Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Lizzie Taylor, and to hear radio highlights, and post-game comments from Nolan Bink, Graham Johnson, and Coach Andy Johnson. Also click the AUDIO button to hear player spotlight interviews with Cale Carter and Graham Johnson.

ESCANABA---Survive and advance.

That's exactly what the Escanaba High School hockey team had to do Saturday night in the MHSAA Division Three regional semifinals against the Kingsford Flivvers, posting a 5-2 victory that looks much wider on the scoreboard than it actually was on the ice.
 

The Eskymos had to battle against uneven officiating and a spirited opponent with nothing to lose, and emerged with a win to advance to the regional championship game this Tuesday night against Sault Ste. Marie in the Queen City.

The Blue Devils pummeled Negaunee, 10-2, in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Escanaba had to dig deep to win this one, with Kingsford being afforded six power play opportunities in the first two-plus periods of action. The Eskymos did not get a power play chance at all, and only received one in the final three minutes of the game

Eskymo Coach Andy Johnson normally does not comment on officiating, but in this one, he cast an accusing eye toward the crew that had his team constantly shorthanded, and without any corresponding power play chances at the other end.

“We were kind of hoping that the refs would keep their whistles away, and just let us play,” Johnson said. “I think three of the penalties were in our offensive zones, so they weren't even (Kingsford) scoring chances. They just need us to let us play a little more on playoff-style hockey. It is what it is, and you've got to battle through it, and we did.”
 

Kingsford showed how much it has improved since a 9-0 Eskymo whitewash at the Mountain View Ice Arena back in November. The Flivvers have greatly refined their forecheck and backcheck, their passing is crisper, and goaltender Nate Scullon grew up during the course of the season. At one point, he went seven straight periods without allowing a goal, and Scullon kept his team in it on Saturday with 25 saves

“We've been playing against these guys since mites, and there's a friendship off the ice,” Johnson said, as some of his players and Kingsford players posed for pictures after the game. “On the ice, we battle each other hard. But, man, to see where Kingsford was at the beginning of the year, to where they are right now, hats off to their coaching staff.”

Escanaba improved to 16-10-0 on the season, with a brutal schedule that was by far the toughest in school history, filled with state-ranked teams, and mostly on the road.
 

That arguably led to the mental toughness that the Eskymos had to have Saturday, when it was clear that they were not going to get a call, and were playing without Carson Hughes and Griffin Johnson, both out with broken bones.
 

“We train for this,” Andy Johnson said. “This is what a season is all about, is, how do you handle chaos and adversity? We didn't get excited. We didn't get down when, how many penalties, went against us. We were just like, OK, it's a new challenge. Guys have to step up. Don't get frustrated. Keep playing the way that they know how to.”
 

Kingsford took advantage of the first power play when Gavin Moore let a shot got that pinballed past Eskymo goalie Cully Hayes off the stick of Jaxon Buckley.
 

Escanaba equalized nine minutes later when Nolan Bink held it in at the point several times and eventually scored, with Nick Martinson and Keagan Braun drawing assists.
 

“We've just got a lot of resilience on our team,” Bink said. “That stuff will happen like that, I mean, it's playoff hockey. No matter what, you've just got to go out there and grind every shift. We just managed to grind one out tonight. Nick came down and gave me a really good pass. I just threw it on net and got kind of lucky, but we'll take it.”
 

“Nolan did everything for us,” Coach Johnson said. “He was huge back on that blue line. He was all over the ice. As smart as he is, it really showed today. Ben Sands was really good, using his speed, picking passes off, getting pucks deep. Everybody played well. That's what you want in the playoffs.”
 

In the second period, Kingsford was on the power play again, and the Flivvers scored a fluke goal, as Jack Spreen banked one off the back of Eskymo goaltender Cully Hayes from along the goal line. Incredibly, Kingsford led, 2-1.
 

But off the ensuing face off, Ben Sands, who worked his tail off all night long at both ends of the ice, was rewarded with an unassisted goal that tied the game, just eight seconds after Spreen scored.
 

The game stayed tied, 2-2, heading into the third period. And the Eskymo captain and leading scorer, Graham Johnson, came through with the go-ahead goal just 1:29 into the third period. He showed great patience waiting before ripping it home.
 

“Starting early in the game, we were getting really good chances,” Graham Johnson said. “I hit the post a couple of times. But on that one, I just came in, came across the blue line, tried to get something, then I kind of stepped around the D, and the goalie slid too far out of the net and I just put it to the far side.”
 

Late in the game, Escanaba finally got a power play, and although there was no goal, it ate up two valuable minutes off the clock. The Eskymos entered the final minute with a 3-2 lead, and Johnson put another home with 53 seconds left to play to make it 4-2, and he buried an empty-netter for the natural hat trick with four seconds left to play.
 

“That one was for missing the two against Marquette,” Graham Johnson laughed. “So, I got that one back.”
 

Escanaba (16-10-0) will face Sault Ste. Marie (11-13-1) in the regional championship game Tuesday night in Sault Ste. Marie. The Eskymos have not played the Blue Devils, but did play twice in the Soo's Big Bear Arena at a showcase earlier this month. Game time Tuesday is 6:00 and it will be broadcast live on FM-93.5 and AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.