The Spartans did something that is traditionally very hard for downstate opponents to do, they won two games against two different opponents while visiting the Copper Country.

“It’s a huge accomplishment, a huge win, a huge testament to our program, our players, our coaches, our families,” said Spartans coach David Mitchell. “I alluded to it yesterday (Friday). My respect for what goes on up here, my respect for the people up here. I know (Gremlins coach) Micah (Stipech) very well. (He) coaches with me at Team Michigan, love him like a brother. I know (Copper Kings coach) Dan (Giachino) very well, and getting to know the Hancock guy. (My) respect is off the charts for what they do. So it’s very special to us.”

The Gremlins had a golden opportunity to jump out to an early lead when junior winger Connor Arko got loose and drove to the net on a breakaway just 2:35 in. Arko deked to his backhand and beat All-Tournament Team goaltender Lucas Rorabacher, but he could not beat the post, which he hit with his backhand shot.

In order for the Spartans to wrestle control of the game, they needed to strike early, and they did just that when Garrett Teahan beat sophomore goaltender Brycyn Nettell with a wrist shot from the slot off a pass from Nicolas Agar.

Houghton forward Connor Arko attempts to beat Livonia Stevenson goaltender Lucas Rorabacher in the championship game of the John MacInnes Hockey Classic Saturday in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

The Spartans then added to their advantage at 14:15 when Christian Lang found space behind the Gremlins’ defense, skated in alone and beat Nettell with a wrist shot.

“We started really nervous, and I was surprised at that, because we played in a lot of big games against a lot of good teams, and we just looked really nervous in the first period,” said Stipech.

Houghton looked much more like the team that came into the game 10-3 when senior forward Teegan Tapani buried a rebound on the power play at 9:27 of the second period.

“We didn’t settle in, really, until we got our goal in the second,” Stipech said. “Then, I thought, second and third period, we played really well. We had a ton of chances.”

However, that was the only time the Gremlins solved Rorabacher.

Calumet forward Brendan Boberg scores a goal against Hancock goaltender Isaac Johnson during the consolation game of the John MacInnes Hockey Classic Saturday in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

Houghton thought they evened the game with 7:51 left in regulation when Arko drove hard to the net on a power play and beat Rorabacher, but the goal was called back.

On another power play later in the period, the Spartans took a page out of the Gremlins’ playbook on the penalty kill, as captain Owen Hall stole a puck near the Houghton blue line, skated in alone and got a shot off that Nettell stopped. However, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player got his own rebound and poked it past the Gremlins’ netminder at 10:25.

“I’m lucky that Derek Pushies, our assistant coach, owns the penalty kill, and he doesn’t just run the penalty kill, he owns it,” Mitchell said. “I mean, for me to give up control, and just, I step back on the bench, right? He runs it, and all the credit goes to him, and our players, for following what he asked them to do.”

Rorabacher stopped 27 Houghton shots to earn the win, his team’s 10th in a row. Nettell stopped 22 in the loss.

CONSOLATION GAME

BULLDOGS 6, COPPER KINGS 4

The Bulldogs scored four times in the first period and then held on late to earn a win in the consolation game over the Calumet Copper Kings, 6-4, Saturday night.

For the Bulldogs, getting off to a ast start, including a goal from alternate captain Tevin Stukel just 34 seconds into the contest, made a big difference in the game as they defeated the Copper Kings for the first time in three tries this season. At the same time, coach Pete Rouleau knows his team cannot rely on scoring six goals every game.

“We needed to score first against them,” he said. “Last couple games, I don’t think we scored first against them, but, yeah, you couldn’t ask for a better start. Get the first one, and then it was kind of what goalie was going to stop more. Kind of went back and forth where.

“I was happy to go in with the lead, but not satisfied with how we played. Happy to win, but not satisfied with how we played. It’s a game of hockey. It was an ugly win. Nice to get the job done, but we know we have to be better.”

As exciting a start as that was for the Bulldogs, Calumet answered just under two minutes later when junior forward Erik Loukus took advantage of a turnover in the slot and evened the game at 2:24.

