Prep hockey: Wasilla needs OT to get by HHS

WASILLA — Senior forward Adam Friese scored eight seconds into overtime Friday night to lead Wasilla to a 3-2 win over an upset-minded Houston squad that played some of its best hockey of the season.

Friese also scored to tie the game with just more than five minutes left in regulation as the Warriors rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit at the Menard Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

“I told them before the OT period that we need to get a goal early because the longer the overtime lasted, the better chance Houston was gonna pull one out,” Wasilla coach Bill Sturdevant said following the win.

Friese won the overtime face-off to senior forward Joe Barkley, who quickly passed the puck to a streaking Herbie Mansavage on the wing. Mansavage then centered the puck to Friese, who faked-out Houston goalie Will Rauchenstein to set off a wild Warrior celebration at center ice.

“I was able to fortunately deke out the goalie — which was something I wasn’t able to do all game,” Friese said.

Just a sophomore, Rauchenstein had Wasilla’s number all night, making big saves early and often for the Hawks.

“He definitely played a great game,” Friese said of Rauchenstein, who made 29 saves.

Neither team found the net until a frantic stretch late in the first period that saw three goals put up on the board in a span of just 48 seconds.

Houston sophomore Tim Scates started things off when he stole possession from Mansavage, who lost control of the puck when the blade of his stick broke as he tried to pass out of the Wasilla zone. Scates gladly accepted the gift, lifting the puck just over Wasilla goalie Jesse Hugli's pads to give the Hawks a bizarre 1-0 lead.

“I may go another 10 years and not see that happen again in a game,” Sturdevant said.

Just 21 seconds later, Houston senior Dillon Styers pounced on a turnover by Warrior senior defenseman Jordan Elkins deep in the Wasilla end, and fired a hard wrister that stopped only after finding the back of the net.

The two quick goals seemed to fire Wasilla up, which immediately cut the lead to 2-1 on Barkley's put-back goal with just more than a minute left in the period.

Rauchenstein was the hero in the second period, making several clutch saves — including a stellar glove grab on a rising Ben Barber slap shot midway though the period — to preserve the narrow Houston lead going into the third.

“When he plays well we’re going to be in the game,” Houston coach Mike Styers said.

Hugli was no slouch, either. The senior netminder finished with 16 saves and stopped all 12 shots he faced in the final two periods to seal the win.

Houston had Wasilla on the ropes late, and were skating with a 4-on-3 advantage when Friese muscled through the defense with 4:57 to play in regulation, stuffing the puck past Rauchenstein to send the game into extra time.

Essentially meaningless in the standings, the nonconference game — which doubled as senior night for both teams — looked nothing like a friendly late-season exhibition between the two Valley rivals. The teams combined for 46 penalty minutes as players exchanged both verbal and physical jabs throughout the hard-hitting affair.

Friese said Wasilla may have been a bit unprepared for Houston’s intensity level.

“We kinda got caught up in the senior night and thinking we’ve got it in the bag already, but they’re a tough team,” he said. “They definitely put up a fight.”

Mike Styers said he was pleased with his team’s effort against Wasilla, which will enter next week’s North Star Conference tournament as the No. 1 seed and a favorite to advance to the state tournament.

“To me, Wasilla’s one of the best teams in the state,” Styers said.

Houston, meanwhile, has struggled in its first year of 4A competition after winning its fourth consecutive state title at the 3A level last season. The Hawks will likely need to win all four of their final Mid-Alaska Conference games next week in Fairbanks to have a chance at reaching state.

But if the Hawks can play like they did Friday, Styers said he thinks his team has a shot at making a run.

“I’m real pleased with the way we played tonight, we just need to take and build on that,” he said.

The game was the final regular season contest for Wasilla, and Friese said he believes it may have served as a bit of a wake-up call for the Warriors as they prepare for the conference tournament in Homer next weekend.

“It’s good to have a game like this before we go into regions,” he said. “We can’t be cocky or anything, that’s for sure.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

WARRIORS 3, HAWKS 2 (OT)

Friday, Menard Memorial Ice Arena

Wasilla 1 0 1 1 — 3

Houston 2 0 0 0 — 2

First period — 1. Houston- Scates (un), 13:10; 2. Houston- Styers (Ranum), 13:31; 3. Wasilla- Barkley (Ostrom), 13:58.

Second period — none.

Third period — 4. Wasilla- A. Friese (un), sh, 10:03

Overtime — 5. Wasilla- A. Friese (Mansavage), :08

Penalties: Wasilla 11 for 30 minutes, Houston 8 for 16 minutes. Shots: Wasilla 5-10-17-1 — 32, Houston 6-5-7-0 — 18. Saves: Wasilla- Hugli 4-5-7-0 — 16, Houston- Rauchenstein 4-10-15-0 — 29.