Sacrificial Rams; Knights forget about lopsided loss with 10-goal win

WASILLA — Coming off a lopsided loss Tuesday to the Dimond Lynx, Colony was in need of some good vibes.

Enter the Monroe Rams.

The Knights got a six-point night from senior forward Blake Huppert and goals from eight different players en route to a 12-2 thrashing of the Rams Thursday night at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

“This was definitely a confidence booster,” Colony forward Ryan Weeks, who had a goal and an assist, said following the game.

Monroe goalie Leonard Jewkes made 60 saves in the loss, including the first 21 shots he faced.

Colony freshman Jason Murak had an easy night at the other end, making two saves to pick up his first varsity win.

Behind some stellar goaltending by Jewkes, the Rams held the Knights scoreless until midway through the first period, when Dominick Frank finally found the net for the first of his two goals on the night.

Weeks scored a shorthanded goal just as the period was coming to an end to put the Knights up 2-0, but the game was still relatively close until that point.

Things changed quickly in the third period.

Colony broke things open with six goals in the final period, including two from sophomore defenseman Jesse Kray.

Kray, Frank, Risto Paatsama and Lance Nezaticky each scored twice in the game for Colony, while Huppert, Weeks, Chris Sawyer and Rosy Fujimoto each found the net once.

Monroe didn't get a shot on goal until the 2:18 mark in the second period. Less than a minute later, the Rams found the net on their second shot of the game when Dan Bunten beat Murak glove side to break up the shutout.

Colony coach Dale Mattson said it was nice for his team to come out and get its offense going after taking the 14-1 loss to Dimond two nights earlier.

“It’s discouraging to lose that badly, so it's encouraging to turn it around,” Mattson said.

While Thursday's game amounted to little more than a practice session for Colony and the Monroe goalie, Mattson said he's expecting a stiffer test when the Knights go up against cross-Valley rival Houston tonight.

“Definitely should be a tougher game.”

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

KNIGHTS 12, RAMS 2

Colony 2-6-4 — 12

Monroe 0-1-1 — 2

First period — 1. Colony- Frank (Huppert, Paatsama), 8:07; 2. Colony- Weeks (Krey), sh, 14:53.

Second period — 3. Colony- Sawyer (Weeks), 1:35; 4. Colony- Nezaticky (Huppert, Paatsama), pp, 5:41; 5. Colony- Krey (Sawyer, Thygeson), 6:11; 6. Colony- Krey (No. 52); 6:56; 7. Colony- Frank (Gray), 9:09; 8. Colony- Paatsama (Huppert, Nezaticky), 10:20; 9. Monroe- Bunten (Duncan, Johnson), 13:41.

Third period — 10. Colony- Huppert (Nezaticky, Paatsama), :34; 11. Monroe- Johnson (Bunten, Duncan), 6:06; 12. Colony- Nezaticky (Huppert, Frank), 6:18; 13. Colony- Fujimoto (Pulczinski, No. 52), 7:27; 14. Colony- Paatsama (Huppert, Nickerson), 13:06.

Shots on goal: Monroe 0-2-2 — 4. Colony 25-22-25 — 72.

Saves: Monroe- Jewkes 23-16-21 — 60. Colony- Murak 0-1-1 — 2.