Calumet Outskates Escanaba In Saturday Matinee

Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Micky LaMarch. Also click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Paul Sturos, Aksel Loukus, Jayger LaMarch, and Eskymo Coach Andy Johnson. Also click to listen to Brett Labre's player spotlight interview.

ESCANABA---The Calumet Copper Kings got two goals from Paul Sturos, a hat trick from Ayden Williams, and goaltender Aksel Loukus stopped 28 shots to lead Calumet to a 9-2 win Saturday at the Wells Sports Complex.

The Copper Kings had four of their goals on the power play.

"When you're playing good teams, you can't take bad penalties," Escanaba Coach Andy Johnson said. "You can't go down by one guy and expect to win games that way, against good teams. Their team has probably two of the top players in the state. You've got to come out, not taking penalties, backcheck hard, and we didn't do that today. I mean, you've got to do everything right to be within a one-goal game with them at the end of the third period."

Calumet, despite a three-hour-plus bus ride, jumped on the Eskymos with a Ayden Williams goal off a Jackson Reili rush just 38 seconds into the game. Then, three minutes later, with Trevor Streichert in the box for high sticking,

Paul Sturos scored to make it 2-0.

Jayger LaMarch answered for Escanaba less than two minutes later with a pretty goal that cut it to 2-1, but after Brett Labre took a roughing penalty, Sturos cashed in again to make it 3-1.

A frutsrated Eskymo goaletender Dylan Ziemke smashed his stick against the goalpost and ice multiple times as the Copper Kings swarmed him with 18 shots in the first period.

"We got to him early," said Sturos, who was picked the game's first star with two goals and an assist. "That helped us a lot. We didn't let him get in the game. We started off good with three goals in the first five minutes, then we had too much penalties in the second period, but we got the job done."

The turning point came in the second period when LaMarch was set up perfectly by his brother for what looked like would be a sure goal to cut the Escanaba deficit to 3-2. But after LaMarch went into the blue paint, Loukus somehow sprawled out and made a highlight-reel save.

"Just a desperation save," Loukus said. "Just laid out and hoped I'd get a piece of it. I guess I kind of got lucky. I'm not really sure. He could've just went right around me. Maybe he just tucked it underneath me? I'm actually not sure. That was acutally big, because if they score, it's 3-2, and it's a way different hockey game."

LaMarch was left just shaking his head.

"Unreal," LaMarch said. "I saw Sauce (Sawyer LaMarch) breaking down. I decided to get myself in the play, and booked it down to the front of the net. Sauce gave me a perfect pass, cross-creased the goalie, thought I had him all day. Clearly not. He made a toe save on me. It happens."

To make matters worse for Escanaba, the Copper Kings rushed up ice and scored on a Tom Erkkila rebound shot just seconds later. That made it 4-1 and the game went downhill from there, with Braydon Cima scoring three minutes later and Williams setting a perfect screen in front of Ziemke for a power play goal to make it a 6-1 game after two periods.

Dan Loukus and Cliff Jurmu scored in the third period, and Williams completed his hat trick with nine seconds left in the game. Jayger LaMarch had his second goal of the game with 1:16 left in the third period. Sawyer LaMarch had assists on both of those goals.

The shots on goal favored Calumet, but only 38-30.

"I thought we were playing right with them," LaMarch said. "The shots were neck-and-neck. They just put the puck in more than we did."

"When we got in the offensive zone, we did work the puck around, "Johnson said. "It was just coming back (on defense). When you give them the puck in the high slot, they were burying them. You leave a guy open? They bury their chances. And we didn't."

Calumet, ranked seventh in the state in Division Three, improved to 10-5-0 on the season. The Copper Kings will face Negaunee on Tuesday and host Plymouth Salem on Friday.

Escanaba fell to 12-6-0-1. The Eskymos will be on the road Friday at Manistique. The Emeralds beat Alpena, 3-2, Saturday night. The Escanaba-Manistique game will be broadcast on FM-93.5 and AM-600 in Escanaba, and FM-98.5 and AM-1490 in Manistique.