Tomahawk Chop! Eskymos Roll To Mercy-Rule Win

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WELLS----The Escanaba Eskymos scored early and often Friday night as they met the Tomahawk (Wis.) Hatchets for the first time in school history.

Jake Eastin scored three minutes into the game and Nick Vandermissen scored a hat trick as the Eskymos buried the Hatchets, 9-1, in the second game of the Gil Versailles Memorial Tournament. L'Anse topped Negaunee, 5-2, in the first game.

The Escanaba-Tomahawk game ended after two periods on the mercy rule.

Eskymo captain Jake Eastin cruises in on Hatchet goaltender Evan Russo.

"We did some changes because we have four real dominant players up front, so we thought we'd mix it up a little bit," Eskymo Coach Tim McCarthy said. "They all did well, moved the puck well. And they had a lot of fun."

"I just felt good, nice and smooth," Vandermissen said. "It was a good game. I finally scored. We're getting some confidence. Hopefully, we win tomorrow."

Eastin's early goal marked the third time in five games that the Eskymos scored a goal within the first three minutes of those contests.

And five minutes later, Escanaba was on the board again as Levi Wunder checked his man in the corner, stole the puck, and got it to Vandermissen. Vandermissen's top-shelf goal made it a 2-0 game.

Bri Belanger Intermission Interview.

But then, the Eskymos got a bit lazy, and the freshman line got scored on. Hatchet senior Trevor Iwen beat Eskymo goaltender Nick LeMire to make it 2-1.

"We got a little sloppy after we got those first two goals," McCarthy said. "But we got our composure back for the second period. We buckled down, used all of our players a little more, and did well."

Esky's Quintin McCarthy (20) blocks a pass intended for Tomahawk's Jakob Panzer (2)

Escanaba made up for that goal just over two minutes later as Vandermissen scored again, also into the top shelf. It was 3-1 Eskymos after one period of play.

The onslaught continued in the second period as Wunder took a beautiful pass from Vandermissen and scored just 1:35 into the period.

Then, it was 5-1, when Steve Wood got stopped by goaltender Evan Russo, but followed his own rebound for a goal.

The biggest hit of the night was delivered by senior Ben Lasecki, who was playing for the first time this season after sitting out for disciplinary reasons.

Lasecki met Tomahawk's Nick Buitron, who was skating with his head down.

That is a big "no-no" in hockey, at any level.

Ben Lasecki's big hit.

"If felt good. You know, shoulder to chin," Lasecki said with a smile. "His helmet almost came off, too. That would have been awesome. It would have made it ten times better."

Buitron was down for a while, but did not suffer a severe injury. And moments later, Lasecki cashed in on a power play goal to build the Eskymo lead to 6-1.

Escanaba's Ben Lasecki (4) meets Tomahawk's Chris Parker (18) for a chat.

"It's good to be back," Lasecki said, still grinning. "I was really ready to go when I got here today. Just pumped up to play. I couldn't wait to get out there."

Then, the flood gates opened. Eastin scored on another power play, then Lasecki tallied again to make it 8-1. With just 27 seconds left in the second period, Vandermissen completed his hat trick goal. The game ended on the mercy rule 27 seconds later.

Escanaba (3-2) outshot Tomahawk (3-4), 33-11. Vandermissen ended up with three goals and an assist, while Eastin and Lasecki each had two goals and two helpers.

Defenseman Derek Chaillier, who sat out last Saturday's game in Traverse City, was back in the line-up Friday. He had three assists for a "playmaker".

The tournament is named after longtime Public Address Announcer and Statistician Gil Versailles, who died in 1999. Negaunee will play Tomahawk in the third place game at 12:00 Saturday, while the Eskymos will face L'Anse in the final at about 2:15.

The Escanaba-L'Anse game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see videos and photos from the game, and listen to interviews and audio highlights. The videos are courtesy of Mike Dagenais. Photos by Lisa Dagenais.

Game Five---Escanaba Eskymos 9, Tomahawk, Wis. Hatchets 1

TOMAHAWK 1 0 X----1
ESCANABA 3 6 X----9

First Period
ESC 1-0: Eastin (Wood, Lasecki) 3:00
ESC 2-0: Vandermissen (Wunder) 8:04 SHG
TOM 1-2: Iwen (Renn, Bunce) 11:41
ESC 3-1: Vandermissen (Eastin) 13;59

Second Period
ESC 4-1: Wunder (Vandermissen, Myrick) 1:35
ESC 5-1: Wood (Chaillier) 3:16
ESC 6-1: Lasecki (Lyle, Wood) 9:38 PPG
ESC 7-1: Eastin (Chaillier, Lasecki) 12:19 PPG
ESC 8-1: Lasecki (Eastin) 14:58
ESC 9-1: Vandermissen (Chaillier, Wunder) 16:33

Escanaba Penalties (3/6): Lasecki 2 interference; McCarthy 2 boarding; Wunder 2 delay of game.

Tomahawk Penalties (3/6): Ungerer 2 tripping; Panzer 2 delay of game; Team 2 tripping.

Power Plays: Escanaba 2/2; Tomahawk 0/2.
Shots on Goal: Escanaba 17-16=33; Tomahawk 4-7=11.
Three Stars: 1. Lasecki, ESC; 2. Vandermissen, ESC; 3. Chaillier, ESC.

Eskymo goaltender Nick LeMire makes the glove save as Tomahawk Kevin Bolder (14) looks for a rebound.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

11/27	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	7 - 5 (W)	1-0

12/5	7:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	1 - 3 (L)	1-1

12/7	7:30 PM	at Macomb Dakota	0 - 8 (L)	1-2

12/8	12:45 PM	at Utica Eisenhower	4 - 1 (W)	2-2

12/14	8:15 PM	Tomahawk, Wis.	9 - 1 (W)	3-2

12/15	2:15 PM	L'Anse Purple Hornets	9 - 1 (W)	4-2

12/18	7:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	9 - 0 (W)	5-2

12/28	8:15 PM	Monroe, Wis.	9 - 1 (W)	6-2

12/29	2:00 PM	Painesdale-Jeffers Jets	9 - 1 (W)	7-2

1/4	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	9 - 0 (W)	8-2

1/5	1:30 PM	at Grand Blanc Bobcats	9 - 1 (W)	9-2

1/8	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	4 - 3 (W)	10-2

1/12	6:00 PM	at Calumet Copper Kings	2 - 5 (L)	10-3

1/15	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	3 - 1 (W)	11-3

1/26	7:00 PM	at Cheboygan Chiefs	8 - 0 (W)	12-3

2/1	7:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	9 - 2 (W)	13-3

2/2	1:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	6 - 4 (W)	14-3

2/7	8:00 PM	at Hartland Eagles	4 - 2 (W)	15-3

2/8	6:00 PM	at Rochester United	1 - 0 (W)	16-3

2/9	12:30 PM	at Chelsea Bulldogs	6 - 5 (W)	17-3

2/12	7:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	7 - 5 (W)	18-3

2/15	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	7 - 3 (W)	19-3

2/16	1:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	4 - 3 (W)	20-3

2/18	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 0 (W)	21-3

2/21	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	6 - 3 (W)	22-3

2/26	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 0 (W)	23-3

2/28	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	8 - 0 (W)	24-3

3/2	1:00 PM	Saginaw Heritage Hawks	1 - 2 (L)	24-4