Palmer senior goalies step out of net

PALMER — There’s an old hockey belief that the best player on defense is the goalie.

This season, that has double the meaning for the Palmer Moose.

After spending much of their hockey careers fixed in front of a net between the pipes, Palmer seniors Jonas Naegele and Will Rauchenstein are skating into new territory as part of the Palmer blue line.

“It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be,” Naegele said after Palmer skated to a 5-1 win over Houston during the second day of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament on Friday. “Me and Will are two of the biggest players on our team. Our team’s not very big. It seems practical to use us.”

Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said he came to the realization late last season that he may need to use Naegele and Rauchenstein to add depth to a depleted group of defenseman.

The Moose had just lost All-North Star Conference defenseman Dylan Danielowski to a devastating shoulder injury during the conference tournament, and Palmer spent much of its three games during the state tourney skating with only three defensemen. And at any given time during the tourney Palmer had either Naegele or Rauchenstein — players Hanson calls two of his better athletes — sitting on the bench.

“At that point, I turned to both of them and said, ‘Next year we’re not going to be put in that position,’” Hanson said.

At first, both Naegele and Rauchenstein thought Hanson was kidding. But once the Moose dropped the puck on the 2009-10 season, Hanson started a rotation.

So now, on one night Naegele will ditch the goalie mask and blockers and play defense. The next night, Naegele will return to the net and Rauchenstein will head for the blue line.

The rotation works the same in practice.

“They’ve got double-duty,” Hanson said. “They’ve had a lot of work in practice doing both.”

Hanson said both seniors have responded well to the added responsibility.

“I think they’ve done great,” Hanson said. “They’re a couple of seniors that want to contribute to the team’s success. This is a way they can do it.”

Hanson said he’s seen both goalies make a smooth transition from the crease to the blue line.

“As goalies, they get to watch the play, see what’s going on. They’ve seen a lot of situations,” Hanson said. “It makes it a little easier to adapt, make that transition.”

Both goalies say the adjustments have been minor, and in the process they’ve developed their own styles.

Naegele said Rauchenstein is more of an offensive-minded defenseman, while he’s the more traditional stay-at-home blueliner.

“Will’s a much better passer than I am, much better offensive defenseman,” Naegele said. “I know I like to hit more. I’m more aggressive.”

Both said they’re enjoying their time out of the net.

“It’s a lot of fun to play defense,” Rauchenstein said.

And hit people, Naegele said.

“It’s nice to give a little back,” Naegele said. “As a goalie, you get run into and if you hit anybody back, a lot of the time it’s going to be a penalty.”

Both have played hockey most of their lives. Naegele is planning to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks next year and may hang up the skates.

Rauchenstein hopes to have a long career in goal. In addition to his time with the Moose, Rauchenstein plays for the Junior Avalanche U-18 AAA team. Next season, he hopes to play junior hockey, maybe for the Junior A Alaska Avalanche.

His ultimate goal would be to man the goal for Division I Notre Dame.

But in the meantime, Naegele and Rauchenstein will continue rotating between the goal and the blue line.

“They’re a couple guys stepping up for us,” Hanson said, “contributing to our success, contributing to our improvement.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.