Juneau-Douglas High School coach Luke Adams has a lot to be proud of in the young hockey season.
Yes, a 4-2 loss to Soldotna on Thursday has given the Crimson Bears an 0-4 start on the season and put the numbers in the wrong order but the talent level on the Crimson Bears continues to improve.
“Soldotna was a great test for us today,” Adams told the Juneau Empire. “While the end result was not in our favor, we never backed down or stopped competing, even at the end.”
According to the Peninsula Clarion, Soldotna (2-4) skated off the ice following a successful first period of play that saw them leading 2-0 over JDHS at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, but the Stars knew their work was far from done.
As the old saying goes, a two-goal lead in hockey is the most dangerous. Just ask junior forward Corey Hanson.
“I was a little nervous they were going to come back,” Hanson said. “I was a little rattled when they got a goal, I thought were going to lose all momentum.”
JDHS did manage to get on the board at the end of the night, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Stars, who won 4-2.
Hanson scored twice to lead Soldotna while teammate Cameron Knowlton played a role in all four goals, scoring one and assisting on three.
“He’s one of my best friends, we play all the time together,” Hanson said. “Last summer, we played like, 24/7 and coach decided to put us back on a line together, and it’s been good.”
SoHi sophomore Billy Yoder pieced together a solid game as well, stopping 45 of 47 shots by Juneau.
JDHS put the most pucks on goal, outshooting SoHi 47-19.
“Both teams were ready to compete and the game was laden with scoring opportunities,” Adams told the Juneau Empire. “We had numerous quality scoring chances that were turned away by the Stars goaltender.”
Soldotna had not played JDHS in two years, so familiarity was not an advantage. So, when Knowlton opened the scoring with just 59 seconds left in the first frame, the odds immediately shifted in favor of the Stars.
SoHi coach Derek Urban said the two late goals in the first period made all the difference.
As the opening period of play was winding down, it looked as if both sides were content to head to the locker rooms without sacrificing a scoring opportunity. The biggest shot came with under four minutes to play when JDHS sophomore forward Kasey Watts intercepted the puck and shook off a SoHi defender to find a clean shot on Yoder, but Watts’ attempt clanged off the right post to save a scoreless affair.
At the other end Cameron Knowlton was perfectly positioned on a Soldotna power play to clean up a loose puck in front of the crease and delivered the first goal of the night to the top shelf of the netting, giving SoHi a lead with 59 seconds left in the period.
Hanson followed close behind with a goal with just 10.7 seconds to go, getting the puck from Knowlton and swooping in from the left faceoff circle and putting a shot past JDHS freshman goalie Kyle Farley-Robinson.
“Cameron definitely played a big part in all my goals,” Hanson said. “I trusted him to chip it out to me, and I booked it down there…”
A determined SoHi squad added a third goal early in the second frame, and it was persistence that paid off. Only 3:32 into the second period, the Stars began whacking away at the JDHS goal, but it took about four or five whacks on goal before Hanson found the puck on a rebound and hurled it into the netting for a 3-0 SoHi lead.
The Crimson Bears’ Watts had a breakaway with 9:13 to go in the second period but the Star’ Yoder made a lightning-quick save by the pads. Yoder stopped another puck with a pad save barely two minutes later.
JDHS sophomore Yosef Monsef finally broke through with a goal for the Crimson Bears with 3:57 to play in the second, taking advantage of a chaotic crease to slip the puck by Yoder, with assists from Watts and senior Oscar Jones. The goal closed the deficit to 3-1.
Yoder continued to stay busy in the opening minutes of the third period, but Matthew Daugherty scored to put SoHi up 4-1 with 4:45 to play, getting help from Hanson and Knowlton.
JDHS tallied its second goal with 2:49 to play on a strike by junior Niko Hebert.
