CHELSEA, Mich.---It was a hard-hitting game all afternoon Friday between the Escanaba Eskymos and the Marysville Vikings at the Michigan Public High School Hockey Showcase in downstate Chelsea.
But one hit in particular became a big part of the way the game ended as the Eskymos skated to a 6-2 win over the Vikings at the Arctic Coliseum.
With 5:29 left in the third period, the Eskymos were clinging to a 3-2 lead when freshman Chris LeMire went in all alone on goal.
He didn't score, but was crushed into the boards by Marysville captain Kyle King.
King was given a major penalty for checking from behind. Escanaba took full advantage of that five-minute power play, scoring three times on it to pull away to the victory.
Eskymo Coach Matt Hughes had been arguing with the officials throughout the game for what he thought were hits that should have been penalties.
"There were some discrepanies with the refereeing at the beginning of the game, and atht's one thing, as a coach, you want to protect your players," Hughes said. "I voiced my opinion to him. I probably said as much as I could without crossing that line."
Hughes said that literally nothing was being called.
"Calvin Pinar got run from behind," Hughes said. "Levi (Wunder) is on a partial breakaway and he got tripped up coming down the boards. Then they'd take the guys' feet out from underneath us in front of our bench. So, I voiced my opinion, and it paid off."
And so that put Escanaba on the five-minute power play, and it took just over a minute for the Eskymos to cash in.
Wunder set up senior Steve Wood for a tap-in goal with 4:19 left in the game to make it 4-2. Then Wunder scored himself with 2:18 left.
Then came the icing on the cake. Escanaba's fourth line of Dominic Aos, Blaine Borman, and Jack Williams came through. The pint-sized Williams made a nice pass to defenseman Derek Chaillier, and the captain fired it home to make it a 6-2 final.
"We put all four lines out there for that power play at some point," Hughes said. "Each player got a little power play time. They did that very well. That's what we've been preaching for them to do.
"When you get an opportunity in the game, no matter what it is, you take advantage of that and capitalize on it."
The game got off to a wild start as each team scored twice in the first 7:20. Wunder set up Wood for a goal just 48 seconds into the game, but Marysville tied it on a Nick Henry goal. Just ten seconds after that goal, Chaillier scored on a wrap-around.
The Eskymos got caught running around a bit just two minutes later, and the Vikings made them pay on a Jordan Horne goal to tie the game at 2-2. It stayed that way until late in the second period, when Wunder scored to give the Eskymos a 3-2 lead.
In the end, Wunder, Wood and Chaillier all scored two goals. Wunder was picked as the game's #1 star. And he got the team's Hard Hat award.
"With his speed and his ability, he creates so much for his linemates," Hughes said of Wunder. "He made some great plays where the goalie and everyone on the ice thought he was going to shoot. It was very unselfish of him and it was good to see."
Senior defenseman Quintin McCarthy was picked as the game's #2 star.
"They ended up with some odd-man rushes and Q broke up a few of them," Hughes said. "He held the blue line very well offensively, too."
And Williams got the game's #3 star.
"They (the fourth line) really stepped up," Hughes said. "We need to learn to win as a team. Jack made an excellent pass to Derek on that last power play goal."
Escanaba improved to 12-6-2 on the season while Marysville fell to 5-13-0.
The Eskymos play their final game at the Showcase on Saturday afternoon against Berkley. Game time is 12:30 and it can be heard live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier. Also, listen to replays and interviews.
But one hit in particular became a big part of the way the game ended as the Eskymos skated to a 6-2 win over the Vikings at the Arctic Coliseum.
He didn't score, but was crushed into the boards by Marysville captain Kyle King.
King was given a major penalty for checking from behind. Escanaba took full advantage of that five-minute power play, scoring three times on it to pull away to the victory.
Eskymo Coach Matt Hughes had been arguing with the officials throughout the game for what he thought were hits that should have been penalties.
"There were some discrepanies with the refereeing at the beginning of the game, and atht's one thing, as a coach, you want to protect your players," Hughes said. "I voiced my opinion to him. I probably said as much as I could without crossing that line."
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"Calvin Pinar got run from behind," Hughes said. "Levi (Wunder) is on a partial breakaway and he got tripped up coming down the boards. Then they'd take the guys' feet out from underneath us in front of our bench. So, I voiced my opinion, and it paid off."
Wunder set up senior Steve Wood for a tap-in goal with 4:19 left in the game to make it 4-2. Then Wunder scored himself with 2:18 left.
Then came the icing on the cake. Escanaba's fourth line of Dominic Aos, Blaine Borman, and Jack Williams came through. The pint-sized Williams made a nice pass to defenseman Derek Chaillier, and the captain fired it home to make it a 6-2 final.
"We put all four lines out there for that power play at some point," Hughes said. "Each player got a little power play time. They did that very well. That's what we've been preaching for them to do.
"When you get an opportunity in the game, no matter what it is, you take advantage of that and capitalize on it."
Steve Wood PPG makes it 4-2
The Eskymos got caught running around a bit just two minutes later, and the Vikings made them pay on a Jordan Horne goal to tie the game at 2-2. It stayed that way until late in the second period, when Wunder scored to give the Eskymos a 3-2 lead.
"With his speed and his ability, he creates so much for his linemates," Hughes said of Wunder. "He made some great plays where the goalie and everyone on the ice thought he was going to shoot. It was very unselfish of him and it was good to see."
Senior defenseman Quintin McCarthy was picked as the game's #2 star.
"They ended up with some odd-man rushes and Q broke up a few of them," Hughes said. "He held the blue line very well offensively, too."
And Williams got the game's #3 star.
Derek Chaillier PP Goal makes it 6-2
Escanaba improved to 12-6-2 on the season while Marysville fell to 5-13-0.
The Eskymos play their final game at the Showcase on Saturday afternoon against Berkley. Game time is 12:30 and it can be heard live on WCHT-AM (600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier. Also, listen to replays and interviews.
