WELLS — Copper Country hockey teams have been tough on Escanaba to this point in the season.

That trend continued here Friday night as the Hancock Bulldogs handed the Eskymos a 5-2 loss at the Hannahville Ice & Turf Complex.

The Bulldogs completely dominated the third period by scoring three times and outshooting Esky 23-4.

“We played good hockey for two periods. I think we just ran out of gas in the third,” Esky coach Andy Johnson said. “Hancock is physical and constantly plays the body, which tends to tire you out after two periods. They’re one of the best defensive teams we’ll face all year. They have two of the best defensemen (junior Max Heinonen and Kilpela) in the state (in Max Heinonen and Todd Kilpela).”

Hancock improved to 6-3-1 and the Eskymos fell to 4-5 overall. The Eskymos are also 0-3 against teams from the Keweenaw Peninsula, falling by a combined score of 25-3 in those three games.

Esky took a 2-1 lead on a tough shot from in front of the right faceoff circle by sophomore Nolan Bink 74 seconds into the second stanza.

The Bulldogs tied the score at two on a rebound by sophomore forward Ted Heinonen 12:23 into the second and went ahead on a one-timer from inside the right circle by Kilpela 3:25 into the third.

“We finally put a period together,” Hancock coach Pete Rouleau said. “Between periods we told the guys, ‘let’s at least put one period together and play hockey the way you know how to play.’ We played and competed hard and made it difficult for them to get shots on goal.”

Senior forward Bryce Vandervest scored from the slot to make it 4-2 at 10:09 and freshman forward Brady Axford redirected a shot from beyond the right circle by sophomore defenseman Drew Sturos to end the scoring at 11:47.

Esky opened the scoring on junior Cale Carter’s power play goal on a rebound, set up on a shot by sophomore Graham Johnson with 2:29 left in the opening frame.

Hancock got the equalizer on Heinonen’s rebound from the doorstep with 14 seconds remaining in the first.

“In the first period, our power play looked real good,” Andy Johnson said. “Graham put the puck on net and Cole got the rebound. Nolan was working real hard tonight. I thought our D played good. I also thought we made a good step forward despite the score. The team is getting better with each game.

“We told the boys we’re happy with how we got better as a team, but we’re not satisfied with a loss.”

The Bulldogs, showing a quick release on many of their shots, finished with a 50-25 shots on goal advantage.

“Our third line got the first two goals which helped us out a lot,” Rouleau said. “We did very well on faceoffs tonight. Bryce Hanner (senior forward) and Tevin Stukel (freshman forward) won a lot of draws. It’s a positive for us to score five goals. We know we can put the puck in the back in the back of the net, but we have to work hard.”

Esky sophomore goaltender Cully Hayes stopped 45 shots. Hancock senior Dan Wrobleski had 23 saves.

“I thought Cully Hayes played amazing,” Andy Johnson said. “He faced a lot of tough shots and made a lot of great saves.”

The Eskymos host Calumet Friday. The Bulldogs then face the Copper Kings in the opening round of the John MacInnis Memorial tournament at Michigan Tech Dec. 27.

Hancock 1 1 3 — 5

Escanaba 1 1 0 — 2

Scoring plays

First period

E — Carter (Johnson) power play, 14:31

H — T. Heinonen (Vandervest), 16:46

Second period

E — Bink (unassisted), 1:14

H — T. Heinonen (Axford), 12:27

Third period

H — Kilpela (Sintkowski), 3:25

H — Vandervest (Geberkoff), 10:09

H — Axford (Sturos), 11:47

Statistics

Shots on goal: Hancock 50, Escanaba 25

Power plays: Hancock 0-3, Escanaba 1-3

Goaltender saves: Escanaba (Hayes 45), Hancock (Wrobleski 23)

Penalty minutes: Escanaba 3-6, Hancock 3-6.