Spreading their wings

WASILLA — For much of his tenure as the head coach of the Mat-Su Ravens, Dudley Boehm has had to stick to the basics.

He and his fellow coaches have had to preach fundamentals and have put much more value in simply improvement in overall skill rather than counting wins and losses.

And that’s what makes Mat-Su’s 2-0 win over Chugiak-Eagle River on Friday that much more sweet.

“It’s nice for them to kind of get the systems we’re trying to run down a little better,” Boehm said. “And the fundamentals of course are improved.”

Not only did Mat-Su score the win, but the Ravens — behind the goaltending of Dominique Schuetter — recorded the shutout. The Ravens also outshot Chugiak-Eagle River 22-13, and showed the ability to control the play on both ends of the ice.

“(We’ve made) great progress,” Mat-Su forward Rosy Fujimoto said. “Everyone is working really hard.”

Fujimoto, one of four seniors on the squad who were honored in a pregame ceremony, scored both of Mat-Su’s goals.

Fujimoto gave the Ravens the early lead, using the back of the blade of her stick to chip the puck past Chugiak-Eagle River goalie Nicole Mergala three minutes into the first period.

Senior Kammie Finch set up the play by winning a battle in the corner and moving the puck to Fujimoto, who was parked in front of the net.

Fujimoto added an insurance goal late in the third when she knocked in the rebound of a Mikhayla Waugaman attempt.

Senior Jessica Larrabee, who also earned an assist on the play, moved the puck into the zone and put a quick shot on net, trying to go five-hole.

Mergala stopped the first attempt, but Waugaman and Fujimoto were there to keep the play alive.

“That line’s been working real well (together),” Boehm said.

Mat-Su was also finally able to score a victory over a Chugiak-Eagle River team that has become the Ravens’ primary rival. It’s the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams, and the Ravens fell each of the first three meetings despite being within reach of victory each time.

“We’ve always been close,” Fujimoto said. “We’ve always been right there.”

Chugiak-Eagle River edged Mat-Su in overtime early in the year. Earlier this month, Chugiak-Eagle River needed a goal late in the third period to claim a 1-0 win.

“It’s nice to finally beat these guys,” Boehm said.

Friday’s win — Mat-Su’s final home game of the season — was just its third this season, but a sign of the continued growth of the third year program.

“(The team’s) improved a lot,” senior defenseman Kyla Gauthier said. “When we first started play, it was pretty much all brand new girls.”

Mat-Su’s four seniors — Gauthier, Fujimoto, Larrabee and Finch — skated on the inaugural Ravens team during the 2006-07 season. The team had to wait until the following year to earn the first win in the history of the program, but in each season the Ravens have steadily improved. And not only has the roster size increased, but Mat-Su is collecting more skilled players each year.

Mat-Su has time to add a few more wins this season. The Ravens have four games left on the schedule, and three of those are against the Arctic Bears, a Fairbanks-based team. The Ravens are 2-1-0 against the Bears this season. The only loss to the Fairbanks team came in overtime.

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

Mat-Su 2, Chugiak-ER 0

Friday, Brett Arena

First period — 1. Mat-Su- Fujimoto (Finch, Waugaman) 9:02.

Second period — no scoring.

Third period — 2. Mat-Su- Fujimoto (Waugaman, Larrabee) 10:54.

Shots on goal: Chugiak-Eagle River 13, Mat-Su 22; Saves: Chugiak-Eagle River- Mergala 20, Mat-Su- Schuetter 13; Power plays: Chugiak-Eagle River 0-for-2, Mat-Su 0-for-0; Penalties: Chugiak-Eagle River 0-for-0, Mat-Su 2-for-4.