Hancock goalie Brandon Pietila (30) makes a save on a shot by Calumet’s Cam Anderson during the 46th annual John MacInnes Holiday Hockey Classic on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Houghton, Mich.. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Fans of high school hockey in the Copper Country got a giant dose of it Monday evening as three local schools and one coached by a former local high school hockey player combined for nine periods of hockey over two games at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. When the final buzzer sounded, the Calumet Copper Kings and the Houghton Gremlins each punched their tickets to the title game of the 46th Annual John MacInnes Holiday Hockey Classic with a pair of overtime victories for the two teams at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena

Copper Kings pull it out in second OT

Within the game’s first 18:43, the Copper Kings appeared to be in control of the third meeting of the season between themselves and the Hancock Bulldogs. Calumet got goals from Paul Sturos and Dan Loukus to back the Bulldogs into the proverbial corner. However, they did not count on Bulldogs co-captain Todd Anderson making the remainder of the second period miserable before Calumet won the game in overtime, 4-3.

Bulldogs coach Scott Mikesch compares his team to a “bunch of plumbers,” and that description proved apt as Anderson struck twice from about five-to-six feet from the net. The Bulldogs’ third goal was also scored from about that same area on the ice.

“It showed that we can, obviously, play with a team the caliber of Calumet,” Mikesch said. “If that wasn’t our best game, it was our second best game. It just comes down to somebody had to make a play.

“We played really good and our bugaboo has been all year that we have trouble finishing. That was it again. One of these days, the hockey gods are gonna be on our side.”

Anderson’s two tallies at 5:07 and 15:14 of the middle frame gave him just three on the season, but Mikesch hopes that his two-goal effort can be used as a springboard moving forward.

“Todd’s been really snake bit,” Mikesch said. “He gets so many opportunities. I thought that was another real bright spot for our team, to kind of get him off the schneid.”

The Copper Kings got out to the two-goal lead thanks to Sturos’ wrist shot that beat Bulldogs netminder Brandon Pietila 8:25 into the contest. The shot from Sturos was the first clean look Calumet had at Pietila on the evening as head coach Dan Giachino felt that Hancock tightened things up defensively after their two earlier losses in the Copper Island Classic.

“We’ve got to play smarter,” said Giachino. “We’ve got to generate a little bit more offense. I know Hancock played pretty defensive against us and tried to slow us down to the neutral zone.”

Cam Anderson regained the lead for the Copper Kings 5:10 into the third when he took a pass in the right circle from Isaac Larson and he buried a wrist shot along the ice.

Calumet found themselves with the scoring chance that led to the goal after Landon Goulette knocked the puck away from Todd Anderson, who was in the Calumet slot looking for his hat trick tally.

Hancock’s Calvin Heinonen found room in the slot with 3:23 left in regulation, and with the Bulldogs on a major power play. Co-captain Chad Nordstrom skated the puck behind the Calumet net before finding Heinonen in the slot, and he did not miss from there.

With the teams skating to standstill in the first overtime, the two opponents had to go back at it in a second overtime, this time with the teams skating 4-on-4.

Sturos found time and space down the right boards and he took a pass from Loukus before burying a wrist shot over Pietila’s shoulder at 1:47 to seal the win.

For the Copper Kings, according to Giachino, the win was a valuable one, not for the standings, but rather for proving that they can fight through adversity early in the season.

“We came back from a two-goal deficit against (Detroit) Country Day. We came back from a two-goal deficit against Houghton last week, and to kind of come back again, not from a deficit, but just a bounce back today, these are character builders, especially when you win these games. Learning how to win and learning what it takes to win at this level. These games are hugely important for that.”

CHS 1 1 1 0 1 — 4

HCHS 0 2 1 0 0 — 3

First Period–1, CHS, P. Sturos (Cliff Jurmu), 8:25.

Second Period–2, CHS, D. Loukus (Anderson, Williams), 1:43. 3, HCHS, Todd Anderson (C. Nordstrom, Sinkowski), 6:37. 4, HCHS, Anderson (Hanner, Paul Olson), 15:14.

Third period–5, CHS, C. Anderson (Larson, Goulette), 5:10. 6, HCHS, Heinonen (Nordstrom), 13:37, pp.

Overtime–7, CHS, P. Sturos (D. Loukus), 1:47.

