Sure, the fast starts the fourth-ranked Livonia Stevenson hockey team had in the first and second periods helped it win the Division 2 state semifinal Thursday.
But how the Spartans (18-8-2) closed out the game ensured them the 6-2 victory over Brother Rice. 
They’ll make their fourth appearance in the state championship and first since 2016 when they take on Flint Powers Catholic on Saturday. 
“It feels amazing, starting right off the bat, getting one up, taking the lead and just building off of it,” said senior Christian Lang, who netted a hat trick, including the winning goal about four minutes into the second period. 
Starting right off the bat might be an understatement. 
Colin Stroble scored just 27 seconds after the opening puck drop. Heck, Brother Rice’s student section hadn’t even finished filing into the southeast end of USA Hockey Arena.
And then Connor Buchanan followed suit, scoring 37 seconds into the second period. A smattering of Spartans fans missed the goal while still waiting in line at the concessions. 
“It settled us in, and we got comfortable early,” said Buchanan, a senior who scored again in the third. “We were ready to do it off the bat, and we just built off of that from there.” 
That’s not to say Rice was going to go away willingly. 
In fact, the No. 2 Warriors (16-11-2) had been in that situation before. 
Like, two years ago. 
They entered the final frame of the state championship trailing Byron Center, 2-0. And then Peter Rosa led an epic comeback, netting a hat trick and helping Rice earn the 4-2 comeback win. 
And, sure enough, they attempted another rally just like it vs. Stevenson. 
Following Lang’s eventual game-winner, Isaiah House scored to make it 3-1 entering the final intermission. 
With just over six minutes left, Davis Belt notched another. 
Suddenly, it was a one-goal game with plenty of time left. 
“It wasn’t much panic on the bench,” longtime Spartans coach David Mitchell said. 
Wait, what? 
This is Brother Rice, who has won seven state titles since 1992 and three since Kenny Chaput was promoted from assistant to head coach in 2016, we’re talking about here. 
“Last week, in our quarterfinal, we had a similar scenario,” senior captain Owen Hall said. “So that really helped us move forward. We’ve been here before.”
Oh, well, that makes sense. 
Indeed, the Spartans nursed a 3-2 lead late against Rochester United last weekend. Escaping John Lindell Ice Arena in Royal Oak with a win was made even more challenging when they took a penalty in the waning moments. 
Yet, Stevenson killed that penalty, survived RU’s man-advantage and punched its ticket to Plymouth. 
So, its response to Rice’s rally? Well, that one was even better. 
Buchanan scored almost 45 seconds later. 
Lang scored an empty-netter three minutes after that. 
Lang then earned his hat trick with another goal in the final minute. 
“We talked about certain parts of the game being even more important than the others,” Chaput said. “That’s the first minute of the period, the last minute of the period. That’s huge momentum time. We give up a goal on the first shift of the game and turn around in the second and do the same thing. It didn’t help us get our feet under us in either one of those periods.” 
But it did help the Spartans. 
“It just helped us out right away,” Hall admitted. “State semifinals, there’s a bunch of nerves that go into it, but getting one that early helped everyone settle down.” 
Hall, one of Stevenson’s two four-year varsity players, alongside Andrew Clark, called finally making it to the state championship a dream come true. He said he’s been working toward this moment his whole career. 
In the state semifinal, he and his teammates wasted no time showing they belonged there. Can they show that same urgency against Powers? 
“These guys were ready to go,” Mitchell said. “You could tell at practice that these guys just wanted to get to the game and play.” 
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter at @folsombrandonj.

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