Eskymos Overcome Hot Goalie, Post Home Victory

ESCANABA---The Escanaba High School hockey team kept a perfect homestand going Friday night with a 4-1 win over the Central Algoma (Ont.) Huskies in Wells.

The Eskymos carried the play all night long, and they fired 44 shots on goal, but Canadian goaltender Drew Gregory made 40 saves to keep the game close.

"He played very well for them," Escanaba Coach matt Hughes said. "There was a few times where I thought we could have had guys in front for a screen, or crashing the net. It was a little lackadasical on our part as far as that goes."

Garth Wickham scored Escanaba's first goal on a rebound just 53 seconds into the game, but the Eskymos were caught thinking too offensively and the Huskies had a rare scoring chance two minutes later. And they cashed in on a goal by Dylan Cooke. That tied the game at 1-1.

The Eskymos took a 2-1 lead late in the first period when Jack Williams stole the puck and got it to Dylan Gauthier, who tapped it just past Gregory's skate.

"I was almost behind the net when I shot it in," Gauthier said. "I didn't think he was actually going to get it to me, but then he got it to me at the last second. I almost crashed right into the boards after I scored.

The second period was scoreless, almost entirely because of Gregory.

Goalie Drew Gregory stops breakaway

Escanaba had 15 shots on goal, along with numerous 2-on-1 breaks. The Eskymos were shorthanded once when Charlie Zuidema went off for slashing. But Escanaba had four shots on goal during that penalty kill, with Gregory stopping Gauthier and Blaine Borman point blank.

Central Algoma, based in the town of Desbarats an hour outside of Sault Ste. Marie, nearly tied the game late in the second period. The Huskies took advantage of the Eskymos who were on a long line change, but Jack Valentine made three quick saves.

With the score 2-1 after 34 minutes, Hughes made some big changes. He started to roll all four lines and used three different defensive pairings.

"We played decent. We controlled the play," Hughes said. "But we couldn't finish on stuff. It's January and we've been at this for two and a half, three months. We need to capitalize on our chances. We don't need aything facncy. We just need to go to places where you're gonna pay the price (in front of the net)."

Guys who normally play during games where the Eskymos have a big lead were suddenly out there in a tight 2-1 game. And the changes had the desired effect on the scoreboard. Escanaba took a 3-1 lead six minutes into the third period when Zuidema won a faceoff, got it to Gauthier, then to defensman Calvin Pinar.

Pinar's point shot was stopped, but Parker LaMarch was there to tap it home. Then, four minutes later, Escanaba had its only power play of the game, and Chris LeMire cashed in with 6:39 left in the game. That made it a 4-1 game, putting the result out of doubt.

Chris LeMire goal. makes it 4-1.

"It was a little different, but it worlked out well, actually," Gauthier said about the changes. "Going back to those lines that we normally use when we have a big lead."

Escanaba outshot Central Algoma, 44-12. The most consistent line for the Eskymos was the Borman-Gauthier-Williams connection, with Gavin Schwalbach subbing in.

"We had so many opportunities in front of the net, pucks going by, and we just couldn't bury one," Williams said, then added. "It was my first start ever as a high school player and I was just nervous waiting to be called out (in pre-game) and I thought I was going to trip on my way over (from the bench). That would have been devastating."

Parker LaMarch scores Eskymo goal

"We had a ton of chances in the second period," Gauthier said. "Breakaways on the penalty kill, breakaways all over the place."

The two teams play again Saturday afternoon at 1:00. The game will be broadcast on WCHT-AM (600), and at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to hear post-game interviews.

Date	Time	Opponent	Score	Record

11/20	7:00 PM	at Alpena Wildcats	1 - 2 (L)	0-1-0

11/21	1:00 PM	at Alpena Wildcats	7 - 2 (W)	1-1-0

11/24	7:00 PM	at Kingsford Flivvers	3 - 2 (W)	2-1-0

12/1	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	3 - 2 (W)	3-1-0

12/5	5:00 PM	Houghton Gremlins	1 - 0 (W)	4-1-0

12/7	7:00 PM	at Negaunee Miners	13 - 0 (W)	5-1-0

12/12	1:00 PM	Hancock Bulldogs	2 - 5 (L)	5-2-0

12/18	5:00 PM	at Midland Dow High School	1 - 3 (L)	5-3-0

12/19	12:00 PM	at Midland Chemics	5 - 3 (W)	6-3-0

12/30	7:00 PM	Painesdale-Jeffers Jets	8 - 1 (W)	7-3-0

1/3	1:00 PM	Cheboygan Chiefs	8 - 0 (W)	8-3-0

1/8	7:30 PM	Central Algoma, Ontario	4 - 1 (W)	9-3-0

1/9	1:00 PM	Central Algoma, Ontario	9 - 2 (W)	10-3-0

1/15	4:00 PM	Macomb Dakota	5 - 4 (W)	11-3-0

1/16	12:30 PM	Grand Haven High School	10 - 0 (W)	12-3-0

1/19	7:00 PM	at Marquette Redmen	2 - 0 (W)	13-3-0

1/21	7:00 PM	Calumet Copper Kings	2 - 4 (L)	13-4-0

1/28	6:00 PM	at Chelsea Bulldogs	3 - 3 (T)	13-4-1

1/29	10:00 AM	at Romeo High School	3 - 5 (L)	13-5-1

1/30	12:00 PM	at Berkley-Ferndale United	4 - 4 (T)	13-5-2

2/4	7:00 PM	Kingsford Flivvers	4 - 1 (W)	14-5-2

2/13	1:00 PM	at Houghton Gremlins	3 - 3 (T)	14-5-3

2/19	5:00 PM	at Calumet Copper Kings	2 - 2 (T)	14-5-4

2/20	1:00 PM	at Hancock Bulldogs	2 - 3 (L)	14-6-4

2/25	7:30 PM	Negaunee Miners	8 - 3 (W)	15-6-4

3/1	7:00 PM	Marquette Redmen	1 - 2 (L)	15-7-4