HOUGHTON — Leading 2-1 going into the third period, the Houghton Gremlins hockey team wanted to create some separation between themselves and the Hancock Bulldogs in their MHSAA Division 3 Region 17 semifinal game Tuesday night at the John MacInnes Student Arena.

With goals 46 seconds apart and another midway through, the Gremlins turned a one-goal advantage into a 5-1 win and a trip to the championship game on Saturday.

The Gremlins advance to the regional championship against Calumet at 1 p.m. The Copper Kings beat Jeffers 10-2 in the other semifinal game.

Sophomore winger Sully Rajala, who Houghton found out prior to the game that he would be able to play, sparked the big third period for the Gremlins.

“We got a little boost today because we found out that Sally Rajala was able to play,” Markham said. “So that was a huge boost for us.”

Rajala, who already had an assist on a power play goal in the first period, skated hard to the net on a 2-on-1 with sophomore center Camden Markham early in the third. Markham fed Rajala the puck, and he made a quick move in front of Bulldogs netminder Brandon Pietila. Rajala missed the net, but picked the puck back up off the back boards and turned to stuff it in at 3:09.

Just 41 seconds later, senior defenseman Dane Johnson blasted a shot from the right point that beat Pietila through traffic to put the Gremlins up 3-1.

Johnson was not finished. Sophomore winger Landon Stevens and senior winger Brandon Norkol found themselves on a 2-on-0. Stevens fed the puck over to Norkol, whose shot was stopped by Pietila. The rebound bounced out into the slot, and Johnson skated in and knocked the puck into the net at 8:23, sealing the victory.

Getting two goals out of the veteran defenseman was something that Corey Markham was very excited to see.

“He did a great job, just getting pucks on net,” Markham said. “We had to stress that. (He’s had a) huge senior year. He’s able to score two in a regional semifinal. Yeah, really happy for him.”

Except for that five-minute stretch of the third period, the Bulldogs fought hard, finding a way to cut a 2-0 Gremlin lead back to one in the second period with a power play goal of their own. With co-captain Mason Mikesch in front, taking Gremlins captain Jimmy Pietila’s eyes away, assistant captain Chad Nordstrom fired a shot from the high slot that bounced off of Mikesch, then off a Gremlins defender and into the net at 13:59.

Bulldogs head coach Scott Mikesch liked most of what his team was able to do before the tough third-period stretch.

“I’m really proud of our team,” he said. “I didn’t think our effort was the issue at all. I thought we played real hard, and Houghton was better than us tonight. I wish them all the luck in the future as they go forward.”

Hancock had about eight and a half minutes of power play time in the second period, and during a stretch of nearly seven minutes of advantage, Jimmy Pietila kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.

“Jimmy Pietila was their best penalty killer and their best player tonight, for sure,” said Scott Mikesch. “They did what they had to do to win, and that’s what they’ve been doing all season. That’s why they’re a team that has a good chance to win a state championship, because they know how to win games. They’re coached well, and the kids believe in what they’re doing.”

Corey Markham felt that his senior goaltender made a difference throughout the night.

“(We) got great goaltending from Jimmy,” Markham said. “Our best penalty killer was Jimmy. He was tremendous, but you can’t give them that many penalty minutes and not expect them not to score.”

The Gremlins opened the game drawing a pair of penalties 27 seconds apart, giving them a 5 on 3 advantage for a minute and a half. Junior defenseman Matthew Rowe had the best scoring chance early in the power play before Norkol buried a rebound behind Brandon Pietila.

After the goal, the Bulldogs fought back hard, testing Jimmy Pietila on more than one occasion.

Arguably the best save Pietila made came off the stick of sophomore winger Calvin Heinonen. Mason Mikesch fired a shot that Pietila saved, and a rebound kicked to Heinonen in the left circle, who fired a shot Pietila stretched to knock away.

Mikesch was foiled again a minute later when Gremlins junior defenseman Kade Farrell turned the puck over in his own end to co-captain Austin Salani. Pietila stopped Salani’s shot from the left side of the slot, then stretched across to steal what appeared to be a sure goal-scoring chance from Mikesch.

The Gremlins extended their one-goal lead early in the second period when a shot from Rowe at the left point rebounded out front where Tedd Halonen was stationed. Spinning to get a shot off, Halonen knocked the puck past Brandon Pietila at 1:57.By DAVER KARNOSKY

dkarnosky@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON — Leading 2-1 going into the third period, the Houghton Gremlins hockey team wanted to create some separation between themselves and the Hancock Bulldogs in their MHSAA Division 3 Region 17 semifinal game Tuesday night at the John MacInnes Student Arena.

With goals 46 seconds apart and another midway through, the Gremlins turned a one-goal advantage into a 5-1 win and a trip to the championship game on Saturday.

