Summer League begins new era as Gabriel Richard independent program – News-Herald

The Gibraltar Carlson, Riverview Gabriel Richard, Allen Park and Dearborn Divine Child ice hockey teams played two games at Southgate Arena on July 11, 2024 to conclude the third week of the annual local summer league. (Courtesy of Madeline Majer — MediaNews Group)

SOUTHGATE — There's no denying that Riverview Gabriel Richard High School has been one of the most consistent high school ice hockey teams not only locally but across the state in recent years, with the school boasting seven consecutive region titles and a berth in the state semifinals in 2023 to back that up.

A tough regular season stretch has been key to the Pioneers' postseason success in recent years.

And now, somehow, coach Rick DeSana and his team have managed to take it to another level heading into next year, when they won't be playing in any conference.

“This is probably one of the toughest schedules we've ever had,” DeSana said.

Photo: Ice Hockey – Summer League at Southgate Arena, 07.11

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A new era of independent hockey for Richard has already begun with the local high school hockey summer league, which wrapped up its third of five weeks Thursday at Southgate Arena, with the Pioneers taking on Gibraltar Carlson in the first of two games, with Dearborn Divine Child taking on Allen Park in the evening game.

Like many coaches, Coach DeSana welcomes and appreciates the opportunity to participate in the summer league. Among the many benefits is the opportunity to practice new players and gauge their development in low-pressure exhibition competition.

“For me, it gives me an idea of ​​what I can do going into next season,” DeSana said, “and it's not about returning guys, it's about finding new guys who will play very important roles. I'm trying to find my third line and my fourth and fifth defensemen.”

“You can do it all in practice, but getting experience in a match is very valuable.”

Richard believes he will have one of the most experienced groups on the ice next winter, with DeSana saying about 70 percent of the players he coached this summer are returning from last season.

Just as his players will be expected to make an early impression, DeSana's goal in the opening round will be to identify which up-and-coming players he can rely on immediately.

Depth is rarely an issue for a team like Richard's, but DeSana is looking to get in on it in summer league games.

“We should have two pretty strong lines, we just need to find the third line,” DeSana said. “We're working hard on that. We have four or five guys that can do it and figure it out. And we have a couple of sophomores that are trying to develop into our fourth and fifth defensemen.”

Richard ultimately shut out Carlson, 3-0, on Thursday, while Divine Child scored late to win 2-1 over Allen Park.

Summer games are shortened in the sense that they are played in two 22-minute halves, as opposed to the three 17-minute periods traditionally played during the high school season. Over the five-week period, teams can play two games per week.

Summer exhibitions in other sports, such as basketball and football, typically feature teams playing other schools they are unlikely to face during the season, allowing coaches to focus solely on their own teams and not have to game plan for their opponents.

But in hockey, it's a much tighter fraternity — in fact, the four teams playing Thursday not only have historically participated in the annual summer league, but they're also in the same local conference, the Metro League.

But even with that level of knowledge, DeSana said he's not too worried about what other teams are doing, at least this summer.