WELLS---The Houghton High School hockey team scored goals in the final minute of each of the first two periods Friday, breaking a 1-1 tie and beating the Escanaba Eskymos, 5-1, at the Wells Sports Complex.
It was Houghton's second win this year over Escanaba.
Raymond Brice had two goals and an assist, while Jonathon Bostwick and Connor Hannon each added a goal and an assist for the Gremlins.
"They're a very quick team," Escanaba Head Coach Matt Hughes said. "They have some very, very skilled players. When you turn the puck over in certain areas against good teams, they take advantage of it."
The Gremlins made a living by scoring early in periods...and late in periods. They got on the board just 2:14 into the game when Hannon scored with an assist to Jed Kallio.
But the Eskymos tied it up three minutes later as Levi Wunder roofed a shot past goaltender Marcus Gloss for a power play goal. Steve Wood and Derek Chaillier got the assists, and the Eskymos had some momentum against the highly-rated Gremlins.
The key play came at the end of the period as Brice scooped up a loose puck at his own blue line, split two Eskymo defenders, and beat goaltender Nick LeMire.
The goal came with just eight seconds left in the first period.
"Any time you get scored on in the final minute of a period, it takes the wind out of your sails," Hughes said. "As a coach, as a player, it's hard to get your kids going again. They just took advantage of our mistakes, and unfortunately, we couldn't help Nicky (LeMire) out enough defensively.
"But we had our chances, too."
In the second period, Escanaba had numerous scoring chances with a pair of power play opportunities. But the Eskymos came up empty, and then, late in the period, the Gremlins caught a break. Charlie Zuidema appeared to get cross-checked in his back, but there was no call. He retaliated and was sent to the penalty box.
Escanaba had a perfect chance to tie the game at 2-2 as senior T.J. Myrick raced in on a shorthanded breakaway.
But Myrick shot the puck into Gloss's chest, giving the junior goalie a routine save. Then, with 56 seconds left in the period, Houghton took a 3-1 lead as Jonathon Bostwick picked up a loose puck and roofed it past a fallen LeMire.
"Those are game-changing moments," Hughes said. "We talk about it all the time. Capitalizing on mistakes. Capitalizing on odd-man rushes and breakaways. Especially in close games. If T.J. puts that in the net, it totally changes the outcome of the game."
Then the Gremlins, who also beat the Eskymos 6-0 last month at Dee Stadium, put this one away early in the third period. Spencer Donnelly scored from a sharp angle just 90 seconds into the period to make it 4-1, and Brice scored again late in the game to close the scoring at 5-1. Houghton outshot Escanaba, 28-27.
"It's disappointing as a coach because we work on that stuff all week (in practice)," Hughes said. "Guys hustle back, back-checking to get into the zone. And then, they're not close enough to the guy they're supposed to be guarding. The puck ends up on their stick, and it ends up in the back of our net."
"We need to work on that a little more, I guess."
Houghton improved to 8-1-0 on the season. Escanaba's record dipped to 5-3-0.
The Eskymos host the Gil Versailles/Dick Johnsen Memorial Tournament next weekend. Escanaba faces Painesdale-Jeffers Friday night at 8:00. The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Lisa Dagenais, and listen to radio replays and interviews.
It was Houghton's second win this year over Escanaba.
Dan Ritter (19) and Raymond Brice (13).
"They're a very quick team," Escanaba Head Coach Matt Hughes said. "They have some very, very skilled players. When you turn the puck over in certain areas against good teams, they take advantage of it."
The Gremlins made a living by scoring early in periods...and late in periods. They got on the board just 2:14 into the game when Hannon scored with an assist to Jed Kallio.
But the Eskymos tied it up three minutes later as Levi Wunder roofed a shot past goaltender Marcus Gloss for a power play goal. Steve Wood and Derek Chaillier got the assists, and the Eskymos had some momentum against the highly-rated Gremlins.
The key play came at the end of the period as Brice scooped up a loose puck at his own blue line, split two Eskymo defenders, and beat goaltender Nick LeMire.
Raymond Brice scores for Houghton
"Any time you get scored on in the final minute of a period, it takes the wind out of your sails," Hughes said. "As a coach, as a player, it's hard to get your kids going again. They just took advantage of our mistakes, and unfortunately, we couldn't help Nicky (LeMire) out enough defensively.
"But we had our chances, too."
In the second period, Escanaba had numerous scoring chances with a pair of power play opportunities. But the Eskymos came up empty, and then, late in the period, the Gremlins caught a break. Charlie Zuidema appeared to get cross-checked in his back, but there was no call. He retaliated and was sent to the penalty box.
T.J. Myrick (9) is stopped by Marcus Gloss.
But Myrick shot the puck into Gloss's chest, giving the junior goalie a routine save. Then, with 56 seconds left in the period, Houghton took a 3-1 lead as Jonathon Bostwick picked up a loose puck and roofed it past a fallen LeMire.
"Those are game-changing moments," Hughes said. "We talk about it all the time. Capitalizing on mistakes. Capitalizing on odd-man rushes and breakaways. Especially in close games. If T.J. puts that in the net, it totally changes the outcome of the game."
Then the Gremlins, who also beat the Eskymos 6-0 last month at Dee Stadium, put this one away early in the third period. Spencer Donnelly scored from a sharp angle just 90 seconds into the period to make it 4-1, and Brice scored again late in the game to close the scoring at 5-1. Houghton outshot Escanaba, 28-27.
Levi Wunder scores for Escanaba
"We need to work on that a little more, I guess."
Houghton improved to 8-1-0 on the season. Escanaba's record dipped to 5-3-0.
The Eskymos host the Gil Versailles/Dick Johnsen Memorial Tournament next weekend. Escanaba faces Painesdale-Jeffers Friday night at 8:00. The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos taken by Lisa Dagenais, and listen to radio replays and interviews.
