WELLS — The Escanaba Eskymos didn’t have an answer for Calumet’s first line here Friday night as they dropped an 8-1 hockey decision to the Copper Kings.

Senior forward Dean Loukus and junior forward Rilei Jackson combined for 12 points in this Great Lakes Conference contest.

Loukus scored a goal to go with six assists. Jackson collected four goals and an assist, and junior forward Nolan Sturos added a goal and two assists.

“Rilei is probably one of the best players in the state of Michigan,” said Calumet coach Dan Giachino. “Rilei, Dean and Nolan communicate well together. When you score six goals, you had a pretty good night.”

Jackson provided the Copper Kings with their lone goal in the first period.

Sturos then went top shelf from near the left faceoff circle for Calumet’s second goal 4:32 into the second frame, and Jackson’s power-play goal from the low slot made it 3-0 at 6:39.

Esky got its goal 70 seconds later on senior forward Spencer Bourdeau’s shot from the neutral zone.

“He got the puck in on the glove side, and I think it surprised our goaltender a little,” said Giachino. “It’s easy to lose focus when you’re not facing a lot of shots. Their goal really got them going for about 2-3 minutes, then our fourth goal kind of put a squelch on their comeback.”

Jackson’s one-timer from beyond the right circle gave the Copper Kings a 4-1 cushion at 9:10 of the second stanza and Jackson scored from the doorstep for his third goal and a 5-1 advantage at 12:34.

“We played with a lot of intensity in the first period, then they opened things up in the second,” said Esky coach Matt Hughes. “We made a lot of mistakes in the second period. We missed assignments defensively and turned the puck over too many times.

“Their first line is fast, and they work extremely hard. They’re on the puck quick. They like to keep the puck in your zone, and they’re very good at it.”

Senior forward Noah Jukuri went top shelf on a breakaway to put the Copper Kings up 6-1 just 59 seconds into the third period, and junior forward Ayden Williams added their seventh goal 19 seconds later.

“We were a little sloppy in the first period, then we started moving the puck a little better in the second period,” said Giachino. “When you play Escanaba, you know they’re going to play hard for 51 minutes. As long as they continue to play hard, they’ll be all right.”

Calumet outshot the Eskymos 40-10. Esky junior Dylan Ziemke stopped 32 shots, and Calumet sophomore Aksel Loukus had nine saves.

“The kids didn’t give up,” said Hughes. “They kept working hard. Being down by seven goals is a tough situation for a goaltender to be in.”

The Eskymos (0-2 GLC and overall) host Marquette this afternoon at 3 at the Hannahville Ice & Turf Complex. The Copper Kings (3-0 overall and 2-0 GLC) host Negaunee today at 4.

Calumet 1 4 3 — 8

Escanaba 0 1 0 — 1

Scoring plays:

First period

C — Jackson (Dean Loukus), 4:33

Second period

C — N. Sturos (Dean Loukus and Jackson), 4:32

C — Jackson (Dean Loukus and N. Sturos)

E — S. Bourdeau (Mylander), 7:39

C — Jackson (Dean Loukus and Plau), 9:10

C — Jackson (N. Sturos and Erkkila), 12:34

Third period

C — Jukuri (Larson and Dean Loukus), :59

C — Williams (Jukuri and P. Sturos), 1:18

Shots on goal: Calumet 40, Escanaba 10

Power plays: Calumet 1-2, Escanaba 0-2

Goaltender saves: Calumet (A. Loukus 9), Escanaba (Ziemke 32).