Among all the high school sports, hockey has the longest season. It starts before the fall season ends. And it ends about the same time as most other winter sports. But in the end, there always seems to be a lot to play for at the end of the regular season.
And that's certainly the case this year.
The OAA Red champion will be determined this week. 
Regulation was not enough to determine a winner between Lake Orion and Clarkston in the final game of the league season a week ago (Lake Orion won the game in overtime, 2-1, but the official league result of the game was a 1-1 tie). Now the two have earned the right to battle it out for the league tournament championship this Saturday at the Birmingham Ice Arena (6:30 p.m.). Clarkston beat Oxford, 5-2, in one semifinal this past Saturday, while Lake Orion edged out Rochester United, 3-2, in the other.
It most likely won't be the last time the two teams see each other this year. They're on a collision course to play for a pre-regional final on March. 1

Shamrocks double their pleasure
Catholic Central beat St. Mary's at Joe Louis Arena Saturday, 5-3, to win the Catholic League Division 1 title. The team has already clinched at least a share of another MIHL championship. Charlie Green scored a pair of goals for the Shamrocks, which currently sits at 14-2-0-1 in league play this year. CC's only league losses came to Cranbrook and Trenton (twice). A win over Port Huron Northern or a Cranbrook loss to Trenton will wrap up an outright league title for the Shamrocks.

Berkley-Ferndale finishes off the White
I initially mentioned in last week's blog that Berkley-Ferndale had clinched the OAA White championship. Evidently, I forgot how to count. But coach Jeff Fleming's team did not make a liar out of me, winning two tough games against West Bloomfield, 3-2, and Avondale, 5-2, to clinch the title.
The Bears still have something to play for, though, an unbeaten league season. They're 9-0-1 - the lone blemish being a 1-1 tie with Royal Oak - with games against Bloomfield Unified, which is coming off a big, 8-3 win over West Bloomfield, and Troy Athens remaining.

Congratulations to Walled Lake Northern
The Knights surprised a few people by capturing the KLAA North championship this season. But the boys surprised hockey nation by winning the KLAA Lakes Conference championship. And although coach Claude Tunison's team fell to Brighton in the Association championship game, it has a lot to be proud of this season. Congratulations gentlemen.

All-league honors
If anyone has an official copy of your conference's all-league teams, please send them my way - jason.schmitt@oakpress.com. The Catholic League's honors can be found HERE.

Top performances from this past week
- Mackenzie MacEachern, Brother Rice: Scored a natural hat trick and totaled five points in the Warriors' 5-2 win over Divine Child. Teammate Thomas Ebbing had a goal and three assists in the win.
- Charlie Green, Catholic Central: Green scored twice in the third period as the Shamrocks won the CHSL title by defeating St. Mary's, 5-3, at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night.
- Christopher Brown, Cranbrook: Scored three goals and assisted on two others in the Cranes' 8-0 win over Grosse Ile. Sam Miletic and Alex Alger both had three points in the win.
- Cam Thomas, South Lyon Unified: Had a pair of goals, including the game-winner in overtime, as South Lyon beat Milford, 4-3.
- John Artemenko and Mark Andonian, Bloomfield Unified: Both players scored a pair of goals and assisted on another in the Chargers' 8-3 win over West Bloomfield. Teammates Kevin Barnett and Neal Krentz also had three points each for Unified.
- Brody Blair, Rochester United: No one came up bigger in United's 2-1 win over Farmington Hills Unified, as the goalie stopped 34 of 35 shots to lead his team to the win.
- Adam Pardonoff, Oxford: The Wildcats' netminder stopped 26 of 27 shots to help his team beat Farmington in the OAA Red Tournament.
- Mitchell Vanderberg, St. Mary's: Vanderberg had a pair of goals to lead the Eaglets past the Cubs.
- Chris Wilberding, Brother Rice: He had two goals to help the Warriors rally to beat Cranbrook, 4-3.
- Hayden Alpert, Berkley-Ferndale Unified: Alpert scored twice as his Bears clinched a share of the OAA White title with a 3-2 win over West Bloomfield - they later beat Avondale to clinch the title outright.
- Scott Cuthrell and Austin Sereno, Waterford Mott: Both players had a hat trick and three more assists as the Corsairs blew past Troy Athens, 8-0.
- Luke Ortell, Bishop Foley Unified: Had a hat trick and finished with five points in his team's 7-3 win over its biggest rival, Royal Oak Shrine. Teammate Austin Lukaschewski had two goals himself.
- Joe Nagle, Royal Oak Shrine: Scored twice, but it wasn't enough as his team fell to Bishop Foley.

