TRENTON – It was an eerie sense of deja vu at the Kennedy Recreation Center on Wednesday night when Grosse Ile and Gibraltar Carlson took to the ice for the second go-around this season.
Just like their annual night-before-Thanksgiving showdown earlier in the season, Wednesday’s rematch saw Carlson take an early lead in the first period before Grosse Ile evened things up in the second. The November meeting then had each score a goal in the third before ultimately finishing in a tie after overtime.
This time, the two rivals were determined to have a winner.
It was indeed one that again required overtime but with 3:25 left in the extra session, Adalar Hovis sent a pass to Michael Olenchak, who buried the shot for a 3-2 Grosse Ile win.
The comeback win for Grosse Ile was their third game in four days, all of which they came out on top. The Red Devils overall have now won seven of their last eight games following a rocky 3-6-1 start to the campaign.
“Our guys don’t quit,” Grosse Ile head coach Scott Sebastian said. “We have a lot of respect for Carlson. They know us and we know them. We didn’t get out to the start that we wanted, but we didn’t panic. That’s showing signs of the team maturing against a real tough rival who is well-coached.”
Carlson led 2-0 after the first stanza following quick, back-to-back goals.
On the first power play of the night with 10:48 to go in the opening period, Brayden Beaudette just five seconds into the man-advantage scooped the puck up and in to get the night started. Twenty-five seconds later, Rocco Stoney doubled the Marauders’ lead.
At intermission, Grosse Ile had a chat.
“It was a really simple message,” Sebastian said. “Stay the course, keep getting pucks deep, keep pressuring their (defense), force turnovers and, more importantly, stay structured in our defensive zone.”
The message was received and the islanders tied it up in the middle frame.
With 13:07 to go, Dominic Cucinella got his own power play goal to get the Devils on the board. Then just 16 seconds later, Nathan Taulbee’s shot had it all tied up.
A scoreless third period gave the fans extra hockey to watch on the snowy night before Olenchak’s game-winner. Sebastian said fighting off the early storm and staying focused is a testament to how much his team has grown through the season.
“We didn’t panic and they stayed true to what we were trying to do,” he said. “That’s a credit to our team. We may not have won that game two months ago, but we just kept building and building and we’re in pretty good shape.
“That’s the cool thing about this group of guys,” Sebastian continued. “We got down 2-0 last time, so we’re showing signs of great maturity, great senior leadership, and we’re playing at all three levels of the ice.”
The win was that much more meaningful as Carlson came into Wednesday just in front of Grosse Ile in the MHSAA MPR rankings, which helps determine seeding come playoff time.
Both the Marauders and Devils are in the same regional for the state tournament.
The Grosse Ile ice hockey team completed a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory in overtime vs local rival Gibraltar Carlson on Jan 14, 2026. (SAMANTHA ELLIOTT — For MediaNews Group)
“The most important thing for tonight is it’s a huge rivalry game,” Sebastian said. “We thought we had one slip away against them the first time. They’re just in front of us in the playoff rankings so to be able to not let this one get away, I’m so proud of the guys for staying the course and keeping the game simple.
“Games like this really change a team’s identity and confidence,” Sebastian added. “When you do it against one of your biggest rivals and come out with an OT win – I couldn’t be more proud.”
UP NEXT
Grosse Ile (10-7-1) will have a little bit of a break before traveling to the annual Chelsea Showcase for a pair of games vs Holland West Ottawa and Grand Haven on Jan 22 and 23, respectively.
Sebastian said the six practices between now and then are where they will really start to define and work on areas of improvement.
“We’re still in second gear with some systems,” he said. “We really haven’t shown a lot yet, so this next stretch of eight days will be important for us not only to get some rest, but to stay sharp and then implement some things that we’ll need to have in another month.”
Carlson (9-8-1) will look to get back into the win column, and shake off what is now a season-worst four-game losing skid, when they travel to take on Detroit Country Day on Saturday, Jan 17. The Marauders fell by a score of 5-4 in overtime in their first meeting with the Yellowjackets back on Dec 2.
Photo gallery of Grosse Ile vs Gibraltar Carlson in an ice hockey rivalry matchup