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Home ice pays off for Houghton in 3-0 victory over Novi

Houghton’s Patrick Donnelly and Novi’s Logan Londo give chase Saturday at Dee Stadium. (Eden Laase/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Gremlins were made to play in the Dee, and the Dee is the perfect place for them. It’s smaller than most hockey arenas, so it allows the Gremlins to use their skating ability and physicality to over-power visiting teams. In other words, it is a match made in high school hockey heaven.

The perfect partnership was on full display and Houghton thrived on its small sheet of ice, Saturday, as the Gremlins defeated Novi 3-0.

“A lot of teams, when we play at the Dee it is a little bit shocking for them because the Dee is smaller and we skate well so they have to make quick decisions, and a lot of teams that don’t play here very often aren’t ready for that,” coach Corey Markham said. “I thought that was the case today where we were on top of them quicker than they were ready. We have a few kids who are physically big and strong, so when they finish checks it makes it hard on the other teams.”

Novi tried to combat the size and strength of Houghton by playing only two lines, in hopes of keeping bigger players on the ice. The strategy worked early, as Novi and Houghton went into the first intermission tied at 0.

The Wildcats were also helped by their junior goalie Ethan Hunsinger, who had 16 saves in the period. Despite not netting a goal in the first frame, Houghton was still the dominant team, outshooting Novi 16-3.

Novi couldn’t continue playing with just two lines as the Wildcats began to get winded in the second period. The Gremlins took advantage and Dawson McKay gave them a 1-0 lead with 2:16 left in the frame when his shot dinged off the crossbar and past Hunsinger.

“We had a lot of good looks and I just thought their goalie was playing extremely well, and sometimes that happens,” Markham said. “You just have to hope you get a bounce and eventually crack it, and I thought we kept going, and then Dawson had that great shot off the crossbar to break the shutout and that took some stress off the kids.”

Then, a minute later, Brendan Erickson made it 2-0 on an assist from McKay.

“In the first period, I thought we matched up really well,” Novi coach Mark Vellucci said. “They have some bigger players than us, and we went with two lines there for a while. I think we ran out of gas in the second and those couple goals we got late were kind of tough for us.”

With 14:25 remaining in the third period, Taavi Rajala scored and put the game completely out of reach for Novi, but it was Houghton’s defense in the second period that really made the difference.

Houghton was whistled for checking from behind with 9:43 to go in the second period, and the Gremlins had to kill five minutes of power play. Then, things got worse when a trip was called and Novi was awarded a 5-on-3 advantage.

The penalties led to Nori’s most productive attack, with seven shots in the period, but Houghton defended well and the Wildcats couldn’t find the net.

“Whatever shots we had today were kind of outside the area, we didn’t go to the net hard,” Vellucci said. “There were a couple of rebound opportunities for us and we were just standing around watching.”

Jimmy Pietila, Houghton’s goalie, was also a force to be reckoned with, and according to Markham, he was the player behind Houghton’s defensive success.

“I thought we did a nice job killing, we stayed in the lanes very well and Jimmy made the saves when we needed them,” Markham said. “When you are 5-on-3, your goaltender needs to play really well and he did a nice job being out in the crease and cutting down the angle. He was a big part of the penalty kill.”

The win puts Houghton at 7-5-1 and was a good way to end a weekend that started with a 5-1 loss to Brighton.

“I was really happy with the bounce back,” Markham said. “You know after you lose having a quick turnaround like that can be a good thing because you get back in and have a good taste in your mouth for the rest of the weekend. I thought we responded well and we were ready for the game today.”

Next up, Houghton travels to Negaunee on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

– – –

Novi    0       0       0       —       0

Houghton        0       2       1       —       3

First period

None

Second period

Houghton — Dawson McKay (Patrick Donnelly), 13:44, 1-0.

Houghton — Brendan Erickson (McKay), 15:58, 2-0.

Third period

Houghton — Taavi Rajala (McKay), 3:35, 3-0.

Saves

Novi: Ethan Hunsinger 43, Houghton: Jimmy Pietila 14.

Penalties

Novi: 5/10; Houghton 6/15.

Power plays

Novi: 0/6; Houghton: 0/5

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