Cheboygan hockey builds belief with lopsided victories over New Boston United, Badgers

CHEBOYGAN – Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Gavin Rose emerged from the Cheboygan locker room with a smile on his face.

The Cheboygan senior forward’s excitement was justified, especially knowing he had just delivered a hat trick and helped spark the Chiefs to a 9-0 victory over Lakeshore Badgers.

It was a short day on the ice for the Chiefs (5-14-2), who battered the Badgers with a seven-goal blitz in the first period, then finished things off with two more goals in the second. It was an outstanding display from a Cheboygan team that followed up a 9-1 thrashing of New Boston United on Friday with arguably an even better display on Saturday.

For Rose and his teammates, who have struggled for much of this campaign, the two wins could not have come at a better time.

“These games were a huge confidence boost, especially for me and the team,” Rose said. “We had first goals happening, first shutouts. Big accomplishments were happening through these games, so it helps us out a lot. (Friday), we started off rough and (New Boston United) got the first goal, then we started rolling them, so we just wanted to get out here early and just put some points on the board like we did today. We got into a rhythm and took it over in the first period.”

Rose got the Chiefs started early, tallying the first two goals of the game, while Warren Farver and Daniel Harke both scored twice in the period, and Hunter Belmas netted his first-career varsity goal.

Farver recorded his first-career hat trick in the second and Rose put the finishing touches on Cheboygan’s dominant display with a goal that sealed his second hat trick in two days. Adding assists were Braxton Esper (two), Patrick Smith (two), Broden Powell (two), Alex Hudson, Noah Gingrich, Farver, Rose and goaltender Jackson Bancroft, who earned the shutout win with 11 saves.

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Cheboygan coach Seth Duncan was also delighted with his team’s overall week, which started with a solid performance despite losing at Petoskey on Wednesday.

“They’ve been continuing to improve throughout the whole year,” Duncan said. “Wednesday night, we put on a really good game in Petoskey and just kept getting better as the week went on. This time of year, we should be starting to look our best. Hopefully we’ve got a few more weeks of improvement before the playoffs start, but I’m really happy with where we’re at.”

Duncan continued to throw praise at standouts like Farver and Rose, but also made sure to credit plenty of others during Cheboygan’s best stretch of the campaign.

“It’s always great when you’ve got seniors leading the way, not only on the ice, but setting the examples,” Duncan said. “We have Sawyer (Graham) being a good teammate. He didn’t play this weekend, but he was there to support Jackson (Bancroft) this weekend, and that’s what you want to out of leaders. You’ve got Patty (Smith) in the locker room always being a positive voice. Cody (Lane) had a really good game Friday night, and he’s always really supportive of everyone, and then you’ve got Jack (Lane) out there playing with two younger guys. That’s a lot to ask for an older player to play with younger guys.

“All the leadership you’re seeing, they’re doing a great job.”

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Cheboygan hosts its second home showcase of the season when it takes on Painsedale-Jeffers in a 7 p.m. clash on Friday, Feb. 9, followed by a 1 p.m. matchup with Stoney Creek on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan hockey finishes off terrific weekend with 9-0 victory over Lakeshore Badgers