Moose boast veteran group

PALMER — High school sports are cyclic in nature. In some seasons, teams are loaded with veteran talent, while in others, rosters are laden with underclassmen.

Two years ago, the Palmer Moose sported a veteran-heavy lineup. But graduation put a dent in the 2009-10 roster. To fill the void, the Moose regularly inserted many of their more inexperienced players into the lineup. Following in that cyclical pattern of prep sports, Palmer now has another group of veterans ready to take on the North Star Conference.

“They would have seen ice time, but they had to be the go-to guys last year,” Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said of his nucleus of players that have returned to lead the Moose in 2010-11. “It was great for them.”

Senior forwards Stephen Acher and Piers LaFrance, and juniors Ivan Good, Miles George, Dalton Buness, Brennan Harrison, Thomas Morino and Kristian Seward are among the veterans returning for another season with the Moose.

“They’ve all worked hard in the offseason,” Hanson said. “We’re excited about our team, excited to see how we stack up.”

Hanson said, not only did those players see valuable ice time during the 2009-10 prep season, but many are also playing hockey for other youth programs.

“Most of the guys on the team are playing comp hockey at some level,” Hanson said. “They’ve been playing comp, lifting weights. They’ve taken it upon themselves to do the extra stuff.”

Good and LaFrance are among four Palmer players named first-team All-North Star Conference last season. First-team goalies Jonas Naegele and Will Rauchenstein graduated. Acher was named to the conference’s second team last year.

Senior Nick Reeves also returns after a year away from the program. Last year, Reeves skated for the Pikes Peak Miners, a Midget AAA team in Colorado.

“It’s nice to have his experience, he’s a senior now,” Hanson said. “We look for him to be a leader on defense.”

Palmer also has a few key additions to the squad. Sophomore Trey Garrod has joined the team and adds depth to the blueline. The Moose also have freshman Jack Reeves, Jacob Inukai and Ashton Good.

Good, a freshman goaltender, has started the first two games in net for the 1-1 Moose. Good stopped 41 shots during his debut against South Anchorage, and recorded 24 saves during the 7-2 win over Colony on Saturday.

Palmer also has goalie Ben Fujimoto on the roster.

The Moose are back on the ice Wednesday to face West Anchorage at 7 p.m. at the Palmer Ice Arena.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. Follow him at Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.