LINKS TO GAME COVERAGE ON MIPREPZONE.COM
Plymouth 3, Lakeland 1
South Lyon 4, Milford 3 (OT)
Bloomfield Unified 8, West Bloomfield 3
Lake Orion 3, Rochester United 2
Rochester United 2, Farmington Unified 1
Oxford 5, Farmington 1
Berkley-Ferndale 3, West Bloomfield 2
Bishop Foley 7, Royal Oak Shrine 3

Nothing creates conversation, or controversy, more than asking a state-wide audience if their football conference is better than another. I have covered football in a number of regions in this state, and each is passionate about the sport. I grew up in the Lansing area, went to college in Mount Pleasant, took my first job in Gaylord (up north) and made my way back downstate to the west side of Detroit, then the east side, and now in Oakland County.
About the only place I have not spent any time in is on the west side of the state. But from everything I have seen (covered state championship games), heard and observed (online), the west side boasts a number of the state's best football programs and leagues. I have a great deal of respect for the "West Side."
All that being said, and from spending a good deal of time reading up and down MLive's Football forums, I wanted to pose the question: Which football conference is the toughest in the state. You can break that question down a hundred ways. Some leagues are bigger than others. Some are top heavy, some are deeper. What exactly do you mean, "Toughest?"
Well, to simplify it, let's treat it like an ACC/Big Ten challenge in basketball. Try to seed the teams in each league, based on recent success - mostly weighted for this year - and include a hint of tradition. Then, pit those teams, based on seeds, against the other conference's top six. Add up the wins, and see what you get. Some will argue, why don't you go eight deep, or 10 deep, or 16 deep. Of course, that could change things up a bit. But because I have 10 other projects I'm working on right now, and the fact that this is for fun, I decided to keep it to just six. Yes, that's an even number, which could create ties, but oh well. That's life.
The greatest thing about this "debate" is that there will be no right answer. Everyone is going to have their own opinion. Loyalty is golden. But I love to hear people argue their case. Sometimes they make a good argument. Sometimes, not so much.
I narrowed it down to seven conferences from across the state. In alphabetical order, they are:

Capital Area Activities Conference: DeWitt, East Lansing, Grand Ledge, Holt, Lansing Sexton, Mason
Catholic High School League: Brother Rice, Catholic Central, Divine Child, De La Salle, Orchard Lake St. Mary's, U-D Jesuit
Detroit Public School League: Cass Tech, Crockett, Henry Ford, Martin Luther King, Pershing, Southeastern
Kensington Lakes Activities Association: Canton, Grand Blanc, Northville, Plymouth, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Western
Macomb Activities Association: Chippewa Valley, Dakota, Eisenhower, Marine City, Romeo, Stevenson
Oakland Activities Association: Clarkston, Harrison, Lake Orion, Oxford, Rochester Adams, Southfield
Ottawa-Kent Conference: East Grand Rapids, GR West Catholic, Lowell, Muskegon, Rockford, Zeeland West

I will follow this blog up with another and try my best to seed the teams and square them off. Opinions (you can leave them below in the comments section) will be very helpful. I would weigh recent success - mostly this season - when comparing teams head-to-head. I included a bit of tradition in selecting the teams so that you didn't necessarily get many one-time wonders on the lists.

We have a poll up on the right side of MIPrepZone.com so viewers can vote on who they think the toughest conference is. And I would encourage you to follow us on Twitter @MIPrepZone to help spread the word. Check back by Thursday for an updated blog with the league matchups. And remember, leave your opinions here as to who you would seed where in each league.