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WITH GALLERY: Houghton routs rival Bulldogs, 8-2

Gremlins score 4 goals in 2nd to seal victory

Houghton's Camden Markham (9) scores his first goal against Hancock goalie Isaak Pietila (1) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HANCOCK — A high school hockey game can change in less than a minute.

Hancock Bulldogs head coach Dan Rouleau saw his team even a game Tuesday night against one of their rivals in the Houghton Gremlins, only to see the Gremlins score three goals in a span of 37 seconds to take control of the contest en route to a 8-2 win.

“I just think we gotta get we gotta get hungrier, play smarter hockey,” said Rouleau. “Honestly, (we need to) stay out of the penalty box and play smarter hockey.”

For Gremlins coach Corey Markham, the stretch was just what the team needed after surrendering the tying goal less than four minutes earlier.

“It totally changed the complexion of the game,” Corey said. “It took the sails out of them and gave us life that we needed and we capitalized from there. Up to that point, I was just not happy with how we were playing whatsoever and I give a lot of credit to Hancock, because they were outworking us and, in my mind, we didn’t come prepared to play.”

Houghton celebrates a goal as Hancock's Brandon Pietila (30) reacts on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

The stretch started with a power play for Houghton. With senior Tucker Tapani and assistant captain Niko Rajala sneaking towards the net, co-captain Jiseung Choi fired a shot that rebounded out front. Tapani fired the first shot, Rajala knocked the second home at 9:17 of the middle frame.

Just six seconds later, Houghton co-captain Ty Halonen took the puck over the Bulldogs’ blue line off the center ice faceoff. His wrist shot from the top of the right circle eluded Bulldogs goaltender Brandon Pietila’s left shoulder. That goal ended Pietila’s night.

Only 31 seconds after Halonen’s tally, Rajala batted a puck home to give Houghton a 5-2 lead.

The Gremlins broke through first just 4:25 into the contest. With a faceoff to the right of Brandon Pietila, who was making his first start of the season for the Bulldogs, Choi won the draw back to junior Nathan Erva. Erva quickly wired a wrist shot past Pietila for the tally.

The junior is positioned well to be a driving force in the Gremlins’ lineup.

Hancock's Leroy Bastian (5) shoots the puck wide of Houghton goalie Jimmy Pietila (1) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

“Nathan can be a strong player for us,” Corey said. “Erva just put a great shot on net.”

Despite the scoring outburst in the middle of the second period, Rouleau liked some of what he saw from Brandon Pietila, who missed much of the preseason with a broken leg suffered during football season.

“He hasn’t seen a lot of pucks in the last month,” Rouleau said. “I wanted to get a look at him and he felt like he was ready to play.”

The Bulldogs earned a power play chance just under under two minutes later and both junior Mason Mikesch and sophomore Todd Anderson had tips on shots from the point, but neither redirect got past Gremlins goaltender Jimmy Pietila, who made 25 saves on the night for the win.

The game remained 1-0 until the 12:35 mark when the Gremlins found themselves heading to the faceoff circle to Brandon Pietila’s right. The Bulldogs won the draw, but Houghton’s Brandon Trudeau, a senior, stole the puck behind the Hancock net and beat Brandon Pietila to the far side of the net with a wraparound.

Houghton's Nathan Erva (14) shoots on Hancock goalie Brandon Pietila (30) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

The teams traded chances after that until the final seconds of the opening frame. Looking to get on the board late, Hancock’s Austin Salani fired a quick shot that hit Jimmy Pietila’s left leg and kicked over to his left. Mikesch, who found a soft spot in the Gremlins’ defense, jumped in and knocked the rebound home with just 0.4 seconds remaining.

Houghton added to their lead late in the second period when freshman Camden Markham and Trudeau skated in on a 2-on-0 break. Trudeau fed the puck over to Markham, who buried a one-timer at 16:06.

Trudeau added his second goal of the night 6:06 into the third period when he knocked a rebound off a shot from Halonen past Isaak Pietila.

Houghton added an eighth goal on the night when Markham scored on the power play at 9:16.

“Camden scored his first two high school goals and they’re (Camden and Trudeau) playing on the same line tonight,” said Corey. “They had four goals together.”

Hancock goalie Brandon Pietila (30) makes a save against Houghton on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

Both coaches are looking for better efforts this coming weekend with consistently tough teams like Hartland and Traverse City Central coming to the Copper Country.

Houghton 2 4 2 — 8

Hancock 1 1 0 — 2

First Period — 1, HHS, Erva (Choi), 4:25. 2, HHS, Trudeau, 12:35. 3, HCH, Mikesch (A. Salani), 16:59

Second Period — 4, HCH, Anderson, SH, 5:36. 5, HHS, Rajala (Tapani, Choi), PP, 9:17. 6, HHS, Ty Halonen (Stevens), 9:23. 7, HHS, Tapani (Carlson), 9:54. 8, HHS, Markham (Trudeau), 16:06.

Houghton's Tucker Tapani (16) skates with the puck as Hancock's Mason Mikesch (10) and Paul Lorenzetti (18) on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, in Hancock, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

Third Period — 9, HHS, Trudeau (Halonen, Farrell), 6:06. 10, HHS, Markham (Carlson, Tapani), PP, 9:16.

Saves–HHS, J. Pietila 10-6-9–25. HCH, B. Pietila, HCH 9-8-0–17, I. Pietila 0-4-12–16

Power plays– HHS 2 for 5; HCH 0 for 4

Penalties-minutes–HHS 6-12; HCH 6-12

Flivvers blank Jets, 3-0

IRON MOUNTAIN — Kingsford scored twice in the third period to seal a 3-0 win over Jeffers on Tuesday.

Kingsford also spent most of the game in the penalty box, with three major penalties, including two for unsportsmanlike and another for checking from behind. The Flivvers finished the night with 25 penalty minutes and two game misconducts for Ethan Fox and Daniel Maki.

Jeffers’ David Storm was given an unsportsmanlike and game misconduct. Brandon Lavigne had the other Jets’ penalty for tripping.

Hunter Fortner broke the scoreless tie in the second for Kingsford, with an assist from Colin Watkins.

Trey Bociek and Carter Kreski scored in the third period.

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