TRAVERSE CITY---It was not a pretty scene for the Escanaba Eskymos hockey team Friday night after the 8-0 loss to Macomb Dakota.
But after a little heart-to-heart talk, and a challenge from their coach, the Eskymos turned in a solid performance Saturday against Utica Eisenhower, winning 4-1 at the Bay Area Reps Tournament in Traverse City.
"They had 16 seniors on their team," Escanaba Coach Tim McCarthy said of the Eisenhower Eagles. "How do you respond after a loss like the one we had last night? The boys did well."
Escanaba took an early lead when Levi Wunder scored his first goal as an Eskymo.
The Eagles tied the game with a power play goal, but Wunder scored again to make it 2-1.
The Eskymos' final goals came off the sticks of Jake Eastin and Nick Vandermissen. And the goals came after McCarthy threatened to put the two on separate forward lines.
"They had the first period to work together, or we were going to split them up," McCarthy said. "Jake and Nick stepped up and played much better than last night. They stepped up and took a leadership role."
Junior goaltender Nick LeMire stopped 27 of 28 shots for the victory.
"Nicky LeMire is just so focused this year," McCarthy said. "Every game, every practice, that kid comes focused and ready to play."
The Eskymos had 29 shots on goal.
They played without top defenseman Derek Chailler, who suffered a concussion during Friday's game. But the Eskymos perservered.
"In the third period, we just wore them down," McCarthy said. "They were tired and out of gas. They started taking penalties. I'm proud of our team. We had a positive bench."
So, Escanaba finished a brutal stretch of four games with a 2-2 record. That against schools larger than Escanaba (Marquette, Sault, Macomb Dakota, Utica Eisenhower).
"I would never have believed it (going 2-2), not with seven freshmen," McCarthy said. "We have a young, rebuilding team. This is going to give us a lot of confidence."
Escanaba hosts the Gil Versailles Memorial Tournament next weekend. The Eskymos will play the Tomahawk Hatchets Friday night. Game time is approximately 8:15. The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5) and WCHT-AM (600).
FRIDAY---MACOMB DAKOTA 8, ESCANABA O: It was a rough night for the Escanaba High School hockey team as the boys faced Macomb Dakota in the Bay Area Reps Tournament in Traverse City. The Eskymos were outshot 35-14 and lost to the Division One Cougars, 8-0, on the mercy rule.
"They had 14 seniors, they played very well, and they crashed the net," Eskymo Coach Tim McCarthy said. "They're a tough Division One school, and we have seven freshmen."
The Eskymos fell behind, 3-0, in the first period, and it didn't get better from there.
"They outplayed us, that's the bottom line," McCarthy said. "We didn't clear our zone. They made us pay for our mistakes. We had scoring opportunities, but didn't bury it."
Dakota had a player ejected for checking EHS's Matt Casey into the boards from behind.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see photos taken by Lisa Dagenais during last Wednesday's Eskymo-Sault game.
But after a little heart-to-heart talk, and a challenge from their coach, the Eskymos turned in a solid performance Saturday against Utica Eisenhower, winning 4-1 at the Bay Area Reps Tournament in Traverse City.
Hunter LaMarch (16) in a recent game.
Escanaba took an early lead when Levi Wunder scored his first goal as an Eskymo.
The Eagles tied the game with a power play goal, but Wunder scored again to make it 2-1.
The Eskymos' final goals came off the sticks of Jake Eastin and Nick Vandermissen. And the goals came after McCarthy threatened to put the two on separate forward lines.
"They had the first period to work together, or we were going to split them up," McCarthy said. "Jake and Nick stepped up and played much better than last night. They stepped up and took a leadership role."
Junior goaltender Nick LeMire stopped 27 of 28 shots for the victory.
The Eskymos had 29 shots on goal.
They played without top defenseman Derek Chailler, who suffered a concussion during Friday's game. But the Eskymos perservered.
"In the third period, we just wore them down," McCarthy said. "They were tired and out of gas. They started taking penalties. I'm proud of our team. We had a positive bench."
So, Escanaba finished a brutal stretch of four games with a 2-2 record. That against schools larger than Escanaba (Marquette, Sault, Macomb Dakota, Utica Eisenhower).
