Jack Desautel, right, and the Okemos hockey team are in the hunt for a third straight CAAC title.
The CAAC has been a battleground in recent years and the Okemos hockey team has embraced having a big target on its back.
The Chiefs have captured the last two titles and find themselves in the hunt for a third straight under veteran coach Bill Sipola.
“We always have a target on our backs, every team circles us on the calendar,” Sipola said. “That’s what comes with being a champion, you always have to show up.”
Having a target on your back is not seen as a bad thing by the coaches or the players. They embrace it because they know that it comes with the territory.
“We use it as motivation and it really fuels our fire,” said senior Jack Desautel. “We go out there knowing that everyone wants to beat us and everyone comes to play Okemos as hard as they can.”
The Chiefs are 4-1-1 in the CAAC after a tough two-game stretch when they suffered their only loss to conference-leading Jackson and tied the Capitol Area Patriots.
Okemos has won three straight CAAC matchups since, including a 3-1 victory over the Patriots.
“We have definitely picked it up and regrouped ourself since our loss to Jackson,” senior captain Brandon Williams said. “I think that we have even more motivation now that we have to win every game.”
Williams was only able to play the last four games of his junior year after an ankle injury kept him out until the end of the season.
Desautel and Williams have each stepped up this season, according to Sipola.
“Each of them are playing upwards of 40 minutes a game,” Sipola said. “This team is willing to do whatever it takes to reach our goal of a third straight CAAC Championship and our seniors are doing a great job of leading a young team.”
The CAAC is shaping up to have a similar look to last year’s finish. If Okemos can win the rest of its league games, the conference title will once again be decided by the final game of the season.