Tough tests

WASILLA — At the end of the 2006-07 season, Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant asked the Wasilla High School administration to load the 2007-08 Warriors hockey schedule with as many tough nonconference games as possible.

And that’s what the administration did.

The result is a list of opponents that includes six of the seven other teams that joined Wasilla in the 2007 4A state championship tournament, and both the defending 3A and 4A state champions.

On Monday, just two days after Wasilla suffered a tough 4-3 loss to the historically tough East Anchorage Thunderbirds in the title game of the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena, Sturdevant said the focus is on preparing his squads for the conference and state tournaments.

“We don’t want to go into those tournaments late in the year and be on our heels because we don’t know what to expect from those powerhouses,” said Sturdevant, who has already led his team onto the ice against top programs such as West Anchorage and Chugiak.

Sturdevant said he does not want the Warriors to look too far ahead, but he certainly feels he has a state-tournament caliber squad, and he wants his team to get the experience against the squads who traditionally finish among the top teams in the state.

“Then when you match up late in the season, you know what to expect,” Sturdevant said.

Wasilla’s record is a mere 2-3 at this point, but the Warriors are not dwelling on the early-season record.

“We started with two losses, but we played good teams,” Wasilla senior Adam Friese said after the Warriors skated past Lathrop 6-0 in the first round of the Menard Tournament. “I’d rather start out doing that and get better.”

Wasilla opened the season with a loss to Chugiak, a team that failed to make the state tournament for the first time in nine years last season. On the following night the Warriors fell to West Anchorage, a squad that has advanced to the final tourney in each of the last four years.

The tough stretch continues tonight when the Warriors meet Service, a squad that finished fourth in the 2007 state tourney, at 6:45 p.m. at the Ben Boeke Arena in Anchorage.

Following a contest against Bartlett Thursday at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena, the Warriors host Dimond, the 2007 4A runner-up, at the Brett.

Later in the season, the Warriors will face Chugiak again on Dec. 4, and South Anchorage, the three-time defending 4A, on Jan. 16.

During the Menard Tournament, Wasilla played two more state tournament teams, Lathrop and Houston, the four-time defending 3A champions.

The Warriors cruised past Lathrop 6-0 in the first round, and edged Houston 3-1 in the semifinals.

East Anchorage earned a 4-3 win over the Warriors in the Menard title game, thanks to a late goal by defenseman Kyle Little.

With just 45 seconds left on the clock, Little fired a shot from the point and scored to give the T-Birds the 4-3 lead.

“Both teams played really well,” Sturdevant said. “East is a very powerful team, and they didn’t let up. We expected that.

“We knew it would come down to the final period,” the second-year head coach said. “As it was, the final minute was the deciding factor.”

Wasilla posted a 2-0 lead in the first period, with goals from Friese and fellow senior Joe Barkley.

Following three East goals, Matthew Friese scored midway through the third period to lock the score at 3-3.

“I’m happy with how the guys played,” Sturdevant said. “You never want to be happy with a loss, but overall we played well this weekend.”

The Warriors boast tremendous depth and experience this season. There are 12 seniors and 15 upperclassmen on the roster, and the Warriors can skate with a full four lines and six pairings on defense.

That depth and experience has allowed the Warriors to use more time on things such as special teams.

“We don’t necessarily have to focus on the basic skills as much,” Adam Friese said.

Sturdevant said the extra work on special teams certainly showed during the weekend.

Wasilla finished 3-for-4 on the power play against Lathrop. The Warriors also finished 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, and killed Lathrop’s two long 5-on-3 opportunities.

Play on the penalty kill also factored heavily into the Warriors’ win over Houston.

“I’m really happy with our penalty kill,” Sturdevant said.

Scoring machines

The most productive offensive unit during the Menard Tournament was undoubtedly Palmer’s top line. The unit of junior Zack Richards, junior Michael Hanson and freshman Jared Hanson combined for 13 goals and 10 assists in three games.

Michael Hanson led the tournament in scoring with five goals and four assists, Richards added five goals and two assists and Hanson tallied three goals and four assists.

The top goal scorer in the tourney was Colony senior Blake Huppert, who lit the lamp six times in the tourney.

Houston sophomore Will Rauchenstien stopped a tournament-high 84 shots in the Hawks’ goal.

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