Mat-Su girls' hockey squad is making strides

Dec. 1, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - The Mat-Su Ravens are a first-year hockey program focusing on mere improvement of skill, rather than concentrating on wins and losses.

Head coach Dudley Boehm knows the drill. The longtime Houston High School hockey coach helped build the Hawks boys' program 15 years ago.

His players understand what's going on. Officially the Ravens are winless in nine games, but the group made up largely of inexperience players is getting the hang of this level of hockey.

&#8220The improvement in nine games is really awesome,” Mat-Su captain Rosy Fujimoto said after her team's 7-3 loss to South-Bartlett on Wednesday at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena.

The record shows Mat-Su lost 7-3, but that's an improvement from the 9-1 defeat this same team handed the Ravens a week ago.

&#8220We scored the most goals (of the season), and we played much more competitive against South-Bartlett than we did last week,” Boehm said.

Fujimoto notched the hat trick for Mat-Su, and even gave the Ravens their first lead of the season.

Fujimoto one-timed a Hayley Playle pass just 10 seconds into regulation to give Mat-Su the early advantage. Fujimoto said her team was just happy to get the lead.

&#8220That felt really good,” she said. &#8220We had a really close game for two periods.”

South-Bartlett skated into the first intermission with a 3-1 lead, but Fujimoto scored on the power play early in the second period to cut the score to 3-2. Skating with the 5-on-3 advantage, Jessica Larrabee worked the puck over to Fujimoto, who drove the shot in for a score.

Fujimoto added an unassisted tally in the third period.

Fujimoto, a Wasilla Lake Christian School student, is a veteran on the ice. She skates on a boys' under-16 competitive team in the Mat-Su Amateur Hockey Association. One of her teammates, Brandy Stevenson, is also a member of a girls' select team.

But for Boehm and the Mat-Su coaching staff, the trick is blending the talents of the experienced players with those of the rookies to the

game.

Of the 14 players who are currently on his roster, Boehm said only five have more than two years of hockey under their belts. About six players have played one year. One has played two.

Both of his goalies, Carrie Glatz and Dominique Schuetter, have only been in net for about six weeks, he said. Boehm said he just rotates them through game by game, getting each experience.

&#8220They're doing well,” Fujimoto said. &#8220They're getting lots of shots.”

Boehm said a big thing is just getting used to being in different situations, and set little goals accordingly.

&#8220Overall we jut want the girls to improve themselves,” Boehm said. &#8220Pick out little individual goals, like getting assists or getting goals; or stopping people from getting goals; or logging more ice time or being a contributor on the penalty kill or power play.”

Another key is just getting into the hockey mentality, he said.

&#8220Those little things. There's so many different things about hockey,” Boehm said. &#8220Every time you've got the puck, you're the quarterback. There are five or six different decisions. It's just playing games and getting ice time.”

Getting ice time is more difficult for the Ravens. The program is a collaboration of talent from all over the Valley. There are kids from the four area public high schools, private high schools and home schooled students. Funding for the squad is not exactly pouring in, and the cost for ice time comes directly out of pocket. With a 22-game schedule, Boehm said because of costs, the coaches have to plan practices accordingly. This week, Mat-Su skated in two games and had two practices.

Boehm said he saw the greatest improvement during the first 10 days of practice, when his players skated nearly every day.

&#8220When you get them right in a row like that, there's a big, big improvement,” Boehm said.

All of Mat-Su's opponents hail from the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas. Each of the Anchorage programs draw from two schools. There are teams such as South-Bartlett, Service-East and Chugiak-Eagle River. The Fairbanks squad includes players from Fairbanks and North Pole.

Mat-Su opened the season with a three-game set against Fairbanks, a squad that is still unbeaten.

&#8220We played one real good game with them, and the other two were not so good,” Boehm said.

The Ravens end the season with a series in the Interior, and the team's goal is to give the Fairbanks squad a run for their money.

&#8220We want to be able to play at their level by the end of the year,” Fujimoto said.

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