Stars shock Palmer, blank Moose

SOLDOTNA — It took the Soldotna hockey team 15 minutes to find the right gear.

Once it happened, the Stars never slowed down.

SoHi scored five goals over the final 30 minutes after a scoreless opening period, earning a 5-0 win against visiting Palmer in North Star Conference action Thursday.

“We started off kind of slow, but we knew we could play with them,” SoHi coach Aaron Swanson said. “The guys turned it on, so we’re really happy with the effort.”

Jonas Perletti, Dalton Pearson and Max Hegge scored during a five-minute span in the second period, and Hegge and Jarrett Urban added insurance goals in the third as the Stars moved to 8-1-1 in winning their fourth consecutive game.

First-year goaltender Cody Harvey notched his third shutout in as many games, improving to 6-1-1 as a starter. He made 35 saves.

“Amazing,” Harvey said of earning the shutout.

Perletti tallied the game’s first score, scooping up a loose puck in his own end and streaking down the ice for a breakaway goal with 11:24 left in the second.

The unassisted goal came with the Moose on a power play.

Less than four minutes later, with the Stars on a two-man advantage after a pair of Palmer infractions, Kevin Stone sent a left-to-right cross to Pearson, who beat Palmer goaltender Ashton Good with a one-timer.

The Stars completed the second-period barrage with 5:51 remaining when Josh Kerkvliet fired a shot from the left side and Hegge steered it in from point-blank range. Kerkvliet and Stone earned assists on the exchange.

It took Hegge 27 seconds to find the net again in the third before Urban completed the blowout with a strike midway through the frame.

SoHi finished with a pair of goals on the power play, another short-handed and two more at even strength.

The tone wasn’t as rosy outside the locker room for the Moose, who committed 12 infractions for 24 minutes.

Coach Brad Hanson wasn’t about to supply any answers, either.

“It wasn’t our best game,” said Hanson, who declined to elaborate and made his players unavailable for comment.

The Moose look to pick up the pieces against Kenai Central at 6 p.m. today at the Soldotna Sports Center.

Meanwhile, the Stars are off to about the best start imaginable, their only loss coming to powerhouse Service.

Much of the credit goes to Harvey, who hasn’t yielded a goal in more than 135 minutes.

“We’re doing a lot better than I thought,” Harvey said, adding his confidence is growing. “Hopefully I can just keep getting shutouts.”

Soldotna 5, Palmer 0

Palmer 0 0 0—0

Soldotna 0 3 2—5

First period — No scoring. Penalties — Palmer 4 for 8:00; Soldotna 3 for

6:00.

Second period — 1. Soldotna, Perletti (unassisted), sh, 3:26; 2. Soldotna,

Pearson (Stone), 7:13; 3. Soldotna, Hegge (Stone, Kerkvliet), pp, 8:09.

Penalties — Palmer 2 for 4:00; Soldotna 3 for 6:00.

Third period — 4. Soldotna, Hegge (Kerkvliet), 0:27; 5. Soldotna, Urban

(Hegge), pp, 8:02. Penalties — Palmer 6 for 12:00; Soldotna 3 for 6:00

Penalties — Palmer 12 for 24:00; Soldotna 9 for 18:00.

Shots on goal — Palmer (13-10-12—35); Soldotna (7-10-7—24).

Goalies — Palmer, Good (24 shots, 19 saves); Soldotna, Harvey (35 shots, 35 saves).