Escanaba's Brodie Goddard makes a save against Calumet's Dean Loukus in the second period of Calumet's 9-1 win on Tuesday in Calumet. (Eden Laase/Daily Mining Gazette)

CALUMET — Standing outside his team’s locker room in a dimly-lit hallway, all Escanaba coach Matt Hughes could do was shake his head. The pink stat sheet in his hand said it all; No. 2 Calumet’s side of the paper was scribbled with numbers and timestamps of goals, and Escanaba’s was virtually empty.

So the coach signed, gave a half smile and tipped his metaphorical cap to the Copper Kings (11-11-2). After a 9-1 mercy-rule loss to Calumet, what else could Hughes do?

“Hats off to them; they are a good hockey club,” he said, “They are so fast and so skilled. They are a good team to model after, actually.”

The Copper Kings made quick work of the Eskymos (6-17) Tuesday in Calumet, owning a 4-1 lead, and 20-6 shot advantage after the first period. 

There are 12 players on the ice (barring penalties), but it’s not a stretch to say Calumet’s Sam Erkkila controlled the first frame on his own. By the 11:30 mark, Erkkila already had a hat trick, and three minutes later he assisted on Calumet’s fourth goal. He’d score twice more before the game was out.

“Three goals in 11 minutes, that was huge for us and huge for him,” Calumet coach Dan Giachino said. “To finish the night with five goals and six points, that is a career night for a lot of kids. To have that kind of effort and result from Sam tonight, and see that scoring touch going into playoffs is huge for us. We need him to be at his best next week, and this was hopefully a good preview of what is to come.”

Erkkila was responsible for a good portion of Hughes’ head shaking. Especially since he, along with Brent Loukus, was supposed to be the focal point of Escanaba’s defense.

“Part of the game plan is to try and slow down No. 8 (Erkkila) and No. 4 (Loukus), and unfortunately we were not up to that task,” he said. “Erkkila is so quick and skilled. You get him and Loukus on the power play together, and it is bad news for us.”

Loukus also scored twice in the game.

Escanaba attempted to make adjustments between periods,but in the end Calumet had too many weapons.

“We just tried to slow them down a little bit and keep them to the outside,” Hughes said. “We were telling the boys to never give up on plays. We are not going to match their speed, but we have to slow them down and be physical and try to create some scoring chances of our own, which we did not do.”

Calumet outshot Escanaba 43-14. 

The Copper Kings used their speed to beat Escanaba up the ice and their strength to create turnovers and second-chance opportunities. While most teams are blessed with speed or strength, Calumet is starting to assert itself as a team with both. And with regionals rapidly approaching, the Copper Kings are playing their best hockey at the best time. 

“That is kind of the strength of our team, is our speed and getting the puck into the zone down below the goal line,” Giachino said. “We have to have that little bit of physicality to create the turnovers. Obviously we are a little bit more reliant on our speed, but I keep stressing to the kids, we don’t have to hit hard, but we have to hit hard enough to separate guys from the puck, and that is what we have been able to do.”

The game was destined to be a blowout from the start, with Calumet winning the last matchup 10-2, but Giachino was impressed with his team’s work ethic throughout the game. With such a sizable lead and a mercy-rule victory in sight, the Copper Kings could have played at half speed, but they never let up.

“We worked hard right until the last shift,” Giachino said. “We really pushed tonight finishing the periods and finishing hard the entire time. Once you get up by five or six goals, it is easy to let off the gas a little bit and kind of relax, but I thought we did an excellent job tonight of finishing the game as hard as we possibly could.”

Calumet, Giachino says, has always prided itself on working hard, and Hughes took notice.

“Their work ethic sets a great example for anyone who plays against them,” he said. “They have a great work ethic, and it is something to be proud of and something that our boys can take away.”

Next up Calumet heads to Marquette on Thursday at 7 p.m. before facing Jeffers for regionals on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. 

– – –

Escanaba 1 0 0 — 1

Calumet 4 4 1 — 9

First period

Calumet — Sam Erkkila (Dean Loukus, Davin Lehto), 2:30, 1-0. 

Calumet — Erkkila (Dean Loukus, Josh VanDenburg), 4:37, 2-0.

Escanaba — Kyle Krutina (Ezekiel Strand, Luke Labre), 9:40, 2-1.

Calumet — Erkkila, 11:30, 3-1. 

Calumet — Brent Loukus (Cam Kauppinen, Erkkila), 14:41, 4-1.

Second period

Calumet — Erkkila (Tanner Rowe, Lehto), 5:39, 5-1.

Calumet — Alex Matilla (Gabe Coppo, Tyler Johnson), 6:23, 6-1.

Calumet — Scott Loukus (Rowe, Rylan Anderson), 7:19, 7-1. 

Calumet –Brent Loukus (Dean Loukus, Anderson), 12:21, 8-1.

Third period 

Calumet — Sam Erkkila (Rowe), 7:38, 9-1.

Saves

Escanaba: Brodie Goddard 34; Calumet: Nock Voelker 13. 

Penalties

Escanaba: 4/8; Calumet: 3/6.

Power plays:

Ecanaba: 1/3; Calumet: 1/4.