Young Eskymos Prepare For New Hockey Season

WELLS---The emotional playoff victory over the Marquette Redmen is just a fond memory now. So is the oh-so-close regional championship game that needed overtime.

The Escanaba Eskymos enjoyed a strong playoff push last spring, but now, it's time to move on to another hockey season...minus the eleven seniors who made up the nucleus of that successful team. The Eskymos have been practicing for the past couple of weeks, and have come up with a 20-person roster that includes a lot of youth.

Escanaba Eskymo senior Bri Belanger.

Yes, it's a 20 person roster. For just the second time in school history, a girl has made the Eskymo hockey team.

Bri Belanger was one of three girls to try out for the team this fall, as the Great Lakes Wolfpack girls team disbanded and will not play this winter.

Belanger made the cut, and the other two girls will also be a part of the team: Jalyn Dagenais will be the team's statistician as she has been since she's been in the seventh grade, and Shelby Gregoire will help out as a student manager.

"I'm really excited to be a girl on the high school team," Belanger said at Monday's practice. "It (practice) has been going really good and we're working hard to get ready for our first game. I think we can go really far (in the playoffs)."

Eskymo captain Jake Eastin agrees with that assessment.

"It's looking good," Eastin said. "We've got a young team, with a lot of freshmen. We're looking to have a great year. We've got a lot of skill here."

Jake Eastin comments.

Eastin will be one of the main cogs in the Eskymo offense. As a junior last season, he was second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points.

Eastin's linemate, fellow senior Nick Vandermissen, had 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points last year.

"We did great," Eastin said. "We went pretty far in the playoffs. That's just kind of got us motivated for this year. We plan to take it even farther this year."

Escanaba Head Coach Tim McCarthy likes what he has seen so far this pre-season.

T.J. Myrick is one of many Eskymos who have "gone blonde" to start the season.

"Practice has been very upbeat," McCarthy said. "The willingness to learn is what's the great about it right now. The kids are out there, their eyes are open, their ears are open, willing to learn. We're excited about the season."

The Eskymos will have big skates to fill between the pipes after the graduation of goaltender Austin Young.

Senior Nick LeMire will have that job now, after spending the past two seasons as Young's backup. Freshman Jack Valentine will back up LeMire.

Offensively, besides Eastin and Vandermissen, Ben Lasecki returns after scoring nine goals and 13 points last season.

On defense, Derek Chaillier is back after a sophomore season that saw him score 15 points and have a plus-12 rating, tops amongst Eskymo defensemen.

Belanger is just happy to be a part of the mix. She is the second girl to make an Eskymo varsity hockey team, after goaltender Brooke Pinar played in the 2005-'06 season. Belanger says that so far, she's been treated as just one of the guys.

Bri Belanger comments

"They're OK," Belanger said. "I like it. It's not too bad. They do a lot of stuff for me. They carry my bags and they're really nice."

Escanaba opens its season on November 27th in Marquette, and then has its home opener the following Wednesday against Sault Ste. Marie. The Eskymos will compete in five tournaments this season, including two at home in the month of December.

The team's full 2012-'13 schedule is in the box on the right side of this page.

WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast all Eskymo games, except for the two games in Traverse City Dec. 7-8, which will not be on the radio. Friday night games throughout the season will also be broadcast on WGKL-FM (105.5), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Eskymo freshman goalie Jack Valentine takes some shots during Monday afternoon's practice in Wells.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

11/27	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	7 - 5 (W)	1-0

12/5	7:00 PM	Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	1 - 3 (L)	1-1

12/7	7:30 PM	at Macomb Dakota	0 - 8 (L)	1-2

12/8	12:45 PM	at Utica Eisenhower	4 - 1 (W)	2-2

12/14	8:15 PM	Tomahawk, Wis.	9 - 1 (W)	3-2

12/15	2:15 PM	L'Anse Purple Hornets	9 - 1 (W)	4-2

12/18	7:00 PM	Negaunee Miners	9 - 0 (W)	5-2

12/28	8:15 PM	Monroe, Wis.	9 - 1 (W)	6-2

12/29	2:00 PM	Painesdale-Jeffers Jets	9 - 1 (W)	7-2

1/4	6:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	9 - 0 (W)	8-2

1/5	1:30 PM	at Grand Blanc Bobcats	9 - 1 (W)	9-2

1/8	7:00 PM	at Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils	4 - 3 (W)	10-2

1/12	6:00 PM	at Calumet Copper Kings	2 - 5 (L)	10-3

1/15	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	3 - 1 (W)	11-3

1/26	7:00 PM	at Cheboygan Chiefs	8 - 0 (W)	12-3

2/1	7:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	9 - 2 (W)	13-3

2/2	1:00 PM	Alpena Wildcats	6 - 4 (W)	14-3

2/7	8:00 PM	at Hartland Eagles	4 - 2 (W)	15-3

2/8	6:00 PM	at Rochester United	1 - 0 (W)	16-3

2/9	12:30 PM	at Chelsea Bulldogs	6 - 5 (W)	17-3

2/12	7:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	7 - 5 (W)	18-3

2/15	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	7 - 3 (W)	19-3

2/16	1:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	4 - 3 (W)	20-3

2/18	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 0 (W)	21-3

2/21	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	6 - 3 (W)	22-3

2/26	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	8 - 0 (W)	23-3

2/28	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	8 - 0 (W)	24-3

3/2	1:00 PM	Saginaw Heritage Hawks	1 - 2 (L)	24-4