LocalSportsJournal.com
NORTON SHORES - While Mona Shores hockey coach Chris Benedict and senior captain Eli Habetler are focused on getting wins each time the Sailors hit the ice, that pursuit of success allowed those two to reach individual milestones early in the 2025-26 season. Habetler collected the 100th point of his high school career and Benedict earned his 100th career win as Mona Shores’ head coach.
Habetler reached his milestone first with a goal in a 2-1 victory over Traverse City West at the Traverse City West Thanksgiving Invite on Nov. 29. Habetler took a pass from Quinn Addicott and scored a power-play goal for the Sailors. He got off to a hot start with nine points in his first three games, including a hat trick in an 8-0 win over Allen Park.
“I didn’t care how I got (the 100th point), but I wanted it to be on a goal,” said Habetler, a four-year varsity player. “I shot it on net and snuck it past the goalie.
“On offense, you love to score. I do work on my ability to score, whether it’s fundamentals, positioning, whatever it takes.”
This season, Habetler has not only continued to be a top scoring option for the Sailors, but he has moved to center from the forward position. That move has added additional responsibilities to Habetler’s plate, including bigger roles on the power play and penalty kill, according to Benedict.
“Being a center, I have to be reliable on offense and defense, and work more on sharing the puck,” said Habetler.
Mona Shores senior captain Eli Habetler has collected the 100th point of his high school career.
(Photo courtesy of Mona Shores Hockey)
And even with the accolades and success Habetler has experienced on the ice, he is also one of the hardest workers on the team and is a selfless leader. And those qualities have allowed Habetler to wear the captain’s “C” on his jersey since his sophomore season.
“He is so dynamic. He does things the right way, his work ethic is incredible, and he cares about the game and his teammates,” Benedict said of his senior captain. “We do rely on him a lot. We had lost the two games he didn’t score in until our last game (against Rockford).
“He would rather see his teammates succeed than celebrate his own success.”
Hockey has been a part of Habetler’s life as long as he can remember and his extended family has played a major role in building the Shores’ program and shaping who he is as a hockey player. Steve Habetler coached some of the highest scoring teams in Sailor history in the 90s, and Eli’s older brothers also donned the navy blue and white sweaters as a goalie and a defenseman.
“My great-uncle and his son coached at Shores. My oldest brother Isaac and older brother TJ are my biggest motivators,” Habetler said.
Habetler has not only etched his name among the best ever in a Mona Shores program that has won a state title in 2000, placed second three other times and produced future Detroit Red Wing Justin Abdelkader, he’s proven to be one of the top players in the state of Michigan. Habetler has spent the past three falls as a member of the Green Team of the Michigan Developmental Hockey League (MDHL), which rosters the best skaters from West Michigan. He’s also played for the MDHL 16U AAA squad in 2023 and 2024, which takes the best MDHL players and faces off against other elite teams from across the country.
“It’s definitely helped my growth tremendously playing with kids from the east side, seeing different styles of hockey. It prepares you against the best players across Michigan and prepares me for the winter,” Habetler said of his fall hockey experience.
Habetler does have aspirations to continue playing hockey after graduation and even has an advisor working to help place him in the North American Hockey League, a junior hockey league featuring players usually around 16-20 years old.
But for now, Habetler is focused on finishing out his final season at Mona Shores and enjoying the time with his team.
“There are a variety of characters and personalities on the team you get to call brothers. In hockey, you grow as a family. I’ve met a lot of great teammates, people and coaches,” said Habetler.
Benedict also stressed how important the effort and teamwork of those players and coaches helped him to notch his 100th victory as Mona Shores head coach. The Sailors knocked off Saginaw Heritage 9-5 on Dec. 13 to eclipse the century mark in career wins.
“It puts everything in perspective for what we’re trying to accomplish as a coaching staff. It’s Year 7 as head coach and I’m really happy for all the coaches,” Benedict said of his personal accomplishment. “We’ve had some great kids in the program that are hungry for success. They do the extra things and get that 1 percent better each time they practice.”
Benedict got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant under Shawn Zimmerman on the 2000 state title team. After playing some college hockey, Benedict joined the Navy and coached at Old Dominion for 2 years while stationed in Virginia. After transferring to Grand Rapids to work as a Naval recruiter, Benedict caught on as an assistant at East Kentwood, which was Shores’ biggest rival while he played for the Sailors. Benedict spent a season at Muskegon Catholic before returning to his alma mater as an assistant to Dan Quaine.
Benedict took over in the 2019-2020 season and had success right away, going 18-9 that season and winning the OK Black title. Benedict posted a career-high 22 wins during the 2021-22 season and has a career record of 101-58-2 at Mona Shores. He had the opportunity to coach his son and some of his future players, as well as opponents, as youth players as well. Benedict’s son Trent graduated in 2023 as the career leader in goals scored (84) and points scored (175) in school history.
“The biggest thing for me is trying to pass on my knowledge of the game. I have a passion to see the sport grow,” Benedict said. “I started with my son in pee wee hockey and coached him all the way up. It’s come full circle as I coach some of those players now, and we had kids from Puffer and Grand Haven too.”
Benedict has no plans on stepping away from the bench, but he has had plenty of memorable moments during his tenure at Mona Shores.
“I’ve had so many good memories to look back on. The team that won state in 2000, getting to coach my son at Mona Shores for 4 years, some of the kids I coached when they were young I’m now coaching on varsity,” Benedict said about his top moments at the school.
And while Benedict and Habetler have rightly gained recognition for their individual efforts in hockey, both want to keep this group together for as long as possible this season and further make their mark in Sailor history as a team.
Chris Benedict earned his 100th career win as Mona Shores’ hockey head coach.
(Photo by Eric Sturr)
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