TOUGH NIGHT: Copper Kings Whitewash Eskymos

WELLS---The Escanaba High School hockey team couldn't get much traction Friday night as the Eskymos fell to the Calumet Copper Kings, 5-0, on Eskymo Senior Night at the Hannahville Ice & Turf in Wells.

It was a rough night all the way around for the Eskymos, as they took two penalties early in the game and needed more than half of the first period to register a shot on goal.

It was also a difficult evening for Eskymo goaltender Brodie Goddard, who, for the most part, has been effective between the pipes this season. But in Friday night's game, Goddard allowed five goals on the first 20 shots he faced, with three of them coming from long range.

"Everyone is frustrated," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "We, as coaches, are frustrated, because the players aren't doing what we tell them to do as far as systems, and things like that."

"That goes for everybody. The forwards. The defensemen. Our forwards aren't scoring, our defensemen are turning the puck over," Hughes continued. "Brodie probably wanted a few of those back, you know, some positioning things, being ready for a shot. You can't afford to do that against a good team like Calumet. They're ranked in the top five (in the state) for a reason."

Calumet defenseman Trevor Salata scored from near the blue line late in the first period to give the Copper Kings a 1-0 lead. The Eskymos came out with a lot of energy early in the second period, as they carried the play to the Copper Kings for the first six minutes.

Escanaba's best opportunities to score came off the stick of captain Chris LeMire.

He had Copper Country goalie Nick Voelker beat, but the puck clanked off of the far post along the ice. Moments later, the Eskymos took two consecutive penalties, with the second being one for having too many men on the ice.

That "too many" penalty turned out to be costly as Rory Anderson scored from a bad angle with 3:34 left in the second period, making it a 2-0 game. The back-breaker came with 42 seconds left in the period when Jack Sturos scored, also from long range.

In the third period, Escanaba had a power play, but a turnover led to a 2-on-1 shorthanded goal by Brent Loukas. Then after LeMire was called for hooking, Matt Yeo cashed in with a power play goal through Goddard's five-hole, making it 5-0.

Final shots on goal were 23-15 in favor of the Copper Kings.

It was a disappointing way to celebrate Senior Night. Escanaba's Parker LaMarch, Garth Wickham, Kyle Egner, Paul Carne, and LeMire were all honored before the game, along with student managers Zach Denome and Jake Strom. Also, senior Noah Olsen, who has played most of the season with the Escanaba JV team, was honored as well.

In Friday night's junior varsity game, Joey Jacobson scored two minutes into overtime to give the JV Eskymos a 5-4 victory.

Calumet improved to 17-6-1 with its victory.

Escanaba (11-13-0) closes the regular season Saturday with a home game against defending state champion the Hancock Bulldogs.

Game time is 1:00. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600) and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos taken by Bill LaMarch, and listen to the Player Spotlight interview with Noah Olsen and Luke Labre.