Houghton center Jack Sayen scores a goal against Brother Rice during a game Friday at Dee Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Gremlins hockey team earned a sweep of a pair of downstate opponents this past weekend at Dee Stadium. They defeated the Brother Rice Warriors, 4-3, on Friday night, and then followed that effort up with a 5-1 win over the University of Detroit Jesuit Cubs on Saturday. With the wins, the Gremlins improved to 16-0-0 on the season.

GREMLINS HOLD OFF WARRIORS

On Friday, the Gremlins struck just two minutes into the game, and then held on when the Warriors struck with four seconds left to pull within one, to earn their 15th win of the season, 4-3.

While Houghton is as successful through the first 16 games this season as they were a year ago, coach Micah Stipech is proud of what his team has already accomplished.

“We are just such a different team than last year,” he said. “Last year were driven by three early high end forwards. This year we have to earn everything we get. These are the kinds of games we’ve had to win. They’re blue collar-like, lunch pail-type wins. So, I’m so proud of the group because they really win as a group.”

Sophomore center Jack Sayen got the Gremlins on the board just 2:00 in when exploded into the offensive zone with speed, made a move to his backhand and beat Warriors goaltender Turner Englund. Sophomore winger Noah Maillette got the primary assist on the play by getting the puck to Sayen in the neutral zone with speed.

Noah’s older brother Michael Maillette gave the Gremlins the game-winning goal they needed a little over midway through the third period when he exploded down the rink in much the same way that Sayen did. Although Michael’s deke was stopped by Englund, he raced into the right corner, picked the puck back up, skated it into the right circle near the faceoff dot, turned and beat the goaltender with a wrist shot at 9:19 of the third period.

Stipech was excited to see Michael show the kind of speed he possesses on that play.

“He’s so tough to defend when he keeps his feet moving,” said Stipech. “When he gets a corner on guys, he gets a step on guys, guys just can’t slow him down.”

While the Gremlins were happy to get off to a fast start with Sayen’s tally. It took the Warriors just 2:02 to answer when a faceoff to goaltender Bryant Lee’s left went awry. A Gremlins defender ended up knocking the puck into his own net, giving Callen Mitchell the tying goal.

After that puck slid through Lee, the Warriors found a spark and started to slowly inch their way into the game. The shots, which had started out 4-0 Houghton, were getting closer to even before junior winger Jace DeForge surprised Englund with a wrist shot at 6:57. Sophomore winger Connor Arko worked hard on the forecheck prior to the puck getting to DeForge. DeForge fired a shot from the boards that seemed to slide through traffic and in for the goal.

DeForge struck a second time 15:06 into the second period. Junior defenseman Oscar Petersen got the play started by carrying the puck into the offensive zone and making a pass across to junior center Jay Halonen by way of junior winger Teegan Tapani. The puck then got to DeForge, and he lifted the puck over Englund’s blocker-side shoulder for the goal, putting Houghton up 3-1 at that point.

All four Gremlins goals were the result of strong offensive zone entries, which was something that Stipech and his staff had been emphasizing recently.

“One thing that we really improved on, that I’m happy with, is our zone entries,” Stipech said. “Anybody watching can see we’re entering the zone, we’re all connected as a group on the same plan, driving and kicking out. That has really helped generate some offense for us.”

Brother Rice got back into the game, cutting the lead to one goal when Nicholas Prisby scored from the slot at 8:39.

After Michael Maillette’s goal to make it 4-2 Houghton, the Warriors pushed back and eventually pulled Englund with just over a minute to go. DeForge was whistled for a penalty with 20 seconds left in the game, and Christian Haji cut the lead to one again with just four seconds remaining.

Lee stopped 21 of 24 Warriors’ shots to earn the win. Englund stopped 31 shots from Houghton.

GREMLINS CRUISE TO WIN OVER CUBS

Saturday, the Gremlins got a big, quick goal from Tapani just 2:20 into the contest to start the game the way they wanted to. From there, they struck three times in the second period and once more in the third to earn a 5-1 over the Cubs.

Tapani’s goal came on the game’s first power play. Halonen and junior defenseman Grant Schaible both assisted on the goal.

The Cubs answered at 8:14 when Aidan Charron scored.

The game remained 1-1 into the middle frame before senior winger Cooper Leonard struck at 1:03. Tapani and Halonen both earned assists on the tally.

At 4:49, the Gremlins took a 3-1 lead when Arko buried an unassisted goal. Just 1:10 after that goal, Noah Maillette got on the board with a goal off a feed from Sayen.

Houghton led 4-1 through the third period until Sayen scored his second goal of the weekend at 16:01. Noah Maillette returned the favor from his own goal by assisting on Sayen’s marker.

Lee made 16 saves to earn the win.

UP NEXT

Houghton is off until Friday, when they host Grandeville at Dee Stadium at 7 p.m.