Howell High boys hockey program has returned to the top tier of Michigan prep teams, a welcome development spurred by Keith Robinson becoming its head coach in spring 2024.
Prior to Robertson’s takeover, the Highlanders had one successful playoff run, in the 2019 season, going to the semifinal. But the season was ultimately cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robertson has helped give Howell hockey something it's been missing in recent years; consistency. In 2025, the Highlanders had their first winning season since 2019, with a 24-4-2 record and a state championship appearance.
The 2026 was just as impressive, with a 26-game winning streak - before losing in the playoffs - and finishing with a 26-2 record.
Robertson has brought a culture of effort, attitude, and energy to the program.
“It’s something that is the easiest we feel to control, some days it’s not always the easiest, but as long as we’re above that line and we bring it every day we feel pretty comfortable with our team,” said Robertson.
This season fell short of the team’s goal to win the state title, but still ended with many notable accomplishments. The Highlanders won 26 games, with 17 wins by three goals or more…and their largest win of the season was a 10-1 victory over Livonia Churchill.
Howell continues to improve and achieve new heights each year, a big part of that coming from senior leadership. This year’s roster consisted of 11 seniors, many playing together throughout their youth before coming to Howell. They grew into leaders driving the team to success on the ice.
“You start it off with a loss and then we’ve won all of our games and I don’t want to say pressure built, but they know they’re getting everyone's best, there’s no sneaking up on anybody, it’s a credit to the senior group,” said Robertson.
The Highlanders have proved themselves, winning in more ways than one this season. Clearly, they proved their dominance in many of the wins, but they also proved they can bounce back after a loss, and win close games with four one-goal victories including an overtime thriller against Livonia Stevenson, showing their ability to win in multiple different ways.
“We’re talented with the puck for sure, we have some guys that can put the puck in the back of the net, but a lot of times when you see those margins it’s a credit to the defensive side of the puck,” Robertson said.
Their dominance continued into the playoffs with a huge 10-2 win over Davison. In a rematch from earlier in the regular season between Howell and Hartland that ended in a 7-5 victory for the Highlanders, Howell would come out on top yet again, this time in the Regional Finals match with a 6-3 victory over Hartland, who finished the regular season ranked 3rd in the state.
“It’s across the board, it’s the leadership group,we find scoring, we pride ourselves on the defensive side of the puck,” Robertson said. “When you get to the playoffs goals become a little bit more of a premium, ice is a little more of a premium, you’re getting everybody’s best because the year is going to end if you don’t.”
With a strong foundation and solid team chemistry, success usually comes easy, and for these players, they’ve been playing together for longer than just their four years at Howell. Many players have grown up together through hockey, playing on the same teams and are familiar with players from other teams they’ve been playing against, sparking rivalries and fueling competitive hockey.
Senior Chad Pietila is a multiple year co-captain and star defenseman has been with the varsity team since he started at Howell his freshman year. He’s played in multiple rivalry games during his time with the Highlanders.
“You played a lot of these young guys growing up and you just want to beat them every chance you can, and when you play them a few times a year, it’s always just a hard fought game,” Pietila said. “Rivalry games are unreal, nothing like them.”
Marco Wolfe, a senior co-captain and standout forward, is a four year varsity starter for Howell. He’s also familiar with rivalries and how much they mean.
“Those are the most fun games, I mean you can’t beat them, so they definitely make you want to win every single game that you play against them,” Wolfe said.
For Howell one rivalry stands out more than any other; Detroit Catholic Central. They are the only team to beat Howell since Salem on Nov. 20, 2024, excluding a pair of shootout losses that same season.
The playoff seeding put the top 3 ranked teams in the same part of the bracket this season, which left Howell having to match up against Hartland in the regional finals and that win earned them a quarter-final showdown against their rivals Detroit Catholic Central. The game would end in a 1-0 defeat for the Highlanders and their incredible season would once again come to an end at the hands of the Shamrocks.