Prep hockey: Knights snap 24-game losing streak

PALMER — It took more than a year, but the Colony High School hockey team finally did it. The Knighs scored a win.

With a 5-1 victory over Tok on Friday, Colony snapped a 24-game losing streak that dated back to the 2005-06 season.

“It’s been a long time,” joked Colony head coach Dale Mattson.

Thanks to a quick start — Colony scored three times in the first five minutes of play — the Knights locker room was filled with cheering and clapping, rather than the disappointment of defeat.

Forwards Blake Huppert, Lance Nezaticky and Kevin Thygeson each scored for CHS before the clock hit the 10-minute mark. But after the scoring surge, Mattson said Tok made the Knights work for the win.

“It looked like we were going to keep steam-rolling, but Tok really stepped up and played tough hockey,” Mattson said. “They only had nine skaters, but they kept with us the whole game.”

Mattson is no stranger to being shorthanded. For much of the last few years, the Colony head coach has only had enough players to put together two, and occasionally three, solid lines. But this year, the Knights have four lines of forwards in the varsity lineup. Colony used that edge in depth to out-shoot Tok 52-13 in the contest.

Mattson said he was impressed with the play of Tok’s two goaltenders, Jake Kambell and Wade Johnson, who combined for 47 saves.

“They were good players,” Mattson said. “They were stopping everything we fired at them. And we were putting good plays together.”

Kambell played the first two periods and stopped 29 shots, while Johnson turned away all 18 of the shots he faced in the third period.

Tok got on the board early in the second period with a Kyle Brinkman score. The cut the Knights’ advantage to 3-1.

Colony, a squad that features four goaltenders competing four varsity playing time, also used two athletes in the game. Freshman Tessa Mulenberg earned the start, and stopped 10 of the 11 shots she faced in the first two periods.

Junior Mike Lamouria faced only two shots in 15 minutes of work in the third.

Mattson said he was happy with the play of both Colony netminders, and noted the one shot that Mulenberg did let by came on a great attempt by Tok.

Following Tok’s goal, Colony scored twice in the second period to strengthen the lead.

Thor Saum and Braden Carter each scored in the second period for CHS.

Colony 5, Tok 1

Friday, Palmer Ice Arena

First period — 1. Colony- Huppert (Nezaticky, Breck) 13:43, 2. Colony- K. Thygeson (Weeks) 13:21, 3. Colony- Nezaticky (Huppet, Paatsama) 10:12.

Second period — 4. Tok- Brinkman (Brooks) 13:19, 5. Saum (Pulczinski, Carter) 6:28, 6. Carter (Nezaticky, Paatsama) 1:22.

Third period — no scoring.

Shots on goal: Tok 6-5-2—13, Colony 16-18-18—52; Saves: Tok- Kambell 13-16-x—29, Johnson x-x-18—18; Colony- Mulenberg 6-4-x—10, Lamouria x-x-2—2; Penalties: Tok 2-6, Colony 7-22.

Chugiak 5, Wasilla 3

The Chugiak Mustangs scored a pair of unanswered third-period goals to edge the Wasilla Warriors 5-3 at the MacDonald Arena in Eagle River on Friday.

With the score tied at 3-3, Chugiak forward Trevor Stefan scored with 4:46 remaining in regulation to break the tie. Patrick Shepard added the insurance goal for the Mustangs just more than a minute later.

Wasilla tied the score three times in the game. After Chugiak took the 1-0 lead a minute into the game, Herbie Mansavage scored at the 10:35 mark to tie the score at 1-1.

Chugiak took the lead again midway through the first, but Joe Barkley scored for Wasila with 45 seconds left in the first period to tie the score at 2-2.

Trent Wohler knotted the score at 3-3 with a Wasilla goal with four minutes left in the second.

Barkley, Dane Wilson and Ben Barber each collected assists for WHS.

Jesse Hugli recorded 24 saves for Wasilla.

On Saturday, Wasilla suffered a 6-0 loss to West Anchorage.

Chugiak 5, Wasilla 3

Friday, MacDonald Arena

First period — 1. Chugiak- McMullen (Wheeler), 2. Wasilla- Mansavage (Barber) 10:33, 3. Chugiak- Stefan (Shepard, Morse) 9:53, 4. Wasilla- Barkley (unassisted) 0:45.

Second period — 5. Chugiak- Matthews (Linder) 11:29, 6. Wasilla- Wohler (Wilson, Barkley) 4:43.

Third period — 7. Chugiak- Stefan (Geurts, McMullen) 4:46, 8. Chugiak- Shepard (Vren) 3:43.

Shots on goal: Wasilla 5-7-3—15, Chugiak 11-7-11—29; Saves: Wasilla- Hugli 9-6-9—24, Chugiak- McCurtain 3-6-3—12; Penalties: Wasilla 11-22, Chugiak 12-24.

West 6, Wasilla 0

Saturday, Anchorage

Wasilla 0 0 0 — 0

West 3 2 1 — 6

First Period — 1, West, Ladrow, 1:53, 2, West, Bailey (Spaan), 6:04; 3, West, Bailey (Spaan, Street), 12:33 (pp). Penalties — Wasilla, 1 for 2, West 2 for 4.xxxxx.

Second Period — 4, West, Spaan (Bailey), 13:05 (sh); 5, West, Coles (Ladrow, Street), 14:33. Penalties — Wasilla 3 for 6, West 1 for 2.

Third Period — 6, Bailey (Spaan), 1:17. Penalties — Wasilla 4 for 8, West 3 for 6.

Goalies — Wasilla, Dargis 8-11-3—21; West Mendenhall 6-5- 4—15.

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