Moose excited midway through season

PALMER — Today marks the midway point of the toughest stretch of the season for the Palmer Moose.

Last weekend, Palmer faced both teams that advanced to the 4A state title game last year, Wasilla and Juneau-Douglas. This weekend, Palmer hosts Northern Lights Conference foes Kenai and Soldotna. And sandwiched in between is a game tonight against arguably it’s biggest rival, Colony.

“You look at the makeup of the schedule and the toughest stretch of the season started last week and goes through this weekend,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said Monday. “It doesn’t get easy after that, but it definitely lets up a bit.”

Palmer suffered tough losses to the Warriors and Crimson Bears on back-to-back days. Now, Reid hopes his team can take lessons from the losses, without fixating on defeat. This big thing, Reid said, is making sure those types of losses do not damage the confidence of players adjusting to new and expanded roles on the varsity squad.

The Moose currently stand at 2-4, but he likes what his team has to offer.

“I’m excited about this team,” Reid said. “It’s still very early in the season, and traditionally we’re a team that starts out of the gate slow, but builds momentum as the season goes on. I definitely feel that’s going to be the case this season.”

Palmer has a collection of talent Reid hopes can pull the Moose back into the state tournament. Among that cast are seniors Kendal Venzke and Erin LaMere, who lead the veteran group. Seniors Alex Van Hoomissen and Sarah Houchen will also be leaders on the team, Reid said.

Reid is excited about a junior class that includes forward Kasara Brandenburg and guard Anna Koehn.

Sophomore Taylor Blake, who saw quality action as a freshman, has also moved into a starting position.

Sophomore Caitlyn Scott is among the athletes working off the bench.

Reid said he’s pleased with the combination of talent his has on this team.

“We definitely have some depth and options,” Reid said. “We can give some different looks on both offense and defense.”

The Moose will also have Rachel Huffman, a transfer from Colony. Huffman suffered a knee injury, but is expected back on the court in about four weeks.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.