VALLEY SHOWDOWN: Palmer responds to gut-check with 3 unanswered goals

PALMER — As a gassed Piers LaFrance worked his way down the ice chasing a loose puck during the final seconds of regulation, it was easy to see the Palmer senior’s legs were tired. But as he reached his stick out to tuck the puck inside an empty Wasilla net all of the life came back into his legs as he celebrated with teammates.

That LaFrance goal iced Palmer’s 5-3 win over the Wasilla Warriors during the North Star Conference Championships title game Saturday night at the MTA Palmer Ice Arena.

“It was a tough game, we put it all out on the line. But that released the pressure a lot,” LaFrance said of the goal after the win.

LaFrance notched a hat trick and Palmer scored three unanswered goals during the final 5 minutes and 26 seconds of play to give the Moose the region championship.

“I’m really proud, it was a gut check. That’s what wins championships, that kind of play when you need it. We don’t have a lot of banners up here, we’re not quite accustomed to them,” Palmer head coach Brad Hanson said as he looked up at the only prep banner that hangs from the rafters of the Palmer arena, one that represents Palmer’s 1989 state hockey title.

Wasilla senior Darryl Bailes scored on the power play to give the Warriors the 3-2 lead at the 7:03 mark of the third, but less than two minutes later, the Moose were able to tie the score.

Sophomore Trey Garrod, who sported the hardest shot during the NSC skills competition on Friday, blasted a shot from the point right off a face-off in the Wasilla zone to tie the score at 3.

“That was great. Get the goal, get a little energy,” Palmer captain Ivan Good said. “That turned the game around.”

It only took Palmer 39 seconds to break the tie. Good led a 2-on-1 and fed a quick pass from the left wing circle to his right, and LaFrance quickly sent a puck past Wasilla goalie Zach Eastham. And then with Eastham pulled during the final seconds, LaFrance was able to ice the game with the empty-netter.

LaFrance gave his team the early lead with his first goal of the game. The senior broke free from the Wasilla defense during the first two minutes of play and tapped home a rebound of his own shot to give Palmer the 1-0 lead.

“I thought that Piers LaFrance was one of the best players in the region for a few years now, and he had the hat trick tonight,” Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant said.

LaFrance gave the Moose the early lead, and Good added to it later in the period when he wrapped a shot around the back of the Wasilla goal and snuck it into the net. But despite the deficit, Wasilla battled back in the second. Wasilla outshot Palmer 10-3 during that period and got on the scoreboard in the second.

“I thought we did a good job in the second period,” Sturdevant said.

During the opening seconds of the middle frame, Wasilla won a draw and dropped the puck back to junior Michael Johnston, who placed a wrister into the upper shelf in the Palmer net. Wasilla carried that play into the third. Early in the period, with the Warriors skating on the power play, junior Dylan McRee skated alone above the circles and swept a wrist shot high into the net. That score tied the game at 2.

On Wasilla’s next power-play chance, captain Chancie Hanson moved a pass in from the point, and Bailes followed the puck in to give the Warriors the 3-2 lead. But the Warriors would only be able to hold the advantage for about two minutes.

“It was a frustrating, frustrating loss,” Sturdevant said. “After coming back and battling the way we did and have to lose like that, especially have to lose like that and watch the celebration that went on after that, it’s tough.”

Sturdevant said he told each of his players to hold their head high as he walked down the line after the game.

“I told them we have another week of hockey left,” Sturdevant said.

Both earned state tournament berths with semifinal wins on Friday. Palmer, the North Star top seed, plays Cook Inlet Conference’s No. 4 seed, Service, during the first round of the 4A state tourney Thursday at the Menard Arena in Wasilla. Wasilla gets the CIC runner-up, South, which suffered a 2-0 loss to Dimond on Saturday night.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Palmer 5, Wasilla 3

North Star Conference title game

Saturday, MTA Palmer Ice Arena

First period – 1. Palmer- LaFrance (unassisted) 13:08; 2.Palmer- I. Good (unassisted) 3:20.

Second period – 3. Wasilla- Johnston (Korsmo) 14:42.

Third period- 4. Wasilla- McRee (unassisted) pp 12:52; 5. Wasilla- Bailes (Ch. Hanson) pp 7:03; 6. Palmer- Garrod (Acher) 5:26; 7. Palmer- LaFrance (I. Good) 4:47; 8. Palmer- LaFrance (Harrison) en 0:10.

Shots on goal: Wasilla 7-10-10—27, Palmer 13-3-10—26; Saves: Wasilla- Eastham 11-3-7—21, Palmer- A. Good 7-9-8—24.