On a power play just over a minute later, Hancock struck again as senior defenseman Max Heinonen took a pass from Stukel, who made the All-Tournament Team, and he fired a shot from the point that bounced off a Copper Kings defender and in.

Junior forward Ben Anderson answered for the Copper Kings at 5:10 when he tipped a shot from sophomore forward Luke Hamlin into the net.

Then, disaster struck for the Copper Kings while on a man advantage.

Hancock sophomore forward Brady Axford and Stukel exploded down the ice on a 2-on-1. Stukel, who was coming down the right boards, spun around and fed a backhand pass to Axford, who redirected the puck into the net at 10:49.

“He’s a player that you hope sticks around for four years,” said Rouleau. “He has good skill. He gets to the dirty areas. He’s going to run people over. He’s going to do all the hard things and things you ask him (to) do.

“It was a great play. He knew he was there, and spun him through it, and it was right on his tape, a deflection and not many goalies are going to stop that one.”

Then freshman forward Connor Helminen tipped a shot from Heinonen past Calumet senior goaltender Jake Garrow to put the Bulldogs up 4-2 at 16:28.

“Our effort in the first period was not good,” said Giachino. “You can’t spot a team four goals in a period, give them 15, 16 shots in a period. It’s not a good enough effort (or) intensity level. We didn’t decide to play until the second period.”

All-Tournament Team senior forward Brendan Boberg, a Copper Kings co-captain, struck for Calumet 5:01 into the middle frame when he got the puck right off a faceoff and buried a quick wrist shot over the glove of junior goaltender Isaac Johnson.

Hancock regained the two-goal advantage at 10:05 when sophomore forward Ben Keranen got the puck from sophomore defenseman Tyler Axford and he buried a wrist shot.

Boberg struck again to make it 5-4 5:47 into the third period when he pounced on a rebound and knocked it home.

However, that was as close as the Copper Kings could get. Senior winger Jackson Sintkowski iced the game for the Bulldogs at 14:42 when he batted a rebound off a shot from Heinonen.

Garrow and sophomore goaltender Beau Jukuri, who replaced him to start the second period, combined to make 24 saves in the loss. Johnson stopped 29 to earn the win for the Bulldogs.

GREMLINS 7, COPPER KINGS 4

According to Stipech, the Gremlins played one of their worst games of the season, yet they found a way to win in the first semifinal of the MacInnes Classic Friday night. The Gremlins got three goals from All-Tournament Team sophomore forward Brody Donnelly to earn a 7-4 win over the Copper Kings.

Houghton had to battle back from one-goal deficits twice in the contest.

“Battling back was good, but we were just disappointed with their performance,” said Stipech. “We felt like it was our worst game of the year as far as consistency goes. We would do one thing, and then we would poke and hope. We were cheating for offense and doing things that losing teams do, wait for somebody else to do the work. We’re not good enough not to play to our standard.”

The Gremlins thought they scored first about 11:30 into the game, but while they were celebrating, no call was made, and the play continued until junior defenseman Dylan Crouch jumped into the rush and buried a pass from senior forward Liam Pomroy at 11:51.

Co-captain Jace DeForge answered for Houghton at 14:34 when he buried a backhand from the slot off a feed from alternate captain Hudson Markham, an All-Tournament Team member.

Boberg answered for the Copper Kings just 1:12 into the middle frame when he stole a cross-ice pass between Gremlins defenders and skated in alone, striking on a wrist shot.

Donnelly then answered for Houghton with his first tally of the game at 3:40 off a pass from Arko.

Just under six minutes later at 9:28, Donnelly scored his second of the game off a feed from junior center Jack Sayen, which gave the Gremlins their first lead of the game.

“That’s one of the things we talked about,” said Stipech. “We got good looks from the slot, and earlier in the game, we were trying to stickhandle, or make one more move, and then when he got a chance to score, he was able to bear down and bury them.”

Arko then extended Houghton’s lead with a wrister from the high slot off a pass from DeForge at 12:57.

The Gremlins carried a power play into the third period, and they struck 1:22 into the period when senior defenseman Jack Rudak slapped a shot from near the blue line through traffic and past Jukuri.

However, just 25 seconds later, senior winger Nathan Londo answered for the Copper Kings to pull his team back within two, 5-3, when he buried a rebound on his backhand.

