Prep hockey preview: Warriors eager to get past transition period

Nov. 23, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Call the first two weeks of the prep hockey season a transition period for the Wasilla Warriors.

Wasilla is adjusting to a new coach - former Colony assistant and WHS alum Bill Sturdevant replaced former head coach Eric Troisi in the offseason.

And the Warriors are working to fill the holes left by about a dozen players who either graduated or opted to move up beyond the preps to the Midget AAA level.

But the Warriors feel like they're getting somewhere, especially after a 5-3 win over Palmer on Tuesday.

After the win over Moose, Sturdevant said it has just been a question of he learning his new players, his players learning what a new coaching staff has to offer and finding the right places to best utilize the talents of his players.

Sturdevant did arrive knowing a few things. One - sophomore Jake Dargis is his man in net. Two - senior Carl Brent is his leader on defense. And three - the Friese brothers, junior Adam and freshman Matthew, could account for a boat-load of points on offense.

For Sturdevant, it all starts with Dargis.

&#8220He's definitely a strength,” Sturdevant said. &#8220Anytime you have a solid goaltender, your team feeds off that.”

Dargis posted stellar numbers as a freshman - a 5-1-0 record and 1.67 goals against average - while backing up standout starter Ronnie Walker. With Walker now gone, Dargis is Wasilla's top netminder.

&#8220He's only a sophomore, but he's one of the best goalies around,” said Brent, Wasilla's team captain.

Joining Brent on defense are junior Jordan Elkins and sophomore Dylan Troisi.

Sturdevant feels, teamed with a strong defense, Dargis can be the anchor of the Wasilla squad.

On the front line, the Wasilla coaching staff is still putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The only the that has remained constant in the first seven games of the season is Sturdevant's desire to keep Adam and Matthew Friese on the same line.

&#8220Anytime you get that type of chemistry between two players, it's excellent,” Sturdevant said. &#8220When you've got two brothers like that playing on the same line, the chemistry is almost a given.”

Adam Friese posted 41 points (23 goals and 18 assists) in his first two seasons at Wasilla. With his goal on Tuesday, Friese has scored in four straight games.

Sturdevant continues to see where the remainder of his forwards fit.

&#8220When you look down our roster, we have a lot of juniors on the team, but our playing experience of those juniors is really low,” Sturdevant said.

Getting those players time on the ice has been as important as anything.

&#8220We've got eight or nine players who played varsity last year, but of those eight or nine, only four played consistently,” Brent said.

Senior Sam Thomas, senior Jordan Ingalls and junior Joe Barkley each were regulars last year, skating in 23 games.

Thomas posted nine goals and eight assists, Barkley and three goals and seven assists and Ingalls finished his junior season with eight goals and four assists.

Thomas and Adam Friese are the team's assistant captains, and Sturdevant said he is also looking for leadership from the likes of Ingalls and Barkley.

&#8220You don't have to have a letter on your jersey to be a leader,” Sturdevant said.

Wasilla is also looking toward another group of juniors - players such as Harvey Finch, Dane Wilson and Herbie Mansavage - to take on a bigger role on the team.

&#8220I think they're going to be big pieces of the puzzle as we go on,” Sturdevant said.

Wasilla did lose a handful of its top scorers from a year ago. Tanner Dutcher (14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points), Joel Kenworty (11-16-27) and Eric Zehnder (3-12-15) graduated. Jeremiah Dargis (12-15-27), Track Palin (5-6-11) and Levi Johnston (10-12-22) have all moved up a step from the prep level.

&#8220I don't think we have one line that will blow teams out of the water, but I feel confident we will have three strong lines we can run and get production out of,” Sturdevant said.

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