Houghton defenseman Porter Markham uses his body to keep the puck away from Calumet forward Luke Hamlin during a game Monday at Dee Stadium in Houghton. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — Playing in his seventh game in Orange and Black, sophomore forward Gunner Gullstrand scored two goals and two assists as the Houghton Gremlins hockey team earned a 5-1 victory Monday night over the visiting Calumet Copper Kings at Dee Stadium.

Gullstrand, who plays on a line with sophomore forward Braden Kari and alternate captain Brody Donnelly, has eight goals and 17 points in seven games since joining Houghton (17-5-1 overall).

“It gives them a 1A and a 1B, and you don’t see that very often in high school hockey,” said Copper Kings coach Dan Giachino. “Usually teams are one-line kind of teams, and maybe they’ll have a decent second line. But, they legitimately have two top lines there with him.

“He’s good in the offensive zone. He creates a lot, and, obviously, he’s been putting up a couple of points a game here since he’s gotten here. So, that’s a huge, huge boost for them.”

Gullstrand helped turn a 1-0 deficit for Houghton in the second period into a 1-1 tie just 34 seconds into the frame. He picked up a puck near the Calumet (14-5-1) net, skated it out to the top of the right circle, skated it to the top of the left circle, and then fired a shot that Donnelly tipped on net. Copper Kings goaltender Beau Jukuri made the initial save, but Donnelly got to his own rebound and knocked it home.

Donnelly then scored again on another rebound off a shot from Gullstrand with 17 seconds left in the period, which proved to be a turning point in the game. The goal was Donnelly’s 13th of the season.

“That’s how it is,” said Gremlins coach Micah Stipech. “We had a ton of good looks, and then we finally got one to just trickle in and they got us going.

“The big one, I thought, was at the end of the period, the one we got at the end of the period. It’s such a momentum boost when you get it, and it deflates you when it’s against you. So, I thought that was a key. If there was a turning point to the game, that was a big one.”

The Gremlins, who outshot the Copper Kings 10-6 in the first period, trailed 1-0 after one period. They followed that up by firing 19 pucks at Jukuri in the middle frame.

Gullstrand then broke through with two goals in 33 seconds to start the third period. His first came off a shot that was tipped up in the air by a Calumet defender and past Jukuri just 10 seconds into the frame. Kari picked up an assist on the goal.

Then Gullstrand found a loose puck in the slot 23 seconds later and poked it past Jukuri for his eighth goal of the season.

“That line is providing some matchup problems,” said Stipech. “They’re getting a ton of looks. They get a ton of zone time and possession time. They’re playing well together. Braden Kari adds a lot of speed element to that line. Then Gunner holds on to pucks and makes plays.

“They’ve got it going right now, and it’s fun to watch and to coach those guys when they’re clicking.”

Calumet was playing without sophomore forward Oskar Loukus, co-captain Nathan Londo, and senior defenseman Sawyer Garrow. The Copper King hung with the Gremlins until Gullstrand scored those two goals in the third.

“Kids worked hard tonight, and we’re obviously a little beat up and things like that, and that certainly didn’t help with our stuff here tonight,” he said. “But, we certainly got outplayed, especially in that second period. They took it to us really well in the second, and basically took the energy out of us here in the third. Those two early goals in the third, those ones were killer.”

Houghton added one more tally with 1:44 left when freshman forwards Liam Frick and Mason Soli combined to get Soli the puck in the left corner. Soli made a backhand pass out in the left circle near the faceoff dot, where captain Connor Arko got it and quickly wristed a shot home.

The Copper Kings scored in the opening period when senior defenseman Dylan Crouch made up for his own mistake by jumping on the ice after his penalty ended. Senior defenseman Ted Pennala chipped the puck in the neutral zone as Crouch hit the ice, and he picked it up and skated into the right circle of the offensive zone. He then proceeded to blast a slap shot past Gremlins senior goaltender Cooper Flachs at 9:19.

Flachs made 10 saves to earn the win. Jukuri stopped 33 in the loss for the Copper Kings.

Up next

Houghton is back in action Friday at the Trenton Showcase. They will open play with a game against Mattawan. The Copper Kings will also be in action in Trenton Friday. They will battle Detroit Catholic Central.

Houghton forward Gunner Gullstrand and Calumet forward Erik Loukus battle for a puck in the middle of the rink during the first period of a game Monday at Dee Stadium in Houghton. (Daver Karnosky/Daily Mining Gazette)