Sweet victory: Moose use new tradition to celebrate win over rival Colony

PALMER — Friday night, amid the cheers and chants from his players, Palmer had coach Jeff Varvil reached to a top shelf in the Moose hockey locker room and pulled down a pumpkin pie. The boisterous celebration grew as Varvil stepped to the center of the room, with the pie in one hand and a can of whipped cream in another.

Pumpkin pie has become synonymous with the victory celebration for Palmer hockey, part of a new tradition for the program, born when the mother of Palmer freshman Chase Rosenberg brought the coaching staff a pumpkin pie on a game night before Thanksgiving. Rather than keeping it for themselves, the Palmer coaches decided to give it to the player they thought stood out on that night before the holiday.

Now it’s part of a ritual.

With the victory, comes the pie. And the player the Moose call their MVP that night gets the first portion of the prize.

Friday night, Palmer junior goalie Cody Grogan was the player holding the pie, with the fresh coat of whipped cream. Grogan dug into his reward after using his 22-save effort to help Palmer beat rival Colony 3-1 at the MTA Events Center.

“It’s kind of a fun one,” Palmer senior captain Darren Fish said of Palmer’s new tradition. “Especially with this second semester, coming back after Christmas break we’ve played a lot. We’ve been kind of tired. Anything that lets us have fun, keep the mood light is good.”

And there has been plenty of chances to celebrate lately, and a lot of pumpkin pie for the Moose, winners of five straight games. Friday’s win may have been the sweetest of all. With the victory over the Knights, the Moose (8-0-1) clinched a regular season conference title, and the top seed in the upcoming North Star Conference Championships.

“It feels great. I haven’t been No. 1 in my high school career,” Fish said.

Palmer will also have a first-round bye in the six-team tourney, which starts Feb. 4 in Soldotna. That means the Moose need just a victory in the semifinal round to clinch a spot in the state tournament for the first time since 2012. Palmer’s eight seniors were in eighth grade the last time Palmer skated in a state tourney.

Palmer senior captain Noah Richards said the Moose are thrilled with the chance to accomplish something that nobody on the current roster has accomplished.

“We’ve never made it to state. We never really did good in regions. I think we’re going to take advantage of this. It’s pretty exciting,” Richards said.

Varvil, Palmer’s first-year head coach, said effort, growth and maturity are among the reasons why Palmer is having success this year.

“It’s the little things. Staying out of the penalty box. It’s the team coming together as they did,” Varvil said.

And that is helping Palmer achieve its goals, Varvil said.

“These seniors have never taken first place. That was our goal coming (into the season), to come (into the region tournament) as the No. 1 seed,” Varvil said. “It’s huge for us. Huge for the kids.”

Fish, Nathaniel Savel and Bowen Webb each scored goals to help Palmer get past its rival and clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tourney. Grogan helped preserve the lead with the 22 saves, including nine in the third period.

“Grogan played great. He really kept us in there, especially late in the second and the third,” Fish said.

Savel gave the Moose the early lead, tapping in the rebound of a Taylor Foster shot 12:17 mark of the first period. Later in the first, Colony junior Jacob Kirsch scored on the power play to tie the score at 1. Palmer regained the lead with Webb’s goal early in the second. Palmer added to its lead when Fish scored with 5:35 left in the third period.

Overall, Varvil said discipline is a big reason why the Moose were able to skate off the ice with a victory against a tough Colony team.

“My hat’s off to Jamie Smith and what he’s done with that team,” Varvil said of the Colony head coach.

Colony outshot Palmer 23-17 in the loss, but had to settle for the lone goal. The Knights dropped to 6-2-1 in league play, but can clinch the No. 2 seed in the NSC with a victory over Wasilla Thursday at the Menard Arena. Colony is currently just ahead of Wasilla (6-2-0) in the standings.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Palmer 3, Colony 1

Friday, MTA Events Center

First period — 1. Palmer- Savel (Foster, Fish) 12:17; 2. Colony- Kirsch (Thiele) 4:10.

Second period — 3. Palmer- Webb (Rosenberg, Dojka) 12:51.

Third period — 4. Palmer- Fish (Savel) 5:35.

Shots on goal: Colony 7-7-9—23, Palmer 5-6-6—17; Saves: Colony- Diltz 4-5-5—14, Palmer- Grogran 6-7-9—22.