Longtime Valley coach leads Moose into prep hockey season

PALMER — The Palmer Moose skated into the 2013-14 season without their leading scorer and top goaltender from last season. Roster numbers are dominated by underclassmen, and the Moose have entered a new era with first-year head coach Eric Troisi.

But while there may be growing pains now, Troisi said he’s excited about the potential of the players on the roster, and the Moose hockey program.

“We’re working through this adversity,” Troisi said recently. “When it does come together, we’ll be a really good team.”

Palmer hockey has enjoyed a resurrection in recent seasons. The success included back-to-back North Star Conference titles in 2011 and 2012. Troisi said the coaching staff during that span, led by former PHS head coach Brad Hanson, deserves a great deal of credit.

“Brad Hanson did a really good job. He put a lot of work into it, kind of rebuilt the Palmer program,” Troisi said of Hanson, who stepped down as head coach after six seasons last spring. “He’s done so much for the hockey program, done such a good job. He put his heart and soul into the program.”

Troisi’s goal is to continue the success built during the Hanson era into the new era. And with a team that includes a dozen underclassmen and only about two seniors with significant varsity experience, Troisi said the Moose are focusing on the little things early in the year.

“We’re working on skills, working on trying to do the little things right,” Troisi said. “We’re trying to bring our tempo up in practice, work hard and play with toughness and confidence.”

The Moose are still in search of their first win, but Troisi said he was encouraged by what he saw during Palmer’s 2-0 loss to Service last week. Service, which placed third in the 4A state tournament last season, led only 1-0 until the final 90 seconds of regulation.

“We played a great game against Service. We were right there with them,” Troisi said.

Freshman goalie Cody Grogran made 35 saves for the Moose during the loss. Palmer finished with 25 shots in the game.

“It’s not like they completely dominated us. I’ve coached in games where you lose 2-0 and the shots are 50-10, and you’re not really in the game,” Troisi said. “It was a big boost for the kids.”

Grogan and junior Austin McCain have shared duties in the Moose net, Troisi said. McCain also is a newcomer to the program after moving to the area from Washington.

Troisi said seniors Luke Wright and Jarrett Johns are among the veteran leaders. Palmer also has a strong sophomore class that includes forwards Christopher Dojka and Darren Fish, and defensemen Josh Myers and Noah Richards.

Troisi said the Palmer coaches have stressed that thee sophomores and the upperclassmen who have not seen a ton of varsity time need to move into the leadership roles.

“We’re trying to emphasize, you’re the guys, you’re the ones who need to step up,” Troisi said.

The Moose may be battling adversity now and working through some growing pains, but Troisi is confident his squad will play well this year.

“Once we hit our stride after the break, I think we’ll be a really strong team,” Troisi said. “We’re working on being hard to play against, working hard and bringing up the tempo; playing with toughness and confidence. We’re trying to emphasize that.”

Troisi is a longtime Valley hockey coach, who had successful tenures as head coach during a combined 12 years with the Colony and Wasilla programs. Troisi said he had similar teams at both Colony and Wasilla, squads made up of young talent that steadily improved throughout the year.

“It’s just a matter of how good they want to be,” Troisi said.

Palmer returns to the ice to host Houston Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the MTA Events Center in Palmer.

** This is the fourth story from a four-part series previewing the Mat-Su prep hockey teams. For features about the Colony Knights, Houston Hawks and Wasilla Warriors, see frontiersman.com/sports.