BOUNCING BACK: Eskymo Hockey Routs Shawano
Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos taken by Liz Taylor, and click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Sam Spear, Hunter Allen, and Coach Andy Johnson. Also, click to hear Carson Hughes' player spotlight interview.
WELLS---The Escanaba High School hockey team scored three goals in the first 2:45 of the game and coasted to a 8-0 win over the Shawano-Bonduel combined team from Wisconsin Friday night.
Two Eskymos, Hunter Allen and Sam Spear, scored third first-ever Eskymo goals in the win. The Eskymos outshot the overmatched Hawks, 33-3, in a game shortened to two periods by the mercy rule. Escanaba improved to 10-11-0 on the season while Shawano fell to 6-11-0.
The win helps to make up for a rough 4-0 loss for the Eskymos the night before against Painesdale-Jeffers. And what was the most sweet was allowing four guys who rarely see the ice (Hunter Allen, Sam Spear, Anthony Potvin, Brody Lavesque) to not just play, but play a lot.
And the guys who normally play, led by senior Brett Labre, did what they could to get the puck to those four guys all night long. Labre ended up with a three-assist playmaker, and he scored a goal. The team's leading scorer, Graham Johnson, had two more goals Friday before spending the rest of his night trying to set up the four "bench" guys.
Allen, who had a prime scoring chance slide under his stick in Negaunee on Tuesday, made no mistake this time, as he rifled a shot past goaltender Kaiden Thornborrow for the seventh goal of the night. And then it was Spear, playing for the first time, getting his stick on a goal-mouth pass from Labre to tip home his first-ever Eskymo goal.
Nolan Bink and Cale Carter also scored for the Eskymos against a Hawks team that is coached by Escanaba High School graduate and hockey player Adam Gafner. Shawano-Bonduel had only one scoring chance against Eskymo goaltender Cully Hayes, among three total shots.
Escanaba returns to action Tuesday night in Manistique, against an Emeralds team that nearly beat the Eskymos before having a three-goal meltdown in the final two minutes last month in Escanaba. The only two times the Eskymos and Emeralds have played each other in Manistique, the game went to overtime, and both times, Escanaba came out with the victory.
Tuesday's game starts at 7:00 and it will be broadcast on FM-93.5, AM-600, and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.
