WELLS---The Escanaba High School hockey team rolled past the Alpena Wildcats, 9-2, Friday night at the Wells Sports Complex.
And it was a historic night for Eskymo sophomore Levi Wunder, who scored two goals and added three assists, setting a school record for the number of points in a season.
Wunder has 28 goals and 22 assists for a total of 50 points, and the team still has nine games left to play in the regular season.
"It feels great," Wunder said. "Geez, there's not really any words to describe it right now."
Wunder breaks the points record of 49 that was set by Jim Aird back in the 1980's.
Wunder played for the Midget AAA Marquette Electricians last season, but he decided to come home to Escanaba and play high school hockey.
So, did Wunder expect things to go as they have so far this season?
"No, not at all," he said. "I knew I wanted to come here and make an impact on the team. But this? This was unimaginable at the time."
Escanaba Coach Tim McCarthy says that Wunder deserves a lot of praise for how he has played this season, and he says that Wunder works well with his teammates.
"You look at the guys and how well they move the puck to each other," McCarthy said. "Levi and Nick Vandermissen work really well together. On the power play, everyone is moving it. And Levi gets that puck, sees the net, moves the puck well, and it's awesome."
Escanaba got off to the quick start that McCarthy was hoping for as Nick Vandermissen scored twice less than four minutes apart. The second goal was a pretty one as Wunder and Derek Chaillier worked together to set Vandermissen up with an open net.
"Derek came up on the point and I went 'back door'," Wunder said. "We made eye contact, and there was good communication. I was like 'Derek, Derek, Derek', and he gives it to me and then I drew the (Alpena) kid over and I held the puck a little bit. I gave it to Nick back door, and he just snapped it in."
Alpena got a goal late in the first period when Calvin Pinar's pass misfired and hit the boards, bouncing to Wildcat Cade MacArthur.
MacArthur's shot was tipped home by Zach Nash, bringing Alpena to within 2-1, depsite being outshot in the period, 13-6.
"We turned the puck over a little more than we should have and they got a nice tip-in on Nicky there," McCarthy said.
But the coach was otherwise pleased with what he saw from his team in the period.
"We had a great first period," McCarthy said. "We outshot them 13-6 but we had so many other chances. Their goalie did a nice job of stepping up for them. We had a lot of nice cross-ice passes. We were relentless and kept the pressure on them all the time."
The second period was dominated by the Eskymos. Junior defenseman Quintin McCarthy scored his first-ever goal, short side, on Alpena goaltender Jesse Boilore just 97 seconds into the period.
That set off a wild celebration, as McCarthy played more than 50 varsity hockey games without a goal...despite having many chances.
"He's been so close all year," said Coach McCarthy, Quintin's dad. "He's had some shots hit the post, and he's had some nice assists this season, and other guys have tipped some of his shots in. The opportunities are there. It's hard work all the time."
Eskymo captain Jake Eastin took over on the next two goals. He got the long pass from goaltender Nick LeMire and got it to Wunder out in front for a back-handed goal, making it a 4-1 game with a power play goal at the 3:22 mark.
Five minutes later, Eastin made his best play of the night. He got the puck in his own zone and started skating along the boards.
He made moves past two Wildcats, turned on the speed, and passed it to Steve Wood for a tap-in goal. It was 5-1 Eskymos.
Alpena got that goal back with a tally from Jared Kwiatkowski, but the Eskymos scpred twice more before the period ended. And the first one was off the stick of freshman Dylan Gauthier, who scored his first Eskymo varsity goal.
"Ritter won it forward," Gauthier said. "Their 'D' (defenseman) kind of whiffed on it, and I just shot it over the goalie. It felt pretty good."
Then as the period was winding down, Eastin scored a power play goal admist a pile-up of players near Boilore. Escanaba outshot Alpena, 18-9, in that second period.
The third period got chippy, with numerous penalties being called on both teams. Escanaba's T.J. Myrick received 19 minutes of penalties on one play, eventually getting a game misconduct.
And Alpena's Jared Plume got a DQ for making physical contact with the referree. By rule, Plume will not be allowed to play on Saturday.
Wunder capped off his night with a shorthanded goal with 23 seconds left in the game. And for icing on the cake, Dan Ritter scored with five seconds left to make it 9-2.
Jeff Lyle was chosen the game's #1 star for his defensive play and hustle.
"We just had to keep our heads up in the third period when things were happening out there," Lyle said. "We had to play smart. It's really tempting (to pinch in at the point), but you don't know if you should or not sometimes."
And so most of the time, Lyle chose to play it safe and play defense. Escanaba ended up outshooting Alpena, 45-18. Boilore did his best to hold his team in the game, stopping 24 shots in two periods. Bret LeTourneau stopped 12 of 14 shots he faced in relief of Boilore. LeMire made 16 saves for Escanaba.
Escanaba improved to 13-3-0 on the season while Alpena fell to 7-8-1.
The two teams will meet again Saturday afternoon in Wells. Game time is 1:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the game, and to listen to radio replays and interviews. Thanks to Mary Gauthier for the photos and Luke Anthony for the videos.
And it was a historic night for Eskymo sophomore Levi Wunder, who scored two goals and added three assists, setting a school record for the number of points in a season.
Levi Wunder had a record setting Friday.
"It feels great," Wunder said. "Geez, there's not really any words to describe it right now."
Wunder breaks the points record of 49 that was set by Jim Aird back in the 1980's.
Wunder played for the Midget AAA Marquette Electricians last season, but he decided to come home to Escanaba and play high school hockey.
