Moose settle for fifth at state

WASILLA — Things didn’t exactly go as the Palmer Moose had hoped.

On Thursday, Palmer rode the emotional high of its stunning 4-0 win over West Anchorage during the first round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Hockey Tournament, but the Moose were ultimately forced to skate off the ice with a disappointing 8-5 loss to Chugiak during the tourney’s third-place game, Saturday at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

Palmer’s weekend in the state tournament marked its first appearance at state since 1996, and thanks to its win over West on Thursday, the Moose were within a win of a spot of the state title game for the first time in 20 years.

Even though the Moose have made tremendous strides as a program, Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said these types of losses are always difficult.

“We’re not satisfied right now, but we’ll reflect on this, and remember this as a great year for everybody,” Hanson said. “We’ve worked really hard to get to this point, and they all have a lot of reasons to be happy.”

Palmer mounted a comeback after Chugiak grabbed an early 5-0 lead, but every time the Moose would take a step toward the Mustangs, Chugiak would separate itself again.

Chugiak answered Palmer scores within a minute three times during the win, and matched Palmer’s three-goal second period with three second-period goals of their own.

Senior Zach Richards led Palmer with three goals in the loss. It was the second hat trick of the tourney for Richards, who tallied seven goals in three games.

Sophomores Jared Hanson and Nick Reeves also scored for the Moose.

Jared Hanson put the Moose on the scoreboard late in the second, knocking the rebound of a Tyler Isaacs shot past Chugiak goalie Seth Kollman.

Richards scored the first of his two power-play goals of the second period at the 4:10 mark to cut Chugiak’s advantage to just a pair of goals. In typical Richards style, the speedy senior raced to pick up a lose puck, zipped by the Chugiak defense and sent a shot from the right circle into the far side of the net.

It took only 19 seconds for Chugiak to answer Richards’ tally. Jake Wells, one of seven Mustangs to score in the game, knocked a puck by Palmer goalie Will Rauchenstein to give Chugiak the 5-2 edge.

Richards struck again with three minutes left in the period. Again with the Moose skating on the power play, Isaacs sent a pass across the Chugiak zone to Richards, who from his spot on the left side of the net, chipped a shot past Kollman.

Palmer cut Chugiak’s advantage to a pair of goals again in the third period, when Reeves scored on the power play. The defenseman walked the puck up from the blue line, took a shot and then stuffed in his own rebound to make it a 6-4 game.

Just like clock work, Chugiak answered yet again when Sam Linder scored just 38 seconds later.

With 1:17 left in regulation, Richards used a short slap shot to notch the hat trick and bring the Moose within two, but Chugiak’s Rusty Teller scored 48 seconds later.

Richards, who scored three times during Palmer’s win over West and once in a 6-3 loss to Lathrop during the semifinals, is one of four seniors on the Palmer roster.

“Those seniors have seen it all,” Hanson said of Richards, Andrew Ferguson, Michael Hanson and Derek Monarch. “They started out in the absolute depths, worked their way up to being able to come in here and play on Saturday in the state tournament in the third-place game.”

Chugiak 8, Palmer 5

4A third-place game

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Chugiak- Casey (Morse, Matthews) 8:06, 2. Chugiak- Topf (Kubitz) 2:13.

Second period — 3. Chugiak- A. Kelter (D. Kelter) 12:47, 4. Chugiak- Casey (Jordt, A. Kelter) pp 5:32, 5. Palmer- J. Hanson (Isaacs, Ferguson) 4:58, 6. Palmer- Richards (unassisted) pp 4:10, 7. Chugiak- Wells (Kubitz) 3:51, 8. Palmer- Richards (Isaacs, Reeves) 3:02.

Third period — 9. Chugiak- Kubitz (Topf) 14:15, 10. Palmer- Reeves (M. Hanson) pp 7:35, 11. Chugiak- Linder ( McAleavey, Butenfoff) 7:17, 12. Palmer- Richards (Reeves) 1:17, 13. Chugiak- Teller (McAleavey, Monfore) 00:29.

Shots: Chugiak 6-17-11—34, Palmer 6-5-9—20; Saves: Chugiak- Kollman 6-2-7—15, Palmer 4-14-8—26; Power plays: Chugiak 1-for-7, Palmer 3-for-8; Penalties: Chugiak 8-for-18, Palmer 7-for-14.

Lathrop wins title

WASILLA — Lathrop, the team that knocked Palmer out of the running for a state title, scored a 4-2 win over Dimond to win the 4A state title Saturday night at the Menard Arena.

Freshman Jacob Wolter posted the game-winning goal late in the third period to help the Malemutes earn their first state crown since 1987. Wolter’s score snapped a 2-2 tie.

Jon Ringstad added an insurance empty netter with 10 seconds left in regulation.

Glennallen earned the 3A title with a 4-3 overtime win over Hutchison.

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