Cheboygan hockey's season ends in regional loss; Inland Lakes puts up fight against Vikings
CADILLAC – The Cheboygan High School hockey team gave it a go against the powerful Bay Area Reps on Thursday.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they fell well short of earning another postseason victory. Instead, their season ended in a 7-1 loss to the Reps in a MHSAA Division 3 regional semifinal at Cadillac.
“Tonight, as they have all season, our team went out and battled from start to finish. That’s all you can ask for as a coach,” Cheboygan coach Seth Duncan said. “(Assistant coach Jordan Yost) and I are so proud of how this team faced adversity throughout the season and never flinched.”
Scoring for the Chiefs (6-19-2) was senior Gavin Rose. Rose, along with fellow seniors Patrick Smith, Cody Lane, Jack Lane and Sawyer Graham, competed in their final high school contests on Thursday.
“I’m thankful for our group of seniors this year for all their hard work, dedication, and sacrifice,” Duncan said. “We are going to miss them so much next year.”
Prior to Thursday, Cheboygan posted its first playoff win since 2019 with a 4-1 triumph over Gaylord on Tuesday.
Bay Reps (16-8-2) advances to face Petoskey (15-10-1) in a 5 p.m. regional semifinal showdown in Cadillac on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
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Bulldogs edged by Grayling in home thriller
INDIAN RIVER – A season ago, the Inland Lakes boys basketball team was trounced by Grayling on the road.
This time around, the Bulldogs gave the Vikings all they could handle. However, I-L's fourth-quarter rally fell just short in a narrow 73-71 loss in their regular season finale on Thursday.
“Last year, we were obliterated by them. It didn’t look like we belonged, but we proved we did tonight,” a proud Inland Lakes coach Lee Nash said. “We’re playing really well right now, people are stepping up, and we’re not one-dimensional.”
Trailing 55-46 entering the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs (13-9) battled back and closed in on the Vikings. However, Grayling took advantage of a last-second Inland Lakes technical foul, made its free throw attempts, and escaped Indian River with a win.
Senior Sam Schoonmaker continued his solid stretch of play, tallying a team-high 21 points for the Bulldogs, while sophomore Cash DePauw finished with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Aidan Fenstermaker and Noah Shugar each reached double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively, and Payton Teuthorn and Connor Wallace tallied five apiece.
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“I feel like we’re playing our best ball of the season, when it matters,” Nash said. “I know playing a Division 2 team can be intimidating for a Division 4 team like us, but our kids showed they could compete against bigger and stronger kids. We didn’t repeat the same mistakes over and over.
“I’m excited to get ready for Wolverine next week.”
Inland Lakes opens postseason play when it faces Wolverine in a 5:30 p.m. MHSAA Division 4 district semifinal at Rogers City on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Beauchamp’s huge night lifts Mack City girls in Atlanta
ATLANTA – A monster all-around night from Mackinaw City senior guard Gracie Beauchamp helped lift the Comets to a 56-14 girls basketball victory at Atlanta on Thursday.
Beauchamp finished with 31 points, nine steals, eight rebounds, seven assists and one block for the Comets (19-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
“I was very pleased with our team defense and ball movement in finding open shooters tonight and getting some great looks at the basket,” Mackinaw City coach Jake Huffman said. “We assisted on 16 of 24 baskets and controlled the boards with a 38-25 advantage.”
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Mackinaw City’s Jersey Beauchamp recorded eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals, while Grace Sroka had seven points, three rebounds, one steal and one block, Kerry-Ann Ming tallied six points, 17 rebounds, two steals and one block, Kenzlie Currie registered four points, three steals and one assist, Rian Esper added two rebounds and one assist, and Jillian Poumade and Alaia Mendez each grabbed a rebound.
Mackinaw City wraps up its regular season with a clash at Onaway on Thursday, Feb. 29.
Cheboygan girls fall to St. Ignace in rematch
ST. IGNACE – The first meeting against St. Ignace went well for the Cheboygan girls basketball team earlier this season.
However, the Saints got their revenge at home on Thursday.
The Chiefs fell short of sweeping the Saints after suffering a 54-32 Straits Area Conference loss.
“This was a hard fought, physical game,” Cheboygan coach Walter Hanson said. “We battled and did some things well, especially on the defensive end. We ultimately turned the ball over too much and we needed to rebound better. We were still missing a few players and hopefully we will get everyone back soon. We will regroup and be ready for the last week of the regular season.”
Bella Ecker scored 11 points to lead the Chiefs (9-11, 3-5 SAC), who received seven points apiece from Olivia Patrick and Emily Clark. Addy Baldwin had three and Cloee Rupp and Kinsey Carpenter finished with two each.
Cadence Cullen’s 13 points fueled the Saints (14-7, 3-4). Jillian Frasier had 11 and Avery Visnaw tallied 10.
Back on Thursday, Feb. 1, Cheboygan captured victory over St. Ignace for the first time since 2015.
Cheboygan hosts Grayling on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
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 suffers regional loss, Inland Lakes boys basketball edged by Grayling
