SOUTH LYON UNIFIED NETS REGIONALS WIN

PREP HOCKEY

Dearborn Divine Child’ rallies late but falls in overtime in Wednesday’s playoff opener

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South Lyon Unified’s Aiden Herrera celebrates his game-winning overtime goal that delivered a 6-5 victory over Dearborn Divine Child Wednesday night at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY ARRICK — FOR MEDIANEWS GROUP

Dearborn Divine Child’s Luke Jordan (11) and South Lyon Unified’s Nolan Kummert vie for the puck during South Lyon’s 6-5 overtime victory on Wednesday in Orchard Lake.

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By Michael J Wallwork

For MediaNews Group

ORCHARD LAKE >> Aidan Herrera scored with 3:38 left in the first overtime to propel South Lyon Unified to a 6-5 victory over the Dearborn Divine Child Falcons in the opening round of D3 regionals Wednesday night.

Herrera intercepted a breakout pass at the blue line, shot down the slot, and snapped the puck into the top corner for the winning goal.

“They were just stretching to 13 [Braeden McNamara] the whole game, who is their best player by far,” Herrera said. “I knew they were going to go cross ice to him, read it, and picked it off and found my spot in the corner.”

Herrera’s goal capped an entertaining back and forth game. With Divine Child leading 5-4 to start the third period, Unified had fought back in the third period to force overtime when Nick Trosin tipped a shot from Herrera amid a crowd of players in front, tying the game midway through the period.

South Lyon Unified had also started hot, getting goals from Jason King and from Herrera to build a 2-0 lead with 6:40 remaining in the opening period.

But Divine Child scored three goals on its next three shots — all by McNamara — to take a 3-2 lead barely two minutes after Herrera’s first goal had made it 2-0. McNamara’s first goal came just 23 seconds after South Lyon Unified had gone up 2-0 and came on a similar play, with McNamara sneaking a shot in the short side to shift the momentum in Divine Child’s favor.

“He’s had a phenomenal season. Since his sophomore year, he’s been a 60-point kid,” Falcons head coach Mike McNamara said. “He left it all out there.”

The 23 seconds between Herrera’s first goal, which made it 2-0, and McNamara’s first goal, which cut that lead in half, was the only time in the game where the teams were separated by more than a goal all night.

Otherwise, the teams traded goals, momentum, and leads, often scoring very similar goals. Both teams’ third goals came on the power play and were nearly identical, except that they occurred at different ends of the ice.

“It was a great game, evenly matched playoff hockey. Everybody brings it,” South Lyon Unified head coach Dennis Gagnon said.

With the win, South Lyon Unified improves to 14-12 overall and moves on to face regional host Orchard Lake St. Mary’s today.

“We kept battling, hung in there. I’m very proud of my boys and really looking forward to (today’s) game,’ Gagnon said. “We’re excited for the challenge. We know it’s an uber challenge, but we’re excited for it.”

Dearborn Divine Child finishes the year 16-7-2. The Falcons graduate only three seniors from this year’s young squad.

“I told the kids (they have) nothing to hang their heads about. We’re young. We had a good season,” head coach Mike McNamara said. “We fought back from two deficits. Our kids never gave up. It’s a tough one.

“We have three seniors, and they gave it their all this year,” he added. “It’s tough to lose like that. But they played really well, and both teams battled all night.”