Eskymos, Redmen, Flivvers Win Again At Showcase

TRAVERSE CITY---It only took 52 minutes for the Escanaba High School hockey team to beat the Grand Haven Buccaneers Saturday at the North/South Hockey Showcase in Traverse City. The Eskymos scored eight goals in the first 14 minutes of the game, and cruised to a 10-0 win in a game shortened to two periods by the mercy rule.

"We stuck to the game plan," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "We moved the puck around. Nobody was selfish about it. They continued to work hard. Everyone got to play.

"So, it was overall, a great team effort. The veteran guys were very good about the coaching staff choosing to put our fourth line out there every other shift for the second period," Hughes continued. "That took away from their (veterans) time. It showed a lot of maturity on their part."

Indeed, the older players were happy to see the younger guys get their chance to play a lot.

"It's always great to see them get out there and get their ice time," said senior assistant captain Nick Aird, who had a hat trick in his limited ice time. "They go to practice every day. They work hard. They deserve it. It was good for them to get their time."

"Going out there and seeing those kids put in good teamwork and put the puck in the net is good," assistant captain Chris LeMire said. "It's always good to see them improving in practice, and then into today's game, seeing them putting it in the back of the net."

The win allowed the Eskymos to go a perfect 2-0 at the weekend showcase. Fellow U.P. teams Marquette and Kingsford also won Saturday, so the U.P. went 6-0 at the event.

Escanaba, the defending Division Two state semifinalists, were in complete control of the Grand Haven team from the beginning. The Eskymos were happy to see the Bucs not resort to cheap play as the goals started to mount.

"A lot of respect goes to them," Aird said. "They kept their heads. That's always good in games like this. Be respectful, and get the game over with."

LeMire scored just 1:14 into the game as Parker LaMarch got the turnover, deked the goaltender, and got off a shot. LeMire got the rebound for the goal. Then 31 seconds later, Paul Carne scored to make it 2-0.

Escanaba went to the power play a few minutes later and the Eskymos cashed in as Aird scored off a nice pass from Charlie Zuidema. Kyle Egner also assisted on the play.

The Eskymos were on the power play again two minutes later, and LeMire scored his second goal of the game, with Parker LaMarch and Garth Wickham assisting.

The fourth line got plenty of playing time in this one, and rookie Blaine Reinhart scored his first-ever Eskymo goal, with linemates Brendan Sliva and Colton Hayes drawing assists.

"It feels really good," Reinhart said. "Colton won the faceoff, gave it over to Sliva, and Sliva took a good shot. The rebound came out and I had to capitalize on the chance."

"Blaine was in the right spot at the right time to get the first one," Hughes said. "It's good to see. We gave him the game puck with the Red Wings symbol on one side of it."

"We'll put ''er up in the dining room," Reinhart, the team's only rookie, smiled.

The onslaught continued as Calvin Pinar scored on his backhand with 5:48 left in the first period, and then Dylan Gauthier tallied on a rebound with 4:31 left on the clock.

When Hunter LaMarch scored with 2:45 left in the first period, the Eskymos had an 8-0 lead, with eight goals on just 15 shots.

The "mercy rule" clock ran continously from there. Aird scored two more goals in the second period to complete his hat trick. Escanaba outshot Grand Haven, 29-11, in the two periods of play.

Brodie Goddard got the start in net for the Eskymos, and he stopped all eleven shots he faced.

Escanaba improved to 12-3-0 on the season, while Grand Haven fell to 3-10-0.

Escanaba travels to Marquette Tuesday night for a conference showdown, and playoff preview. Game time at Lakeview Arena is 7:00.

"There's a lot of history between the two teams," Hughes said. "It's one of the biggest rivalries in the U.P., I'd say. So, it's going to be a tough game. It's going to be a grind. It will be a close game, I believe. Whoever comes out on top, it will be a close one."

The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, hear radio highlights, and interviews with Chris LeMire, Nick Aird, Blaine Reinhart, and Parker LaMarch.

KINGSFORD 3, MACOMB DAKOTA 2---The Kingsford Flivvers rallied for two goals in the third period to beat the Macomb Dakota Chargers, 3-2, Saturday in Traverse City.

Jason Hart tied the game on the power play, and then Jordan Wadge scored the game winning goal with nine seconds left in the game.

Joey Berglund earned the victory in net for the Flivvers, who finished 2-0 in the Showcase and are now 5-8-0 on the seas0n.

MARQUETTE 8, BAY CITY CENTRAL 0---Joe Phillips had two goals and Jake Phillips had a goal and four assists to lead the Marquette Redmen to an 8-0 win over the Bay City Wolves Saturday at the North/South Showcase. Tony Fedrizzi, Jake Patterson, Austin Wanicki, and Don Schultz also scored for the Redmen, who finished three-for-four on the power play and outshot the Wolves, 33-7. Marquette went 2-0 at the weekend showcase, and improved to 9-4-0 on the season.

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