Michigan
Ohio State’s men’s hockey team battles Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament semifinal
It has been a rough season for the Ohio State men’s hockey team, but the Buckeyes are playing some of their best hockey of the year when it matters most. Last weekend in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals, Ohio State went into Madison and upset the Wisconsin Badgers, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
The Buckeyes won two of three games in the best-of-three series to advance in the conference tournament, setting up a semifinal meeting with the Michigan State Spartans.
Prior to their meeting last weekend, Ohio State and Wisconsin had split the four games they played during the regular season. Back in early December, the Buckeyes made the trip to Madison and were smashed by the home team, falling by a combined score of 9-1 over two games. Ohio State was able to earn some revenge, sweeping Wisconsin in the two games the teams played in Columbus in the middle of February. The 3-2 win in overtime on Feb. 16 by the Buckeyes halted a seven-game losing streak.
In the opening game of the quarterfinal series, Brent Johnson gave Ohio State an early lead, scoring 9:08 into the first period. Wisconsin quickly responded, knotting the score at one just over two minutes later when William Whitelaw found the back of the net. After a scoreless second period, Max Montes scored what would end up being the game-winning-goal 2:21 into the third period as the Buckeyes were on the power play. Montes would add an insurance goal late in the period when Wisconsin pulled their goal to put an extra attacker on the ice.
Game two on Saturday night didn’t go quite as smoothly for Ohio State. This time the Badgers got on the scoreboard first when Christian Fitzgerald scored on the power play 13 minutes into the opening period. Late in the first period the Buckeyes responded with a power play goal of their own with a minute left in the period courtesy of Thomas Weis.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, Wisconsin took control of the game in the next period with two goals, and while Patrick Guzzo closed the deficit to one in the middle of the third period, the Badgers added an empty net goal late in the period to tie the series up.
In the deciding game, Ohio State jumped out on the Badgers early when Davis Burnside scored on the power play at the 6:16 mark of the first period. Scooter Brickley doubled the lead halfway through the second period, and Burnside iced the game with an empty net goal with three minutes left in the game. Wisconsin pulled one back to ruin the shutout but that would be the only goal they would score in the game.
Not only was the win by Ohio State the 1,000th victory in school history, the Buckeyes became the first seven-seed to win a quarterfinal series in the Big Ten Tournament.
With their victories in Madison, Ohio State will now hit the road again this weekend, this time traveling to East Lansing for a semifinal showdown with the Michigan State Spartans. Despite losing three of four games to the Spartans during the regular season, the lone win for the Buckeyes this year between the teams did come in East Lansing.
After Gavin O’Connell opened the scoring for the Spartans in the contest on Feb. 23, Ohio State reeled off four-straight goals, with two of them coming off the stick of Sam Deckhut. The Buckeyes would go on to win the game 6-2 before falling to the Spartans 5-2 the next night.
Michigan State enters the semifinal with a 22-9-3 record on the season. While Ohio State battled Wisconsin last week, the Spartans were able to relax at home, as they were the recipient of a bye in the Big Ten Tournament since they were the top team in the conference during the regular season. The last time Michigan State took the ice, they split a pair of games at Wisconsin at the beginning of the month.
Leading the charge for Michigan State is freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov. The Belarusian is a finalist for Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defenseman of the Year, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Levshunov has scored nine goals and dished out 23 assists so far this season in 36 games.
Along with Levshunov, head coach Adam Nightingale is also in the running for conference honors, as the second-year head coach is a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year.
One player Ohio State is going to have to keep tabs on in the semifinal is Gavin O’Connell. The freshman from Minnesota played his best hockey of the season against Ohio State, scoring two goals in three of the four matchups between the teams, finishing with seven goals over the four games. O’Connell is tied with Karsen Dorwat for the team-lead with 14 goals so far this season.
Dorwat is tied with Levshunov for the most overall points on the squad, with both players have recorded 32 points in Michigan State’s 34 games. Joey Larson and Issac Howard sit just a point behind Dowat and Levshunov, tallying 31 points on the year.
Along with a potent offense, Michigan State also has a strong defense. Starting between the pipes for the Spartans will be Trey Augustiine, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. Augustine is 20-8-2 this season, recording three shutouts, a 2.92 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
The Buckeyes will have to hope they catch Augustine on a bad night, much like they did in the first matchup in East Lansing when they were able to put six pucks past the freshman goaltender.
