Coaches don’t expect to see much turkey hangover

MAT-SU — While some of us may still be shaking off the lingering effects of a severe turkey hangover, Valley prep hockey coaches aren’t concerned the Thanksgiving holiday has grounded their programs.

Colony and Wasilla come out of their break with games tonight — the Knights at Eagle River while the Warriors host West Anchorage — and both teams’ coaches expect their players to be sharp.

“No, I’m not worried about coming out of (the break),” said Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant. “I thought going into Thanksgiving we had some lackluster games in that (Menard) tournament and we were skating like we had some concrete in our boots. My concern was to get the pep back after that tournament.”

For the most part, the Warriors (6-4) did that last Wednesday with a 4-0 shutout of Houston.

“I thought playing Houston before the Thanksgiving break we saw some pep back in our step and were able to get back into a groove,” he said.

That said, the coach said he expects the Warriors to be up to speed when they drop the puck at 7 p.m. to night against the Eagles.

“It’s very important to play well and that’s the goal going into every game,” Sturdevant said. “You go into each game with a plan and a strategy with all intentions to execute those plans.”

Factoring heavily is how Wasilla’s young squad responds to throughout the season, he said. With just three seniors, the Warriors are built around a solid group of 11 sophomores who are playing a high level of hockey right now.

“Even going back to last year when all those sophomores were freshmen, I thought they played well above expectations,” the coach said. “At the same time, we have to keep them and the team in check.”

For some teams, a youth movement signals a rebuilding time, but not for the Warriors, he said.

“Obviously, our goals are to win regions and go into state and have a strong team,” Sturdevant said. “That’s your goal every year. We still feel confident we’ll be able to reach those goals.”

One way Wasilla helps keep sharp on the ice during long breaks like Thanksgiving and Christmas is through some friendly competition, the coach said. About six or seven years ago, the team started a series of intersquad games played before the Christmas break. It’s called the Warrior Cup.

“We made a mock Stanley Cup out of salad bowls and trash cans,” Sturdevant said. “It helps them go into Christmas on a high note.”

There’s a Gray Team and Red Team, and there’s an easy way to see which is the favorite any given year.

“Usually, the coaches also play and it’s usually whatever team the coaches are on is the team that wins, with the exception of a couple of years,” he said. “That’s usually the Red Team, but you never know what’s going to happen from year to year.”

Colony Knights

Colony is a team that also went into the Thanksgiving break on a high note. After losing their first two games of the season, the Knights rebounded to win their last three, including a 5-4 come-from-behind overtime win over cross-town rival Palmer last Tuesday.

The break, head coach Jamie Smith said, shouldn’t crimp any momentum the Knights had going into Thanksgiving.

“I think we’re sitting well right now,” he said. “Our goalie (Colton Beebe) hasn’t been healthy, but he got a five-day break here. Coming out of this it’s going to be a big (schedule) leading up to Christmas.”

That starts tonight, when the Knights travel to Eagle River for a 7 p.m. non-conference game.

“We’ll be tested this week,” Smith said. “Eagle River is a tough team, then we go up to Fairbanks with West Valley and Lathrop. We’re excited to see what comes out of the weekend and see what progress we’ve made.”

Although there weren’t any games or practice for the past week, many of the Knights players gathered during the break for an informal shoot-around, Smith said.

“On one of the days over the break we had a two-hour (session) just shooting around and 80 percent of the players came out for that. I’m a firm believer of taking breaks during the season so it’s not such a grind. It also lets them get caught up on some homework.”

Riding a small winning streak, Colony is looking for more strong play going into Northern Lights Conference play in December, Smith said.

“We’re in a good spot. We have some really good leadership up front with our three captains — Jonathan Boyer, Morgan McJimsey and Donovan Parker,” he said. “For one, they bring a lot of leadership and have a ton of passion for the game that rubs off on the rest of the team. They want to win and win right, and they’re not afraid to put their hard hats on and go to work.”

