Ravens close out season strong

WASILLA — Girls high school hockey is taking root in the Valley 20 games at a time.

The Mat-Su Ravens finished their fifth season of competitive girls’ hockey hosting a two-game series against the Fairbanks Arctic Bears Friday and Saturday at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena. The finish — a split with the Ravens winning 2-1 Friday and Fairbanks winning 2-1 Saturday — was a strong end to an eventful season, Mat-Su head coach Dudley Boehm said.

Added to a close 3-2 double overtime loss to Dimond West the week before, and the Ravens proved they play stronger than their 5-13-2 record shows, the coach said.

“Our last four games, really, the girls played real well,” he said. “We won on Senior Night (Friday) and just came out short (Saturday) against a good team.”

Leading the way for the Ravens was senior Heather Gray, who scored both of the Ravens’ goals in the Friday evening win.

“She came in and led by example and was a leader on the team,” Boehm said. “She logged a bunch of time on the penalty kill and power play, and played extremely well.”

The end of the season also is the end of Ravens hockey for Gray and three other seniors who will graduate off the team, Boehm said. For some, there’s still hockey in the future.

Gray “is off to play some Division I college hockey,” he said. “They’re still working out where she’s going to go, but she has a few options. I think she’ll do fine. I was only able to coach her one year here, but she has all the abilities and skills and talent, and has a good head on her shoulders.”

Also graduating is senior goalkeeper Tessa Mullenburg, Sarah-Belle Srebernak and Victoria Matson. Mullenburg was the Ravens starting netminder this season.

“She had a strong game and had a strong season as far as goals against go,” Boehm said of Mullenburg’s performance in Friday’s win, where she saved 15 of the 16 shots she faced. “We’ve been fortunate to have good goaltending all of our five years.”

Although the Ravens pulled off a Senior Night win, it was Fairbanks that drew first blood when Courtney Evans scored with 8:50 left in the first period.

But Gray would lead a furious Ravens charge at the end of the second period to tie the score with 5:16 left in the period. She then netted the game-winner less than three minutes later.

In Saturday’s season finale, the Ravens took a 1-0 lead with 6:12 remaining in the first period on an Indigo Beck goal, assisted by Aubrey Sage. But Fairbanks would answer with less than two minutes to go in the period when Kerilynn Fitzgerald scored.

The teams would play scoreless hockey throughout the second period and appeared to be heading to overtime when the Arctic Bears’ Rackell Kowalchuk put the game-winner into the net with 1:37 left to play.

The Ravens will lose their four seniors, but the future looks bright, Boehm said. There’s only one junior on the squad, and the rest are sophomores and freshmen, meaning there’s potential for the main core of the team to be together for another two to three years.

“We’re a young team, and if all the girls (in the area) play, we could have two teams next year,” he said. “I think in the freshman class here there are a lot of young girls playing hockey.”

Ravens 2, Arctic Bears 1

Friday, Brett Memorial Ice Arena

First period — 1. Fairbanks- Evans (Vohden) 8:50.

Second period — 2. Mat-Su- Gray (unassisted) 5:16; 3. Mat-Su- Gray (unassisted) 2:14.

Third period — no scoring.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 4-4-8—16, Mat-Su 2-12-6—20; Saves: Fairbanks- McCulloch 2-10-6—18, Mat-Su- Mullenburg 3-4-8—15.

Arctic Bears 2, Ravens 1

Saturday, Brett Memorial Ice Arena

First period — 1. Mat-Su- Beck (Sage) 6:12; 2. Fairbanks- Fitzgerald (Kowalchuk, Hughes) 1:55.

Second period — no scoring.

Third period — 2. Fairbanks- Kowalchuk (Hughes, Peter) 1:37.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 8-9-8—25, Mat-Su 9-3-3—15; Saves: Fairbanks- McCulloch 8-3-3—14, Mat-Su- Pulczinski 7-9-7—23.