The East St. Paul Gators earned a midweek road win before closing the week with back-to-back losses in Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League action.
East St. Paul opened the stretch Wednesday with a 7-4 victory over the Warren 67’s. Reis Mediros scored on the power play early to get the Gators going, while Caleb Hofer added two goals to pace the offence. A three-goal burst late in the second period — including the game-winner from Ethan Lukianchuk — gave East St. Paul the separation it needed. Kaden Coughlin sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final seconds. Preston Laschyn earned the victory in goal with 53 saves.
The Gators were unable to carry that momentum into Saturday night, falling 8-4 on the road against the Ste. Anne Aces. Hofer opened the scoring just over a minute into the game, but Ste. Anne responded with six unanswered goals over the final half of the contest, including two power-play markers. Chris Tataryn, Jonah Chaulk and Cole Philion scored for East St. Paul, while Jack Seniuk turned aside 46 shots for the Aces.
East St. Paul wrapped up the weekend Sunday with a 7-3 loss to the Mitchell Mustangs. The Gators briefly grabbed a first-period lead on goals from Adam Frick and Brayden Alf, but Mitchell responded with five unanswered goals spanning the first and second periods to take control. Reis Mediros scored again in the second for East St. Paul, but Mitchell added two more power-play goals in the third to put the game away.
Following the week’s results, East St. Paul sits ninth in the HTJHL standings at 7-16 for 14 points through 23 games.
The Gators return to action Wednesday, Jan. 28, visiting the Red River Mudbugs at St. Jean Arena before hosting the Mitchell Mustangs on Saturday, Jan. 31, at East St. Paul Community Centre. East St. Paul then faces the league-leading Macdonald Swarm on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Sanford Recreation Centre.
