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Tuesday April 30, 2024
Escanaba Hawks 12u Hockey Team Wins U.P. Title

Click the thumbnails to see photos, video highlights, and hear interviews with Nick Martinson, Bryce Bichler, Griffin Johnson, and Coach Andy Johnson.

ESCANABA---The Escanaba Hawks 12u Pee-Wee hockey team won a MAHA District Eight Upper Peninsula championship on Sunday, whipping Calumet in the semifinals, 13-2, and then taking Tahquamenon, 8-3, in the finals.

The win sends the Escanaba boys (and two girls) to the state tournament next month in downstate Muskegon.

Nick Martinson had four goals and an assist in the championship game for Escanaba. Goaltender Bryce Bichler stopped 20 of the we shots he faced for the victory.

Tahquamenon, with players from Newberry, Manistique, and Munising on the club, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Luke Luebkert just 37 seconds into the game. The Bears had beaten the Hawks in a pool play game Saturday night, so they had some momentum going.

But Escanaba changed that momentum quickly, as Parker Menard scored a backhanded goal on a breakaway at 1:02, and then Martinson scored his first goal at 3:36 to make it 2-1.

Newberry tied it up when Oliver Sevarns flung one on net from along the boards and it went in over Bichler's glove.

The second period belonged to Escanaba. Martinson scored at the 1:51 mark, and then the backbreaker for Tahquamenon came with 16 seconds left in the period when Martinson completed his hat trick, making it a 4-2 game after 30 minutes.

Martinson jammed in a loose puck for his fourth goal, making it 5-2 in the third period, and then Chase Korpi got credited for a goal that Tahquamenon goaltender Logan Lusk couldn't find in his skates and it trickled across the goal line.

Mostly, though, Lusk was spectacular. He is a tall and big kid, much bigger than your usual 12-year-0ld. Lusk stopped multiple odd-man rushes and two breakaways, and stopped 25 of the 31 shots he faced. Escanaba scored two empty-net goals late, both by Griffin Johnson.

Davin McNamara scored Newberry's third and final goal.

Earlier the day, Tahquamenon pulled out an exciting 3-2 overtime win over Iron Mountain in the semifinals, and Escanaba overwhelmed Calumet, 13-2.

This group of Escanaba boys won the Squirt 10u state championship two years ago.

The 12u pee-wee boys will not be the only Escanaba team playing for a state championship in March. The Escanaba 10u boys team won a U.P. title on Sunday in Manistique, beating Calumet in the semifinals, 6-0, and rolling Iron Mountain in the final, 6-2. And the 14u Bantam Hawks won their U.P. title last week and will also be playing at the state finals.









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