Something Smith hopes really rubs off is Boyer’s performance in their last game before the break. Against Palmer, the junior forward scored four goals and had an assist.

“He established himself and he’s one of the top players in the Northern Lights Conference,” he said of Boyer. “When I named him as a captain, I told him part of that was earning respect on the ice. He took that game into his own hands.”

That win against Palmer “validates what we’re trying to do as a coaching staff,” he said. “The game’s 45 minutes, not 43 minutes, and you have to play to the end of the game. That was a big learning piece for a lot of our guys.”

Palmer Moose

While Palmer may not have started the season with a string of wins — the Moose are 1-6 — the team is young and is making important improvements, head coach Brad Hanson said.

The Moose were tested early with two games against South (losses of 7-0 and 10-0) and last week’s heartbreaker to Colony. They’ll be tested again on Wednesday, when they come out of their Thanksgiving break to host the Service Cougars.

“That’s going to be a huge test, but I feel like we’re making some strides,” Hanson said.

On a team with only two seniors, 10 freshmen and seven sophomores, the only remedy for that inexperience is to play, he said.

“We definitely have seen some really good and skilled kids so far,” he said. “The problem is, like with South, they’re just out of our league right now. When you can’t control the puck, I don’t know that there’s any benefit there. But we’ve had a chance to compete and make some things happen against those teams as well.”

The break came at a good time for the Moose, Hanson said.

“It’s definitely something we needed. We worked really, really hard for the first five or six weeks of the season and we were seeing a little fatigue physically and mentally,” he said. “I anticipate having a refreshed and regrouped team. There may be a little bit of a turkey hangover, but we can work that out. The kids have been pushed and we needed the break.”

While Palmer’s work on the ice hasn’t reflected in the wins and loss record, Hanson said that will come in time.

“The record may not reflect how much better they’ve gotten, but they making stead improvement,” he said. “The freshman class has had a great impact and it’ll pay off. The biggest thing they have to recognize is the quality of the play throughout the state and keep working on keeping in shape, and keep getting better to compete.”

Houston Hawks

Another Valley coach sitting at 1-6 with a lot to look forward to is Mike Styers, whose Houston Hawks have played some tough — and at times inspired — hockey to start off the season.

Houston has gone down to the small-schools level this year, but has signed up to play large-schools teams to fill out its non-conference schedule, Styers said. That’s by design.

“We’ve scheduled mostly schools that should be more difficult than games we would play in conference, and we did that on purpose,” he said. “We expect more wins to come out of conference play. I think what we’ve done so far should prepare us very well.”

That preparation includes a pair of games against Wasilla, and a 5-3 win over Palmer at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament.

“I think we should be better than 1-6,” Styers said. “All of the games were tight and the biggest blowout was 4-0 (to Wasilla on Wednesday), and we actually played that game closer than the score.”

One reason the Hawks are encouraged despite their record is the play of goalkeeper Rhys Jones, Styers said. Jones is a transfer from Wasilla and has seen a lot of shots so far in the early going of the season.

“I think we expect good things from here and I think there well be very few teams in this small-schools group that can put pucks past him,” Styers said of Jones.

Lane Styers leads the Hawks so far with 12 points and “he’s a real offensive threat for us,” the coach said.

Jonathan Lovelace is also starting to heat up with six points so far.

“He was a big point-getter for us last year, and Patrick Thistle is a strong player who does real well for us,” Styers said.

The break hopefully helped the Hawks heal some injuries, the coach said. Defenseman Jaden Sears suffered a concussion against Palmer and senior forward Cody Lipse has a broken wrist.

Houston will end its break on Wednesday for a 4:30 p.m. game at West Anchorage. Then, the Hawks open their Greatland Conference schedule Friday and Saturday with games at Glennallen. The games are scheduled for evening and early afternoon, but times hadn’t been finalized Monday.

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson @frontiersman.com or 352-2269.