North Pole loses to Dimond 5-4

North Pole comeback falls short against Dimond
By Joshua Armstrong

Published Saturday, January 24, 2009


NORTH POLE — The North Pole Patriots were shell-shocked in the first period, but the hockey team’s players and coaches all wore smiles after their third loss of the season.

North Pole couldn’t overcome a poor first period Friday night as it lost to the Dimond Lynx, 5-4, in the Polar Ice Center.

The losing effort, however, was cause for enthusiasm for the Patriots.

“We knew they were a tough team and we knew we had to bring our A game,” said North Pole right wing DJ Carnley, who had an assist. “I don’t think the score reflected the game. In the outcome, I think we should have won.”

The Lynx took a commanding 3-1 lead by the first intermission and looked as though they would to turn the game into a rout.

“We were shell-shocked,” Patriots coach James Storey said. “We’ve never seen a team with that speed, that tempo.”

The second period saw no scores, but plenty of action as each team dished out hard collisions that knocked some players to the ice and sent others airborne.

“It was the most physical high school hockey game I’ve seen in a long time,” Storey said. “We don’t see games like that anymore.”

In the third, North Pole outscored Dimond 3-2 with goals from Vance Bridgman, Hank Parra and Cody Kurkowski. The Patriots never had a chance to tie the game because Kurkowski’s goal slipped in as the buzzer sounded.

Storey said keeping pace with a perennial state tournament contender would help the Patriots as the playoffs near.

“You hate to lose, but to come back like that ... it’s something to build on,” he said.

Another building block for North Pole could be its newest arrival, Dylan Longoria, who tabbed three assists in his second game this season.

Dimond coach Dennis Sorenson said he experimented with line changes during the second and third periods, which explained some missteps.

“We were good early, but it kind of went downhill from there,” Sorenson said.

North Pole put the first goal on the board at 11:42 of the first stanza during a power play when Dylan Longoria fired a shot from high in the slot that was partially blocked by a defender. But it dribbled by, took an odd bounce off another Dimond player and Jordan Pascoe tapped it into the net.

The Patriots, though, had trouble with their penalty kill in the first period and the Lynx scored on their first two power plays to open the game.

Dimond’s Scott Wamsganz was the first to capitalize when he scored on a shot from the blue line that found the high right side of the net at 10:39 of the first.

Mobley kept the Lynx perfect on the power play when he exited the penalty box and skated to the left circle, where he was met with a pass and flipped the puck in.

After Mobley’s goal, North Pole’s penalty kill shored up because of “quick adjustments,” Storey said.

Carnley said he focused on keeping the puck away from Wamsganz and Erik Cooper (who had three assists) and being aware of Dimond’s back-door opportunities.

But North Pole was unable to strike back because it spent most of the remainder of the first outmanned. The Patriots had nine penalties through the first two periods.

Mobley led the Lynx offensively with two goals and an assist. Austen Burgh had a goal for Dimond. Kyale Swenson had two helpers and Cole Christianson added one.

Pascoe, Parra and Drew Donovan had assists for the Patriots.

Junior Marcus Holzschuh, usually a backup, had 23 saves as he backstopped the win for Dimond. North Pole goalie Phoenix Copley took the loss with 28 saves.

The Patriots (15-3-0, 4-1-0 Mid Alaska) sit in second place in the MAC and can gain ground on first-place Lathrop when they play the Malemutes on Tuesday at the Polar Ice Arena.

North Pole faces another challenge from Anchorage today when it hosts the Service Cougars at noon in the Polar Ice Arena. Dimond (17-1-0, 9-1-0 Cook Inlet) will play Lathrop in a showdown today in the Big Dipper Ice Arena at 1:30 p.m.