7 hours Ago By BY BRENDAN QUEALY [email protected]
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City West opened the varsity slate of its boys ice hockey season with a 2-1 loss to L'Anse Creuse Unified at Howe Arena on Friday. But the presence of Brady Lewis sure made it feel like a win. Lewis suffered life-threatening injuries during a hockey game last season, and the junior defenseman is now back with the Titans for the 2024-25 campaign.
"Brady is helping us out. He's still a player on our roster, and he's helping out the coaches and helping out the kids," West's first-year head coach Jasen Fernsler said. "We're very fortunate Brady is around our program still.
" Look for an in-depth feature on Lewis' recovery in the Record-Eagle in the coming weeks. "The kids appreciate having him around because he shows resilience, grit, determination," Fernsler said of Lewis. "He's been showing that every single day.
" Robert Councilor scored West's first goal of the season on assists from Kallen Ray and Chris Mason in the first period. LCU notched two goals in the first period, and both teams went scoreless the rest of the way. Alonso Oviatt made eight saves on 10 shots, and the Titans peppered the LCU keeper with 33 shots on goal.
"A lot of positive things, but more importantly a lot of things that need to be improved upon," Fernsler said. "We get an opportunity coming up with a week of practice and some games over the Thanksgiving weekend to continue to get better." Fernsler said he is looking forward to working with the young group of Titans as the season moves forward.
"We saw some good signs tonight with some kids working hard, and we had some signs where now we know we need to tailor our practices to find a way to put the puck in the net," Fernsler said. West compiled an 11-14 record with a 1-1 mark in the regionals last season. Fernsler is hoping to add a little stability to the West hockey program, which is on its fourth coach in as many seasons.
"I couldn't be more proud to be these young men's coach," Fernsler said. "We have a terrific group of kids. Once we put it all together, I think we're going to be a scary team.
I'm looking forward to being with West this year and for many years to come." The Titans (0-1) continue play next week when they host the TCW Thanksgiving Invite, starting with Escanaba on Nov. 29 at Centre Ice Arena and Muskegon Mona Shore on Nov.
30. "Anytime that we can stay in Traverse City to begin our season is great," Fernsler said. "It's another two opportunities to improve.
We play two great teams, so we should have two pretty good games." HOLLAND — The Traverse City Tritons co-op swimming team competed in the Division 1 state final preliminaries at Holland Aquatic Center on Friday. The 200-yard medley relay team of Ella Cabbage, Kira Adams, Summer Lewandowski and Lauren Johnson finished in 27th place with a time of 1:55.
55. Johnson placed 38th in the 200-yard freestyle, swimming a 2:01.33.
In the 200-yard IM, Cabbage placed 17th with a time of 2:12.31. She also finished in 29th in the 100-yard butterfly at 1:01.
41. The state championship finals begin at noon Saturday back at the Holland Aquatic Center. UP NEXT: The Trojans (1-1) travel to Hancock on Saturday.
UP NEXT: The Vikings (3-1) head to Big Rapids on Wednesday. UP NEXT: The Blue Devils (0-6) host Painsedale Jeffers on Saturday..
