Click the thumbnails to see potos and videos taken by Cooper LaMarch. Also click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Nick Martinson, Nolan Bink, Griffin Johnson, and Coach Andy Johnson. Also click to hear player spotlight interviews with Mason Couch and Jacob Freel.
ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School hockey team led from wire-to-wire Thursday night in completing a sweep of the Copper Country teams, beating the Painesdale-Jeffers Jets, 9-2, at the Wells Sports Complex. That gave the Eskymos wins against all Keweenaw teams this season: Houghton, Hancock, Calumet, and now, Jeffers.
Escanaba had lost its last five meetings with Jeffers, including a 5-2 decision at Michigan Tech University back in December. But the win for the sixth-ranked Eskymos over the tenth-ranked Jets came in Escanaba's 13th game against a state ranked team this season. Escanaba is 6-7-0 in those games, showing a a brutally-tough season schedule.
Graham Johnson scored three goals and added three assists for a six-point night on an evening where the high school band played the fight song all night long. Nick Martinson added a hat trick of his own: three goals, and he added two assists for five points.
Defenseman Nolan Bink added two goals and three assists for five points, and center-man Ben Sands, who dominated in the face-off circle, had four assists to go along with his first period goal that gave Escanaba a 2-0 lead. Owen LaBonte added two assists.
Jeffers (17-7-1 overall) got two goals from Tage Rajala. The Jets goaltender, Kasen Helminen, was pulled early in the third period after Escanaba scored two goals eight seconds apart off of the third period face-off (by Bink and Johnson).
Escanaba (17-8-0 overall) outshot Jeffers, 33-17, in the victory.
The Eskymos are back on home ice Friday night for a 7:00 game against the DePere Voyaguers from Green Bay, and will close the regular season next Friday night in Calumet.
ELSEWHERE IN THE UPPER PENINSULA:
Marquette beat Negaunee, 5-2, as Skylar Blackburn scored two goals for the Sentinels....Kingsford smacked Rhinelander, 9-2, as Will Murvich and Casey Clisch both scored four goals for the Flivvers.
