Local midget team wins major tourney

WASILLA — It may not have been a Mile High miracle, but the Junior Avalanche U18 AAA squad, fought an uphill battle and came out on top of a mountain of a field.

The Junior Avalanche, a squad comprised mostly by local high school aged players, won the 38th annual Mile High Thanksgiving Tournament in Denver, Colo., late last month.

“The kids played unbelievable,” said head coach Jamie Smith, who led the team alongside assistant Rodney Wild.

The Junior Avalanche came from behind to edge Arvada (Colo.) in the final game.

Vance Bridgman, a North Pole standout, scored in a second shootout to give the Avs the win.

The Avs trailed three times in the game, and were behind 4-2 late in the third.

Smith said the shorthanded Avs were outplayed early in the game.

“We only had 13 skaters,” Smith said. “We were scrambling a bit at times.”

But despite the lack of depth, the Junior Avalanche worked their way back into the game.

Colony senior Chris Sawyer, who finished with four goals and six assists in the tourney, cut Arvada’s lead to 4-3 with 3:42 left in regulation.

Dylan Longoria, another North Pole standout, recorded an unassisted tally with 1:12 remaining.

Colony senior Lance Nezaticky scored in the first period to tie the game at 1-1.

Junior Avalanche goalie Seth Kollman earned the win in net, stopping 34 shots in the victory.

Smith, who has coached for more than two decades at the youth, prep and junior levels, said the Mile High title game was, “one of the most exciting games I’ve been a part of as a head coach.”

“This group worked their tails off through the whole tournament,” Smith said.

Palmer sophomore Ivan Good and Wasilla senior Jade Johnston were among four players who scored during the Avs’ four-goal third period of a 4-3 win over previously undefeated Arapahoe (Colo.).

That win put the Avs in the final game.

The Avs overcame a number of obstacles en route to winning the title of the tourney, which featured top midget teams from Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, Alaska and Canada.

The team didn’t arrive in Colorado until midnight the eve of the tourney, just hours before the Avs’ first game. Once the team hit the ice, the Avs had five round-robin games over a 30-hour stretch.

The Avs finished 2-1-2 during the round robin, playing with a short bench. Thanks to a +13 goal differential, the Junior Avalanche advanced to the crossover round.

The U18 AAA team is made up of players from the Mat-Su Valley, Fairbanks and Chugiak areas.

Among the players are Good and goalie Will Rauchenstein from Palmer; Michael Johnston, Trent Wohlers and Jade Johnston from Wasilla; Rye Humphreys from Houston; and Sawyer, Nezaticky, Trevor Nickerson and Braden Carter from Colony.

Longoria led the team with 11 points (5-6-11) in seven games.

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