The Gremlins advance to the regional championship against Calumet at 1 p.m. The Copper Kings beat Jeffers 10-2 in the other semifinal game.

Sophomore winger Sully Rajala, who Houghton found out prior to the game that he would be able to play, sparked the big third period for the Gremlins.

“We got a little boost today because we found out that Sally Rajala was able to play,” said Markham. “So that was a huge boost for us.”

Rajala, who already had an assist on a power play goal in the first period, skated hard to the net on a 2-on-1 with sophomore center Camden Markham early in the third. Markham fed Rajala the puck, and he made a quick move in front of Bulldogs netminder Brandon Pietila. Rajala missed the net, but picked the puck back up off the back boards and turned to stuff it in at 3:09.

Just 41 seconds later, senior defenseman Dane Johnson blasted a shot from the right point that beat Pietila through traffic to put the Gremlins up 3-1.

Johnson was not finished. Sophomore winger Landon Stevens and senior winger Brandon Norkol found themselves on a 2-on-0. Stevens fed the puck over to Norkol, whose shot was stopped by Pietila. The rebound bounced out into the slot, and Johnson skated in and knocked the puck into the net at 8:23, sealing the victory.

Getting two goals out of the veteran defenseman was something that Corey Markham was very excited to see.

“He did a great job, just getting pucks on net,” Markham said. “We had to stress that. (He’s had a) huge senior year. He’s able to score two in a regional semifinal. Yeah, really happy for him.”

Except for that five-minute stretch of the third period, the Bulldogs fought hard, finding a way to cut a 2-0 Gremlin lead back to one in the second period with a power play goal of their own. With co-captain Mason Mikesch in front, taking Gremlins captain Jimmy Pietila’s eyes away, assistant captain Chad Nordstrom fired a shot from the high slot that bounced off of Mikesch, then off a Gremlins defender and into the net at 13:59.

Bulldogs head coach Scott Mikesch liked most of what his team was able to do before the tough third-period stretch.

“I’m really proud of our team,” he said. “I didn’t think our effort was the issue at all. I thought we played real hard, and Houghton was better than us tonight. I wish them all the luck in the future as they go forward.”

Hancock had about eight and a half minutes of power play time in the second period, and during a stretch of nearly seven minutes of advantage, Jimmy Pietila kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard.

“Jimmy Pietila was their best penalty killer and their best player tonight, for sure,” said Scott Mikesch. “They did what they had to do to win, and that’s what they’ve been doing all season. That’s why they’re a team that has a good chance to win a state championship, because they know how to win games. They’re coached well, and the kids believe in what they’re doing.”

Corey Markham felt that his senior goaltender made a difference throughout the night.

“(We) got great goaltending from Jimmy,” Markham said. “Our best penalty killer was Jimmy. He was tremendous, but you can’t give them that many penalty minutes and not expect them not to score.”

The Gremlins opened the game drawing a pair of penalties 27 seconds apart, giving them a 5 on 3 advantage for a minute and a half. Junior defenseman Matthew Rowe had the best scoring chance early in the power play before Norkol buried a rebound behind Brandon Pietila.

After the goal, the Bulldogs fought back hard, testing Jimmy Pietila on more than one occasion.

Arguably the best save Pietila made came off the stick of sophomore winger Calvin Heinonen. Mason Mikesch fired a shot that Pietila saved, and a rebound kicked to Heinonen in the left circle, who fired a shot Pietila stretched to knock away.

Mikesch was foiled again a minute later when Gremlins junior defenseman Kade Farrell turned the puck over in his own end to co-captain Austin Salani. Pietila stopped Salani’s shot from the left side of the slot, then stretched across to steal what appeared to be a sure goal-scoring chance from Mikesch.

The Gremlins extended their one-goal lead early in the second period when a shot from Rowe at the left point rebounded out front where Tedd Halonen was stationed. Spinning to get a shot off, Halonen knocked the puck past Brandon Pietila at 1:57.

HHS 1 1 3 — 5

HCHS 0 1 0 — 1

First Period–Scoring–1, HHS, Norkol, (Rajala), PP, 3:47, pp.

Second Period–Scoring–2, HHS, Halonen, (Rowe), 1:57.

3, HCHS, Mikesch, (Nordstrom, Salani), 13:59, pp.

Third Period–Scoring–4, HHS, Rajala, (Markham), 3:09. 5, HHS, Johnson, (Norkol), 3:55. 6, HHS, Johnson, (Erva, Stevens), 8:23.

Goalies–HHS, Pietila, 9-17-7–33. HCHS, B. Pietila, 7-4-1–12. HCHS, I. Pietila, 0-0-4–2.

Power-play Opportunities–HHS 1 of 3. HCHS 1 of 5.

Penalties-minutes–HHS 5-13. HCHS 3-6.