Kingsford senior captain Will Murvich celebrates his goal in the opening minutes of Tuesday’s MHSAA regional first round contest against Manistique at Mountain View Ice Arena. (Ron Deuter photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN – Kingsford skated to its first postseason victory since 2018 with a 2-0 win over Manistique on Tuesday night at Mountain View Ice Arena in an MHSAA regional first-round contest, earning a trip to Marquette for tonight’s regional semifinal.

Regardless of how far the Flivvers advance from here, the 2025-26 season will be remembered as a resounding success, with Tuesday’s playoff breakthrough serving as an exclamation point on a year that exceeded expectations in many ways. Now tonight they’ll try to pull off a second upset over the Division 3 No. 4-ranked Sentinels after holding on for a shocking 2-1 win back on Dec. 23.

“Marquette is going to be ready for us for sure,” Flivvers head coach Greg Wadge said. “We’re going to need our best effort and we’re really going to need some good goaltending.”

Faceoff between the Flivvers (12-13-0) and Sentinels (17-7-3) is set for 5 p.m.

Against Manistique, the Flivvers took control control from the start, senior captain Will Murvich punching in the game’s first score amongst a scrum in the front of the net on a power play just a minute and half in. It was his 17th score of the season. The man advantage was set up due a trip of senior Jacob Deuter on the Flivvers’ first rush into the Emeralds’ zone.

“It feels great,” Murvich said of the win. “This is the first time (winning a playoff game) since my brother’s team it’s kind of nice. There has been a lot of firsts this year for Kingsford, beating Marquette for the first time in a while and now winning a playoff game. We’ve got a good group of guys. Hopefully we can have a few more good games. All three of our lines just have to play hard, go out out there and work just as hard as we did tonight.”

Tensions flared in the moments after Murvich’s score, with a lot of pushing and shoving in what was a pile of players in front of the net. In the aftermath, Manistique junior Matthew Luebkert received a five-minute major and game misconduct for a shot to Murvich’s head.

The Flivvers were unable to add to their lead during the major penalty, but the tone was set for what would be a dominant performance that saw Kingsford outshoot the Emeralds 46-13. If not for a whale of an effort by Manistique junior goaltender Jackson Goudreau, the game could have easily gotten away in a hurry. Kingsford held a 19-2 lead in shots after one period and were up 39-6 after two frames.

“We had lots of opportunities,” Wadge said. “Their goalie played fantastic. He made some huge saves.”

Sophomore Paolo Lenzi put the Flivvers ahead 2-0 early in the second, firing from the slot and getting one past Goudreau with an assist from junior Jack Spreen at 2:35. The goal was Lenzi’s eighth of the season and Spreen’s 13th assist.

Senior goalie Nate Scullon earned his ninth win in net and his second shutout of the season. Scullon will be back between the pipes tonight looking to replicate his performance from the upset earlier in the season when he made 45 saves against the Sentinels.

“It’s awesome,” Wadge said of Tuesday’s win. “Our compete level was good. The kids played great. I’m super pleased with the season and how these guys came together. We’ve performed above expectations for sure. It’s a year to be proud of.”

The other side of the regional bracket will see Escanaba (17-9-1) host Sault Ste. Marie, which was a 5-2 winner over Negaunee on Tuesday. The regional championship game is scheduled for Wednesday in Marquette.