Carney-Nadeau boys basketball team will face a powerful Pellston Hornets team in the Class D state quarterfinal Tuesday night in Sault Ste. Marie. The Hornets are led by senior Chris Hass, who has scored 2,492 points in his career and will attend Bucknell University next year.
The Escanaba Junior Hockey Association held its annual banquet Monday night, and announced its top awards winners for the just-completed hockey season. The top award, the Ovid Provo Award, went to graduating senior John LeMire. LeMire was a defenseman on the Eskymo hockey team this season, scoring three goals and nine assists this season. He had a +9 rating. Also, Erin Gregoire of the Great Lakes Wolfpack Under-19 girls hockey team won the Herbert Kristen Award.
The Escanaba High School Fan Club held its annual "Spring Fling" event over the weekend, and as part of the evening, two awards were handed out.
The Escanaba School Board voted 5-1 Monday night to hire Kirk Schwalbach as the high school's varsity baseball coach. Schwalbach served as assistant coach for the past three years under Don Lauscher. Lauscher resigned last fall after five years in charge. Schwalbach has coached five different Gladstone Little League Baseball All-Star teams over the past decade. He was the manager of the Delta County Senior All-Stars that earned a state tournament appearance in 2009. He is a 1979 Escanaba HS graduate.
The Michigan Tech Huskies were less than five minutes away from their first WCHA Final Five win in more than 15 years before ninth-ranked Denver turned the tables and came away with a 3-2 overtime victory in front of 11,489 fans in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday. The Huskies led, 2-1, before DU's Luke Salazar scored, sending the game to overtime. Then, 2:38 into the extra session, Denver’s Jason Zucker scored the game-winner.
The Upper Peninsula will not be home to a high school girls basketball state champion this year as the Saint Ignace Saints and Crystal Falls Forest Park Trojans both lost their state semifinal games on Thursday at Michigan State University.
The 74th annual Gold Medal Basketball Tournament is being held this weekend in the small Menominee County town of Hermansville. The tournament began Thursday night with four games, and five more games were held Friday.
The temperatures were 70 degrees and the skies were sunny on Wednesday, so the Escanaba high School boys baseball and girls softball teams took advantage by holding scrimmages and practices outside, rather than in the gym
The Escanaba High School hockey team held its post-season banquet Wednesday night at the House of Ludington. Supporters gathered with the team for a meal of chicken and pasta, and an awards ceremony.
Negaunee Miners pulled out a 47-46 win over the Iron Mountain Mountaineers in the Class C boys basketball regional championship game Wednesday night in Escanaba. The top-ranked Miners trailed, 34-29, entering the fourth quarter but rallied down the stretch to take the lead, as Tyler Jandron scored 17 points.
Carney-Nadeau High School has seen many girls basketball teams go downstate over the past 25 years. But the boys basketball program had never won a regional title, until Wednesday night, that is. The Wolves beat the Munising Mustangs, 57-51, to win the Class D title at Negaunee High School.
The most successful season in the history of Gladstone High School girls basketball seemed destined to end, one way or another, at Michigan State University's Breslin Center. The girls were playing their best basketball of the season, clicking on all cylinders, riding high on a 24-game winning streak. But Tuesday night at Alma College, the Gladstone girls simply ran into a better team. The Freeland Falcons had too much firepower and the Braves could not match them offensively, losing, 66-52, in the Class B state quarterfinal game in central Lower Michigan.
The Carney-Nadeau Wolves won their first boys basketball district championship Friday night, turning back the Bark River-Harris Broncos, 58-56, in overtime.
The Gladstone High School girls basketball team had a rough first quarter in Thursday night's Class B regional championship game against Ludington. But after falling behind, 15-6, the girls ramped up the defensive intensity and overwhelmed the Orioles, 65-54, in Gaylord. Jammie Botruff scored 21 points, including 14 free throws, and Katie Becker added 16 as the Braves won their second straight regional title.
The Gladstone High School boys basketball team had a poor first quarter, falling behind, 15-4, and was eliminated by the Menominee Maroons, 60-50, in the Class B district semifinals Wednesday in Gladstone. The Braves gave up too many offensive rebounds, and the quick Maroon guards were able to get numerous steals that were turned into baskets at the other end of the court. Jared Vuksan led the Braves with 19 points, and his team closed to within seven points on several occassions in the fourth quarter. But Menominee's Jared Rivard nailed long jumpers on all three occassions to hold Gladstone at bay, finishing with 16 points. Bryan Hines had 14 points for the Maroons.
The Escanaba High School boys basketball team did not roll over and let the highly ranked Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils dominate them. Despite the amount of youth on the floor Wednesday night, Eskymo Coach Tracy Hudson and his boys executed a strong game plan and nearly set the U.P. basketball world on its ears. Escanaba led for most of the game but lost to the Blue Devils, 64-58, in overtime. The Eskymos led early, 15-5, and had a 35-27 lead at the half. The EHS lead was 51-42 with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but the Sault Ste. Marie defensive pressure eventually took its toll. The Soo finished the game on a 22-7 run.
The Gladstone Braves got off to a good start Tuesday night and kept on rolling throughout the game, turning back the Gladwin Flying G's, 72-44, in the Class B regional semifinals in Gaylord. Jammie Botruff scored eight of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter, and Erin Boddy also scored eight points in that first quarter as the Braves built a 17-7 lead. The lead grew to 39-17 at the half, and 51-19 in the third quarter, and the girls were on cruise control from there.