So, did Wunder expect things to go as they have so far this season?
"No, not at all," he said. "I knew I wanted to come here and make an impact on the team. But this? This was unimaginable at the time."
Levi Wunder with an Eskymo goal.
"You look at the guys and how well they move the puck to each other," McCarthy said. "Levi and Nick Vandermissen work really well together. On the power play, everyone is moving it. And Levi gets that puck, sees the net, moves the puck well, and it's awesome."
Escanaba got off to the quick start that McCarthy was hoping for as Nick Vandermissen scored twice less than four minutes apart. The second goal was a pretty one as Wunder and Derek Chaillier worked together to set Vandermissen up with an open net.
Nick Vandermissen Goal makes it a 1-0 game.
Eskymo sophomore Levi Wunder and Alpena goalie Jesse Boiloure Friday night.
MacArthur's shot was tipped home by Zach Nash, bringing Alpena to within 2-1, depsite being outshot in the period, 13-6.
"We turned the puck over a little more than we should have and they got a nice tip-in on Nicky there," McCarthy said.
But the coach was otherwise pleased with what he saw from his team in the period.
"We had a great first period," McCarthy said. "We outshot them 13-6 but we had so many other chances. Their goalie did a nice job of stepping up for them. We had a lot of nice cross-ice passes. We were relentless and kept the pressure on them all the time."
Quintin McCarthy Goal 3-1.
That set off a wild celebration, as McCarthy played more than 50 varsity hockey games without a goal...despite having many chances.
"He's been so close all year," said Coach McCarthy, Quintin's dad. "He's had some shots hit the post, and he's had some nice assists this season, and other guys have tipped some of his shots in. The opportunities are there. It's hard work all the time."
Esky's Dan Ritter (19) gets a shot on goal.
Five minutes later, Eastin made his best play of the night. He got the puck in his own zone and started skating along the boards.
He made moves past two Wildcats, turned on the speed, and passed it to Steve Wood for a tap-in goal. It was 5-1 Eskymos.
Alpena got that goal back with a tally from Jared Kwiatkowski, but the Eskymos scpred twice more before the period ended. And the first one was off the stick of freshman Dylan Gauthier, who scored his first Eskymo varsity goal.
"Ritter won it forward," Gauthier said. "Their 'D' (defenseman) kind of whiffed on it, and I just shot it over the goalie. It felt pretty good."
Then as the period was winding down, Eastin scored a power play goal admist a pile-up of players near Boilore. Escanaba outshot Alpena, 18-9, in that second period.
Dylan Gauthier got his first varsity goal.
And Alpena's Jared Plume got a DQ for making physical contact with the referree. By rule, Plume will not be allowed to play on Saturday.
Wunder capped off his night with a shorthanded goal with 23 seconds left in the game. And for icing on the cake, Dan Ritter scored with five seconds left to make it 9-2.
Jeff Lyle was chosen the game's #1 star for his defensive play and hustle.
"We just had to keep our heads up in the third period when things were happening out there," Lyle said. "We had to play smart. It's really tempting (to pinch in at the point), but you don't know if you should or not sometimes."
Jeff Lyle #1 Star Interview
Escanaba improved to 13-3-0 on the season while Alpena fell to 7-8-1.
The two teams will meet again Saturday afternoon in Wells. Game time is 1:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos from the game, and to listen to radio replays and interviews. Thanks to Mary Gauthier for the photos and Luke Anthony for the videos.
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Game 16: Escanaba Eskymos 9, Alpena Wildcats 2 ALPENAHS 1 1 0----2 ESCANABA 2 5 2----9 First Period ESC 1-0: Vandermissen 17 (Wunder) 6:30 ESC 2-0: Vandermissen 18 (Wunder, Chaillier) 10:08 ALP 1-2: Nash (Kwiatkowski, MacArthur) 14:20 Second Period ESC 3-1: McCarthy 1 (Lasecki, Wood) 1:37 ESC 4-1: Wunder 27 (LeMire, Eastin) 3:22 PPG ESC 5-1: Wood 3 (Eastin, Pinar) 8:18 4/4 ALP 2-5: Kwiatkowski (Alexander, Rumbles) 12:00 ESC 6-2: Gauthier 1 (Ritter) 15:34 ESC 7-2: Eastin 18 (Vandermissen, Wunder) 16:29 PPG Third Period ESC 8-2: Wunder 28 (Vandermissen) 16:37 SHG ESC 9-2: Ritter 4 (Gauthier) 16:55 Escanaba Penalties (12/35): Myrick 2, delay of game; Lasecki 2, high stick; Myrick 2, cross-checking; McCarthy 2, unsportsmanlike; Wunder 2, slashing; Lasecki 2, slashing; Myrick 2, roughing; Myrick 2, unsportsmanlike; Myrick 10, misconduct; Myrick 5, game misconduct; Lasecki 2, slashing; Lyle 2, roughing. Alpena Penalties (11/33): Duncan 2, head contact; Nash 2, head contact; Spencer 2, cross-checking; Kwiatkowski 2, cross checking; Froggett 2, hooking; Cosbitt 2, slashing; Plume 2, slashing; Froggett 2 slashing; Plume 10 misconduct; Plume 5 Game DQ contact with official; Russell 2, roughing. Power Plays: Alpena 0/6; Escanaba 2/5 Shots On Goal: Alpena 6-9-3=18; Escanaba 13-18-14=45. Three Stars: 1. Lyle, ESC; 2. Wunder, ESC; 3. Gauthier, ESC |
