Warriors win battle of senior night

WASILLA -- With both the Palmer and Wasilla hockey squads honoring their seniors on Friday, it was inevitable that senior night for one team would be spoiled.

Wasilla controlled the flow for much of the contest and skated to a 4-2 victory over the crosstown rival Moose, thus spoiling the occasion for Palmer's five seniors.

Wasilla outshot the Moose 42-17 in the contest and 14-1 in the second period in the win.

The second period was pivotal to Wasilla. Palmer's lone shot on goal came early in the period and Wasilla acted as if they were on a 15-minute power play, keeping the puck in the Palmer zone for virtually the entire second frame.

"We were trying to get the puck down in deep and we were able to do that," Wasilla head coach Eric Troisi said.

The opening period of the contest featured a pair of standout performances by the teams goaltenders. Palmer's Kyle Berti recorded 14 saves and only allowed one shot to slip by, while Wasilla's Nathan Banbury stopped each of the 10 shots he faced.

Wasilla's first goal was a bit of a stroke of luck as Alex Gittlein threw up a shot from the blueline which bounced over Berti's shoulder and into the Palmer net. Gittlein's shot could be likened more to a chip out of the sandtrap at the Palmer Golf Course rather than a shot on the ice at Brett Arena. Despite letting the awkward shot pass into the net, Berti continued to make impressive saves. The freshman net minder kept Palmer in the contest by stopping the first 12 shots he faced in the second period. Though Wasilla consistently peppered the Palmer goal with shots, the Warriors were not able to slip one past Berti until the 1:07 mark of the second period.

At that point Spencer Syverston picked up a rebound loose from a Gittlein shot and slid the puck through a crowd of red and white jerseys and into the net.

"We came out in the first period and played well, but we couldn't get anything going in the second period," Palmer head coach Brian Fish said.

Banbury's shutout hopes were thwarted in the third as Palmer defensemen Jesse Marcott delivered a slapshot from the point to put the Moose on the scoreboard. The Marcott goal cut the Wasilla lead to 3-1.

Wasilla re-took the three goal advantage as Andrew Tumbleson took a pass from Jordan Troisi and scored for the Warriors. Wasilla was able to screen the Palmer net, blinding Berti on the shot in the process.

Palmer forward Kent Blaylock intercepted a Warrior pass in the Wasilla zone and put a shot past Banbury with 3:32 left in regulation to cut the score to 4-2.

Palmer had a final opportunity to try to leap back in the contest as they skated with a 6-on-3 advantage in the final minute of the contest.

The Moose pulled Berti and Wasilla skated two men short after a pair of Warrior penalties. Palmer was not able to capitalize on the advantage. A Moose rang a shot off the post, but Palmer was not able to put the puck past Banbury.

The penalty-ridden third period featured several chances by each program to take over the game.

"We were just making silly mistakes," Troisi said of his team's play in the third period.

"We had opportunities in the third period, but the penalties really slowed things down," Fish said.