Eskymos Rally From Three Down To Beat Pinckney

HOUGHTON---It was a nightmare scenario for Escanaba Hockey Coach Matt Hughes as he watched his Eskymo team play the Pinckney Pirates Saturday afternoon.

His guys came out flat against a downstate team that had not won a game this season, falling behind by two goals before most people had finished eating their first hot dogs.

And then, after falling behind, the Eskymos had to face a hot goaltender who turned in the best two periods by an opposing goalie this season.

Fortunately for Escanaba, the tide turned in the third period and the Eskymos rallied to beat the Pirates, 7-4.

"That was, all-around, a bad period of hockey," Hughes said about the first period. "Just things weren't going our way. I think the guys were expecting to tee up right away when we went out for warm-ups."

"They watched this team play last night and they (Pinckney) didn't look very fast," Hughes continued, "and they kind of thought that they would control the game."

But the Pinckney program is a proud program, which has seen a lot of success over the years. The Pirates have been in the regional final in each of the last four seasons, and are directed by Coach Ted Kroll, who has led the downstate team for the past 16 years.

Pinckney Coach Ted Kroll interview

And Pinckney, despite an 0-9-1 record, came in and put the Eskymos on their heels early Saturday as the teams both played their second game at the Jeffers New Year's Tournament at Michigan Tech University's MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton.

Blake Lapum scored a power play goal 2:14 into the game, and then 26 seconds later, Cooper Jenkins got a goal that deflected off of the stick of Escanaba's Paul Carne.

Pinckney's Eddie Roberts scores on 2-on-1

The Eskymos got a Calvin Pinar power play goal later in the period, but the Pirates grabbed a 3-1 lead when Eddie Roberts finished on a nice 2-on-1 pass from Connor Smith. And then in the second period, Smith drove past Pinar right to the net and scored a top-shelf goal.

Incredibly, the Eskymos were behind, 4-1.

"We were all like dumbfounded in the locker room," said Eskymo forward Chris LeMire. "We didn't really know what to say. We couldn't put the puck in the net."

"We had a really slow start," Eskymo forward Nick Aird agreed. "I think we kind of came down to their level a little bit, and started playing some bad hockey."

That goal meant the end for goaltender Brodie Goddard, who was replaced by Jack Valentine after allowing four goals on seven shots.

Throughout the second period, the Eskymos started to take control of the game, outshooting the Pirates, 24-3. But Pinckney goaltender Nick Lefebvre was on top of his game, turning away shot after shot after shot.

Midway through the period, Charlie Zuidema was able to score into wide-open net for his first goal...but not after three Lefebvre saves.

"I told the boys after the game that I gave him (Lefebvre) one of the Game Stars," Hughes said. "He played great for them, for two and a half periods."

Charlie Zuidema scores his first goal.

After two periods, Escanaba outshot Pinckney, 43-9, but trailed, 4-2.

"Their goalie was playing awesome," Aird said. "We knew that we had to crash the net, get two guys in front of the net, and try to get to those pucks out in front."

"Coach in the locker room was telling us that we've got to screen the goalie and get him moving," LeMire said. "He's a good goalie. He has quick hands. We had to just get him moving around and try to open up the net."

In the third period, the Eskymos started to overwhelm the Pirates, who seemed to become tired as the period went on.

Levi Wunder blasted a shot from the slot for a top-shelf goal at the 1:55 mark to to make it a 4-3 game.

Pinckney had the chance to regain a two-goal lead with two straight power play chances, but their guys were too exhausted to mount much of a challenge. Both power plays saw the Eskymos carry the play while shorthanded, and the second power play became a disaster for the team from the Ann Arbor area of Michigan.

First, Aird scored a shorthanded goal with 7:41 left to tie the game at 4-4.

"I think Levi winged it around the boards," Aird said. "I was just coming up the left side, and I kind of picked it and (the puck) went up in the air. I kind of pulled it between my legs, and just beat the goalie on the far side."

Nick Aird shorthanded tying goal

That Pinckney power play got even worse 82 seconds later as LeMire scored. That go-ahead goal came after both LeMire and Wunder had two scoring chances missfire.

"We were just trying to work hard and battle through all of our problems," LeMire said. "Wunder and I were just working hard in their zone. I passed it to Wunder, and he hit the post. Kept it in the zone and they rang it around the boards. I picked it up and shot."

Kroll used his time out to try to settle down his Pirates, but the Escanaba momentum was too strong. Pinar scored a power play goal with 1:59 left in the game to seal it, and Blaine Borman scored an icing-on-the-cake goal with one second left to make it 7-4.

"It was one of those deals where you're faced with a little bit of adversity, and you run into a hot goaltender," Hughes said. "The kids are getting frustrated because nothing is going in for them. Back-door plays. One-timers. Nothing. But I told them that good teams find a way to win, and they found a way to do it."

Wunder ended up with seven points, on two goals and five assists. He now has 50 points on the season....24 goals and 26 assists. That's in just twelve games. Wunder now has 209 points in his Eskymo career, spanning two-and-a-half seasons.

Pinar had five points, on two goals and three assists. Hunter LaMarch contributed a three-assist "playmaker", while Aird had a goal and an assist in the third period.

Chris LeMire goal puts Esky in front

For Pinckney, Smith and Roberts each had a goal and two assists. In net, Lefebvre stopped 47 of the 54 shots he faced as Escanaba outshot Pinckney,

54-12.

Escanaba improved to 9-2-1 on the season. The Eskymos will have two weeks off before traveling to Traverse City for the North/South Showcase. Escanaba will face the Bay City Wolves in their first game on Friday, Jan. 16. Face-off is set for 8:15.

The game will be broadcast live on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com. Escanaba will face Macomb Dakota on Saturday the 17th.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Eskymo student manager Zac Rudden. And you can listen to radio replays and interviews from Saturday's game.

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