The Kenai Kardinal’s Hockey team took care of business against the Homer Mariners on Friday night, dominating offensive time of possession, and ultimately delivering a convincing win by a final score of 9-1.
The Kardinal’s started off fast in the first period, scoring two goals at 6:35 and 9:08, courtesy of Avery Martin and Will Howard, respectively. Martin’s goal was a bit of a slow roller, coming off the sticks of Logan Mese and Will Howard before getting a gentle tap over the line from Martin. Howard’s shot was a no doubter off an Ethan Tree rebound.
In the second, Kenai’s first line found another gear. Truthfully, by season’s end the team may look back at this game as a breakout party for the line of Mese, Howard, Martin, Vann, Langham. When these five were on the ice together it felt like another goal was always a few seconds away. Which, after a five goal second, was basically the case.
Logan Mese added to his season point total by bookending the second with Kenai’s first and fifth goals (:55 & 14:39) of the period. In the middle, Isaac Potton and Toby Petty added to the scoring party (2:02 & 6:31), and Avery Martin picked up his second goal of the game (10:22).
Homer scored its lone goal at 6:46 into the second — a five hole shot by River Henry off a nice pass from Homer’s brightest spot, Makary Ruetov.
Kenai kept the pressure on heading into the third period. Will Howard scored his second goal of the night at 2:19 (with assists from Mese and Vann), and then Logan Mese notched his first hat trick of the season, scoring for the third time a couple minutes later at 4:16.
To be fair, the game was the Mariner’s first of the season, and everyone knows it takes a game or two to shake loose the off season rust. That said, Makary Ruetov and Seamus Hatten looked very impressive on a team that struggled to keep up with the Kardinals all night. In fact, were it not for the consistent backchecking pressure from the pair, the score may have been even more lopsided. Ruetov especially displays surprising speed and agility for his size, consistently disrupting opponents’ game flow, or creating scoring opportunities for the Mariners.
In the nets, Blaise Banks was busy all night for the Mariners, saving 36 of 45 shots. Conversely, Seanna Swanson probably should have brought a lawn chair; she only saw 6 shots all night.
The Kardinals head to the Mat-Su Valley this weekend where they will join the Soldotna Stars participating in the Stars and Stripes Tournament at the MTA Arena.
Visit KSRM’s Master Schedule for all high school hockey game dates and times.
