Negaunee’s Easton Palomaki, right, takes a shot as Escanaba goalie Bryce Buchbinder dives on the puck to make a save on Saturday in Escanaba. (Escanaba Daily Press photo by Todd Rose)

WELLS — What a difference six hours can make.

After cruising past the youthful 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 11:24 into the final period 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,” Esky coach Matt Hughes said. “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,” Hughes said. “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 high slot shot 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,” Negaunee coach Dale Hopper said. “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,” Hughes said. “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,” Hughes said.

Negaunee visits Marquette today.