GAYLORD---What a week this has been for the Escanaba High School hockey team.
And it's been a week that proves what the Michigan High School Athletic Association likes to promote in its "March Magic" message. The post-season tournaments give teams the chance to reverse their fortunes, to right what was wrong, and to make history.
After a hockey season that can be best described as "up-and-down", the past week has been like a sugar rush for everyone who is involved with Eskymo hockey.
And, for that matter, anyone who has given their heart to the program only to come up short.
The Escanaba Eskymos beat a talented Traverse City Central team, 7-3, in the Division Two state quarterfinals Tuesday night in Gaylord. That follows hard-earned wins over Negaunee, Marquette, and the Bay Area Thunder in this fast-paced week of hockey.
And so now, for the first time in the hockey program's history, the Eskymos have advanced to the state's Final Four and will play Thursday afternoon at Compuware Arena, the home of the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers.
"They stuck to the game plan and they worked very hard to do it," Eskymo Coach Matt Hughes said. "I'm so proud of these kids right now."
Eskymo captain Levi Wunder was unstoppable, scoring three goals and adding three assists. He also made several key defensive plays to stop potential TCC rushes.
"Unexplainable," Wunder said of his feelings after the game. "To come down here, and move on to the semis, it's something that you can only dream of."
"I'm glad the guys came together, and we got this 'W'," Wunder continued. "To have that four-goal win? I mean, coming in, we thought maybe 2-1 or 4-3, something like that. But, boy, there's a lot of emotions."
Hunter LaMarch scored just 1:23 into the game, set up by Wunder.
Then Wunder scored into the five-hole of TCC goaltender Michael Whittaker four mintes later to make it a 2-0 game. And four minutes after that goal, Wunder stole a puck at center ice and went in on a breakaway.
Whittaker stopped Wunder, but Chris LeMire tapped it in, and it was a 3-0 lead.
"They came out to a fast start, putting pucks into the net," Hughes said. "That's exactly what we wanted to do. We put systems in place, and we motivate the kids, but they go out and they have to execute. And these kids are working extremely hard."
A part of the formula is strong play from goaltender Jack Valentine. And he responded by stopping 29 of 32 shots, including all 14 shots he faced in the first period.
"It's always nice to have the play at the other end, but it's also nice to get a few shots to keep you focused on the game," Valentine said. "They were just putting a lot of pressure on, but I got a few lucky saves out of it."
LeMire scored again with an unassisted goal early in the second period, giving the Eskymos an improbable 4-0 lead.
"The puck jumped out at the blue line, and so I picked it up, put it over the defenseman's stick, and shot and scored," LeMire said.
Traverse City (19-9-1) wasn't done. Andrew Froese and Alex Oliver scored goals 29 seconds apart to cut the Eskymo lead in half at 4-2.
But only 25 seconds after that second Traverse City Central goal, Wunder created some time and space behind the net, and set up a scramble that saw Charlie Zuidema score to give the Eskymos a 5-2 lead. Early in the third period, Wunder went top-shelf for his second goal (and fifth point) to make it a 6-2 game.
Traverse City's Oliver scored his second goal of the game with 2:24 left on the power play, but Wunder fought off a trip and scored an empty net goal with 1:47 left on the clock to seal the Eskymo victory.
On the play, durable defenseman Calvin Pinar was hurt behind the action. He lay on the ice for a few minutes as trainers looked at him.
Pinar left the ice by putting no pressure on his leg, but he was able to walk later at the hotel, with an ice pack on his knee.
Wunder felt that it was time for him to personally step up his game.
"I've got a little phrase: silence the critics," Wunder said. "There's people that doubt me all the time. They call me bad names, and try to bring me down. To have my teammates behind me, and we're a tight-knitted family, to go out there and do that for my team, if I could do that every night, I would. And I plan to do that in the next two games to bring back home a state championship."
And so the Eskymos (18-10-1) play on, and will go to Compuware Arena in Plymouth for the Division Two state semifinals Thursday afternoon against Livonia Stevenson.
The Spartans beat Novi, 5-1, in a quarterfinal Tuesday night. Thursday's second semifinal will feature Birmingham Brother Rice (which beat Hartland in four overtimes Tuesday) and Grosse Pointe South.
The Escanaba-Livonia Stevenson game is set to face off at 5:00 Thursday afternoon.
The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting at about 4:40 E.T.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS above to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to hear radio replays and interviews.
And it's been a week that proves what the Michigan High School Athletic Association likes to promote in its "March Magic" message. The post-season tournaments give teams the chance to reverse their fortunes, to right what was wrong, and to make history.
And, for that matter, anyone who has given their heart to the program only to come up short.
The Escanaba Eskymos beat a talented Traverse City Central team, 7-3, in the Division Two state quarterfinals Tuesday night in Gaylord. That follows hard-earned wins over Negaunee, Marquette, and the Bay Area Thunder in this fast-paced week of hockey.
And so now, for the first time in the hockey program's history, the Eskymos have advanced to the state's Final Four and will play Thursday afternoon at Compuware Arena, the home of the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers.
Hunter LaMarch goal makes it 1-0.
Eskymo captain Levi Wunder was unstoppable, scoring three goals and adding three assists. He also made several key defensive plays to stop potential TCC rushes.
"Unexplainable," Wunder said of his feelings after the game. "To come down here, and move on to the semis, it's something that you can only dream of."
Hunter LaMarch scored just 1:23 into the game, set up by Wunder.
Then Wunder scored into the five-hole of TCC goaltender Michael Whittaker four mintes later to make it a 2-0 game. And four minutes after that goal, Wunder stole a puck at center ice and went in on a breakaway.
Whittaker stopped Wunder, but Chris LeMire tapped it in, and it was a 3-0 lead.
"They came out to a fast start, putting pucks into the net," Hughes said. "That's exactly what we wanted to do. We put systems in place, and we motivate the kids, but they go out and they have to execute. And these kids are working extremely hard."
Jack Valentine poke-check save
"It's always nice to have the play at the other end, but it's also nice to get a few shots to keep you focused on the game," Valentine said. "They were just putting a lot of pressure on, but I got a few lucky saves out of it."
"The puck jumped out at the blue line, and so I picked it up, put it over the defenseman's stick, and shot and scored," LeMire said.
Traverse City (19-9-1) wasn't done. Andrew Froese and Alex Oliver scored goals 29 seconds apart to cut the Eskymo lead in half at 4-2.
But only 25 seconds after that second Traverse City Central goal, Wunder created some time and space behind the net, and set up a scramble that saw Charlie Zuidema score to give the Eskymos a 5-2 lead. Early in the third period, Wunder went top-shelf for his second goal (and fifth point) to make it a 6-2 game.
Traverse City's Oliver scored his second goal of the game with 2:24 left on the power play, but Wunder fought off a trip and scored an empty net goal with 1:47 left on the clock to seal the Eskymo victory.
Levi Wunder goal makes it 2-0.
Pinar left the ice by putting no pressure on his leg, but he was able to walk later at the hotel, with an ice pack on his knee.
Wunder felt that it was time for him to personally step up his game.
And so the Eskymos (18-10-1) play on, and will go to Compuware Arena in Plymouth for the Division Two state semifinals Thursday afternoon against Livonia Stevenson.
The Spartans beat Novi, 5-1, in a quarterfinal Tuesday night. Thursday's second semifinal will feature Birmingham Brother Rice (which beat Hartland in four overtimes Tuesday) and Grosse Pointe South.
Chris LeMire goal makes it 3-0.
The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com, starting at about 4:40 E.T.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS above to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to hear radio replays and interviews.