The Rapid River High School boys basketball team opened the post-season Monday with a workmanlike 68-50 win over the Engadine Eagles. Sophomore Jake Pearson scored 26 points to lead the way for the Rockets (12-9). Senior Connor Frisch led Engadine (3-18) with 18 points, including four three's, all in the second half. The two teams were tied at 17 in the second quarter when the Rockets went on a 9-0 run to take control. The lead grew to 33-22 at the half, and 53-37 in the fourth quarter.
The Gladstone Braves repeated as Class B District Champions on Saturday, beating the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils, 61-39, at the Gladstone High School. In Friday night's Class B semifinal against the Escanaba Eskymos, the Braves built a 32-17 lead at halftime, but had to hang on at the end as Escanaba had several chances to score.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association's wrestling state finals wrapped up on Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Eskymo 285 pounder Dalton Spear (pictured below on the podium, third from left) won his first two matches, but then lost his last three matches. Spear ended up finishing sixth in the state. Esky sophomore Travis Heller won two of his first three matches, then lost twice on Saturday and finished eighth at 135 pounds. Gladstone's Josh Kadish won one match and lost two others, and did not place.
Somewhere, Mark Bruce is smiling. All Eskymo hockey fans remember Bruce (also known as "Pudge") who scored a goal in overtime to help the Eskymos beat the Marquette Redmen in a 2007 playoff game. That goal was waived off, incorrectly, by the on-ice officials at Lakeview Arena. Marquette ended up winning that 2007 game in triple overtime, 4-3. But Thursday night, six years later, the Escanaba Eskymos finally got one for "Pudge", and for all of the Eskymo hockey players who served as Marquette's punching bag on the way to long tournament runs.
The plan didn't work exactly the way Phil Griebel wanted it to work. But in the end, it worked. Griebel started several players who normally do not see much playing time on "Senior Night" and the Braves fell behind the Manistique Emeralds, 14-0, halfway through the first quarter. The team pulled together to get to within one point at halftime, and went on a 25-2 run in the second half to close the regular season with a 71-59 win. Four Gladstone Braves scored in double figures, and a couple of guys took turns at helping the team dig out from underneath that 14-0 hole.
Finally, the road show is over for the Escanaba Eskymo hockey team. After nine straight games away from home. After traveling a total of 1,911 miles from one end of Michigan to the other. After late-night bus rides, hotel check-ins and check-outs, and 30 days since their last home game, the Eskymos beat the Negaunee Miners, 3-0, Monday night, in their playoff opener at Negaunee Arena.
The Hannahville High School boys basketball team won the Northern Lights Tournament championship on Saturday, beating regular season co-champ Maplewood Baptist, 57-51, in overtime in Hannahville. Martin Thorbahn nailed four three-pointers, including the game-winner in the extra session. Alec Wandashega and Seth Williams both added a dozen points, with Williams scoring two overtime baskets. The Eagles also beat Beaver Island, 74-23, in a tournament semifinal.
The Hannahville Soaring Eagles girls basketball team won their first Northern Lights Tournament championship Saturday afternoon, topping Grand Marais, 41-33, in the title game. Hannahville also beat Maplewood Baptist, 41-31, in a semifinal match-up Saturday morning, and beat Mackinac Island Friday.
The Gladstone Braves have played with most of the top teams in the Upper Peninsula this season, but have ended up on the short end of the stick more times than not. But Friday night in Escanaba, the Braves finally got a break from the gods who look down on high school basketball. Blake Ballard's leaping rebound and shot off a Jared Vuksan miss as time ran out gave the Braves an emotional 66-65 win over an Escanaba team that left it all on the court. The buzzer-beater capped a game that saw both teams go on offensive spurts, but neither could pull away from the other.
The Gladstone High School wrestling team bolted to a 28-0 lead Wednesday, but the Roscommon Bucks rallied to post a 38-32 win in the Division Three regional championship match in Manistique. Chris Walters (171), Jack Kronick (215), Tommy Bailey (285), and Jake Kujala (103) all posted pins, and Jake Kronick (189) posted a major decision win as the Braves built that 28-0 lead. After Roscommon took a 32-28 lead, Braves freshman Keenan Barron won a 9-1 major decision from Bradley Briggs to tie the match at 32-32. That left a trip to Battle Creek on the line for the final two matches.
The Escanaba High School wrestling pulled out an emotional 39-36 victory over Bay City Western in the Division Two Regional semifinals Wednesday night in Bay City. Eskymo senior Jake Drage won the match by pinning his opponent with his team trailing by three points. Sophomore Travis Heller had another Eskymo highlight by winning a marathon match that went into triple overtime. But in the end, the wrestling powerhouse Greenville eliminated the Eskymos again in the final, 49-6. Heller had Escanaba's only victory in the regional championship match.
The Kingsford High School wrestling team got off to a good start Wednesday night, taking a 24-3 lead over the Roscommon Bucks in the Division Three regional semifinals in Manistique. But the Bucks had too much firepower and the Flivvers had to give away a few forfeits, and Roscommon won the semifinal match, 51-24.
The Gladstone Braves got six pins and posted a 45-33 win over the Benzie Central Huskies in the Division Three regional semifinals Wednesday night in Manistique. Chris Walters (171), Jake Kronick (189), Jack Kronick (215), Tommy Bailey (285), Sam Taylor (135), and Josh Kadish (145) all earned six points.
