CELEBRATION TIME!
The gloves and sticks go flying as the Escanaba Hawks Pee-Wee B hockey team celebrates Riley Stenfors' overtime goal to win the MAHA State Championship. Esky beat Keweenaw Bay, 3-2, at the Wells Sports Complex. (Joe Williams photo)
Escanaba Wins Heart-Stopping State Championship
WELLS---They were down to their final minute. The Escanaba Hawks Pee-Wee B hockey team (age 11-12) was just seconds away from having their dream of a state championship come to a premature end in Sunday morning's state semifinal game against St. Ignace.
The Saints led, 2-1, and Escanaba Coach Mike Borman pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker. The move worked as the Hawks tied the game with 57 seconds left in the third period, then won the game in overtime. The dream was alive, even if for a few more hours.
But who knew that the Escanaba boys would have to work overtime again in Sunday's state championship game against the Keweenaw Bay Cougars? And that they'd have to come from behind for the third time in 18 hours, counting Saturday night's 4-2 win over Livonia?
Well, the boys stayed with it again and pulled out a dramatic 3-2 win Sunday night over a stubborn Cougars team that sent the boys...and the whole Delta County hockey community...into hysterics. Riley Stenfors scored 47 seconds into overtime to give Escanaba the improbable championship, helping the Hawks rally from a 2-0 first period deficit.
"I'm so proud of these boys, the way they played," Coach Borman said. "We had to go to overtime this morning in the semifinals, and to come back and win in overtime in the finals is really special. It's really hard to put it into words. These boys worked hard."
The lights were off in the arena as the boys were introduced to the crowd. >>
The state tournament started Friday with eight teams: three from the Upper Peninsula, three from suburban Detroit, one from suburban Grand Rapids, and Midland. When the dust settled after Saturday's round-robin games, Fraser was the only downstate team left, and the three U.P. teams were all still alive in the semifinals.
So Sunday morning, Keweenaw Bay, made up of kids from Baraga and L'Anse, eliminated Fraser, 4-2, while the Esky and Gladstone boys eliminated the Saints in dramatic fashion. After a mandatory four-hour rest period, the two U.P. teams battled for the banner and trophy.
Escanaba had swept the regular season series from the Cougars, but this was the state championship game. And the boys from Baraga County came out strong. Issac Ekdahl scored on a power play 5:02 into the game, and 56 seconds later, Sean Lake found the back of the net.
Keweenaw Bay led, 2-0, and almost went up by three goals when they went in on a 2-on-0 a minute after the second goal. But Escanaba goalie Jack Valentine stood his ground and stopped Lake, and it stayed 2-0.
"Jack Valentine is an excellent goaltender," Coach Borman said. "You're gonna see this kid just get better and better. I've been very lucky to coach him for five years, and every year, he amazes me more and more. I think you're gonna see Jack Valentine in an Eskymo uniform."
"I just had to save the puck," Valentine said. "I feel really happy that we won."
Then one of Escanaba's smallest players, Jack Williams, got the puck. He may be tiny, but he's also fast, and he can also score goals. And Baraga goaltender Mike Turunen found that out seconds later as Williams beat him low to the ice, bringing the Hawks to within 2-1.
<<<Esky's Jack Williams (6) chases after a loose puck.
The second period was dominated by the visitors, but Valentine held the fort and the score stayed 2-1. Then early in the third period, Stenfors was in front of the net when a shot came from the point. He tallied, tying the game at 2-2 just 70 seconds into the final period.
"We got the puck out to the point and he (Nathan Hauke) shot it low," Stenfors said. "I deflected it, forehand, through the five-hole."
"That's where we did a lot of our work this year, right in the paint," Coach Borman said. "We don't have the kids that are gonna go in and score on breakaways left and right. We have kids who work very hard, and we like to put the puck in front of the net and work it in from there."
Escanaba had several more excellent scoring chances, but could not score. Then with 2:14 left, came trouble. Nathan Hauke was called for hooking. Tough call with two minutes left in a tied state championship game. But a few seconds later, Escanaba's Blaine Borman hustled on a shorthanded rush and drew a penalty that neutralized the power play.
That was huge because it allowed the Hawks to escape regulation tied. And in overtime, a familiar place for the Hawks, an innocent-looking play ended up being the championship play. A loose puck came to Stenfors near the blue line, and, why not just throw it on net and see what happens? The puck bounced in front of Turunen, hopped up onto its side, and skidded past the shell-shocked goaltender. Game over.
"The kid is a horse," Coach Borman said of Stenfors. "He's so strong on his feet, he can skate, he can shoot. He is one of our power forwards and is one of the keys to our team."
"I just went skating up the ice to congratulate him," said Valentine, who was also relieved that the game was over. "That was awesome!"
What did Stenfors think of the goal?
"It felt great," Stenfors said. "First time winning a state championship for me! I shot the puck and got lucky."
Maybe so. But after all of the hard work, and big-time plays during the whole tournament run, somehow, the Escanaba Hawks deserved the smile from the Hockey Gods. And they got one. For one night, Detroit was not Hockeytown. Escanaba was Hockeytown.
2010 Championship Game Three-Star Selection
3. Jack Valentine, Escanaba #39
2. Corbin Crittenden, Keweenaw Bay #14
1. Riley Stenfors, Escanaba #65
Be sure to click the LISTEN link on the left side of this page to hear clips from the championship game radio broadcast. More stories and photos are posted below.
Escanaba's Zach Rudden (41) goes on an offensive rush through the neutral zone during Sunday's state championship game. Below: Escanaba goaltender Jack Valentine (29) watches as the puck goes into the corner. Bottom: the Esky team celebrates with the state championship trophy and banner. (Joe Wiliams photos)
