Prep hockey: Late overtime goal gives Palmer win over Wasilla

PALMER — Jared Hanson almost couldn’t believe what he saw.

Deep into overtime, as the final seconds ticked off a clock in a game that seemed destined to end in a scoreless tie, Hanson watched as the a long pass from his older brother Michael bounced past Wasilla senior Dylan Troisi and slid toward the Wasilla net.

As the clock approached the 10-second mark, Jared Hanson caught up to the puck to create a breakaway chance and the sophomore standout put a quick move on Warrior goalie Chris Yaskus and slipped a shot into the Wasilla goal to give the Moose the 1-0 overtime win.

“I kind of just got lucky,” a nearly speechless Hanson said just minutes after burying the game-winning tally.

The goal, that came after nearly 53 minutes of scoreless hockey, was set up when Michael Hanson picked up the puck on the Palmer side of the red line and pushed it toward the Wasilla zone.

“Palmer did the same thing they were doing all night,” Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant said. “Forcing the play across the ice, looking for that open man. He was there and he cashed in.”

Michael Hanson’s pass bounced past Troisi, Wasilla’s sure-handed defenseman, to set up Jared Hanson’s opportunity.

“That’s what it came down to,” Sturdevant said. “A bad bounce at the end.”

Hanson’s score marked the only blemish in a battle among the rival goaltenders. Yaskus stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced and Palmer netminder Will Rauchenstein recorded 23 saves to earn the shutout.

“(The goaltending) was phenomenal,” Jared Hanson said. “Yaskus played great for them and Rauchenstein was outstanding for us.”

Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said the defensive play of each team also stood out.

“Both teams didn’t give up many quality shots,” the Moose head coach said. “They had opportunities. We had a few.”

Palmer avoided potential disaster in the second period by killing off a series of Wasilla power plays.

At one point, Wasilla skated for more than three minutes with an advantage and held the 5-on-3 for 48 seconds of that time.

“We got into a little penalty trouble,” Brad Hanson said. “We were down 5-on-3 a couple times.”

On Wasilla’s first power play of the period, sophomore Trent Wohlers skated by the defense and put a hard shot on net. Rauchenstein used is stick to make the initial save, but the rebound bounced in front. With Rauchenstein out of position, sophomore Ryder Conroy had an open whack at the net, but his rebound attempt sailed wide of the goal.

As Wasilla skated on its first 5-on-3 opportunity, Wohlers nearly redirected a Michael Johnston shot from the point, but Rauchenstein was able to take control of the bouncing puck.,

Late in the period, with the teams skating at even strength, Rauchenstein made another big save to thwart a Wasilla 2-on-1 chance.

“The kids worked hard and they got it done,” Brad Hanson said of his team’s work on the power play. “There was a long time to kill.”

Sophomores Mike Edwards and Zach Korsmo raced down the ice on the 2-on-1. Edwards fed Korsmo with the pass, but Rauchenstein was able to make the save on the quick shot.

Yaskus also made his share of tough saves.

“He feels terrible about it, but he kept us in the game for three full periods and most of the overtime,” Sturdevant said.

With the win, Palmer stayed undefeated in North Star Hockey play, and now leads the conference with a 5-0-0 mark. It also included a solid stretch for the Moose, that included a key 3-2 win over North Star rival Soldotna last week. Palmer was also within reach of upsetting the three-time defending state champion South Anchorage Wolverines Tuesday at the Palmer Ice Arena. The Wolverines needed overtime to slip past Palmer 3-2.

“We’ve been playing good lately,” Jared Hanson said. “It’s been a team effort every game.”

Despite the loss, Sturdevant is also happy with his team’s play.

“I’m proud of the way the guys played,” Sturdevant said. “I’m proud of the way they’ve played all year.”

Wasilla is now 2-0-1 in North Star play. Last week the Warriors skated to a scoreless tie with Soldotna.

“The one thing we’re lacking is we’re trying to score more goals,” Sturdevant said. “We’re real sound defensively. I’m glad to see we’re steadily progressing.”

Palmer is now off for the holiday break. Wasilla is slated to face Colony at the Menard Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Palmer 1, Wasilla 0 OT

Friday, Palmer Ice Arena

First period — no scoring.

Second period — no scoring.

Third period — no scoring.

Overtime — 1. Palmer- J. Hanson (M. Hanson) 0:10.

Shots: Wasilla 5-11-6-1—23, Palmer 9-6-8-4—27; Wasilla- Yaskus 9-6-8-3—26, Palmer- Rauchenstein 5-11-6-1—23; Power plays: Wasilla 0-for-3, Palmer 0-for-2; Penalties: Wasilla 3-for-6, Palmer 4-for-8.

Mustangs edge Warriors

WASILLA — The Chugiak Mustangs built a two-goal lead in the first period and scored a 3-1 win over the Wasilla Warriors at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena on Thursday.

Senior Skylar Day scored in the second period for WHS. Jade Johnston and Trent Wohlers each grabbed assists.

Goalie Chris Yaskus stopped 28 saves in the loss.

Colony blanked twice in Fairbanks

FAIRBANKS — The Lathrop Malemutes cruised to a 15-0 win over the Colony Knights at the UAF Patty Center on Friday.

Lathrop scored seven times in the first period and outshot the Knights 30-6 in the game.

On Thursday, West Valley posted a 10-0 win over the Knights.

The Wolfpack outshot CHS 33-3.

Dimond-West skates by Ravens

ANCHORAGE — Dimond-West scored a 10-1 win over the Mat-Su Ravens at Ben Boeke Arena on Friday.

Jessica Larrabee scored Mat-Su’s lone goal, a power-play tally, with an assist from Rosey Fujimoto.

Dominique Schuetter recorded 34 saves in the loss.

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