HOUGHTON---Parker LaMarch scored a pair of goals and Jack Valentine made a huge save late in the third period to lead the Escanaba Eskymos to a 3-3 tie with the Houghton Gremlins at Dee Stadium.
The tie gave the Eskymos three of four points from Houghton.
It was a tie that could be looked at two ways.
One, the Eskymos blew an opportunity to put the Gremlins away when they outshot the home team 24-4 in the first two periods but were only tied at 2-2. But another way to look at it is the Gremlins carried the play in the thrd period but the Eskymos earned a standings point in a very tough building to play in.
"We had a lot of scoring chances and it's a matter of a few of them going in," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "Then, you're up by two goals and it changes the whole feel of the game. But give credit to both teams. Both teams played hard and played physical."
"I'm tired," Eskymo captain Calvin Pinar admitted. "It was a battle. The whole game was a battle. It's kind of a mixed feelings kind of thing. We're happy with the tie because they had a lot of chances. But then also, it's a shame that we didn't win because we had so many opportunities to put the puck in the net."
Escanaba outshot Houghton, 15-2, in the first period, but the Gremlins led, 1-0, on a goal by Reid Pietila. But just over two minutes into the second period, Pinar found Chris LeMire with the long pass, and LeMire scored off the breakway to tie the game at 1-1.
The Eskymos pounced on the change in momentum to draw a power play, and LaMarch scored at the 3:52 mark to put his team in front. But later in the period, the Gremlins scored on a Jacob Kruse shot as their power play ended, and the game was tied at 2-2.
Early in the third period, LaMarch was in the right place at the right time as the Gremlins turned the puck over near goaltender Dmitri Kochan. LaMarch ripped it for a 3-2 lead.
The rest of that period seemed to belong to Houghton, however.
Kruse scored less than two minutes after LaMarch tallied to re-tie the game at 3-3. Then, with 22 seconds left in the third period, Wyatt Liston was robbed of the winner by Valentine in net.
"There was kind of a battle in the corner and their guy came out with the puck," Valentine said. "He passed it across the slot to one of their players, and I just slid across and I happened to get lucky with my blocker and made the save."
That got the game to overtime, and both teams had their chances, but the game ended in a tie. After Escanaba outshot Houghton, 24-4, in the first two periods, the Gremlins outshot the Eskymos, 17-11, in the third period and overtime period. The final shots were 35-21 Escanaba.
Escanaba's record is now 14-5-3 on the season.
The Eskymos will be back in the Copper Country next weekend for two games: in Calumet and Hancock. The game on Friday against Calumet starts at 5:00 and can be heard on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and at www.rrnsports.com. Saturday's game with Hancock starts at 1:00. It will be broadacst on AM-600, and at rrnsports.com.
SATURDAY'S OTHER U.P. SCORES---Marquette mercied Ashwaubenon (Wis.) 8-0 st Lakeview Arena...Kingsford made the long trip to Ashland, Wis., and beat the Ore Dockers, 3-2, in overtime. And Sault Ste. Marie won on the road at Alpena, 5-3.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to listen to radio replays, interviews.
The tie gave the Eskymos three of four points from Houghton.
It was a tie that could be looked at two ways.
"We had a lot of scoring chances and it's a matter of a few of them going in," Escanaba Coach Matt Hughes said. "Then, you're up by two goals and it changes the whole feel of the game. But give credit to both teams. Both teams played hard and played physical."
"I'm tired," Eskymo captain Calvin Pinar admitted. "It was a battle. The whole game was a battle. It's kind of a mixed feelings kind of thing. We're happy with the tie because they had a lot of chances. But then also, it's a shame that we didn't win because we had so many opportunities to put the puck in the net."
Escanaba outshot Houghton, 15-2, in the first period, but the Gremlins led, 1-0, on a goal by Reid Pietila. But just over two minutes into the second period, Pinar found Chris LeMire with the long pass, and LeMire scored off the breakway to tie the game at 1-1.
Early in the third period, LaMarch was in the right place at the right time as the Gremlins turned the puck over near goaltender Dmitri Kochan. LaMarch ripped it for a 3-2 lead.
The rest of that period seemed to belong to Houghton, however.
Kruse scored less than two minutes after LaMarch tallied to re-tie the game at 3-3. Then, with 22 seconds left in the third period, Wyatt Liston was robbed of the winner by Valentine in net.
"There was kind of a battle in the corner and their guy came out with the puck," Valentine said. "He passed it across the slot to one of their players, and I just slid across and I happened to get lucky with my blocker and made the save."
Escanaba's record is now 14-5-3 on the season.
The Eskymos will be back in the Copper Country next weekend for two games: in Calumet and Hancock. The game on Friday against Calumet starts at 5:00 and can be heard on WGKL-FM (105.5), WCHT-AM (600), and at www.rrnsports.com. Saturday's game with Hancock starts at 1:00. It will be broadacst on AM-600, and at rrnsports.com.
SATURDAY'S OTHER U.P. SCORES---Marquette mercied Ashwaubenon (Wis.) 8-0 st Lakeview Arena...Kingsford made the long trip to Ashland, Wis., and beat the Ore Dockers, 3-2, in overtime. And Sault Ste. Marie won on the road at Alpena, 5-3.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos and videos taken by Mary Gauthier, and to listen to radio replays, interviews.
