Moose overwhelmed by Eagles

ANCHORAGE -- A determined Palmer Moose hockey team hit the road Tuesday to face the Anchorage West Eagles at Ben Boeke Ice Arena.

Unfortunately for the Moose, sheer determination was not enough to overcome the lack of team depth in a disappointing 9-0 loss at the hands of the Eagles.

Palmer's already-short bench began the game without the services of forward Eli Riggs and defenseman Travis Thornhill.

The Moose then lost forward Alex Senta early in the game when he suffered an ankle sprain during a hard check into the boards.

"Losing Alex plus getting a 10-minute penalty in the first period wore on our guys and took its toll later in the game," said coach Brian Fish. "We can't play with this few of players and

stay strong the whole game."

The loss of players and a 10-minute misconduct penalty on Dan Borsetti required the remaining Palmer players to spend more time on the ice.

The vast majority of the game was spent in the Palmer zone, as the Moose were forced to play defense in an attempt to thwart the constant barrage of shots at the Palmer goal.

Palmer attacks in the Eagles' zone were rare and short-lived as West was able to get out the puck quickly and mount another attack of its own.

Palmer took just six shots on goal while West sent 58 shots at the Palmer goal.

Palmer goaltender Morgan Jett and the Moose defense were able to withstand the early attacks, giving up one goal on 14 shots as West held a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

Palmer was able to clog lanes and get a stick in front of shots to keep the puck away from its goal.

In the second period, the constant scramble to protect their zone began to take a toll on the Palmer defense players. Eagle shooters started getting too many open shots directly on Jett.

At 9:44 of the second period, West added its second goal and then plugged in the third at 7:58.

West went up 4-0 with 4:32 remaining on a pass from behind the Palmer net to an open skater who was able to shoot directly on Jett from just outside the crease.

The fifth goal came on a wrap-around just 24 seconds later.

By the end of the second period, Jett had taken another 16 shots on goal, with the majority of them clean shots from just a few feet away. Despite the score, Jett played well, denying the majority of open shots hurled at him.

Through two periods, the Moose managed only two shots on goal, as the Eagles did a good job getting the puck clear of its zone.

By the third period, the weary Moose struggled to keep up as West skaters continued to keep the puck in the Palmer zone.

West scored three more goals halfway through the fourth before Fish switched goaltenders to give Jett a much-deserved break and let backup goaltender Jacob Peterson get some time in the net.

West added one more goal in the game to make the final score 9-0. Jett and Peterson took 28 shots on goal in the third period alone.

Palmer is a young club that has struggled early this year, fighting to find chemistry and experience. As the season develops and the Moose progress, they may surprise some teams later in the year.

"We're trying to give our young guys experience with playing time now," said Fish. "What they gain now should help us later in the year."

Palmer's next game is against Colony tonight at the Brett, with the first puck scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. Palmer should be at full strength for the game.