2016 hockey: Colony, Wasilla boast veteran depth; Moose young

WASILLA — The first three weeks of the season have not been the easiest for the Colony Knights.

The defending North Star Conference champions skated into the Thanksgiving holiday break with a record below .500.

But Colony head coach Jamie Smith isn’t ready to hit the panic button.

“I tell our kids it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Smith said recently.

Colony is yet to skate at full strength — missing players for various reasons — but when Smith looks at the team picture of the squad that won a region title last year, he sees only three faces that are not still a part of the program. That’s reassuring, Smith said.

“We feel good about it,” Smith said.

Much like last year, the Knights boast a small senior class. Arguably the leader of that group, forward Cade Havel, has been out for the first chunk of the season due to lingering injuries.

Another leader in that senior group is forward Jake Kirsch.

“Kirsch is an impact guy,” Smith said.

The sophomore and junior classes are big.

Leading the junior class is three forwards — Cooper Smith, Jake Hessinger and Forrest Riekena — who make up Colony’s top line.

“They’ve been playing together since they were 5 years old,” Smith said of the trio.

The three are among the top 4 in points for the Colony program. Cooper Smith leads the team with 13 goals (6 goals, 7 assists). Hessinger (6-5-11) and Kirsch (6-5-11) have 11 points each. Riekena has (2-4-6) totals in the first month of the season.

Smith said the Knights also have young forwards — such as sophomores Tristan Avoletta, Zachary Monaco and Te’Sean Evans — who will contribute.

“We’ve got young guys, boog hockey players, but they haven’t been through the system,” Smith said.

The Knights have a pair of defensemen, Dayne Cole and Bryce Crosta, in their group of seniors. Forward Kolten Ketchum will be another leader on defense. Smith also noted sophomore Blake Reid.

The Knights boast the most experienced duo of goaltenders — Joey Diltz and Alex Gamez — in the North Star Conference.

Wasilla Warriors

While the Colony Knights aim to defend their conference title, the Wasilla Warriors are eager to work their way back to the conference title game. Colony’s 5-1 win over Wasilla in the NSC semifinals last season snapped Wasilla’s streak of six straight trips to the conference championship game and state tournament.

“We have a great bunch of kids,” Wasilla head coach Trent Schachle said recently. “The kids are working hard every day in practice.”

Senior forwards Garrett Conroy and Russell Harren are among the top players and leaders on the squad. Conroy currently leads the Warriors with 18 points (9-9-18), while Harren is close behind with 16 (7-9-16)). Wasilla’s group of top-6 forwards also includes sophomores Porter Schachle (5-10-15) and Alex Engan (8-4-12), and senior Alex Clark (2-9-11).

Schachle also noted his group of blue liners.

“Our (defensemen) are really solid, working hard, making smart plays, simple plays,” Schachle said.

That group includes junior Tyler Lutz and sophomore Austin Stephens. Dylan Abbott is among the freshmen making an impact.

The Warriors have a pair of goaltenders seeing action this season, junior Sean Carney and sophomore Aaron Campbell.

Palmer Moose

After graduating a big senior class, Palmer is the Valley squad hurt most by offseason departures.

“It’s a young team, but fortunately we have a lot of good young players coming up in Palmer,” Moose first-year head coach Dean Wilson said early in the season. “We’ve got a lot of holes to cover.”

Palmer’s small senior class is led by forward Taylor Foster and goaltender Cody Grogan.

“Taylor Foster is our captain, our big gun out there on the ice,” Wilson said.

Wilson also had high praise for Grogan.

“Cody is a very good goalie. He’s got a lot of real estate he takes up back there in that net. He’s a big boy,” Wilson said.

Junior Noah Keil, in addition to a group of young players — including sophomore Chase Rosenberg and freshman Jaron Ketterman — will be asked to fill big voids on Palmer’s top forward lines as well.

Wilson said he expects junior Garrett Ropka and senior Aaron Christiansen to be among Palmer’s leaders on the blue line.

Schedule

Wasilla and Soldotna are each 1-0 in North Star Conference play as NSC squads prepare for a big weekend in early December. The Peninsula teams — Soldotna, Kenai and Homer — will tour the Valley Dec. 1-3.

Wasilla hosts Soldotna Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., Kenai Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and Homer Dec. 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Brett Arena.

Colony hosts Kenai Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., Homer Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and Soldotna Dec. 3 at noon at the Menard Arena.

Palmer hosts Homer Dec. 1 at 7 p.m., Soldotna Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and Kenai Dec. 3 at 3:45 p.m. at the MTA Events Center.

NSC play continues Dec. 12, with Palmer hosting Colony at the MTA Events Center at 7 p.m. Wasilla hosts Palmer Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

The MTA Events Center is also hosting the NSC Championships Feb. 2-4.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.