STONEWALLED

WASILLA — Heading into his team’s season-opener, if someone told Bill Sturdevant his team would put 40 pucks on net and outshoot the Chugiak Mustangs nearly 2-to-1, the Wasilla head coach would probably believe his squad would skate off the ice with the victory.

And, rightfully so.

But Joe Linquist had a different idea.

The Chugiak netminder stopped 38 shots, including 16 in the first period, to lead the Mustangs to a 4-2 win over the Warriors at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena on Thursday.

“They had phenomenal goaltending,” Sturdevant said after the loss.

Linquist turned 16 shots away in the first period and 15 in the second to help Chugiak grab the win in the season-opener for both teams. Sturdevant said he’s happy with the pressure his team created, and considering the play of Linquist, it was hard to fault his team.

“I certainly would have liked to come away with a win, but in the first game of the season to put 40 shots on a quality team like Chugiak, I’m happy with the effort we put forth,” Sturdevant said. “Chugiak’s a quality team every single year.”

It took Wasilla 30 shots to sneak the first puck past Linquist. Junior Michael Johnston fired a shot from the top of the circle that beat Linquist.

That score came at the 4:54 mark of the second and cut Chugiak’s lead to 2-1. Late in the second, senior Mike Edwards put a rebound past Linquist for Wasilla.

Although the Warriors were only able to get a pair of pucks past the Chugiak goalie, Sturdevant said the effort of not only his forwards, but the also the Wasilla blueliners, allowed the Warriors to put pressure on the Chugiak net.

“They play by our defense was excellent. Instead of just panicking with the puck, they showed a lot of poise,” Sturdevant said. “I think we chased the puck hard. We wanted to establish the forecheck early on in the game, and I thought we did that. Couple that, the play of our defense with the play our forwards had, I thought we had success.”

Chugiak captain Sean Casey scored a pair of goals to lead the Mustangs. Casey scored shorthanded almost immediately after a face-off early in the first period to give the Mustangs the 1-0 lead. Casey put the Mustangs up 2-0 early in the second period.

Sam Linder scored on a penalty shot for the Mustangs in the second and Josh Smith added a goal in the third.

Wasilla sophomore Zach Eastham made 18 saves for the Warriors. Despite the loss, Sturdevant was pleased with the play of his young netminder.

“Really, he played in three games last year. He hasn’t’ seen a lot of varsity ice time. To face a penalty shot in the first game of the season, he showed a lot of character,” Sturdevant said.

Chugiak 4, Wasilla 2

Thursday, Menard Arena

Chugiak 1-2-1—4

Wasilla 0-2-0—2

First period — 1. Chugiak- Casey (unassisted) sh 12:14.

Second period — 2. Chugiak- Casey (Linder) 8:52; 3. Wasilla- Johnston (Keene, Bailes) 4:54; 4. Chugiak- Linder (unassisted) ps 1:18; 5. Wasilla- Edwards (Korsmo, Ch. Hanson) 0:22.

Third period — 6. Chugiak- Smith (Tomazevic) 8:04.

Shots on goal: Chugiak 16-15-9—40, Wasilla 7-8-7—22; Saves: Chugiak- Linquist 16-13-9—38, Wasilla- Eastham 6-6-6—18.