It’s 7 a.m. at Treadwell Ice Arena. The Juneau-Douglas High School hockey team unlaces their boots after their last regular season practice.
They’ve been here before. Every last sliver of ice time has dried up. Every coaching adjustment made. Every drill run, sprint endured and scenario envisioned.
Only the playoffs loom for the Mid Alaska Conference’s second seed. Though heading to the Fairbanks-based MAC playoffs with three teams left to contend with — and a state tournament berth on the line — the Crimson Bears say they only have their own expectations to compete with.
To them, it’s not about the matchup, but the mentality.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re gonna play. We aren’t looking too much at the matchups,” junior forward Joseph Monsef said after practice Wednesday. “We’re focusing on ourselves and not worrying about who we play.”
“It’s as much about mentality as anything else, having enough confidence in each other, the team, the program,” coach Luke Adams said. “We have to play to our inner egos and put the team first.”
Juneau-Douglas (3-3 in MAC) will play two games this weekend: one Friday and one Saturday. MAC top seed West Valley, third seed North Pole and fourth seed Lathrop lie in wait at Fairbanks’ Patty Ice Arena.
As the No. 2 seed in the MAC playoffs, JDHS will first face the winner of a Thursday game between North Pole and Lathrop.
Whoever prevails out JDHS’ Friday semifinal will play No. 1 seed West Valley on Saturday for the MAC conference championship. The winner of that game will be the MAC’s No. 1 seed at the state tournament; the loser, the No. 2 seed.
The state tournament takes place Feb. 9-11 in Wasilla.
With a mixed bag of results against MAC competition, the Crimson Bears couldn’t be more in the middle of the MAC pack. JDHS beat Lathrop twice, lost to West Valley twice and split a pair of contentious games with conference foe North Pole.
Though turning their competitive eye inward in preparation, Adams said the team wants a West Valley matchup.
“West Valley is just a different animal in the Mid Alaska Conference. In our history, we have yet to beat them, but that’s the matchup we’re hoping for. We’re hoping to get in that game and test ourselves,” Adams said. “It’s always fun to compete against a skilled and disciplined team. They’re a powerhouse in the conference.”
Riding a pair of big conference wins against Lathrop last weekend, JDHS is peaking at the right time. They’re the healthiest they’ve been all season, said Adams.
Monsef said competition level at practice lately has exceeded expectations.
“We definitely took a dip mid-season but we’re peaking at the right time,” Monsef said. “… Our competition level right now is high. The younger kids are pushing the older guys.”
In their 7-0 and 9-1 wins over Lathrop last weekend, JDHS got a few players on the scoreboard they are looking to build up. Adams said senior forward Quin Gist’s “golden touch” was handy in those games.
Gist had two goals in their 9-1 win and a hat-trick in their 7-0 victory. They’ll look to capitalize on his offensive production moving forward.
Monsef said the team has to win their 50/50 puck battles to prevail against a North Pole or a West Valley.
“We can’t bow out early. It’s the small things that matter the most when you’re facing competition that’s so close to your skill level,” Monsef said.
Adams fears that North Pole — slighted with the No. 3 spot after beating JDHS once and losing once — might have the underdog edge in a possible matchup.
“One of the biggest things if we play North Pole is that we split with them and we got the better seed, so they might have that underdog mentality. I’ve been telling this to the team all week, you can never underestimate an underdog. They want what we want and they’re hungry,” Adams said.
Outside of matchup considerations, discipline will be key for success on the weekend, Adams said.
“We have to be disciplined in a number of ways,” Adams said. “Simple things with efficiency. We want to play our game which may not be the prettiest all the time but we have to play to our strengths.”
Last year the Crimson Bears made it to the state tournament as the MAC’s No. 2 seed behind West Valley. Their next program milestone will be to win a state tournament game, should they make it there.
“I like where we’re at, we’re peaking at the right time. It just depends if the peak is enough to get us by,” said Adams.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
