I had a chance to take in Friday night's St. Mary's-Cranbrook game over at Wallace Arena, a matchup of two of the best teams in the state. Unfortunately for the Cranes, it was their worst performance of the season.
St. Mary's scored three special-teams goals - two shorthanded - and killed off all nine of Cranbrook's power-play opportunities. There were 16 penalties called in the game. That's not exactly what either Cranbrook coach Andy Weidenbach or St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow had in mind when the game started.
Klanow wasn't exactly happy with the way the game was officiated, but showed no displeasure with the way his team responded and the two big points that accompanied the victory. In a league that includes all three of the state's No. 1 ranked teams, and two of its No. 2s, every win counts.
- Walled Lake Northern took care of business this past week, beating up on Kettering and edging Mott to move into a first-place tie with the Corsairs - with three games in hand - in the KLAA North. It's a two-team race there, with the Knights looking pretty good heading into the home stretch.
- Despite a number of losses to graduation - and star senior Brad Pizzey to the NAHL - Clarkston is back where it seems to be year in and year out, near the top of the OAA Red. The Wolves and arch-rival Lake Orion are tied at the top of the standings with identical 5-0-1 records. The two will square off this Saturday night (8 p.m.) at the Detroit Skating Club.

Top performances from this past week:
- Kevin Lechner, Lakeland: Netted his first career hat trick in the Eagles' 5-3 loss to Pinckney
- Nick Carbone, Orchard Lake St. Mary's: Scored a pair of goals in the Eaglets' 4-1 win over Cranbrook Friday night
- Austin Lukaschewski, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Scored twice in his team's 4-1 win over rival Royal Oak Shrine
- Alex Day, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Warriors' victory over the Knights
- Mitch Harvey, Stoney Creek: Scored two goals to help lead the Cougars over cross-town rival Rochester United, 5-2
- Nicholas Ferrara, Milford: Had a hat trick in a 6-3 win over Lakeland Saturday night

Here are the updated MIHL, OAA, CHSL and KLAA league standings as of Tuesday (Jan. 24)

MIHL Standings
Team                    GP    W   L  T  OL  Pts.
Catholic Central     14    12   2   0   0     24
Cranbrook             11     8    2   0   1     17
Trenton                  11     8    2   0   1     17    
St. Mary's              10    7    3   0   0     14
Brother Rice          10     6    4    0   0    12
PH Northern          11     4   6    0   1     9
GP North               10     4   6    0    0    8
Wyandotte             10     2   7    0    1    5
De La Salle            11     2   9    0    0    4
U-D Jesuit             10     1   8    0    1    3

OAA Red
Team                      W  L  T  Pts.
Lake Orion              5  0   1   11
Clarkston                 5  0   1   11
Farmington               4  3   0    8
Farmington U.          2  2   1    5
Rochester U.            2  4  0    4
Birmingham U.         1  3   2    4
Oxford                     1  3  1    3
Stoney Creek           1  6  0    2

OAA White
Team                      W  L  T  Pts.
Berkley-Ferndale     6   0   1   13
Avondale                 6   3   0   12
West Bloomfield      4   3   0    8
Bloom. Hills United  4   4   0   8
Royal Oak               3   3   1   7
Troy                        3   6   0   6
Troy Athens             0   6   0   0

KLAA Central
Team                      W  L  T  Pts.
Brighton                   6   1   1   13
Livonia Stevenson*   5   3   0   11
Novi                        4   3   1    9
Northville*                3  3   1    8
South Lyon              3   4   0   6

KLAA North
Team                       W  L  T  Pts.
WL Northern            6   1   0    12
Waterford Mott        6   4   0    12
Lakeland                  2   6   0     4
WL Central              2   5   0     4
Waterford Kettering  1   6   0    2

KLAA West
Team                      W  L  T  Pts.
Howell                     8   1   1   17
Grand Blanc*           4   1   2   11
Pinckney                  4   3   2   10
Milford*                   4   3   0   9
Hartland                   3   2   1    7
WL Western             1   7   0   2
* one OT loss

CHSL Division 1 - Group A
Team                      W  L  T
Catholic Central        5   1  0
Cranbrook                1   1  0
Brother Rice             0   2  0
U-D Jesuit                0   2  0

CHSL Intersectional
Team                           W  L  T
AA Gabriel Richard       6   1   0
Riv. Gabriel Richard   3   1   0
Bishop Foley                3   2   0
Cabrini                         2   2   1
RO Shrine                    1   4  1
Lutheran North           0   4   1


LINKS TO GAME COVERAGE ON MIPREPZONE.COM
Milford 6, Lakeland 3
Stoney Creek 5, Rochester United 2
Bishop Foley 4, Shrine 1
St. Mary's 4, Cranbrook 1
Pinckney 5, Lakeland 3
Farmington Hills Unified 4, Grosse Ile 2