Holiday Classic: Houghton routs Jeffers, 9-1
Gremlins to face Calumet in Holiday Classic title game
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HOUGHTON -- Houghton put the pressure on early with a strong forecheck and pummeled Jeffers 9-1 in the opener of the 45th annual John MacInnes Holiday Hockey Classic on Friday.
The Gremlins face Calumet in the Holiday Classic championship at 3 p.m. Saturday at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Copper Kings doused Hancock 7-0 in the other game.
Hancock plays Jeffers in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Freshman Gaborik Carlson scored five points to lead the Gremlins, including his first two career high school goals. He also had three assists for a strong night with linemates Tucker Tapani and Camden Markham. The three of them combined for eight points. Tapani had two goals and Markham had an assist.
"Tucker Tapani, Camden and Carlson really were moving their feet well tonight," Houghton head coach Corey Markham said. "Gaborik scored his first goal and ended up with a five-point night. He was phenomenal. We were all waiting for him to score his first goal because he's a highly skilled guy for a freshman. He got his first two tonight and three assists also. That line produced a lot of goals for us and it was a fun game for them."
Carlson's first goal came when the Gremlins dumped it into Jeffers' zone. The puck deflected into the crease off a stanchion and Carlson tapped it into the net while Jeffers goalie Noah Nettell looked the opposite direction for the puck to come across behind his net. By the time he knew what had happened, the puck was behind him, inside his net, and Carlson celebrated his first high school goal. One of his teammates collected the puck and took it to the bench.
Houghton scored four goals in the first period as Jeffers struggled to break up the Gremlins' forecheck. Houghton established zone pressure early and wore Jeffers down in its defensive zone. Nettell weathered the storm as best he could, making 26 saves on 35 shots.
"We didn't show up. Lack of effort, lack of confidence, lack of motivation and lack of want," Jeffers head coach Pat Nettell said. "I wasn't happy at all. We set a standard earlier this year and we didn't come close to it tonight.
"(Noah Nettell) did pretty good. He got left dry out there. They're skating all over in front of our net and not one of our guys went
knocking a guy down to clear the area. He was getting picked apart all night."
Jeffers didn't manage a shot on Houghton goalie Matthew Ryynanen in the third period. Ryynanen finished the game with six saves on seven shots.
Jeffers' lone goal came in the second period on a penalty shot by Matthew Halonen.
"Matthew didn't have a lot of action, but I thought he was pretty sharp when he was called upon," Markham said. "The penalty shot's a tough one to have to face. The kid made a real nice move and had a nice backhand shot."
Brandon Norkol, Carson Stevens, Milo Schaefer, Niko Rajala and Nathan Erva also scored goals for Houghton.
The gameplan against Jeffers was to forecheck aggressively all night, Markham said.
"The gameplan was to forecheck hard, get as many pucks on net as possible and just be hungry around the net," Markham said. "I thought we did a good job of that early. We took a few penalties right at the end of the period, but I was happy with how the team played overall."
Markham said playing in the Holiday Classic is a memorable occasion with fans dotted throughout the 4,466-seat arena.
"It's such a special time of year because so many people have family, friends in town, so the crowds are always big," Markham said. "That atmosphere adds to the whole tournament. We have four teams that are gonna be in the playoffs. It's a dress rehearsal at the halfway point in the season. That's what you look for -- just how we stack up. And you're playing for a championship, so that's always exciting too."
While Jeffers plays all its home games at the arena, Nettell said he wished his team performed better in the special setting of the tournament.
"We're fired up to be in this tournament and we wanted to make a good show," he said. "That's just pretty disappointing we didn't."
Jeffers 0 1 0 -- 1
Houghton 4 3 2 -- 9
First Period--1, HOU, Norkol, 4:31. 2, HOU, Carlson (Stevens), 7:11. 3, HOU, Tapani (Carlson, Johnson), 12:47. 4, HOU, Carlson (Schaefer, Stevens), 14:42. Penalties--HOU, Tapani (roughing), 8:10. HOU, Erva (hooking), 15:39. HOU, N. Rajala (roughing), 15:52.
Second Period--5, HOU, Tapani (Carlson, Johnson), 4:50. 6, JEF, Halonen, 9:54, ps. 7, HOU, Erva (Markham), 13:52, pp. 8, HOU, N. Rajala (Schaefer), 16:39. Penalties--JEF, Lavigne (tripping), 8:25. JEF, Storm (hooking), 14:41.
Third Period--9, HOU, Schaefer (Carlson), 1:37. 10, HOU, Stevens, 5:44. Penalties--JEF, Rocchi (too many men), 5:35.
Shots on Goal--JEF 3-4-0--7. HOU 16-15-4--35.
Power-play Opportunities--JEF 0 of 3. HOU 1 of 3.
Goalies--JEF, Nettell 12-12-2--26 saves. HOU, Ryynanen 3-3-0.
Penalties-minutes--JEF 3-6; HOU 3-6.