Warriors preach effort to keep edge

WASILLA — For many teams, it might be difficult to loose a leading scorer, a top goaltender and still be considered among the conference’s elite. But despite a few notable losses, the defending North Star champion Wasilla Warriors are expected to be right back in the hunt for a conference crown.

And as far as first-year head coach Trent Schachle is concerned, whether the Warriors can compete to repeat is all about attitude.

“We always tell them do, whatever you guys want to do. If you guys want to put in the effort to be the best team in the state, that’s what we can do,” Schachle said. “If we don’t want to put in any effort, we can’t.”

A solid group of seniors and stellar corps of defensemen lead Wasilla into the 2013-14 season.

“It’s good to have those upperclassmen leading the team,” Schachle said.

Wasilla had three incoming juniors (forwards Colton Fletcher and Tegan Harrington, and goalie Lauren Massie) opt for opportunities at higher levels of hockey, but the Warriors still feature 13 upperclassmen on the roster.

Last year’s leading scorer, Fletcher (21 goals, 16 assists, 37 points) is gone, but Wasilla returns seven of its nine players who bagged at least 12 points last season.

Senior forwards Cooper Hanson (10-15-25 last season) and Jack Reeves (11-11-22) are back, along with junior forwards Tanner Schachle (14-9-23), Adam Apangalook (5-11-16) and Troy Verlpancke (7-6-13).

The strength of the Warriors could be its defense, led by seniors Andrew Cooley (3-16-19) and Tyler Hansen (1-6-7), and juniors Blake Carricaburu (4-8-12) and Austin Cook (3-0-3).

“We have four strong defensemen,” Schachle said. “They’re the backbone of our team.”

Schachle is also pleased with the play of his underclassmen earlier in the season. Freshman Garrett Conroy and sophomore Cody Butcher have found the back of the net for the 3-0 Warriors.

Last season, Massie saw nearly all the action in net for the Warriors, finishing the season 16-6-1 with seven shutouts and a 1.91 goals against average as a sophomore.

This year, Schachle and the Warriors are turning to junior Kiana Verplancke and freshman Wyatt Monear. So far, Schachle has been impressed with both. Verplancke backstopped Wasilla to a 4-1 win over Colony last Friday. Monear has earned wins in net against West Anchorage and South Anchorage.

“I can’t ask for anything better from our goalies,” Schachle said after the win over the Knights. “Wyatt and Kiana both work hard in practice. They’re good people on and off the ice.”

Wasilla’s first-year head coach is no stranger to the Wasilla hockey program. Schachle is a 1990 graduate of Wasilla High and a former Warrior standout. His brothers Mike, Keith and Wade have all enjoyed stints on the Wasilla hockey staff. Schachle is also a veteran of Division I college and professional hockey. He played four seasons at UAF, posting 36 goals and 44 goals in 132 career games. He also played in three different professional minor leagues, the East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League and United Hockey league. He capped his professional career with a three-year stint with the Adirondack IceHawks of the UHL.

This is Schachle’s first stint as a high school, but he has spent a number of years coaching locally at the youth level.

“It’s a great opportunity for me. I pretty much know all the kids, all the families,” Schachle said.

Schachle replaces former Warrior mentor Bill Sturdevant, who pursued another employment opportunity outside of hockey. Sturdevant helped Wasilla maintain a perennial contender in the North Star Conference. Under Sturdevant, Wasilla won region titles in 2010 and 2013, and finished as the region runner up in 2011 and 2012.

** This is the second part of a four-part series previewing the seasons for the local prep hockey teams. For the Colony Knights preview, see frontiersman.com/sports. For stories previewing the Palmer Moose and Houston Hawks, see upcoming editions of the Frontiersman.