Todd Rose | Daily Press Escanaba’s Brayden Martineau (10) fires a shot at Negaunee goalie Patrick Klumpp (1) Saturday afternoon in Wells.

WELLS — What a difference six hours can make.

After cruising past the Negaunee Miners 8-2 in the first game of a hockey doubleheader, the Escanaba Eskymos had to dig deep for the sweep in a 4-3 triumph here in Saturday’s nightcap.

Negaunee, with just two seniors and one junior on its roster, took a 3-2 lead on a shorthanded goal by senior forward Connor O’Dovero midway through the third period of the second game.

Esky got the tying goal 11 minutes, 24 seconds into the final frame when senior forward Spencer Bourdeau redirected senior defenseman Kadon Hayes shot from the point.

Junior forward Karson Krutina then hit the game-winner from point-blank range 53 seconds later.

“The tying goal alone was a momentum changer, and getting the go-ahead goal that quickly was huge,” said Esky coach Matt Hughes. “Their shorthanded goal was not a good special teams moment for us. They (Negaunee) play their positions well, and their goalie (sophomore Ryan Kerkela) made some big saves.”

Esky sophomore defensemen Braden Sundquist got the Eskymos on the board with his first career goal on a one-timer from the high slot just 19 seconds into the second period.

“Ayden made a good play down low, which helped Sunny get his first goal,” said Hughes. “That was a big goal for us. That was good for him, too. He worked hard all weekend.”

Negaunee sophomore Easton Palomaki tied the score on a shot high slot at 9:26 and added his second goal on a power play from the doorstep at 11:09.

“That was probably one of our best periods all year,” said Negaunee coach Dale Hopper. “That’s one of those periods on which you watch film and see what we did good. We moved our feet better than in the first game, which helped us draw some penalties. After finishing the second period, we had all the momentum. We just didn’t match their intensity in the third period. We felt tonight was to determine who would be playing Kingsford (in a Division 2 regional opener).”

The Eskymos, who took five penalties in the second frame, tied the score at 2-2 on junior forward Ayden Mylander’s rebound from the doorstep 2:05 into the third.

“We were killing penalties the whole period,” said Hughes. “We had enough practice. We don’t need to practice that in games. Although, the boys fought through some adversity. We took that on as an opportunity to work hard and be successful and were able to do that.”

The Eskymos (4-9) fired a season-high 45 shots on goal. The Miners (1-11-1) finished with 31. Kerkela stopped 41 shots, and Esky junior Dylan Ziemke had 28 saves.

In the opener, Krutina scored a hat trick and achieved a playmaker for the Eskymos, who finished with a 33-22 shots on goal advantage. Sawyer LaMarch added a goal and two assists. Kolich, Hayes, Kobie Patrick and Gunner Bourdeau also hit goals, and Spencer Bourdeau had three assists.

Esky junior goaltender Bryce Buchbinder collected 20 saves. Negaunee freshman Patrick Klumpp had 25.

“It was nice to get three games at home, and the changing of the numbers helped get more people in here,” said Hughes.

After taking care of home ice this weekend, the Eskymos will take a three-game winning streak to the Copper Country for Wednesday’s rematch with Painesdale Jeffers at the Houghton County Arena in Hancock. Negaunee visits Marquette Tuesday.

Negaunee 0 2 1 — 3

Escanaba 0 1 3 — 4

Second period

E — Sundquist (LaMarch and Mylander), :19

N — Palomaki (Lystila), 9:26

N — Palomaki (Mann, Dank), 11:09

Third period

E — Mylander (Smith, J. LaMarch), 2:05

N — O’Dovero (shorthanded, unassisted, 7:20

E — S. Bourdeau (Hayes), 11:24

E — Krutina (S. LaMarch and G. Bourdeau), 12:31

Shots on goal: Escanaba 45, Negaunee 31

Power plays: Negaunee 1-5, Escanaba 0-3

Goaltender saves: Escanaba (Ziemke 28), Negaunee (Kerkela 41).