ESCANABA — This had been a banner hockey season for the Escanaba Hawks to say the least.

The Hawks recently achieved a rare feat, earning state titles on all three levels within the same season.

“It’s super exciting,” said Hawks’ bantam (age 14 & under) head coach Mike Sands. “This can only help us going forward. It’s rare for any program to sweep the state titles and I know this is the first time this happened in Escanaba. We played lights out. We definitely dominated the tournament.”

The bantams outscored their opponents 58-8 in the state tourney, including a 10-1 triumph over Big Rapids in the championship game at the newly renovated O’Donnell Center in Ironwood.

Esky beat Traverse City 11-4 in its opener, then defeated Ironwood 13-0 and Midland 12-3 in pool play before blanking Rochester 12-0 in the semifinals.

Forward Graham Johnson was the team’s leading scorer, followed by forward Owen LaBonte and defenseman Ben Sands.

“Graham was just a scoring machine,” said coach Sands. “If he didn’t get a hat trick in a game, it was odd. Ben broke his hand two weeks before the state tournament and wore a cast under his glove, but still helped us out.”

Other leaders were forward Keagan Braun, who broke his leg during the season, and defensemen Carson Hughes and Devin Mattonen.

“We had some adversity for sure, but the kids played through it,” said coach Sands. “These kids are super talented. If they played the way they were capable, they always had a chance to win. We certainly ended stronger than we started.”

The Hawks finished 34-7-1 and won 20 of their last 22 games.

Esky’s Pee Wees (age 12 & under) romped past Traverse City 10-3 in their title game at Muskegon.

They opened with a 12-3 victory over Traverse City, then defeated Muskegon 13-3, Gladwin 8-4 in pool play and Macomb 15-2 in the semifinals.

“I was surprised by the margin of victory for the most part,” said coach Andy Johnson. “I think the work ethic by our kids was the big difference. It was exciting to see the kids put in all the work and have it pay off.”

Forward Nick Martinson was the leading scorer for the Hawks, who finished 35-2-1.

“We split with one of the Marquette teams and Newberry,” said Johnson. “Newberry had a good goaltender and defense. The boys and two girls on the team really worked hard. This shows the good coaches we have in our program. They worked with the kids and showed them the right way.”

Forward Nick Johnson and defenseman Griffin Johnson scored most of the goals.

“Nick put a lot of pucks in the net and Griffin got his share of goals,” said coach Johnson. Our goaltender (Bryce Bichler) made some key saves. We didn’t rely on Bryce all that much, but he was there when we needed him.”

The squirts (age 10 & under) secured their title in a 5-2 conquest of Berrien Freeze at Brighton.

They defeated Sault Ste. Marie 5-2, Kensington Valley 13-0 and Gladwin 10-1 in pool play and topped the Troy Lightning 6-1 in the semifinals.

“The championship game was back and forth the whole way through,” said coach Josh Fisher. “It was an intense game. The Sault was also very competitive. They had a real good goaltender.

“It was a great time. Everybody just worked hard. Even the younger kids weren’t afraid to be physical. We just had a bunch of hard-nosed kids. Their work ethic was absolutely great.”

The Hawks were led by forwards Henry Sholten, Jaeger Gartland and Dallin Fisher.

“Henry was our leading scorer by far,” said coach Fisher. “After those three we were pretty even all the way around. A girl (Ruby Tuljus) joined our team in December. Ruby had never played hockey before, but she worked real hard all season. She really helped our team. Her brother (Gunner) was eight years old and a solid defenseman. We had four solid defensemen. Channing Heslip is really fast and has an unbelievable work ethic. We have a lot of kids who enjoy the game and a lot of good coaches to help them.”

Coach Fisher says the team faced some of its strongest competition from the other Escanaba squirt team, coached by Andy Wilson.

“Andy’s a great guy,” he added. “They’re the only team to beat us twice this season. We had a 2-1 edge in playdown games, They beat us before the district, then we beat them four days before the state tournament. Credit to their coach. That wasn’t required, but having them helping us prepare was huge.”