MAY 27 • 2021 | 29

W

hen it comes to
winning state
championships in
hockey, the Bloomfield Hills
Cranbrook-Kingswood High
School team has no peers.
The Cranes have played in 20
state title games and won 18 of
them, losing only to Calumet in
1996 and 1998.
Their latest triumph was a 4-1
win over previously undefeated
Calumet at USA Hockey
Arena in Plymouth for the
Division 3 title, their first state
championship since 2015.
Five Jewish players were on
the Cranbrook-Kingswood

(15-4) roster. While they
acknowledged the pressure that
comes with playing in such a
successful program, they said it’s
a good thing.
Jack Wineman, a senior
center from Birmingham,
played on the Cranes’ top line
this season. He was one of
the team’s four captains, and a
first team Division 3 all-state
selection by the Michigan
High School Hockey Coaches’
Association.
His first-period goal
against Calumet (18-1-1) gave
Cranbrook-Kingswood a 2-0
lead. He had eight goals and 17

assists this season.
“Obviously, the pressure [to
succeed] motivated me to leave
my mark on the program and
hang another banner in the
rafters, but it didn’t put extra
pressure on me,
” he said. “Our
goal this season was to have fun
every day and work hard until
the end.
”
Junior right wing Ty Esterline
from Commerce Township was
injured and missed most of the
season, but he was cleared to
play in the postseason.
He made the most of
the opportunity, scoring
Cranbrook-Kingswood’s fourth
goal against Calumet. It was the
only goal he scored in the five
games he played this season.
“Our team winning so many
state championships doesn’t
put pressure on me,
” he said. “It
actually benefits me because it
pushes me to become better as a
person and hockey player so we
have the opportunity to win a
state championship.
“There’s more pressure to not
let down your teammates who
have become your family over
the past few months.
”
Junior defenseman Jacob
Budabin from Troy assisted on
Cranbrook-Kingwood’s first
goal against Calumet. One of
the Cranes’ top defenseman, he
had three goals and 12 assists
this season.
“The pressure is always there
to perform given the team’s
history of state championships,
”
he said. “
At the end of the day,
however, we have to pave our
own path and it really helps
when you have the kind of guys
around you that we did this
year.
“
Also, the coaching staff
pushes us to be the best we can,
and not use our team’s history
as pressure, but as motivation to
be the best we can be.
”
Charlie Finsilver is a junior
right wing from Bloomfield
Hills. He had a pair of assists
this season.

“The winning culture that has
been established over the years
by our team helps keep players
on the right track,
” he said.
“We understand the legacy
and stature of past players and
teams, so we know we have
large shoes to fill. The pressure
motivates us to live up to that
legacy.
“Every time I put on the
Cranbrook-Kingswood jersey I
know I’m playing for something
greater than myself. It truly is
humbling.
”
Andrew Swartz is a junior
defenseman/forward from
Toronto. He had 10 assists in 19
games this season.
“The pressure caused by
the tradition of winning is
beneficial to me and my
teammates,
” he said. “It’s the
type of pressure that makes us
want to win more. The pressure
pushes our team to keep going,
to keep winning, to not stop
winning, and be the best team
in the state every year.
”
The COVID-19 pandemic
caused stoppages and shortened
the high school hockey season.
There also were unprecedented
mitigations for players.
But the Cranes rolled with
the punches, according to
Finsilver, whose grandfather,
Stan Finsilver, is a past president
at Temple Israel.
“The COVID-19 protocols
were just obstacles that had
to be tackled mentally and
physically,
” he said. “
Abiding by
the protocols was the only way
we were able to play. We really
didn’t have a choice. It was
either follow the protocols, or
don’t have a season.
“
As the season went on, the
protocols became more of a
familiar foe, and became less
frustrating.
”
In addition to Wineman’s
All-State honor, second-year
Cranbrook-Kingswood coach
John LaFontaine was named the
Division 3 Coach of the Year by
the MHSHCA.

Led by captain and All-State center
Jack Wineman, the Cranes won their
18th state championship.

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jack Wineman

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