It was a busy but relatively easy night for L’Anse Creuse Unified goalie Perez Silva.

The junior netminder turned away 30 of the 32 shots he faced Thursday as LCU defeated Eisenhower 3-2 in a Macomb Area Conference crossover hockey game.

“It helps to stay in the game,” Silva said of the heavy workload. “But it’s good to know where the shots are coming from. My ‘D’ does a great job of keeping the shots out of the slot. I love getting a lot of shots but they were pretty easy saves to make when they’re outside the slot.

“The boys played well today, especially in the third period. Defense was on point. It was a team effort, a team win.”

Justin Brooks snapped a 2-2 tie on a goal with 5:07 remaining.

“It was a big moment in a big game,” Brooks said. “I had a teammate open but I saw the goalie was out of position and couldn’t get across the crease so I knew I had it.”

Aiden Willson passed the puck to Brooks for the assist.

Aiden Suchocki staked LCU to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals. His first came on a power play with 1:40 left in the first period. Aiden Carrithers and Jonah Kramer assisted. That was L’Anse Creuse’s only shot on goal in the period. Eisenhower had 10.

Suchocki’s second came on a breakaway at 1:54 of the second period. Logan Jarvey’s pass put him in the clear.

“We’ve preached defense since day one and the last three games it’s been better,” said L’Anse Creuse coach Jon Nader. “We stepped back today in giving up some shots but we kept them on the perimeter the majority of the time. We have good goaltending back there. If he can see it, he can make the saves.”

Eisenhower got its first goal at 5:41 of the second period when Ryan Dex jammed a loose puck in front of the crease into the net. Sawyer Hotchkiss and Layton Naeyaert had the assists.

LCU killed off a 5-on-3 power play late in the second period.

“We work on our special teams quite a bit and they executed tonight,” Nader said. “They’re buying into what we’re doing a little more every time we step on the ice. Hopefully, we’ll be firing on all cylinders when we get to the playoffs.”

Eisenhower tied the game on a power play at the 5-minute mark of the third period. Hotchkiss poked in a loose puck at the right side of the net. Bode Farr and Naeyaert assisted.

“I thought we came out a little lethargic, a little slow,” said Eagles coach David Erwin. “We started coming on in the second but we didn’t play anything like we should have. We didn’t really sustain anything.“Their goalie played very well but a lot of times we put puck over the net when we had point-blank opportunities. We talked about having to bear down on the opportunities. You have to give credit to their team. They played hard. They were physical and they got good goaltending.”

The loss left the Eagles with a 6-4-0 record.

“We have a good team. We have good players,” Erwin said. “But we have to play the right way if we’re going to have success. When we get off our game we’re not getting pucks in deep.

“We’ll take a lot out of this and hopefully grow from it. It’s definitely a learning experience. We have to get right back on the horse (Friday) against De La Salle. It’s better sometimes to get right back at it and correct those mistakes.”

L’Anse Creuse (6-3-2) doesn’t play again until it hosts Port Huron on Jan. 3.

“There’s not a better Christmas present than a win,” Brooks said. “The MAC’s wide open now with Romeo losing today. It’s up for grabs and we want it.”