Eskymos Need 3rd Period Rally To Sweep Alpena

WELLS---The Escanaba Eskymos thought they were on cruise control Saturday as they built a 3-0 lead early in the second period against the Alpena Wildcats.

After all, the boys had just whipped the Wildcats the night before, and had a 25-5 shots advantage in this game. But the Alpena team did not give up, and battled back as the Eskymos got soft in the defensive zone. The Wildcats scored three times to tie the game and made the Eskymos sweat, before Escanaba pulled it out at the end, 6-4.

Eskymo Matt Casey (5) was recognized on Gladstone Day at the rink on Saturday.

Escanaba Coach Tim McCarthy has been warning his players all season long that when they lose focus on the game plan, they can get beat.

And it almost happened Saturday until Jake Eastin and Nick Vandermissen scored third period goals to avoid the loss.

"There's a saying out there that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard," McCarthy said. "In the second period, we put the puck right back on their stick, and hats off to them, they buried it. We outshot them in the first period, but the second period, we fell apart. You've got to play three periods of hockey, and we didn't."

"A win's a win," said Eastin, the Eskymo captain. "But when you know that you didn't play your best, it's hard to celebrate too much."

The Eskymos scored twice in the first period on goals by Ben Lasecki and Vandermissen. And the reason it stayed 2-0 was Alpena goaltender Jesse Boilore.

The junior netminder stopped 17 shots in the first period, many of them from close range. Levi Wunder scored 22 seconds into the second period to make it 3-0, and the Eskymos peppered several more shots on Boilore.

The shots were 25-5 at the three minute mark of the second period.

Goaltender Jack Valentine slides out as Quintin McCarthy dives to block a shot.

But things changed from there as the Wildcats took advantage of several Eskymo turnovers to get back into the game.

Sam Rumbles, Zach Nash, and Zach Kendziorski all beat Eskymo freshman goaltender Jack Valentine in a span of 2 minutes, 36 seconds.

"Jack's a freshman, and this is the most shots he's ever faced in a game," McCarthy said. "But he did well, made some good saves. We needed to be there for him, and we weren't.

"Our defensive breakdowns, and odd-man rushes went against him."

How can a three-goal lead completely disappear in just 2:36? McCarthy says his team got complacent after building that 3-0 lead, on the heels of Friday's 9-2 win. Eastin agrees.

"We got too relaxed out there," Eastin said. "They got two quick ones on us, and all of a sudden, they're back in it. They were just outplaying us in that second period."

In the third period, the Eskymos got into penalty trouble, as Derek Chaillier got called for interference twice and Jeff Lyle also went in for interference.

Jake Eastin scores shorthanded goal.

The Eskymos, who have allowed only five power play goals all season, killed these three Alpena power plays. And on one of them, the Eskymo captain made another clutch play.

Eastin seems to score the big goals and the big times. He won games against Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie with goals in the final seconds earlier this season. This time, Eastin did it a bit earlier, using his speed and stickhandling skills to break in on a shorthanded rush. Eastin managed to get one past Boilore, and Escanaba had the lead with 9:54 left.

A pile-up of players in front of Escanaba goaltender Jack Valentine on Saturday.

"Jake's been there. I can't say enough about him," McCarthy said. "He's led this team, and he leads it in so many aspects. Whether it's back-checking, fore-checking, setting the plays up, he does his job, no matter who he's with."

So, how did that play develop?

"I was just flying up the left side," Eastin said. "I headed Derek (Chaillier) and he just head-manned me the puck. I barely got around the defender. When I came in toward the goalie, the only place I could shoot it was short-side, high. So that's what I put 'er."

That "shorty" allowed the Eskymos a bit of momentum, and then with 5:28 left, Vandermissen scored his second goal of the game, tapping in a Wunder shot from inside the blue paint.

Nick Vandermissen goal makes it a 5-3 game.

But even this 5-3 lead wasn't safe as Alpena scored again with 3:17 left.

This one was a bit of misfortune for Escanaba, as a pass from the Alpena zone ricocheted onto the stick of Kwiatkowski, who was streaking up the middle of the neutral zone. He skated in and deked Valentine, scoring on a low shot.

The Eskymos celebrate a goal on Saturday.

But to their credit, the Eskymos buckled down over those final three minutes, and the Wildcats didn't get any more scoring chances. Alpena pulled its goaltender, and Wunder found the empty net with 26 seconds left to seal Escanaba's 14th win in 17 games.

"Did we play a great game? No," Coach McCarthy said. "We were a little sloppy, and we have some things to work on, for sure. We have to sharpen it up downstate."

Boilore ended up stopping 46 of 51 shots and was given the game's #1 star. Eastin got the #2 star for his clutch goal and two assists. Kwiatjowski got the #3 star for his one goal and three assists.

Alpena's record fell to 7-9-1 on the season.

Escanaba outshot Alpena, 52-25, including 23-7 in the third period.

Gladstone's Matt Casey player spotlight Interview

The game was the annual "Gladstone" game, which recognizes the boys on the Eskymo hockey team who attend school at Gladstone High School.

Lasecki and Matt Casey are the two Braves who are playing for the team this season under the co-op agreeement.

The Gladstone Braves Pep Band was there playing the GHS fight song, and Gladstone Athletic Director Matt Houle served as the "administrator on duty" for the game.

The Gladstone High School Band played.

The Eskymos will see what they're made of next week as they play three games at the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase in downstate Chelsea.

All three of Escanaba's opponents have winning records and are ranked in the top ten in the state in their respective divisions, according to U.S. High School Hockey On-Line.

Escanaba faces Hartland Thursday night at 8:00, Rochester Unified Friday night at 6:00, and Chelsea Saturday afternoon at 12:30.

All three games will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600) and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

The Friday night game will also be broadcast on WGKL-FM (105.5).

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box at the top of this page to see pictures and videos, and listen to radio replays and interviews.

Thanks to Lisa Dagenais and Mary Gauthier for taking the photos, Mike Dagenais for shooting the videos, and Jay Dagenais for recording the statistics!

Game 17: Escanaba Eskymos 6, Alpena Wildcats 4

ALPENAHS 0 3 1----4
ESCANABA 2 1 3----6

First Period
ESC 1-0: Lasecki 11 (Eastin) 7:43
ESC 2-0: Vandermissen 19 (Wunder, Chaillier) 11:24 PPG

Second Period
ESC 3-0: Wunder 29 (Vandermissen, Eastin) 0:22
ALP 1-3: Rumbles (Kwiatkowski, Nash) 4:17
ALP 2-3: Nash (Kwiatkowski, Hamp) 5:16
ALP 3-3: Kendziorski (Kwiatkowski, Nash) 6:53

Third Period
ESC 4-3: Eastin 19 (Chaillier, Wood) 8:06 SHG
ESC 5-3: Vandermissen 20 (Wunder) 11:32
ALP 4-5: Kwiatkowski (Rumbles) 13:43
ESC 6-4: Wunder 30 (Eastin, Myrick) 16:34 ENG

Escanaba Penalties (5/10): Chaillier 2 tripping; Wunder 2 roughing; Chaillier 2 interference; Chaillier 2 interference; Lyle 2 interference.

Alpena Penalties (3/6): Cosbitt 2 tripping; MacArthur 2 roughing; MacSrthur 2 interference.

Power Plays: Alpena 0/4; Escanaba 1/2.
Shots On Goal: Alpena 5-13-7=25; Escanaba 19-10-23=52.
Three Stars: 1. Boilore, ALP; 2. Eastin, ESC; 3. Kwiatkowski, ALP.

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