Prep hockey: Palmer wins in OT; senior scores clutch goal

Dec. 1, 2006

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

PALMER - Hockey players are well-known for their nicknames, and Palmer's Tyson Alger is on his way to earning a good one - Mr. Clutch.

The senior captain thrilled the home crowd with his second overtime game-winner of the season Wednesday night, lifting the Moose to a wild 4-3 win over the Eagle River Wolves at the Palmer Ice Arena.

Alger's breakaway goal wasn't pretty - he nearly fumbled the puck away after taking Tyler Virgin's pass cleanly at center ice - but plenty effective.

&#8220I was kind of swinging high and I was open,” he said. &#8220I was worried I wasn't going to be able to control it. At the last second I was just able to poke it in.”

The final goal was a fitting way to end a game that saw the Moose nearly throw away a 3-0 lead after two solid periods of hockey.

&#8220We came out strong in the first two periods, they came out a little harder in the third,” Palmer head coach Dino Pagano said following the game.

The Moose used a strong forecheck to maintain possession and create opportunities, and got timely goaltending by Jim Isaacs to build the early lead.

&#8220Those are things we've been working on as a squad,” Pagano said.

Palmer's Kyle Blakeman got the Moose going in the first period, taking a nifty centering pass from Alger from behind the Eagle River net and converting a wrist shot that beat Wolves goalie Ryan Felzarg on the stick side.

Later in the period, forward Zack Richards took Jeremy Wright's pass and deked Felzarg on the glove side for a power play goal and a 2-0 Moose lead.

That's how things stood until late in the second period, when Richards hit Michael Hanson with a perfect pass to the point. Hanson walked the puck calmly in on net and buried the puck over the goaltender's right shoulder.

The period ended with the Moose up 3-0 and firmly in control of a game that saw them out-shoot the Wolves 20-9 through 30 minutes of hockey.

Then came the third period, a virtual mirror image of the first two.

&#8220Our guys came together as a team,” Eagle River coach Joe Quinn said.

Quinn said he believes the third period was the best his winless squad has played all season.

&#8220That was a first for us as far as putting a third period together,” he said. &#8220It's unfortunate how things ended up, but to come back and tie the game up was good.”

Eagle River put an end to Palmer's shutout bid following a Palmer penalty. With the Wolves on the power play, Eagle River caught a break when Palmer's Wright mishandled the puck in front of his own goal, deflecting the puck past Issacs for the first Eagle River goal of the night. Eagle River's Jason Murphy was responsible for centering the puck, and was credited with the unassisted score.

That first goal seemed to get the Wolves going, and they went on to score two more within the next 4 minutes and 12 seconds to even things up.

&#8220One goal like that either way can turn a game around,” Pagano said. &#8220It obviously gave them a boost.”

Murphy put in the Wolves' second goal off a rebound of Brian Quinlan's shot to close the gap to 3-2. Less than two minutes later, Eagle River got the equalizer after Jacob Lord won a face-off directly back to a wide-open John Diamond in the slot. Issacs had no chance on Diamond's point-blank shot, and suddenly Palmer was fighting for its life.

The Moose, however, didn't give in easily, holding off a couple late Eagle River challenges to force the decisive overtime period.

Pagano said the win was a good one for his team, although he stressed that in order for the Moose to improve they must limit the kinds of mistakes that let Eagle River back into the game Wednesday.

&#8220If we want to continue to grow and get stronger, he can't let that happen to us in the third period,” he said.

With the win, Palmer moved to 6-2 on the season. Next up for Palmer is a 7 p.m., Friday night tilt against the Colony Knights at the Palmer Ice Arena.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Matt Tunseth at

353-2265.