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Friday September 6, 2024
Calumet Honors Legendary Coach; Beats Hancock

CALUMET---The Calumet High School hockey team beat the Hancock Bulldogs, 4-2, Thursday night at the Colosseum, despite being outshot 35-16. The Copper Kings started the night by honoring legendary coach Jim Crawford, who died Tuesday night.

Crawford won 533 games in his long career as Calumet coach, leading the Copper Kings to six state championships and multiple other Final Four appearances. The Colosseum fell silent just before the playing of the national anthem as a tribute was announced for him, followed by that moment of silence. He was inducted into the Calumet High School Hall of Fame in 2019.

Crawford, a native of Lindsay, Ontario, Canada, coached the Copper Kings from 1984 to 2015, compiling a record of 533-270-20. His Copper King teams won state championships in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, and 2008. He is a member of the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.

In Thursday night's game, the first half of the Copper Island Classic that was delayed by a month due to illnesses back around Thanksgiving, the Bulldogs peppered Kings goaltender Aksel Loukas, but were turned away time and time again.

Calumet had the only goal of the first period, a shorthanded goal by Dan Loukas. Then in the second period, Loukas scored his second goal, also shortanded, to make it 2-0.

The Bulldogs finally got on the board in the second period when Bennett Sturos found the back of the net to make it 2-1. But the Kings got that one back on what would turn out to be the game-winning goal by Dan Nicely.

Hancock scored again before the end of the second period, as Dominick Pizzi got one by Loukas to make it a 3-2 game heading into the final minutes.

The advantage went to the Bulldogs in the third period when the Copper Kings took a five-minute major penalty. But an unlikely thing happened: another shorthanded goal. This one came off the stuck of Eric Loukas. The Kings then killed off the rest of the five minute disadvantage, and the Kings picked up their second win of the season.

They have their All-State goalie, Aksel Loukas, to thank for that, as he made 33 saves.

The second game of the Copper Island Classic, rescheduled from November to this Friday night, has been postponed again because of the blizzard coming to the Keewenaw this weekend. When that game is played in January, Hancock will need to win by at least three goals to take the "total goals" series and win the trophy.

Calumet improved to 2-4-0 on the season, while Hancock fell to 3-6-0.




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