Redemption on the Ice

Senior Goalie Drake Danou making with an amazing save against Byron Center.

Team captain, goalie help Brother Rice hockey team win state championship

By Steve Stein

The Birmingham Brother Rice High School hockey team’s season started, stopped, resumed, and ended up being a seven-week sprint to the finish. If those weren’t enough distractions, a handful of team members drove to Lansing on a freezing cold January day to attend a “Save Our Sports” rally at the Capitol building in Lansing, pleading for a chance to play.

The Warriors fought through it all to win the Division 2 state championship. Seniors Sam Yono and Drake Danou helped guide the Brother Rice team through the tumultuous season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and win the state title in dramatic fashion.

Yono, who lives in West Bloomfield, was one of the team’s three captains. “This state championship is very special because we had to push through so much to win it,” said Yono. “There were times when we didn’t even know if we were even going to have a season.”

Danou, an Orchard Lake resident, was the Warriors’ starting goalie in 17 of their 19 games including all five state playoff games. “Winning the state championship was redemption for last season,” Danou stated. “We really thought we were going to win the state championship last season. Our goal every season is to raise a state championship banner.”

So happened to the Warriors last season?

Sam Yono

They were just a few hours away from playing a state semifinal game against Marquette at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth when high school sports across the state were shut down because of the pandemic.

“I felt terrible for our seniors last season,” said Yono. “A few of last year’s seniors came to our state semifinal and state championship games this season. It was great to see them there.”

Yono and Danou were among a group of about ten Brother Rice hockey players who attended the peaceful “Save Our Sports” rally on January 30 in Lansing. The rally was organized after the start of normal practices and competitions for high school winter contact sports was delayed from February 1 to February 22 by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Drake Danou

Thousands of student-athletes, coaches and parents from across Michigan attended the rally, which featured a speech by ex-Detroit Red Wings star Darren McCarty and a call from former Michigan State standout football player Andre Risen.

Perhaps all those voices made a difference.

High school winter contact sports teams were allowed to practice and compete starting February 22. Student-athletes had to be tested for COVID-19, wear masks and maintain social distance to compete during the season. “It was 100% worth it,” Yono said.

Winter school sports were paused by the state in mid-November, shortly after they began. At the time, the Brother Rice hockey team had only one week of tryouts and a week of practices under its belt.

The Warriors finally started practicing again on February 22, playing their first game on February 23. That hectic two-day schedule set the tone for the season. The Warriors were able to practice only a couple days a week.

They ended up playing 19 games in just seven weeks -- 14 regular-season games in five weeks and five state playoff games in two weeks. They finished 15-4, winning their last eight games after a 7-4 start that included several games against tough teams.

Eating healthy and taking ice baths was Danou’s strategy for staying sharp through the busy and rugged schedule. Danou had four shutouts, a 1.47 goals-against average, and a save percentage of 93. A 6’3” 160-pounder, his size is an advantage when he’s between the pipes.

Brother Rice hockey coach Kenny Chaput said Sam Yono was chosen a team captain by the coaching staff because Sam is, “the ultimate team guy. His leadership made him as important as anybody on the team.” Chaput added, “He worked hard, and did anything he could to make the team better.”

A 6’1” 175-pound forward, Yono was a jack-of-all-trades for the Warriors this season, playing on different lines and on power-play and penalty-killing units. He had six goals and seven assists.

Brother Rice beat Trenton 4-2 on March 25 in the state semifinals and Byron Center 2-1 on March 27 in the state championship game at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.

The Warriors defeated Byron Center, which hadn’t lost all season, on a goal by Alec Hamady with 6.7 seconds left in the game. Hamady’s backhand shot was saved by goalie Carson MacKenzie, but he pounced on the rebound and scored on another backhand to give the Warriors their sixth state championship and first since 2017.

Neither Danou nor Yono were involved in the winning goal, but they sure were happy to see it.

“There was a faceoff at the other end of the ice with about 12 seconds left and I was thinking, ‘darn, this game is going into overtime,’” Danou said. “Then I saw the puck trickle into the net on Alec’s shot and I went to our bench for the celebration.”

From top of page: Brother Rice defeated Byron Center 2-1 to take home the MHSAA Division 2 state championship on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

“I was on the bench, getting ready for overtime, before the faceoff,” Yono said. “We had a designed play, of course, down there, but who knew if it would work?”

The play didn’t work, but Hamady was in the right spot at the right time for the winning goal.

Danou made 23 saves in the game, including one from close range in the second period when the game was scoreless. He had 25 saves in the state semifinal win over Trenton.

Yono has been playing hockey since he was 4, but he hopes to play golf in college. He’ll be playing golf for Brother Rice for the fourth year this spring. This was Yono’s second year on the Brother Rice hockey team.

Danou would like to continue his hockey career, first in juniors, then at the college level.

“Colleges like ‘older players.’ That’s why I want to play juniors first,” said Danou. Coach Chaput believes Drake has the talent to play in that league.

Danou started playing goalie when he was 6 with the Orchard Lake Pirates youth hockey program. He wasn’t put in that position because he wanted it - it was a necessity.

“I was a terrible skater, so bad that my coach had me play goalie,” he said with a laugh. “It’s worked out very well, though.” Danou joined the Brother Rice team halfway through his sophomore year and stayed there.