TRENTON – The annual high school ice hockey summer league at Kennedy Recreation Center presents a lot of positive takeaways.
It is a chance for high school players to keep up with their skills, and for coaches to see what new talent is coming in the fall, while playing some friendly games against opponents they will traditionally see in the regular season.
But on Wednesday night, one of the three games played in the league had all the feel of a big-time rivalry matchup with each team fighting like their season was on the line.
Arguably the two strongest teams in the area in recent history, the squads from Riverview Gabriel Richard and Trenton each seemed like they had something to prove.
And in reality, they do.
After a season void of any conference affiliation, Richard is slated to join the always-prominent MIHL and will play in the same division as Trenton.
“We’ll see where we stand up to the benchmark of Downriver hockey,” Richard head coach Rick DeSana said. “And now we’re in their league and their division so it’s exciting to see where we stand.”
It was a rough, fast, and physical game, one that featured nine penalties between the two clubs. But when the final buzzer went off, it was Richard on the winning side of the 2-0 affair.
After a scoreless first period, it looked like it was going to be anyone’s game as the teams continued their fast, chippy play before a pair of goals from the Pioneers in the middle stanza changed the game.
From the bench, DeSana told his team to ‘keep it simple’ and three minutes into the period, the Pioneers scored almost immediately after a faceoff in front of the Trenton net to take a 1-0 lead.
Then with a minute and a half to go in the period, the visitors raced down to add one more insurance goal to cap off the game’s scoring.
Before the game on Wednesday, DeSana stressed the importance of summer hockey for the teams as the MHSAA does not allow hockey play in the spring or summer.
“Everyone probably frowns on summer hockey saying give the kids a break,” DeSana said. “But we don’t do anything in the fall and we don’t do anything in the spring. And it’s only seven weeks because of the mandatory dead period.
“It’s seeing what you need to work on and getting some kids accustomed to your systems and things like that,” DeSana continued. “So I think summer hockey is extremely valuable.”
On the opposite bench, Trenton coach Anthony Leone agreed.
“It’s very exciting,” Leone said. “It gives everybody an opportunity to stay on the ice, especially the new kids that are maybe incoming sophomores or juniors and aren’t familiar with the program. And it gives us coaches a good idea of how players play and who we have coming out for next fall.
“It’s just a great opportunity.”
Like DeSana, Leone was also looking forward to the matchup.
The Riverview Gabriel Richard ice hockey team earned a 2-0 win over local rival Trenton in a summer league exhibition game at the Kennedy Rec Center on June 25, 2025. (SAMANTHA ELLIOTT — For MediaNews Group)
“This matchup is awesome,” he said before puck drop. “It’s going to be a hard game, it’s going to be fast, a physical game. What I told my team was, ‘you gotta play hard and fast, but you gotta play smart, Don’t take dumb penalties.’ It’s going to be an exciting game.”
While both teams lost some key players to graduation in June, each has a solid core returning as well. That is especially the case for Trenton, whose strength a season ago came from its Class of 2026.
“We have a large junior returning class this year, so we should be strong again,” Leone said. “But again, we have a lot of underclassmen as well that are getting their feet wet. We have a lot of good players, but it really depends on how they do this summer and fall developing- we’re really excited.”
Among the key returners are former all-state honorees Donovan Durbin, Zach LaMay, and Landon Leone, all of whom are back for their senior season.
Richard meanwhile graduated their top goal-scorer in Tony Venturini, but they return the next best three in the lineup in Connor Forester, Michael Taucher, and Santino Venturini.
What has DeSana most excited about this upcoming season is his team’s depth.
“Last year I didn’t even play a third line,” he said. “(This summer) we’ve played three games and we’ve rolled three lines and six D-men. I’m excited about having some depth because our schedule is not different from last year, it’ll be tough.”
Adding to the toughness for all teams will be the addition of two games throughout the season, allowing for a maximum of 27 games before the state playoffs begin.
“The two additional games this year will be exciting,” Leone said. “Getting those two competitive games on the schedule will help and be exciting for us.”
UP NEXT
Both teams now head into the MHSAA mandatory dead week, which runs from June 30 to July 7.
Richard will return to action in the Kennedy Summer League on July 7 when they take on Allen Park, while Trenton will be back on the ice on July 9 to face off against Divine Child.
PHOTOS: Ice Hockey – Riverview Gabriel Richard vs Trenton
Originally Published: June 26, 2025 at 2:30 AM EDT