Berti leads Moose to win

WASILLA -- When you run into a hot goaltender, sometimes there is just little you can do.

Wasilla found that out Thursday night.

Despite outshooting Palmer 40-9, the Warriors fell to Palmer 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Region III hockey tournament.

"I am really proud of them, what can I say when you outshoot a team 40-9?," Wasilla head coach Eric Troisi said. "We were just trying to get people in front of the net."

The Warriors consistently peppered the Palmer net, but simply ran into a wall.

That wall wore a blue and white jersey.

Palmer freshman Kyle Berti stopped 39 of Wasilla's 40 shots and had a shutout running until the final minute of the game.

The Warriors caught Berti in a zone.

Not even a fire alarm could startle Berti.

At the the 4:27 mark of the third period, the scoreboard buzzer sounded and sirens began to blare at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena. The game was temporarily was suspended as rink officials began to shuffle patrons outside and check to see if the arena was in fact in flames.

The alarm proved to be false and after a two-minute hiatus from the contest, the teams were allowed to again take the ice.

Some coaches may fear a stoppage in play when their team has the momentum and the lead, but Palmer head coach Brian Fish thought different.

"Honestly I was a bit relieved," Fish said. "We were getting a little tired. There was such a quick flow of play in the third period."

"I was afraid we might come out a little cold," Berti said.

The break may have been a bonus for Palmer. The Moose were skating with a 1-0 lead, prior to the fire alarm fiasco.

Just 30 seconds after the game renewed, Eli Riggs posted an unassisted goal, his second tally of the game, to give the Moose a 2-0 lead.

Palmer forward Kent Blaylock put a shot on goal, which Wasilla goaltender Nathan Banbury had saved. The puck slipped from the grasp of the Warrior netminder and Riggs crashed the net, pushing the puck past Banbury in the process.

"It is a classic example of one of the little things that you need to do to-do well," Fish said.

The little things that Fish reffered to played a significant role in outcome of the contest. The Moose forwards and defensemen blocked countless Wasilla shots in front of their own nets. Alex Senta laid himself out in front of the Warrior snipers and number of times.

"Alex Senta is got to be the most fearless guy out there," Fish said. I give him all the credit in the world. The little things pay off."

In the definitive moments of the game, Wasilla began to increase the pressure and Berti continued to make dramatic saves.

Palmer was whistled with a pair of penalties late in the contest, and Wasilla skated with a 5-on-3 advantage. In 54 seconds with the two-man advantage, Wasilla put four shots on goal, two slapshots from the point and a Shane Colgrove backhand, and Berti rejected each one of them.

Palmer's Jesse Marcott was able to clear the puck following the Colgrove backhand to allow Palmer to get a new set of men on the ice.

With just 61 seconds left and Wasilla skating with a single man advantage, the Warriors finally slipped one past Berti.

Joel Kenworthy sent a wrist shot from just beyond the right circle and the shot bounced off Berti's chest. Andrew Tumbleson picked up the lost puck and lifted it into the net, past Berti.

In the final seconds of the game, Spencer Syverston and Eric Zehnder each had opportunities on goal, but Berti was able to thwart each chance and help Palmer earn the one-goal win.

The Moose got on the scoreboard late in the first period. Blaylock received the puck in transition and outskated the Wasilla defense down the ice. Blaylock layed the puck in towards the crease, finding Riggs who was slashing towards the net. Riggs tapped the puck past Banbury to give Palmer the 1-0 lead.

The win gave Palmer their first playoff win in nearly a decade. It is the first postseason victory off the Brian Fish era and the first for Palmer's senior class.

Loose pucks … Palmer senior captain Jonah Stewart missed the tournament and may have been flying over a fogged-in Ketchikan during the game. Stewart, also the captain of the Palmer wrestling team, is competing in the 4A state tournament this weekend … Palmer killed six of seven penalties in the contest including a pivotal 5-on-3 in the third period.