Good still great as Palmer falls to Lathrop

PALMER — A 5-0 loss to Lathrop wasn’t exactly how Palmer wanted to close out its last home game of the season Saturday.

The pregame featured a celebratory senior sendoff at the MTA Events Center. Senior forward Zane Jerman and senior defenseman Katerina Dietz were both accompanied onto the ice by family and coaches for the last home game of their Moose hockey careers. The team also joined the seniors on the ice for a final team photo before dropping the puck against the Malemutes.

Following an outstanding weekend series of games on the Kenai Peninsula and two previous losses earlier in the week against West Anchorage and Wasilla, the Moose were hoping to redeem themselves with a win. But Lathrop came out from the start stronger and dominated the game.

With the puck rarely leaving Palmer’s zone, goaltender Ashton Good again kept the Moose in the game. After a hooking penalty by Jim Erickson, followed by a consecutive head contact call on Jacob Inukai, the Moose were on the short end of a 5-on-3 penalty kill. It was with this disadvantage that Lathrop was able to put a puck past Good in the first period.

With a shot from the point, Good had the save and nearly his own rebound, but was not fast enough for the Lathrop player left unattended on the post.

Similar to the first period, the second was also held mostly in Palmer’s zone. It was not until the final three minutes that the Malamutes shoved the puck underneath Good for a scramble in front while also knocking the net off, resulting in a questionable, but official, goal. A minute later, Palmer was struck with déjà vu when Good made another save on his back that was again declared a goal by the officials. Those back-to-back uprisings ended the second period for the Moose.

The final period of the game mirrored play from Lathrop, which continued to hold the puck in the Palmer zone, but lacked any momentum from the Moose. The Moose served five penalties in this period alone while the Malamutes took advantage with two more power play goals. The Moose had a total of nine shots on the Lathrop net while standout goaltender Good made 42 saves on 47 shots.