WELLS---All afternoon long, the Escanaba High School hockey team struggled to get into a rhythm against a tight-checking Hancock Bulldogs squad.
The high-flying Eskymo offense was grounded by numerous blocked shots, icing calls, and 41 saves by the Hancock goaltender. But in the end, the Eskymos found a way to extend their winning streak to ten games. Jake Eastin tied the game with 28 seconds left in the third period, and Levi Wunder won it in overtime as Escanaba escaped, 4-3.
"Hancock came out and played very, very strong," Escanaba Coach Tim McCarthy said. "They came to play, and we were playing from behind. And playing from inside the penalty box again. That's not what we wanted. But, we came away with a 'W'."
"We started off slow," Wunder admitted. "We just had to battle. We were down, but we stayed strong, battled through it, and got the 'W'."
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Dylan Hanke and Brett Lepisto.
Nick Vandermissen got the Eskymos on the board late in the first period, and that's the way the score stayed for most of the game.
By the middle of the second period, Hancock was outshooting Escanaba, 21-9, but goaltender Nick LeMire kept his team in the game.
Gradually, the Eskymos started to generate some scoring chances, but many of the normally-crisp passes were bouncing off sticks...or off the boards. And Hancock goalie William Lucier stood tall, stopping 12 Eskymo shots later in the second period.
"We had a lot of bad bounces," McCarthy said. "Even our power play did not work real well. Everything was bouncing, and we were not connecting. Hancock was a very fast team. They took away our time and space, and they beat us in all of the little battles."
In the third period, the Eskymos finally got back on the board with Derek Chaillier's power play goal with 7:21 left in the game.
And then Escanaba got another power play chance on a Dylan Hanke tripping call that was argued profusely by Hancock Coach Dan Rouleau.
That penalty turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Bulldogs. They got a two-on-one shorthanded break and Wade Hanke scored the go-ahead goal with 3:20 left in the game.
The Eskymos didn't give up, however. They pulled LeMire for an extra attacker, a nd they swarmed the net in the final seconds.
Jake Eastin, Nick Vandermissen, and Levi Wunder all crowded the top of the crease, and a rebound shot came back into the blue paint. Eastin and Vandermissen chopped at it.
Eastin got credit for the goal. "It was just a mad scrum in front," Eastin said. "Really, I don't even know if it was me or Nick who scored it. We were both just slamming our sticks in there."
Either way, it was a huge goal, with 28 seconds left. It was a big reprieve for Escanaba.
In the overtime, Hancock was afforded a rarity: a power play in the extra session. T.J. Myrick was called for tripping. The Bulldogs had a full two minutes with the extra man, but the Eskymos killed it off.
And then, Levi Wunder had his moment to shine. Wunder had suffered a deep cut in his knee in the first period, and missed much of the period before coming back later in the game. With the knee wrapped up underneath his pants, Wunder jumped on the puck at center ice, skated into the Hancock zone, and rifled a shot under the cross-bar.
The overtime winner set off a wild celebration.
"It's all a blur to me," Wunder said. "I made a move left, and then just saw the open corner. I just put 'er there. Then all of a sudden, everyone is on top of me and I can't breathe in the corner!"
And the knee?
"Ya, it's still bleeding," he said. "But I'll go to the 'Doc and have him stitch me up!"
Escanaba outshot Hancock, 45-30, including 36-9 over the final 29 minutes of the game.
LeMire made 27 saves for Escanaba while Lucier stopped 41 for Hancock.
"It was all about overcoming adversity," Eastin said. "Coming into the third period, we knew that we had to dig deep and work for this win."
Escanaba improved to 20-3 on the season, and have won ten straight games. The Eskymos tied a school record for victories in a season.
Hancock is now 12-11.
Escanaba has a make-up game on Monday against the Negaunee Miners. The game starts at 7:00 at the Negaunee Ice Arena. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The pre-game show starts at 6:45.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from Lisa Dagenais, video clips from Mike Dagenais, and audio highlights.
The high-flying Eskymo offense was grounded by numerous blocked shots, icing calls, and 41 saves by the Hancock goaltender. But in the end, the Eskymos found a way to extend their winning streak to ten games. Jake Eastin tied the game with 28 seconds left in the third period, and Levi Wunder won it in overtime as Escanaba escaped, 4-3.
Escanaba's Steve Wood battles Hancock's Kyle Hauswith (right) for the puck.
