Escanaba junior Cully Hayes makes a save during a MHSAA Division 3 regional championship game against Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 25, 2025 in Sault Ste. Marie.

SAULT STE. MARIE — Despite mustering 30 shots on goal Escanaba hockey could not score in a 4-0 regional championship loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday. 

The Eskymos finish their season at 16-11.

“We were getting pressure,” Esky coach Andy Johnson said. “Some night you just can’t get the puck in the net.”

Esky came out firing on all cylinders. The orange and black were flying around the ice like a bald eagle soaring through a cloudless blue sky. Esky pumped out four of the game’s first five shots, ready to pounce and strike first at any moment.

Then Sault maneuvered the puck into Eskymo territory. Senior Evan Kennedy moves from the corner to the right of junior goalie Cully Hayes toward the net down the goalline. 

Kennedy fired a shot in hopes of a rebound. But to the dismay of fans who made the three-hour trek to Sault Ste. Marie, the puck managed to bank gently off Hayes’ knee, under his pad and in the net.

The Eskymos hot start was extinguished as Sault led 1-0 6:19 into the contest.

“To be totally honest, we play better on the road,” Sault coach Rick Mackie said. “For us to get that first goal was really important in any home gam, let alone an atmosphere like this.”

Sault struck again four minutes later when captain Nick Wood beat Hayes glove side for a 2-0 Blue Devils lead which held firm entering intermission. Esky junior Owen LaBonte generated a scoring chance seconds into the second period, but was turned away by senior Casey Engle.

The Blue Devils immediately moved the puck down the other end of the ice. Wood buried his second goal of the game 51 seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead.

Sault added an empty net goal with 30 seconds to go while Esky had a 6-on-4 advantage for Kennedy’s second of the night. 

“We trust everybody on our roster,” Mackie said. “That starts from the very first practice. They’re built to be that way.”

The Blue Devils advance to the state quarterfinal round for the second-straight season. This time around they’ll face Jeffers, who defeated Houghton 5-1 at Michigan Tech.

Maki knows that things need to go differently this time around.

“We laid an egg last year,” Mackie admitted. “I told the guys ‘I still have a bad taste in my mouth (from the loss) and we’re going to work every single day to make sure we get back there.’ Hopefully we have a different result. However the game goes we have to have a better effort.”

For the Eskymos, the loss marked the final game for senior Alex Schwalbach, Davin Mattonen and Cale Carter. It’s a crop of seniors Johnson has expressed tremendous gratitude toward. The three were his first crop of freshmen when he took over as head coach four years ago.

But the relationship between the seniors, the entire team and the coaching staff isn’t based solely on playing varsity hockey.

This coaching staff worked with this particular group of Eskymos during their days in the learn to skate program, the beginning of their respective hockey journeys.

“They’ve been skating since they were 3-years old, and we’ve been there since then,” Johnson said. “It’s tough to see them go, but they’re good young men. We hope we added a little bit too it, and once they leave here they can be successful at whatever comes next.”