Justin Brooks was ready for the moment.

The senior forward scored twice in the second period Wednesday night to lead L’Anse Creuse Unified to a 5-2 victory over Anchor Bay in a Division 1 regional hockey quarterfinal game at Suburban Ice Macomb.

Brooks’ goals came 31 seconds apart and gave L’Anse Creuse Unified leads of 3-2 and 4-2, the latter with 1:55 left in the period.

“It’s always a blast, especially in a big game like this, because it really matters,” Brooks said.

“This is the biggest year for me. We’ve got to win it (the regional) this year.”

The intense game between the rivals included a fight with 1:31 left in the third period. One player from each side was ejected.

“It’s a big rivalry,” Brooks, a three-year varsity player, said after L’Anse Creuse Unified improved to 16-8-2, including a 2-0-1 mark against Anchor Bay. “It always feels good taking the win from them.

“We’re looking to take the energy going forward.”

Jon Nader, the L’Anse Creuse Unified coach, said the rivalry with Anchor Bay has been special for all of his 19 seasons with the program.

“It has never changed,” he said. “It probably never will.”

Joe Tringali scored two goals, including one into an empty net with 43.1 seconds left in the game, and Aiden Suchocki converted a rebound eight seconds into the first period as LCU won behind freshman goalie Jake Stewart.

Anchor Bay’s Cameron Buch scored an unassisted goal in the first period and defenseman Kallen Paul scored off an assist by Jason Mathews in the second.

“We played hard, but we had some tough luck today,” Tars coach Joe Zuccaro said. “We had five penalties in a row at one point, hit the post, had that bad rebound (on LCU’s first goal).

“Their goalie made some nice saves. We kept peppering him.”

The Tars, Zuccaro said, played well in the first period but had a “lull” in the second.

“We had a good third period, but not good enough,” Zuccaro said after AB dropped to 12-12-2.

Anchor Bay’s roster included 15 seniors. Many of them were part of the Tars’ regional championship team in 2023.

“They were trying to get back to that mountain,” Zuccaro said. “It’s tough.”

L’Anse Creuse Unified plays Eisenhower at Suburban Ice Macomb at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Romeo plays Chippewa Valley United at 4 in the other semifinal.

Brooks deflected a shot by defenseman Aiden Willson for his first goal.

“He hit a rocket of a shot; I just tipped it in 5-hole,” Brooks said.

Nader wasn’t surprised by Brooks’ goal.

“He’s got hands like nobody else,” Nader said. “He has struggled a little bit this year, but he’s one of the stars, and the stars shined tonight.”

Suchocki and Tringali had an assist apiece.

LCU finished second in the Macomb Area Conference White Division. Nader’s team split two MAC crossover games against Eisenhower.

“It’s been an up-and-down year for us, but when these guys are playing well, they can play with anybody.

“There’s nothing like playoff hockey. There’s nothing better than this.”