|
STATE CHAMPIONS: Escanaba Bantams Dominate
 Click the thumbnails to see videos and see/hear interviews with Graham Johnson, Ben Sands, Keagan Braun, Owen LaBonte, Brody Levesque, and coaches. IRONWOOD---The Escanaba Hawks 14U bantam B hockey team won the MAHA State Championship on Sunday in Ironwood, rolling past Rochester, 11-0, in the semifinals, and then blasting Big Rapids, 10-1, in the championship game. It was the third state championship in eight days for the Escanaba Area Junior Hockey Association, after the 12U peewee and 10U squirt teams won their tournaments last weekend downstate. Those are the only three Escanaba teams to play on the statewide stage, making the EAJHA a perfect three-for-three in state tournaments.  Johnson's oldest son, Graham, played a big part in this weekend's state title. He scored 23 goals and added 14 assists as the Hawks won all five of their games by a combined score of 57-8 over Traverse City, Ironwood, Midland, Rochester, and Big Rapids. "Saturday night, I played good, but this morning wasn't the best," Graham Johnson said. "I only had one. They (Rochester) were stopping me. But just came back and played awesome tonight. It feels good. We were just moving. I mean, in the first period (against Big Rapids) we knocked in seven. I knew from the first shift that it was gonna be good. And our power play was working. We went four-for-four." Johnson had eight goals in the team's opener against Traverse City Friday night, then scored four goals (and five assists) against Ironwood Saturday, before scoring six more goals against Midland Saturday night. After being "held" to one goal and four assists by Rochester, Johnson scored four goals and added three assists in the championship game against the Ice Dogs. It wasn't only the Graham Johnson Show.  "They (downstate) teams aren't as physical, and we didn't know much about most of the teams," LaBonte said. "It was a little bit different than playing against teams from up here. I thought we'd have a lot more competition. They're still good teams, but we were able to work together as a team and do good." Keagan Braun had ten goals and four assists on the weekend, including four goals in the semifinal win over the Rochester Vipers. "I'm pretty excited," Braun said. "It's the first state tournament I've won. We really started working as a team. Passing. Shots on net. Overall, I think we played pretty good. We had some rough spots, but we cleaned those up. It was all a team effort." Ben Sands contributed three goals and eleven assists in the five games, and had "playmakers" in two of the contests. He enjoys playing on a line with Johnson. "We work very well as a team and pass the puck," Sands said. "I can just throw the puck up the ice and I know that he (Johnson) will catch it and go and score. We just dominated." And how about playing downstate teams in the newly-renovated Ironwood rink? "Nerve-racking," Sands said. "The rink is pretty sweaty. You get pretty hot. It's warm in there."  "I feel great," he said. "My first state win. Our power play, because they (Big Rapids) were pretty chippy, so we got a lot of power play done, and that's pretty much how we got our passing around." Hunter Allen scored three goals and added two assists for the weekend, and Davin Mattonen had three goals and five assists for eight points. That includes four points in the 13-0 win over Ironwood in pool play. Anthony Potvin contributed two goals and four assists. Escanaba goaltender Braden Cooper wasn't overworked, but he had to play every minute of five games in two-and-a-half days. He posted a pair of shutouts in the Hawks net. Sam Spear chipped in three assists on the weekend, while Carson Hughes and Elizabeth Spreizer both had two points at states. The Hawks made the three-hour trip home from Ironwood Sunday night, but didn't come straight home. The boys (and young lady Spreitzer) were surprised by a stop in Iron River, where they were congratulated by Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Nick Baumgartner. Then, when they arrived at the Wells Sports Complex at around 11:15 p.m., they were treated to a police-and-fire escort complete with sirens. And a group of supporters were there waiting. Some of these guys will have to make the big jump to Escanaba Eskymos high school hockey next fall, playing for Andy Johnson, who guided the Eskymos to a 16-10-0-1 record in his first season. His son, Graham, will likely be one of those youngsters on the roster. "That's gonna be cool, playing with the older guys," Graham Johnson said.  |
