LeMire, Wunder Lead Eskymos To Another Victory

CHELSEA, Mich.---The Escanaba Eskymos won their second straight game at the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase Friday night with a 1-0 win over Rochester United at Chelsea's Arctic Coliseum.

Levi Wunder scored the game-winning goal with 5:27 left in the third period and goaltender Nick LeMire made 35 saves to post the shutout.

Steve Wood (7) won that wall battle.

"The kids came out, they dominated, and they did well," Eskymo Coach Tim McCarthy said. "I can't say enough about them. You look at the size of their schools (Rochester and Rochester Adams)...we came out and played three periods of hockey."

The winning goal came after Jake Eastin got the puck at center ice and caught Wunder in stride heading into the Rochester zone.

Wunder skated up the middle and picked his spot: over the goaltender's shoulder and under the crossbar. It was his 33rd goal.

"It was a real battle, this game," Wunder said. "I'm glad to pull out the 'W'. It was a great relief to get that goal late in the game. It was just a great feeling."

"Levi Wunder does what Levi Wunder does, right?" McCarthy laughed.

Levi Wunder game-winning goal.

The story of this game was defense, and plenty of it. And both goaltenders were on. Rochester's Kyler Patenaude made several difficult saves in the first period, and LeMire's best work came in the second period.

Escanaba was in penalty trouble for much of that period, as Rochester got three power plays and fired 17 shots on goal.

LeMire stopped them all.

"I just hoped for the best," LeMire said of some of his best saves. "Maybe it's the arena, the environment, I'm not sure. A great weekend."

Ben Lasecki skates in on Rochester's Nick Marek (6).

"Nicky stood tall again," McCarthy said. "He took away a lot of their best shots."

Defenseman Quintin McCarthy says the team was focused on playing strong 'D'.

"We knew that we had to stay back more and play defense," he said. "We had to make sure that they didn't get as many shots, and just keep them out of the zone."

It was emotional night for the Eskymos as they played without Dylan Gauthier, who severely injured his leg in Thursday night's game against Hartland.

Gauthier underwent emergency surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center Friday morning after his left skate slashed his right leg, breaking two bones and severing the Achille's tendon. Gauthier will undergo more surgery on Tuesday and will be in the hospital for up to a week.

The entire Eskymo team visited him at the hospital Friday afternoon.

Nicky LeMire two shorthanded saves.

"We all talked about how we wanted to get this one for Dyl," Wunder said. "We knew he was going to be listening (to the Internet broadcast). He's one of our brothers. You hate to see him go down like that.

"We love you, Dyl. We got that one for you!"

Escanaba (16-3-0) wraps up Showcase play Saturday afternoon against the host Chelsea Bulldogs. Chelsea is 14-4-2 and is ranked No. 12 in the state in Division Three.

Game time is 12:30. It will be broadcast live on WCHT-AM (600), and will be streamed live over the Internet at www.rrnsports.com.

You can click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see more photos and videos, and listen to radio replays and player interviews. Thanks to Todd Myrick for the photos and Luke Anthony for the videos.

Game 19: Escanaba Eskymos 1, Rochester United 0

ROCHESTER 0 0 0----0
ESCANABA 0 0 1----1

First Period
No Scoring

Second Period
No Scoring

Third Period
ESC 1-0: Wunder 33 (Eastin, Vandermissen) 11:33

Escanaba Penalties (5/10): Myrick 2 tripping; Lyle 2 cross-checking; Lasecki 2 cross-checking; Lyle 2 holding; Lasecki 2 roughing.

Rochester Penalties (1/2): Shell 2 hooking.

Power Plays: Rochester 0/5; Escanaba 0/1.
Shots on Goal: Rochester 9-17-9=35; Escanaba 10-10-12=32.
Three Stars: 1. McCarthy, ESC; 2. LeMire, ESC and Patenaude, ROC; 3. Wunder, ESC.

Levi Wunder (21) winds up for a shot as Dan Ritter (19) waits for a possible rebound. (Todd Myrick photo)

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