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JAYGER TO THE RESCUE: Eskymos Beat Rockets
 Click the thumbnails to see photos, and hear post-game comments from Jayger LaMarch and Coach Andy Johnson. Also hear Bryce Buchbinder's player spotlight interview. MARQUETTE---Jayger LaMarch completed his hat trick with 1:00 left in the game to break a 4-4 tie and lead the Escanaba Eskymos hockey team to a 5-4 win over the Muskegon Reeths Puffer Rockets Friday at Marquette’s Lakeview Arena. LaMarch, along with his younger brother Sawyer, and cousin Brayden Martineau, accounted for all five Eskymo goals and a combined eleven total points.  “We played really well,” Escanaba Head Coach Andy Johnson said. “I’d have to say their goalie was the best player on the ice by far. If we could do anything better, we were talking a lot of shots from out far, and the goalie was seeing everything. I think the goals we did score were nice plays, moving the puck across the slot, or across the crease, and putting them in.” LaMarch’s third goal with 1:00 left was a shorthanded goal, with the Rockets enjoying another in a series of power plays. “We knew we had to get it done,” LaMarch said. “So, we came up with a little play, chip it, and I made it happen. Made a good move, and put ‘er up top.” “He was into this game,” Johnson said of LaMarch. “He had a lot of heart today. He wanted this one bad. When they would tie us or get up by a goal, he was riling guys up on the bench. He did not want to lose, that’s for sure.” Martineau scored for the fifth straight game early in the third period to tie the game at 3-3 with eight minutes to play. Then moments later, Martineau assisted on Sawyer LaMarch’s goal that put Escanaba ahead, 4-3. But the Rockets’ Josh Shafer also had a great game. He had a three-goal hat trick, including the goal with 3:26 left that tied the game at 4-4.  “We did a great job on that, taking their stick away,” LaMarch said. “That was huge in getting that win. It feels great.” Martineau ended up with a three-assist playmaker, and now has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his five games since returning from an off-season injury. Jayger LaMarch now has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points, and Sawyer LaMarch now has six goals and nine assists for 15 points. Krutina was a facilitator as well Friday night, with a three-assist playmaker. He has nine points on the season. Bryce Buchbinder earned the win in net for the Eskymos, stopping 24 of the 28 shots he faced. He’s now 3-0 on the season. Escanaba won its fourth straight game, and improved to 5-2-0 on the season. Reeths Puffer, which hadn’t played a game since Nov. 27, fell to 2-2-0. In the second game Friday night, Marquette defeated Muskegon Mona Shores, 3-1. Escanaba faces Mona Shores in Marquette on Saturday at 1:00.  |
