Escanaba Shut Out; Marquette Gets Showcase Win

CHELSEA, Mich.---The Escanaba Eskymos had a rough night at the Michigan Public School Hockey Showcase on Thursday, falling 4-0 to Plymouth Salem in Chelsea.

The Marquette Redmen, meanwhile, rallied for a 3-2 win over the Saline Rockets.

The Eskymos never could get any traction against the Rocks, giving up goals early in both the first and second period. As the game went on, the frustrated Eskymos kept going to the penalty box, with Hayden Haslow getting three different penalties.

Haslow, however, delivered some of the biggest hits for the Eskymos, something that Coach Matt Hughes wanted to see more of from his team.

"That came out to a flat-out lack of effort on our part," Hughes said. "You've got to give a full effort every single shift. You've got to show up to play on-time, especially at these showcases, when you're playing against teams you don't know."

"I thought we could have been more physical with them, which we shied away from," Hughes continued. "We had way too-many stick checks and guys were going for poke-checks instead of being hard-nosed and hitting the guy."

Goaltender Brodie Goddard was left to his own devices on many occassions, especially in the third period, when he singlehandedly killed off several Salem power plays.

Salem (7-8-1) got two goals and an assist from sophomore winger Collin Goleniak.

Escanaba takes on Muskegon Mona Shores Friday afternoon at 4:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

MARQUETTE 3, SALINE 2---The Redmen trailed for most of the afternoon before pulling ot out at the end. Captain Joe Phillips scored his second goal of the game to tie it with 3:38, then Hunter Doucette knocked home a Phillips rebound with 1:38 left to break the tie. Goaltender Dylan Sibilsky stopped a breakway with six minutes left in the third period that turned out to be big. Marquette faces the host Chelsea Bulldogs Friday night.

"It could have went either way, and I just thought that we ended up with a couple of breaks in the third," Marquette Coach Doug Garrow said. "I think the puck just bounced our way late. That's hockey. It's not over after the first or second (periods). You've got ti play all three, and that just goes to show you right there. We came back. late in the third, so you have to make sure, no matter what the score is, that you're always battling."

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to hear interviews with Hughes and Garrow, and Christer Carne's player spotlight interview. Thanks to Micky LaMarch for her help with videos and photos.