Patriots keep it going with win over Eagle River

Published Saturday, November 22, 2008

FAIRBANKS — The North Pole Patriots didn’t let off the gas after beating the four-time defending state champion South Anchorage Wolverines on Thursday.

One day after a monumental 4-2 win, the Patriots stormed back to post an 11-0 victory over the Eagle River Mustangs on Friday night at the Polar Ice Center.

“It was a good team effort by everyone,” said North Pole assistant coach Tyson Goertzen. “All three lines came away with points tonight. Everyone’s confidence is starting to grow.”

Vance Bridgman led the Patriots offensive onslaught with a hat trick, while Matt Sanford and Jordan Pascoe registered two goals apiece. Alex Lemelin, Hank Parra, Jared Linnell and DJ Carnley all had one goal apiece.

Nick Crutcher was North Pole’s setup man with four assists and Sanford also had a pair of helpers. Most of the other players on the North Pole roster had one assist, according to coach Jason Storey.

“We’ve been working on some individual things in practice and it’s paid off,” Goertzen said. “These kids are coming around and playing up to their abilities.”

North Pole goalie Phoenix Copley stopped 11 shots in notching the shutout.

“He didn’t face a lot of pressure, but he was there to stop everything that came through,” Goertzen said. “He kept his focus throughout the game.”

North Pole had 51 shots on goal.

“Eagle River showed a lot of class and sportsmanship tonight,” Goertzen said. “They’ve got a classy coach and their kids should be commended for the effort they put forth.”

West Valley falls

Wasilla broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period and the Warriors added an empty-net goal with one second remaining to post a 3-1 victory over the West Valley Wolfpack on Friday afternoon at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Patty Center.

“For the most part we played OK,” said West Valley coach Wayne Sawchuk, whose team fell to 3-2 on the season. “The intensity was there, but we’re having trouble capitalizing on our chances right now.”

John McGee scored West Valley’s lone goal midway through the second period to tie the score a 1-1. Wasilla scored its go-ahead goal about two minutes into the third period, Sawchuk said.

“I thought we had more puck possession, but Wasilla capitalized on its chances and we didn’t capitalize on ours,” Sawchuk said.

West Valley goalie Casey Wilfer made 24 saves. Wasilla goalie Chris Yaskus made 25 saves to earn the win for Wasilla.

West Valley entertains South Anchorage at 11 a.m. today at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.

Delta triumphs

The Delta Junction Huskies snapped a 2-2 tie with four straight goals in the third period en route to a 6-3 Greatland Conference victory over the Kenny Lake Hawks.

“It was a hard-fought battle up to the third period when we managed to pull away,” Delta coach Mike Long said of his team’s second win of the season in temperatures of about 15 below.

Junior Joe registered a hat trick to lead the Huskies offensive attack, while Jake Gebauer, Brett Smith and Robert Smith each tacked on a goal to the winning effort.

Eli Erickson dished out three assists for Delta. Trevor Gilbertson had two helpers, and Joe and Ethan Gebauer had one each.

Goalie Justin Carpenter made 20 saves to notch the win. Kenny Lake goalie David Helkenn stopped 29 shots.

Garrett Rosencranz scored a pair of goals for Kenny Lake and Dirk Rosencranz had one. Adrena Knutson and Garrett Rosencranz were credited with assists.

Delta hosts Kenny Lake again at 10 this morning.

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