Difficult foes

WASILLA -- There is a philosophy in sports, teams and coaches build for game 20, not game five. The Wasilla Warriors have that philosophy.

Part of the Warriors' process in building a winning tradition and attitude was putting together a rigorous schedule. Wasilla is currently in a stretch that includes Dimond, Service, East and Kenai, all of whom are ranked teams in the state, as well as Bartlett and small school power, Houston.

This is in addition to a tough Region III slate of games.

"It was planned that way," Wasilla head coach Eric Troisi said. "In order to get better you have to play good competition."

Wasilla's demanding list of games included a 5-0 loss to Dimond at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena on Thursday. Though the Warriors dropped to 2-5 on the season, they continue to improve as the young Wasilla squad played extremely tough against the fourth-ranked Lynx.

Wasilla was led by a stellar performance from freshman netminder Ronnie Walker. The Warrior goalkeeper stopped 57 shots in the contest, including 21 in the second period. Walker faced 62 shots in the game and at least 20 in each period.

Walker held on strong in the barrage of Lynx shots. Dimond's first two goals trickled into the net, barely crossing the line.

Nick Davis sent a slap shot from the point to give Dimond a 1-0 lead early in the contest. The Davis shot just got by the right skate of Walker and slowly slid into the net.

Midway through the second, Luke Holtshouser slipped the puck past Walker to give the Lynx a 2-0 lead. Walker again nearly made the save and kept the Lynx from lighting the lamp.

Dimond was able to chip away at the wall known as Walker in the third period. Dimond scored three times within a 7-minuteand-22- second span in the third. The final two goals allowed by Walker were off rebounds.

Dimond kept the puck on Walker's end of the ice for most of the game. Wasilla, without their leading scorer Andrew Tumbleson, managed just 14 shots on goal.

Tumbleson was scratched from the lineup after being ill this week.