(Again, an important footnote to the tournament was the absence of Kenai’s top two point scorers, Logan Mese and Avery Martin. With those two on the first line the Kardinals have a much more solid identity. And while younger players on the team show tremendous potential, the program’s success still seems to hinge on the presence and play of its leaders.)
To borrow from a couple very seldom used pick-me-up clichés, the season is still young and there are some silver linings to draw from what we’ve seen in Kenai thus far.
First, the Kardinals have 12 games left on their regular season schedule — plenty of time to make tweaks — and in high school athletics post-season play is often a clean slate, where a solid run can come from any team (see: 2022-23 Juneau-Douglas who lost last season’s DII state title by a single goal after backing into the tournament with an 8-9 record).
And as far as silver linings are concerned, well, now we know the team’s limitations and capabilities, and how both those things are defined by the numbers 2 and 24. That’s true, and if the presence of Mese and Martin can somehow raise the level of their teammates’ play to the glimpses we saw against Palmer last Thursday, there’s no reason to believe, come playoff time, the Kenai Kardinals don’t have the realistic potential to make a run at the 2023-24 DII crown.
Okay, recaps.
Kenai 0, Colony 5
Colony, a division 1 opponent, seemed to catch the deflated sails of a Kardinals team coming off a tough loss the previous night. Kenai only managed 14 shots on goal in the game despite seven Knight penalties in the second and third periods alone. Conversely, Seanna Swanson once again found herself in front of a firing squad all night, facing 35 shots on goal.
Colony capitalized on both of its first period power play opportunities; Aiden Finch scored at 5:40 on the first Kenai penalty (Gavin Liles for roughing), then the Knights doubled their lead at 11:43 when Sawyer Kelpe found the back of the net while Toby Petty was serving time for a cross-check. 2-0 Colony at the end of 1.
In the second, the Knights added 1 goal to their lead (a Logan Lofland shot at 11:15), but this was largely due to their playing the majority of the period with four men on the ice. Despite four Colony penalties, Kenai couldn’t break through, and only challenged Knights’ goalie Jason O’Brien a handful of times with 5 shots on goal.
The third period was similar to its predecessor, three Colony penalties, only five more Kardinals SOG, and two Knights goals (Aiden Finch at 1:03, and Myles Siltz at 10:14).
Kenai 2, Kodiak 5
Kodiak found the net early in the first period, when Noah Shrof scored from just outside the right circle, beating Kenai goalie Alec Angleton clean on the right side at 1:41. 1-0 Bears. Angleton started in net for the first time this season.
On the opposite end of the ice, Kodiak goalie Simon Lonheim put up a strong performance in the first (all game really, minus the two late laser beams from Howard). For a stretch of about 90 seconds Lonheim channeled his inner Inspector Gadget (or Jackie Chan, or Michael Flatly — pick your early 90’s leg-flailing reference) kicking 6-8 shots and rebounds away in rapid succession over that span.
Lonheim would prove to be a challenge all night for every Kardinal not named Will Howard.
The 1-0 score stood until 3:30 in the second when Cooper Smith slipped a rebound past Angleton from the low slot.
In the third period things got interesting. Howard’s first goal, a quick snap shot, straight on from outside the circles at 3:54 put Kenai within one. Kodiak responded almost immediately, however (14 seconds later, to be exact), when a Rowan Wiszkowski slap shot from the right point caught Angleton unprepared at 4:08, once again giving the Bears a two goal advantage, 3-1.
Then at 10:47, Howard struck again with a shot nearly identical to his first, but this time from the top of the right circle, bringing Kenai within one again. 3-2 Bears.
That score only held briefly, though. With under two minutes to play Cooper Smith scored a second time for the Bears, and then a John Paul Pogson goal put the game away for sure with barely a minute left.
Kenai has the holiday break off, but will return to the rink at home against Homer on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7:00 pm. Tune-in to ESPN 1140, 96.9 FM at 6:45 for pregame coverage.