The winner of the semifinal between the Buckeyes and Spartans will go on to meet the winner of the other semifinal between Michigan and Minnesota, which will also be played on Saturday. The Big Ten Tournament Championship Game will be played on March 23 at the campus of the higher-seeded team.
If Ohio State is able to upset Michigan State, it will mark the third time the Buckeyes have advanced to the conference title game.
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network
A decade of Celebrate Michigan: See the images that won from 2015 to 2025
The Detroit News’ Celebrate Michigan photo contest is 20 years old. We’ve assembled the best of the best: Winners and runners up from 2015 to 2025.
The Detroit News
Gotion Inc. has asked a federal judge to order the Michigan township where it was supposed to call home to repay the roughly $23.7 million it owes the state in taxpayer-funded incentives.
Green Township’s actions opposing Gotion’s planned battery parts plant made it all but impossible to move forward, the company argued, leaving Gotion in default under its agreement with the state and on the hook for the $23.7 million in taxpayer-funded incentives it received for land purchases and improvements.
“Now that it is clear the project cannot move forward in the face of this continued opposition and the state of Michigan’s withdrawal of support, Gotion seeks to add these constitutional claims and request damages as a result of the township’s breach of the development agreement and violation of Gotion’s constitutional rights,” a May 29 court filing in the case said.
Last week’s filing seeks to amend an earlier lawsuit Gotion filed against Green Township over zoning changes that made its development all but impossible to proceed.
In February, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Gotion’s lawsuit, arguing that it was moot because the state had already found the project in default and had demanded back roughly $23.7 million that had been given to the subsidiary of a Chinese company to purchase and prepare land in Green Township. In light of that ruling, Gotion is seeking to amend its lawsuit to seek additional damages.
“…the Sixth Circuit implied that given the facts of the dispute at this point, the correct form of damages for Gotion’s breach of contract claim against the township is likely monetary damages and no longer injunctive relief,” Gotion said in the May 29 filing.
The amended filing includes demands for damages arising from the “millions” Gotion paid or spent in reliance on the project moving forward, lost profits the company would have made if the manufacturing facility were built, attorney fees and an amount “not less than $23,670,873.56 for funds advanced towards land and development costs related to the project that the state of Michigan is now claiming should be repaid.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, which is seeking to recoup the $23.7 million on behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund, said it was aware of Gotion’s May 29 filing against Green Township and is “monitoring the situation.” The office declined further comment, citing attorney-client privilege.
Gotion first sued Green Township in March 2024 after the board — all of whom had been replaced in November 2023 with members concerned about the Gotion project — rescinded two resolutions needed for the project to move forward. Gotion sued in federal court for breach of contract, and a U.S. district court judge issued a preliminary ruling in Gotion’s favor.
But the Sixth Circuit later blocked the case after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, last fall, found Gotion to be in default of its grant agreement.
The state’s finding of default was in part due to the Green Township lawsuit. The company’s agreement with the state prohibits involvement in a suit that “would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the project or the grantee’s performance of its obligations under this agreement.”
The state also maintained Gotion’s “cessation of eligible activities” for a period of 120 days constituted an “abandonment” in violation of the grant agreement.
The Michigan Strategic Fund said it would seek to recoup the $23.7 million used to purchase and prepare land for Gotion in Green Township.
The Gotion project in Green Township was fraught with controversy shortly after its announcement. The company had planned to locate a battery parts plant in the Big Rapids area, creating up to 2,350 jobs and receiving about $175 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project.
Local opponents pushed back on the project because of the secretive nature with which it was negotiated, the unknown environmental effects of the project and Gotion’s parent company in China. Those concerns were amplified by Republican candidates in 2024, including both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump.
The legal maneuverings with Gotion have already come at a cost to the township.
For the past three years, the state Treasury Department has flagged Green Township in Mecosta County because its expenditures have exceeded the amount of money authorized in its annual budget. In a corrective action plan submitted to Treasury last month, the township said its deficits were “primarily due to the legal fees.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.
“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.
Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.
“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.
Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.
“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.
“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.
Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.
“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.
On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.
He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.
“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,
The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.
The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”
The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.
At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.
“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.
The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.
All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.
Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”
“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.
Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.
“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.
State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.
“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.
More on the bills
The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.
House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.
Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.
Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.
Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.
Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.
“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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