Knights upend Mustangs

The Colony Knights hosted the Chugiak Mustangs in a fast-paced display of superb skating and passing at Brett Memorial Ice Arena Wednesday.

Colony stayed close, then pulled ahead late in the game to take a 4-2 victory over the perennial stalwart Mustangs in the Knights' home opener of the season.

"I'm pleased with how our team played tonight," said Colony coach Eric Troisi. "We've been in situations like this before with Chugiak, where they came back to tie then beat us in overtime."

From the moment the first puck hit the ice, the action exploded with crisp passing and hustle by both teams, enabling them to quickly move the puck from end to end.

It was defense, however, that ruled the first period. The offense never had a chance to set up before the defense would take over and move the puck out of its zone. Defense covered well to blanket its own zone and cut off passes inside.

The Colony defense made two mistakes in the first period to allow a Chugiak skater to come free with the puck and shoot directly on goal, but Colony goaltender Greg Strohmeyer held his ground and smothered both attempts to keep Chugiak scoreless. The Knight defense would tighten and not allow the same opportunities again.

A two-minute holding penalty against Colony with 7:17 remaining in the first period called out the penalty killing squad and it responded perfectly to drain the penalty time by icing the puck and not giving the Mustangs an opportunity to score with the man advantage.

Chugiak penalties with 4:50 and 50 seconds left in the period gave the Knights a five-on-four advantage, but were unable to capitalize on the power plays as the first period ended with no score by either team.

The second period started with the same fast pace as the first, this time with offensive success.

Colony struck first with a goal by Tommy Lehe on an assist by Joey Guild at 13:33 in the second period.

Chugiak responded with a short-handed goal to tie the score with 11:41 on the clock. Chugiak struck again at 9:46 when a shot deflected off the pads of Strohmeyer and slid just over the goal line to put the Mustangs up 2-1.

Colony came back to tie the score 2-2 with 6:37 remaining when Seth Reda drove the puck into the Mustang zone on the right side and dumped it to an open Lehe, who sent the puck into the goal just past the sliding Chugiak goaltender.

Reda and Aaron Acena were credited with assists on the goal.

The second period ended with the score tied at 2-2. Both teams were able to take advantage of opportunities to score, finding much better success pressing the puck inside the zones.

"We talked about puck movement and getting the puck to open players," said Troisi of Colony's adjustments to start the second period.

Defensive play dominated much of the first half of the third period due to penalty killing tactics, as both teams sent players to the penalty box.

Shortly after penalties ended and five-on-five play resumed, Colony struck again to score the go-ahead goal by Chris Crosta, with the assist by Matt Piatt at 7:36 in the third.

The Knights scored again with 4:40 remaining when Piatt received a nice pass from Lehe in front of the Mustang goal and dumped it in before the goalie could react.

Lehe and Nathan Pokryfki were credited with assists on the goal.

Colony shifted to defensive play to run out the remaining time and take the 4-2 victory over the visiting Mustangs.

Although it was a fast-paced and hard-fought game, there were very few penalties, as both teams played a clean game built on skill and discipline.

"We have an attitude that we are supposed to win these big games," said Troisi. "The experience and skills of the players gives them the confidence they need to stay mentally tough so we don't get beat at the end."

Colony's next game is against Houston Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.