids in there,” Erwin said. “Where they started this year to where they ended this year, it’s night and day. They’re a true team. I think you saw that by the way they went out there.

“They gave everything they had, blocking shots, doing whatever it took in that defensive zone to keep things tight. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle from the start, but we believed that, you know, we could keep it tight. One shot could be the difference.

“I thank our senior class for how they handle our locker room. You know, from the seniors all the way down to our sophomores, everybody felt part of that team. They built a good team chemistry throughout the course of the year. And you know, that’s all on your leadership. And you know, just couldn’t be more proud of the way they handled things.”

Like clockwork, Catholic Central’s season is continuing onto the state final four with their eyes set on winning a sixth-straight Division 1 championship.

This year’s iteration of the Shamrocks lost the program’s first game to a Michigan opponent since February 2022 — both against De La Salle.

Kaleniecki thinks it was one of the best things that could have happened to them.

“Every year is a new year,” he said.

“A loss, in my opinion, was a great thing that had to happen to us. Like, we needed to lose a game, in my opinion, for our guys to kind of see some things. And then, you know, going back to the state championship. I mean, this team hasn’t won a state championship, right?

“So there’s nothing we’ve won. We talked about the other day, we haven’t won anything.

“We’ve still got a lot to prove every single night that we go out there.”

The Shamrocks will play Sparta at 5 p.m. at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth on Friday, March 7 in the state semifinals.