Knights, Moose notch wins on opening night of the prep hockey season

WASILLA — It was a long wait, but Valley teams finally dropped the puck Thursday night. Colony scored a 6-0 win over Wasilla and Palmer used a pair of late goals to beat Houston 5-3 during the opening night of the 2021 Mat-Su prep hockey season.

The Knights outshot Wasilla 17-1 in the first period and struck with a pair of early goals en route to the victory over the Warriors at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

“It was a good first game of the season,” Colony head coach Chris Yaskus said by phone. “It’s been a long time coming.”

The 2020-2021 high school hockey season was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ultimately pushed into the new year. Yaskus said it was good for his players to hit the ice and shake off the butterflies.

Colony jumped to the lead less than three minutes into the game with an Aidan Finch goal. Yaskus said Finch scored on his first shot of the season. Veteran Jacob Ross added a goal later in the first period.

“It was good for us,” Yaskus said of the early start.

Colony outshot the Warriors 47-11 in the game. Newcomer Kai Dixon notched a natural hat trick in the second period.

“He’s just a workhorse,” Yaskus said of Dixon, a junior. “He’s in the right places at the right time, and able to bury the puck. He’s a very skilled player in front of the net.”

Dixon scored at the 13:28 mark to give the Knights a 3-0 lead, and added a pair of goals during a 43-second span midway through the middle frame.

Veteran Carson McLaughlin added a late goal for the Knights, and Kaden Ketchum led Colony with a pair of assists.

Kaylee Norman notched the 11-save shutout for Colony. Wasilla netminder Jacob Barcelona recorded 41 saves in the loss.

Palmer 5, Houston 3

Stuart McQuillin notched the game-winning goal early in the third period to help Palmer grab a 5-3 win over rival Houston at the Big Lake Recreation Center.

Gavin Gore also scored in the third for Palmer, which outshot Houston 40-24.

The Valley rivals skated into the third tied at 3. Palmer held a 3-2 lead after the first, but Brayden Johnson tied the score for the Hawks with about nine minutes left in the second period.

Carter Greco gave Palmer the early lead, scoring 28 seconds into regulation. Less than 40 seconds later, Houston’s Andrew Reutov found the back of the net to tie the score at 1. Jeremy Horacek and Rhys Allen also scored in the first to help Palmer build a 3-1 lead. Brody Richards scored late in the first for the Hawks to cut the Moose lead to 3-2.

Jackson Heard made 21 saves to earn the win in the Moose net. Houston’s Ari Burnside made 35 saves in the loss.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.