Goalie leads Knights to win over Warriors

WASILLA — Heading into the 2011-12 season, Colony head coach Jamie Smith called senior goaltender Forrest Savel a game-changer, a difference-maker.

On Tuesday, Savel changed a game. The senior was the difference.

Savel made 43 saves to help the Colony Knights score a 5-1 win over the Wasilla Warriors at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena.

“He was on it,” Smith said. “He was on everything. When he’s on, he catches everything. He’s centered up.”

Savel made 14 saves in the first and third periods, and another 15 in the second. He helped Colony kill six penalties, including a Wasilla 5-on-3 chance in the second period.

Wasilla outshot Colony 44-13 in the game, and continued to put quality shots on the Knights net. Smith estimated at least a half-dozen prime scoring chances, with a handful of others that could have easily slipped by an average goalie.

“He can win games,” Smith said of Savel. “He’s one of those guys, if you ever can make it to the state tournament, he can win games.”

Smith said Savel is crucial to his team’s success this year.

“We run the trap; he’s got to play great for us to win,” Smith said.

With Savel turning away all but one Wasilla opportunity — Rell Sturdevant’s second-period tally — the Knights special teams gave Savel plenty of offense to work with.

Colony finished 2 for 3 on the power play, and also scored shorthanded in the win.

“Our kids are smart, sharp, they run every little thing we tell them to run,” Smith said of his special teams.

Trevor Naylor gave the Knights the early lead with a shorthanded goal midway through the first. Naylor led a 2-on-1, kept the puck himself and snuck it right underneath the crossbar. Late in the period, Alex Svoboda cashed in on a power play, scoring with the man advantage.

Svoboda padded that lead early in the second. The Knights put together another odd-man rush, but this time Jonathon Boyer fed Svoboda with a sharp pass across the zone, and Svoboda buried the puck in the Wasilla net.

“Alex Svoboda was huge,” Smith said.

Boyer scored on the power play in the second, hammering a Morgan McJimsey rebound home. Naylor iced the game with a late empty-netter.

Colony scored the win despite missing four starters in the game.

“For our kids to come out and play the way we did is huge,” Smith said. “Everybody chipped in. That was the nice thing.”

Colony 5, Wasilla 1

Tuesday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Colony- Naylor (Svoboda) sh 7:44; 2. Colony- Svoboda (McJimsey) pp 3:01.

Second period — 3. Colony- Svoboda (Boyer, Sanders) 8:23; 4. Colony- Sturdevant (Keene, Ch. Hanson) 6:27.

Third period — 5. Colony- Boyer (McJimsey) pp 6:51; 6. Colony- Naylor (unassisted) en 1:43.

Shots on goal: Colony 4-3-6—13, Wasilla 14-16-14—44; Saves: Colony- Savel 14-15-14—43, Wasilla- Eastham 2-x-x—2, Massie x-2-4—6.

Houston plays Wasilla

WASILLA — The Houston Hawks met the Wasilla Warriors Wednesday night. Due to early press deadlines because of the Thanksgiving holiday, results will not available before press time. See the Sunday edition for results.