Overtime can’t separate Moose and Knights

PALMER — Palmer and Colony skated into the MTA Events Center Friday both needing a win to stay alive in the race for the top two spots in the upcoming North Star Conference Championships.

Neither team scored the win, but a 2-2 tie ensured there’s still plenty to be settled during the final two weeks of the regular season.

Even though the Knights didn’t get the victory, Colony head coach Jamie Smith said the tie is part of what’s becoming a big season for the Knights.

“It’s huge for us. That puts us 4-1-1 in conference,” Smith said.

Soldotna, Colony (4-1-1) and Palmer (4-2-1) all sit in a clump at or near the top of the North Star, battling for the top two seeds, which earn first-round byes in the NSC tourney. Palmer head coach Brad Hanson was happy to see his team bounce back after tough losses to Wasilla and South Anchorage within the last week.

“I’m happy. It’s the best we’ve played since Christmas break,” Hanson said. “We’ve got to build on that. We’ve got three games next week, and then (we) get ready for regions.”

Palmer scored a pair of unanswered goals to tie the game at 2. Senior captain Ivan Good scored with 15 seconds left in the second and senior Payton Staskywicz knotted the game at 2 with his goal less than two minutes into the third.

Hanson said Good’s goal was the key.

“I thought we took the momentum after we scored right there at the end of the second period,” Hanson said. “I felt we kind of got back into it right there.”

With the final seconds of the middle frame ticking off the clock, Dalton Buness picked up the puck in the neutral zone and led a 2 on 1 break. Buness rushed up the left wing and sent a pass across the zone to Good, who tapped the puck into the net.

Palmer tied the game early in the second on a goal set up by a Colony turnover in front of its own net.

“The kids believed they could tie it up,” Hanson said.

Palmer senior Miles George won a battle in the Colony defensive zone, got the puck and fired a quick shot on net. The Moose were able to keep the play alive and the puck out of the glove of Colony goalie Forrest Savel. Buness took a stab at it before Staskywicz was able to knock it in.

Smith said he thought that was the key score.

“We had that one big mistake, turned the puck over right in front of the net,” Smith said.

Colony built a 2-0 lead in the game. Freshman Stephen Kempinski scored with less than two minutes left in the first.

Senior Trevor Naylor set up the play, bringing the puck deep into the Palmer defensive zone. Naylor was knocked to the ice, but managed to slide the puck to Kempinski, who slipped the puck from the right wing circle inside the near post.

Junior Morgan McJimsey gave his team a 2-0 lead in the second. With the Knights skating on the power play, McJimsey stepped up from the blue line and snapped a wrister into the net.

The Knights put 14 shots on net during the first period, but were outshot 39-14 during the final two periods and overtime.

Savel, who turned away a number of quality chances, helped preserve the tie with 43 saves.

“He’s the best goalie in the league. I don’t care what anybody says,” Smith said.

Palmer had 14 shots in the second and 25 in the third and overtime combined.

“I thought the whole third period, overtime, they worked as hard as I’ve ever seen them work,” Hanson said.

Palmer continued to have quality scoring chances despite having to kill three penalties during the scoreless eight-minute overtime.

“We killed those three penalties in the overtime frame, and I thought we had more opportunities than they did,” Hanson said.

Hanson said he believes his team can build from the tie.

“I think the kids recognized they played their best hockey of the second semester in the third period and overtime,” Hanson said.

Smith said the Knights simply need to continue to work for one of the top two seeds in the conference tournament.

“We get one of the top seeds we only have to win one game (to get into state),” Smith said. “From where we were two years ago to now is unbelievable.”

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

Palmer 2, Colony 2

Friday, MTA Events Center

First period — 1. Colony- Kempinski (Naylor) 1:49.

Second period — 2. Colony- McJimsey (Hartley) pp 2:22; 3. Palmer- I. Good (Buness) 0:15.

Third period — 4. Palmer- Staskywicz (George, Buness) 13:15.

Shots on goal: Colony 14-7-7—28, Palmer 6-14-25—45; Saves: Colony- Savel 6-13-24—43, Palmer- A. Good 13-6-7—26.