Escanaba junior Graham Johnson (18) fires a shot past Kingsford goalie Nate Scullon on Jan. 14, 2025 at Wells Sports Complex. Johnson netted his second goal of the game with this shot.

WELLS — After splitting weekend action against some of Michigan’s fiercest competition, Escanaba hockey returned to its home ice to play a familiar foe.

Despite being short handed, the Eskymos walked away with a 4-1 win over Kingsford on Tuesday.

“I’m happy that we came out and we played good hockey for three periods,” Eskymos coach Andy Johnson said. “I’m happy with the win. I’m happy to grind through this one.”

The Eskymos (10-6-0) opened their season with a 9-0 road win over the Flivvers. Tuesday’s rematch saw the orange black play without junior co-captain Nolan Bink and freshman Gunnar LaMarche, both out of the lineup and not even in the building due to illness.

LaMarche is beginning to find his way playing high school hockey. Bink, on the other hand, is a third-year player and a large presence on and off the ice.

“Nolan has that presence. You can feel it when he’s not here,” Johnson said of Bink. “He’s a big part of our team, our defense and our offense, he was missed. But we didn’t really make a big deal about it. We just want him to get rested up and give some guys opportunities to play as well.”

Yet, the Eskymos walked to the locker room after the first period with a 3-0 lead.

Junior co-captain Graham Johson beat Kingsford (4-9-0) netminder Nate Scullon up top where Mom and Dad hide the Christmas gifts 8:53 into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. Freshman Griffin Johnson, fresh off a hat trick in a 4-1 win over No. 11 Clarkston, found an empty spot in the slot and buried a shot in a similar spot his older brother did moments earlier for a 2-0 lead. Junior Ben Sands added a goal a minute later.

Graham Johnson netted his second goal of the game on the power play less than four minutes into the second frame for a 4-0 lead.

Kingsford, who put 23 shots on Cully Hayes, did not lay a goose egg on the scoreboard like the first meeting. Flivvers senior Jaxon Buckley capitalized on a breakaway, firing the puck past Hayes while sending his water bottle on top of the net flying like a child on a trampoline for the goal.

“The last time we played (Escanaba) I think we were down 6-0 after the first period. It’s an improvement,” Buckley said. “We said go out there, have fun and play our game. And I know we can do it. I have faith in all those boys. We went out there and just played our game.”

Graham Johnson finished with two goals and an assist. Owen LaBonte and Nick Martinson tallied two helpers each while Davin Mattonen also added an assist.

Hughes out for season

Junior forward Carson Hughes was set to play in Esky’s home game against Grand Rapid Christian on Jan. 4. However, Hughes never logged a minute of ice time.

The forward suffered a broken hand during pre-game warm ups and will miss the remainder of the season.

It’s a decent-sized blow to the Eskymos’ lineup. Hughes was beginning to build a formidable top line with Graham Johnson and senior Cale Carter.

“Carson’s speed, vision and stuff on the ice is really missed,” Andy Johnson said of Hughes. I feel really bad because in the last year and a half he’s come a long way. This year he was starting to show it with pucks in the net and setting nice goals up. The good thing for him is he still has a senior year to look forward to.”

Next games

Escanaba: Trips to face Painesdale Jeffers at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Jets defeated Esky 4-2 in the first meeting on Nov. 27, 2024.

Kingsford: Trips to face Marquette at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.