Prep hockey: Third-period surge leads Mustangs past Palmer

Nov. 10, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - For about 40 minutes, the Palmer Moose withstood about as much pressure as the Chugiak Mustangs could put on them.

But in the final five minutes, the levee broke and the floodgates opened.

Chugiak scored three goals during a three-minute span to ice a 5-1 win on the first day of the second-annual Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament in Wasilla.

&#8220We played one of the top teams in the state for two-and-a-half periods,” Palmer assistant coach Norm Rousey said after the game. &#8220The bubble burst a little bit.”

In a stellar effort, Palmer goaltender Jim Isaacs faced 49 shots in the game, and turned away 44 of them. He made kick saves and glove saves. He made saves with his chest, and at least in one case, his stopped a shot with his mask. He made saves from his back and his stomach. He stopped odd man rushes, and a few one-on-ones.

But as the third period progressed, Chugiak started to get more open looks. The Mustangs, skating with a full four lines to Palmer's two, were able to wear down the feisty Moose.

&#8220You get a bit fatigued, you lose those one-on-one battles and the puck pops in the net,” Rousey said. &#8220(You) get little individual breakdowns. Once you get one breakdown - tick, tack, toe.”

Ron Linder scored twice during a two-minute span, late in the third, and fellow Mustang forward Micah Wheeler added another goal.

Although Chugiak kept Palmer off the scoreboard until the third period, Palmer looked its strongest in the second. The Moose held the advantage in second-period shots for the first nine minutes of the middle frame. Palmer came very close to tying the game when blueliner Dylan Danielowski nearly redirected a rebound of a Bruce Houchen shot into the net.

Palmer's penalty kill unit prevented Chugiak from scoring when the Mustangs skated with the 5-on-3 advantage. In a key progression, Palmer defenseman Jeremy Wright sent Wheeler to the ice on the backcheck, and cleared the puck from the Palmer zone. As the puck slid up the ice, Chugiak was whistled for a cross-checking penalty, ending their two-man opportunity.

&#8220The second period went well,” said Palmer head coach Dino Pagano. &#8220They were playing hard, and things were going well.”

Isaacs stopped 19 of Chugiak's 20 shots in the first period, and another nine shots in the second. Bryce Hattenburg gave the Mustangs the early 1-0 leading, sneaking a puck into the net when Isaacs was hung up in traffic after leaving the crease to clear the puck.

Patrick Shepard gave Chugiak a 2-0 lead early in the third period.

Chugiak pulled goaltender James McCurtain to give the Mustangs the 6-on-5 advantage on a delayed penalty. With the extra man, Shepard took the puck and flipped it over Isaacs' shoulder.

Midway through the third period, Palmer sophomore Zack Richards cut the score to 2-1, scoring on a one-timer. With the Moose on the power play, Danielowski took control of the puck right behind the Mustang net and passed it to Richards, who was sitting right in front of the goal.

Pagano and Rousey couldn't help but be disappointed after watching their squad suffer a tough loss, but continue to be pleased with the improvements they are seeing.

&#8220We're proud of their performance. They played exactly the way we wanted them to play. They just ran out of legs after the second period,” Rousey said. &#8220We want to become a third-period hockey team.”

Palmer now faces a familiar foe, Wasilla, in the second round of the tournament. The Warriors were forced to the backside of the bracket, with a 6-5 loss to North Pole on Thursday.

Palmer and Wasilla meet today at 12:30 p.m.

In other action, Colony suffered a 15-2 loss to West Valley. Colony now places Houston today at 3:45 p.m. Houston dropped a 4-3 decision to Bartlett.

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