“We’re not the team that’s going to score the pretty, one-touch goals a lot of the time,” said Giachino. “So, we’re going to have to get some gritty goals. We’re going to have to create turnovers in the offensive zone, and right now it’s board battles in a defensive zone. We got beat up on for two periods, and we have to get better. The only way we can do is work at it.”

The Copper Kings then cut the lead to 5-4 at 10:06 when Hamlin tipped a shot from captain Ted Loukus right off a faceoff to the left of Nettell.

“I thought we battled back in the third period,” Giachino said. “I thought we had some moments there in the first and second period that were not good, but, I thought, in the third period, we played much better. I thought we showed some battle and some fight in the third period, and we clawed our way back in the hockey game.”

Donnelly regained the two-goal advantage for the Gremlins at 15:35 when he buried a wrist shot from the high slot.

Houghton then iced the game at 16:11 when co-captain Jay Halonen scored an empty-net goal.

Jukuri stopped 39 in the loss for the Copper Kings. Nettell made 18 stops for the win.

SPARTANS 5, BULLDOGS 4

The Spartans struck first, but had to hang on late to earn a spot in the championship game of the MacInnes Classic Saturday as they topped the Bulldogs, 5-4, Friday night.

Despite the loss, which included multiple two-goal deficits, Rouleau liked what he saw from his group as they fought back in the third period.

“All in all, we go down 3-1, and we battle back, and we don’t quit, and make it a game,” he said. “I mean there were chances that we had to tie it and just couldn’t get it to go in. End of the day, you lose 5-4, you’re not going to win many games giving up five, that’s for sure, but we battled and thought we stuck right with them.”

The Spartans scored the only goal of the opening frame when All-Tournament Team defenseman Dawson Wallis struck at 11:28 with a wrist shot from the right point that eluded Johnson.

Hancock answered 6:12 into the middle frame when junior winger Kirby Storm found time and space in close to Spartans goaltender Drew Allen, and he beat him with a backhand deke.

It was Storm’s first varsity goal.

“He had a great move on his goal,” Rouleau said. “First goal as a Bulldog.”

Storm spent the game alongside Stukel and Sintkowski.

“I thought he was fine,” said Rouleau. “We’ll talk to him, and work on some things. But, I do like him there for now.”

The Spartans scored twice in 18 seconds to jump out to a 3-1 lead at 9:38 and 9:56 as Hall and Connor Buchanan struck, respectively.

Mitchell likes how his team is learning to score.

“I’m a defensive-minded coach, and, this year, I started allowing them to teach some offense,” he said. “Everybody looks at our stat line and we’re scoring five, six goals, but it’s driving me nuts, man, because we’re giving up four.”

However, the Spartans also give up a number of goals regularly, and that caught up with them at 14:10 when Tyler Axford cut the lead to 3-2.

Hall scored his second of the night at 14:28 to regain the two-goal advantage.

“He’s a consummate hockey player, right? He’s a leader on and off the ice,” said Mitchell. “His intangibles are next level in terms of knowing when to make plays and things like that.”

Hancock got back into the game 1:49 into third when Stukel fired a puck from below his own goal line to Sintkowski at the far blue line. Sintkowski skated in, made a move to his backhand, and scored.

The Spartans answered at 7:35 when Andrew Clark found the net with a rebound tally.

On that play, Johnson was whistled for a major penalty for slashing. He was sent to the penalty box, forcing Rouleau to turn to junior goaltender Adam Mikkola. Mikkola shut down not just the major penalty, but also a 5-on-3 for two full minutes in the middle of the major.

Mikkola’s heroics with two men in the box led to Stukel intercepting a pass, exploding down the left boards from his own end. Once he got around a Spartans defender, he drove the net and cut the lead down to one again at 11:28.

Hancock had one last chance with the faceoff to Allen’s right with 1:08 left, but despite winning the draw, the Bulldogs could not hold the puck in the zone, and then never were able to get the puck over the offensive blue line with numbers again before the final buzzer.

Allen stopped 17 in the win for the Spartans. Johnson and Mikkola combined for 35 saves for Hancock.