"I would never have believed it (going 2-2), not with seven freshmen," McCarthy said. "We have a young, rebuilding team. This is going to give us a lot of confidence."
Escanaba hosts the Gil Versailles Memorial Tournament next weekend. The Eskymos will play the Tomahawk Hatchets Friday night. Game time is approximately 8:15. The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5) and WCHT-AM (600).
FRIDAY---MACOMB DAKOTA 8, ESCANABA O: It was a rough night for the Escanaba High School hockey team as the boys faced Macomb Dakota in the Bay Area Reps Tournament in Traverse City. The Eskymos were outshot 35-14 and lost to the Division One Cougars, 8-0, on the mercy rule.
"They had 14 seniors, they played very well, and they crashed the net," Eskymo Coach Tim McCarthy said. "They're a tough Division One school, and we have seven freshmen."
The Eskymos fell behind, 3-0, in the first period, and it didn't get better from there.
"They outplayed us, that's the bottom line," McCarthy said. "We didn't clear our zone. They made us pay for our mistakes. We had scoring opportunities, but didn't bury it."
Dakota had a player ejected for checking EHS's Matt Casey into the boards from behind.
Click the thumbnails in the "ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS" box to see photos taken by Lisa Dagenais during last Wednesday's Eskymo-Sault game.
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Game Four---Escanaba Eskymos 4, Utica Eisenhower Eagles 1 ESCANABA 1 1 2----4 UTICA IKE 1 0 0----1 First Period ESC 1-0: Wunder (Eastin, Vandermissen) 7:22 UTI 1-1: Saputo (Burkhardt, Biondo) 14:15 PPG Second Period ESC 2-1: Wunder (Casey) 8:24 Third Period ESC 3-1: Eastin (Wunder) 2:37 PPG ESC 4-1: Vandermissen (una) 8:33 Escanaba Penalties (6/12): Myrick 2 high-sticking, Eastin 2 elbowing; Wood 2 tripping; Lyle 2 tripping; Vandermissen 2 cross-checking; Wunder 2 unsportsmanlike conduct. Utica Eisenhower Penalties (11/22): Petrovskiv 2 hooking; VanBuhler 2 hooking; Pizzimenti 2 interference; Lauer 2 boarding; Kassley 2 elbowing; Saputo 2 holding; Jaros 2 tripping; Lauer 2 hooking; Biondo 2 holding; Pizzimenti 2 high sticking; Saputo 2 unsportsmanlike conduct. Power Plays: Escanaba 1/8; Utica Eisenhower 1/5. Shots On Goal: Escanaba 6-9-13=28; Utica Eisenhower 10-12-7=29. |
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Game Three---Macomb Dakota Chargers 8, Escanaba Eskymos 0 ESCANABA 0 0 0----0 M DAKOTA 3 1 4----8 First Period DAK 1-0: O'Connor (Roskelly, Schornak) 4:30 DAK 2-0: Roskelly (O'Connor) 9:01 DAK 3-0: Riehl (DiGrande, Shaheen) 14:40 Second Period DAK 4-0: Schornak (O'Connor, Riehl) 1:17 Third Period DAK 5-0: Roskelly (O'Connor) 2:28 DAK 6-0: Schornak (Roskelly, O'Connor) 6:00 DAK 7-0: Ramar (Vidovski) 10:13 DAK 8-0: Ramar (una) 14:56 Escanaba Penalties (9/18): McCarthy 2 cross-checking; Pinar 2 roughing; LeMire 2 roughing; Eastin 2 head contact; Vandermissen 2 slashing; Myrick 2 roughing; Zuidema 2 high sticking; Casey 2 interference; McCarthy 2 interference. Macomb Dakota Penalties (6/23): Andary 2 head contact; O'Connor 2 elbowing; Andary 2 interference; Greaves 5 checking from behind; Greaves 10 Game DQ; DiGrande 2 tripping. Power Plays: Escanaba 0/5; Macomb Dakota 2/7 Shots on Goal: Escanaba 4-5-5=14; Macomb Dakota 16-12-15=43. |
