Eskymos Rally For 3-3 Tie Against Chelsea Bulldogs

CHELSEA, Mich.---Sometimes, finishing in a tie can be irritating and unsatisfying. Other times, the team leaves the rink with a good feeling about its level of play.

For the Escanaba Eskymos, the latter is the true after Thursday's 3-3 tie with the Chelsea Bulldogs at the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase. The Eskymos scored two goals to rally from a 3-1 deficit, then killed off two Bulldog power plays at the end.

"I thought, overall, we progressed very well throughout the game," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "Our third line with (Dylan) Gauthier, Jack Williams and (Colton) Hayes really turned it on for us and actually created some really good scoring opportunities. All in all, it was a slow start for us, and in the end, we had them on the ropes."

Escanaba was battling hard, from behind, all night long. Goaltender Jack Valentine made several outstanding saves early on, including one with his glove after he lost his stick on the first shot.

Chelsea scored the first goal late in the opening period when Jack Miller made a nice pass from behind the net, onto the stick of Alec Daman, who went top shelf.

In the second period, Daman scored again, this time on the power play, and again, top shelf.

But the 2-0 Chelsea lead was quickly cut in half when Chris LeMire scored on a rebound 30 seonds later, with Garth Wickham and Parker LaMarch assisting.

It was a 2-1 game going into the third period, but the Bulldogs caught a break 19 seconds into the third period when Sean Cox tried a cross-ice pass that hit Eskymo defenseman Calvin Pinar's skate. It banked into the net past Valentine, making it a 3-1 game.

But the Eskymos kept grinding. Wickham scored a pretty goal while falling down with 10:27 left, and then Wickham scored the tying goal with 5:30 left when he tipped in a Pinar shot. LaMarch assisted on both of those goals, giving the junior a playmaker.

Escanaba had to kill off two late Chelsea power plays, and had a chance to score shorthanded when Nick Aird went in on a breakway. He was stopped by goaltender Derek Schaedig. Schaedig stopped Aird point blank later in the game as well.

With 58 teams in this weeklong tournament, and games being played one after another in two rinks, there is no overtime or shootouts allowed.

So, it ended tied at 3-3.

"We outworked them in the third period," Hughes said. "Chelsea is a good team. They've got some skilled guys, and they worked hard, but we wore them down a little bit. If there had been an overtime, I think we would have had a good shot." Escanaba's record is now 13-4-1. Chelsea's record stands at 14-1-1 on the season.

The Eskymos have an early wake-up call on Friday as the Showcase continues. They will face the Romeo Bulldogs from suburban Detroit at 10:00 in the morning. The game will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

PLYMOUTH SALEM 5, MARQUETTE 4---Also at the Showcase, the Marquette Redmen scored three goals in the third period, but it wasn't enough, as the Redmen lost to Plymouth Salem, 5-4. Donny Schultz scored two of those goals and assisted on the other as Marquette tried to rally from a 4-1 deficit. Kristian Jackson and Tanner Carriere also scored for Marquette. Salem had two shorthanded goals in the game, including one while they were two men short. The Redmen face Lake Orion Friday night at 6:00.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to hear the player spotlight interview with Dylan Gauthier. You can also see videos from the Marquette game.

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