The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears hockey team came out of their two week winter hibernation with a 7-4 victory over the Bartlett Golden Bears on Friday night at the Treadwell Arena in Juneau.
It was the first home victory for the Crimson Bears this season. Their record this year is not indicative of their play, so the victory on Friday night was especially rewarding and generated smiles from the home team.
Juneau scored first on a goal by Bill Bosse that was made possible by the hustle of Chase Barnhum. Barnhum occupied two Golden Bears while the puck slipped onto Bosse’s stick in front of the net.
The Golden Bears struck back with a goal by Andrew Vandenbos, who pounced on a deflected puck in front of the JDHS net. Just 12 seconds later, Kasey Watts grabbed a face-off and tore down the ice with it to score on an angle shot, giving the Crimson Bears a 2-1 advantage after one period.
The Crimson Bears increased their shot totals in every period and finished with 33 for the game. This was good news for coach Luke Adams, who said the team concentrated in practices on creating shooting opportunities that were not necessarily “pretty, but a little more gritty.”
The second period scoring began with a hometown goal from Ryan Liebelt. Crimson Bear player Quin Gist then grabbed a loose puck in front of a crowded goal crease and fired a no-look backhanded shot that found a wide open net. The Crimson Bears scored again on a beautiful give-and-go play between Bill Bosse and Kasey Watts. After two periods JDHS held a 5-2 advantage.
In the third period, both teams scored two goals. JDHS started the scoring when Kasey Watts stole the puck and raced down the ice for a breakaway. Cahal Morehouse was there for the rebound shot that went in. Joseph Monsef scored his second goal to finish the scoring for the Crimson Bears, and Ryan Kahlenbeck and Alex DeHart scored in the period for the Golden Bears.
JDHS coach Adams was quick to point out it was a team effort and noted the exceptional play of defenseman Oscar Jones. The balanced scoring by the hometown Crimson Bears supported that statement.
JDHS goalie Kyle Farley Robinson stopped 26 shots and finished strong. Each team finished with 8 minutes of penalty time.
• Videos of games can be viewed via live stream by Larry Johansen at AlaskaSports.tv.
The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears hockey team came out of their two week winter hibernation with a 7 to 4 victory over the Bartlett Golden Bears on Friday night at the Treadwell Arena.
