Prep hockey: Third-period scores push Wasilla past Palmer

Nov. 23, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - After dropping a 6-5 decision to their Valley rivals earlier this month, Wasilla rebounded to score a 5-3 win over the Palmer Moose at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla on Tuesday.

A barrage of four Moose third-period goals led Palmer to its first win over the Warriors in four years on Nov. 10. But on Tuesday, Wasilla had the edge in the third period.

&#8220The third period is the best hockey we've played all year,” Wasilla senior captain Carl Brent said.

Junior Herbie Mansavage scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third and fellow junior Adam Friese added a power-play tally late in the game to help the Warriors improve to 2-5-0.

Palmer did all of its damage on the power play, scoring three times with the man advantage. Sophomore Michael Hanson scored twice on the Palmer power play, and junior Dylan Schindele scored while the Moose skated with a 5-on-3 advantage.

Palmer's work on the power play follows a trend that has haunted the Warriors throughout the early part of the season.

&#8220We've been telling our guys, we can't continue to score a goal and then take two penalties like we have been,” Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdavant said. &#8220We did the same thing on our long road trip.”

Wasilla suffered losses to North Pole, Lathrop and West Valley in the Interior last week.

Sturdavant said as he looks down the list of losses, he sees his opponents scoring three or four power play goals compared to Wasilla's one or two even strength goal.

&#8220Once we're able to get past that, we should do well,” Sturdavant said.

Mansavage scored the first of his two goals just 1 minute and 6 seconds into regulation. The junior forward took a pass from linemate Dane Wilson on the first shift, and reached to put a goal in the upper part of the Palmer net.

Mansavage struck again with 7:58 left, this time set up by a Jordan Elkins pass. After a Palmer defenseman lost the puck behind his own goal, Elkins - a junior bluneliner - found Mansavage streaking toward the net, and sent a quick pass out in front of the crease.

Late in the game, with the Warriors on the power play, Friese gave the Warriors the two-goal cushion. Friese took a pass from his brother Matthew, a freshman forward, and was able to virtually walk right up to the Palmer net. The hole in the Palmer penalty kill unit, allowed Friese to take a free shot at the Moose goal.

Juniors Harvey Finch and Joe Barkley also scored goals for Wasilla.

Palmer converted 3-of-8 power-play opportunities in the first two periods, an example of the improvement Moose head coach Dino Pagano has seen in his special teams.

&#8220We've been working really hard on our special teams,” Pagano said. &#8220We need to continue working on that.”

Hanson, who has scored seven goals in his last two games, tied the score at 1-1, scoring with just 6.2 seconds left in the first period. Hanson took a pass from blueliner Dylan Danielowski, skated in front of the crease and sent a hard shot past Dargis.

Hanson tied the score at 2-2 in the second period. After Zack Richards put a hard shot on goal, Hanson redirected the rebound in the net.

Late in the third period, Schindele tied the score at 3-3 for the Moose. With Schindele camped out in front of the net, Bruce Houchen took a shot from the point. The puck moved like a knuckleball off the blade of Houchen's stick, and took bounces off the ice and Schindele before going into the net.

Despite the loss, Palmer (5-2-0) is still off to its best start in years. And regardless of the outcome of a game Pagano said, &#8220could have gone either way,” the Moose coaching staff does not want their players to forget about their progress.

&#8220This team's come a long way,” Pagano said. &#8220I don't want them to forget about how far they've come.”

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