CALUMET — The Calumet hockey team sent the Negaunee Miners home early on Tuesday night with a 9-1 victory.

At the 11:14 mark in the third period, Calumet’s Dan Loukus hit the back of the net to put the Copper Kings (11-5) up by eight and ended the game due to the mercy rule.

Even more impressive is that the Copper Kings have scored 18 goals over the past two games. Last Saturday they beat Escanaba 9-2. Add Tuesday night’s nine goals, and that makes for a happy coaching squad. Just ask Calumet’s head coach Dan Giachino.

“It was the line of Paul Sturos, Jackson Rieli and Ayden Williams that really carried us tonight,” he said.

Between the three of them, they scored six of the team’s nine goals. Sturos had a hat trick, and Rieli had two goals.

“Paul had a great game. Not only did he have three goals, but he was aggressive and has found his scoring touch here lately,” Giachino said. “Jackson has been driving our offense, and we just added Ayden and are finding that the three of them play very well together. It’s perfect timing for them to click.”

Calumet got on the scoreboard first while on the power play. The Miners (3-14) had two men in the box creating a five-on-three advantage for the Copper Kings at around the 10-minute mark. Dan Loukus fed a pass to Sturos who in turn found net.

With the period winding down, the Copper Kings were again a man up, and it was Sturos again with the goal.

The Miners clocked 12 minutes in penalties for the game. Eight of them came in the first period — not good according to their coach, Dale Hopper.

“While we were able to hang with them (Calumet) in that first period, the penalties did not help us,” he said.

Neguanee got their one and only goal with less that two minutes to go in the first. Easton Palomaki put a wrister in past Calumet’s net minder Bruce Parisot. It was a 3-1 Calumet tilt after the first 17 minutes of play, but coach Hopper liked what he was seeing.

“In the locker room, I just told the guys to keep doing what they were doing and keep your feet moving,” he said. “They heeded my advice for the first half of the second, but Calumet stepped up the gas, and we couldn’t keep up.”

In the second, Calumet had five goals including an unassisted slap shot off a face off by Rilei at the 3:18 mark. The Copper Kings outshot the Miner 16-3 in the second and 41-11 on the night.

“It was nice to see us blow it open in the second,” Giachino said. “They worked hard all night no matter what the score was. We are going to need that this weekend as we have a big game against Salem.”

NHS 1 0 0 — 1

CHS 3 5 1 — 9