Lakeland Hockey Regional Champions Playoff Run Ends

The hockey regional champions wrapped up an outstanding playoff run in the elite 8 of the Division 2 hockey playoffs Tuesday evening. The Eagles lost to Birmingham Brother Rice 9-1 in the quarterfinal game in Novi.

The loss ends a magnificent playoff run that saw the Eagles win three straight games to put them in the Elite 8 in Division 2 hockey. Lakeland’s head coach Tim Ronayne said he was very proud of his squad’s performance in the post season winning the first regional title since 1981.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling that the team had," Ronayne said. "You could tell that everybody connected with the team had a smile on their face. We were doing good things.”

Junior forward Kyle Jakubowski scored for the Eagles at the 11:28 mark of the second period. Andy Stevens and Ryan Biondo assisted on the goal for Lakeland.

The regional champions say goodbye to an outstanding senior class comprised of Anthony Kobak, Mitch Leist, Bobby Schumacher, Joey Lepkowski, Tyler Mesclier, Ryan Biondo, Colin Johnson, Rick Walker, Kevin Lechner, Tom Kobak, Nick Kobak and Team Manager Jake Waxman.

Ronayne went on to say, “You know we had two seasons really, and in the second season we were 3-1.” 

Congratulations to the 2012 regional champion Lakeland Eagles!

This article was edited to add the names of additional seniors on the team.

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