Knights skate past Warriors

WASILLA -- The Colony Knights won the first Valley showdown of the 2002-2003 prep hockey season, defeating Wasilla 8-4.

The Knights scored four unanswered goals in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and seal the win.

Colony was able to notch their second win of the season and improve to 2-2 overall despite taking eight penalties.

The wrath of Knight penalties gave the Warriors ample opportunity to put points on the scoreboard. In seven opportunities, Wasilla was able to notch a pair of power play goals.

Both of those goals came when the Knights were short a pair of defenders.

Jordan Theisi scored early in the opening period after the Knights were whistled for both a rouging and a tripping penalty within a minute of play. Theisi's 5-on-3 goal gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the second period Theisi struck again, while the Warriors had the two man advantage. Theisi's second power play goal of the game gave Wasilla a 3-2 lead.

Theisi's two goals gave Wasilla their only two leads in the contest.

The Knights peppered Wasilla goaltender Nathan Banbury with 14 shots in the first period, but came away empty handed. Colony was able to strike early in the second scoring a pair of goals in 53 seconds.

Patrick Geary delivered a backhand pass from the left circle of the ice to the corner of the Wasilla net where Doug Lehe was waiting to deliver the goal. Lehe scored his first of two goals in the game 57 seconds into the second frame.

Just less than a minute later, Geary took a pass from Ryan Pauling and dumped the puck back to the point where Travis Parker put a slapshot past Banbury to give Colony a 2-1 advantage.

Wasilla tied the contest with just over nine minutes to go in the second as Theisi intercepted a Colony pass and delivered the puck to Andrew Tumbelson. The Warrior winger used a wrist shot to tie the game at 2-2.

A barrage of Colony penalties and Theisi's goal on the 5-on-3 led to Wasilla retaking the lead.

Once Colony was able to return to full strength, Chris Crosta was called for an interference penalty and Wasilla was back on the power play.

What could have turned into a 4-2 Wasilla lead, turned into a 3-3 tie as Colony notched a shorthanded goal. Parker scored his second goal of the night after intercepting a Wasilla pass in transition and delivering a slapper from just above the blueline.

Geary scored for Colony with 56 seconds left in the second to give Colony the two goal advantage.

Wasilla was able to tie the score once again early in the third period as Channing Jensen stole the puck from Colony defesemen Matt Luthi in the Wasilla zone and put the puck past Colony goaltender Alan Markus.

With just less than nine minutes remaining in regulation, Luthi made up for his defensive mistake by setting up Lehe with the eventual game winning goal. Lehe took the Luthi pass and put it between the legs of Banbury to give the Knights a 5-4 lead.

Crosta scored a pair of goals with 1:14 in the third and Costa Lambernakis lit the lamp in the final period to round out the scoring for the Knights.