Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and to hear post-game comments from Graham Johnson, Owen LaBonte, Morgun Lynch, and Coach Andy Johnson.
Also click the AUDIO buttons to hear Nick Martinson and Brody Levesque player spotlight interviews.
IRON MOUNTAIN---The Escanaba High School hockey team scored five goals in the first period and cruised to a 7-1 win over the Kingsford Flivvers Tuesday night at the Mountain View Ice Arena.
The Eskymos wanted to rebound from last Saturday's 8-0 loss to defending state champion Flint Powers, as well as from a gut-wrenching down-to-the-wire loss to the third ranked Hartland Eagles. They accomplished that, led by captain Graham Johnson.
Johnson scored five of the Eskymo seven goals, including three of them while killing off Kingsford power plays. He now has 39 goals on the season in 19 games.
“That was awesome to see the guys get off to a huge start like that,” Johnson said. “We really just wanted to bounce back from what happened Saturday down at TC. That's not our hockey, and it was kind of embarrassing for all of us. So, we wanted to just come out here flying with some energy, and that started off-ice, warming up.”
His dad, Eskymo head coach Andy Johnson, wanted his guys to take this game seriously, even though his team had already easily beaten the Flivvers twice this season. And about his son, who literally refuses to praise himself in interviews?
“Graham's just a very smart player,” Coach Johnson said. “He knows when he needs to stretch the neutral zone, and when not to. He can grab pucks from anywhere, corral them, and keep his feet moving, and burn around D if he wants to.”
Graham's reply?
“It feels good to be able to score goals,” he said. “Big credit to my linemates. They do a really good job of finding me, and putting me in scoring position.”
That's as close as you'll come to getting Johnson to pat himself on the back. But, he's not wrong. These kids have played hockey together for years, and Tuesday night, Owen LaBonte assisted on three of Johnson's goals, and LaBonte also scored twice.
In fact, it looked like LaBonte had another goal in the third period, but Kingsford goaltender Nate Scullon made an incredible save on the goal line.
“I went around the net after I shot it, and Hunter (Allen) and Guns (Gunnar LaMarche) came over and told me it was in, so I was high-fiving the boys. And then, I saw Scully, the goalie there, had it with the puck under him, so I was like, 'it didn't go in, you guys made me look silly!”
It was also a tough ending for “Scully”, the senior Flivvers goalie who is friends with many of the Eskymo players. He suffered a severe injury while trying to slide over on Johnson's fifth goal. Scullon after the game said he is hoping to rehab the groin injury get back on the ice in time for the playoffs in February.
Jake Deuter scored Kingsford's only goal, off a nice rush by Will Murvich.
There were also some good performances by other Eskymos. Coach Johnson said that Chase Korpi played his best game of the season by doing the “little things”.
“If Kingsford was coming up, like over the circles, man, he was quick on the puck,” Coach Johnson said. “He was driving through hands, playing the body, getting turnovers, getting the puck back low to Hank (Sholten) and Jacob (Freel) in front. Stirring things up. He had a few shifts there that were some of his best of the season.”
Another unsung hero was Morgun Lynch. The defenseman from Gladstone has played in all 19 games, albeit not long minutes on most nights. But he was solid Tuesday night, and was selected the game's third star, behind Johnson and LaBonte.
“I felt pretty good, just keeping them from scoring on the back end,” Lynch said. “I just cheer on the team (when sitting the bench), and keep energy up, and hopefully get some playing time, and make some plays when you get in. They (coaches) just want us to play secure on the back end, keep them from scoring, and do our jobs out there.”
Mission accomplished.
“It's really important,” Lynch said. “Just playing with grit and getting back on a winning streak.”
Escanaba improved to 13-6-0 on the season. Five of their six losses have come to teams who are ranked in the top ten in Michigan in their divisions (Traverse City West is not).
And the Eskymos will face another state-ranked team, the Grandville Bulldogs from the Grand Rapids area, on Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Wells Sports Complex. The Bulldogs are 12-4-1 on the season, and will also play Houghton and Painesdale-Jeffers on a UP trip.
