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Copper Kings Score 3 Late Goals To Stun Eskymos
 WELLS---For almost 49 minutes of hockey Thursday night, the Escanaba Eskymos had the Calumet Copper Kings on the ropes. The Kings were impressive in the neutral zone, but they were unable to finish in the offensive zone, and Escanaba had a 2-1 lead. But the Eskymos got into penalty trouble and the Copper Kings scored three times in the final 2:17 of the game to escape Delta County with a 4-2 victory.  Then came the game's turning point. Eskymo defenseman Hayden Haslow was called for holding, giving Calumet a late power play. The Kings cashed in with 46 seconds left in the game, as Ryan Nelson scored in a scramble in front of Valentine, who made a save on the first attempt by Nelson in close. Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes was upset with the penalty call that put his team down. "They never should have been on the power play in the first place," Hughes said. "The guy should've never made that call with a minute-40 left. Took the game right out of the kids' hands. It was away from the play. At that point of the game, you let that one go." The Eskymos were called for another penalty seconds later, as Charlie Zuidema went off for tripping at center ice. Calumet's Robert Erkkila scored the empty net goal.  Calumet took a 1-0 lead early in the second period on a hard point shot by Graham Frantti. Escanaba tied the game six minutes later when Chris LeMire knocked home a rebound off of a Calvin Pinar shot. Then LeMire scored the g0-ahead goal with2:05 left in the second period when he tipped a Paul Carne shot past goaltender Ian Carroll. The Copper Kings argued it was tipped with a high stick, but the goal stood. Calumet (10-4-2) outshot Escanaba, 37-27, and had the final 13 shots on goal. "They were attacking us with speed, but our 'D' did a great job of keeping them to the outside," Hughes said. "When they did establish some offense, we were able to get our sticks in lanes and knock some pucks down. We were very physical with them, too." Escanaba (13-4-0) had an eight-game winning streak snapped. The Eskymos travel downstate to Chelsea to play in the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Eskymos will face the host Chelsea Bulldogs Thursday at 6:00 (Live on WGKL-FM 105.5, WCHT-AM 600, rrnsports.com). Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see videos taken by Mary Gauthier. and hear replays and Brodie Goddard's interview.  |
| 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
|