Saves–CHS, Loukus 3-8-8-4-1–24, HCHS, Pietila 11-9-5-4-0–29.

Power plays–CHS 0 of 1, HCHS 1 of 3.

Penalties-minutes–CHS 3-9, HCHS 1-2.

Gremlins storm back to top Cardinals

After the Gremlins jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, things seemed poised to go their way. However, four goals from North Fond du Lac Cardinals captain Brett Sabel later, they found themselves entering the third period trailing 6-2. Taking advantage of a major power play, the Gremlins struck four times in third and nearly fifth time before adding one more in the extra session to earn a trip to the title game with a 7-6 victory.

Gremlins co-captain Camden Markham got Houghton on the board at 6:17 of the first period. His second goal of the night cut the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2 at 8:16 of the middle frame. 

Sabel scored the game’s next three goals, pushing the Gremlins to the brink. His final goal came on the Gremlins’ major power play at 15:49, and Houghton head coach Corey Markham knew his team needed to figure things out quickly if they were to stand a chance heading into the third.

Houghton needed just 30 seconds to strike as Gaborik Carlson found a rebound and buried it. Brendan Miller followed suit just 1:20 later, making it a 6-4 game by poking a loose puck home.

The two tallies were key to sparking the Gremlins’ comeback.

“Really, the only chance we had (was) if we score a couple on that major,” said Corey Markham. “We knew we were in trouble. You’re down four goals, going into the third. You’re in big trouble, but (we) felt if we got one or two on the major, that we’d be back in the game, then keep building from there.”

Landon Stevens, who was moved onto a line with Carlson and Camden Markham in the third period, buried a rebound chance of his own at 5:20.

Houghton continued to keep the pressure on the Cardinals’ defense, who coughed up pucks in many different areas on the ice. Those mistakes eventually led to a scoring chance for Gremlins’ forward Michael Maillette, who stole a pass, skated in alone and scored on a forehand deke at 10:51 to even the game at 6-6.

With just 2:40 left in regulation, Houghton had a golden opportunity to regain the lead as Stevens and Carlson skated in on a 2-on-1. Stevens fed the puck over and Carlson had time to catch the pass and shoot, but his wrist shot was stopped by Fond du Lac goaltender Spencer Shober.

Bryant Lee, who struggled through the first two periods for the Gremlins, came up with several key stops at critical moments in the third period and in the overtime to keep Houghton within striking distance.

“(We’re) so proud of Bryant,” said Corey Markham. “When we talked about the goals (after the second period), it was either a breakaway or they put it in off the post. So really, it wasn’t anything his fault. 

“He saved us. He made some huge saves in the third, which we needed for this to happen, and (we are) so proud of him competing all the way through.”

In overtime, a line change allowed Carlson to jump on the ice near the offensive blue line. He took a lead pass from Oscar Peterson, skated behind the Cardinals’ defense and ended the game with a wrist shot at 4:59, sending the Gremlins to the championship game.

Coaching connection

The Cardinals are coached by Ryan Sarazin, a 1995 graduate of Houghton, who helped the Gremlins finish as the state runner-up his senior year. Sarazin played junior hockey for Mikesch when the latter was the head coach of the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks.

FDL 2 4 0 0 — 6

HHS 1 1 4 1 — 7

First Period–1, HHS, Markham (Carlson, Kogan), 6:17. 2, FDL, Sabel (Heffner), 10:13. 3, FDL, Weber, 14:00.

Second Period–4, FDL, Koenigs (Sabel), 3:42. 5, HHS, Markham (Carlson, Farrell), 8:16. 6, FDL, Sabel (Weber, Heffner), 10:40. 7, FDL, Sabel, 11:32. 8, FDL, Sabel (Heffner), 15:49, sh.

Third Period–9, HHS, Carlson (Farrell), PP, :30. 10, HHS, Brendan Miller (Markham), 1:50, pp. 11, HHS, Landon Stevens (Markham), 5:20. 12, Michael Maillette, 11:51.

Overtime–13, HHS, Carlson (Peterson), 4:59.

Saves – Shober: 12-8-6-0–26, Lee: 7-5-8-4–22

Power plays–FDL 0 of 4. HHS 2 of 4.

Penalties-minutes–FDL 4-11. HHS 4-8.