"We started off slow," Wunder admitted. "We just had to battle. We were down, but we stayed strong, battled through it, and got the 'W'."
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Dylan Hanke and Brett Lepisto.
Nick Vandermissen got the Eskymos on the board late in the first period, and that's the way the score stayed for most of the game.
By the middle of the second period, Hancock was outshooting Escanaba, 21-9, but goaltender Nick LeMire kept his team in the game.
Gradually, the Eskymos started to generate some scoring chances, but many of the normally-crisp passes were bouncing off sticks...or off the boards. And Hancock goalie William Lucier stood tall, stopping 12 Eskymo shots later in the second period.
Nick Vandermissen scores for Escanaba.
In the third period, the Eskymos finally got back on the board with Derek Chaillier's power play goal with 7:21 left in the game.
And then Escanaba got another power play chance on a Dylan Hanke tripping call that was argued profusely by Hancock Coach Dan Rouleau.
Nick Vandermissen (8) is in deep against Hancock goaltender William Lucier.
The Eskymos didn't give up, however. They pulled LeMire for an extra attacker, a nd they swarmed the net in the final seconds.
Jake Eastin, Nick Vandermissen, and Levi Wunder all crowded the top of the crease, and a rebound shot came back into the blue paint. Eastin and Vandermissen chopped at it.
Eastin got credit for the goal. "It was just a mad scrum in front," Eastin said. "Really, I don't even know if it was me or Nick who scored it. We were both just slamming our sticks in there."
Either way, it was a huge goal, with 28 seconds left. It was a big reprieve for Escanaba.
Jake Eastin ties game with 28 seconds left.
And then, Levi Wunder had his moment to shine. Wunder had suffered a deep cut in his knee in the first period, and missed much of the period before coming back later in the game. With the knee wrapped up underneath his pants, Wunder jumped on the puck at center ice, skated into the Hancock zone, and rifled a shot under the cross-bar.
Levi Wunder wins the game in overtime.
"It's all a blur to me," Wunder said. "I made a move left, and then just saw the open corner. I just put 'er there. Then all of a sudden, everyone is on top of me and I can't breathe in the corner!"
And the knee?
"Ya, it's still bleeding," he said. "But I'll go to the 'Doc and have him stitch me up!"
EHS goaltender Nick LeMire made 27 saves
LeMire made 27 saves for Escanaba while Lucier stopped 41 for Hancock.
"It was all about overcoming adversity," Eastin said. "Coming into the third period, we knew that we had to dig deep and work for this win."
Escanaba improved to 20-3 on the season, and have won ten straight games. The Eskymos tied a school record for victories in a season.
Hancock is now 12-11.
Escanaba has a make-up game on Monday against the Negaunee Miners. The game starts at 7:00 at the Negaunee Ice Arena. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. The pre-game show starts at 6:45.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from Lisa Dagenais, video clips from Mike Dagenais, and audio highlights.
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Game 23: Escanaba Eskymos 4, Hancock Bulldogs 3 (OT) HANCOCKI 2 0 1 0----3 ESCANABA 1 0 2 1----4 First Period HAN 1-0: D. Hanke (W. Hanke) 5:57 HAN 2-0: Lepisto (D. Hanke) 13:00 PPG ESC 1-2: Vandermissen 25 (Myrick, Eastin) 14:34 Second Period No Scoring Third Period ESC 2-2: Chaillier (Vandermissen) 9:39 PPG HAN 3-2: W. Henke (Hill) 13:40 SHG ESC 3-3: Eastin 25 (Wunder, Vandermissen) 16:32 Overtime ESC 4-3: Wunder 39 (Lyle) 5:42 Escanaba Penalties (6/12): Lasecki 2 interference; Lasecki 2 slashing; McCarthy 2 interference; Vandermissen 2 cross-checking; Lyle 2 hooking; Myrick 2 tripping. Hancock Penalties (6/12): Paavola 2 hooking; Hauswirth 2 slashing; Hauswirth 2 unsportsmanlike; W. Hanke 2 boarding; Nicholas 2 interference; D. Hanke 2 tripping. Power Plays: Escanaba 1/5; Hancock 1/5. Shots on Goal: Escanaba 7-14-18-6=45; Hancock 12-11-5-2=30. Three Stars: 1. Lucier, HAN and LeMire, ESC; 2. Wunder, ESC; 3. Eastin, ESC. |
Nick Vandermissen (8) celebrates his first period goal that put Escanaba on the board. (Lisa Dagenais)
