The rest of the game was far from perfection. 

The Detroit-Jesuit Cubs salvaged a 3-3 tie after the Calumet Copper Kings underwent mental lapses and failed to convert on numerous power plays down the stretch to blow a 3-0 lead Friday in Calumet.

Article Photos

Daily Mining Gazette/Bryce Derouin
Calumet’s Ryan Nelson attempts to shoot past Detroit Jesuit’s Jacob Robinson during the first period Friday in Calumet. Robinson made the save.

 

 

 

"We kind of let our foot off the gas a little bit," Calumet head coach Dan Giachino said. "You certainly need to lock down the lead when you're up 3-0 halfway through the game. 

"Right now for us, it's just mental. We have to keep our foot on the gas. We have the tendency to let off a little bit when we get ahead." 

Before things went wayward, Calumet (9-4-1) went ahead 7:09 into the game when senior Joshua Larson scored from the left circle and beat Detroit-Jesuit senior goalie Jacob Robinson to his glove side to give the Copper Kings a 1-0 lead. 

Just 4:56 later, freshman Brent Loukus sniped a shot from the blue line to beat Robinson, making it 2-0. 

"We just got the puck on net," Giachino said. "We talked to the kids before the game about getting a lot of shots on net and getting traffic in front of the goaltender."

Detroit-Jesuit (6-2-3) did not get the puck on net in the first period, as they managed just two shots in the first. 

"We had a little heart-to-heart conversation between the first and second (period)," Detroit-Jesuit coach Rick Bennetts said. "We didn't make any adjustments on the forecheck or anything. We just put out some pretty harsh challenges to everybody in the room. A little bit of a gut-check and look at that face in the mirror and see what you can turn around and make a better period out of it, and they did a much better job in the second period."

It would take a bit before Detroit-Jesuit's turnaround could begin. First, Calumet junior Daylen Anderson would score his first goal of the season as he put the puck in the back of the net from the slot 3:21 into the second to give Calumet a 3-0 lead.

"It's good to see us get a little sharing of the offense a little bit," Giachino said of three different guys scoring.

With Calumet on the power play, Detroit-Jesuit senior Sam Knoblauch gained possession after a turnover, deked a Calumet defender and beat Calumet senior goalie Ian Carroll with a backhanded shot for the shorthanded goal with 9:20 left in the second. 

Just 2:14 later, Detroit-Jesuit drew within one when senior forward Teddy Apap came away with the puck in front of the crease and fired a shot past Carroll, cutting Calumet's lead to 3-2. The Cubs had 14 shots in the second period after recording just two in the first. 

"You could say we drove 500 miles and it's bus legs and all that, but we don't put a lot of merit into that," Bennetts said of his team's slow start. "We don't have any excuses. We were just outplayed early and battled back hard."

Knoblauch scored the equalizer - his second goal of the game - with a shot from above the crease on a pass from junior Lorenzo D'Agostini to tie the game 5:11 into the third. 

Each team had its chances, late, for the go-ahead goal. With 2:27 left in regulation, Detroit-Jesuit fired a shot that hit off the post and landed just behind Carroll, in front of the goal line. Carroll was able to cover the puck up. Following the faceoff, Calumet gained control and Calumet senior Ryan Nelson sent a shot on net that bounced off the post and drew groans from the home crowd.

The Copper Kings closed regulation and the final minutes of overtime on the power play, but could not find the go-ahead goal. Calumet had another shot go off the post and could not score on a two-on-one breakway. 

"The biggest story for us is we can't go 0 for 8, 0 for 9 on the power play," Giachino said. "Our power play has been very good for us this season, and that was a bit of a blip for us. When you're going 30 percent on the power play, and you go on an 0 for 8, 0 for 9 stretch, that's tough to handle.

"They (Detroit-Jesuit) did a really good job of getting in our shooting lanes and not giving us a lot of time and space. We didn't change anything, Detroit-Jesuit just did a good job with it. We weren't able to adjust quick enough."

Both teams finished with 30 shots. 

While Calumet may feel like a win got away, there were cheers in the Detroit-Jesuit locker room as they came away pleased with a tie. 

"Everybody dislikes a tie, but in this situation, it's kind of like a win, because we were so far down, early," Bennetts said. "It could have really got sideways pretty fast. To be able to battle back to a tie and give ourselves an opportunity in tomorrow's game to win the series is real important."

The two teams play at 1 p.m. today.