Wunder Hat Trick Lifts Eskymos Past Redmen, 4-1

MARQUETTE---Ever since the Marquette Redmen beat the Escanaba Eskymos in an overtime playoff game last spring, the Eskymos have been thinking about revenge.

That 2-1 loss prematurely ended what Escanaba was hoping would be a long playoff run. But the Redmen played very tight defense and eliminated the Eskymos.

And so Tuesday night in Marquette, the Eskymo players had a chip on their shoulders. Even the new kids who did not play in last year's game.

And the young man who had the biggest chip on his shoulder was Levi Wunder.

That was a bad thing for the Redmen.

Wunder scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Eskymos overwhelmed the Redmen, 4-1, at Marquette Lakeview Arena.

"That was a huge win for us," Eskymo Coach Matt Hughes said. "I've been telling these guys all year long that when you work hard, put pucks on net, things are gonna happen. Pucks are gonna go in the net. The kids moved the puck well. We got the puck deep, and was able to cycle quite a bit, and create some opprtunities off of that."

The "revenge factor" was certainly in the minds of the Eskymos Tuesday night.

Levi Wunder shorthanded goal

"That was part of the game plan, part of the incentive, going into this game," Hughes admitted. "We mercied them (last year) in the first game, and we tied them up here in the second game. And then they came into our rink in the playoffs and ended up beating us in overtime. That was not a good feeling for these boys, especially working so hard that night and not getting a reward for it."

Add to the "revenge factor" from last year's playoff these other factors: Wunder played here in Marquette for the AAA Electricians two years ago.

"I have a lot of history up here," Wunder said. "It's a nice 'W' for me personally. It means a little more to me because I played so many games up here. To have fans boo me and chirp at me all game, it's great to get the 'W' in front of that.

"Parents. Little kids. Booing you. It's all in good fun, though. And it's all about the team."

And Wunder's linemate, Chris LeMire, also played here in his eighth grade year, and was named the Marquette Junior Hockey Association's best player that year.

"It's always great coming back and seeing the boys," LeMire said. "It's always a hard-fought game. The atmosphere of playing against these boys is just great."

The Eskymos were whistled for a couple of early penalties, but on the second one, Wunder scored a shorthanded goal off the assist of Matt Casey.

Levi Wunder shorthanded goal

"To get a chance like that on the penalty kill, I kind of dropped to one hand to get around the 'D'," Wunder said. "To put it in like that, and get the team fired up, that was great."

The Redmen equalized on that power play, however, with sophomore Spencer DenBeste scoring on a rebound. It stayed 1-1 into the second period despite continued pressure from the Eskymos. Parker LaMarch's blast hit square off of the crossbar.

Garth Wickham was stopped point blank by Redman goaltender Brendan Higbie.

And the best chance was when Wunder went in on a breakaway, with no Redman player within 100 feet. Wunder never got a shot away.

"It squirted past the 'D' and I had almost too much time with the puck," Wunder smiled. "I just couldn't bury it there! I was on the backhand, and I was gonna stop and go 'forehand', and I just lost it. It happens to the best of us!"

In the second period, defenseman Paul Carne got off a nice, low shot and Wunder was there for the rebound after Higbie made the initial save. Chris LeMire also assisted.

It was still a 2-1 game late in the second period, after LeMire also crushed one off of the crossbar. But the Eskymos caught a little bit of luck in the final few seconds of the second period as Wunder flipped one on net that hit the crossbar and went in for a goal.

Levi Wunder hat trick goal

Unlike last year's playoff game, when Marquette shadowed Wunder all around the ice, Redman Coach Doug Garrow chose not to do that on Tuesday.

But in the third period, Garrow decided to put DenBeste on Wunder. That move did not work, because the talented Redman sophomore was called for a major checking-from-behind penalty off a hit on Wunder. DenBeste was gone for 15 minutes.

The Eskymos took advantage of the power play as Calvin Pinar scored, with Nick Aird and Wunder drawing assists.

The 4-1 lead was plenty for Valentine to hold.

"The defense just played a great game," Valentine said. "The team, overall, just had an excellent game. I didn't really have a lot of hard shots at me. There were a couple of rebounds I should have had. Shots that were weaker ones, and I just bobbled them. They were trying to screen me the whole game, pretty much."

Escanaba ended up outshooting Marquette, 26-21. The Redmen are now 2-2 on the season, while the Eskymos improved to 4-0-1.

"It was a physical game," Hughes said. "We knew that coming in. We knew that they were gonna come at us. And we had to respond to that. I think we did. We matched up well. We worked hard and created opportunities in the offensive zone."

Calvin Pinar power play goal

Escanaba played without two-thirds of its second line for the second straight game: Hunter LaMarch and Dylan Gauthier. Also, Hayden Haslow sat out due to injury.

The Eskymos host Negaunee next Monday night at the Wells Sports Complex.

Game time is 7:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line around the world at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mike Dagenais. You can also hear radio replays of the game's goals, and you can listen to interviews with Levi Wunder, Chris LeMire, Jack Valentine, Matt Hughes, and Josh Nelson.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

11/21	7:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	7 - 1 (W)	1-0

11/22	1:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	7 - 0 (W)	2-0

11/25	7:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	4 - 2 (W)	3-0

11/29	1:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	3 - 3 (T)	3-0-1

12/2	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	4 - 1 (W)	4-0-1

12/8	7:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	9 - 1 (W)	5-0-1

12/13	1:00 PM	at Hancock Bulldogs	3 - 7 (L)	5-1-1

12/19	7:00 PM	at Houghton Gremlins	3 - 6 (L)	5-2-1

12/26	7:00 PM	Painesdale-Jeffers Jets	9 - 3 (W)	6-2-1

12/27	1:00 PM	Painesdale-Jeffers Jets	5 - 1 (W)	7-2-1

1/2	6:00 PM	Cheboygan Chiefs	6 - 2 (W)	8-2-1

1/3	1:00 PM	at Pinckney Pirates	7 - 4 (W)	9-2-1

1/16	8:15 PM	at Bay City Central Wolves	4 - 2 (W)	10-2-1

1/17	12:00 PM	at Macomb Dakota	4 - 2 (W)	11-2-1

1/20	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	0 - 2 (L)	11-3-1

1/22	7:00 PM	at Calumet Copper Kings	3 - 4 OT (L)	11-4-1

1/27	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	5 - 2 (W)	12-4-1

1/30	7:00 PM	Houghton Gremlins	0 - 4 (L)	12-5-1

1/31	1:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	0 - 1 OT (L)	12-6-1

2/5	6:00 PM	at Novi High School	3 - 5 (L)	12-7-1

2/6	6:15 PM	at Woodhaven High School	3 - 5 (L)	12-8-1

2/7	2:15 PM	at Berkley-Ferndale United	6 - 3 (W)	13-8-1

2/12	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	5 - 6 (L)	13-9-1

2/20	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	4 - 3 OT (W)	14-9-1

2/21	1:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	2 - 4 (L)	14-10-1

3/3	7:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	3 - 0 (W)	15-10-1

3/5	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	4 - 2 (W)	16-10-1

3/7	1:00 PM	Bay Area Thunder Hockey	8 - 0 (W)	17-10-1

3/10	7:00 PM	Traverse City Central Trojans	7 - 3 (W)	18-10-1

3/12	5:00 PM	Livonia Stevenson Spartans	2 - 3 (L)	18-11-1