Valley teams earn wins in Big Lake hockey tourney

BIG LAKE — Earlier this week, the Service Cougars slipped past the Colony Knights 4-2. But Colony’s biggest loss in that nonconference defeat came long before the final horn sounded.

Midway though the game, Colony sophomore forward Jake Hessinger suffered a broken wrist. Hessinger, who bagged seven goals and five assists through the first 10 games of the season, is expected to be out for more than a month, Colony head coach Jamie Smith said.

When the Knights returned to the ice Thursday afternoon, there was much more than the loss to the Cougars to rebound from.

“(Jake’s) a big piece to our puzzle,” Smith said. “It was time for somebody else to step up.”

Cue Otto Thiele.

Thiele notched a hat trick and used a five-point day to lead the Knights to a 6-2 win over the East Anchorage Thunderbirds during the first round of the Big Lake Lions Christmas Classic at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center.

“(He) showed up today,” Smith said of Thiele.

With his three goals and two assists, Thiele factored into five of Colony’s six goals, and helped the Knights move into the semifinal round where they will face North Star Conference rival Soldotna Friday at 5 p.m. in Big Lake. The Stars edged Lathrop 4-3 in overtime Thursday afternoon.

With the loss of Hessinger, Smith said he was looking for other plays, his veterans in particular, to step up and help fill the void. Smith’s veterans responded. All six goals Thursday were courtesy of upperclassmen.

Seniors Cy Eller and Jake Branch, and junior Cade Havel also scored for the Knights.

Colony goalie Joey Diltz made 24 saves in the win.

Eller gave the Knights an early lead, scoring just less than five minutes into regulation. After Angelo Christie tied the game for East early in the second, Thiele scored twice in a four-minute span to give the Knights the lead.

Havel added a second-period goal, while Thiele and Branch each found the back of the net during the third period.

Palmer also moved forward in the tournament with an 8-1 win over Kenai Central. The game marked the second meeting between the North Star Conference rivals in less than a week. Palmer beat Kenai 5-2 in Soldotna Dec. 5.

Darren Fish and Taylor Foster each scored twice to lead the Moose to the win. Valery Dietz, RJ Avezac, Darian Wilson and Hayden Shults also scored for the Moose. Goalie Cody Grogan made 30 saves for Palmer.

With the win, Palmer moves into the semifinal round and will play Wasilla Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Big Lake.

Wasilla capped the first round with a 6-1 victory over host Houston late Thursday night. The Warriors used a four-goal second period to grab the win. With a loss, Houston moves backward and will play Kenai at 11 a.m. in the consolation semifinals.

The tourney continues through Saturday.

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

Colony 6, East Anchorage 2

Big Lake Lions Christmas Classic

First period — 1. Colony- Eller (Thiele) 10:40.

Second period — 2. East- Christie (Martinez, Eddens) 13:46; 3. Colony- Thiele (Eller, Branch) 8:29; 4. Colony- Thiele (Branch) 4:06; 5. Colony- Havel (Kirsch, Riekena) 1:40.

Third period — 6. Colony- Thiele (Smith, Kirsch) 12:17; 7. Colony- Branch (Thiele) 10:10; 8. East- Eddens (Johnson, Ceccarelli) 0:53.

Shots on goal: East 5-10-11—26, Colony- 2-11-4—17; Saves: East- Hudson 1-8-4—14, Six x-5-x—5; Colony- 5-9-10—24.

Palmer 8, Kenai 1

Big Lake Lions Christmas Classic

First period — 1. Palmer- Dietz (Hanson, Rosenberg) pp 13:22; 2. Palmer- Avezac (Fish, Foster) 7:36.

Second period — 3. Palmer- Fish (Shults, Ropka) 12:24; 4. Palmer- Foster (Fish) 1:39.

Third period — 5. Palmer- Fish (Avezac, Dietz) 13:03; 6. Kenai- Bullot (Mese, O’Brien) 11:46; 7. Palmer- Foster (Meyers) 8:37; 8. Palmer- Wilson (Meyers, Webb) 5:40; 9. Palmer- Shults (unassisted) sh 5:14.

Shots on goal: Kenai 5-12-14—31, Palmer 9-12-9—30; Saves: Kenai- Williams 7-10-5—22, Palmer- Grogan 5-12-13—30.