WELLS---The high school hockey regular season came to an end on Saturday in Escanaba as the Eskymos hosted the Painesdale-Jeffers Jets.

The Eskymos honored five seniors but lost, 5-3.

The Eskymos get on the board first as Joey Jacobson knocked home a rebound just three minutes into the game.

But two minutes later, Evan Larson's shot from center ice beat Eskymo goaltender Bryce Buckbinder, and the Jets tied the game.

Then, later in the period, Matthew Halonen was left alone in front of the net and he slid it home to give Jeffers a 2-1 lead.

In the second period, the Eskymos tied it up as Kyle Krutina found the back of the net.

But just 17 seconds later, Larson scored his second goal, this time from in close, and it was 3-2. Escanaba again battled back to tie it up on a pretty goal by Grant Wickham as he slid into the end-boards after putting it home.

But once again, the Jets had the answer as the Eskymos were caught pinching at the blue line. That led to a breakaway for Halonen and he got his second goal of the game.

In the third period, Jonathon Mantilla put one past a screened-out Buckbinder, and the Jets went back to the Copper Country with a 5-3 victory. They improved to 10-10.

"We weren't consistent enough," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "We couldn't keep it in their zone long enough to sustain an ample amount of pressure to really break them down, or create a good scoring chance for ourselves."

Hughes did not like his team's energy level.

""I don't think we were pumped ip at any time during the game," he said. "We would score, and wewould get complacent, and take a couple of shifts off. Every time it looked like we would create some momentum, we had a let down, whether it be in the neutral zone or in the neutral zone, which would turn into a goal for them."

Escanaba honored seniors Christer Carne, Jacobson, Chris Sliva, Jake LaFave, and Bryce Cooper in a pre-game skate around the arena.

Escanaba (11-13-0) missed on a chance to finish the regular season with a .500 record.

The Eskymos  open MHSAA Regional Tournament play on Tuesday in Negaunee. Game time is 7:00 from the Negaunee Ice Arena. It will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The other semifinal is also Tuesday night as the Marquette Redmen visit the Kingsford Flivvers.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Micky LaMarch. Also, listen to player spotlight interviews with Braden Reinhart and Luke Labre, and Hughes' comments.