Midget Minor AAA

Squad gets come-from-behind, 4-3, win over USA Eagles on March 11 in Southgate

The Michigan Jaguars scored three straight powerplay goals to take a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the USA Eagles and the MAHA Midget AA state title on March 11 at the Southgate Civic Center.

The Troy-based Jaguars got pair of goals from Steve Deplancke to help overcome a pair of two-goal deficits, courtesy of an offensive outburst from the Eagles' Justin Tuma. Tuma scored all three goals for the West Bloomfield-based Eagles.

Tuma started the scoring eight minutes into the first period when the Eagles took advantage of a turnover, and Tuma picked up the puck at center ice, faked out a Jag defenseman and went to the net, beating goalie Kevin Kissaw low on the stick side. Hunter Steinback also assisted.

The 1-0 lead would stand until Tuma made it 2-0 3:57 into the second period, when he unleashed a slapshot from the top of the right-wing circle that made it through the pads of Kissaw, scoring the first of two power-play goals.

The Jaguars made it 2-1 just over 2:30 later when Deplancke notched his first goal, stuffing a rebound past Eagle netminder Matt Sekosan. Ryan Cowsert drew the lone assist on the goal.

Tuma made it 3-1 while enjoying a two-man advantage with 7:11 to go, when he one-timed a feed from Rayfield past the blocker of Kissaw. Matt Martin also assisted.

The Jags began their three-goal comeback with 4:54 left in the second period, when Ryan Lemke beat Sekosan with a wrister to the glove side while managing a two-man advantage of their own to make it 3-2. Chad Spezia assisted on the goal.

Deplancke tied the game 3-3 with eight minutes to go when he sent a rebound into the Eagle net after the Jaguars took advantage of a turnover. Weston Arch and Kyle Siciliano assisted on the goal.

"Deplancke is a great kid," Jags coach Kurt Schill said. “And our goalie played outstanding through districts, Silver Sticks, and now the state championship."

The Jags then finished things off with Steve Marcial's point shot snuck through a crowd, past the low stick side of Sekosan, off the far goalpost and in with the Jaguars on the power play with 2:49 left in the game.

"I didn't get everything on it," Marcial said. "Not getting many goals this season, it was great to get that one."

For Schill the key was that his team worked through the deficit and created opportunities for itself.

"In the first period we came out flat," he said. "We turned it around in the third. When you work hard, you create penalties, and we weren't doing that in the first and second."

Midget AA Notebook

The Jaguars made the final after beating Westland 6-1 in a semifinal behind a pair of goals from Weston Arch. Kyle Siciliano added a goal and two assists in a game that featured 38 penalties... The Eagles won a 4-2 decision over the Jackson Generals in the semifinal round. Matt Martin led the Eagles with a pair of goals, while Jeff Scheuer notched a goal and assist. Derek Walker scored both Generals' goals... In the round robin, the Jags grabbed 6-1 wins over Blue Water and the Generals, and a 9-1 romp over St. Ignace. Adam Hoffman and Sal Asaro both scored a pair of goals in the win over Blue Water, while Ryan Lemke was among six different goal scorers in the win over Jackson. Rob Scott had three assists and a goal. Alex Humphreys led with a pair of goals in the win over St. Ignace... The Eagles also cruised through round-robin games, beating Escanaba 7-0, Dearborn 8-0 and Westland 9-1. Hunter Steinback notched a hat trick in the win over Escanaba while Kurt Anton racked up three assists. Justin Tuma led with a pair of goals in the win over Dearborn, with Josh Tresnak and Martin each notching two assists... Westland made the semifinal by cruising to 15-0 and 10-0 wins over Dearborn and Escanaba, respectively. Scott Arcuragi and Alex Trujillo each scored three goals in the win over Dearborn, while Brock Donnelly had a goal and four assists. Derek Quinn had two goals and an assist in the win over Escanaba, and B.J. Beveridge added three assists... Jackson made the semifinal by sandwiching a 4-2 win over St. Ignace and a 3-2 win over Blue Water around a 6-1 loss to the Jaguars. Ben McLaughlin had a goal and an assist in the win over Blue Water.

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