Prep hockey: Moose score 7-2 win over Houston, 3rd place in tourney

Frontiersman

WASILLA — In Palmer’s 8-4 win over Eagle River on Wednesday, all eight of Palmer’s goals came courtesy of the Moose first line. But on Saturday, each of three lines contributed offensively as the Moose skated to a 7-2 win over the Houston Hawks on the final day of the fourth-annual Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

The Moose (4-1) claimed third place in the tourney with a win over their Valley rival. Arguably more important for Palmer was the fact that all three of its lines put at least one puck in the back of the net.

Brothers Michael and Jared Hanson, who share the first line with Zack Richards, combined for five goals and four assists. Senior Justin Perkins and sophomore Kyle Blakeman represented the next two lines with goals.

“It’s big,” Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said after the win. “We need more balance, and we need more depth to be successful.”

Blakeman, who skates on a second unit, took a pass from linemate Tyler Isaacs and flipped a puck over the shoulder of Houston goaltender Will Rauchenstein to give the Moose a 5-1 lead in the third period.

Later in the period, Perkins — who was skating on a line with Derek Monarch and Piers LaFrance, found a puck right in front of Rauchenstein and slipped it behind the sophomore netminder.

Perkins also netted the hat trick in a 13-1 win over Tok last week, and said logging points early in the season will certainly help the confidence of the players skating on Palmer’s second and third lines.

“Even if you’re on the third line, you’re still able to contribute,” Perkins said. “It’s a team effort. We know we have to contribute too.”

Michael Hanson gave the Moose the early lead with a pair of goals in the first six minutes of play.

Jared Hanson added to that lead in the second period, knocking in the rebound of a Michael Hanson shot.

Jake Henkel converted a penalty shot early in the third period to cut Palmer’s lead to 3-1.

Henkel was given the free shot on Palmer netminder Sam McQuillin after the Moose senior was penalized for throwing his stick.

Henkel skated to the Palmer goal, used a fake to draw McQuillin out of the crease and slipped the puck behind the Moose netminder.

Brad Hanson didn’t fault his senior goalie for the play, and said it looked like the stick was knocked out of McQuillin’s hands as he dove to make a save.

Palmer allowed only 17 shots in the game, and McQuillin made 10 saves in the third period. Hanson said two keys contributed to Palmer’s success on defense — backchecking and limiting the number of rebounds in front of the net.

“I thought Sam did a better job of controlling the rebounds today,” Hanson said.

Houston senior Dillon Styers added a second goal for the Hawks (1-4) with two minutes left in the game.

Despite the loss, Houston head coach Mike Styers said he is pleased with the progression of a team that includes only 13 players. Styers said he feels the Hawks played significantly better in their 3-1 loss to Wasilla on Friday in the Menard Tournament semifinals.

“We played great last night,” Styers said Saturday, noting his team’s work against a Warrior squad that features a full four lines and three defensive pairings.

“We showed we can play at that level,” he said.

But on Saturday, Styers felt his team was not as mentally prepared as it should have been.

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

Palmer 7, Houston 2

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period – 1. Palmer- M. Hanson (Wright) 12:47, 2. Palmer- M. Hanson (J. Hanson) 9:01.

Second period – 3. J. Hanson (M. Hanson, Wright) 4x4 7:46.

Third period – 4. Houston- Henkel ps 14:04, 5. Palmer- J. Hanson (M. Hanson, Richards) 7:15, 6. Palmer- Blakeman (Isaacs) pp 5:16, 7. Palmer- M. Hanson (J. Hanson, Richards) 3:46, 8. Palmer- Perkins (Monarch, LaFrance) pp 2:50, 9. Houston- Styers (Ranum) 2:07.

Shots on goal: Houston 2-3-12-17, Palmer 13-11-9-33; Saves: Houston- Rauchenstein 11-10-5-26.