Now, as Wasilla prepares to meet the T-Birds once again, this time in the first round of the ASAA First National Cup 4A state hockey championships, Wasilla head coach Bill Sturdevant believes the Anchorage program will be facing a much-improved Wasilla team.
“Our team play has definitely improved,” Sturdevant said of the Warriors, who are 7-0-1 since that Jan. 15 loss to East in Anchorage. “Everyone is looking for their teammates, from the first line to the third line.”
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Wasilla senior Jade Johnston, right, battles for the puck during a win over Colony in late January. Since dropping a 3-0 decision to East Anchorage on Jan. 15, the Warriors are 7-0-1. Wasilla meets East in the first round of the 4A state hockey tournament on Thursday. |
“You look at the bracket, and there’s a chance for all those teams to win,” Sturdevant said. “They way they’re lined up, there’s a chance for everybody.”
The Warriors also get to play in the tournament on a sheet of home ice.
Wasilla and East cap the first day of state tourney play, with a meeting Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.
Defending state champion Lathrop opens with South Anchorage at noon. Cook Inlet Conference champion West Anchorage meets NSC runner-up Kenai at 2:30 p.m. Dimond will face off against Mid-Alaska Conference champ West Valley at 5 p.m.
East finished third in the CIC tournament, needing triple overtime to edge South Anchorage 2-1.
“We’re anticipating East is going to come ready to play,” Sturdevant said. “They take a team like South to three overtimes and win, we know we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”
Wasilla used a 7-1 win over Kenai to capture the North Star title. The Warriors blanked Soldotna 5-0 in the conference semifinals.
Sturdevant said his team has been getting offensive production from all three lines. The defense has been strong, and goalie Chris Yaskus has been sturdy in net.
Yaskus recorded his first shutout of the season during the win over Soldotna.
Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.
Comments
1 comment(s)Hobbie Baker wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:21 PM:
In the first meeting between these teams on 1/15 the first goal scored was by Wasilla but was waived off by the refs because the net was knocked loose by the East goalie.
The Warrior team speed should prevail in this game as long as a talent like Luiten is not allowed to take over the game. Making the streak 10-0-1.
On to the Championship! "